When God gave Moses the Ten Commandments, His intention was a code by which Israel, in fact, everyone, could live, but the sin nature made it impossible for us to wholly comply, so He introduced a higher principle that all can live by.
There’s good news for those struggling with adhering to the Mosaic Law, trying to be good but constantly failing. The Law can be legally and spiritually superseded through the higher law of love.
This level of love can only come with a relationship with God, and goes much further than the Mosaic Law in God’s eyes. It doesn’t negate the Mosaic Law. It confirms it, because we learn to live it as a matter of character and conviction rather than according to its legal demands.
We have all heard of the Ten Commandments, which are the basis of the Law handed down to Moses at Sinai. These commandments are then quantified in the Torah–the Old Testament Pentateuch, or first five books–by sub-laws, qualifications and ceremonial regulations which help make them work in the lives of those who are called by God to live by them. This is called the Mosaic Law.
The problem has always been that the nature of human beings is such that they are unable to completely adhere to the Mosaic Law as a purely religious exercise, apart from Christ. If we seek to live by them in our own strength, we have to follow it all or none of it works for us. Breaking one law is a transgression, and that single transgression is enough to eliminate us from the presence of God.
Blood covenant
Thankfully, there is a higher law that was introduced by Jesus and ratified through His blood sacrifice. We can call it the law of love, by which we can all live, provided we have a relationship through the blood covenant with the Lord Jesus Christ.
It’s not our blood that has to be shed, by the way. Jesus already shed His blood to make this possible. Why blood? Through all ages blood covenant has been the sign of agreement between individuals, families, clans and even nations. It is considered an unbreakable agreement, punishable by the death of the offending party.
Handshakes are a throwback to this covenanting, although without the same significance to the modern world. The handshake is still considered an unbreakable agreement in some societies or cultures.
Price paid
So Jesus took the place of the whole world which had broken covenant with God. He paid that price. It was a token of God’s love to send His son in our place. Love that saves.
By Jesus’ blood we can be introduced to the higher system of governance called the New Testament. Without the shedding of blood there is no remission for sins. With the shedding of Jesus’ blood we are all redeemed. All we have to do is accept the offer of a free gift through faith in Him.
The blood covenant is based on God’s love. The Apostle John tells us that God is love. If we do not have love we are no part of Him. We can only receive this level of love in ourselves through the covenant–which is God’s grace agreement to welcome us into His divine favour through accepting Jesus as Lord.
The love walk
Accepting the lordship of Christ over our lives gives us access to God’s will and ways. Led by the Spirit of God, we can learn to walk in love. It’s the love walk that supersedes Mosaic Law. If we are led by the Spirit we are no longer under the law (Gal.5:18).
Of course, this is not talking about societal or secular laws. It is referring to the Mosaic Law. Being led by the Spirit brings us to the higher law of love.
Our issue is with the struggle between the flesh and the spirit. When we are born again our spirit comes alive and we have a sudden realisation of the contest between the flesh and our new born spirit. We are not yet redeemed from the works of the flesh. We merely have power over them, whereas before we were saved the flesh was in the ascendancy.
I say then: Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh.
Galatians 5:16
Now we have the Spirit of God leading our spirit to a place where we can learn to overcome the demands of the flesh. We can tame to flesh and train it to comply with the will of God. The love walk will help us do this. We are not alone.
Love fruit
The bonus that helps us is the fruit of the Spirit. We have been offered the love fruit of the love God. When we receive Jesus as Lord and Saviour, we also receive the Spirit of Christ, and all of the attributes of the fruit are downloaded into our lives. It’s a wonderful position to be in, and encourages us to live and walk in the Spirit.
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law.
Galatians 5:22-23
You see, when we walk in the Spirit, the fruit of the Spirit becomes apparent in our lives. Fruit is the product of seed and growth. The Seed of the Word sown into our lives produces and nurtures the fruit.
As believers we have this potential within us. We can overcome the will of the flesh and live by the Word of God. We can walk in the Spirit. Against such there is no law.
