Devotion #4: Saved by the Law or the Lamb?
Can I be good enough to enter into God’s good graces? Does the Old Testament Law actually save me from my sin? What is the purpose of the Law?
These are profoundly deep questions to wrestle with and work out in your life. It has been an incredible journey for me to examine God’s Word on this subject. I cannot say that I have always been on the right side of the conversation regarding these questions. These questions have been something I have wrestled with for many, many years in my own life as a follower of Jesus.
I think it is necessary, before we examine a small portion of these questions, to encapsulate the wonderful purpose of the Law. In short, I can say that the Law of God that is written in the Old Testament is to point us to the very person of Jesus Christ in every way. I could spend hours expounding on that single sentence. Just take a minute to grasp what that purpose indicates; to point us to Jesus is one of the greatest purposes of the Law.
It is in this understanding of the purpose of the Law that we can begin to grasp some of Paul’s teachings. As you study Romans, it may seem, in some ways, that Paul is back and forth in his thinking of the Law. Paul will sometimes come across as though he is condemning the Law; he will also regard it with great adoration and honor.
One of those passages is Romans 3:27–31, “Then what becomes of our boasting? It is excluded. By what kind of law? By a law of works? No, but by the law of faith. For we hold that one is justified by faith apart from works of the law. Or is God the God of Jews only? Is he not the God of Gentiles also? Yes, of Gentiles also, since God is one - who will justify the circumcised by faith and the uncircumcised through faith. Do we then overthrow the law by this faith? By no means! On the contrary, we uphold the law.”
Do we exclude the Law, or do we uphold the Law? Will God use the Law only for the Jews, or is there some purpose for it for the Gentiles? What position should we take then as modern-day Christians living in America?
Go back to that sentence: The purpose of the Law is to point us to Jesus in every way. Paul is dealing with a very confused church in Rome. He has to lay out the fundamental misuse of the Law that the Jews had mistakenly applied to their justification. They thought the Law was what saved them. They saw it as their hope. They missed the fact that the Law points out their sin and need for a Savior. They missed that the Law was all about pointing us to Jesus! The belief was that a Jew (or anyone for that matter) could determine their way into God’s good graces by showing everyone else that they kept the Law. The Jews would go all over the world making proselytes (that is, converts to Judaism - Matthew 23:15). They would use it as a means of boasting, boasting about their works as good people who were righteous before God. The reality is we still have this same issue in our churches today, “I am not as bad as so and so. I am a pretty good person. I have never killed anyone. I have never stolen anything from anyone. Surely God won’t send me to Hell because I am a good person.”
Paul points us to the proper response to the Law; it points us to Jesus! Faith in your own works leads to a massive misuse and misunderstanding of the Law. The Law was never meant to save us; it was meant to point us to the One who could save us. It was meant to point us to the very fact that we need a Savior. That purpose applies to the Jews, as well as the Gentiles. Every single living person needs to recognize their need for an almighty and wonderful Savior. The Law is what will point us to this fact! Paul points us to the role of faith. It plays a huge role! Faith in what, though? Is it the Law and keeping it? Earlier in the chapter, it is clear that this is what Paul is contending with.
Romans 3:9-10 states, “What then? Are we Jews any better off? No, not at all. For we have already charged that all, both Jews and Greeks, are under sin, as it is written: ‘None is righteous, no, not one.’”
The misuse of the Law and the total misunderstanding of its true purpose is the subject of Paul’s letter and writings on righteousness. As you start studying the Law, you will find that you are, in fact, guilty of breaking many of God’s commandments. Just start with the top Ten. If we are 100% honest, we will all have to admit we have fallen short and are guilty to some degree of violating God’s Law. We are, in fact, condemned! Paul and James will deal with this in their books; if you break even one, you are guilty of them all as a transgressor (sinner, violator, and lawbreaker). You cannot say you are innocent and have never broken God’s righteous, holy Law (Romans 7:12).
So, what do we do with the Law? Does our faith then overthrow (make it null, void, abolish, render useless, do away with, or vanish away with) the Law? Not at all! Paul says the exact opposite! We use it for what it was intended for, pointing people to Jesus! One of my favorite Gospel passages is in the Gospel of John. It is where I got the title of this devotion. Just as John the Baptizer pointed people to Jesus, the Law was designed to do the same thing - point us to the Lamb, the Savior, the person of Jesus!
John 1:29 says, “The next day he saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!”
What is it you are putting your faith in? Let me, in the kindest way possible, tell you that if your faith is in anything other than the person of Jesus, it is hopeless. The power of the Law and the very hope of the Gospel points to our faith being in this single and amazing Person. Examine your faith, and ask yourself, what am I truly relying on? Is it Jesus? Is it the Lamb of God?