Leviticus 20.26
“You shall be holy, for I the Lord am holy and have separated you from the peoples, that you should be mine.”
Let me repeat a recurring theme: The law of Moses did not teach salvation by works. Salvation by works was a perversion of the law that was taught by the Pharisees and Judaizers. Salvation in God’s kingdom has always been by grace through faith, including under the Old Covenant.
I am alarmed by the number of Christians — including pastors and teachers — who speak as if the law was a legalistic system of salvation. Nothing could be further from the truth. After God granted righteousness to Abraham through faith, the Lord did not suddenly shift and grant salvation to Israel only through legalistic obedience to the law, and then shift back again to salvation by faith when Jesus came.
Many people who write and teach about the book of Galatians make the mistake of pitting the law and grace against each other. This is a serious error. The law of Moses plays a critical role in God’s plan, and it was never intended to be a system for salvation. God’s law is good, and it teaches standards of right living for God’s people. It clarifies what holiness is and calls God’s people to be holy.
This is the message of Leviticus 20.26: “You shall be holy, for I the Lord am holy and have separated you from the peoples, that you should be mine.”
The apostle Peter quotes this verse from the law and applies it to NT Christians: “As obedient children, do not be conformed to the passions of your former ignorance, but as he who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, since it is written, “You shall be holy, for I am holy.” (1 Peter 1:14-16). If the law and grace are incompatible, why would Peter quote the law and apply it to Christians who are living under the covenant of grace?
The apostle John also had a very high view of obedience to God’s commandments. He didn’t consider the Lord’s standards as burdensome. “For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments. And his commandments are not burdensome” (1 John 5:3). If the law and grace are incompatible, why would John describe God’s commandments as “not burdensome’?
Again, the problem that Paul was addressing in Galatia was not the law; the problem was the Judaizers’ perversion of the law. There is a big difference between thinking that salvation can be earned by keeping God’s commandments, and the truth that those who receive salvation are called to love God and keep his commandments.
The distinction is critical. It is imperative to see the difference between legalism and obedience. Scripture strictly forbids legalism and clearly teaches that God’s people are to be obedient.
The analogy of how wise parents run their household illustrates legalism vs. obedience. Legalism would be a home in which parents offer love to their children only if their children adhere to strict rules. In such a home, there are rules for every aspect of life from dawn to dusk. Harsh punishment is administered for breaking the rules. “Love” in this scenario would have to be earned. Of course, it’s not truly love, and such a home would be painfully dysfunctional.
By contrast, wisdom is demonstrated by a home in which parents love their children unconditionally but at the same time teach their children that they expect a standard of behavior. When the children fail to live by those standards, the parents lovingly correct the children and require them to change their behavior. The children are always loved, but they are also guided through life. The standards are clear and alignment with those standards is expected.
If the children love and respect their parents, they obey the standards. If the children disobey the standards, there are consequences. The children are still part of the family, but the parents are very disappointed in their children’s disobedience and respond with appropriate discipline and corrective actions.
It works the same way in our relationship with God, which is reflected in what Paul wrote to Ephesians, “And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption” (Ephesians 4:30). God expects us to obey him, and he is very disappointed when we disobey.
The kingdom of God and the fellowship of the body of Christ is a family. God’s laws and standards are the household rules for how we should behave. He loves us unconditionally, yet at the same time guides us in how we are to live. When we fail to live by his standards—and every person sins—he is “grieved” and corrects us and calls us to change our behavior. Because he is a Father of grace, he provides the presence of the Holy Spirit to convict us and empower us in our spiritual growth and obedience.
Keeping God’s laws does not make us his children. We become his children by trusting in his grace in Christ, thereby being “born again” and “adopted” into his family. We seek to obey God because we are his children, and because we love and trust him.
Do not make the mistake of seeking to earn salvation through keeping God’s commandments. Do not make the opposite mistake of thinking that because of grace you do not have to obey.
