I’m reading a brilliant book at the moment, called The Discipline of Grace by Jerry Bridges. I was looking for a book on striking the balance between living in freedom from the law and living in obedience to God. The two seemed at either ends of the spectrum to me, so reading the New Testament felt like riding a rollercoaster ride: ‘WOOOHOOOO, WE’RE FREE!!! …. Ok so I need to obey all these commands otherwise I will …. WOOOHHOOOO JESUS HAS DONE IT ALL FOR US! …. Ok so I’m not really a Christian unless I do all … WOOOHOOOO!’ (etc.)
I asked God to help me understand this apparent contradiction. And I’ve found that the secret lies in the greatest commandment.
‘“Teacher, which is the most important commandment in the law of Moses?”
Jesus replied, “You must love the LORD your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind.” This is the first and greatest commandment. A second is equally important: ‘Love your neighbour as yourself. The entire law and all the demands of the prophets are based on these two commandments.” (Matthew 22:36-40)
Jesus replied, “You must love the LORD your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind.” This is the first and greatest commandment. A second is equally important: ‘Love your neighbour as yourself. The entire law and all the demands of the prophets are based on these two commandments.” (Matthew 22:36-40)
Love.
(By the way, ‘to love’ is a verb.)
I wonder how many of us are living in the truth of this?
It’s my natural inclination to read the Bible and see all the rules and instructions and strive to obey them. I’m a perfectionist - meaning my first thought is ‘do the right thing’ and not make mistakes. As a result, I tend to do things out of a need to please and experience anxiety or shame if I fail to keep every last one of them. But if the driving force of your life is keeping the rules, you'll probably be quite a serious and anxious person – more inclined to think that the sky might fall down if you’re not careful. And fear can bind you.
I think this is what Paul had in mind when he wrote: ‘… you are trying to make yourself right with God by keeping the law, you have been cut off from Christ! You have fallen away from God’s grace … For you have been called to live in freedom – not freedom to satisfy your sinful nature, but freedom to serve one another in love.’ (Galatians 5 v 4 & 13)
If we’re trying to keep the law, we’ve completely missed the point of what Jesus did for us. Eternally, he’s saved us - but within this life, Jesus has taken on the responsibility of the law and sin so that we are free to love more. This is what Jesus meant when he said, ‘“Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfil them.”’ (Matthew 5:17)
We are no longer bound to the law as we once were. And the secret to understanding this lies in the greatest commandment. We must swap our driving force from the need to be ‘right’ (law), to love. Living under the law impedes our ability to love better because we’re constantly preoccupied about ticking the boxes and our performance. This results in a more self-gratifying person, as opposed to an altruistic person. The law tends to wrap us up in ourselves and make us self-righteous and judgemental.
It is love, not law that transforms us. Love radicalises our thinking and gives us a fresh
perspective that can change the world and lead to greater freedom in our lives.
Love changes everything.
So our concern should be living a life of love. It’s Jesus's concern to deal with the law and sin. That’s why we’re ‘cut off from Christ’ if we preoccupy ourselves with rules. Besides, ‘our love to God will always manifest itself in obedience to him’ (TDOG p.118).
I am not lowering the bar for holiness; I am swapping it for a different bar. From law to love: a new perspective.
So how about from today, we decide every morning when we wake up to live a life of love. To make it our goal to live not by 'what is right' but 'how can I love more?’
Paul summaries all this perfectly in Romans 13 v 8-10:
‘Pay all your debts, except the debt of love for others. You can never finish paying that! If you love your neighbour, you will fulfil all the requirements of God’s law. For the commandments against adultery and murder and stealing and coveting – and any other commandment – are all summed up in this one commandment, “Love your neighbour as yourself.”
Love does no wrong to anyone, so love satisfies all of God’s requirements.’
