Christianity & Law

In our current environment, especially around the last presidential election, though everyday in the news two “religious” points of view are out in the public. The issues that have spurred the religious debate are homosexuality and abortion. The two voices that have spoken the loudest are those of the Roman Catholic Church, and those of the right wing Evangelicals. Both of these church bodies are clearly centered on the law. They point to the laws of the Holiness Code of Leviticus condemning as “abomination” homosexual contact and the Ten Commandments surrounding the command not to murder. They do so in the name of Christianity.

I believe that the relationship between Christianity and the law is an important connection to make. The first point that I wish to put forward is our Lutheran perspective on the law. 1) The law always points to the will of God. 2) The law always condemns. It serves as a mirror by which the Christian sees the multiple places where each of us falls short of God’s will. 3) For the forgiven, those who live by the grace of God’s forgiveness, the law serves as the guide for living the Christian life. Luther further taught that the scriptures contain both law and gospel and that they must never be mixed. The Law always condemns while the gospel always announces the grace of God’s forgiveness and acceptance through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

The lessons for the Sixth Sunday of Easter address the relationship between the disciple and the law. The First Letter of St. John notes that the "love of God is this" that "we obey his commandments." John tells us that the commandments are not hard because we are "born of God" and are therefore, conquerors of the world - conquerors through "our faith.” John's gospel lets us look at God's commands, "that you love one another as I have loved you.” (John 15:12)

I know that most Christians when they hear the word commandments go immediately to the Ten Commandments. The question is tackled many times over within the four gospels. Jesus' teaches about the commandments. (I think of his encounter with the Rich Young man who asks, what must I do to inherit eternal life. Jesus points him to the commandments, Luke 18: 18-25). Obedience to the commandments is not enough. This young man was called upon sever his connection with his wealth in and to give it to the poor. Compassion outweighed the laws. Follow Jesus was pivot point for this man. Matthew's gospel treats Jesus' teaching on the law in the first discourse (Matthew 5-7) otherwise know as the Sermon on the Mount. Yet, in all four of the gospels, Jesus gives only two commandments himself. 1) Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with your entire mind, 2) love your neighbor as yourself. John in both his First Letter and in his gospel account points everything to this single apex - love. Love satisfies all of God's law and the prophets. The centrality of Love is also testified to in the synoptic gospels of Mark and Luke. (Matthew 22:34-40, Mark 12:28-34) Love is the center of God's plan for world. If love of God remains central and love of neighbor remains central, the commandments will be honored. Love as I have loved you and you will fulfill the entire law and the prophets.