Keeping the Law
Adam DeCuir. Jan. 2008

Introduction

            I’ll make this much clear right away: no, we don’t have to keep the laws of the Old Testament, to get into heaven or for any other vital reason.  However, I think when we look at the benefits to doing so, anyone whom has faith in Christ (and is therefore part of the Kingdom of God) should want to.  Since most people who will ever read this will be a Gentile (not a Jew), raised with the concepts of the New Testament over those of the Old Testament, I’ll use the study of the New Testament look at the Law of the Old Testament.
 

Christ’s perspective on the Old Testament
(Matt 5:17-20)

17"Do not think that I came to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I did not come to abolish but to fulfill.

 18"For truly I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not the smallest letter or stroke shall pass from the Law until all is accomplished.

 19"Whoever then annuls one of the least of these commandments, and teaches others to do the same, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever keeps and teaches them, he shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven.

 20"For I say to you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven.

 
            Christ, Himself, wants us to obey and teach the Law and the Prophets of His Word (“Old Testament”).  If we do away with the leadership of The Law and/or the prophecies that would later be fulfilled by Christ, we are “least in the kingdom of heaven”.  If we want to be great, we need to be thoroughly obedient.    

Christ is a big part of the meaning and fulfillment of the prophetic nature of the Words of God, after all.  If He is part of those commandments, and we’re following Him, why should we not follow them; especially since He clearly says that “whoever keeps and teaches them, he shall be called great”? 

On the other hand, Christ goes further to explain that we need faith in Him (a faith that the scribes and Pharisees didn’t have) to even enter His Kingdom.  It’s not about following a Jewish practice; that won’t even get us citizenship; but with faith in Christ, paired with the structure of His Word (the full Word, not just the New Testament); we become great citizens of God’s Kingdom. 

Christ, and those who spoke inspired after Him in scripture, clearly teach that faith in Him, and that alone, get us into His Kingdom.  The question is, do we want to be great in God’s eyes, or will we settle for “making it in”?  That realm is eternal.  This life is short.  It seems that a good investment would be to work hard to study and follow His Law and prophecies in life for the pay-off of greatness in eternity.  Doesn’t it? 

Paul’s instruction on keeping the commands of God
(1 Corinthians 7:17-19)

17Only, as the Lord has assigned to each one, as God has called each, in this manner let him walk And so I direct in all the churches.

 18 Was any man called when he was already circumcised? He is not to become uncircumcised. Has anyone been called in uncircumcision? He is not to be circumcised.

 19 Circumcision is nothing, and uncircumcision is nothing, but what matters is the keeping of the commandments of God.

 20 Each man must remain in that condition in which he was called.  

It doesn’t matter what our physical state is.  What matters is keeping the commands of God (i.e. the Law of God, “The Old Testament”).  When Paul says that we “must remain in that condition in which he was called”, he obviously wasn’t talking about what we do, or how we live, because those natural ways of sin are in opposition of obedience.  He was simply relating the all-accepting nature of the Lord, whom allows any person of any condition be adopted into His royalty. 

 Any person can be themselves, as a unique individual who wants to follow God.  We’re told that all that matters is keeping the commandments of God as we come with whichever physical state we’re in.  What this is not saying, is that we don’t have to change our practice to obey the law. 

Two Directions
(Revelations 12:9-13)
 

 9 Then another angel, a third one, followed them, saying with a loud voice, "If anyone worships the beast and his image, and receives a mark on his forehead or on his hand,

 10 he also will drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is mixed in full strength in the cup of His anger; and he will be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels and in the presence of the Lamb.

 11 "And the smoke of their torment goes up forever and ever; they have no rest day and night, those who worship the beast and his image, and whoever receives the mark of his name."

 12 Here is the perseverance of the saints who keep the commandments of God and their faith in Jesus.

 13 And I heard a voice from heaven, saying, "Write, ' Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on!'" "Yes," says the Spirit, "so that they may rest from their labors, for their deeds follow with them."

            Here we find two different groups of people.  The first group is punished for worshiping “the beast and his image”.  This is a topic that would require a lot of study and explanation to investigate, but the point is; they are not the second group: who keep the commandments of God and faith in Christ. 

            If we do these two things we can be pretty confident, according to this verse, that we will be preserved, blessed, rested and rewarded for our deeds.  I think this passage is very clear in signifying the cause of, not only believing and accepting the Messiah, but also in living by all the commands of God. 

            We need to strictly follow the good Sheppard and his instructions.  We have an enemy who aims to deceive us.  Being the “dumb sheep” we are, how will we know if we are deceived into worshiping “the beast and his image”, unless we know we’re following the commands of God, and thus, the lifestyle that we can know is correct?