The Curse of the Law
Jesus came not to destroy the law, but to fulfill it. Jesus was the only one who did all the
law. You see the curse of the law was that you had to do the law without any mistakes, it
says “cursed be he that confirms not all the words of this law to do them. And all the
people shall say, Amen” (Deuteronomy 27:26). Jesus says “think not that I am come to
destroy the law, or the prophets. I am not come to destroy, but to fulfill. For verily I say
to you, till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law,
till all be fulfilled. Whosoever therefore shall break one of these least commandments,
and shall teach men so, he shall be called the least in the kingdom of heaven, but
whosoever shall do and teach them, the same shall be called great in the kingdom of
heaven” (Matthew 5:17-19).
We can’t reject everything Jewish. The law became a curse because man were not able
to live up to it’s standards. God’s people would look unto the Messiah and be prepared
to receive the grace in the new covenant, to be dependant on the Lord.
The law is good, the law leads people to Christ. The law of God is holy, and good
(Romans 7:7,12-14). The law of God is not opposite to the grace of God. The law of
God is part of the grace of God. The law of God is useful, when used lawfully (I Timothy
1:8). There is wisdom in the law of God. Jesus defeated the devil by using scriptures
from the law.
The law of God is a self disclosure of who God is (Exodus 19:16-24). God is holy, and
anyone coming into His presence must be holy, less they would die. Remember what
happened when King David was bringing the Ark of the Covenant into Jerusalem and the
cart tipped over, the man that touched it died.
The law of God was not nailed to the cross, it was the certificate against us for not living
up to the law of God. Paul said “do we then make void the law through faith? God
forbid, yea, we establish the law” (Romans 3:31). The sacrifices of the law was fulfilled in
Jesus, however the Jews continued to sacrifice until the temple was destroyed in 70 AD.
When Paul was telling the church not to go again to the law, he was referring to the need
to continue the sacrifices.
God says “I am God and I change not” (Psalms 89:34) “My word shall abide forever.”
Some people say we are free from the law, however, the law of God is holy and good.
The Bible says “we are free from the curse of the law”. Notice we are free from the curse
of the law, not the law. We are free from the curse so the law because Jesus fulfilled the
law by living a sinless life for us. He paid in full for our redemption by His blood. The law
is no longer written on stone on the outside, it is now written on our hearts (Jeremiah 31;
33; Hebrews 8:10, 10:16-17) you see God has written His laws in our hearts and in our
minds. The Jews erred by continuing the sacrifices because Jesus the Lamb of God was
the final sacrifice; the veil was ripped after Jesus died allowing mankind to enter into the
holy of holies boldly.
The purpose of the law:
1) To set them apart. Sanctify His people.
2) Designed to be a tutor to lead man to Jesus (Romans 3:19-20, Galatians 3:24). Jesus
when He was on the road to Emmaus said Moses wrote of Me (Luke 24:27).
3) A teaching document (Deuteronomy 8:2-17, II Timothy 3:16).
A) The tithing law, some have thrown out. God established the tithes to take care for
the tabernacle. He gave the priest no inheritance among Israel and the Israelites were
instructed to tithe to care for the priesthood. If everybody continued to tithe, the church
would be able to care for the poor, widow and fatherless as they were called to do, and
by doing so they could win more to the Lord. The title did not originate with the law of
Moses, the tithe goes back to Abraham.
B) The dietary laws, some have thrown out. The diseases have increased even among
believers. Clean and unclean animals did not originate with the law of Moses, it goes
back to Noah (Genesis 7:2-3).
C) The Moral laws, some have thrown out. Now we see even in the church, some
dominations are ordaining homosexual priest and pastors. Some are leaving their wife
for another woman. The divorce rate is the same in the church as the world. The Bible
says “if the foundation be destroyed, what shall the righteous do.”
D) The feast are a part of the law, the feast for example are to be done forever. You
see that all nations have to come up to Jerusalem three times a year and the nations
that don’t, will be cursed (Revelation 15:4). By getting rid of the law, the church got away
from the feast of the Lord, calling them Jewish holidays, however, the Bible says they are
the feast of the Lord. Then making up their own feast which have no biblical background.
In John 1:17 the translators added (but) supposing to make the statement clearer,
however, it made a separation between law and grace. The word but is not in the
originate text and you will see it is in italics. God showed grace from Genesis through
Revelation. God is a God of grace an d love. He showed grace and mercy to Israel over
and over when they sinned. Even going back farther than that, before the flood. God
had Noah preach while he built the Ark, a hundred and twenty years, yet only 8 people
entered the Ark. It was the grace of God even in the Garden, when Adam sinned, to
make them covering of skins. The first animals were sacrificed in the Garden. The Bible
tells us “God does not want any to perish but that all may come to the knowledge of the
truth”.
The church has strayed from it’s Jewish roots and unless one stays connected to the
root, it will eventually die. The root is the source of life. Jesus says this pertaining to Him
being the vine and we being the branches in John 15:5-6. The Bible says some will grab
the hem of the garment of the Jew and ask them to teach them. (Zechariah 8:23).
Remember that Jesus was a Jew and that Jesus is the same yesterday, today and
forever. We have been adopted into the family of God.
Study by: Harriet Bond
Date: March 21, 2006