The law has been described as Gods standard of perfection that needed to be followed to maintain any kind of true relationship with God as in God dwelling with us. However, when we look into and try to follow it we soon begin to realize that we can never meet it’s demands for either relationship with God or our own salvation. Through it we discover instead our own selfishness and our desire to do all the things it forbids us doing. In fact all it really does is help us to realize that none of us can or has met the conditions. In Mathew 10:25-25 The disciples of Jesus rightly asked ” who then can be saved? Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.” So where does that leave us? Grace. Gods undeserved kindness and also his act of kindness which was Christ fulfilling the law on our behalf and taking the punishment’s for everyone who has not been able to fulfill the Law. So God didn’t destroy the law and it still has a use in showing us that we cannot find peace through obeying it and in the end it only brings condemnation because we can’t obey it.
There have been many additions to the law given by other Christians as burdens to carry along with grace as well. Although not in Gods laws these have however been taught over the years that to be a good Christian or find acceptance with God they also need to add these extra things. These could be anything and can be as silly or as irrelevant as can be thought up. One other notable fact is that the law was only ever given to Jews or those who wanted to become one through circumcision. So if you aren’t Jewish then the Laws of mosses didn’t even apply to you. What does apply to us however is our conscience. The bible insists that everyone born on earth has a conscience that teaches right and wrong. An innate understanding, that although mostly ignored at an early age, still reminds us or warns us when we go astray.
The bible says that this conscience will either acquit or condemn us at the time of judgment. I trust their would be few people on the earth that could ever say they have obeyed their consciences in every circumstance so even the Gentiles (non Jews) need gods grace. But the bible says that in many instances when we continually go against our consciences we actually sear it so it will know longer work. In fact for some people the only reason they don’t do some things is the fear of being punished or the pressure of society in general that frowns upon some activities. The bible mentions a few place such as the days of Noah, Tyre and Sidon and Sodom and Gomorrah, where the society itself became so corrupt that there was very little to deter the full expression of a sinful life.
In todays world it’s the church that can bring about a social conscience once again by reminding the world that God will come again when the time for everything comes to an end and judgment begins. Warning them, just as John the Baptists did to the Pharisees. Flee from the coming wrath. The bible even goes as far as to say that some people walk around as objects of gods wrath and have no peace because they know that they are deserving of judgment but refuse to repent. Yet it’s actually the kindness and goodness of God that leads to a changed life not punishment’s. This is where we find the introduction to the Gospel of Christs fulfillment of all the Law as well as the internal judgment we feel from going against our own consciences (for the non Jew). Its where we find peace with god.
John 5:24 Truly, truly, I say to you, the one who hears My word, and believes Him who sent Me, has eternal life, and does not come into judgment, but has passed out of death into life.
When i became a Christian i didn’t know Gods laws as described to the Jews but i did feel the judgment of God on my life for going against my conscience. Mostly i used to find a reason for it to justify why i didn’t need to listen to that voice of wrong or write but when i did what was right i felt better about myself. but as time and circumstances went by and i suffered things in life not knowing why i began to harden my heart and feel as though no one loved me anyway so why did it matter? The reason i excepted Jesus into my life was based on one simple thing. Not of breaking gods laws or my conscience but because someone told me that Jesus loved me. It was that simple and i began feel this love, sometimes demonstrated very poorly through other Christians but expressed by God to me personally. As time went by and i fell away more than once but God stayed with me and taught me and began to restore to me a good conscience but this time with his help and gradually i was more able to obey it and so my life became better. However i know that it’s not my conscience that saves me but It did improve the life i was experiencing. But i still needed gods grace and Jesus payment of my sins through the cross to save me and to be able to pass from judgment into life instead of waiting for a day of judgment. A surprising thing apart from conscience is the apostle Paul writes that through what was created, the world, us etc we also lack an excuse for believing in their being a God or from learning about God because creation itself tells this story. I wonder if you woke up one morning and asked the question, why am i here? it’s not something that animals would probably ever question. Something inside tells us that there is something wrong with the order of things as though it was created by a Devine being but at present he isn’t here and we begin searching for him. We also see the effects on the world in his absence and how human beings treat each other.
So to sum it up: there is a need and a place for Gods laws and there is a need and a place for the Church to speak out about what’s wrong and what’s right and there is the knowledge that creation speaks of to point in the direction as well as our consciences and all of these are useful to point to the God of creation. In fact the bible says that man has no excuse to not acknowledge him. But these are only useful to bring a person to the place where they realize that they cant make it by their own efforts and to show that there is a problem. for more on this subject please read the book of Romans.
Remember that in the end it is by grace you have been saved through faith, and this not from yourselves; it is the gift of God. Ephesians 2:8 and Galatians 2:21
[21]I do not set aside the grace of God, for if righteousness could be gained through the law, Christ died for nothing!”
Galatians 5:4[4]You who are trying to be justified by the law have been alienated from Christ; you have fallen away from grace.