The Law
God’s commandments. In the New Testament, at times “law” refers to the Law of Moses, while at other times it refers to the idea of law and rule-keeping in general. Some translations make distinctions by capitalizing “Law” when speaking of the Mosaic, or by switching between “law” and “the law.”
Paul wrote extensively on the Law and its use for us today, calling it “our tutor to bring us to Christ” (Galatians 3:24) because the Law showed us our imperfection and helped us understand sin (Romans 7:7).
Because no one could keep the Law perfectly and none of us could be justified by works of Law (Romans 3:20-23), it is often characterized as overbearing and impossible. However, faithful but imperfect lawkeepers had a system by which their sins could be forgiven and they could draw near to God if they followed the sacrificial system.
In Jesus we have the perfect sacrifice who brings both forgiveness and erasure of our sins (Jeremiah 31:31-34), so we are under a better system. But that does not make the Law evil or unfair: it was holy and righteous and good (Romans 7:12).
This is entry #42 of 150 from my book, Sunday School Catch-Up. You can buy the book on Amazon, or…
By popular request, I’ve added premium subscriptions on this site. With a premium subscription, you get access to a digital version of the book as a token of my thanks!
