Following Judah's Lion

The Law is Death

Gal.4:9 But now, after that ye have known God, or rather are known of God, how turn ye again to the weak and beggarly elements, whereunto ye desire again to be in bondage?
10 Ye observe days, and months, and times, and years.
Col.2:16 Let no man therefore judge you in meat, or in drink, or in respect of an holyday, or of the new moon, or of the sabbath days:
17 Which are a shadow of things to come; but the body is of Christ.
Rom.2:23-29 - Thou that makest thy boast of the law, through breaking the law dishonourest thou God?
24 For the name of God is blasphemed among the Gentiles through you, as it is written.
25 For circumcision verily profiteth, if thou keep the law: but if thou be a breaker of the law, thy circumcision is made uncircumcision.
26 Therefore if the uncircumcision keep the righteousness of the law, shall not his uncircumcision be counted for circumcision?
27 And shall not uncircumcision which is by nature, if it fulfil the law, judge thee, who by the letter and circumcision dost transgress the law?
28 For he is not a Jew, which is one outwardly; neither is that circumcision, which is outward in the flesh:
29 But he is a Jew, which is one inwardly; and circumcision is that of the heart, in the spirit, and not in the letter; whose praise is not of men, but of God.
Go ahead and try and keep the law. But the warning is this: If you choose the law to be your way of redemption then you have surrendered grace. And when grace disappears you are bound to keep the law perfectly and completely. One minor transgression and you die forever. One disoebdient bite of a piece of fruit and you are damned. Perhaps that gives you pause?
In reality every single person born is already a law breaker from his first breath through his great uncle Adam.
II Cor.3:7 - But if the ministration of death, written and engraven in stones, was glorious, so that the children of Israel could not stedfastly behold the face of Moses for the glory of his countenance; which glory was to be done away:
Most evangelicals would never believe that a sinner could be saved by obeying the Mosaic Law. They would espouse a salvation that is purely by grace through faith. But then why would these same believers believe that obeying the Mosaic law after salvation could sanctify them? Notice the above verse says that the glory of the Mosaic law was to be done away. Why? Because its glory was in its prophetic headlights that shined on the Lord Jesus, and inherrant in that glory was its demise after Christ died.

Heb.7:18For there is verily a disannulling of the commandment going before for the weakness and unprofitableness thereof.
19For the law made nothing perfect, but the bringing in of a better hope did; by the which we draw nigh unto God.
Why did millions of gallons of animal blood have to be shed? Why was the blood applied to all the furniture in the Tabernacle? Why was the blood sprinkled on the mercy seat on the Day of atonement? And why was it all to cease one day? Because all of it pointed to Jesus and provided a shadow and example of what was to come. And when Jesus shed His blood and died for the sins of the world the Mosaic law ceased as it pertains to God’s people.
II Cor.3:9-11 - For if the ministration of condemnation be glory, much more doth the ministration of righteousness exceed in glory.
10 For even that which was made glorious had no glory in this respect, by reason of the glory that excelleth.
11 For if that which is done away was glorious, much more that which remaineth is glorious.
The Mosaic Law is called the ministry of condemnation, while the New Covenant is called the ministry of righteousness. And there is no doubt that the Mosaic Law was of God and had glory, and that glory was in its weakness. You want some Biblical meat? Here it comes.
Heb.7:1-12 - For this Melchisedec, king of Salem, priest of the most high God, who met Abraham returning from the slaughter of the kings, and blessed him;
2 To whom also Abraham gave a tenth part of all; first being by interpretation King of righteousness, and after that also King of Salem, which is, King of peace;
3 Without father, without mother, without descent, having neither beginning of days, nor end of life; but made like unto the Son of God; abideth a priest continually.
4 Now consider how great this man was, unto whom even the patriarch Abraham gave the tenth of the spoils.
5 And verily they that are of the sons of Levi, who receive the office of the priesthood, have a commandment to take tithes of the people according to the law, that is, of their brethren, though they come out of the loins of Abraham:
6 But he whose descent is not counted from them received tithes of Abraham, and blessed him that had the promises.
7 And without all contradiction the less is blessed of the better.
8 And here men that die receive tithes; but there he receiveth them, of whom it is witnessed that he liveth.
9 And as I may so say, Levi also, who receiveth tithes, payed tithes in Abraham.
10 For he was yet in the loins of his father, when Melchisedec met him.
11 If therefore perfection were by the Levitical priesthood, (for under it the people received the law,) what further need was there that another priest should rise after the order of Melchisedec, and not be called after the order of Aaron?
12 For the priesthood being changed, there is made of necessity a change also of the law.
We first read about this mysterious figure called Melchizedek in Genesis.
Gen.14:18-19 - And Melchizedek king of Salem brought forth bread and wine: and he was the priest of the most high God.
19 And he blessed him, and said, Blessed be Abram of the most high God, possessor of heaven and earth:
After Abraham rescues Lot he meets Melchizedek and receives bread and wine from this high priest. Now the priesthood was to come through the tribe of Levi and also through Aaron. But look at Hebrews 7 verses 1 - 3 and notice that Melchizedek had no lineage and was “made like unto the Son of God”. Many people believe that Melchizedek was a Christophany, or a per-incarnate appearance of the Lord Jesus. I believe this very well could be true. The bread and the wine are probably a very specific prophetic shadow of both the Lord’s Supper as well as the Lamb of God’s coming sacrifice.
But who could know that back then? There needed to be some vehicle by which God could direct and nurture and teach his people about His redemptive plan. Just like the fire by night and the smoke by night, God had to guide His people carefully to the ultimate payment for sin, the cross. And so God chooses a servant named Moses and gives him the redemptive road map called the law. This law had many commandments and God knew no one could keep them all.
But since God changed the priesthood, what else did God change?
Heb.7:11If therefore perfection were by the Levitical priesthood, (for under it the people received the law,) what further need was there that another priest should rise after the order of Melchisedec, and not be called after the order of Aaron?
12For the priesthood being changed, there is made of necessity a change also of the law.
But God also provided a way to receive forgiveness for their sins, the blood offering. And Jesus, the High Priest after the order of Melchisedec, is both the administrator of the sacrifice as well as the sacrifice itself. The blood sacrifice is the core element in the law. Without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sins. So day after day, month after month, and year after year the priests would sacrifice animals for the forgiveness of sins. But those priests offered the sacrifice for their own sins as well. But in this New Covenant, we have a better Priest, a better sacrifice, a better promise, and a better Lamb. The law has accomplished that for which it was given, and now we rest completely in Christ and we serve Him. We do not serve God because we read it upon tablets of stone.
We serve Christ because we love Him with our whole hearts and we are His servants. We have been bought with a price, and we gladly belong to Him. His yoke is easy and His burden is light. We praise God for the law that came through Moses, but God Himself has come and now lives within us. If the law could sanctify us then God need not send the Holy Spirit for our guide. The life of a believing follower of the Lord Jesus is not a dualism. Jesus is Lord. So when we do not lie it is because the New Testament teaches us, as well as the Spirit, not to lie. It isn’t because the commandments of stone say the same thing.
If you desire to obey the Law of Moses, you must obey it all. The divisions of ceremonial law and moral law and sacrificial law are man made divisions meant to accommodate a misguided desire to obey some of the law.
Rom.10:4 - For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to every one that believeth.
When we sin now the Lord does not treat us as lawbreakers but as children in need of correction. Our freedom is not a license to sin, far from it. If we have been born again, and if we have a love for the Lord Jesus, we will not need the law for obedience. There are commandments that overlap the Old and New Testaments, but we are creations of the New Covenant not vestiges of the Old.
Gal.4:3-7 - Even so we, when we were children, were in bondage under the elements of the world:
4 But when the fulness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law,
5 To redeem them that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons.
6 And because ye are sons, God hath sent forth the Spirit of his Son into your hearts, crying, Abba, Father.
7 Wherefore thou art no more a servant, but a son; and if a son, then an heir of God through Christ.
Now in full disclosure, and with an honest attempt to avoid legalism and judgment, I do not celebrate holidays or any days for that matter unless you count Sunday. No Christmas, no Easter, no Thanksgiving, no President’s day, no Memorial Day, no 4th of July, no day at all. I consider all the days I just mentioned to be heathen, and observing "Christian" days is not only a throwback to the law, but it indicates we do not celebrate those things every day. Paul calls those things the “beggarly elements” while Christ is the substance.
Do with that what you will, I place no man in my bondage, but any embracing of the law is an affront to Christ and His grace. Christ fulfilled the law, and in that the law is holy (separated for its divine purpose).
Gal.2:21 - I do not frustrate the grace of God: for if righteousness come by the law, then Christ is dead in vain.
Gal.3:12 - And the law is not of faith: but, The man that doeth them shall live in them.
How do you gain the righteousness sufficient to be saved and justified before God? Everyone knows it is by faith and faith alone in the finished work of Jesus Christ. Then how can we add to that righteousness by obeying that same law which cannot gain one iota before God?
Gal.3:1-3 - O foolish Galatians, who hath bewitched you, that ye should not obey the truth, before whose eyes Jesus Christ hath been evidently set forth, crucified among you?
2 This only would I learn of you, Received ye the Spirit by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith?
3 Are ye so foolish? having begun in the Spirit, are ye now made perfect by the flesh?
Paul is clear here. He is not speaking of salvation by the works of the law, he speaks of sanctification by the works of the law. Both are equally hollow in large part because no one can obey the law. No one. Outwardly or mentally. Christ was often accused of breaking the law and often the accusation was accurate in man's understanding. Paul’s life was in constant jeopardy because he taught believers to forsake the Law of Moses, and Paul had to convince James that the Gentiles need not abide in the law. James was a hard shell Jew who had much to learn.
The entire book of Galatians, as well as Romans and Hebrews, was written to refute the melding of the Law of Moses with the covenant of Promise, the covenant of the Spirit. To embrace any part of the law is to embrace a part of Hagar, but Isaac is our foreshadow, he being the son of Promise. "Cast out the bondwoman and her son". If you have placed yourself under the law then be set free today. Remember, I did not steal from my earthly father because it was against the law. I did not steal from my father because I loved him and he was my father and I was his son. I hope I need not make the obvious application in the Spirit.
I realize there many believers who are still zealous of the law and will aggressively defend its place in our lives. They are wrong. Let me leave you with these verses that openly rebuke, reprove, and exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine.
Gal.5:1-6 - Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage.
2 Behold, I Paul say unto you, that if ye be circumcised, Christ shall profit you nothing.
3 For I testify again to every man that is circumcised, that he is a debtor to do the whole law.
4 Christ is become of no effect unto you, whosoever of you are justified by the law; ye are fallen from grace.
5 For we through the Spirit wait for the hope of righteousness by faith.
6 For in Jesus Christ neither circumcision availeth any thing, nor uncircumcision; but faith which worketh by love.

If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed.