Obligated to Holiness

Every now and then I hear the opinion that the ten commandments were never written for the Gentiles and since believers are not under law but under grace, the commandments are irrelevant. Another comment I have heard is that since Christ fulfilled the requirements of the law on our behalf, we don’t have to. While it is true that Christians are not under the law, there is more to the discussion than meets the eye. A lot more.

Jesus discloses an often misunderstood truth in Matthew 5:17-20. “Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. I tell you the truth, until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen, will by any means disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished. Anyone who breaks one of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever practices and teaches these commands will be called great in the kingdom of heaven.”

These words have been misconstrued by some religious zealots to mean a salvation of works which not only contradicts what Christ taught but also violates the fundamental premise of grace. Ephesians 2:8-9 tells us, “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith – and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God – not by works, so that no one can boast.” Yet, we are called to live holy lives (1 Peter 1:15), which requires effort.

So let’s dig a little deeper into the concept of being saved by grace yet being obligated to holiness. John instructs us in 1 John 3:4-6, “Everyone who sins breaks the law; in fact, sin is lawlessness. But you know that He appeared so that He might take away our sins. And in Him is no sin. No one who lives in Him keeps on sinning. No one who continues to sin has either seen Him or known Him.” What he is speaking of here is willfully sinning which is the antithesis of repentance. He is not saying that sin will stop affecting us, nor is he proposing that Christians will be perfect.

If We Are Led By The Spirit We Are Not Under The Law

The apostle Paul concisely illustrates how we accomplish fulfillment of the law without being under its authority in his letter to the church at Galatia. “So I say live by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the sinful nature. For the sinful nature desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the sinful nature. They are in conflict with each other, so that you do not do what you want. But if you are led by the Spirit you are not under law.” (Galatians 5:16-18). He also elaborates on this concept in Romans 8:1-11.

The fulcrum of this parley is that those who trust the Holy Spirit to lead them are not under law. If we trust the law giver to lead us, we know that He will not lead us to live unlawfully. Paul tells us that when we do this, we will produce the fruit of the Spirit. “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.” (Galatians 5:22-23).

If we dwell upon worldly values, we will value worldly things. If we indulge carnal thoughts, we will desire carnal pleasures. Jesus said, “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” (Matthew 6:19-21).

The more we trust Jesus, the more our spirit aligns with His Spirit and our will aligns with His will. Our desires align with His desires and when we pray, our prayers get answered because we are praying in Christ, “yet not My will but Yours be done.” (Luke 22:42). This transformation of our wills becoming Christ’s will, is being born again. We become new creations in Christ (2 Corinthians 5:17).

Authentic Rebirth

The apostle Paul is a dramatic example of this. He went from actively persecuting Christians through hatred, to actively building Christianity through love. Many at the time could not accept this and tried to kill him and have him arrested. Multitudes of true believers have experienced similar rejection, even from family members, who remember the former and cannot accept the latter, often considering the new persona a hypocrite (Matthew 10:34-36).

The dynamic change of authentic rebirth can be fast and furious or it can be slow and gradual depending upon individual circumstances. It is often a reflection of the depth of remorse over sin and the depth of the sinfulness itself. Jesus put it this way, while at the house of Simon the Pharisee:

‘“Two men owed money to a certain moneylender. One owed him five hundred denari, and the other fifty. Neither of them had the money to pay him back, so he canceled the debts of both. Now which of them will love him more?’

Simon replied, ‘I suppose the one who had the bigger debt cancelled.’ ‘You have judged correctly,’ Jesus said. Then He turned toward the woman and said to Simon, ‘Do you see this woman? I came into your house. You did not give Me any water for My feet, but she wet My feet with her tears and wiped them with her hair. You did not give Me a kiss, but this woman, from the time I entered, has not stopped kissing My feet. You did not put oil on My head, but she has poured perfume on My feet. Therefore, I tell you, her many sins have been forgiven – for she loved much. But he who has been forgiven little loves little.’” (Luke 7:41-47).

Submission To Christ’s Sovereignty

As we surrender ourselves to Jesus when we become true believers, our gratitude is expressed as repentance and we choose to live for Christ. This is a profound mystery to some, who perhaps cannot relinquish control of their hearts. To others, it equates to the circumcision of their hearts as they submit to the sovereignty of Christ. The resulting alignment of wills opens our spirits to the writing of God’s laws in our minds and on our hearts (Hebrews 8:10).

Paul writes in 2 Corinthians 3:3, “written not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of human hearts.” He also alluded to a similar concept in Romans 2:14, “(Indeed, when Gentiles, who do not have the law, do by nature things required by the law, they are a law for themselves, even though they do not have the law, since they show that the requirements of the law are written on their hearts, their consciences also bearing witness, and their thoughts now accusing, now even defending them).”

Gentiles who have been adopted into God’s family through faith have become children of Abraham and therefore have inherited God’s promises and the law as co-heirs with Christ. (Romans 8:16-17). Gentile Christians represent God blessing all nations through Abraham’s seed (Christ) and are included in the restoration of David’s fallen tent (David’s Fallen Tent, June 17,2023).

Jesus warned the Jews of the consequences of rejecting their Messiah in Matthew 21;43, “Therefore I tell you that the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people who will produce its fruit.” And Peter elaborated in 1 Peter 2:7-12, “Now to you who believe, this stone is precious. But to those who do not believe, ‘The stone the builders rejected has become the capstone,’ and ‘A stone that causes men to stumble and a rock that makes them fall.’

They stumble because they disobey the message – which is also what they were destined for.

But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His wonderful light. Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.

Dear friends, I urge you, as aliens and strangers in the world, to abstain from sinful desires, which war against your soul. Live such good lives among the pagans that, though they accuse you of doing wrong, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day He visits us.”

In this day and age, when the Christian church spans the globe, with true believers in every nation, ethnicity and people group, the commonality of true faith compels our obedience to Christ. Our submission to the Holy Spirit is exemplified in our lives, both in our actions and the words of our mouths. We are a people set apart from the world, set apart for God.

All believers have an obligation to be obedient to Christ and Gentiles must never forget that we have been grafted into God’s family (Romans 11:11-31). We must therefore be diligent to revere God in the way we live so that we can be counted worthy of our calling. 2 Peter 1:10-11 reminds us, “Therefore, my brothers and sisters, make every effort to confirm your calling and election. For if you do these things, you will never stumble, and you will receive a rich welcome into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.”