Law and Grace: Why the Law Was Nailed to the Cross

 Jesus the Savior placed Himself under the law given by God through Moses, or as it is written: "He submitted to the law," in order to accomplish the redemption of people. And when He took upon Himself our sins, the curse of the law fell upon Him as punishment for those sins, as it is written: "Cursed is everyone who is hung on a tree." That is, Jesus was condemned according to the law and received the punishment and curse in accordance with the law, as it is written: "He was pierced for our transgressions, crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon Him..." That is, the law condemned Him and sentenced Him to death for our sins, since the wages of sin is death, and Jesus died instead of us, taking our sins upon Himself. In other words, the law carried out its judgment, a verdict was issued, and it was executed.

And if the law has condemned you and the judgment has been carried out, the law cannot condemn you a second time because you have already died according to the law for sins with Christ, as the apostle wrote: "I died to the law through the law, so that I might live for God. I have been crucified with Christ." That is, the believer has already been crucified and died with Christ for sins, and in Christ, you have paid for your sins. The law has authority over a person as long as he lives, but if you died with Christ since Christ died on the cross, then you have been set free from the law and are not under law but under God's grace. God's grace is what God does—good and favorable things for you—accomplishing your salvation. And you were raised with Christ for a new life, as it is written: "Our old self was crucified with Him (Christ) so that the body ruled by sin might be rendered powerless, that we should no longer be slaves to sin." That is, God in Christ killed our old nature, or the old self, which was a slave to sin, and you were raised with Christ when Jesus was resurrected. You now have a new life since you possess a new essence or nature within yourself, and God has removed the sinful nature from your heart.

According to the law, you, being a sinner, were condemned and put to death, and having been raised with Christ, you became a new creation of God with a new Spirit that God placed within you, in your heart. Jesus wiped out, through His teaching, the written code that was against us, or the law that opposed us. He took that law and nailed it to the cross, thus disarming the principalities and powers, the forces of darkness and Satan (for the power of sin is the law). He made a public spectacle of all the dark powers, shaming them... For this reason, let no one judge you regarding food or drink, or with respect to a festival, a new moon, or a Sabbath, because these are a SHADOW of the things to come, but the reality is found in Christ, or we are united with Him in His death and resurrection, and the law of Moses has been nailed to the cross.

Christ submitted to the law only to redeem those who were under the law. For you, the commandments of Christ's teaching are relevant, while the law has been nailed to the cross as it fulfilled its function when Jesus Christ died according to the law. And you are not under the curse of the law because Christ redeemed you from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us according to the law, for our sins.

Study the teaching of Christ diligently and obey the commandments of His doctrine because the word that Jesus Christ spoke and commanded was spoken by God the Father through Christ, and this word will judge people on the last day. The Holy Spirit was sent by God the Father to remind you of everything Jesus Christ taught so that you may become doers of His commandments. Whoever breaks one of these least commandments and teaches others to do the same will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever practices and teaches them will be called great in the kingdom of heaven.

God's Covenant in Christ: Righteousness by Faith, Not Law | The Role of the Law and Freedom in the Spirit

 

God established the covenant concerning Christ when He said to Abraham, “In your Seed (the Descendant, Jesus Christ) I will bless all nations.” That is, God saves all people in Christ, and Abraham received this revelation and believed in it, as it is written: “Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness.” By faith in the One who justifies the ungodly, Abraham became righteous, not by his own works.

The Law given through Moses came later, 430 years after, and this Law did not annul God’s promise to save all people in Christ. That is, righteousness is not from the Law, and the Law was given for a different purpose. First, the Law revealed sin—that is, the sinful nature that lived in people’s hearts because Adam sold himself and all his descendants into slavery to the devil or sin, as it is written: “In Adam all die.” This is because God had already created all humanity in Adam, and all were in him when he sinned and died spiritually, being deprived of the glory of God. And it was this sinful nature living in the human heart that the Law exposed or revealed to a person.

It worked like this: sin took the commandment of the Law and, using it, deceived people because it could control a person’s behavior from within, from the heart, as the apostle wrote: “I would not have known sin except through the Law. For I would not have known covetousness unless the Law had said, ‘You shall not covet.’” That is, sin produced desires in a person that opposed the commandment of the Law and compelled them to break it. Therefore, it is written: “The strength of sin is the Law,” and without the Law, sin cannot kill, and without the Law, sin is dead—that is, it cannot act. The commandment, which was good and given for life, became death because sin from within controls the behavior of a spiritually dead person who is a slave to sin, producing desires and thoughts in them. There are many sinful addictions—for example, an alcoholic who cannot stop drinking, or a thief constantly drawn to stealing, or a maniac upon whom an evil spirit sometimes comes and compels them through their thinking to commit crimes.

And the letter of the Law cannot free a person from the slavery of sin, nor can it change the sinful nature in a person. Therefore, one who understands and recognizes themselves as a slave to sin must turn to the Savior whom God has given, because only God, by His grace, can deliver from the slavery of sin. Only God can change the inner nature, and only the Spirit of God can give life. Therefore, one who receives the Spirit of God, or is born of God, ceases to commit sins because their inner nature is changed, and the Spirit of God is in them. They are freed by God from the slavery of sin, or the law of sin and death.

All who are led by the Spirit of God are the children of God, and the Spirit prompts them to do what pleases God. This is the law of the Spirit of life in Christ, or the true Law, because God’s Law is spiritual and proceeds from the Spirit. Now, God’s Spirit produces in a person both the thinking and the action, while the letter or commandments merely reflect what the Spirit of God gives. Jesus was moved by the Spirit of God, as He Himself said: “And Your law is within my heart.” That is, the Spirit gave Jesus what to say and what to do, and this comes from the Father through the Spirit.