The Purpose of the Law
Keeping the law sounds admirable. But contrary to what most of us have heard in church for years, attempting to follow the law is not intended to make us closer to God. Rather, its purpose is to show us how far we are away from Him!
The Old vs. The New
The Old Testament (or covenant) told us how to live life focused on God's standards. Then the New Testament came into effect and God's grace and mercy became the target. Assuming that's all true (and it is), why is it so hard to find a substantial difference between what is taught in the Gospels and what is found in the Old Testament? The difference is that God's New Testament with mankind (that's what we would call a "will" today) actually begins in the book of Acts!
It Is Finished
When Christ cried out from the cross "It is finished!" He did not mean that His life was over. He was telling the whole world --both Jews and Gentiles-- that the law was completed; it was fulfilled; and it no longer stood between man and God.
The Solution to Mans Real Problem
Mans' real problem is not his sinfulness and need for forgiveness. Since the time of Adam, man has needed life --spiritual life-- because the punishment for mans' sin in the Garden was spiritual death. When God took away mans' spiritual life, that life was not able to be passed down from one generation to another as physical life is. However, God did provide a permanent solution to the problem of both sin and death.
What Part Should It Play In Our Lives?
After receiving God's gift of eternal life, doesn't the law help us to understand His desires for us? Doesn't it at least show us where to ask God to help us improve? An emphatic "No!" to both of those. According to the Bible --in passage after passage-- it tells us to give up trying to follow the law --and instead to live by faith.
Enter Into God's Sabbath Rest
The true Sabbath is not a day of the week. It's a description of resting from our own efforts of trying to please God. There is only one way to please Him and it's not by performing good deeds or avoiding bad ones. It can only be accomplished by learning to trust and rely upon Him more each day. That is what "resting from our works" means.
Who Teaches that We Should Keep It?
The teachers of the law might have good intentions, but the Bible doesn't have anything good to say about them. A passage in 1 Timothy reveals that those troublesome teachers in Paul's time were motivated by the same things as many teachers today. It's either a lack understanding about what the law was designed for or they desire some kind of personal gain.
In Summary ...
There is nothing more frustrating in a Christian's life than trying to do all the right things to please God and realizing that the life we want to live can't be achieved. While striving to make a good performance, our shortcomings become all the more obvious. The reason is that we have been taught to measure our successes in life using what God designed to show only our failures!
