Under The Law
"Do not think that I (Jesus) have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them". (Matthew 5:16)
Law can mean a divine commandment, the rules of conduct established and enforced by the authority or any rule or principle expected to be observed. Jesus came. He came to save, to love and also to fulfill the law, the main requirement of the Mosaic’s Law which is also a divine law. (Deuteronomy 4:2)
But in regard to rules of conduct established and enforced by the Authority, Romans 13:1 says, “Everyone must submit himself to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God.”
While most people tithe out of love and obedience for God and His people, others had needed to tithe because they had pledged to do so in the Lord, whether by the church or out of their own free will. (Judges 11:30-31,34-35, 13; Ecclesiastes 5:6)
What is a vow? A vow is a solemn promise or pledge made unto the LORD, or with God as witness, binding oneself to an act, way of life etc. So then, any vow made by a girl or a woman will be blinding unto her unless the husband of the woman or the father of the girl hears it and nullify it. But any vow that is made by a widow or a man is blinding unto themselves for as long as they lives (Acts 18:18, Numbers 30).
The Law of Christ
“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.” -Hebrews 4:2
What does this mean? Does it mean that we have to go back to the Law (The Mosaic Law) once again? No, as it is, Christ is the complete of the Law. In Luke 6:5, Jesus called himself the Lord of the Sabbath. For when there is a change of the priesthood, there must also be a change of the law and 1 Peter 2:9 tell us, “we are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God.”
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.' Verse.38 This is the first and greatest commandment. Verse.39 And the second is like it: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.'
Now, what does it mean by ‘Love thy neighbor as yourself.’ The bible says, all the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments." So Now, any law that still stands, are those that still ‘hang on these two commandments’ but Christ has fulfill the main requirement and the rest now come under this principal of Love, 'Love your neighbor as yourself’ which is also 'The Law of Christ.' (Galatians 6:2)
Therefore whosoever has Jesus as Lord and Savior has already entered into this rest for "The Son of Man is Lord of The Sabbath" (Hebrews 4:6, Luke 6:5)
So where are the old rules and regulations?
“But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far away have been brought near through the blood of Christ. For he himself is our peace, who has made the two one and has destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility, by abolishing in his flesh the law with its commandments and regulations.” -Ephesians 2:13-16 His purpose was to create in himself one new man out of the two, thus making peace, and in this one body to reconcile both of them to God through the cross, by which he put to death their hostility. V.15b,16.
And surely, all the Law and the Prophets hang on these two Commandments: 'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.' And 'Love your neighbor as yourself.' Paul said this in 1 Corinthians 9:9-10. “Is it about oxen that God is concerned? Yes, this was written for us, because when the plowman plows and the thresher threshes, they ought to do so in the hope of sharing in the harvest”. Hence earlier, this was what Paul quoted from the Law of Moses."Do not muzzle an ox while it is treading out the grain." (Deuteronomy 25:4)
Galatians 5:22-23 “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.”
So then, The law of Christ is anything that conforms to the principle of love. It can also be perceived in this way “Do to others as you would have them do to you.” (Luke 6:31; Proverbs 30:5-6; Galatians 6:2)
Love - The Basis of The Christian Faith
1 John 3:21-24 says, “Dear friends, if our hearts do not condemn us, we have confidence before God and receive from him anything we ask, because we obey his commands and do what pleases him. And this is his command: to believe in the name of his Son, Jesus Christ, and to love one another as he commanded us. Those who obey his commands live in him, and he in them. And this is how we know that he lives in us: We know it by the Spirit he gave us.” (Matthew 3:7-10; John 15:5-8; Galatians 5:22-23; 1 Peter 2:1-2)
Love does no harm to its neighbor. Love fulfils Christ's Law and love is the fulfillment of the law. (Romans 13:10)
Love - Our Confidence in The Last days
And so this was what James had all been talking about: "In this way, love is made complete among us so that we will have confidence on the day of judgment, because in this world we are like him." (1 John 4:17)
We love because he first loved us. Whoever claims to love God yet hates a brother or sister is a liar. For whoever does not love their brother and sister, whom they have seen, cannot love God, whom they have not seen because God is Love. (1 John 4:8, 4:19-20)
But we cannot force anyone to love someone whom they have not loved, but that love of God is a natural thing as is the Spirit of God. The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit.” (John 3:7-9)
