The righteousness required by the law is fulfilled in us when we walk after the Spirit. But this is not merely conformity to the letter of the law. Jesus said:
Matthew 7:12 Therefore all things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them: for this is the law and the prophets.
Matthew 22:36-40 Master, which is the great commandment in the law? Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.
His apostle says the same thing:
Romans 13:8-10 Owe no man any thing, but to love one another: for he that loveth another hath fulfilled the law. For this, Thou shalt not commit adultery, Thou shalt not kill, Thou shalt not steal, Thou shalt not bear false witness, Thou shalt not covet; and if there be any other commandment, it is briefly comprehended in this saying, namely, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. Love worketh no ill to his neighbour: therefore love is the fulfilling of the law.
Galatians 5:14 For all the law is fulfilled in one word, even in this; Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.
Jesus and Paul both teach that the law is fulfilled by our loving God and our neighbor. And when the Holy Spirit pours out the love of God in my heart he enables me to do just that. But did you notice? Both Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind and Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself are from the law! In other words, that gospel distinctive, Love your neighbor as yourself, is taught in the law! It’s a part of the righteousness of the law.
Let me be very clear. We don’t keep the law in order to be acceptable with God. We don’t keep the law in order to stay acceptable with God. We are not under the law. I don’t need to post the commandments on my wall and then measure myself by them. When I focus on treating people the way I wish they treated me I live the gospel way. But, the new covenant is not simply, “Believe in Jesus and love your neighbor.” No, we are told, For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men, Teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world. And there are many principles, exhortations, and imperatives concerning righteousness given by the apostles, whose teaching was founded on the teachings of Jesus and the Bible. And do you know what the Bible was for the apostles? The Old Testament. That’s right. We can read the Old Testament and benefit from it, because righteousness is revealed in the law. And as we read the Old Testament and understand it in the light of the gospel, we can learn how to live soberly, righteously, and godly in this present world.
Let’s see how this would work from Leviticus 19. Why Leviticus 19? I chose this sort of at random - I went to church on Mother’s Day and the Pastor referenced it. As he moved on I continued reading in the chapter. So let’s go:
2 Speak unto all the congregation of the children of Israel, and say unto them, Ye shall be holy: for I the LORD your God am holy.
The apostle Peter actually quotes this verse in his first epistle.
3 Ye shall fear every man his mother, and his father, and keep my sabbaths: I am the LORD your God.
fear his mother and his father – simply put, Honor thy father and thy mother, this is still gospel behavior
keep my sabbaths – I’m at the third verse and it’s tricky, right? Not really. We are under no obligation to keep the sabbath, we’re not under the law, but we actually do keep the sabbath and all the feasts through our faith in Christ.
4 Turn ye not unto idols, nor make to yourselves molten gods: I am the LORD your God.
No idolatry now either.
5 And if ye offer a sacrifice of peace offerings unto the LORD, ye shall offer it at your own will. 6 It shall be eaten the same day ye offer it, and on the morrow: and if ought remain until the third day, it shall be burnt in the fire. 7 And if it be eaten at all on the third day, it is abominable; it shall not be accepted. 8 Therefore every one that eateth it shall bear his iniquity, because he hath profaned the hallowed thing of the LORD: and that soul shall be cut off from among his people.
Clearly this does not apply to us. What? Am I picking and choosing what I like? No. This has to do with a sacrifice and the sacrifices, the priesthood, and the temple all pointed to Christ. He has come and fulfilled all this. There is now a spiritual house, a spiritual priesthood, and spiritual sacrifices.
9 And when ye reap the harvest of your land, thou shalt not wholly reap the corners of thy field, neither shalt thou gather the gleanings of thy harvest. 10 And thou shalt not glean thy vineyard, neither shalt thou gather every grape of thy vineyard; thou shalt leave them for the poor and stranger: I am the LORD your God.
This can not be applied literally by us today - we harvest with machines and our fields are far away from where we live - but it does teach us practical mercy on the poor and the stranger. Think about this: Jesus stressed feeding the hungry and clothing the naked...where do you think he got this?
11 Ye shall not steal, neither deal falsely, neither lie one to another.
Paul took this and applied it to the new man.
12 And ye shall not swear by my name falsely, neither shalt thou profane the name of thy God: I am the LORD.
Obviously, we are not to swear falsely, Jesus went further, “Swear not at all.” Are we free to profane the name of the Lord? No. “When ye pray say... Hallowed be thy name.”
13 Thou shalt not defraud thy neighbour, neither rob him: the wages of him that is hired shall not abide with thee all night until the morning.
James 5:1-6
14 Thou shalt not curse the deaf, nor put a stumblingblock before the blind, but shalt fear thy God: I am the LORD.
This is what “love thy neighbor” looks like
15 Ye shall do no unrighteousness in judgment: thou shalt not respect the person of the poor, nor honour the person of the mighty: but in righteousness shalt thou judge thy neighbour.
Uh, James 2:1...
16 Thou shalt not go up and down as a talebearer among thy people: neither shalt thou stand against the blood of thy neighbour: I am the LORD.
Gossip is not righteous behavior under any covenant.
17 Thou shalt not hate thy brother in thine heart: thou shalt in any wise rebuke thy neighbour, and not suffer sin upon him.
This is a good word. Relationships are tricky, but we can’t harbor hate...
18 Thou shalt not avenge, nor bear any grudge against the children of thy people, but thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself: I am the LORD.
Well looky here, this brings us to the very place we started! Love thy neighbor as thyself is found in the law. It is the righteousness of the law.
We could continue but I believe I have illustrated my point. And what was that exactly? The law is not bad. We can read the Old Testament and benefit from it, because righteousness is revealed in it. Praise God, we’re not under the law. We’ve been forgiven, justified, and given a new heart and a new spirit by grace through faith. But God is still righteous. And he still desires us to walk in righteousness and true holiness. And this righteousness is revealed in His Word. All of His Word.
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