The Korean Church of Bethlehem - special-lectures: The Relation Between the Law and the Gospel

※ This is the translated version of the Korean article written by Rev. Dr. Yohan Lee, Senior Pastor of the Korean Church of Bethlehem, Head of the Messiah Bible Research Institute, Dean of The Reformed Union Theological Seminary.

I. The Law and the Gospel

Jesus said that the Bible testifies about Christ, who is himself. (John 5:39)

“You diligently study the Scriptures because you think that by them you possess eternal life. These are the Scriptures that testify about me”

In other words, the Bible contains the Christ who came to save people locked in curses. Therefore, both the law and the gospel are included in the Bible.

It is written in Matthew:

“Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. I tell you the truth, until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen, will by any means disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished. Anyone who breaks one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever practices and teaches these commands will be called great in the kingdom of heaven. For I tell you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the Pharisees and the teachers of the law, you will certainly not enter the kingdom of heaven.” (Matthew 5:17-20)

The “Law” refers to “the Torah,” which means “teaching,” “doctrine,” or “instruction” in Hebrew, and uses various concepts, such as the Ten Commandments, the Five Books of Moses, the Old Testament, and the entirety of God’s commands regarding daily life and the deeds of His people written in the Old and New Testament.

The Israelites showed their faith in Jehovah by abiding by the law.

A. The Purpose of the Law

1. The law in the Old Testament is to find out what sin is to be saved and to be freed from curses.

Romans 3:19-20
“Now we know that whatever the law says, it says to those who are under the law, so that every mouth may be silenced and the whole world held accountable to God. Therefore no one will be declared righteous in his sight by observing the law; rather, through the law we become conscious of sin.”

Romans 7:7
“What shall we say, then? Is the law sin? Certainly not! Indeed I would not have known what sin was except through the law. For I would not have known what coveting really was if the law had not said, “Do not covet.” “

2. The law is not the very image of things, but a shadow of good things to come.

Hebrews 10:1
“The law is only a shadow of the good things that are coming—not the realities themselves. For this reason it can never, by the same sacrifices repeated endlessly year after year, make perfect those who draw near to worship.”

3. Salvation cannot be acquired through the law.

Romans 8:3
“For what the law was powerless to do in that it was weakened by the sinful nature, God did by sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful man to be a sin offering. And so he condemned sin in sinful man,”

Hebrews 7:19
“(for the law made nothing perfect), and a better hope is introduced, by which we draw near to God.”

4. The law in the Old Testament is a law to kill sinners.

1 Corinthians 15:55-56
““Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting?” The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law.”

Galatians 2:19
“or through the law I died to the law so that I might live for God. “

5. The law in the Old Testament is the tutor to guide sinners to Christ.

Galatians 3:19, 24
“What, then, was the purpose of the law? It was added because of transgressions until the Seed to whom the promise referred had come. The law was put into effect through angels by a mediator.”

“So the law was put in charge to lead us to Christ that we might be justified by faith.”

6. The law and the commandments in the Old Testament ended at John the Baptist.

Matthew 11:10-15
“This is the one about whom it is written: “ ‘I will send my messenger ahead of you, who will prepare your way before you.’ I tell you the truth: Among those born of women there has not risen anyone greater than John the Baptist; yet he who is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he. From the days of John the Baptist until now, the kingdom of heaven has been forcefully advancing, and forceful men lay hold of it. For all the Prophets and the Law prophesied until John. And if you are willing to accept it, he is the Elijah who was to come. He who has ears, let him hear.”

7. The law in the Old Testament is not to perish, but to be completed.

Matthew 5:17
“Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them.”

B. The Purpose of the Gospel

Christ was born under the law, lived by the law, and was cursed by the law by being hung on the cross so that he fulfilled the law and then redeemed those who were under the law.

Galatians 4:4-5
“But when the time had fully come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under law, to redeem those under law, that we might receive the full rights of sons.”

Therefore, those who believe in the righteousness of Christ and are united with him are acknowledged to be righteous by God. This is the gospel.

Galatians 3:10-14
“All who rely on observing the law are under a curse, for it is written: “Cursed is everyone who does not continue to do everything written in the Book of the Law.” Clearly no one is justified before God by the law, because, “The righteous will live by faith.” The law is not based on faith; on the contrary, “The man who does these things will live by them.” Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us, for it is written: “Cursed is everyone who is hung on a tree.” He redeemed us in order that the blessing given to Abraham might come to the Gentiles through Christ Jesus, so that by faith we might receive the promise of the Spirit.”

1. The purpose of the gospel is for the resurrection that makes the dead alive.

1 Corinthians 15:13-24
“If there is no resurrection of the dead, then not even Christ has been raised. And if Christ has not been raised, our preaching is useless and so is your faith. More than that, we are then found to be false witnesses about God, for we have testified about God that he raised Christ from the dead. But he did not raise him if in fact the dead are not raised. For if the dead are not raised, then Christ has not been raised either. And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins. Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ are lost. If only for this life we have hope in Christ, we are to be pitied more than all men. But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. For since death came through a man, the resurrection of the dead comes also through a man. For as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive. But each in his own turn: Christ, the firstfruits; then, when he comes, those who belong to him. Then the end will come, when he hands over the kingdom to God the Father after he has destroyed all dominion, authority and power.”

2. The purpose of the gospel is to make a new self in Christ.

Ephesians 2:10
“For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.”

3. The purpose of the gospel is to give glory to God and, on earth, peace to men on whom his favor rests.

Luke 2:11-14
“Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord. This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.” Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying, “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men on whom his favor rests.”

II. The Classification of the Law

The Civil Law
The Ceremonial Law (The Law of Sacrifice)
The Moral Law

A. The Civil Law for the people of Israel

(The Civil Law in the Old Testament was abolished.)

B. The Ceremonial Law for the Regulations of Sacrifice

Leviticus 17:11
“For the life of a creature is in the blood, and I have given it to you to make atonement for yourselves on the altar; it is the blood that makes atonement for one’s life.”

Hebrews 9:22
“In fact, the law requires that nearly everything be cleansed with blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness.”

(The Ceremonial Law was completed.)

Hebrews 10:9-10
”Then he said, “Here I am, I have come to do your will.” He sets aside the first to establish the second. And by that will, we have been made holy through the sacrifice of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.”

Jesus was born under the law. When he died for us on the cross, the curtain of the temple was torn, which symbolizes ‘no need for the Ceremonial Law,’

Matthew 27:50-51
“And when Jesus had cried out again in a loud voice, he gave up his spirit. At that moment the curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. The earth shook and the rocks split.”

There is no need to kill animals for the sin offering.

Hebrews 9:11-15
“When Christ came as high priest of the good things that are already here, he went through the greater and more perfect tabernacle that is not man-made, that is to say, not a part of this creation. He did not enter by means of the blood of goats and calves; but he entered the Most Holy Place once for all by his own blood, having obtained eternal redemption. The blood of goats and bulls and the ashes of a heifer sprinkled on those who are ceremonially unclean sanctify them so that they are outwardly clean. How much more, then, will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself unblemished to God, cleanse our consciences from acts that lead to death, so that we may serve the living God! For this reason Christ is the mediator of a new covenant, that those who are called may receive the promised eternal inheritance—now that he has died as a ransom to set them free from the sins committed under the first covenant.”

C. The Moral Law, related to conscience

Exodus 20:3-17
“You shall have no other gods before me. “You shall not make for yourself an idol in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below. You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sin of the fathers to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me, but showing love to a thousand {generations} of those who love me and keep my commandments. “You shall not misuse the name of the LORD your God, for the LORD will not hold anyone guiltless who misuses his name. “Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the LORD your God. On it you shall not do any work, neither you, nor your son or daughter, nor your manservant or maidservant, nor your animals, nor the alien within your gates. For in six days the LORD made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, but he rested on the seventh day. Therefore the LORD blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy. “Honor your father and your mother, so that you may live long in the land the LORD your God is giving you. “You shall not murder. “You shall not commit adultery. “You shall not steal. “You shall not give false testimony against your neighbor. “You shall not covet your neighbor’s house. You shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, or his manservant or maidservant, his ox or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor.”

Deuteronomy 5:7-21
“You shall have no other gods before me. “You shall not make for yourself an idol in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below. You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sin of the fathers to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me, but showing love to a thousand generations of those who love me and keep my commandments. “You shall not misuse the name of the LORD your God, for the LORD will not hold anyone guiltless who misuses his name. “Observe the Sabbath day by keeping it holy, as the LORD your God has commanded you. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the LORD your God. On it you shall not do any work, neither you, nor your son or daughter, nor your manservant or maidservant, nor your ox, your donkey or any of your animals, nor the alien within your gates, so that your manservant and maidservant may rest, as you do. Remember that you were slaves in Egypt and that the LORD your God brought you out of there with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm. Therefore the LORD your God has commanded you to observe the Sabbath day. Honor your father and your mother, as the LORD your God has commanded you, so that you may live long and that it may go well with you in the land the LORD your God is giving you. You shall not murder. You shall not commit adultery. You shall not steal. You shall not give false testimony against your neighbor. You shall not covet your neighbor’s wife. You shall not set your desire on your neighbor’s house or land, his manservant or maidservant, his ox or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor.”

The Civil Law of Israel was abolished; the Ceremonial Law was completed; and the Moral Law is still applicable to the saved. Therefore, Christians still need to abide by the Moral Law.

1. The Criteria of the Moral Law

The criteria of the Moral Law are the personality of God—-God is perfect.

Matthew 5:48
“Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.”

We humans were created in God’s image to live like Him.

Genesis 1:27-28
“So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them. God blessed them and said to them, “Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air and over every living creature that moves on the ground.“”

2. What is a life of living in God?

It is the life that practices love, as God is love.

1John 4:8
“Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love.”

Matthew 22:37-40
“Jesus replied: “ ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”

Matthew 7:12
“So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets.”

John 13:34-35
“A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”
Romans 5:8
“But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us”

Thus, the spirit of the Law is “perfect love.”

3. The Moral Law is not abolished, but completely fulfilled by Jesus Christ, which requires more obedience.

Matthew 5:17-20
“Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. I tell you the truth, until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen, will by any means disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished. Anyone who breaks one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever practices and teaches these commands will be called great in the kingdom of heaven. For I tell you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the Pharisees and the teachers of the law, you will certainly not enter the kingdom of heaven.

The above verse teaches us how the Law and the Christ are related. Since the Lord completely fulfilled, Christians also completely fulfill the Law.

1) By the Christ’s redemption the Law can be legitimately fulfilled. By the Holy Spirit dwelling in us, the heart to love the Law and the power to abide by it were given to us.

Romans 8:1-8
Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of life set me free from the law of sin and death. For what the law was powerless to do in that it was weakened by the sinful nature, God did by sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful man to be a sin offering. And so he condemned sin in sinful man, in order that the righteous requirements of the law might be fully met in us, who do not live according to the sinful nature but according to the Spirit. Those who live according to the sinful nature have their minds set on what that nature desires; but those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires. The mind of sinful man is death, but the mind controlled by the Spirit is life and peace; the sinful mind is hostile to God. It does not submit to God’s law, nor can it do so. Those controlled by the sinful nature cannot please God.

Romans 8:12-13
“Therefore, brothers, we have an obligation—but it is not to the sinful nature, to live according to it. For if you live according to the sinful nature, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body, you will live,”

Galatians 5:22-26
“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the sinful nature with its passions and desires. Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit. Let us not become conceited, provoking and envying each other.”

2) How strongly the Law of God works in our thought, speech, and behavior measures our spirituality; it reveals the glory of God and determines glorification, our status in heaven.

III. The Relation Between the Sabbath and Sunday

A. The Spirit of the Sabbath

In the Bible the Sabbath refers to: from sunset on Friday to sunset on Saturday.

God gave the Ten Commandments to the Israelites. The fourth one was to observe the Sabbath as holy.

Exodus 20:8-11
“Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the LORD your God. On it you shall not do any work, neither you, nor your son or daughter, nor your manservant or maidservant, nor your animals, nor the alien within your gates. For in six days the LORD made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, but he rested on the seventh day. Therefore the LORD blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy.

1. The Sabbath is the Law in the Old Testament.

Deuteronomy 5:12-15
“Observe the Sabbath day by keeping it holy, as the LORD your God has commanded you. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the LORD your God. On it you shall not do any work, neither you, nor your son or daughter, nor your manservant or maidservant, nor your ox, your donkey or any of your animals, nor the alien within your gates, so that your manservant and maidservant may rest, as you do. Remember that you were slaves in Egypt and that the LORD your God brought you out of there with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm. Therefore the LORD your God has commanded you to observe the Sabbath day.”

The Law is the law of the commandment for those who were under a curse.
Galatians 3:10
“All who rely on observing the law are under a curse, for it is written: “Cursed is everyone who does not continue to do everything written in the Book of the Law.“”

The Law is the yoke of the slave whereas Christ gave us freedom.
Galatians 5:1
“It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery.”

2. Those who violated the Sabbath were put to death.

Exodus 31:14-15 “ ‘Observe the Sabbath, because it is holy to you. Anyone who desecrates it must be put to death; whoever does any work on that day must be cut off from his people. For six days, work is to be done, but the seventh day is a Sabbath of rest, holy to the LORD. Whoever does any work on the Sabbath day must be put to death.
Numbers 15:32-26
“While the Israelites were in the desert, a man was found gathering wood on the Sabbath day. Those who found him gathering wood brought him to Moses and Aaron and the whole assembly, and they kept him in custody, because it was not clear what should be done to him. Then the LORD said to Moses, “The man must die. The whole assembly must stone him outside the camp.” So the assembly took him outside the camp and stoned him to death, as the LORD commanded Moses.”

Ignoring and violating the law of God is “Presumptuous Sin.”
“The wages of sin is death.”
Romans 6:23
“For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

In Adam all are sinners and are under the judgment of death. Therefore, the Law to the Israelites was given by the love of God who wanted to save sinners.

God gave the law to save sinners. This shows the love of God. By sacrificing one sinner many sinners are saved. So, the law was given to show that the sinner who violated the law was to put to death as a sample case.

3. The Sabbath is a definite sign between God and His people.

Exodus 31:12-13
“Then the LORD said to Moses, “Say to the Israelites, ‘You must observe my Sabbaths. This will be a sign between me and you for the generations to come, so you may know that I am the LORD, who makes you holy.”

Ezekiel 20:12-20
“Also I gave them my Sabbaths as a sign between us, so they would know that I the LORD made them holy. “ ‘Yet the people of Israel rebelled against me in the desert. They did not follow my decrees but rejected my laws—although the man who obeys them will live by them—and they utterly desecrated my Sabbaths. So I said I would pour out my wrath on them and destroy them in the desert. But for the sake of my name I did what would keep it from being profaned in the eyes of the nations in whose sight I had brought them out. Also with uplifted hand I swore to them in the desert that I would not bring them into the land I had given them—a land flowing with milk and honey, most beautiful of all lands-  because they rejected my laws and did not follow my decrees and desecrated my Sabbaths. For their hearts were devoted to their idols. Yet I looked on them with pity and did not destroy them or put an end to them in the desert. I said to their children in the desert, “Do not follow the statutes of your fathers or keep their laws or defile yourselves with their idols. I am the LORD your God; follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws. Keep my Sabbaths holy, that they may be a sign between us. Then you will know that I am the LORD your God.”

4. The Sabbath was observed, so that God did not even give manna on the Sabbath.

Exodus 16:27-28
“ Nevertheless, some of the people went out on the seventh day to gather it, but they found none. Then the LORD said to Moses, “How long will you refuse to keep my commands and my instructions?”

Other commandments were as important as observing the Sabbath. The reason why we focus on the Sabbath is that it can be an external criterion of faith.

B. The Characteristics of the Sabbath

1. No work

Exodus 20:9-10
“Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the LORD your God. On it you shall not do any work, neither you, nor your son or daughter, nor your manservant or maidservant, nor your animals, nor the alien within your gates.”

2. No lighting of a fire

Exodus 35:3
“Do not light a fire in any of your dwellings on the Sabbath day.”

3. No transactions on purchases and sales

Nehemiah 13:15-21
“In those days I saw men in Judah treading winepresses on the Sabbath and bringing in grain and loading it on donkeys, together with wine, grapes, figs and all other kinds of loads. And they were bringing all this into Jerusalem on the Sabbath. Therefore I warned them against selling food on that day. Men from Tyre who lived in Jerusalem were bringing in fish and all kinds of merchandise and selling them in Jerusalem on the Sabbath to the people of Judah. I rebuked the nobles of Judah and said to them, “What is this wicked thing you are doing—desecrating the Sabbath day? Didn’t your forefathers do the same things, so that our God brought all this calamity upon us and upon this city? Now you are stirring up more wrath against Israel by desecrating the Sabbath.” When evening shadows fell on the gates of Jerusalem before the Sabbath, I ordered the doors to be shut and not opened until the Sabbath was over. I stationed some of my own men at the gates so that no load could be brought in on the Sabbath day. Once or twice the merchants and sellers of all kinds of goods spent the night outside Jerusalem. But I warned them and said, “Why do you spend the night by the wall? If you do this again, I will lay hands on you.” From that time on they no longer came on the Sabbath.”

Jeremiah 17:21-27
“This is what the LORD says: Be careful not to carry a load on the Sabbath day or bring it through the gates of Jerusalem. Do not bring a load out of your houses or do any work on the Sabbath, but keep the Sabbath day holy, as I commanded your forefathers. Yet they did not listen or pay attention; they were stiff-necked and would not listen or respond to discipline. But if you are careful to obey me, declares the LORD, and bring no load through the gates of this city on the Sabbath, but keep the Sabbath day holy by not doing any work on it, then kings who sit on David’s throne will come through the gates of this city with their officials. They and their officials will come riding in chariots and on horses, accompanied by the men of Judah and those living in Jerusalem, and this city will be inhabited forever. People will come from the towns of Judah and the villages around Jerusalem, from the territory of Benjamin and the western foothills, from the hill country and the Negev, bringing burnt offerings and sacrifices, grain offerings, incense and thank offerings to the house of the LORD. But if you do not obey me to keep the Sabbath day holy by not carrying any load as you come through the gates of Jerusalem on the Sabbath day, then I will kindle an unquenchable fire in the gates of Jerusalem that will consume her fortresses.’ “”

4. The gospel of Jesus Christ was afflicted with the law of the Pharisees because of the Sabbath. Complying with the Law by its literal meaning makes the gospel futile and bound to the law.

Galatians 6:11-15
“See what large letters I use as I write to you with my own hand! Those who want to make a good impression outwardly are trying to compel you to be circumcised. The only reason they do this is to avoid being persecuted for the cross of Christ. Not even those who are circumcised obey the law, yet they want you to be circumcised that they may boast about your flesh. May I never boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world. Neither circumcision nor uncircumcision means anything; what counts is a new creation.”

C. Jesus Christ broke the Sabbath

1. The disciples of Jesus Christ cut and ate some head of grain in grainfields on the Sabbath.

“The Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath.”

Matthew 12:1-8
“At that time Jesus went through the grainfields on the Sabbath. His disciples were hungry and began to pick some heads of grain and eat them. When the Pharisees saw this, they said to him, “Look! Your disciples are doing what is unlawful on the Sabbath.” He answered, “Haven’t you read what David did when he and his companions were hungry? He entered the house of God, and he and his companions ate the consecrated bread—which was not lawful for them to do, but only for the priests. Or haven’t you read in the Law that on the Sabbath the priests in the temple desecrate the day and yet are innocent? I tell you that one greater than the temple is here. If you had known what these words mean, ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice,’ you would not have condemned the innocent. For the Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath.“”

2. Jesus healed a man with a shriveled right hand on the Sabbath.

Luke 6:6-11
“On another Sabbath he went into the synagogue and was teaching, and a man was there whose right hand was shriveled. The Pharisees and the teachers of the law were looking for a reason to accuse Jesus, so they watched him closely to see if he would heal on the Sabbath. But Jesus knew what they were thinking and said to the man with the shriveled hand, “Get up and stand in front of everyone.” So he got up and stood there. Then Jesus said to them, “I ask you, which is lawful on the Sabbath: to do good or to do evil, to save life or to destroy it?” He looked around at them all, and then said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” He did so, and his hand was completely restored. But they were furious and began to discuss with one another what they might do to Jesus.”

3. Jesus Christ healed one who was an invalid for thirty-eight years in Bethesda.

John 5:2-10
“Now there is in Jerusalem near the Sheep Gate a pool, which in Aramaic is called Bethesda and which is surrounded by five covered colonnades. Here a great number of disabled people used to lie—the blind, the lame, the paralyzed. One who was there had been an invalid for thirty-eight years. When Jesus saw him lying there and learned that he had been in this condition for a long time, he asked him, “Do you want to get well?” “Sir,” the invalid replied, “I have no one to help me into the pool when the water is stirred. While I am trying to get in, someone else goes down ahead of me.” Then Jesus said to him, “Get up! Pick up your mat and walk.” At once the man was cured; he picked up his mat and walked. The day on which this took place was a Sabbath, and so the Jews said to the man who had been healed, “It is the Sabbath; the law forbids you to carry your mat.” “

John 5:16-18
“So, because Jesus was doing these things on the Sabbath, the Jews persecuted him. Jesus said to them, “My Father is always at his work to this very day, and I, too, am working.” For this reason the Jews tried all the harder to kill him; not only was he breaking the Sabbath, but he was even calling God his own Father, making himself equal with God.”

4. He healed the blind on the Sabbath.

John 9:1-7
“As he went along, he saw a man blind from birth. His disciples asked him, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?” “Neither this man nor his parents sinned,” said Jesus, “but this happened so that the work of God might be displayed in his life. As long as it is day, we must do the work of him who sent me. Night is coming, when no one can work. While I am in the world, I am the light of the world.” Having said this, he spit on the ground, made some mud with the saliva, and put it on the man’s eyes. “Go,” he told him, “wash in the Pool of Siloam” (this word means Sent). So the man went and washed, and came home seeing.”

John 9:13-16
“They brought to the Pharisees the man who had been blind. Now the day on which Jesus had made the mud and opened the man’s eyes was a Sabbath. Therefore the Pharisees also asked him how he had received his sight. “He put mud on my eyes,” the man replied, “and I washed, and now I see.” Some of the Pharisees said, “This man is not from God, for he does not keep the Sabbath.” But others asked, “How can a sinner do such miraculous signs?” So they were divided.”

5. The spirit of the Sabbath originated in good deeds.

Isaiah 1:12-17
“When you come to appear before me, who has asked this of you, this trampling of my courts? Stop bringing meaningless offerings! Your incense is detestable to me. New Moons, Sabbaths and convocations— I cannot bear your evil assemblies. Your New Moon festivals and your appointed feasts my soul hates. They have become a burden to me; I am weary of bearing them. When you spread out your hands in prayer, I will hide my eyes from you; even if you offer many prayers, I will not listen. Your hands are full of blood; wash and make yourselves clean. Take your evil deeds out of my sight! Stop doing wrong, learn to do right! Seek justice, encourage the oppressed. Defend the cause of the fatherless, plead the case of the widow.”

6. The Sabbath is the law of the Old Testament.

Those who are trying to be justified by law have been alienated from Christ,
Galatians 5:4
“You who are trying to be justified by law have been alienated from Christ; you have fallen away from grace.”

D. The Concept of the Sabbath

1. The concept of the Sabbath in the Old Testament

1) The day God finished the creation of everything in the universe, rested, and separated the holy for blessings.

Genesis 2:2-3
“By the seventh day God had finished the work he had been doing; so on the seventh day he rested from all his work. And God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it he rested from all the work of creating that he had done.

2) The day that made the chosen people of Israel abide by the law.

Exodus 31:17
“It will be a sign between me and the Israelites forever, for in six days the LORD made the heavens and the earth, and on the seventh day he abstained from work and rested.’ “

2. The concept of the Sabbath in the New Testament

1) We have no real rest in this world. After resurrection, we enter the rest of God. This is the concept of the Sabbath in the era of the gospel.

Hebrews 3:7-19
“So, as the Holy Spirit says: “Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts as you did in the rebellion, during the time of testing in the desert, where your fathers tested and tried me and for forty years saw what I did. That is why I was angry with that generation, and I said, ‘Their hearts are always going astray, and they have not known my ways. So I declared on oath in my anger, ‘They shall never enter my rest.’ “ See to it, brothers, that none of you has a sinful, unbelieving heart that turns away from the living God. But encourage one another daily, as long as it is called Today, so that none of you may be hardened by sin’s deceitfulness. We have come to share in Christ if we hold firmly till the end the confidence we had at first. As has just been said: “Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts as you did in the rebellion.” Who were they who heard and rebelled? Were they not all those Moses led out of Egypt? And with whom was he angry for forty years? Was it not with those who sinned, whose bodies fell in the desert? And to whom did God swear that they would never enter his rest if not to those who disobeyed? So we see that they were not able to enter, because of their unbelief. “

Hebrews 4:1-11
“Therefore, since the promise of entering his rest still stands, let us be careful that none of you be found to have fallen short of it. For we also have had the gospel preached to us, just as they did; but the message they heard was of no value to them, because those who heard did not combine it with faith. Now we who have believed enter that rest, just as God has said, “So I declared on oath in my anger, ‘They shall never enter my rest.’ “ And yet his work has been finished since the creation of the world. For somewhere he has spoken about the seventh day in these words: “And on the seventh day God rested from all his work.” And again in the passage above he says, “They shall never enter my rest.” It still remains that some will enter that rest, and those who formerly had the gospel preached to them did not go in, because of their disobedience. Therefore God again set a certain day, calling it Today, when a long time later he spoke through David, as was said before: “Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts.” For if Joshua had given them rest, God would not have spoken later about another day. There remains, then, a Sabbath-rest for the people of God; for anyone who enters God’s rest also rests from his own work, just as God did from his. Let us, therefore, make every effort to enter that rest, so that no one will fall by following their example of disobedience.”

2) The Sabbath has the characteristics of a model, like a shadow of good things coming in the future

Colossians 2:13-17
“When you were dead in your sins and in the uncircumcision of your sinful nature, God made you alive with Christ. He forgave us all our sins, having canceled the written code, with its regulations, that was against us and that stood opposed to us; he took it away, nailing it to the cross. And having disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross. Therefore do not let anyone judge you by what you eat or drink, or with regard to a religious festival, a New Moon celebration or a Sabbath day. These are a shadow of the things that were to come; the reality, however, is found in Christ.”

Romans 14:7-13
“For none of us lives to himself alone and none of us dies to himself alone. If we live, we live to the Lord; and if we die, we die to the Lord. So, whether we live or die, we belong to the Lord. For this very reason, Christ died and returned to life so that he might be the Lord of both the dead and the living. You, then, why do you judge your brother? Or why do you look down on your brother? For we will all stand before God’s judgment seat. It is written: “ ‘As surely as I live,’ says the Lord, ‘every knee will bow before me; every tongue will confess to God.’ “ So then, each of us will give an account of himself to God. Therefore let us stop passing judgment on one another. Instead, make up your mind not to put any stumbling block or obstacle in your brother’s way.”

3) Jesus Christ said, “The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath. So the Son of Man is Lord even of the Sabbath.”

Mark 2:27-28
“Then he said to them, “The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath. So the Son of Man is Lord even of the Sabbath.“”

4) Jesus Christ proclaimed that he fulfilled and finished the law.

John 19:30
“When he had received the drink, Jesus said, “It is finished.” With that, he bowed his head and gave up his spirit.“

Jesus Christ attained death, the final destination of the law, by being hanged on the cross and buried in a tomb.

Matthew 27:57-61
“As evening approached, there came a rich man from Arimathea, named Joseph, who had himself become a disciple of Jesus. Going to Pilate, he asked for Jesus’ body, and Pilate ordered that it be given to him. Joseph took the body, wrapped it in a clean linen cloth, and placed it in his own new tomb that he had cut out of the rock. He rolled a big stone in front of the entrance to the tomb and went away. Mary Magdalene and the other Mary were sitting there opposite the tomb.”

5) It is a fact that Jesus was in a tomb as the dead on the Sabbath in the Old Testament.

Matthew 28:1-10
“After the Sabbath, at dawn on the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to look at the tomb. There was a violent earthquake, for an angel of the Lord came down from heaven and, going to the tomb, rolled back the stone and sat on it. His appearance was like lightning, and his clothes were white as snow. The guards were so afraid of him that they shook and became like dead men. The angel said to the women, “Do not be afraid, for I know that you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified. He is not here; he has risen, just as he said. Come and see the place where he lay. Then go quickly and tell his disciples: ‘He has risen from the dead and is going ahead of you into Galilee. There you will see him.’ Now I have told you.” So the women hurried away from the tomb, afraid yet filled with joy, and ran to tell his disciples. Suddenly Jesus met them. “Greetings,” he said. They came to him, clasped his feet and worshiped him. Then Jesus said to them, “Do not be afraid. Go and tell my brothers to go to Galilee; there they will see me.” “

Thus, the key point in the New Testament is not the day of the Sabbath when Jesus Christ was in a tomb for the dead by sin, but the first day after the Sabbath, the day that he was resurrected.

The Old Testament is about death whereas the New Testament is about resurrection.

The Sabbath was the center of life in the Old Testament whereas Sunday was the center of life in the New Testament because the gospel does not stay on the Ceremonial Law based the essence of death, but on the resurrection from death.

Jesus Christ completed the Sabbath by the resurrection from death and started afresh the first day after the Sabbath—-the day of the resurrection that he had overcome the power of death as the day of Lord.

6) The Sabbath did not exist for the Gentiles who did not have the Law. They never acquired the Law.

Romans 4:14-16
“For if those who live by law are heirs, faith has no value and the promise is worthless, because law brings wrath. And where there is no law there is no transgression. Therefore, the promise comes by faith, so that it may be by grace and may be guaranteed to all Abraham’s offspring—not only to those who are of the law but also to those who are of the faith of Abraham. He is the father of us all.”

7) The Sabbath was finished by the death of Jesus Christ for redemption. If we believe that we died on the cross with Jesus Christ, the Sabbath as the day for the death of sinners is finished with Jesus Christ.

Romans 6:3-11
“Or don’t you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life. If we have been united with him like this in his death, we will certainly also be united with him in his resurrection. For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin— because anyone who has died has been freed from sin. Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him. For we know that since Christ was raised from the dead, he cannot die again; death no longer has mastery over him. The death he died, he died to sin once for all; but the life he lives, he lives to God. In the same way, count yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus.”

This is the difference between the Sabbath and Sunday; the difference between the Old Testament and the New Testament. In other words, the difference between the law and the gospel.

IV. Sunday and the Commandments in the Era of the Gospel

A. The Meaning of Sunday

1. Sunday is based on the resurrection of Jesus Christ.

Mark 16:1-11
“When the Sabbath was over, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought spices so that they might go to anoint Jesus’ body. Very early on the first day of the week, just after sunrise, they were on their way to the tomb and they asked each other, “Who will roll the stone away from the entrance of the tomb?” But when they looked up, they saw that the stone, which was very large, had been rolled away. As they entered the tomb, they saw a young man dressed in a white robe sitting on the right side, and they were alarmed. “Don’t be alarmed,” he said. “You are looking for Jesus the Nazarene, who was crucified. He has risen! He is not here. See the place where they laid him. But go, tell his disciples and Peter, ‘He is going ahead of you into Galilee. There you will see him, just as he told you.’ “ Trembling and bewildered, the women went out and fled from the tomb. They said nothing to anyone, because they were afraid. When Jesus rose early on the first day of the week, he appeared first to Mary Magdalene, out of whom he had driven seven demons. She went and told those who had been with him and who were mourning and weeping. When they heard that Jesus was alive and that she had seen him, they did not believe it.“

Luke 24:1-10
“On the first day of the week, very early in the morning, the women took the spices they had prepared and went to the tomb. They found the stone rolled away from the tomb, but when they entered, they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus. While they were wondering about this, suddenly two men in clothes that gleamed like lightning stood beside them. In their fright the women bowed down with their faces to the ground, but the men said to them, “Why do you look for the living among the dead? He is not here; he has risen! Remember how he told you, while he was still with you in Galilee: ‘The Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, be crucified and on the third day be raised again.’ “ Then they remembered his words. When they came back from the tomb, they told all these things to the Eleven and to all the others. It was Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Mary the mother of James, and the others with them who told this to the apostles.”

John 20:1-10
“Early on the first day of the week, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene went to the tomb and saw that the stone had been removed from the entrance. So she came running to Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one Jesus loved, and said, “They have taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we don’t know where they have put him!” So Peter and the other disciple started for the tomb. Both were running, but the other disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb first. He bent over and looked in at the strips of linen lying there but did not go in. Then Simon Peter, who was behind him, arrived and went into the tomb. He saw the strips of linen lying there, as well as the burial cloth that had been around Jesus’ head. The cloth was folded up by itself, separate from the linen. Finally the other disciple, who had reached the tomb first, also went inside. He saw and believed. (They still did not understand from Scripture that Jesus had to rise from the dead.) Then the disciples went back to their homes”.

2. On the first day after the Sabbath, the day of the Lord, Jesus Christ, who was resurrected, personally visited his disciples and gave them the inspiration of the Holy Spirit.

1) Jesus Christ found his disciples who hid behind the locked door out of fear and breathed on them with the Holy Spirit.

John 20-19-23
“On the evening of that first day of the week, when the disciples were together, with the doors locked for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you!” After he said this, he showed them his hands and side. The disciples were overjoyed when they saw the Lord. Again Jesus said, “Peace be with you! As the Father has sent me, I am sending you.” And with that he breathed on them and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive anyone his sins, they are forgiven; if you do not forgive them, they are not forgiven.“”

2) Jesus Christ appeared to Apostle John, who was exiled to the island of Patmos and gave him a new revelation.

Revelation 1:9-10
“I, John, your brother and companion in the suffering and kingdom and patient endurance that are ours in Jesus, was on the island of Patmos because of the word of God and the testimony of Jesus. On the Lord’s Day I was in the Spirit, and I heard behind me a loud voice like a trumpet”.

3. The early church had Communion, which Jesus Christ established on the first day of the Sabbath, the day of Lord.

Acts 20:7
“On the first day of the week we came together to break bread. Paul spoke to the people and, because he intended to leave the next day, kept on talking until midnight.”

1 Corinthians 16:1-2
“Now about the collection for God’s people: Do what I told the Galatian churches to do. On the first day of every week, each one of you should set aside a sum of money in keeping with his income, saving it up, so that when I come no collections will have to be made.”

4. The early church offered to God on the first day of week, Sunday.

5. Observing the Sabbath was the external sign of faith in the Old Testament. Likewise, observing Sunday is the external sign of faith in resurrection. It is important not to refer to the mode, but to see whether or not we have the faith of resurrection, or the hope for resurrection.

6. The Sabbath in the Old Testament had to be observed because of the curse to be put upon violators. Sunday in the New Testament is related to whether or not we have the life of resurrection. Those who have the life of resurrection open their life in God with joy and thanks, and serve in truth and spirit for the glory of God.

John 4:23
“Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks.”

7. Sunday in the New Testament is not to comply, but to make it the day of a personally and spiritually inspired feast in which God comes to meet us by serving Him in truth and spirit.

8. The life of resurrection has the characteristic of disseminating naturally. That is why the confession of faith saying “Woe to me if I do not preached the gospel” comes with it.

1 Corinthians 9:16
“Yet when I preach the gospel, I cannot boast, for I am compelled to preach. Woe to me if I do not preach the gospel!”

9. Sunday on the day of Pentecost became the first day that church started and the gospel was spread through the disciples in Christianity.

Acts 1:8
“But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”

Acts 2:1-4
“When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place. Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them.”

Acts 2:36-41
“Therefore let all Israel be assured of this: God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Christ.” When the people heard this, they were cut to the heart and said to Peter and the other apostles, “Brothers, what shall we do?” Peter replied, “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. The promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off—for all whom the Lord our God will call.” With many other words he warned them; and he pleaded with them, “Save yourselves from this corrupt generation.” Those who accepted his message were baptized, and about three thousand were added to their number that day.”

The day of Pentecost is the fiftieth day (the Feast of Harvest) from the day of resurrection, the first day after the Sabbath after Jesus Christ was in a tomb on the Sabbath of Passover. Therefore, it is Sunday, the first day after the Sabbath that the Holy Spirit promised by Jesus Christ came down to and dwelled in the disciples who were waiting for it by prayer. The day of Pentecost is the day that today’s Christianity started, and thus it is on Sunday that we gather to worship God.

Therefore, Christianity does not observe the Sabbath given to the people of Israel in the Old Testament. Sunday is the day that Jesus Christ was resurrected and the Holy Spirit came down to start the church. On Sunday those who are born again with the spirit of Jesus Christ serve the Lord, the head, as the parts of the body of Christ.

10. The Jews who believe in the same God do not believe in Jesus Christ who was resurrected, do not know and receive the life of the Holy Spirit sent by Christ, and still observe the Sabbath which is merely a shadow. Those who received the life of resurrection enjoy joy to meet God by serving Him with truth and spirit on Sunday.

B. The Law Interpreted by Jesus Christ

Since the teachers of the Law and the Pharisees misunderstood the law of God, Jesus Christ interpreted the distorted law with true meaning.

1. About murder

Matthew 5:21-22
“You have heard that it was said to the people long ago, ‘Do not murder, and anyone who murders will be subject to judgment.’ But I tell you that anyone who is angry with his brother will be subject to judgment. Again, anyone who says to his brother, ‘Raca,’ is answerable to the Sanhedrin. But anyone who says, ‘You fool!’ will be in danger of the fire of hell.
Murder includes saying fool to brothers, being angry, despising others, and cursing.
1 John 3:15
“Anyone who hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life in him.”

2. About adultery

Matthew 5:27-28
““You have heard that it was said, ‘Do not commit adultery.’ But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart.”

1) He said, “Anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart.”

2) He forgave the woman who committed adultery.

John 8:6-8
“They were using this question as a trap, in order to have a basis for accusing him. But Jesus bent down and started to write on the ground with his finger. When they kept on questioning him, he straightened up and said to them, “If any one of you is without sin, let him be the first to throw a stone at her.” Again he stooped down and wrote on the ground.”

3) The Law in the Old Testament: Anyone who committed adultery must be put to death.

Leviticus 20:10
“ ‘If a man commits adultery with another man’s wife—with the wife of his neighbor—both the adulterer and the adulteress must be put to death.”

Deuteronomy 22:22-24
“If a man is found sleeping with another man’s wife, both the man who slept with her and the woman must die. You must purge the evil from Israel. If a man happens to meet in a town a virgin pledged to be married and he sleeps with her, you shall take both of them to the gate of that town and stone them to death—the girl because she was in a town and did not scream for help, and the man because he violated another man’s wife. You must purge the evil from among you.”

4) Spiritual Adultery

Leviticus 3:8-10
“He is to lay his hand on the head of his offering and slaughter it in front of the Tent of Meeting. Then Aaron’s sons shall sprinkle its blood against the altar on all sides. From the fellowship offering he is to bring a sacrifice made to the LORD by fire: its fat, the entire fat tail cut off close to the backbone, all the fat that covers the inner parts or is connected to them, both kidneys with the fat on them near the loins, and the covering of the liver, which he will remove with the kidneys.”

Leviticus 5:7
“‘If he cannot afford a lamb, he is to bring two doves or two young pigeons to the LORD as a penalty for his sin—one for a sin offering and the other for a burnt offering.”

Leviticus 13:27
“On the seventh day the priest is to examine him, and if it is spreading in the skin, the priest shall pronounce him unclean; it is an infectious skin disease.”

Isaiah 57:3
“But you—come here, you sons of a sorceress, you offspring of adulterers and prostitutes!”

3. About divorce

Matthew 5:31-32
““It has been said, ‘Anyone who divorces his wife must give her a certificate of divorce.’ But I tell you that anyone who divorces his wife, except for marital unfaithfulness, causes her to become an adulteress, and anyone who marries the divorced woman commits adultery.”

Matthew 19:3-10
“Some Pharisees came to him to test him. They asked, “Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife for any and every reason?” “Haven’t you read,” he replied, “that at the beginning the Creator ‘made them male and female,’ and said, ‘For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh’? So they are no longer two, but one. Therefore what God has joined together, let man not separate.” “Why then,” they asked, “did Moses command that a man give his wife a certificate of divorce and send her away?” Jesus replied, “Moses permitted you to divorce your wives because your hearts were hard. But it was not this way from the beginning. I tell you that anyone who divorces his wife, except for marital unfaithfulness, and marries another woman commits adultery.” The disciples said to him, “If this is the situation between a husband and wife, it is better not to marry.”

4. About revenge

Matthew 5:38-39
““You have heard that it was said, ‘Eye for eye, and tooth for tooth.’ But I tell you, Do not resist an evil person. If someone strikes you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also.”

“Eye for eye, and tooth for tooth” written in the law was to keep the justice of trial and to prevent overusing vengeful thoughts. The Pharisees expanded its meaning to the law of revenge and used it for revenge. But Jesus said, “Do not resist an evil person. If someone strikes you on the right check, turn to him the other also.”

5. About enemies

Matthew 5:43-44
““You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I tell you: Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, “

He said,” ‘Do not seek revenge or bear a grudge against one of your people, but love your neighbor as yourself. I am the LORD.”

Leviticus 19:17-18
“‘Do not hate your brother in your heart. Rebuke your neighbor frankly so you will not share in his guilt.” ‘Do not seek revenge or bear a grudge against one of your people, but love your neighbor as yourself. I am the LORD.”

However, the Pharisees omitted “Love your enemy,” and added their teaching, “Hate your enemy” to the law. (Matthew 5:43-44)

Likewise, Jesus corrected the omission and the addition to God’s word to the original one, “Love your enemies.” The essence of the law is love so that by loving our enemies he wants us to fully resemble the personality of God as the ultimate goal of the law.

6. Jesus concluded his teaching with his word, “Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.”(Matthew 5:48)

V. The Relation Between the Law and the Gospel

The love of God saving sinners is the law and the gospel.

Genesis 3:15
“And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; he will crush your head, and you will strike his heel.“”

John 3:16
““For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.”

Romans 5:8
“But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”

A. The Word of God comprises the Law and the Gospel

1. People realize their weakness, evilness and their destruction by the curse through their sin when they stand before the law. Then, they cry out for salvation.

Romans 7:21
“What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death?”

2. When a sinner stands before the law, the law becomes his private tutor leading him to the gospel which makes him beg to Jesus Christ.

Galatians 3:23-27
“Before this faith came, we were held prisoners by the law, locked up until faith should be revealed. So the law was put in charge to lead us to Christ that we might be justified by faith.Now that faith has come, we are no longer under the supervision of the law. You are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus, for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ”

3. The gospel introduces Jesus Christ, who makes sinners righteous. When they accept Him as their savior, they are put in righteousness.

Romans 8:10-17
“But if Christ is in you, your body is dead because of sin, yet your spirit is alive because of righteousness. And if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit, who lives in you. Therefore, brothers, we have an obligation—but it is not to the sinful nature, to live according to it. For if you live according to the sinful nature, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body, you will live, because those who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God.

“For you did not receive a spirit that makes you a slave again to fear, but you received the Spirit of sonship. And by him we cry, “Abba, Father.” And if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit, who lives in you. Therefore, brothers, we have an obligation—but it is not to the sinful nature, to live according to it. For if you live according to the sinful nature, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body, you will live, because those who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God. For you did not receive a spirit that makes you a slave again to fear, but you received the Spirit of sonship. And by him we cry, “Abba, Father.”

4. Jesus makes it so that the requirement of the law is fulfilled in the hearts of believers by conducting his work of sanctification through the power of the Holy Spirit.

Romans 8:1-4
“Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of life set me free from the law of sin and death. For what the law was powerless to do in that it was weakened by the sinful nature, God did by sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful man to be a sin offering. And so he condemned sin in sinful man, in order that the righteous requirements of the law might be fully met in us, who do not live according to the sinful nature but according to the Spirit.”

The law sends sinners to Jesus Christ and makes them obtain righteousness. Christ sends the believers who are justified back to the law and makes them holy.

5. The Pharisees overshadowed the light of the law whereas Jesus Christ restored it with its original light.

Thus, we must understand the correlation between the law and the gospel and the gospel and the law. The two works together fulfill the will of God.

6. The Reformist, John Calvin, said in Institutes of the Christian Religion, Volume 2, Chapter 8, Verse 7: Jesus is not a new law maker, but the interpreter of the existing law.

7. As people understand the gospel more and more, they are deeply moved by the grace of God and aspire to obey the law, the will of God.

Romans 3:31
“Do we, then, nullify the law by this faith? Not at all! Rather, we uphold the law.”

Psalms 119:103
“How sweet are your words to my taste, sweeter than honey to my mouth!”

B. How do we live our life as Christians?

1. It is the time that we are justified by hearing, understanding, and believing in the gospel.

Romans 3:28
“For we maintain that a man is justified by faith apart from observing the law.”

Galatians 2:16
“know that a man is not justified by observing the law, but by faith in Jesus Christ. So we, too, have put our faith in Christ Jesus that we may be justified by faith in Christ and not by observing the law, because by observing the law no one will be justified.”

Galatians 3:11
“Clearly no one is justified before God by the law, because, “The righteous will live by faith.“”

2. It is the era of the gospel that those who are justified by believing in Jesus Christ practice their faith to be blessed.

Romans 10:16-21
“But not all the Israelites accepted the good news. For Isaiah says, “Lord, who has believed our message?” Consequently, faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word of Christ. But I ask: Did they not hear? Of course they did: “Their voice has gone out into all the earth, their words to the ends of the world.” Again I ask: Did Israel not understand? First, Moses says, “I will make you envious by those who are not a nation; I will make you angry by a nation that has no understanding.” And Isaiah boldly says, “I was found by those who did not seek me; I revealed myself to those who did not ask for me.” But concerning Israel he says, “All day long I have held out my hands to a disobedient and obstinate people.”

Romans 11:1-8
“I ask then: Did God reject his people? By no means! I am an Israelite myself, a descendant of Abraham, from the tribe of Benjamin. God did not reject his people, whom he foreknew. Don’t you know what the Scripture says in the passage about Elijah—how he appealed to God against Israel:“Lord, they have killed your prophets and torn down your altars; I am the only one left, and they are trying to kill me”? And what was God’s answer to him? “I have reserved for myself seven thousand who have not bowed the knee to Baal.” So too, at the present time there is a remnant chosen by grace. And if by grace, then it is no longer by works; if it were, grace would no longer be grace. What then? What Israel sought so earnestly it did not obtain, but the elect did. The others were hardened, as it is written: “God gave them a spirit of stupor, eyes so that they could not see and ears so that they could not hear, to this very day.”

Revelation 1:3
“Blessed is the one who reads the words of this prophecy, and blessed are those who hear it and take to heart what is written in it, because the time is near.”

Revelation 22:7
“Behold, I am coming soon! Blessed is he who keeps the words of the prophecy in this book.”

The Lord, Jesus Christ, reinterpreted the law in Matthew Chapter 5. Christians must understand and practice it with the help of the Holy Spirit and be the men of grace who make God pleased.

2 Corinthians 5:8-10
“We are confident, I say, and would prefer to be away from the body and at home with the Lord. So we make it our goal to please him, whether we are at home in the body or away from it. For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive what is due him for the things done while in the body, whether good or bad.”

3. To be such Christians, we must know and conduct as follows:

1) Romans 5:5-6
“And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us. You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly”

2) 1 Corinthians 2:9-14
“However, as it is written: “No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love him”— but God has revealed it to us by his Spirit. The Spirit searches all things, even the deep things of God. For who among men knows the thoughts of a man except the man’s spirit within him? In the same way no one knows the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God. We have not received the spirit of the world but the Spirit who is from God, that we may understand what God has freely given us. This is what we speak, not in words taught us by human wisdom but in words taught by the Spirit, expressing spiritual truths in spiritual words. The man without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him, and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually discerned.”

3) Galatians 5:13-18
“You, my brothers, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the sinful nature; rather, serve one another in love. The entire law is summed up in a single command: “Love your neighbor as yourself.”
If you keep on biting and devouring each other, watch out or you will be destroyed by each other. So I say, live by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the sinful nature. For the sinful nature desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the sinful nature. They are in conflict with each other, so that you do not do what you want. But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under law.“

Those who understand the relation between the law and the gospel must live the life lead by the Holy Spirit. Therefore, by fully practicing the law for God’s blessing, they live life glorifying God.

James 1:25
“But the man who looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues to do this, not forgetting what he has heard, but doing it—he will be blessed in what he does.”

4. Conclusion:

1 Thessalonians 5:23-24
“May God himself, the God of peace, sanctify you through and through. May your whole spirit, soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. The one who calls you is faithful and he will do it.”

We must be those whom “the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with “

2 Corinthians 13:11-13
“Finally, brothers, good-by. Aim for perfection, listen to my appeal, be of one mind, live in peace. And the God of love and peace will be with you. Greet one another with a holy kiss. All the saints send their greetings. May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.”

References

The Holy Bible with Reference, Hankul and Revised, Korea, 1981.

Institutes of the Christian Religion. John Calvin. The Westminster Press. Philadelphia. Edited by John T. McNeill

Encyclopedia Of Christianity. The Christian Literature Press, Korea, 1992.

Agape Bible Dictionary. Agape publishing House, Seoul, Korea, 1991.

The Law and the Gospel. Dr. Won Tai Chung, Ph.D., Christian Litersture Crusade, Korea, 1990.

※ Please refer to the Korean version for full reference information.