Interestingly, Jesus’ death shows that this same law cannot be changed or discarded. Think about it. Why did Jesus have to die? The answer is, to save sinners from the death penalty of the law. If God wanted to save sinners some other way, He could have done away with that law which required the death penalty. But in doing so, He would have set aside the foundation of truth, the detector of right and wrong. He would have condoned sin, and contradicted His own character of righteousness. When God had to choose between letting the law be destroyed or letting sinners be destroyed, He was unwilling to do either. Instead He chose a third option of sending His Son to die on the cross. By so doing, He indicated the permanence of the law as well as His love for sinners.
In light of this, why do so many Christians say that the law is no longer necessary? There are several reasons. First, many Christians have been told that the law was “nailed to the cross” rather than established at the cross. From the previous point alone, we can see that when Paul mentioned in Colossians that something was “nailed to the cross” and done away with, he was not referring to the Ten Commandments. He was rather referring to certain ceremonial requirements that pointed forward to Jesus and passed away when He died on the cross.
Second, some Christians take texts regarding the law from the writings of the apostle Paul and misuse them. They say: “Didn’t Paul write that where sin abounds grace is even more abundant (Romans 5:20)? Didn’t the great apostle affirm that we are not under law but under grace (Romans 6:14) and that we are justified by faith without works of law (Romans 3:28)?” As a matter of fact, he did! But in each one of these statements Paul immediately corrected any possible misunderstanding of his words. He clearly denied that grace gives us a license to sin: “What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound? Certainly not!” (Romans 6:1, 2) “What then? Shall we sin because we are not under law but under grace? Certainly not!” (Romans 6:15) “Do we then make void the law through faith? Certainly not!” (Romans 3:31)
Third, there is a misconception that in the Old Testament believers were saved because they kept the Law while New Testament believers are saved by grace. In Acts 4:12 we are told that there is no salvation outside of Jesus though. Old Testament believers were saved in the same way as New Testament believers—by grace through faith in Jesus Christ.
Fourth, some Christians claim that because Jesus kept the law and paid its penalty, we don’t have to keep it. But does this really make sense? Did Jesus die so that we could disobey? Would the officer’s payment of my ticket give me the right, from that point forward, to drive 60 mph in a 40 mph speed zone? Of course not! If anything, the officer’s goodness in paying for my ticket would be a powerful incentive for me to obey the law. “This is the love of God, that we keep His commandments” (1 John 5:3).
Finally, many claim that we no longer need to obey the Ten Commandments because we are now under a different law, the law of love! But this misconception is based on a faulty understanding of love. The very lips of Jesus uttered the words “if you love me you will keep my commandments” (John 14:15). And the great apostle Paul affirmed, “love is the fulfilling of the law”. There is no conflict between the law and love because God is the source of both!
