Articles
The Spirit Of The Law
Have you ever heard someone try to slide around doing what the Bible says by invoking “the spirit of the law”? It might go something like this:
Fred: Bob, don’t you know that living together outside of marriage is sinful?
Bob: Well, I don’t see what the big deal is. Susie and I love each other. Isn’t that what really counts?
Fred: What really counts is living in such a way to honor God and conform our lives to His moral standards. God’s word plainly teaches that sexual relations without marital commitment is fornication.
Bob: Just where does the Bible say that?!
Fred: Hebrews 13:4 says, “Marriage is honorable among all, and the bed undefiled; but fornicators and adulterers God will judge.”
Bob: That just sounds legalistic to me. I try to follow the spirit of the law. You know, love your neighbor, help other people, be truthful, work hard, be a good citizen. I don’t think the Bible is a book to be followed to the letter of the law. We’re not hurting anyone. We just think that getting a piece of paper to validate our relationship is unnecessary.
When people are looking for some wiggle room, they tend to see the “spirit of the law” as vague, flexible and permissive. But when Jesus commented on the Law of Moses and sought to restore it to its true meaning, He indicated that the spirit of the law was more restrictive than the actual, written command, not more flexible.
For example, “You have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’ But I say to you that whoever looks at a woman to lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart” (Matt. 5:27-28). Jesus says that the law was not merely trying to regulate the overt act; rather, it was ultimately directed to the heart. The wise and godly man would recognize that intent forms in the mind long before the act is committed. Lust precedes adultery; anger precedes murder (Matt. 5:21-22); all sin begins in the heart (Matt. 15:18-20).
Thus, the true spirit of the law is the inward desire of the faithful heart to please God in all things. It is the height of self-will to search the word of God for loopholes or to relax its standards in order to indulge one’s selfish desires.
The true spirit of the law runs away from sin (I Cor. 6:18). It does not see how close it can get to line without stepping over. The true spirit of the law is to forego one’s liberties for the sake of a weak brother (I Cor. 8:9-13). Love and gentleness prevent us from running roughshod over those who are yet immature.
The true spirit of the law is sacrificing one’s personal opinions and wishes for the opportunity to teach someone the gospel (I Cor. 9:19-23). We try to relate to others and see things from their point of view. The true spirit of the law is to recognize that something may be lawful but not edifying (I Cor. 10:23-24). We use wisdom and good judgment to help decide how to implement God’s will.
The true spirit of the law is to “go the extra mile,” to see that the right thing is done, that people are respected, that God’s word is honored, that sin is avoided. The godly person doesn’t cut corners, look for the lowest common denominator or seek to slide by with minimal effort.
So where does this spiritual sensibility come from? It begins with the understanding of how much we owe God personally. God didn’t just give His Son to save some “generic sinners.” He gave His Son to save me. And I owe Him my very best. I owe Him my loyalty. I owe him the honor of my innermost thoughts. I owe Him the love for others that He died for. I owe Him true humility.
Many people find it easy to speak about God, attend worship, read their Bible, even pray on regular occasions. But they may still harbor a selfish attitude that enjoys “religion” up to the point that it challenges them to sacrifice something. Then it is easy to circumvent God’s demands by invoking the “spirit of the law.”
May we love God with all our heart, soul and mind (Matt. 22:37), not with our fingers crossed behind our back.
