Law and Life, the Do's and the Don'ts

Why does the Law bring death though it is good? Isn't this a contradiction? So many today strive to be free from the Law. The Law is best encompassed in the 10 Commandments. 9 of those are “Thou shalt nots”. Why shall we not? Because doing those things hurts our relationship, with God and man, breaking fellowship, ruining love. “Thou shalt not” does not produce life, but it does protect life. When asked what is the sum of the Law, Jesus goes to the next chapter of Deuteronomy and cites Moses (6.5) “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength.” That is the sum of what we do.

The one commandment of the 10 that is a positive injunction, something we do, is to “honor our father and mother.” Why that? Because in that relationship is the pipeline of experiential love. If we dishonor our parents we, for our part, shut off our hearts to comforting, outflowing love.  Honoring our parents is the “on earth” side keeping our lives receptive to heaven side love. Law is good because it protects what is good.

But prohibitions do not bring life.  Obedience is not merely not doing what is wrong. Biblical Obedience is listening, hearing, responding; residing, remaining, and abiding. We love because God loved us first. We love God because our hearts respond to Him loving us first. “God can only be truly loved in response,” (Steve Hill, Primal Hope, pg 145).

All our religious strivings to obey, i.e. to do the right thing, ultimately defeat us because we cannot give out from the place of emptiness. Obedience flows out of the full well of love. Rivers of living water spring up from the heart that is being nourished and amply supplied. We wrongly think that if we just try harder the next time we will do better. No, the secret is to stop trying, admit our total incapacity and even unwillingness, and say “Father, I need you. Abba, please love me right now. Hold me. Forgive me. Fill me.” And then the burden becomes easy and the yoke becomes light because we are walking together again in unity.

Have you noticed that so much of the Law is prohibition? What thou shalt not do? It's hard to know what to do when all the guidance we get is what we are not to do. When love is our rule, not “Law” as in prohibited activity, but rule is in motivation, we are free. The “Law of the Spirit of Life” sets us free from the Law of sin and death” (Romans 8:2). We live “according to” or “down from” or “through” the Spirit. Spirit life here isn't describing signs and wonders and power ministry but love and fruit and relationship. Spirit life pours the love of God into our hearts (Romans 5.5) and the more our hearts receive the freer we become and the more revelation we receive to know what to do and not just what not to do. When we live in love we know.