Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them… For I say to you, that unless your righteousness exceeds the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven – Matthew 5:17, 20
“Kristlyn you must read a Chinese book everyday… you must practice your multiplication table… you must learn some words that are on the wall.” It’s ironic. I used to hate rules but yet here I am setting all these rules that I know are so important for her. My daughter would begrudgingly comply with them when daddy was at home and conveniently forget when he was not. That is until she came running to me one day. “Daddy, I know how to write this word that’s on the wall!” She began to find joy in reading every day. She now knew why she had to practice her writing. She not only complied with the letter of the law, but she now understood the spirit of the law.
Many modern-day Christians tend to view law as in opposition to grace, especially after reading Paul’s letter to the Romans.i Yet how do we reconcile Paul’s teaching which seems to equate the Law with sin and Jesus’ view of the Law and his call for us to be righteous? Wesley insists, “The case is not therefore, as you suppose, that men were once more obliged to obey God, or to work the works of his law, than they were now.”74 He saw that “obedience to the moral law is required in the practical Christian life… in order to continue in the rich grace of God.”75
莫想我来要废掉律法和先知。我来不是要废掉，乃是要成全。我告诉你们，你们的义若不胜于文士和法利赛人的义，断不能进天国。《马太福音》5：17，20
“祈恩你必须每天读一本中文书籍。。你必须练习你的乘法表......你必须学习墙上的一些词语。”这很讽刺。我曾经讨厌规则，但我却设定了所有我知道对她来说非常重要的规则。当爸爸在家时，我的女儿会勉强遵守它们，当他不在时，他很容易地忘记它们。直到有一天她跑向我。 “爸爸，我知道怎么写在墙上的这个字了！”她开始发现了每天阅读的乐趣。她现在知道为什么她必须练习写字。她不仅遵守律法，而且现在她懂得律法背后的精神。 许多现代基督徒倾向于将法律视为与恩典互相对立，特别是在阅读保罗写给罗马信徒的书信之后。然而，我们如何在两者之间调和？保罗似乎视律法与罪同等的教导，以及耶稣对律法的看法和他呼召我们要成为义？约翰.卫斯理坚持说：“事实并非如此，如你所料，他们比现代人更有责任服从上帝或执行其律法规定的工作。”7他认为，“遵守道德律法是基督徒生活实践中所需要的。。以便继续活在上帝丰富的恩典中。”
反思
道德律法指导我们与上帝和其他人的关系，例如《出埃及记》20：1-17。你认为遵守所有道德法律重要吗？
Reflection
The moral law guides our relationship with God and with others e.g. Exodus 20:1-17. Do you believe it is important to keep all of the moral law?
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