A Law Worth Keeping

1 Brothers, if anyone is caught in any transgression, you who are spiritual should restore him in a spirit of gentleness. Keep watch on yourself, lest you too be tempted. 2 Bear one another's burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ. 3 For if anyone thinks he is something, when he is nothing, he deceives himself. 4 But let each one test his own work, and then his reason to boast will be in himself alone and not in his neighbor. 5 For each will have to bear his own load.

6 Let the one who is taught the word share all good things with the one who teaches. 7 Do not be deceived: God is not mocked, for whatever one sows, that will he also reap. 8 For the one who sows to his own flesh will from the flesh reap corruption, but the one who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life. 9 And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up. 10 So then, as we have opportunity, let us do good to everyone, and especially to those who are of the household of faith.

11 See with what large letters I am writing to you with my own hand. 12 It is those who want to make a good showing in the flesh who would force you to be circumcised, and only in order that they may not be persecuted for the cross of Christ. 13 For even those who are circumcised do not themselves keep the law, but they desire to have you circumcised that they may boast in your flesh. 14 But far be it from me to boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world. 15 For neither circumcision counts for anything, nor uncircumcision, but a new creation. 16 And as for all who walk by this rule, peace and mercy be upon them, and upon the Israel of God.

17 From now on let no one cause me trouble, for I bear on my body the marks of Jesus.

18 The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit, brothers. Amen. – Galatians 6:1-18 ESV

Our freedom from the law doesn’t give us a license to live according to our own standards. We are not free to live and do as we please. Paul uses this last section of his letter to let his readers know that their behavior needs to change. They were to live differently. But Paul was not suggesting some form of behavior modification brought about by mere human effort. The change he was looking for was to be the result of the Spirit's presence and work in them.

Rather than living selfishly and self-absorbed, they were to love sacrificially and selflessly. They were to care about the sins of one another, not so they could point fingers and make themselves feel better about their own righteousness, but to restore that brother or sister to the body of Christ. Paul told them to "share each other's burdens.” (Galatians 6:2 NLT).  When they did, they would be obeying a different law altogether, the law of Christ. It is a law of love and selfless sacrifice that requires us to put others ahead of ourselves, rather than compete with them to get ahead.

John Piper describes the law of Christ this way: "But when Christ summons us to obey his law of love, he offers us himself to slay the dragon of our pride, change our hearts, empower us by his Spirit, and fulfill his law" (John Piper, https://www.desiringgod.org/messages/the-law-of-christ). The old law could not change our hearts; it could merely alter our behavior, but never perfectly or completely. The law of Christ is driven by love and is focused on changing our hearts and modifying our behavior from the inside out.

Paul tells us, "If you think you are too important to help someone, you are only fooling yourself. You are not that important" (Galatians 6:5 NLT). This had been a theme of Jesus when He walked this earth during the three and a half years of His ministry. He was constantly teaching His disciples that life in His Kingdom was about placing the needs of others ahead of your own. It was about service, not being served. It was putting others first and ourselves last. It was about life within a community, not self-centered individuality.

On one occasion, He told a parable about the coming Kingdom of Heaven, using the illustration of a landowner and the caretakers of his vineyard. When the owner of the vineyard returned and paid his workers for their labor, some were upset that those who had been hired late in the day had been paid the same wages as those who had worked all day. Jesus concluded His parable with the rather cryptic message, “So those who are last now will be first then, and those who are first will be last” (Matthew 20:16 NLT). In His Kingdom, the status quo would be turned on its head. Earthly forms of classification and hierarchy will be done away with. 

While attending a dinner and observing the actions of the guests, Jesus gave the following advice to His disciples, “When you are invited to a wedding feast, don’t sit in the seat of honor” (Luke 14:8 NLT). He had watched as the guests jockeyed for the places of prominence at the gathering, hoping to elevate their standing among their peers. But He told His disciples,  “Instead, take the lowest place at the foot of the table. Then when your host sees you, he will come and say, ‘Friend, we have a better place for you!’ Then you will be honored in front of all the other guests” (Luke 14:10 NLT).

But His message wasn’t really about wedding feasts and displays of pride and hubris. He was giving His disciples a lesson about life in the Kingdom of God. That’s why He went on to say, “For those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted” (Luke 14:11 NLT). 

While Paul had not been a disciple of Jesus, he was well-versed in His teachings, and he understood that salvation was far more than an individual event that restored a sinner to a right relationship with God the Father. It was about community and the radical renovation of the hearts and minds of those who belong to the body of Christ. Faith in Christ places believers in the body of Christ and empowers them to live as brothers and sisters in a loving and gracious atmosphere of selfless service. That is why Paul tells the Galatian believers,  "Therefore, whenever we have the opportunity, we should do good to everyone – especially to those in the family of faith" (Galatians 6:10 NLT).

Doing good to others and loving them as we have been loved by God; that is the nature of life within the body of Christ. It is about caring and community. It is about the fruit of the Spirit being produced in our lives for the benefit of others, not ourselves. We are being transformed by Christ so that we might be agents of transformation in the lives of one another. We are to love others as He has loved us, selflessly and sacrificially. We are to be instruments of change in the Redeemer's hands. As He works in us, He uses us to love the lost and lift up our brothers and sisters in Christ.

But the antithesis of the law of Christ is the lure of pride. We are constantly battling our selfish desire to make it all about ourselves. However, Jesus gave us the greatest commandment when He said, "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 NLT).

Love God. Love others. It’s as simple as that. But God knew that this simple request would prove impossible for those who still harbored their old, sinful natures. That is why He provided His Spirit to fill and empower His children to carry out His command. Because of the Spirit’s presence and power, we have the capacity to love God and others. And when we do, we have no reason to brag or boast because our love is a byproduct of the Spirit, not ourselves. It is His love in us flowing through us and influencing those around us.

The apostle John would have us remember that “We love each other because he loved us first” (1 John 4:19 NLT). He made our capacity to love others possible by loving us enough to send His Son to die on our behalf. But John goes on to provide a disclaimer. 

If someone says, “I love God,” but hates a fellow believer, that person is a liar; for if we don’t love people we can see, how can we love God, whom we cannot see? And he has given us this command: Those who love God must also love their fellow believers. – 1 John 4:20-21 NLT

Father, I want to fulfill the law of Christ. I want to love as He loved. I want my life to be marked by selflessness, not selfishness. I want to lift the burdens of others, but sometimes I can become too consumed with my own cares and concerns. Help me to learn to take the focus off of me and place it where it belongs — on others. Help me to understand that your fruit, produced by Your Spirit in my life, is not for me but for others. Give me a growing desire to give my life away — willingly, gladly, and selflessly. Amen.

English Standard Version (ESV) The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Permanent Text Edition® (2016). Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.

New Living Translation (NLT) Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

The Law of Christ.

1 Corinthians 9

When I am with the Gentiles who do not follow the Jewish law, I too live apart from that law so I can bring them to Christ. But I do not ignore the law of God; I obey the law of Christ. – 1 Corinthians 9:21 NLT

Paul continued to address the questions raised in a letter he had previously received from the church in Corinth. In it, they had communicated a number of concerns regarding a variety of topics. In chapter nine, he addressed a question regarding the validity of his apostleship. Evidently, there were those in the Corinthian church who were raising doubts about his apostleship in an attempt to diminish his authority over their lives. Paul didn't spend a lot of time defending his apostleship, but instead used the whole issue as a chance to talk about rights and their relationship with the context of the Body of Christ. Six different times in this section of his letter he brought up the topic of rights. This was in direct response to the claims of the Corinthian believers that they had every "right" to eat meat sacrificed to idols, because the "gods" behind these idols didn't really exist in the first place. Paul has been trying to get them to understand that their rights had to take a back seat to their love for others. And he used his own life and ministry as an example. As an apostle, Paul had the right to expect compensation for his work among them. He had the right to expect the same kind of treatment that they had afforded Peter when he had come to minister among them. He had the right to expect the same kind of support the Corinthians had given to other ministers of the gospel.

But rather than demand his rights, Paul said, "We would rather put up with anything than be an obstacle to the Good News about Christ" (1 Corinthians 9:12 NLT). Paul was not interested in demanding his rights. He was more interested in preaching the Good News. He was compelled to do so. He wasn't in it for the money or the material benefits. "What then is my pay? It is the opportunity to preach the Good News without charging anyone. That's why I never demand my rights when I preach the Good News" (1 Corinthians 9:18 NLT). For Paul, it was not a matter of rights, but responsibilities. He had been given a "sacred trust" by God to preach the gospel and he would not let anything – including his own rights – stand in the way. As a result, Paul took the attitude that he was a slave to all. Yes, he was a free man who had all kinds of rights he could have demanded, but he willingly set aside those rights so that his rights would never stand in the way of leading others to Christ. When he lived among the Jews, he willingly kept their Jewish laws and dietary practices, even though he no longer obligated to do so. When he ministered among Gentiles, like the Corinthians, he set aside those very same Jewish laws because he knew that they would confuse them, causing them to consider the law necessary for salvation. But Paul made it clear that he was not ignoring the law of God. He was simply obeying the law of Christ.

"The Law of Christ is the moral Law as found in the Old Testament, preached by the prophets, and interpreted, lived, and applied by our Lord and His apostles—only now in a new covenant context. The term 'law' here refers to the commandments Jesus and His apostles give us and which constitute a holy life, pleasing to God and beneficial to men and women. The Law of Christ is the standard for the Christian and Christian community, not our feelings or uninformed ideas. It calls us to a righteous and holy life. Holiness has particular reference to our relationship with God and righteousness involves the living out of that relationship with those in the world" (Greg Herrick, Beliefs Leading to Christlikeneess – The Spiritual Life, Bible.org).

In his letter to the believers in Galatia, Paul wrote of the same law of Christ. "Share each other's burdens, and in this way obey the law of Christ. If you think you are too important to help someone, you are only fooling yourself. You are not that important" (Galatians 6:2-3 NLT). In his letter to the Romans, Paul encouraged them with the same idea. "We must not please ourselves. We should help others do what is right and build them up in the Lord. For even Christ didn't live to please himself" (Romans 15:1-3 NLT). Later on, in that same letter, Paul would write, "Love does no wrong to others, so love fulfills the requirements of God's law" (Romans 13:10 NLT). Jesus Himself had said, "There is no greater love than to lay down one’s life for one’s friends" (John 15:13 NLT). Love should be our motivation. Love for God and love for others should be what drives our actions and attitudes. Not rights. Paul was willing to set his freedoms and rights aside for the sake of others. For Paul, the Christian life was not about rights and privileges. It was about discipline and required determination. The Christian life was like a race and he ran it to win. He ran it with purpose in every step. He disciplined his body. He set aside his rights. He gave up certain privileges. All so he could see others come to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ.

Father, I worry way too much about my rights. I spend far too much time worrying about whether my rights have been respected or even violated. But give me the attitude that Paul had. Help me obey the law of Christ. May I learn to make self-sacrifice and selfless service the norm for my life. May I learn to give up my rights for the sake of others. Forgive me for spending so much time trying to please myself instead of serving others. Amen.