Let's begin a study on the spirit of the law.
A 2,000 year long discussion still continues among Christians. The discussion centers around the question, how much of the Old Testament, the Hebrew Scriptures, applies in the New Testament, and how much is discontinued? The argument between continuity and discontinuity is a conversation this study hopes to encourage, in learning about the Spirit of the law.
Instead of all or part of the law being discontinued as some Christians argue, I'll contend that none of it is discontinued, but it is all transformed in a new manner, in the Spirit not the letter, of the heart not the flesh.
The Law in our Hearts
This transformation begins when the law is metaphorically written on our hearts.
"But this is the covenant which I will make with the house of Israel after those days," declares the LORD, "I will put My law within them and on their heart I will write it; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people. (Jeremiah 31:33)
What does having the law within us and on our hearts mean? Some people believe that we must return to the observance of the law in the letter, but with a more heartfelt devotion. A cursory view of Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount could give someone the impression that the law is more binding by being in the letter and also in our hearts. However, that interpretation of Jesus is contradicted by other passages as we will soon discover.
Paul used the famous phrase “spirit of the law.” Let’s examine that concept.
Circumcision of the Heart
But he is a Jew who is one inwardly; and circumcision is that which is of the heart, by the Spirit, not by the letter; and his praise is not from men, but from God. (Romans 2:29)
Circumcision of the heart is not a new concept to the Jewish author of the letter to the Romans. It’s mentioned within the Hebrew scriptures in several places.
So circumcise your heart, and stiffen your neck no longer. (Deuteronomy 10:16)
“Moreover the Lord your God will circumcise your heart and the heart of your descendants, to love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul, so that you may live. (Deuteronomy 30:6)
“Circumcise yourselves to the Lord And remove the foreskins of your heart, Men of Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem, Or else My wrath will go forth like fire And burn with none to quench it, Because of the evil of your deeds.” (Jeremiah 4:4)
So, we see some brief explanations of what circumcision of the heart means. It means “stiffen your neck no longer,” “to love the Lord” and to cease “the evil of your deeds.”
Next time we'll look deeper at the age old question of continuity of the law versus discontinuity. Does any of it continue or is it all discontinued at the cross?
