First of all, let us try to better understand what is meant when we hear the word ‘faith’, and what is meant when we hear the word ‘works’.
“You say you have faith, for you believe that there is one God. Good for you! Even the demons believe this, and they tremble in terror.”
James 2:19 NLT
This Scripture shows that there are times where the word ‘faith’ is used to describe acceptance of historical facts about God, but do not produce results which generally follow true ‘faith’ which is a gift of God to those who would…
“…believe to the saving of the soul.”
Hebrews 10:39 NKJV
“They replied, “Believe in the Lord Jesus and you will be saved…””
Acts of the Apostles 16:31 NLT
Demons believe the historical facts about God and Jesus Christ and tremble in terror. Just like with most other things, devil has come up with a counterfeit faith. He has done that to lead astray many who would otherwise come to God, believing, and be Saved through Jesus.
True faith will not only accept Biblical historical record of God and Jesus Christ, such as the ungodly persons and the devil accept, but the true faith will accept and believe also the effects of God’s self revelation in dealing with human beings in history. Those who believe God, will know that we have grace, and righteousness, and forgiveness of sins through Christ.
He who so believes knows that he has a Father who is gracious to him through Christ, which means he knows God. He knows also that God cares for him, and so he calls upon God. In another word he is not without God, as the heathen are. Devils and the ungodly are not able to believe in forgiveness of sins. That is why they treat God as an enemy. They do not call upon Him, and expect no good from Him. True Biblical faith will have confidence and certainty which will bring comfort and ease the pains of the guilty conscience when forgiven, and will soothe the terrified mind which suffered so from past sins before they are freely forgiven. That act of forgiveness brings home the blessed assurance to one who believes.
“Therefore, since we have been made right in God’s sight by faith, we have peace with God because of what Jesus Christ our Lord has done for us. Because of our faith, Christ has brought us into this place of undeserved privilege where we now stand, and we confidently and joyfully look forward to sharing God’s glory.”
Romans 5:1-2 NLT
True faith will believe that we are received into God’s favour for Christ’s sake, because He is the only Mediator who can reconcile us to God.
“There is one God and one Mediator who can reconcile God and humanity—the man Christ Jesus. He gave his life to purchase freedom for everyone.”
1 Timothy 2:5-6 NLT
By that same faith in the merits of Jesus we receive the forgiveness of sins, and grace, and righteousness, and justification. Therefore, if one thinks that a merit of any other kind could secure him the Grace of God, he despises the merit and Grace of Christ, and seeks a way to God without Christ – which means – by human effort.
Jesus said:
“I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father except through me.”
John 14:6 NLT
Salvation by faith is clearly taught in Scriptures, and is beyond contention.
“God saved you by his grace when you believed. And you can’t take credit for this; it is a gift from God. Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it.”
Ephesians 2:8-9 NLT
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And what do we mean when we say ‘good works’?
Bible teaches that it is necessary to do good works and to obey God, not that we should trust to merit grace by them, but because it is the will of God. It is only by faith that forgiveness of sins is received. Forgiveness is received freely by the grace of God made possible by the precious blood of Jesus. It is through faith that the Holy Spirit is received, by whose ministration our hearts are renewed and endowed with new affections, so as to be able to bring forth good works. Men’s powers without the Holy Spirit are full of ungodly affections, and are too weak to do works and obedience which are acceptable to God. Besides, our human natures are highjacked by the power of the devil who impels men to sin, and to ungodly thoughts, and to brazen disobedience. Such is the feebleness of man when he is without faith and without the Holy Spirit – so he governs himself by human effort.
But God’s provisions through the New Covenant changed that. The human-effort obedience in the Old Covenant, was good enough for the time then present, because God winked at our human weekness, and was counting genuine effort as sufficient.
But now, as the New Covenant has arrived, the Old Covenant’s systems are no longer sufficient. The letter-of-the-law human-effort type of Old Covenant obedience is now obsolete. The New Covenant brings ample provisions through faith and Spirit and blood and merits of Jesus, that only the perfect righteousness, only the perfect obedience is accepted. That is what those dozen or so Scriptures are saying. They are saying that the way how we kept the Commandments before Christ is now over.
All human efforts to produce righteousness by what we can do – is doomed to failure.
“We are all infected and impure with sin. When we display our righteous deeds, they are nothing but filthy rags. Like autumn leaves, we wither and fall, and our sins sweep us away like the wind.”
Isaiah 64:6 NLT
Human effort is now replaced by the Spirit effort.
Bible clearly teaches that there are good works which are particularly pleasing to God.
“For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago.”
Ephesians 2:10 NLT
“In the same way, let your good deeds shine out for all to see, so that everyone will praise your heavenly Father.”
Matthew 5:16 NLT
“He gave his life to free us from every kind of sin, to cleanse us, and to make us his very own people, totally committed to doing good deeds.”
Titus 2:14 NLT
“Be careful to live properly among your unbelieving neighbors. Then even if they accuse you of doing wrong, they will see your honorable behavior, and they will give honor to God when he judges the world.”
1 Peter 2:12 NLT
Here in Matthew 25 Jesus illustrates how the good works fit into the big picture of Salvation:
““But when the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit upon his glorious throne. All the nations will be gathered in his presence, and he will separate the people as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. He will place the sheep at his right hand and the goats at his left. “Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the Kingdom prepared for you from the creation of the world. For I was hungry, and you fed me. I was thirsty, and you gave me a drink. I was a stranger, and you invited me into your home. I was naked, and you gave me clothing. I was sick, and you cared for me. I was in prison, and you visited me.’ “Then these righteous ones will reply, ‘Lord, when did we ever see you hungry and feed you? Or thirsty and give you something to drink? Or a stranger and show you hospitality? Or naked and give you clothing? When did we ever see you sick or in prison and visit you?’ “And the King will say, ‘I tell you the truth, when you did it to one of the least of these my brothers and sisters, you were doing it to me!’ “Then the King will turn to those on the left and say, ‘Away with you, you cursed ones, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his demons. For I was hungry, and you didn’t feed me. I was thirsty, and you didn’t give me a drink. I was a stranger, and you didn’t invite me into your home. I was naked, and you didn’t give me clothing. I was sick and in prison, and you didn’t visit me.’ “Then they will reply, ‘Lord, when did we ever see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and not help you?’ “And he will answer, ‘I tell you the truth, when you refused to help the least of these my brothers and sisters, you were refusing to help me.’”
Matthew 25:31-45 NLT
This parable also indicates just how important these kind of works are in God’s reckoning, when Saving some and rejecting others.
It may be helpful to see that the righteous were totally oblivious to the fact that they did anything praiseworthy or deserving of the reward which the King granted them. This is an indication that the righteous live their lives righteously because it is for them natural to do so. They live their lives in harmony with what they now are. God made them His children and gave them His righteousness. That is why they live righteously. It is the love and gratitude to God that motivates them to live honourably for God and for Jesus Christ who made all this possible.
The parable of Vine and branches tells the same story:
““I am the true grapevine, and my Father is the gardener. He cuts off every branch of mine that doesn’t produce fruit, and he prunes the branches that do bear fruit so they will produce even more. You have already been pruned and purified by the message I have given you. Remain in me, and I will remain in you. For a branch cannot produce fruit if it is severed from the vine, and you cannot be fruitful unless you remain in me. “Yes, I am the vine; you are the branches. Those who remain in me, and I in them, will produce much fruit. For apart from me you can do nothing. Anyone who does not remain in me is thrown away like a useless branch and withers. Such branches are gathered into a pile to be burned. But if you remain in me and my words remain in you, you may ask for anything you want, and it will be granted! When you produce much fruit, you are my true disciples. This brings great glory to my Father.”
John 15:1-8 NLT
“When you produce much fruit, you are my true disciples. This brings great glory to my Father.”
Good works are very pleasing to God. Fruit bearing is expected. Fruitless branches are useless branches. It is helpful to notice that the fruit bearing is a natural outcome of believer’s union with Jesus.
“Remain in me, and I will remain in you. For a branch cannot produce fruit if it is severed from the vine, and you cannot be fruitful unless you remain in me. “Yes, I am the vine; you are the branches. Those who remain in me, and I in them, will produce much fruit. For apart from me you can do nothing.”
If there are no good deeds, if there are no fruit, such branches are useless. They are destined for the fires of extinction.
“Anyone who does not remain in me is thrown away like a useless branch and withers. Such branches are gathered into a pile to be burned.”
There is no merit in good works. They cannot make us right with God; they cannot make us pure and holy, and they cannot free us from sin. There is nothing in good works of which we can boast. All the merit and praise for the presence of good works goes to Jesus and to God the Father. It is a powerful testimony to the unbelieving world, and also to demons and angels alike of what God has done for us in Jesus Christ.
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And what of obedience? Obedience is a big part of our life with God. A big part of righteousness.
In the Garden of Eden, our loyalty to God was tested by obedience to the One Commandment. We failed that test in a big way.
Abraham’s faith in God was tested by obedience.
“Then the angel of the Lord called again to Abraham from heaven. “This is what the Lord says: Because you have obeyed me and have not withheld even your son, your only son, I swear by my own name that I will certainly bless you. I will multiply your descendants beyond number, like the stars in the sky and the sand on the seashore. Your descendants will conquer the cities of their enemies. And through your descendants all the nations of the earth will be blessed—all because you have obeyed me.””
Genesis 22:15-18 NLT
Israel at the time of Moses were offered huge privileges on the condition of obedience to God. Obedience to the Ten Commandments.
“He proclaimed his covenant—the Ten Commandments—which he commanded you to keep, and which he wrote on two stone tablets.”
Deuteronomy 4:13 NLT
“‘You have seen what I did to the Egyptians. You know how I carried you on eagles’ wings and brought you to myself. Now if you will obey me and keep my covenant, you will be my own special treasure from among all the peoples on earth; for all the earth belongs to me.”
Exodus 19:4-5 NLT
Throughout Israel’s history God offered His Covenantal loyalty and blessings and protection, on the basis of obedience.
“This is what I told them: ‘Obey me, and I will be your God, and you will be my people. Do everything as I say, and all will be well!’ “But my people would not listen to me. They kept doing whatever they wanted, following the stubborn desires of their evil hearts. They went backward instead of forward.”
Jeremiah 7:23-24 NLT
There was joy and celebration in heaven when Jesus came here. Angels saw what we couldn’t. They knew what we didn’t.
“Though he was God, he did not think of equality with God as something to cling to. Instead, he gave up his divine privileges; he took the humble position of a slave and was born as a human being. When he appeared in human form, he humbled himself in obedience to God and died a criminal’s death on a cross.”
Philippians 2:6-8 NLT
Jesus’ Messianic mission was successfully carried out in obedience to God.
“Because one person disobeyed God, many became sinners. But because one other person obeyed God, many will be made righteous.”
Romans 5:19 NLT
There is a strong relationship between obedience and righteousness. This Scripture says that by His obedience, Jesus made many righteous. That is the New Covenant righteousness which God freely gives to all who believe in Jesus. It is Christ’s righteousness. It is perfect righteousness. Therefore I conclude, that Christ’s righteousness and obedience are inseparable.
Obedience in the Christian era is just as necessary as it was before the cross. Jesus, a man here among men, learned obedience. He now gives Salvation to those who obey Him.
“Even though Jesus was God’s Son, he learned obedience from the things he suffered. In this way, God qualified him as a perfect High Priest, and he became the source of eternal salvation for all those who obey him.”
Hebrews 5:8-9 NLT
So what I am saying here is that the condition for receiving Salvation has been updated when the blood of Jesus was offered. Now not just righteousness and obedience are needed, but only the Perfect Righteousness, the Perfect Obedience are acceptable by God. That Perfect Righteousness is available as a free gift through faith in Jesus. It is Christ’s righteousness and is given to all who believe. That was God’s pledge through the New Covenant which was put in place when the life of Jesus was offered on Calvary. It is God’s pledge in form of Everlasting Covenant – that He will Save all who desire to be Saved. By God’s own design, this righteousness is written on our hearts. Christ’s righteousness in the heart – shapes the life. Our lives are now modelled on the life of Jesus. God counts us righteous for Christ’s sake. God chose his people in advance to be Christlike (Romans 8:29). If we allow God’s Spirit to make us Christlike, He will. We will live and work and obey as Jesus did.
“For God called you to do good, even if it means suffering, just as Christ suffered for you. He is your example, and you must follow in his steps. He never sinned, nor ever deceived anyone. He did not retaliate when he was insulted, nor threaten revenge when he suffered. He left his case in the hands of God, who always judges fairly. He personally carried our sins in his body on the cross so that we can be dead to sin and live for what is right. By his wounds you are healed.”
1 Peter 2:21-24 NLT
““I tell you the truth, anyone who believes in me will do the same works I have done, and even greater works, because I am going to be with the Father.”
John 14:12 NLT
There is an important message for us in these last two Scriptures. 1.“Jesus is your example, and you must follow in his steps.“ and 2. “Anyone who believes in me will do the same works I have done, and even greater works”. You have probably heard the argument: “Jesus did everything for us so we don’t need to worry about anything. Only believe”. But the message in these Scriptures is: “Jesus is your example, and you must follow in his steps.“ “Anyone who believes in me will do the same works I have done, and even greater works”. Yes. Obedience and good works are God’s will that we should do them.
It may be a surprise to many to hear that the condition for receiving Salvation in the Old Covenant was and is exactly the same as it is in the New Covenant. Namely – the Perfect Righteousness. Perfect Obedience. It may be forgivable for one to exclaim: Oh dear. That means, no one from the Old Covenant will be Saved! But no. Don’t think that way. Our Gracious God is just and fair. Look at what He has done:
“For God presented Jesus as the sacrifice for sin. People are made right with God when they believe that Jesus sacrificed his life, shedding his blood. This sacrifice shows that God was being fair when he held back and did not punish those who sinned in times past, for he was looking ahead and including them in what he would do in this present time. God did this to demonstrate his righteousness, for he himself is fair and just, and he makes sinners right in his sight when they believe in Jesus.”
Romans 3:25-26 NLT
This means that Christ’s righteousness is applied also to those whom God counted as righteous in the Old Testament times.
“for he was looking ahead and including them in what he would do in this present time.”
Their circumstances are not much different than ours. We are faraway removed from the time when Jesus paid that ultimate price for our Redemption, just like the Old Testament people were. But we have two significant advantages over them. We have a rich source of information in the Gospels on the life and mission of Jesus – which they did not have, and secondly, we have a privilege of actually living a life which is covered by that Perfect Righteousness of Jesus. Actually experiencing the pleading and wooing and promptings of the Spirit in His efforts to make us Christlike. That inner Righteousness now shapes our lives, our desires, our longings, and in amazement we welcome the changes which the Old Testament God’s children couldn’t.
To obey God now is not hard. It is what we ourselves desire. The power of sin over us is broken (Romans 8:3). The Holy Spirit is with us and is giving us will and power to obey God. To please Him (Philippians 2:13). God has made powerful provisions to help move that inner righteousness into corresponding works and obedience. Are we going to live like Jesus did? This is a serious question. Some people do, and some don’t.
There is a powerful parable Jesus told us which wonderfully illustrates these vital issues and choices we need to make as we travel on this salvation journey. God said: “Everything is now ready. Come to the feast”.
““The Kingdom of Heaven can be illustrated by the story of a king who prepared a great wedding feast for his son. When the banquet was ready, he sent his servants to notify those who were invited. But they all refused to come! “So he sent other servants to tell them, ‘The feast has been prepared. The bulls and fattened cattle have been killed, and everything is ready. Come to the banquet!’ But the guests he had invited ignored them and went their own way, one to his farm, another to his business. Others seized his messengers and insulted them and killed them. “The king was furious… And he said to his servants, ‘The wedding feast is ready, and the guests I invited aren’t worthy of the honor. Now go out to the street corners and invite everyone you see.’ So the servants brought in everyone they could find, good and bad alike, and the banquet hall was filled with guests. “But when the king came in to meet the guests, he noticed a man who wasn’t wearing the proper clothes for a wedding. ‘Friend,’ he asked, ‘how is it that you are here without wedding clothes?’ But the man had no reply. Then the king said to his aides, ‘Bind his hands and feet and throw him into the outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’ “For many are called, but few are chosen.””
Matthew 22:2-14 NLT
This is a powerful Salvation parable. Coming to the feast is a great honour and privilege. And I think – everyone is invited. There is no compulsion. We are simply called to come. This is King’s generosity. The wedding feast and the wedding garments are freely provided by the King. That wedding garment is something very precious. This is traditionally understood to represent the garment of Christ’s righteousness. The story implies that everyone is expected to wear the wedding garment. After all, we know the extraordinary price to Jesus and to whole heaven – to make that garment freely available for everyone. We can understand from this story that wearing the wedding garment is not optional. Wearing Christ’s righteousness and its related obedience is not optional if we desire Salvation. The whole feast and the wedding garments are free gifts prepared by the generosity of the King to make us worthy of the priceless privileges He anticipates to bestow.
Christs righteousness and its corresponding obedience are bundled together in one gift, and when received – will shape the life of the recipient in the image of Jesus whose righteousness it is. That is, if we let it. If we work with the Spirit to make it happen. The parable above shows that many will reject the Salvation offered. Will regard the wedding garment as something common, or unholy, with not much value in it. The business, the farm, the worldly possessions, the worldly way of life would be regarded as of more value than the honour of the King and Christ’s righteousness. Some will accept this righteousness, but will superimpose their own way over it. They may say: Yes. I want to be saved, but I don’t want to be too holy or too righteous. I don’t want to stand out from the crowd. I want to be like the rest of ‘normal’ people. I don’t want to obey God, because in the church they teach us that Jesus obeyed for me, so I don’t need to worry about it.
How sad! The Scriptures are clear on the terms of Salvation. This obedience, and any obedience is indeed the gift through Christ, but it will be seen in our life. The garment of Christ righteousness is worn on our bodies for all to see. And be mindful. It is not a covering which covers an unclean life of sinful pleasures and a rebellious habits, but it transforms its wearer according to the pattern of that righteousness. That transformation is God’s work, but is not forced on us. Unless we welcome it and wear it openly with care and gratitude – the benefits intended by it would be squandered and lost.
“When you obey my commandments, you remain in my love, just as I obey my Father’s commandments and remain in his love.”
John 15:10 NLT
“And we can be sure that we know him if we obey his commandments. If someone claims, “I know God,” but doesn’t obey God’s commandments, that person is a liar and is not living in the truth. But those who obey God’s word truly show how completely they love him. That is how we know we are living in him. Those who say they live in God should live their lives as Jesus did.”
1 John 2:3-6 NLT
We have seen how, when Jesus came, the whole of the Jewish ceremonial system has met its substance in Him. There is no longer need to offer animal sacrifices, because…
“…Christ, our Passover Lamb, has been sacrificed for us.”
1 Corinthians 5:7 NLT
Those huge changes which Jesus accomplished by His anguish – proclaim that a new era has dawned upon the world. It is the era of the New Covenant. On the last night before His crucifixion, Jesus inaugurated the New Covenant.
“In the same way, he took the cup of wine after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant between God and his people—an agreement confirmed with my blood. Do this in remembrance of me as often as you drink it.””
1 Corinthians 11:25 NLT
Many will be surprised to learn that the law of God is the major component of the New Covenant and is accompanied with the forgiveness of our sins. And remember: this is for the Christian dispensation – and it has been inaugurated by Jesus Christ Himself on the eve of His self-sacrifice on Calvary.
““This is the new covenant I will make with my people on that day, says the Lord: I will put my laws in their hearts, and I will write them on their minds.” Then he says, “I will never again remember their sins and lawless deeds.””
Hebrews 10:16-17 NLT
Amazing, isn’t it. Many would wish to hide this from the people, but no. This is too big to be hidden. Instead of the law being abrogated, annulled, nailed to the cross – the law has just moved from its written form on the tablets of stone, to its living form on the human hearts and minds. This is not the end of the law as many Christians have been led to believe, but rather, a new beginning for the law, as the law is meant to be. Incorporated into the human nature of all who believe in Jesus. The law is God’s righteousness, and is given to believers as a free gift.
“This righteousness is given through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference between Jew and Gentile,”
Romans 3:22 NIV
By the will of God the Father, His law is now absorbed into the believer’s heart and mind, thus creating a new man.
“This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun!”
2 Corinthians 5:17 NLT
God has waited all the way from the fall of Adam and Eve to do this, to implement these colossal changes. But had to wait for the blood of Jesus to be actually offered. And now that it is done, the law of God occupies the centre-stage. Law and Gospel go hand in hand. Faith and works are inseparable. No good works or obedience can be rendered without faith in Jesus and His Spirit. No faith is genuine unless it is accompanied by good works. “Faith without works is dead.” “Faith works by love and purifies the soul“. Without the branch being ingrafted by a living union with the Vine – there are no fruit for God’s glory. God’s children, both in the Old Testament and in the New – are called ‘the righteous’. The only righteousness which can make a person righteous is God’s righteousness, Christ’s Righteousness – received as a gift by all who believe in Jesus. When Paul discovered this breathtaking truth, in just a few simple words he immortalised this Amazing Grace:
“Yes, everything else is worthless when compared with the infinite value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have discarded everything else, counting it all as garbage, so that I could gain Christ and become one with him. I no longer count on my own righteousness through obeying the law; rather, I become righteous through faith in Christ. For God’s way of making us right with himself depends on faith.”
Philippians 3:8-9 NLT
From Paul’s reaction to this amazing discovery, we see that this “righteousness by faith in Christ” is not some philosophical righteousness, not some legal transaction performed in the faraway heavenly halls of justice. Oh no. This is not some distant forensic experiment – but a real ‘flesh and bone’ righteousness. This is the righteous life of the sinless, spotless Lamb of God. It is the pure life of Jesus which He lived here among men in the body like we sinners have. It is the righteousness pledged by God in the New Covenant promises. It is written on the hearts and minds of all who believe in Jesus. It is very much the ‘here and now’ experience which was so tangible in the mind of Paul, that he went even as far as to renounce all his ‘formidable’ law-keeping gains of his former life, “my righteousness” he called it, “counting it all as garbage”, “so that I could gain Christ and become one with him”.
Yes. Christ’s Righteousness is a very real thing. It is administered by God Himself when we believe, “For God’s way of making us right with himself depends on faith.” God knows that what is in the heart will shape the life. The value and virtues of that perfect righteousness will be seen in our lives, and will all be to the glory of God.
“For God called you to do good, even if it means suffering, just as Christ suffered for you. He is your example, and you must follow in his steps. He never sinned, nor ever deceived anyone. He did not retaliate when he was insulted, nor threaten revenge when he suffered. He left his case in the hands of God, who always judges fairly. He personally carried our sins in his body on the cross so that we can be dead to sin and live for what is right. By his wounds you are healed.”
1 Peter 2:21-24 NLT
Now we follow the voice of the Spirit and this inner righteousness. But beware. Don’t pick and choose – or we end up again with our own human version of righteousness – which is condemned. Which is worthless.
At the time of Jesus, Jewish perversion of law-keeping produced a hypocritical righteousness which was used for show. To impress others by that self righteousness. But John the Baptist sharply condemned it.
“When the crowds came to John for baptism, he said, “You brood of snakes! Who warned you to flee the coming wrath? Prove by the way you live that you have repented of your sins and turned to God. Don’t just say to each other, ‘We’re safe, for we are descendants of Abraham.’ That means nothing, for I tell you, God can create children of Abraham from these very stones. Even now the ax of God’s judgment is poised, ready to sever the roots of the trees. Yes, every tree that does not produce good fruit will be chopped down and thrown into the fire.””
Luke 3:7-9 NLT
Jesus Himself condemned it.
““But I warn you—unless your righteousness is better than the righteousness of the teachers of religious law and the Pharisees, you will never enter the Kingdom of Heaven!”
Matthew 5:20 NLT
Paul explains:
“Dear brothers and sisters, the longing of my heart and my prayer to God is for the people of Israel to be saved. I know what enthusiasm they have for God, but it is misdirected zeal. For they don’t understand God’s way of making people right with himself. Refusing to accept God’s way, they cling to their own way of getting right with God by trying to keep the law.”
Romans 10:1-3 NLT
John the Baptist, Jesus Christ, and Paul, all expressed their messages clearly. There is nothing wrong with the law of God. It was people’s way of trying to keep the law by human strength that was the issue. Paul said:
“But still, the law itself is holy, and its commands are holy and right and good.”
Romans 7:12 NLT
It is the human effort to create our own righteousness which is condemned. If we find in the Scriptures anything that looks like a commandment that we should keep, that looks like a Bible rule by which we should live – and if we say to ourselves: Yes. This is a holy principle by which I must live; and if we then go and apply our will and effort on it so it may become a righteous principle by which we will always live – we will be disappointed. This will never work. If we see the letters, and apply effort – there is no way to avoid it become ‘human righteousness’. Worthless and empty. But even worse – deceptive! It will lead us to believe that we have taken the right action to turn it into righteousness. How sad. Those dozen or so Scriptures by Paul which I mentioned earlier, are all saying that human-effort of law keeping is over. That it cannot be done. With the coming of Christ, and the arrival of the New Covenant, now Christ’s righteousness is in our hearts and minds, and by the power of the Holy Spirit – we obey as Jesus obeyed. We live to the glory of God as Jesus lived. Jesus said:
“The Spirit alone gives eternal life. Human effort accomplishes nothing. And the very words I have spoken to you are spirit and life.”
John 6:63 NLT
The letter of the law, and other Salvation information in the Scriptures are not there to force our will and effort to obey them – to become righteous. No. The purpose of the law is to show us how sinful we are.
“For no one can ever be made right with God by doing what the law commands. The law simply shows us how sinful we are.”
Romans 3:20 NLT
Righteousness however, is a gift of God in Christ, received by faith.
“So we are made right with God through faith and not by obeying the law.”
Romans 3:28 NLT
Another benefit of the letter of the law is, that it tells us what is the truth. That information will be stored within us by God. If some time a bad spirit comes masquerading as a good Spirit, and tries to lead us to do something, then God will use this latent Salvation information He stored within us – He will use it as a ‘truth testing’ device, as a truth ‘template’, which will readily reveal the bad spirit for the fraud he is, and we will with certainty and ease reject his suggestions as coming from the wicked one.
“Jesus said to the people who believed in him, “You are truly my disciples if you remain faithful to my teachings. And you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.””
John 8:31-32 NLT
So what I am saying is that the process of Salvation has changed when the blood of Jesus was offered. Now only the perfect righteousness is acceptable by God. That perfect righteousness is available as a free gift. It is Christ’s righteousness and is given to all who believe. That was God’s pledge through the New Covenant which is now in place. By God’s own design, this righteousness is written on our hearts. Christ’s righteousness in the heart shapes the life. Our lives are now modelled on the life of Jesus. God counts us righteous for Christ’s sake. If we allow God’s Spirit to make us Christlike, He will.
There are about a dozen Scriptures in the New Testament which in some way they all are saying that the law keeping as it was commonly done – is worthless, pointless, and empty. That kind of law-keeping focused on an outward appearance of righteousness, without embracing the Spirit of the law, its love, justice, and mercy, and the ennobling, elevating character of the law. That perverted law-keeping led even many Christians to minimise the claims of the law of God, bringing it down to human level, thus loosing all concept of its real purpose and holy endowments. Those dozen or so Scriptures are saying that such kind of law keeping is worthless and must stop.
It is clear that such way of pretended righteousness came from the arch-deceiver himself. He is at war with God and all things good. That is his mode of operation. If he can’t win his battles outright, he deceives, disrupts, and destroys – corrupting God’s purposes in any ways he can.
We hear sometime from the uninformed Christians that the law of God has been discontinued. But even our meagre human intelligence will tell us that if the law of God could have been removed, then Jesus need not have died. “The wages of sin is death”. The law demanded the death of those who broke its “righteous requirements’. Jesus volunteered to die for repentant sinners so they could be set free from that condemnation. Thank You dear Jesus. But if the law could have been removed, canceled, or changed – then it would have been easy to just wipe the slate clean and all is good again.
I wish to quote here a few sample texts from Biblical records of what has actually been accomplished when Jesus came:
“For God was in Christ, reconciling the world to himself, no longer counting people’s sins against them….”
2 Corinthians 5:19 NLT
“The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, “Look! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!”
John 1:29 NLT
“He is so rich in kindness and grace that he purchased our freedom with the blood of his Son and forgave our sins.”
Ephesians 1:7 NLT
“and all are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.”
Romans 3:24 NIV
“For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord.”
Romans 6:23 NLT
““For this is how God loved the world: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life.”
John 3:16 NLT
“This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun!”
2 Corinthians 5:17 NLT
“Therefore, since we have been made right in God’s sight by faith, we have peace with God because of what Jesus Christ our Lord has done for us. Because of our faith, Christ has brought us into this place of undeserved privilege where we now stand, and we confidently and joyfully look forward to sharing God’s glory.”
Romans 5:1-2 NLT
“God has united you with Christ Jesus. For our benefit God made him to be wisdom itself. Christ made us right with God; he made us pure and holy, and he freed us from sin.”
1 Corinthians 1:30 NLT
This is oh so amazing! Only a small sample, but all of it freely available to everyone who believes in Jesus.
Oh, how marvellous! Oh, how wonderful! We are Saved by the Amazing grace of God!
Thank You precious Father!
Thank You dearest Jesus!