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Law of Christ - The Moral Law for Today
Definition of the Law of Christ
The Law of Christ is the law that believers are obligated to obey in the New Covenant era. The New Covenant era begins at Pentecost. The Law of Christ is the moral law for the New Covenant era.The Believer is ALWAYS under law
There is never a time when you are not under law. Since there is always the possibility of sin, this side of heaven, there must also be the existence of law. 1 John 3:4Oral law
The Oral law contains those commands that were given by the Lord to Adam and Eve in the garden of Eden. There is no written record of them. All we have is the biblical account that indicates that there were some commands given. Genesis 2:15-16, 4:1-5Mosaic law
The Mosaic Law is the Old Covenant. It is a legal covenant that was made with the nation of Israel. This Law was never meant for the real people of God. With the coming of the New Covenant the Mosaic Law is no longer, as a unit, applicable to the believer. Exodus 19, 20law of the Conscience
The law of the conscience is that fuzzy sense of right and wrong that every person has to some degree. Even though this is a very imperfect law it still functions as a condemning law to every man. No one can live up to its requirements and is therefore condemned. Romans 2:12-16law of Christ
John 13:34
The people of God in the New Covenant era are motivated internally to obey the Law of Christ. The love for Jesus Christ is planted in the heart of every believer and is the fundamental motivation for the believer.1 Corinthians 9:21
In this passage it is specifically mentioned that the Apostle Paul is no longer under the Mosaic Law, but he is under the law of Christ. The law of Christ contains all of the teaching passages in the New Covenant era and whatever portions of the Mosaic law that are brought over. Ephesians 6:1-3Galatians 6:2
The law of Christ is described as loving as Jesus Christ loved. His love ought always to be our motivation to obey the commands in the New Covenant era.Different Options in Understanding the Sermon on the Mount
#1 Historic Dispensationalism
This view states that the Sermon on the Mount is not given to the Church but is purely Jewish. It is the Law of the Kingdom (millennial reign of Christ in the future). The laws in the Sermon on the Mount are the legal rules for the future kingdom age, or millennium. The Jews rejected this earthly kingdom when Christ offered it to them and it was postponed until after the Second Coming of Christ. At that time all of these legal laws will be in force. However, until that time we must never apply kingdom truth to the Church today. A Christian may draw some beautiful and helpful applications from the Sermon on the Mount since all of Scripture is written TO us even though all of it is not FOR us. The Epistles of Paul, which first make known the doctrine of the Church, are the believer's rule of life during the Church age. (But I Say Unto You, by John Reisinger, page 8.)#2 Covenant Theology
This view agrees that the Sermon of the Mount contains the rules of the kingdom, but insists that the kingdom is here and now and not in the future. Covenant Theology insists that Christ was not in any way contrasting Himself, His teaching, or His authority with Moses. He was only contradicting the wrong interpretations and additions to Moses. Christ was merely giving us the true spiritual meaning of Moses as contrasted with the Rabbinical distortions. (But I Say Unto You, pages 8-9.)#3 New Covenant Theology
The PROMISE/FULFILLMENT, or New Covenant, view
This view starts with the New Testament Scriptures and allows them to mean exactly what they say. Christ is seen as asserting His unique and final authority as the New Lawgiver by giving a new and higher canon of conduct to the Church. He is most assuredly correcting the perversions of the Pharisees, but He is also clearly giving new and higher truth that Moses never taught. Christ sometimes applies the same truth that Moses taught but does so in a manner that Moses could never have done. At other times Christ is making new and more spiritual demands on His disciples because of their being under grace. Neither Moses nor the law covenant could ever have made these demands or laws. (But I Say Unto You, pages 12-13.)It is based on an understanding of the nature and relationship of the two major covenants (the Old legal Covenant with Israel at Sinai and the New gracious Covenant that replaces it) in Scripture (Jer. 31:33; Heb. 8:6-13; Gal. 4:21-31). This view sees Christ establishing a distinctly New Covenant in His blood at Pentecost. However, it also insists that this present new age in which we now live is the inauguration of the kingdom promised in the Old Testament Scriptures. We now live in the times of the Messiah envisioned by the Old Testament prophets. (But I Say Unto You, page 13.)
Biblical Evidence
Matthew 5:27-30Adultery
Jesus is using the exact words of the Ten Commandments. He is then taking them to a higher level of understanding. It is a level of understanding that is for the New Covenant era. Jesus is a new law-giver.The Tablets of Stone cannot be the foundation of the Christian's rule of life. However, this is not because the Tablets contain laws and the Christian is somehow against laws just because his is not under law but under grace. That is nonsense. Nor is the problem that the Law of Moses is too high a standard for a Christian today. The heart of the difficulty is that the laws on the Tablets of Stone are not high and spiritual enough for a full fledged son of God living under the New Covenant. The Tablets of Stone are great for the purpose for which God designed and gave them. However, conviction of sin that leads to justification by faith is not the goal of the laws of Christ given to people who are already justified. (But I Say Unto You, page 21.)Matthew 5:38-42
An Eye for an Eye
Other relevant OT Scriptures are Exodus 21:22-25, Leviticus 24:17-20, Deuteronomy 19:16-21. These passages show us that the Law demanded punishment… Mt. 5:38-42 teaches that Christ is deliberately contrasting a legal rule by pure law (which is right and good under a covenant of law) and a gracious rule (which is higher and better but only possible under a covenant of grace). (But I Say Unto You, page 30.Christ is not applying His teaching to the magistrates and telling them how they area to apply Moses. But His is telling individual Christians how they, as individuals, are to act under His new gracious law. (But I Say Unto You, page 39.)
Matthew 5:43-43
Love for Enemies
Israel was commanded to wipe out the Canaanites when they invaded the Promise Land. Joshua 6:15-21
Israel was called to reject the Ammonite and the Moabite but not the Edomites or Egyptians. The Israelites were to abhor some and not others. Deuteronomy 23:6-7
Using the sword against the enemies of Christ can be a natural extension of the Mosaic Law. The reformers and puritans both used this against their enemies.
The New Covenant era gives a clear command as to how the believer is to handle all his enemies. Romans 12:17-21
Matthew 5:31-32, 19:1-12
Divorce
The Mosaic Law did allow divorce for any and every reason. Deuteronomy 24:1-4
The Israelites had hard hearts because they were unbelievers.
Jesus was giving a higher law than that of the Mosaic Law.
This whole subject is as clear as crystal the moment we see that Christ established a New Covenant that replaces the Old Covenant, and that the New Covenant brings with it new and higher laws of conduct that are based entirely on grace. These new laws are just as objective as any law under the Old Covenant. These objective commands can demand a kind of behavior that Moses could never demand simply because these new laws are based on the truth and power of grace. These new demands are given to true believers and not to a nation of lost rebels. We must not confuse a physical redemption from Egypt with a spiritual redemption from sin. (But I Say Unto You, page 73.)
http://solochristo.com/theology/nct/definenct.htm# New%20Covenant
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