Love - it's in the Law

One thing I DON'T want you to take away from this series is that the law is bad and we can just forget about it because we have Jesus now. That's NOT true.

"All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful to teach us what is true and to make us realize what is wrong in our lives. It corrects us when we are wrong and teaches us to do what is right. God uses it to prepare and equip his people to do every good work." - 2 Timothy 3:16-17

The law itself is full of God's love. Just like the example of the parent and teen from a few weeks ago, the parent puts curfews and rules in place out of love for their child, not simply to be mean and make life hard. In a similar way, God gave His law to His people out of a deep love for them.

"So I discovered that the law's commands, which were supposed to bring life, brought spiritual death instead. Sin took advantage of those commands and deceived me; it used the commands to kill me. But still, the law itself is holy, and its commands are holy and right and good." - Romans 7:10-12

Really all of Romans 7 breaks down this whole concept in a really beautiful way, so I encourage you to go read the rest of the chapter.

We see here that the law is good and holy. It's only because of sin that it was distorted and used to bring death. Because of sin, we could never hope to keep the law, designed for our good, condemning us to death. That is, until Jesus came and fulfilled the law on our behalf.
 
Exodus and Deuteronomy also show us that the law was given so we might live and be prosperous. God’s deep love compelled him to give us the law to save us from ourselves. Then sin twisted it and used it against us to create these sinful desires in us to break the law, thus we needed set free from the impossible burden of the law, so God sent Jesus.

"But I lavish unfailing love for a thousand generations on those who love me and obey my commands." - Exodus 20:6

“You can make this choice by loving the Lord your God, obeying Him, and committing yourself firmly to Him. This is the key to your life. And if you love and obey the Lord, you will live long in the land the Lord swore to your ancestors Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.” - Deuteronomy 30:20

But how could we understand and appreciate the depth of Jesus’ sacrifice without first realizing how wholly incapable we are of upholding the law of God? If we think we have any chance of fulfilling all the law of God on our own, then Christ’s sacrifice is worthless. Its value lies in our recognition of our own depravity. That’s the point where we find ourselves undone at the feet of Jesus with nothing else but worship and gratitude for His astounding love for us.

Jesus confirms that the law was given out of love and the entire law is based on love...

"You must love the Lord your god with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment. a second is equally important: Love your neighbor as yourself. The entire law and all the demands of the prophets are based on these two commandments." - Matthew 22:37-40

Therefore, we are not to ignore the Old Testament or think of the law as a bad thing. It was all part of God's intricate plan to restore humanity to himself and just like everything else He does, it is filled with His love.

Today, we can regard the law as holy and good, while rejoicing that Jesus has set us free from its impossible standard so we may live in His grace. And that is why we can live loved!