The law never saved anyone{True}. Only Jesus kept perfect law and only by being in Him can we keep the law{True}. Jesus is the reason we face no condemnation and why we are to look forward to judgement day with boldness{True}! Walk in fear and darkness if you prefer, I will walk in the light that is the Truth. We are not saved by law or confession we are saved by grace through faith{True}. Stop being held captive by what you think or feel and be set free by having faith in what Jesus did and still does, believe Him when He says you are the righteousness of God in Christ!
OK with all of that said,
is the law expired? Note what I'm asking. I'm
NOT asking, "are we saved by the law". I'm
NOT asking "do we have to keep the law or not?" All of these are different questions for a different thread.
I am asking "does the law
STILL EXIST or doesn't it?" "Is it expired" (like the title of this thread suggests)?
You don't have to answer this question personally. This isn't a personal challenge to you. But what i'm arguing against is the premise that suggests The Law was somehow the problem to solve; that it was the enemy of mankind, or that needed to be "killed off" (as one phrased it) to set us free. This is categorically wrong. It sounds right, but it's so completely wrong.
Whether one's argues on the side of "Grace-only" or on the side of "Grace then obedience",
there is no foundation for *either side* to stand on if the law no longer exists. It obliterates the Gospel because instead of saying "Christ saved us from sin", it's saying "Christ saved us from the Law", or even that "Christ saved us from God" or from himself; that we we're "in bondage to the law", instead of being "in bondage to sin". And I would be irresponsible as a brother in Christ if I didn't attack this spirit of error that a great many brothers and sisters in Christ are accepting.
If the law (the core of which was spoken by God and represented by the stone tablets; taken from the BASE of God's heavenly throne and placed in the BASE of God's earthly representation, which was then COVERED by his mercy seat...so he sits on them) expired, it is saying God was UNJUST to give his law to the world in the first place. That He was the one who was wrong who needed to repent to us. That the law IS the flesh. That the law IS sin. That the law is good for nothing. That the law is the reason for our condemnation. But without the law, God's throne is hollow; empty.
This view is a more sophisticated way of saying, "
well why did God put the forbidden tree in the garden in the first place if he knew Adam would eat of it? So all of this suffering is God's fault. God is guilty. God has no right to rule because he's not *just*, but an unfair being."
No, WE are the reason for our condemnation, not the Law and not God.
Romans 3:19-31 NIV {brackets mine}
19 Now we know that whatever the law says, it says to those who are under the law, so that every mouth may be silenced and the whole world held accountable to God.
20 Therefore no one will be declared righteous in God’s sight by the works of the law; rather, through the law we become conscious of our sin.
{^Verses 19 & 20 explain why the Law was given. It is the scales that measure us as "guilty" or "innocent".}
21 But now apart from the law the righteousness of God has been made known, to which the Law and the Prophets testify.
22 This righteousness is given through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference between Jew and Gentile, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, 24 and all are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.
{^If the law expired at the cross with Christ it means *no one* has been guilty of sin for the past 2000 years. Neither believer, nor nonbeliever. This view is incorrect.}
25 God presented Christ as a sacrifice of atonement, through the shedding of his blood—to be received by faith. He did this to demonstrate his righteousness, because in his forbearance he had left the sins committed beforehand unpunished—
26 he did it to demonstrate his righteousness at the present time, so as to be just and the one who justifies those who have faith in Jesus.
27 Where, then, is boasting? It is excluded. Because of what law? The law that requires works? No, because of the law that requires faith.
28 For we maintain that a person is justified by faith apart from the works of the law. 29 Or is God the God of Jews only? Is he not the God of Gentiles too? Yes, of Gentiles too, 30 since there is only one God, who will justify the circumcised by faith and the uncircumcised through that same faith.
31 Do we, then, nullify the law by this faith? Not at all! Rather, we uphold the law.
We can not nullify the law with our faith, which is exactly what saying "the law is expired because of Christ" does. No we uphold the law by faith in Christ. Here's how:
God's Law - Shows the ENTIRE WORLD that God is Holy, Just, and Righteous in his judgment of the entire world as to whether they're sinners or not; again, as "guilty" OR "innocent" in God's eyes. The Scales of Justice.
God's Grace - Shows the ENTIRE WORLD that God is ALSO Justifier of those who have faith in Christ, by freeing them from the law's judgment; weighing them on those scales of justice as "innocent". The scales don't expire with faith in Christ.
God's Law (given through Moses) - Shows the ENTIRE WORLD that God is King and Judge.
God's Grace (given through Christ) - Shows the ENTIRE WORLD that God is Savior of those who believe. Saved from what? Judgment for sin.
If the law expired there is no need for a savior because there is no longer crime for God to judge. This is why The Law leads us TO Christ. There is no reason for people to come "to Christ" for salvation if the law expired. Whether in stone form (shadow) or spirit form (reality), God's law explains to us why we are wrong; how we are sinners.