The Law of Christ
Just what is this “Law of Christ” that I believe we Christians are under today? Simply put it is not the right to do as one pleases but it is the liberty to do as one ought to by the power, desire, and will of the Holy Spirit that dwells in the life of the believer. Moo gives us a wonderful description of this “Law of Christ” when he states:
“The entire Mosaic law comes to fulfillment in Christ, and this fulfillment means that this law is no longer a direct and immediate source of, or judge of, the conduct of God’s people. Christian behavior, rather, is now guided directly by “the law of Christ.” This “law” does not consist of legal prescriptions and ordinances, but of the teaching and example of Jesus and the apostles, the central demand of love, and the guiding influence of the indwelling Holy Spirit.”1
While the Mosaic Law is no longer binding on Christians that is not to say that individual commandments in that law may not be. In fact, nine of the ten commandments of the Decalogue are applicable to the Law of Christ; the exception being the Sabbath commandment. Thus, in one sense I agree that the Mosaic Law has value and application to today’s believer but only when we have a clear knowledge of what laws carry over to the New Testament. The big problem comes about in determining which laws are obligatory and which are not when the standard for differentiating between moral and ceremonial is in some cases arbitrary and subjective.
Under the law of Christ, we are led by the Holy Spirit in deciding how to obey God. The Spirit is our guide and teacher and will lead us into all truth if we are reading our Bibles and sensitive to his direction. The Mosaic Law was only our tutor to lead us to Christ and show us how spiritually bankrupt we really were (Galatians 3:24-25). In fact, the Old Covenant was intended to become obsolete once Christ went to the cross. We can see a wonderful demonstration of how the Law of Christ operates when we read about the Jerusalem Council in Acts 15. According to this chapter the Jewish Christians were expecting the new Gentile Christians to obey some of the heavy demands of the Mosaic Law. The Council in essence declared that the Mosaic Law had ended. If the Mosaic Law had not been abrogated then the wall of partition that had kept Gentiles from partaking in the blessings with the New Testament Jewish Christians would still be in place. That wall of partition was the Mosaic Law and when Christ went to the cross the wall was broken down and the Gentiles were able to come into the household of faith. Obeying Christ and His teachings and not the “letter” of the law is what the Law of Christ is all about. Moo rightly sums up the difference between the Mosaic Law and the Law of Christ when he says: “What emerges from Jesus’ teaching is a shift of focus from the law to Jesus himself as the criterion for what it means to be obedient to God.”2
How do Christians Relate to the Mosaic Law
First, we are not saved by keeping the law (Galatians 2:21). Second, we as New Testament believers, are not to walk by the Law but by the Spirit in all of our endeavors. (Galatians 5:18). Third, we do not have to obey the law as our rule of life. For example, we no longer need to keep the Sabbath or tithe. Fourth, we live under a fuller revelation than national Israel lived under in the Old Testament and as a result we obey by the Spirit rather than the “letter.” Fifth, while love is central to our new relationship with Christ, there is still some continuity with the Mosaic Law since many of the Mosaic commandments are still found under the umbrella of “the law of Christ.” And finally, we live today to obey the eternal moral laws of God that transcend even the Mosaic Laws by the power of the Holy Spirit. Thus, we live under the new law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus.
1 Stanley N. Gundry, series editor, Five Views on Law and Gospel. (Grand Rapids:
Zondervan, 1999), 343.
2 Stanley N. Gundry, series editor, Five Views on Law and Gospel. (Grand Rapids:
Zondervan, 1999), 357.