Tim Maas Retired Quality Assurance Specialist with the U.S. Army

The concept noted in the verse cited in the question is repeated multiple times in the New Testament. The point being made is that, now that Christ has come, the attainment of salvation and eternal life are no longer based upon obedience to the laws and commandments given by God to Israel in the Old Testament, but upon faith in Christ, whose coming was prophesied starting from the time that humanity first fell into sin (Genesis 3:15). He alone succeeded in keeping those commandments perfectly; died a sacrificial, substitutionary death on behalf of all humanity to pay the penalty demanded by God for humanity's universal failure to keep those commandments; and then rose from the dead to demonstrate the sufficiency of that payment.

However, that does not make the moral law (as contrasted with the ceremonial law) that God gave to Israel in the Old Testament merely of historical interest to Christians. The moral law (such as in the Ten Commandments) still constitutes a valid standard as to how Christians should behave, and toward which they should aspire. But Christians now do so not as a means of trying to "earn" salvation and eternal life (which was -- and is -- impossible), or motivated by fear of punishment, but out of love and gratitude to God for the salvation that He has already granted them as a result of their faith in Christ.

July 03 2017 • 2 responses • Vote Up • Share • Report