The Law is Finished!

As Christians we must beware of the snare and trap of religious laws. There are churches and clergy that want to impose on those free in Christ systems of control. St. Paul dealt with this problem and wrote a letter to the Galatians. What Paul kept confronting was a legalistic group of Jewish Christians saying Gentile Christians had to be circumcised and following the Jewish Laws to be saved. Sound familiar? This system of rule following can be found in some of the largest denominations.

St. Paul lays out the refutation for these systems wither they be from Jewish or other Christians. He says, "we cannot become right with God by oveying our Jewish laws, but only by faith in Jesus Christ to take away our sins. And so we, too, have trusted Jesus Christ, that we might be accepted by God because of faith and not because we have obeyed the Jewish laws. For no one will ever be saved by obeying them." (Galatians 2:16).

It is important that we understand Paul was not a Gentile. He was Pharisee of Pharisees. St. Paul studied under Gamaliel (see Acts 23:33), the greatest Jewish scholar of the time and prior to his conversion, Paul hunted down Christians. Paul was Saul, He followed the Jewish Laws to the letter and even persecuted anyone who did not hold to their strictures. Thus, the argument some make that Paul is not credible source to address the systems and rules of the Jews is false! He was a Jew and knew the Law of Jews better than anyone and yet he forsook them to trust in Jesus Christ! (See Acts 22 for the full account).

St. Paul continues to explain the deposition we should have as Christians, "Rather, we are sinners if we start rebuilding the old systems I have been destroying, or trying to be saved by keeping Jewish laws, for it was through reading the Scripture that I came to realize that I could never find God's favor by trying and failing to obey the laws. I came to realize that acceptance with God comes by believing in Christ." (Galatians 2:18-19).

The Apostle Paul is refuting the idea that you can be saved by works and obeying laws. I believe this is the reason why St. Paul is not revered like St. Peter in liturgical and rite based churches. The leaders of liturgical churches are threatened by Paul's words, because it unravels their systems of control. The Apostle Paul is a direct threat to any church system built on laws and rituals.

Finally, St. Paul says the quintessential and foundation of the faith. He says, "I have been crucified with Christ; and I myself no longer live, but Christ lives inside me. And the real life I now have within this body is a result of my trusting in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. I am not one of those who treats Christ's death as meaningless. For if we could be saved by keeping Jewish laws, then there was no need for Christ to die." (Galatians 2:20-21).

This final paragraph is loaded with the truth! In particular focus in on the line, "I am not one of those who treats Christ's death as meaningless." I have found many churches, especially the Catholic Church treats Christ this way when they do penance (rituals and actions) to achieve salvation. The sacraments of both Catholic and Orthodox Churches is anarchy to Christ's death, which paid it all and such sacraments and rituals that are practiced for saving your soul are a return to those Jewish laws of legalism! To believe you must do a penance, obtain a sacrament or do a ritual to be saved is the same claim by those legalistic Jewish Christians who said you have to be circumcised to be saved! For Paul had to confront this himself, He mentions it when he says, "he (Peter) was afraid of what these Jewish legalists, who insisted that circumcision was necessary for salvation would say" (Galatians 2:12). I say as St. Paul did, that if you believe any ritual, rite, or act can save you, then you are saying and believing "there was no need for Christ to die!" You are invalidating the blood of Christ! Which is antichrist! So stop negating what Jesus Christ has done on the cross for you and start believing that "It is accomplished!" by Jesus Christ; that Our Lord and Savior has done all that is necessary to save our souls.

As is says in Hebrews, "When God speaks of the New Covenant, it means that the old covenant (of the Law) is obsolete! It is now out of date and soon to disappear." (Hebrews 8:13). The New Covenant is under Christ's Blood, not the controlling systems of men! The time is for us to be free creations under the Creator! This is not a call to have free range and be sinful, but rather to partner with God and let Him lead us, rather than laws that only show us how sinful we are! The time has come to center ourselves on Christ Jesus!

Jesus Christ himself said it best, "It is finished." (John 19;30). No longer do we have to slave under laws we can never obey perfectly! Now Christ intercedes on our behalf! (Romans 8:34). We are new creation and crucified with Christ!