This subject is one that has been studied countless ways. What is it? What does it include? Is it the 10 laws? Is it 613 laws? Is it the laws of today? Does it include the gentile’s?
At the surface of this question it has many facets to it. We could talk or discuss it for months, but let’s take a different approach to this subject. Let’s go below the actual question and let’s discuss what is the intention of the law by God given to the nation of Israel.
The nation of Israel was the focus of the law, it was because it was given to them because of their selected appointment by God to be for the interest of all the world to stand up and look at God’s people as the light of the world. Israel was being called by God to be the influence that brings all of the world back to Him.
God had laid out his plans for the whole world to worship him as their creator and their God. It was an attempt to ‘show’ the world that God was God of All. God’s people were wandering away from Him and His Kingdom in their journey to know him, their was mingling with the world around them, which was taking them away from Him.
It is then that the God of Israel, put the ‘Law’ into the hands of man to follow and to ‘do’ them right. This was to be a effort by man to come to Him. It was to be a test, a test of man to see if he ‘could’ do the ‘Law’. This is also known as the ‘works’ of the law. It depended on man, and man alone.
No notice the words that were used in the former paragraph in the description of action to ‘do’ the law. The action is all on man. it is of his effort, that it is based on. God’s hand is not in this. God said that if they(Israel) followed the law that God would provide for them and take care of them.
This was an agreement with things on both sides of the table, but it started with man(Israel),and also gentiles in that if they couldn’t do the moral thing of the law that it would still fail as a mankind attempt of following God. This was a huge attempt for man to prove itself on God. But they failed.
Their ‘works’ or ‘doing’ the law failed. It was not because it was impossible, but it was not possible because they were mankind and they were not ‘Holy'(not of God,because of their idolatry of man itself) They were incapable of ‘doing’ the law.
Let me tell you of a secret of mine. I sometimes will do something when I read things in my studies of Theology. I call it the ‘opposite’ view, when I see something that says “You are to do this when this happens”, I will suggest to myself that let’s look at this if it is in the opposite light. So let’s use this ‘opposite’ view here.
The opposite of ‘works’ or ‘doing’ is not doing it at all or not personally working at something, like letting someone else do it, because I can’t. (unable,not capable)
So, now let’s plug this in to the equation from above. If God’s desire was have ‘His’ people to be the image of Him, like He created Him for, then this was God’s actions that have created this to be in motion. It was God’s ‘work’, and only His ‘work’, there was no subcontracting out to man to try and help him out. It was all on God.
The ability of man to follow law(s) was a mute attempt, because they were ‘man’, It was only an execution by God that was to be made. It would be by the power of God only to do this.
Now, let’s take the next step forward, albeit a dangerous one in most eyes of christianity. Let me just put it in form of a question.
Are we still doing this same thing as christians in the form of our ‘idea’s’ on how we should be Christlike?
Should we not stop ‘working’ or just ‘doing’ things that we ‘think’ is the right way to do things in our christian life, but instead letting God ‘build’ His Own Church!!
Let go and Let God.
The Eternal Purpose 