Expert: John Fields - 8/27/2011

Question
Are the four gospels still under the mosaic law since Jesus didn't die till the end of each gospel? We live under grace which started when Jesus died for our sins, so do we still apply the teachings of the four gospels in our life?

Answer
You ask a very incisive question.

First, the Gospels ARE under the Old Mosaic Law as a transition is being made to the New Law. Whereas what Jesus was teaching was under the Mosaic Law I would submit that Jesus put emphasis on the parts that He wanted to remain as an influence in the lives of we Christians.

That we are to continue observing these precepts AND Jesus example is implicit in The Great Commission.

Matthew 28:18-20 (18)Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19 Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”

What Jesus did He wanted His followers to emulate. What He taught and observed, He wanted taught and observed. Teach them to obey EVERYTHING I have COMMANDED you. He did NOT say, "Teach them to obey everything we observed under the law of Moses. I would submit that this would be a very short list. What it came down to was acting within love to serve God and others. Yet there is THIS proviso, He told His followers that the Spirit would come and lead them into ALL of the truth. Obviously this meant that they did not have all of it yet.

What would take place when this happened would be that the wheat and the chaff effectively coming to be separated. Some of the teaching's having to do with morality and Godly living were timeless, thus, they were transferred to us. But those things having to do with outward observances which had only been shadows pointing to their spiritualized successors were done away with.

Colossians 2:16-18 (16) Therefore no one is to act as your judge in regard to food or drink or in respect to a festival or a new moon or a Sabbath day — 17 things which are a mere shadow of what is to come; but the substance belongs to Christ.

So the question isn't DO We apply the teachings but HOW? Are the teachings of Jesus Christ and moral living a list we follow to become faithful in our living? No they are not.

As you already spoke to we are under GRACE and NOT under LAW. What does this mean? It means that since our righteousnesses is dirty rags compared to God's that we have nothing we can contribute to our salvation. Nothing we give would be good enough to satisfy God's requirement for perfection. ONLY Jesus could offer His own perfection so it would be counted for us.

When we accept His gift, we have been made PERFECT and have been JUSTIFIED. Our perfection comes 100% from Jesus. Our actions, if done to further ourselves, do two things wrong. 1) They insult God by NOT acknowledging that the FULL price was paid by INCREDIBLE love and sacrifice. 2) They put us back under the Law system of condemnation where JUST ONE sin is enough to condemn any of us TOTALLY.

James 2:10 Whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles at just one point is guilty of breaking all of it.

Galatians 5:4 You who are trying to be justified by law have been alienated from Christ; you have fallen away from grace.

Praise God that He allows us to live our works in a giving, loving and THANKFUL way to SHOW we are faithful rather than to suppose we have not already been made that way by trying to earn it.

Faithfulness is defined by our loyalty to our Law-giver NOT by keeping His laws to be made faithful. To choose grace means salvation as we serve God in thanks for what He has already given. To choose law means condemnation as we serve ourselves and disregard God's wonderful gift.