SPIRIT OF GOD’S LAWS !
In Matthew chapter 12, is a story about our Lord Jesus the Christ, healing a man on the Sabbath. It
was Saturday, the Sabbath. And Jesus and His disciples had entered the synagogue in order to worship. Jesus
noticed a crippled man sitting among the worshipers. One of this man's arm and hand was terribly deformed
and hung useless at his side.
The man about that same time turned and recognized Jesus the Christ as the wonder-worker from
Nazareth! Summoning up all his courage, he called out to Jesus saying, Master! Will You heal me?"
The Pharisees watched intently, [thinking], was this their chance to finely get rid of this person Jesus
? For weeks they had been hoping to see Jesus Christ break one of there many traditions that governed Judaism’s
civil and religious ways of life so then they could draw Him into court!
Christ knowing the Pharisees plain and thoughts, Would Jesus heal this crippled mans arm and hand?
The Pharisees felt this would be breaking
God’s Holy-Day Sabbath, that was according to their interpretation of the law.
The Bible relates what happened next, they asked Him, in Matt 12:10, “Is it lawful to heal on the
Sabbath,” thinking that they might find fault in Him, so they could accuse Him of working on the Sabbath, a day
set apart for rest.
The Pharisees righteous interpreting the letter of the law was clear regarding the Sabbath. They knew
what Exo.20:8 -10, said in regard to what God delivered to Israel in the 10 Commandments. “Remember the
Sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days shalt you labour, and do all your work: but the seventh day is the Sabbath
of the Lord your God: in it You shalt not do any work, you, nor your son, nor your daughter, your manservant,
nor your maid servant, nor your cattle, nor your stranger that is within your gates.”
Those attending the Sabbath that day were tuned in to hear and see what Jesus Christ answer would be
to the question. Was divine healing on the Sabbath “work?” Did God consider it work? Have
you ever asked yourself questions like that, about working on God's Sabbath? Or about any other of God's
Sabbath laws? Like--buy and saleing on God’s Sabbath day? Going out to restaurants to eat on the Sabbath? Or
buying gas for your car on the Sabbath day? Paying your house hold bills on the Sabbath?
Beyond vague Sunday-school memories of the Ten Commandments, few today in this world know much
about the Creator's wonderful system of laws and commandments.
Many today however, are learning the truth about God's' law and His set apart calendar dates through the
Prove All Thing study magazine and the church other freely given literature. Its free because of your obeying
God’s law of giving of your time, tithes and offerings. Obeying God’s eighth commandment found in Exo 20:
15 that says, “You shall not steal,” in other words you shall not rob God, as told us in the book of Malachi 3
verses 8 - 10.
Some have said those verses are for Old Testament keepers, they don’t apply to New Testament believers!
Notice our Lords words with me in Luke 16: 31,But He (Christ ) said to Moses , 'if they do not hear you (Moses)
and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded” (NKJ). The Amplified Bible reads, “And He (Christ) said to
him, (Moses) if they do not hear and listen to (you) Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded,
convinced and believe.” The laws of almighty God are no antiquated code of conduct. Instead, they are timeless,
immutable principles determining how all nature and society operate.
How aware are you, as increasing numbers are, that your success on the job, in your marriage and family
and in relationships with other people, and even your personal health depend on keeping certain laws of God?
However, it's not just material success that is at stake! Properly keeping God's laws brings spiritual blessings,
too. For example, the commandment keepers learns to think like God, THINKS. He begins to develop the very
character of the eternal and as he learns more and more of God's great plan for mankind, he discovers that his
own future responsibilities in the soon-coming government of God on earth depend to a large extent on his using
God's laws wisely today.
How can you reap these blessings of God's law? The answer: learn to keep the law as Jesus Christ did.
Let's return to that tense moment in the synagogue nearly two millennia ago, when our Lord quickly perceived
the deadly intent of the Pharisees question: “Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath?” Angered, we read of Jesus
speaking out loudly: “What man is there among you who has one sheep, and if it falls into a pit on the Sabbath,
will not lay hold of it and lift it out ? Of how much more value then, is a man than a sheep? Therefore it is
lawful to do good on the Sabbath” (Matt. 12:11-12).
Then the healer, Jesus the Christ, commanded the crippled man to stretch out his arm and hand, before
the awe struck audience, they watched the misshaped arm and hand become perfectly sound. Perfectly healed!
Think back to what Christ said, just before this miraculous healing: “Is it lawful to do good on the
Sabbath?” This was a truly monumental statement! How so? Because here Jesus the Christ, pointed to the spirit
of the law. God’s laws have purpose. This is the vital key to keeping God's laws properly.
We must learn to recognize “the spirit of the law.” The spirit of the law means, God's original intent or
purpose behind each law. Take the Sabbath, for example, when God blueprinted the-Sabbath, He intended it to
be a blessing to man, a refreshing pause– a day of rest! A chance both to recuperate physically and to draw
closer to the Creator, in worship, learning of His ways that we are to follow and walk in.
Our Lord of lords knew the spirit of the Sabbath commandment. Therefore He knew that the spirit of
divine effort involved in healing was a valid use of time on this set apart weekly Sabbath day. Because of Jesus'
insight into the divine purpose behind the Sabbath, the crippled worshiper was freed of his burden. He
experienced a blessing he'd scarcely dared to dream of, because Jesus recognized the spirit of the law. He reads
the heart and mind of man!
God's law always becomes a blessing to those who recognize the spirit of the law. Mercy- compassion
and forgiveness! This applies to the 21st century as well as the first century.
On a side note: I remember when Joyce and I were newly called, the church strongly taught country
living. At that time we were living the city life, so we city slickers moved out of the city, to a small rural area
where we could grow a garden and where we could have animals, like horses, cows, chickens, ducks, goats
sheep and so forth.
Being a city slickers, not knowing much about animals, we found ourselves thinking they would be no
problem or interference in our keeping of God’s Sabbath. It was not long until one of our goats was going to
have a kid, sure enough it happened on a Sabbath day. Being a green horn about her having a kid, we stayed
home that Sabbath to help her out with her delivery, not realizing she did not need us to help! That was our first
ox in the ditch experience on God’s Holy Sabbath day of rest.
I’m sure you you have had a time when that ox or sheep in the ditch showed up on your Sabbath, like it
did for this man with his limp arm. Ignoring the spirit of the law can have devastating results. Remember the
Pharisees? They only had eyes for the so-called letter of the law, as they watched this mans arm being healed.
They were therefore more concerned with a doctrinal technicality, than with ending the misery of a suffering
human being.
In John 8, is another story where our Lord forgives a woman that was caught in adultery. “And early in
the morning Jesus came again into the temple, And all the people came unto Him; and He sat down, and taught
them. And the scribes and pharisees brought unto Him a woman taken in adultery; and when they had set her in
the midst, they say unto Him, Master, this woman was taken in adultery, in the very act” (John 8:2). The scribes
and pharisees were again seeking to trick Him, to see whether He would uphold the law given to Moses or defend
this adulteress sinner. Verse 5, “Now Moses in the law commanded us, that such should be stoned: but what say
You? This they said, tempting Him, that they might have to accuse Him. But Jesus stooped down, and with His
finger wrote on the ground, as though He heard them not.
Scripture does not say what He wrote, but speculation is He was writing down their names along with
sins they had committed, Christ knowing their self - righteous heart. Dissatisfied Pharisees kept insisting that
He make some reply, so Jesus simply stated in verse 7 - 8, “He that is without sin among you, let him first cast
a stone at her. And again He stooped down, and wrote on the ground. These are the only recorded instances of
the Lord Jesus writing anything and what He wrote has long since been erased from the earth.
Those who accused the woman were convicted by their conscience they had nothing else to say so they
began to walk away. Verse 9 tells us, Jesus was left alone, with the woman. Verse 10, When Jesus had lifted
up Himself, and saw none but the woman, He said unto her, woman, where are those your accusers? Has no man
condemned you? She said, no man, Lord. And Jesus said unto her, neither do I condemn you: go, and sin no
more. Jesus was the only one who could have condemned her but He did not. He read her mind and heart and
knew she was repentant which explains why she did not flee when her accusers left.
Jesus did not take her sin lightly, rather He commanded her “To go and sin no more.” These are words
of truth. He cannot approve of sin in any degree.
Jesus in Matt 23:4, and in verse 23, Said what He sees in the scribes and Pharisees, “You bind heavy
burdens, hard to bear, and lay them on men's shoulders ...... And in Verse 23, “Woe to you, scribes and.
Pharisees, hypocrites! For you have neglected the weightier matters of the law: justice and mercy and faith”
(Matt. 23: 4, 23).
Part of Jesus' divine commission was to point out that God His Father’s laws were more than mere rituals:
Matt 5: 17, “Do not think that I came to destroy the law ... I did not come to Destroy but to fulfill.” Jesus wanted
to fulfill, or fill full, the missing dimension in the comprehension of the law. He showed there was a weightier
aspect to the law than superficial guidelines of conduct. Christ emphasized the importance of the spirit of the law
to His disciples.
Apostle Paul later wrote, in 2 Cor 3: 6, “God has made us able ministers of the New Testament; not of
the letter, but of the spirit.” The Apostles decided matters of doctrine, as well as questions regarding Christian
conduct, but only after carefully considering the spirit of the law. Mercy == compassion == and forgiveness.
This was, of course, particularly necessary in cases such as the question of circumcision, where there was no
letter of the law, applying directly to the case in point. The same applies to God's churches today. And its
ministers of Jesus the Christ. There will always be base decisions regarding doctrine and conduct on the spirit
of the law. God’s called realize this when there is occasionally no specific letter of the law associated with a
church ruling. Despite God’s emphasis of the spirit of the law, Christ continued to uphold the letter as well.
Our Lord clearly stated, in Matt 5:18, “Till heaven and earth pass away, one jot or one tittle will by no
means pass from the law till all is fulfilled.” Here Jesus referred to the very punctuation and pronunciation marks
contained in the written law!
Most modern theology discards the letter in favor of the spirit. One extreme is as bad as the other, the
Christian needs both, the written letter of the law as well as the spirit of the law in order to keep God’s laws
properly.
We find the letter of the law, the written word of God, in our Bibles. Yet we have clearly seen how vital
it is to recognize the spirit of the law. So how can we learn to recognize it? Realize this first: without the direct
help of almighty God, not one of us could truly grasp the spirit of the law.
We read, in 1 Cor 2: verse 14, “The natural man [the unconverted man] does not receive the things of the
spirit. Therefore, God grants those He is calling insight through His own Holy Spirit.” Verse 12, “Now we have
received not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit which is of God; that we might know the things that are freely
given to us of God.”
The Bible records that King David perceived the divine meaning in God's law. For example, David was
able to see past the letter of the sacrificial law, to the spirit beyond it; “You [meaning God] do not delight in
burnt offering. The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit, a broken and a contrite heart. These, 0 God, You will
not despise” (Psalm. 51: 16 - 17).
David recognized that the sacrificial system was not an end in itself. Instead, it was to help the Israelites
wake up to the high cost of sinning and to stop sinning. David knew the source of his insight. He pleaded with
God during one crisis in his life. We read of that in Psalm 51:11, “Do not take Your Holy Spirit from me.”
Without God's spirit, David would have been as spiritually blind as the rest of Israel. David's writings also shows
what he did to activate the spiritual insight God offered through the Holy Spirit.
There are three things David did that we must do in order to grasp the spirit of the law. First:
MEDITATE AND STUDY, set aside time to think deeply about each of God's laws. David did. He wrote, “I
have more understanding than all my teachers, for Your Testimonies are my meditation. (Psalm. 119:99).
If a teacher becomes complacent and rest on his laurels he will soon be surpassed by a younger man who
constantly meditates on God’s word. David realized from the onset that God's mind – not man's, conceived the
ruling. He also seeked to determine how the law fits into God's great program to develop His character in us.
We all need to study the Bible to see how men like David understood and applied God's laws.
Most important, look at Jesus, the Christ's example. Does the gospel accounts throw light on the spirit
of the particular law you are concerned with? Don't lose heart if you are newly called and somewhat unfamiliar
with here a little and there a little– line upon line principal– keep studying !
Second: PRAY FOR INSIGHT. Spiritually speaking, human beings have a restricted field of vision.
Ask God in prayers to widen your vision and grant you insight into the spirit of His law. David constantly spoke
with the Eternal about His laws. He implored: “Teach me 0 Lord” in Psa 119: 33-34. "Teach me, 0 Lord, the
way of Your statutes, and I shall keep it to the end. Give me understanding, and I shall keep Your law; indeed,
I shall observe it with my whole heart.” Remember, that only if we are really serious in desiring this insight will
God give it to us.
The third advise is –OBEY THE LAW!
What if we meditate and pray, and still do not immediately perceive the spirit of the law? May we delay our
obedience until full comprehension comes? Did David ever delay in obeying? Notice verse 60 in Psa 119, “I
made haste, and did not delay to keep Your Commandments.” God did not promise us complete comprehension
of the truth in this life.
In the Moffatt Bible, Paul concluded in 1 Cor 13:12, “At present we only see the baffling reflections in
a mirror, but then [when we are born into God's family in the resurrection] it will be face to face; at present I am
learning bit by bit, but then I shall understand, as all along I have myself been understood.”
Mr. Armstrong did not immediately receive full comprehension of God's Holy Day laws. For example.
he and his wife, all by themselves with their children, proceeded to obey those laws for seven long years alone.
In response to their unquestioning obedience, God gradually expanded their comprehension. Mr. Armstrong
came to recognize that the Holy Days revealed God's fantastic plan for mankind’s salvation.
Experience shows that God grants the great gift of spiritual insight only after He has evidence that we
will obey Him, even in the absence of insight. As David wrote in Psa. 111:10, “A good understanding have all
those who do His Commandments.”
Often, full understanding of God's laws comes only after we begin to keep them. To grow spiritually,
we must learn to discern the spirit of God's law. This is vital, if we want to keep the letter of the law,
meaningfully and joyfully.
So remember: study each law and meditate on it, then pray for comprehension through the using
of God’s Holy Spirit, then shall God's law truly become for you a “law of liberty,” as James put it in
James 1: 25, and James 2:12. Reading First James 1: 25, “But whoso looks into the perfect law of
liberty, and Continues therein, he being not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the work, this man shall be
blessed in his deed.” James 2:12, “So speak you, and so do, as they that shall be judged by the Law of
liberty.” Don't forget: James had probably witnessed that healing in the synagogue. He had seen a
crippled man liberated from his suffering.
The law of the Sabbath had become a law of liberty for the cripple, and all because the
One who healed him grasped “The spirit of the law ! ”☜
James Russell