A.T. Pierson notes that three psalms – Psa 1, Psa 19 and Psa 119 – pay special tribute to the law of the Lord.
The second and third pick up the subject where the previous left it, and no two cover the same ground.
Psa 1 depicts the blessedness of him whose delight is found in meditating upon Holy Scripture. Here, the lover and doer of God’s word and the hater and scorner are contrasted in character, conduct and destiny.…
The expression ‘the works of law’ (lit. ‘works of law’; NIV: ‘Observing the law’) occurs eight times in Paul’s writings:
Gal 2:16 – We know that no one is justified by the works of the law but by the faithfulness of Jesus Christ. And we have come to believe in Christ Jesus, so that we may be justified by the faithfulness of Christ and not by the works of the law, because by the works of the law no one will be justified.…
Peter Mead suggests that a spirit of legalism manifest itself in a number of ways:
Romans 10:1 Brothers and sisters, my heart’s desire and prayer to God on behalf of my fellow Israelites is for their salvation. 10:2 For I can testify that they are zealous for God, but their zeal is not in line with the truth. 10:3 For ignoring the righteousness that comes from God, and seeking instead to establish their own righteousness, they did not submit to God’s righteousness. 10:4 For Christ is the end of the law, with the result that there is righteousness for everyone who believes.…
Matthew 5:21f “You have heard that it was said…But I say to you…”
Did Jesus reject the moral teaching of the Old Testament?
William Barclay thinks that
‘Jesus quotes the Law, only to contradict it, and to substitute a teaching of his own. He claimed the right to point out the inadequacies of the most sacred writings in the world, and to correct them out of his own wisdom.’
More generally, Richard Rohr writes this:
…‘It is rather clear in Jesus’ usage that not all scriptures are created equal.
According to the Calvin’s classic formulation, God’s law has a threefold use (Institutes, II.vii.6-12).
These are helpfully summarised in the Reformation Study Bible:
Scripture shows that God intends His law to function in three ways, which Calvin crystallized in classic form for the church’s benefit as the law’s threefold use.
Its first function is to be a mirror reflecting to us both the perfect righteousness of God and our own sinfulness and shortcomings.…
‘With God all things are possible’ (Matthew 19:26). ‘Nothing is impossible with God’ (Luke 1:37)
So why doesn’t God simply forgive sinners, without need of any atonement? Why can’t he just let bygones be bygones?
After all, he can do anything, can’t he?
Well, setting aside the obviously absurd (God cannot create a two-sided triangle), we note with Puritan Thomas Brooks that there are three things that God cannot do:- he cannot die; he cannot lie; and he cannot deny himself.…
The Talmud records the saying of one of the rabbis that ‘Moses gave Israel 613 commandments, David reduced them to 10 Psa 15, Micah to three, (Mic 6:8) Isaiah to 2, (Isa 56:1) but Habakkuk 2:4 to one: the righteous shall live by his faith.’…
Many members of the Galatian church, and many professing Christians since, have supposed that sinners are saved by their own best efforts, by keeping the law of Moses as promulgated in the Sinai covenant.
As Paul insists in Galatians 3 and 4, this is a fatal error, because it undermines the gospel of God’s free grace.
David Murray shows how the Sinai covenant is, in face, ‘a revelation of Jesus and his gracious salvation.’ Like this:-
Legalism is a distortion of obedience. It is guilty of:-
In the New Testament, legalism is found in two main forms:-
