The Spirit and the The Law

note the shape of the tablets

THE SPIRIT & THE LETTER OF THE LAW



When excusing themselves from keeping the Sabbath on the seventh day as God commanded, many Christians say “We Are Only Required to Keep the Spirit of the Law, Not the Letter.” Here is exactly how and why this reasoning is fatally flawed:



“But now we are delivered from the law, that being dead wherein we were held; that we should serve in newness of spirit, and not in the oldness of the letter.” (Rom 7:6)



The letter of the law is transgression of exactly what the law defines. For example, the letter of the law says “thou shalt not kill.” (Exo. 20:13) Jesus said the spirit of this law was not even to be angry.



“Ye have heard that it was said by them of old time, Thou shalt not kill; and whosoever shall kill shall be in danger of the judgment: But I say unto you, That whosoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment..” (Mat 5:21-22)



First let me ask a question. Which is more difficult law to obey, the letter or the spirit?



The letter of the seventh commandment says “thou shalt not commit adultery.” (Exo. 20:14) Again, Jesus defined what the spirit of the seventh commandment is.



“Ye have heard that it was said by them of old time, Thou shalt not commit adultery: But I say unto you, That whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart.” (Mat 5:27-28)



Which is more difficult to obey? The letter of this law which says not to commit adultery, or the spirit of this law which says not even to lust?



The biggest misunderstanding that leads people in the wrong direction, is believing somehow the spirit of the law is easier to keep than the letter of the law. When Christ says we are to keep the spirit of the law, is He not saying that our righteousness and obedience must exceed the letter of the law? The spirit is not easier to keep than the letter. In following the spirit, Christ is raising the bar, also saying our righteousness must exceed that of the Pharisees whose habit it was to keep the letter “to the T.”



“For I say unto you, That except your righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, ye shall in no case enter into the kingdom of heaven.” (Mat 5:20)



The problem was not that the Pharisees practiced keeping the letter of the law, but in doing so they completely disregarded the purpose and spirit for which the law was given. The fourth commandment for example says “remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy.” The Pharisees obeyed this commandment not out of holy reverence for God or communing with Him during this time, but they kept it in a legalistic manner with the goal of not breaking it. In this way, the Pharisees kept the letter of the law but did not keep the spirit of the law. In not keeping the spirit of the law, the keeping of the letter was of no effect.



This is why Paul writes we are called to serve in newness of the spirit of the law, and not the letter. The spirit of the law is the essence for which the letter of the law was written. Even from the other perspective it is impossible to break the letter of the law while keeping the spirit of it.



People who say we don’t have to keep the letter of the law anymore, would be hard pressed to explain how one can keep the spirit of the law while breaking the letter. If the letter of the law says “thou shalt not kill,” and Jesus says the spirit of the law is not to hate, does this mean it is okay to kill someone as long as we don’t hate them? Or is it permissible then for a person commit the physical act of adultery as long as they don’t lust? It is an impossible feat to keep the spirit of the law while breaking the letter of the law. Attempting to keep the spirit of the law while breaking the letter of the law would be like trying to eat a cake without touching the frosting, or building a house from the roof down. The spirit of the law and the letter of the law are inseparable, with the spirit of the law being the higher calling and the letter of the law the root thereof.



Following the letter of the law is akin to obedience of the mind by way of our actions. Following the spirit of the law requires a motivated heart which governs not only our actions and our mind, but our thoughts as well. Like a machine programmed to assemble automobiles on a factory line, I imagine it would be possible to obey all ten commandments without having an ounce of love for God. The Pharisees seemed to prove that. Serving the spirit of the law however requires a person’s heart and mind both, be in submission to God’s commandments.



The parables of the Pharisees and the words of Christ Himself so often have demonstrated that adherence to God’s commandments can become a mechanical process void of spiritual meaning, so we must not make it our ambition to solely serve the letter of the law. If we are serving the spirit of the law as Christ has commanded, we will also be keeping the letter of the law without serving it.



If I owned a hundred acres of land and built a house on it for a family member in need, this might seem like a very generous thing to do. If however I do it to raise the property value and increase my investment, the gesture was just out of selfish motive. Now in the spirit of the law, we ought to keep God’s commandments because we love Him and want to please Him. Perhaps it could be said the difference between the letter of the law and the spirit of the law is whether it is motivated by a “DO” or a “DO NOT.”



The motivating factor is key. If a person is serving the spirit of the law, they obey the letter of the law because they believe in the reasons for which it was written. They do not lie because they believe in truth. They do not kill because they believe in life. They do not keep break the Sabbath because it is a sign between them and God that they worship the Creator (Eze. 20:12,20). A person who serves the letter of the law does so because they do not want to break the law. They do not lie, not because they believe in truth, but because the law says do not lie. They do not kill, not because they believe in life, but because the law says “thou shalt not kill.” They keep the Sabbath not because they believe want to worship God as the Creator but because they fear His wrath. They are slaves to fear. Such a fear will lead to all sorts of absurd laws like not carrying anything in your hands on the Sabbath or tying knots in fear that it might be work, etc. Being called to serve the spirit of the law, we are called to believe in the liberties and truths the law was written to establish and preserve. Thus, serving the spirit of the law is a matter of a converted heart coming into agreement with God’s heart which His laws define.



“For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments: and his commandments are not grievous.” (1Jo 5:3)



Keeping the letter of the law because of a belief in its truths, is serving the spirit of the law. Therefore, obedience to the ten commandments and serving the spirit of the law are not contradictory or separable as some believe.



The spirit of the law and the letter of the law are not contrary to each other, nor can they be separated. The spirit of the law magnifies the letter of the law.



“The LORD is well pleased for his righteousness’ sake; he will magnify the law, and make it honorable.” (Isa 42:21)



The letter of the law being magnified by the spirit thereof, we are called to obey the commandments not only to the letter of the law, but more so in newness of spirit (Rom. 7:6).



“For the law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ.” (John 1:17)