Law and Faith--Two Guardrails to Guide us!
Matthew 5: 17-20
by Rev. Frank Schaefer

Introduction:

I think all of us here today are aware that Christianity is not exactly unified. The Christian World is subdivided into Roman Catholics, Orthodox, and Protestant denominations, with the Protestant faiths consisting of many sub-denominations. And at the heart of the divisions are theological arguments.

There was recently a debate between a Roman Catholic and a Presbyterian church over whether Dogs go to Heaven. What was special about this debate was that this argument was carried out on their church marquees. These two churches are facing each other across a busy street. Someone photographed the marquees as the argument unfolded.

Whether its a discussion on whether dogs go to heaven, on baptism, or on Scriptural authority, we do argue our theological differences.

Today's Scripture really touches on an ancient Christian debate that pits works-righteousness against faith-righteousness. Apparently, even in the early church Faith and Law represented two paths to salvation.

Our passage from Matthew starts with a reminder that we, as Jesus' disciples, ARE the salt of the earth and the light of the world and that we need to let our light shine, so that people can see our good works.

In other words, believers apparently are already endowed with a state of grace and faith that enables us to do good works, which includes abiding by the law.

Surely, in the next section, Jesus is responding to criticism by the Pharisees, the scribes and the laywers who accused Jesus of wanting to change or even abolish the law.

But Jesus insists that he didn't come to abolish the law, but rather fulfill it, charging his followers to observe the law to live a righteous life.

Not only in this passage, but in the scriptures overall there seems to contain a tension between two opposite concepts or poles on these two aspects of salvation.
 

God's Law requires of us to live according to it, it requires us to avoid sinning and to do good deeds. Living by the law of God certainly has to do with excercising our free will. It is something we should be able to do--theoretically. Keeping the law is something that God expects of us.

What exactly is the law we're talking about? For Jewish believers in the 1^st century it was certainly the Law of Moses--all 613 of them. More generally speaking, we think of the 10 commandments, and that is certainly the basis of God's Law in a nutshell from which all others can be derived.

At an even broader level, God's law is argued to be "written on the tablets of our heart," often equated with the human conscience. If we act according to our conscience, we do the right thing and keep God's law.

Faith
When it comes to salvation, faith is defined by the belief that God's grace and forgiveness is the basis for our salvation and in some sense that sets us free from the law.

The way Paul defines salvation through faith is that our righteousness is no longer based on our own efforts (trying to keep the law). Instead, we are made righteous before the law by faith in Christ's atoning death.

Faith is definitely something that comes from God, faith is inspired in us. We simply cannot rationally decide to have faith. Faith comes from a God experience.

 

Conclusion

I believe that the aspects of Faith and Law are complimentary sides of our religious life. I want to liken them to guardrails. We are supposed to stay clear of the guardrails. They are there to guide us down the middle of the road. Apparently, we are supposed to live in the tension between these two aspects.

So, the question should not be, "what is the way to salvation--law or faith?" A better question to ask is: "how can my faith and the law fuel my spiritual life?"

I think deep down, most every Christian would agree that both aspects of salvation are very important, faith and law.

The difference between what various sections of Christianity say about salvation lies in the emphasis. I don't think many of our Catholic brothers and sisters would say that faith is not important in the salvation process. Likewise, Protestants agree that keeping God's law is very important.

So, both aspects are important, faith and works are connected. Some emphasize works, others emphasize faith.

As a good Protestant, I find myself being closer to emphasizing the aspect of faith. One of the original reformers in the 16^th century used an analogy that I find very helpful in this regard: that of a fruit tree.

Before a tree can be productive and bear fruit it must grow into a healthy and strong tree. Once the roots are deeply established the fruit is a natural outgrowth much like good works and an adherence to God's law comes naturally to those who have been saved and made into a new creation by God.

In today's passage from Matthew, Jesus makes it clear that he did not intend to abolish the law. He charges believers to live righteous lives and adhere to the law.

The way I interpret it, the beef Jesus has with the religious leadership when it comes to matters of the law is NOT about the validity of the law, but rather that the observance of the law was portrayed as the way to earn God's forgiveness and salvation.

In Jesus' view law was never meant to be a way to earn righteousness with God or to earn forgiveness for wrongdoings. God's grace cannot be earned, it is a precious gift, it is unmerited. You are already the light, so, let it shine, show your good deeds, so that the world will see the glory of God. Amen!