THE SUM OF THE LAW

by Bob Wheeler

Galatians 5:13-15

            As the Christian gospel went out into the Gentile world, the question arose, are Gentile converts required to be circumcised and keep the law of Moses?  And in his Epistle to the Galatians Paul has strongly asserted that the answer is “no, they are not.”  Circumcision is a sign and seal of the Mosaic Covenant, and would obligate a person to keep the entire Mosaic Law.  But the real question is, what is our standing, as human beings, before God?  And Paul’s answer is emphatic: we are justified (made righteous in the sight of God) by faith, not by works, by keeping by the Mosaic Covenant.  Therefore Gentile converts are not required to keep the Mosaic law.

            That does not mean, however, that we are free to do as we please.  And so Paul adds an important qualification: “For you, brethren, have been called to liberty; only do not use liberty as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another” (Gal. 5:13; NKJV).  He will explain in more detail a little later on what he means by “an opportunity for the flesh.”  It suffices to say here that the gospel is not a license to commit sin.  There is still a difference between right and wrong, and there are certain things that we are required to do.  And so Paul, out of pastoral concern for the church, exhorts the Galatians, “through love serve one another.”

            The word ‘serve” (douleuete) is a strong one – it literally means to act as a doulos or slave.  It suggests that the attitude that Christians should have toward each other is one of humble servitude.  Our aim is not to please ourselves but to serve others.

            And this, Paul says, should be done “through love.”  There are several different words in the Greek language for “love”; but the one that Paul uses here, agape, acquired a special meaning in Christian circles.  It refers to the self-sacrificing love that Christ displayed at Calvary, a compassionate love extended to even the most undeserving.

            Paul then goes on to say that this is, in fact, the essence of what God expects from you as human beings: “For all the law is fulfilled in one word, even in this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself’” (v. 14).  At first sight Paul appears to be contradicting himself.  First he says we are not under the law, we “have been called to liberty”; but then he says that we are to fulfill the law by loving one another, and, in effect, acting as slaves to each other.  Are we under the law or are we not?

            What Paul is doing here is making a tacit distinction between the moral law and the ceremonial.  Where he says that we are not “under the law” he means the Torah, the law of Moses, the Mosaic Covenant with all of its cumbersome rules and regulations.  Much of the Mosaic law involved ceremonies that have been fulfilled in Christ, and hence no longer relevant.

            But implicit in the Mosaic law, in the Ten Commandments at least, was a universal moral code – what our Creator expects from us as human beings – fundamental principles right and wrong that apply to all human behavior.  But even here the Mosaic legislation fell short.  In the Torah the moral requirements are usually expressed in negative terms – “You shall not murder,” “You shall not commit adultery,” “You shall not steal.”  But what God really requires from us goes beyond that, but something that was hinted in the law all along: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself” – a quote from Lev. 19:18.  Paul says that the whole law is “fulfilled’ in this one commandment.

            The written law was only a pale shadow of what God actually requires.  If gives rules and regulations to show us specific things that we should and should not do.  But if our only motive is to be found in compliance with an external set of rules and regulations, we have missed the whole point of what God actually requires.

            For example, the Sixth Commandment says “You shall not murder.”  But simply refraining from committing the act of homicide is not necessarily showing love to our neighbor.  If we love him, of course, we obviously will not murder him.  But Jesus went farther than that and said, “But I say to you that whoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment.  And whoever says to his brother ‘Raca!’ shall be in danger of the council. But whoever says, ‘You fool!’ shall be in danger of fell fire” IMatt. 5:22).  If the motive is present you are a murderer in the sight of God, even if the outward crime itself was not actually committed.  The question is, what did you want to do?

            But what God really requires of us is that we love our neighbor as ourself; and love goes beyond the minimum requirement of the written law.  Instead it actively seeks the positive good of the other person.  It does not ask, “What does the law require?,” but rather “What can I do to help?”  And in all of this Christ is ever our example” By this we know love, because He laid down His life for us.  And we also ought to lay down our lives for the brethren.  But whoever has this world’s goods, and sees his brother in need, and shuts up his heart from him, how does the love of God abide in him?” (I John 3:16,17).

It goes without saying, then, that if the brethren love each other as they should, church life should not be marred by strife and dissension.  Paul says, “But if you bite and devour one another, beware lest you be consumed by one another!” (v. 15.  Conflict and division are an ever present threat to the spiritual life of the church, but they have no place there.  The life of the church is to be marked by brotherly love.

While we are not under the Mosaic law, then, we have been called to love one another.  Let us strive to be the Christians and the churches that Christ wants us to be!