Analyzing the Consensus: Did Christ Do Away With the Law?

One of the most basic and widely taught doctrines in American pulpits can be condensed into a brief and alluring sentence: “Christ has done away with the law.” While the average Christian doesn’t believe this view dismisses all moral boundaries, many affirm that Christ’s sacrifice exempts us from any divine punishment for violations of the law. Even then, most that do believe we can be punished limit God’s punishment to the natural or societal consequences expected of this world. All this raises the foundational question: “Are they right about the law being done away with?”

If we were to look at the epistles of Paul, namely Romans and Galatians, we see causes to believe they’re right. Take Romans 10:4 as an example:

For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes. -(Romans 10:4 NKJV)

That is pretty straightforward. How about the contrarian position? For that we turn to Matthew 5:

“Do not think that I came to destroy the Law or the Prophets. I did not come to destroy but to fulfill. For assuredly, I say to you, till heaven and earth pass away, one jot or one tittle will by no means pass from the law till all is fulfilled.” - (Matthew‬ ‭5:17-18‬ ‭NKJV‬‬)

The “jot” or “tittle” of this passage refer to the smallest Hebrew letter and a small ledge that is part of other Hebrew letters. Saying that not one letter, nor any part of a letter of the law “will by no means pass away till all is fulfilled” is about as clear as it could be made.

Since Jesus and Paul seem to be arguing the opposites of a binary choice, this creates a dilemma. Either Paul is trying to teach contradictory doctrine, which would make him a heretic, or at least one of these interpretations is incorrect. Odds favor the latter. And, since Jesus’ was so clear about the issue, any interpretational errors would likely fall within the analysis of Paul’s work.

When we take Romans 10 and 11 in its totality, we see the point that Paul is making lies directly with the lack of our ability to achieve salvation through the law. He’s arguing that since perfection is outside of our grasp, Christ has done away with the futile attempt to gain salvation by ourselves. That’s what he means. The curse of an impossible standard is gone and salvation is there for all who believe in Christ. But, this does not mean that the law is now moot and Christians are now allowed to sin without consequence. The purpose of Jesus’ words in Matthew 5 is to tell us to not mistake the payment of sins through Him as a destruction of the law. That’s precisely why Jesus goes on to explain the standards and levels of judgment:

Whoever therefore breaks one of the least of these commandments, and teaches men so, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever does and teaches them, he shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven. 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 5:19-20 NKJV)

After He established the standard, Jesus went on to provide examples. He wants us to thoroughly understand that we will be judged accordingly, depending on the commandments we chose to disobey.

When we put this all together, we have our answer: Jesus did away with the curse of trying to achieve salvation through the law, but He did not remove the law, or its application in the judgment of our actions. And by His standard, real consequences still exist, including the possibility of being denied entry into the Millennial Kingdom. A lot of Christians conflate the gift of salvation, eternal life, with a gift of free entry into the Millennial Kingdom. They’re not the same thing.

Make no mistake, the law has not been destroyed yet. If we don’t want to be cut asunder and appointed a place with the unbelievers until heaven and earth pass away, which comes after the Millennial Reign; or, if our actions don’t warrant such a drastic punishment, be granted entry, but be beaten with many stripes, because we knew our master’s will and did it not, then we should follow God’s commandments and do His will.