Does the Law Still Matter?

New Testament believers can sometimes approach the Old Testament in general (and the Old Testament Law in particular) with a mixture of caution and lack of understanding about its applicability to them.  They recognize the value of the narratives, wisdom literature, and even the prophets (though they may not fully understand what is being communicated therein), but when it comes to the Law, they will often skim through it – if they read it at all.  So, is there any usefulness for the Law in a New Testament believer’s life today?  The answer, in short, is yes.

While we Evangelicals (mostly) accept the doctrine taught by Paul in II Timothy 3:16-17, that all Scripture is profitable for the believer, our reading and study habits effectively reveal something different.  Yet if God is immutable, then His standards for righteousness and holiness are immutable as well.  We sometimes have the mistaken notion that the Law has been abolished, yet Jesus said in Matthew 5:17, ““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.”  Jesus did indeed fulfill the Law in ways that we could not, through His perfect life, substitutionary death, and resurrection.  When we are in Christ, we can stand before God the Father under the completed work of the Son.  The Law is useful for the saint because it reminds us that neither God nor His standard changed, but that standard was met completely in Christ.

Indeed, Christ Himself referenced the Law repeatedly in the Gospel accounts, because the Law points to Christ.  Speaking in John 5:46, He said, “For if you believed Moses, you would believe me; for he wrote of me.”  It makes sense, then, that Christ would point to the Law in order to show us how it was fulfilled in Him.  If the Law is of such importance to Christ, it should hold the same importance – and emphasis – as it did for the Savior.

Also, the Law is a constant reminder for New Testament believers of their constant need for and reliance on the grace of God.  The Law revealed in Leviticus is intricately detailed and incredibly specific regarding how it must be observed.  To deviate, even in one seemingly miniscule way, from its requirements is to fail to meet the standard.  When we consider Jesus’ exposition of the Law in the Sermon on the Mount (where He reveals what the other writers in the Old Testament, especially the Prophets, had previously declared, that God is more concerned with our hearts than the outward observation of rituals), we recognize even more just how pervasive our sinfulness really is.  Facing our sinful natures in this way ought to drive the New Testament believer to the grace of God revealed in Jesus Christ.

One final (though certainly not the final) way we can see the Law’s usefulness for us today comes through evangelism.  Something that can be missing from some witnessing endeavors today is why a person is in need of saving in the first place.  We can have such a desire to get to the love and grace of God that we neglect to adequately explain why there is a need for grace in the first place!  The Law can be useful for establishing what a holy God expects from His creation.  We can point to the Law to establish our guilt, which then allows us to better show why grace truly is so amazing.  God’s Law remains a rich resource for believers in all ages.  Just something to think about…