The Law of Christ - Part 3 — Charles Leiter

The Law of Christ and the Christian’s New Covenant Identity

Well, I won't review some of the things that I would normally review if we were speaking with a day or two in between, because everything is pretty fresh in our minds. But this series is about the Law of Christ, and we still haven't even talked about the Law of Christ.

We haven't talked about what it is. But Paul says in 1 Corinthians, there in this passage we've been reading, 1 Corinthians 9, he says, to those who are without law, I became as without law. But then he wants us to realize, not without the Law of God, and then he identifies that with the Law of Christ.

He says, as Christians, we're in-lawed to Christ. And he doesn't give us much of a hint here as to what the Law of Christ is. He doesn't really say anything. Which ought to be an indicator to us that this was something so familiar to the early church that they didn't need an explanation.

But what about it? Can you think of anywhere else in Scripture where the phrase, the Law of Christ, is specifically used? The Law of Christ. Anyone? I mean, you just can't come up with something right off.

But the fact is, it is used. Paul uses it in Galatians 6. So let's turn to that. Galatians 6, verse 1, he says, Brethren, even if a man is caught in any trespass, you who are spiritual, restore such one in a spirit of gentleness, looking to yourselves, lest you too be tempted.

Bear one another's burdens, and thus fulfill the Law of Christ. And there it is. And that helps a lot more to give a hint of what's going on. Bearing one another's burdens, and thus fulfill the Law of Christ.

The Law of Christ has to do with loving one another. Now that brings up a further question. Where would they get the idea that loving one another would be called the Law of Christ? Love one another. What do you think?

Where does that come up? Pardon? It's one of the great commandments. Of course, you could say, well, that's the Law of God. Why would it come up the Law of Christ? Well, let's look at this in John 13.

Christ’s New Commandment to Love One Another

John 13, here we are at the Last Supper, and verse 34, A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another, even as I have loved you, that you also love one another. By this, all men will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.

And then over in chapter 15, verse 12, This is My commandment. This is the Law of Christ. This is My commandment, that you love one another, just as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this, and one lay down his life for his friends.

And then in verse 17, This I command you, that you love one another. Now, this is the Lord here in the upper room, on the very last night, and giving this new commandment to love one another. Love is the new commandment.

Now, the question is, why does the Lord refer to this as a new commandment? Here they are sitting around here at the Last Supper. He says, I want to say something, I've got a new commandment for you. And they all perk up, love one another.

I mean, does the Bible ever say that? Has the Bible ever said that before? Absolutely. And yet, He's calling this a new commandment. So the question is, why? What's new about this? God had told them to love one another before.

In fact, we saw that was one of the two great commandments. So why was this a new commandment? Well, let me ask you a question, was there anything else that was new that night? There was a new covenant.

He holds the cup up, He says, this cup is the new covenant in My blood. Now, He's given a new covenant, and in connection with the new covenant, He's giving a new commandment. You remember when the old covenant was given, a lot of times, we'd better turn back there and look at this, Exodus 24.

The New Covenant, the Covenant Meal, and the Law of Love

We forget about the fact that when the old covenant was given, there was the shedding of blood, and there was a covenant meal. Exodus 24, verse 7, Then He took the book of the covenant, and read it in the hearing of the people, and they said, All that the Lord has spoken we will do, and we will be obedient.

So Moses took the blood, and sprinkled it on the people, and said, Behold the blood of the covenant. Think of Jesus' words. This cup is the blood of the new covenant. Behold the blood of the covenant, which the Lord has made with you in accordance with all these words.

Then Moses went up with Aaron, Nadab and Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel. And they saw the God of Israel, and under His feet there appeared to be a pavement of sapphire as clear as the sky itself.

Yet He did not stretch out His hand against the nobles of the sons of Israel. And they beheld God, and they ate and drank. We don't even think about that. There was a covenant meal, the shedding of blood, and the giving of law.

Now what have we got in the upper room? They're sitting there, they're having the covenant meal. He says, This is My blood of the new covenant. Now He said, I've got a commandment to give you along. Not a book with 613 laws.

I've got one thing I want you to remember. Isn't this something? And it's the one thing we forget really quickly. I've seen situations as a pastor. I've got this hard problem, so and so, what am I going to say to them?

You know, this is a mess. And as soon as I got to the point where my heart was filled with love for that person, I knew immediately what to say to them. But when you're angry, or when you're frustrated, or whatever, you don't know what to do.

You see, He's saying, and He's not giving... It is not the idea, beloved, that the law of Moses, we've got 613 now in the new covenant, you go through and list all the commandments in the New Testament, and you've got this new codice of law.

That's not what it is. You don't have that. You don't need that. What you've got in the new covenant is signposts pointing you to the life in the Spirit. And this is the big one. He says, love one another.

That's the big one. That's going to be the hardest thing. I mean to truly love one another. He said, that's going to be the hardest possible thing. And it's also the thing that He puts in your heart. There's nothing more demanding than this.

There's nothing more exacting. There's nothing more difficult. But there's nothing more liberating, is there? Just love one another. So, why does He call it a new commandment? Because it's associated with the new covenant.

It's part of this whole thing. And He's saying, now in the new covenant, as He's getting ready to leave, He says, this is what I want you to keep foremost in your minds. Love one another. And so Paul later, he knows what this means.

He says, bear one another's burdens and thus fulfill this commandment, this law of Christ, this new commandment that He gives to you. Love one another. So it was new in that it was part of a new covenant.

What else? Well, it's new because it has a whole new depth of meaning. One thing to say, love one another, but He didn't say that, did He? He said, love one another as I have loved you. Now, that just raised the bar out of sight.

It's new. That's a new commandment. Never in all of human history has there ever been a revelation of duty like this. Love as Christ loved. That's the highest revelation, and it's the most wonderful, the most exacting, but the most wonderful revelation of man's duty that's ever been given.

And so, to love others as much as Christ loved us by His actions. We'll talk about that more in a minute. But that was a new commandment. That's something new. And so, why is this a new commandment? Well, it's associated with a new covenant.

It gives an entirely new depth of meaning to the word love. You know, we know love by this, that He did such and such, you see. Alright, but what else? Well, there's a third reason that it's new. And let's just turn to this in 1 John.

The New Commandment Written on the Christian Heart

John brings this up. 1 John 2 and verse 7. Beloved, I am not writing a new commandment to you, but an old commandment which you have had from the beginning. The old commandment is the word which you've heard.

On the other hand, I am writing a new commandment to you, which is true in Him and in you, because the darkness is passing away and the true light is already shining. What's new about this? Well, the thing that makes it new is that there's something that's happened in you if you're a Christian.

He says, in a way, this is just the same old thing. It was all through the Old Testament. But He says it's new now because the true light is shining. The day is already starting to dawn. Something's happened in you.

It's true in Him and in you. And the true light is already shining, the darkness is passing away. You can feel a little bit of what this means to love. In fact, we know that we've passed from death to life because we love.

It begins at conversion. This is what God meant whenever He said, I'll write My laws on your heart. Remember that in the New Covenant? I'll write My laws on your heart. What do you write on your heart?

When you become a Christian, you know, I remember I was a brand new Christian, and the first thing I think when I get up in the morning, wow, I don't want to light a fire in my dwelling from 6 o 'clock Friday night until 6 o 'clock Saturday night.

No, that's not the law that He writes on your heart. Or I really no longer do I want to wear garments that are cotton and polyester. That's not the law that He writes on your heart. But what He does write on your heart is love for God and love for your fellow man.

I remember I walked to work, and there was a guy at that filling station, I used to work for 50 cents an hour, that tells you how old I am. And that guy, I despised that guy. And I walked in there, I'm a new creation, I love.

You know, isn't that amazing? He's written His law on your heart. It's the big stuff. God says, concerning love for one another, I have no need to write you, Paul says, because you yourselves are taught of God to love one another.

That's something that happens. Every Christian loves God. Every Christian. Paul calls Christians by that. He says, we know that God causes all things to work together for good, to them that love God. That's another name for a Christian.

If any man loved not the Lord Jesus Christ, let him be accursed. And all Christians love their fellow men. We know that we've passed from death to life because we love the brethren. If anybody hates his brother, he's a murderer.

And you know that no murderer has eternal life abiding in him. This is in you when you become a Christian. God writes it on your heart. He writes the law of love on your heart. And one of the brothers mentioned Jesus brings this up.

You remember, what is it? Matthew 22. A certain man came to him and he said, Rabbi, what's the great commandment in the law? And he said, the greatest thing of anything there is in the law is you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind and strength.

Now, why didn't he just stop with that? The guy didn't ask him, what's the second greatest commandment? Jesus volunteered it. He said, the second is like it. How is it like it? It has to do with love.

The second is like it. You shall love your neighbor as yourself. Now, why did he bring that up? Why did he volunteer the second one? Because he wanted to lay the foundation for an important teaching. He says, on these two commandments hang the whole law and the prophets.

What Jesus is saying, He says, these are the big ones. And everything else hangs on that. It depends on that. Love is the big thing. Brother Chad and I were talking about this. Adultery is not a big thing to God.

Now listen to me. Stealing is not a big thing to God. Murder is not a big thing to God. Except as it relates to breaking the law of love. Now let me say it another way. Adultery is a really big thing to God.

He hates it. Why? Because it's breaking the law of love. But you see what Jesus is saying, all these commandments hang on the love commandments. Murder hangs on the love commandment. It's not something in itself.

It has to do with the fact that it's breaking the love commandments. Why are the love commandments so big? Because God is love. The Bible never says God is justice. It says He is just, but it doesn't say He is justice.

But it does say He is love. Isn't it amazing we have a God who is love? And that law that everybody hates so much, it's just an expression of who He is. So here you have a God who is perfect love and He gives you a law.

He says, look, don't curse a deaf man. Now, what kind of a God would give a law like that? Well, a God of love. You should not place a stumbling block in front of a blind man. Here comes this blind man along, you say, let's have a little fun with him, stick something there.

You realize if you love that man, you'll keep that law automatically. God makes a law, He says, look, there's an open pit, you've got to cover that. Why? Because it relates to love. You've got an ox that gores people, you've got to confine it.

You go through those lists of laws, what are they? They're hanging on love. Now, this is amazing. One of those men came to Jesus, he said, Rabbi, what must I do to have eternal life? He said, well, reading the law, what's it say to you?

What's the law say? He says, well, this guy must have been a pretty amazing Bible scholar actually. He says, it says you should love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind and strength, and your neighbors yourself.

Jesus didn't say, well, yeah, but there's 611 other commandments you've got to keep. He says, you've answered correctly, do this and you'll live. He says, if you'll do those two things, you will fulfill everything, you'll have eternal life.

The problem is, nobody's ever done any of them for five minutes except for one person, the Lord Jesus. But think of this, when He said there's a first commandment and a second commandment, He wasn't saying there's a long list, and there's a third and a fourth.

He said, these two take in everything. They really do. If you love your neighbor, you're going to tell them about the Lord. That takes in commandments about sharing the Gospel. I mean, you can just go down through the list.

If I love my neighbor, I don't want to steal his wife, I don't want to steal his car. All of this relates to these. And as you go through the New Testament, you'll find this, and I won't look up all the verses because we just had lunch.

Love as the Fulfillment of the Whole Law

But there's so many. 1 Timothy 1, he says, the goal of our instruction... Why are we spending this time? Why are the preachers up front there? Well, the goal of our instruction is that we might know what the symbolic meaning of the tenth toe of Daniel's image is for prophecy.

No! The goal of our instruction is love from a pure heart, an undefiled conscience, a sincere faith. That's the goal of everything. Paul says, "...Owe no man anything but to love one another. He who has loved another has fulfilled the Law.".

He's writing to Gentiles in Galatians. He says, if you love, the whole law is fulfilled in one word, love one another. The whole thing. They didn't know all the ins and outs of all those commandments, but he just tells them, if you just love, you'll fulfill the Law.

Maybe I ought to give you the references anyway. 1 Timothy 1 .5, I don't know, we'll look at some of these. 1 Timothy 1 .5, I mentioned, 1 Thessalonians 3 .11 -13, he says, "...May our God and Father Himself and Jesus our Lord direct our way to you.

May the Lord cause you to increase and abound in love for one another and for all men, just as we also do for you, so that He may establish your hearts unblameable in holiness.". That's how you grow in holiness.

Growing in love. In Galatians 5 .13, I mentioned this. He says, I'm sorry, I'm in the wrong book. Galatians 5 .13, he says, "...You were called to freedom, brethren. Only do not turn your freedom into an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another.

For the whole Law is fulfilled in one word, in the statement, you shall love your neighbor as yourself.". Amazing statement. And then, in verse 6 of the same chapter, "...In Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision means anything, but faith working through love.".

Verse 22, "...the fruit of the Spirit is love.". First thing. Chapter 6, "...fulfill the law of Christ, bear one another's burdens.". Love again. 1 Peter 4 .8, he says, "...above all, most important thing, keep fervent in your love for one another, because love covers a multitude of sins.".

Colossians 3 .14, he says, "...beyond all these things, put on love.". After he's gone through this whole list, which is the perfect bond of unity. And Ephesians 4, starting at verse 31, I'll read it to you,.

"...let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice, and be kind to one another, tender-hearted, forgiving each other, just as God and Christ also has forgiven you.

Therefore, be imitators of God as beloved children, and walk in love, just as Christ also loved you.". See, that's the new commandment. Love one another as I have loved you. "...And gave Himself up for us as an offering and sacrifice to God, a fragrant aroma.".

One more, Romans 13, verse 8,. "...Owe nothing to anyone except to love one another, for he who loves his neighbor has fulfilled the law. For this, you shall not commit adultery, you shall not murder, you shall not steal, you shall not covet, and if there is any other commandment, it's summed up in this saying, you shall love your neighbor as yourself.".

If there's any other commandment. Love does no wrong to a neighbor. Love, therefore, is the fulfillment of the law. So this is a central thing. Now, think of how much more wonderful the law of Christ is than going back to the law of Moses.

You just think of this in some areas. Suppose some brother receives a gift, and somebody gives Chad a new car. And he already had a car that was better than mine. And so, you know, I think back to what Moses said, thou shalt not covet.

And I try not to covet. And I do fairly well as long as I don't look at his car. Think of that. But suppose that I love him as Christ loved. And somebody gives him something. What's the immediate response?

You praise God, because you love the person. Your attitude is not this attitude of, I've got to try. It fulfills it automatically. You're delighted. Here you're going down the street, you meet some woman that's immodestly dressed, and you have the thought, you know, the law said you shall not commit adultery.

Now, how does that compare to if you've just come out of a prayer meeting, your heart's full of love, or you're out on the street witnessing, and you see that same person, totally different. You fulfill the law in a much higher level, because you're concerned for the soul.

You love the person. Love them. There was an evangelist a couple hundred years ago, I think maybe he was in Boston, just been converted. Maybe it was a little less than 200 years ago. Anyway, he was a new Christian, full of love for God.

And this woman came up and propositioned him. And he didn't realize what she was asking at first. And then he finally realized, she's a prostitute. He burst into tears. And then she burst into tears. What is that?

He was full of love for her. She never had anybody love her. You see the difference? Instead of saying, you wicked woman, what are you doing? It's the law of Christ, and it's such a higher level. Giving.

Well, I paid my tithe, and I've got it taken care of. How different is that than loving as Jesus loved? He gave everything. You know, you might have to give away not one dollar, but all ten of them, and you might have to give away your billfold.

Or you might not give away anything. Why? Because you're led by the Spirit of God teaching us, you see, teaching. It's the law of Christ. It's not a list of do's and don'ts. It cannot be codified. It's too incisive to be codified.

Let me give you an example. Some of you have read this, and you're aware of it. This is Evangeline Booth, who was the daughter of William Booth, who was the founder of the Salvation Army. I said, Evangeline Booth, as one who ministered often to the dregs of society, she found herself one morning outside the large iron gates of a local police court and temporary prison.

Waiting for the gates to open, she heard the shuffling of heavy feet and loud agitated voices. In her own words, and I'm quoting from her, she says, the gates opened wide and I witnessed a sight, which if eternity could wash away from my mind, time never can.

It was a woman. Two policemen walked in front and two behind. Now, the Salvation Army in the early days, they reached out to the lowest of the low and they were full of life. Two policemen walked in front and two behind.

One man firmly held the right arm and the other the left. She had six guys escorting this woman out. Her hair was uncombed and matted and disheveled. Her right temple was blackened with bruises. Clots of dry blood stood upon her left temple.

Her clothes were torn and bloodstained. She tried to wrench her arms from the grasp of the policemen. The very atmosphere of the morning was laden with her curses and oaths. She tossed her head wildly as the six policemen dragged her down the passageway.

What could I do? One more moment and the golden opportunity to be of help would be gone. Could I offer a prayer? No, there was not time. Could I sing? It would be absurd. Could I give her money? She could not take it.

Could I quote a verse of Scripture? She would not heed it. Whether it was a divine suggestion or not, I did not stop to think, but the impulse of a burning desire which filled my heart as she passed made me step forward and kiss her on the cheek.

Whether the police were taken off their guard by my extraordinary action and relaxed their grasp, I do not know, but with one wrench she freed her arms and clasped her hands as the wind spread her matted, disheveled hair, and she looked toward the gray skies and said, My God.

She looked around wildly for a moment and then said, My God, who kissed me? My God, who kissed me? Nobody has kissed me since my mother died. Lifting her tattered apron, she buried her face in her hands, and like a little lamb she was led to the vehicle which took her to prison.

Later I went to the prison in the hope of seeing her, and at the door stood the warden. When I approached the warden, she said, We think her mind's gone. She does nothing but pace up and down her cell, asking me every time I go in if I know who kissed her.

Would you let me go in and speak to her? I ask. I am her only and best friend. The door was open and I slipped in. Her face was clean, her eyes were large and beautiful, and she said, Do you know who kissed me?

Then she told me her story. When I was a little girl, seven years old, my widowed mother died. She died very poor, although she was of genteel birth. She died in a back basement in the dark. When she was dying, she called me to her, took my little face in her hands and kissed it, and said to me, My poor little girl.

My defenseless little girl. Oh God, have pity on my little girl, and when I'm gone, protect her and take care of her. From that day to this, nobody ever put a kiss upon my face until recently. Then again she asked me, Do you know who kissed me?

I said, It was I who kissed you. Then I told her of Him whose life was so much more tender than mine could ever be, and how He went to the cross and bore our sins upon Himself and was wounded for our transgressions that He might put the kiss of pardon upon our brow.

In Him she found light and joy and comfort and salvation and healing and love. Before she was released from the prison, the warden testified not only to the change in her life, but to its beauty. She was made through Christ the means of salvation to numbers of others who were down as low as she had been and who were bound with fetters as heavy as those with which she herself had been bound.

Now what is that? What law are you going to say, Kiss this woman now? You see how different it is? It's not the idea that God gave us a new list of laws. He didn't do that. He gave us the life of Christ and He gave us some signposts saying, Look, fellas, this is radical.

This is what it's going to look like. That's what He's doing in the Sermon on the Mount. And these things are things that God is giving when we desperately need them. What do we need? How did she know to do that?

She knew it because she loved people like that, and the Holy Spirit prompted her to do it right then. She just did it without thinking. That's what we need. That's what we're talking about. And beloved, I'm speaking for myself, we are so quick to become acting atheists and forget about the Lord Jesus and read our Bible verses and do our thing, our Christian thing.

But if you're full of Christ and full of love, it's totally different, isn't it? Totally different. And it's a living relationship. We have to be brought back to that over and over and over. It's not your list of rules.

You picture, sometimes I go on trips. You go on a trip overseas, come back, my wife's standing in the door, she's got a list. Kiss husband. Hug husband. You realize how insulting that is? If you've got love in your heart, you're going to do the right things.

But a lot of times, that's the way we're treating the Lord. I didn't do this. I didn't do this. He's looking at something a lot bigger than that. Now, which of these things do you think will most convict of sin?

The law of Moses or the law of Christ? Here's an example of what I just read. I mean, it's convicting. I remember when I was a college student, I was staying with a family that was full of the Spirit of God.

And there were always a lot of people coming there for meals. And the kitchen was just a beehive of activity, women fixing stuff and what have you. And one of the kids came in right in the middle of all that and had to get a glass of milk out of the refrigerator.

You know, it's like it was already an annoyance. And then he opens the door up and breaks a glass of milk all over the floor right while they're preparing this big meal. And his mother turned around like this.

She said, Oh, Stephen, I love you. She took his face in her hand. That did more to convict a self-centered college student. I mean, you know, we were talking last night about college students. They come through your door and they say, Feed me, I'm yours, you know.

What can you do to serve me? But to see that, see, that's much more than the thou shalt not. It's convicting. Watchman Nee tells a story, there was a Christian there in China, that they had these fields that they would paddle full of water, rice fields, they'd paddle them full of water using a bicycle-like contraption that has a wheel on it, a water wheel.

And this man paddled and paddled, filled his field full of water. And the neighbor came in the night and opened the gate and let the water out and ran down in the neighbor's field. So the Christian came the next day, saw that, he closed the gate, didn't say anything, filled his field up again.

Next night, same thing happened. And it was time for a prayer meeting. He came in, he said, I haven't done anything against my neighbor. I haven't said anything hurtful to him or anything. But he said, somehow I feel like this is not measuring up to Christ.

They prayed about it. The next day, he opened the gate and filled his neighbor's field first, then closed the gate and filled his field. The neighbor came to him. And he eventually became a Christian.

He said, what is it? What is this? It's the law of Christ. That was the deal when Jesus said, if they compel you to go one mile, go with them two. You know, the Romans had the right to compel you to carry their burden for one mile.

So they yell at you and call you over there and you think, well, I'm doing pretty well. I'm not complaining. I'm not really angry. I didn't curse the guy. I'm not thinking bad things about him. None of that measures up, does it?

So Jesus said, go the second mile. It's during that second mile the guy is wondering, what is different about this person? And he starts talking to you and you have the opportunity to witness to it. It all sounds so good, doesn't it, brother?

Until you get out there, until you're carrying that burden the first half a mile. It's a lot easier to preach about it than it is to do it. Because in reality, you know it's sweaty and it's heavy and your back's hurting.

It's the same way with our spouses. It's the same way with our children. It's the same way in the body of Christ. It's just nothing more costly than that. It's costly. But that's where it is. That's what we're talking about.

Christ as the Objective Standard for Christian Ethics

Now another question comes up, how can you tell what real love is? Two college students living in sin, they say, well, we love one another. Jack Kevorkian, he loves these people so much he helps them commit suicide.

Love is claimed to support abortion. So, it sounds like Jesus left us a pretty flexible, mushy type standard, doesn't it? But what did He say? He didn't say, love one another. He said, love one another as I have loved you.

In other words, all of His teaching, His holiness, His perfection, His life, everything about Him, His manner, all of that, that's the standard. And that takes care of the problem. The conduct and life and person of the Lord Jesus Himself is the rule and duty of the Christian.

We're called upon to be just as holy as He was. And in closing, what I want to draw your attention to here is how the New Testament teaches ethics. You may not have ever thought about this. You think about giving.

How does the New Testament teach giving? Well, you know, in the Law it says you're supposed to tithe. And all of you, oh, I still believe that's still binding on us. We've got to tithe. Oh, the standard's a lot higher than that.

That's a starting point. It tells you a little bit. I mean, it tells you what's reasonable. For example, ten families ought to be able to support one. We know that's not too big of a burden. Jews did that.

There's help from the Law. But it's not the standard for the Christian. It's just a starting point. It's like it gives us a little thought of what they did then. But when you start looking at Christ, well, let's look at it.

How does Paul teach giving? 2 Corinthians 8, verse 7,. Just as you abound in everything, in faith, in love, in faith, in utterance, in knowledge, in all earnestness, and in the love we inspire in you, see that you abound in this gracious work also.