He has qualified us [making us sufficient] as ministers of a new covenant [of salvation through Christ], not of the letter [of a written code] but of the Spirit; for the letter [of the Law] kills [by revealing sin and demanding obedience], but the Spirit gives life. — 2 Corinthians 3:6 AMP
The law of God is everything but evil. So, if the law is good, right, and holy, why then did the above scripture say that the letter of the law kills?
The law kills because no one on their own, can truly satisfy the demands of the whole written requirements of the Mosaic law. The law condemns and gives no hope to the condemned. The law basically is a death sentence!
Sometimes we feel righteous, joyful and “on top of the world” when we believe we’re obeying or keeping the law in certain areas. Sometimes, to please and obtain God’s favour, we conceit or pride ourselves on keeping the law. But depending on the works of the law, will place us under the curse of the law if we don’t keep or obey the whole law. “For whoever shall keep the whole law, and yet stumble in one point, he is guilty of all.” James 2:10 (NKJV)
“But those who depend on the law to make them right with God are under his curse, for the Scriptures say, ‘Cursed is everyone who does not observe and obey all the commands that are written in God’s Book of the Law.’ So it is clear that no one can be made right with God by trying to keep the law. For the Scriptures say, ‘It is through faith that a righteous person has life.’ This way of faith is very different from the way of law, which says, ‘It is through obeying the law that a person has life.’ But Christ has rescued us from the curse pronounced by the law. When he was hung on the cross, he took upon himself the curse for our wrongdoing…” Galatians 3:10-13 (NLT)
It is not enough to just keep and adhere to the Ten Commandments. It is not enough to keep the law for a day, or a month, or a year. One must continue to keep it regardless of the circumstances. Obedience to the law must be absolutely complete and perfect.
There are two possible ways of being accepted and declared righteous by God. One is to judiciously keep the whole law religiously, completely, and perfectly. However, those who try to do this will inevitably fail, and will then be subject to the curse of the law. No one except Christ Jesus could ever fully obey and fulfil the requirements of the law.
The other way to be accepted by God is to exercise faith. Those who live outside of the law by believing and placing their faith in Christ are justified because He suffered the curse on their behalf.
Is it all or nothing with the law then? Does it then mean that the law is redundant and irrelevant since all that believers need is faith in Christ? The Apostle Paul will answer these questions in our next blog.
Stay blessed,
LaraLex
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