THE LAW OF CHRIST BROUGHT THE LAW OF MOSES TO AN END

By Rev.Michael Benson Ajayi

Matthew 5:17 "Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to  fulfill."
       The word fulfill is the Greek word 'pleroo' , to make replete, level up (a hollow), to diffuse, satisfy, execute ,finish (a period or task), verify. Jesus came to diffuse the tension between man and God due to our inability to keep the laws of Moses. These were very strict moral codes that were handed to Moses. They included the ten commandments given to him on mount Sinai which was later expanded to over a hundred laws by Moses.
        These laws were not meant to be kept because non could keep the law not even Moses, the law was designed to hold us accountable to God and to show the need for a saviour.  For, example in Leviticus 21:5 NLT “The priests must not shave their heads or trim their beards or cut their bodies." Any preacher  who has ever had a hair cut is guilty of violating this law . Again it says in Leviticus 11:10 NLT "But you must never eat animals from the sea or from rivers that do not have both fins and scales. They are detestable to you. This applies both to little creatures that live in shallow water and to all creatures that live in deep water." that puts most of our favorite foods such as lobsters, shrimps, crayfish, periwinkle,clams,  oysters, octopus, squids, catfish etc on the no go list . The law also says in Deuteronomy 22:5 NLT “A woman must not put on men’s clothing, and a man must not wear women’s clothing. Anyone who does this is detestable in the sight of the lord your God." by this law a wife could not wear her husband's sandals, shirt, boxers. Liars were to be killed for lying (Deut.19:16-21), those who didn't observe the sabbath by staying off any form of work including cooking ( on Saturdays from morning till evening ) were also killed (Exodus.31,14,15;35:2) , sex outside marriage meant death by stoning or burning (lev.28:18;Deut.22:22)
          Under the law,  no person ;not even the strictest Jewish devotee was qualified for heaven.  The law of Moses made mankind appear sinful. It was because of the constant breaking of the law that necessitated forgiveness through animal sacrifice. An animal took our punishment of death penalty in exchange for its life (Lev.4:1-4) For without the shedding of blood there was no forgiveness of sins. The sacrifice of animals only made matters worse because it had no power to cleanse the human conscience of guilt thus we were condemned to a life of sin and guilt (Hebrews 10:1-4,11) , therefore, it was necessary that a greater sacrifice be made that would solve this problem once and for all. It required God providing a special sacrifice , whose blood was without sin and had the capacity to intercede on behalf of mankind as a great high priest.  This sacrifice was that of the body of Christ.
         Jesus Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many (Hebrews 9:7-14) that takes the burden of atonement for sin from man.  There are persons in severe famine stricken regions of the world who can't sacrifice a grasshopper  let alone a dove ,chicken or ram as religion demands for the forgiveness of their sins , but through the all encompassing sacrifice of the body of Christ all they need to do is to acknowledge Jesus' lordship over their lives and they automatically become recipients of the gift of salvation. Our sins have been paid for through this one time payment for sins. We are made holy ( set apart for God ) through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once and for all (Hebrews 10:10-12) .There is no sin too big that the blood of Jesus cannot cleanse (1Jn 1:7b) .
             The lord through the prophet  Jeremiah  ( Jer.31:31) hundreds of years before Christ's incarnation spoke of a time when the laws of Moses will be done away with and replaced with a new law. This law shall be written in the hearts of men so that persons in the remotest regions of the earth without  the written code will be able to fulfill God’s laws. Jews would no longer have the monopoly of the law, we would all become custodians of the law under the new dispensation.  This law is similar to  that which guided Abraham : he hadn’t the law of Moses, a bible or Quoran and yet he was declared righteous because he considered God as trustworthy.  This is known as the law of faith.  To doubt the efficacy of justification without the laws of Moses is tantamount to saying that Abraham isn't in heaven. It is the same way through which Abraham (the mercenary, who had sex with his maid ) entered heaven that those who shall be saved by faith in Christ shall enter.
      The laws of Moses was inadequate in saving mankind, this necessitated the institution of the new law  (Hebrews 8:7-10) . This is the law on how to become righteous (Romans 9:31) also known as the law of liberty (James1:25). Jesus paid the debt that was placed on humanity by  the law of Moses thus fulfilling it. Haven fulfilled its demand,  we became liberated from the law of Moses and bound by a new law of faith in Jesus Christ. It is like being imprisoned in a small island for violating traffic laws and a billionaire came and bought the entire island, adopted all prisoners as members of his family and changed the laws of the island to suit his purpose.The old laws only exist on paper and a reminder of the debt each prisoner owes the billionaire for liberating them but they are no longer under the old laws, therefore their sins are forgiven. This is what Jesus did for humanity (Romans 3:21-23,Col2:14) ,the scriptures says Romans 8:33-34 NLT "Who dares accuse us whom God has chosen for his own? No one—for God himself has given us right standing with himself. Who then will condemn us? No one—for Christ Jesus died for us and was raised to life for us, and he is sitting in the place of honor at God’s right hand, pleading for us." The old Mosaic law has been done away with for believers in Jesus Christ ( Hebrews 8:13,10:9) We are no longer bound by the draconian laws of Moses ( Romans 6:14, 1Tim.1:9,Gal.3:24,25)
        Jesus Christ liberated us from the laws of Moses,  the truth of the gospel has made us free from the laws of Moses ( John 8:31-32)  Galatians 5:18 AMP says "But if you are guided (led) by the [Holy] Spirit, you are not subject to the Law." As you read this now receive grace for freedom from guilt and condemnation in Jesus name.
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email: michaelbensonajayi@gmail.com


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