Is the Law for Us?

Many modern Christians reject the Old Testament as necessary scripture, saying we are no longer under the Law so we don’t need to obey it. They even go so far as to say that the God of the Old Testament is different from the God of the New Testament. What is true? If we are not saved by the Law, does it really apply to us? Do we need the Old Testament?

Matthew 5:17-19 New American Standard Bible (NASB)

Do not think that I came to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I did not come to abolish but to fulfill. For truly I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not the smallest letter or stroke shall pass from the Law until all is accomplished. Whoever then annuls one of the least of these commandments, and teaches others to do the same, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever keeps and teaches them, he shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven.

Jesus did not come to do away with the Law but to fulfill it. What does that mean? Does that mean we don’t need to obey the Law? If we are rewarded for doing and teaching the Law doesn’t that mean that we are saved by it? I will answer in reverse. Just because we are rewarded for obeying the Law does not mean we are saved by it. It simply means that we reap the benefits of what we do. If we do good, we reap good. In the same way that a parent rewards a child for being obedient, God rewards us for being obedient. It is separate from our salvation.

Galatians 6:7-8 New American Standard Bible (NASB)

Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, this he will also reap. For the one who sows to his own flesh will from the flesh reap corruption, but the one who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life.

At the same time, just because we are not saved by obeying the Law does not mean we don’t have to obey it. We obey out of love for God, not for the sake of salvation. Jesus did not come to get rid of the Law, to say that it is no longer necessary. He came to fulfill it. In the Old Testament, when a person transgressed the Law, they had to make a sacrifice to atone for it. All sin requires atonement, otherwise it will result in judgment and punishment. Jesus came to make the ultimate sacrifice (Himself) so that we would no longer need to offer sacrifices to make up for our sin. We only need to believe in Him and ask His forgiveness. So why do we need the Old Testament Law?

Romans 7:7 New American Standard Bible (NASB)

What shall we say then? Is the Law sin? May it never be! On the contrary, I would not have come to know sin except through the Law; for I would not have known about coveting if the Law had not said, “You shall not covet.”

The Law is there to show us what sin is. It is our moral guide for what is good and what is wrong. If we didn’t have the Law, we wouldn’t know if what we did was right or wrong. That is the problem with our society in general. It has thrown out the Bible, and with it any moral compass it possessed. Without the Bible, there is no authority on truth, no right and wrong. There is only opinion. We cannot say murder is absolutely wrong without an absolute truth to verify it. In the same way, we still need to obey the Law, if we don’t we are denying the truth of Jesus’ sacrifice. Why would He need to die for sin if there was no Law to show what sin is? The Law required Jesus’ death. It is evidence of our need for a Savior, and that does not end when we give our lives to Christ. We need Him just as much after we are saved. If it is wrong to sin and disobey the Law before we are saved, it is just as wrong after. Jesus came to save us from sin, not to make it acceptable for us to sin.

Has Jesus fulfilled the Law in your life? Do you obey out of love or out of duty? What do you need to do to change either?