There is some debate as to what it means when Jesus tells us He did not come to abolish the law, but to fulfill it. There is also discussion as to what “law” this refers to. This discussion, is vitally important in the Christian faith, because it relates directly to the way we practice that faith.
In Matthew 5:17, Jesus says “Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them.” The law in this case is Mosaic law, which consists of rules and regulations for those of the Jewish and subsequently, Christian faith. These laws are generally divided into “ceremonial” and “moral.”
The debate is whether Christians are “slaves” to the law, since the New Testament teaches us that Jesus Christ came to fulfill the law; it also teaches us that one cannot enter Heaven by living by the law, but can enter only through belief and acceptance of Jesus Christ as our Savior.
“So Christ has truly set us free. Now make sure that you stay free, and don’t get tied up again in slavery to the law.” – Galatians 5:1
Some Christians however, believe that they must adhere to the Mosaic law and they often do so at the expense of true faith — in other words, they judge others by the Mosaic law, even if they themselves break those laws. Its quite a conflict, because in a way, they’re living under the Old Testament, despite the fact God made a new Covenant with us in the New Testament and that is Jesus Christ.
Romans 6:14 tells us: “For sin will have no mastery over you, because you are not under law but under grace.”
Romans 7:1-14 tells us: “Or do you not know, brothers and sisters (for I am speaking to those who know the law), that the law is lord over a person as long as he lives? For a married woman is bound by law to her husband as long as he lives, but if her husband dies, she is released from the law of the marriage. So then, if she is joined to another man while her husband is alive, she will be called an adulteress. But if her husband dies, she is free from that law, and if she is joined to another man, she is not an adulteress. So, my brothers and sisters, you also died to the law through the body of Christ, so that you could be joined to another, to the one who was raised from the dead, to bear fruit to God. For when we were in the flesh, the sinful desires, aroused by the law, were active in the members of our body to bear fruit for death. But now we have been released from the law, because we have died to what controlled us, so that we may serve in the new life of the Spirit and not under the old written code. What shall we say then? Is the law sin? Absolutely not! Certainly, I would not have known sin except through the law. For indeed I would not have known what it means to desire something belonging to someone else if the law had not said, “Do not covet.” But sin, seizing the opportunity through the commandment, produced in me all kinds of wrong desires. For apart from the law, sin is dead. And I was once alive apart from the law, but with the coming of the commandment, sin became alive and I died. So I found that the very commandment that was intended to bring life brought death! For sin, seizing the opportunity through the commandment, deceived me and through it I died. So then, the law is holy, and the commandment is holy, righteous, and good. Did that which is good, then, become death to me? Absolutely not! But sin, so that it would be shown to be sin, produced death in me through what is good, so that through the commandment sin would become utterly sinful. For we know that the law is spiritual—but I am unspiritual, sold into slavery to sin.”
Are some Christians trying to live by the law only? Do they put their belief and faith in Jesus first, or do they make themselves slaves to the Old Testament Mosaic laws? We mentioned earlier that the Mosaic laws can be broken into two categories: ceremonial and moral. The Ten Commandments for example, are the moral (Mosaic law meaning Moses). God gave the Ten Commandments to Moses and the key word is Commandments.
Since we are told that man cannot enter Heaven simply (or just by) obeying the law and that we must believe in and accept Jesus as the Son of God and our Savior, why would do some Christians continue to be so focused on trying to live by the Mosaic law? And that…is the big question.
Jesus said he did not come to abolish the law, but to fulfill it. So, Jesus paid the ultimate price and He fulfilled the law for us. In passages such as Galatians 5:1, it is made clear that we are now no longer to be slaves of the law — that we are freed from it and thus, our salvation does not depend on it.
However…
We are not told, at least in any passage that I can find, that we are to ignore the law and that means the Ten Commandments. We are in truth, called to follow the Commandments by not murdering, not stealing, not taking the Lord’s name in vain, not coveting, etc. For me, this means that while we cannot have salvation simply by following every law, we don’t just ignore the moral laws, but…if we do violate the laws, we seek forgiveness through Jesus and we repent and thus, we are living as the New Testament commands. The central truth is, Jesus is salvation and the law is not. Further, we are not supposed to be slaves to the law because not only does it not guarantee salvation, it also causes us to have a rigid, impersonal relationship with God.
I feel that when Christians focus solely on the law and only quote the Old Testament, they are in some way behaving just like the misguided Pharisees. Many of the Pharisees were so rigid in their customs, ceremonies and laws, that they actually put themselves first and the Will of God second. When a Christian is so focused on judging others by the Mosaic laws, they fail to see that they are doing the exact opposite of what we are commanded to do.
I believe we are called upon to be good, kind and obedient — we are to follow the moral laws in the Ten Commandments, but we are also absolutely supposed to live by the teachings that Jesus instilled in us. Christians are meant to be generous, compassionate and filled with love and a spirit of joy. And ultimately, as Christians, we need to accept that redemption and salvation are only possible through faith in Jesus and we can never attain that by living only according to the Mosaic laws.
Pope Francis put it nicely when he said: “Christian life is simple; a Christian does not need to do strange or difficult things but put Jesus at the center of his or her daily choices. Jesus Christ manifested himself; we are invited to get to know him, to recognize him in our lives and in many circumstances of life.”
