Recently, I read a Facebook post by a former church member who basically said that yes, we are saved by grace through faith but after that, the Holy Spirit will help us to obey the Law i.e the ten commandments.
I cannot agree with what he said for several reasons:
1) The bible does not say that the Holy Spirit helps us to obey the Law (show me the verse). However, what the bible does say is that the Holy Spirit will teach us all things and remind us of what Jesus said – John 14: 26But when the Father sends the Advocate as my representative–that is, the Holy Spirit–he will teach you everything and will remind you of everything I have told you.
So what did Jesus say?
a) Matt 5: 17Do not think that I have come to do away with or *undo the Law or the Prophets; I have come not to do away with or undo but to complete and fulfill them.
The Law works without the Holy Spirit for the Holy Spirit could not come until Jesus had been glorified through the cross.
The Law works through rewards and punishment, not your own altruism. Therefore the Law comes with blessings for obedience AND curses for disobedience.
Let me ask you: Do the speed limit signs on our expressways work if there are no monetary fines and demerit points for breaking the speed limit?
Hence, only Jesus can fulfill the Law without suffering any curses; only Jesus has completed and fulfilled the Law because only Jesus is perfect.
b) John 15: 10If you keep My commandments [if you continue to obey My instructions], you will abide in My love and live on in it, just as I have obeyed My Father’s commandments and live on in His love.
Jesus said it very plainly: He has obeyed His Father’s commandments while we are to obey His (Jesus’) commandments, not His Father’s. And what is Jesus’ commandments?
c) John 15: 12 This is My commandment: that you love one another [just] as I have loved you.
Jesus’ commandment is simple: Love one another as He loved us.
The Law says “Do not murder.” That’s relatively easy to do for most people. Imagine this: Let’s say you walk past your neighbour’s house every day without saying hello or even knowing who actually lives inside; you would still be considered to have obeyed the Law because you have not murdered your neighbour.
However, if you obey Jesus’ commandment, you of course would not murder your neighbour but more than that, you would have built up a relationship with your neighbour because you love your neighbour as Jesus has loved you.
So let me ask those who still cling on to the Law: which is the higher calling? The ten commandments or Jesus’ commandment?
2) The Law needs only your actions and not your heart. It deals with the letter and not the Spirit. Therefore the Holy Spirit works on your heart to love, not to obey the Law because the heart is not required for the Law.
Rom 5:5And this hope will not lead to disappointment. For we know how dearly God loves us, because he has given us the Holy Spirit to fill our hearts with his love.
Rom 13:8Owe nothing to anyone–except for your obligation to love one another. If you love your neighbor, you will fulfill the requirements of God’s law. 9For the commandments say, “You must not commit adultery. You must not murder. You must not steal. You must not covet.”* These–and other such commandments–are summed up in this one commandment: “Love your neighbor as yourself.”* 10Love does no wrong to others, so love fulfills the requirements of God’s law.
What is your personal experience? Does the Holy Spirit prompt you to obey the Law or does it prompt you to LOVE someone?
I don’t think the Holy Spirit wants us to obey the law when Jesus already fulfilled it. The fruit of the Spirit is not the ten commandments. 🙂 Good read!