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"'. . . that He may teach us about His ways
And that we may walk in His paths.'
For from Zion will go forth the Law
Even the Word of God from Jerusalem."
Micah 4:2
The Argument:
Some Christians say we are not obligated to obey the Laws of the Old Testament, we are
only obligated (no . . . not "obligated," but "it would be better if we
decided to") bring forth the "Fruit of the Spirit" mentioned in Galatians
5. But by refusing to listen to the Words the unchanging Spirit authored before Christ,
the "Fruit of the Spirit" is distorted. The only way to bring forth the Fruit of
the Spirit is to obey God's Law.
All of the Fruit of the Spirit mentioned in Galatians 5 are commanded by the Law of God in the Old Testament. Paul had nothing less in mind than obedience to the Scriptures.
22. But the fruit of the Spirit is love,
joy, peace,
longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith,
23. Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law.
22. But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith,
23. Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law.
The
Prophet Zephaniah makes it all fairly clear: "Seek ye the LORD, all ye meek of the earth, which have wrought His judgment; seek righteousness, seek meekness: it may be ye shall be hid in the day of the LORD's anger."[115] We must keep in mind that when the Prophets speak, it is really the Law that speaks.[116] Zephaniah says to seek meekness because God in His Law says to seek meekness.Many acts of meekness, gentleness, and goodness are commanded in the Older Testament, but most Christians are utterly unfamiliar with this part of God's Holy Word. Surely this is an example of meekness, or gentleness:
If thou meet thine enemy's ox or his ass going astray, thou shalt surely bring it back to him again. If thou see the ass of him that hateth thee lying under his burden, and wouldest forbear to help him, thou shalt surely help with him
. (Exodus 23:4-5)
This kind of meekness is almost as radical as the meekness Jesus commands in the Sermon on the Mount.
No, it is not almost as radical, it is precisely the same. After the Advent of the Suffering Servant, it is infinitely clearer to us in the New Covenant just what meekness is, but when Jesus said "Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth,"[117] He was simply reminding the Pharisees what the Old Testament had already said.[118] And when Paul says that the fruit of the Spirit is meekness, he is saying nothing more than Moses said and did.[119]
Jesus our All-Powerful King, was meek[120] and told us to "Take My yoke upon you, and learn of Me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls."[121] Shouldn't the Christian be obeying God's Law?[122]
22. But the fruit of the Spirit is love,
joy, peace,
longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith,
23. Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law.
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(115)
Zephaniah 2:3.(116) The Prophets were sent by God as messengers of the Covenant, to issue an indictment and to prosecute covenant-breakers for violations of His Covenant Law.
(121) Matthew 11:29, quoting Jeremiah 6:16, "Thus saith the LORD: "Stand in the ways and see, And ask for the old paths, where the good way is, And walk in it; Then you will find rest for your souls. But they said, 'We will not walk in it.'" Neither did the Jews of Jesus' day. America is also too trendy for the "old ways" of Jesus and Jeremiah.
(122) Rome, that ancient outpost of the Old World Order, decreed that civilians could be compelled to carry the weapons of Imperial soldiers for up to one mile. Jesus said to carry them two miles (Matthew 5:41). Meekness, not the bombing of federal buildings, overthrew the Roman Empire.