WHAT ARE YOU THINKING?
Written By Ruthven Roy on January 16th, 2011 
To the law and to the testimony: if they speak not according to this word, it is because there is no light in them – Isaiah 8:20
There are many who believe that since the coming and crucifixion of Christ the Law of God is no longer applicable to Christians. Calvary changed everything, they say, and believers are no longer under law, but under grace. Some things did change, but THE CONTENT OF LAW OF GOD WAS NOT AMONG THEM, as many are tempted to believe. However, the LAW’S FUNCTION AS A SCHOOL MASTER (REALLY, CHILD LEADER) TO BRING US TO CHRIST WAS CHANGED. Nevertheless, this change had absolutely NOTHING TO DO WITH WHAT THE LAW SAYS, BUT SIMPLY WHAT THE LAW WAS DESIGNED TO DO BEFORE THE CROSS. Because of Calvary, we have a NEW COVENANT OF GRACE, WHICH MOVED THE LAW (NOT ITS CONTENTS) FROM THE TABLES OF STONE (and by extension parchment, paper, wood or any other material) TO THE “FLESHY TABLES OF OUR HEARTS AND MINDS.” Let us read what God said about this:
Now, nowhere in this covenant did God Almighty say that the Law or its contents was changed or was no longer relevant. WHAT WAS CHANGED WAS THE POSITION OF THE LAW AND THE SOURCE OF THE POWER TO OBEY THE LAW. Through the New Covenant, GOD, NOT MAN, IS PROVIDING THE POWER TO OBEY, THROUGH HIS LOVE AND GRACE OPERATING IN THE HEART AND MIND OF THE BELIEVER–PAY CLOSE ATTENTION TO THE I WILL IN THE ABOVE TEXT. In other words, IT IS THE GRACE OF GOD, IN THE SPIRIT OF THE BORN-AGAIN BELIEVER, WHICH GIVES HIM BOTH THE DESIRE & POWER TO OBEY THE WILL OF THE ALMIGHTY (Philippians 2:13), AS EXPRESSED IN HIS UNCHANGEABLE LAW. IT WAS NOT THE LAW THAT WAS CHANGED; IT IS THE HEART OF MAN THAT HAS EXPERIENCED CHANGED, BECAUSE HE IS POWERED FROM WITHIN (not by the letter of the Law) BY SUPERNATURAL GRACE.
Additionally, Christ, the ONE WHO RATIFIED (MAKE VIABLE) THE COVENANT MADE IT ABUNDANTLY CLEAR WHEN HE STATED:
“Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law and the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them . . . until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen, will by any means disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished” (Matthew 5:17, 18, NIV).
How many today still mistakenly entertain the idea that Christ came to abolish the Law? Clearly, this is not what the Savior stated in the above scripture. He said that His purpose was not to change or abrogate the teachings of the Law and the Prophets, but to confirm, establish and magnify them—as He would later demonstrate in the same chapter of Matthew. As long as the heaven and earth are with us, the writings of God’s Law and the Prophets remain fully enforced. Christ wanted His mountainside audience and all would-be disciples to be certain of one thing—He did not come to change what God, the Father, had established by His servant Moses and all the prophets of the OT. He said we should not even entertain that thought! THAT”S WHAT “THINK NOT” IN THE ABOVE SCRIPTURE REALLY MEANS.
ARE YOU STILL THINKING, OR WILL YOU TAKE JESUS AT HIS WORD?
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