The fact that God no longer deals with us, the believers, according to the principle of the law does not mean that the commandments of the old law have been abolished. For instance, the first two commandments of the old law were concerned with not having other gods and with not making images. To say that the principle of the law has been abolished does not mean that these commandments have been abolished. Rather, according to the New Testament, these commandments are emphasized, strengthened, and uplifted. In the Old Testament we were told not to make a physical image, but in the New Testament we are told that even our covetousness is a form of idolatry (Col. 3:5). Greediness is an idol. By this we see the uplifting of the commandment regarding idolatry. Yes, the principle of the law has been abolished, but not the commandments of the law. The commandment about honoring our parents has never been abolished. In the New Testament this commandment is also repeated, strengthened, and uplifted. We must honor our parents much more today than the children of Israel did in the past.
We have seen that the Lord Jesus also uplifted the commandments regarding murder and adultery. Because the Old Testament commandments regarding murder and adultery were not adequate, the Lord complemented them. The old commandment concerning murder did not cover the matters of hatred or anger. Thus, the Lord complemented the old law concerning murder by saying that anyone who was angry with his brother would be liable to judgment. He also complemented the commandment concerning adultery by saying that anyone who looks at a woman to lust for her has committed adultery with her in his heart. By these examples we see that the moral laws have never been abolished; rather, they have been uplifted. All of the ten commandments have been repeated and uplifted in the New Testament except the fourth commandment, the commandment to keep the Sabbath. This commandment is over because it is not related to morality. Instead, it is a ritual commandment.
Now we come to my real burden in this message. Yes, in the New Testament salvation is based upon the principle of faith; it has nothing to do with the law. We all have been saved through faith, not through the keeping of the law. But after we are saved, we must live a life that has a standard of morality higher than that of the old law. Never think that we are free to be loose, sloppy, or even immoral just because we are not saved through the keeping of the law. Do not think that, just because God does not deal with us according to the principle of the law, but according to the principle of faith, we should not care for the commandments of the law. Anyone who thinks this has been drugged by the teachings found in part of today’s Christianity. We must be sober. Again I say, after we have been saved, we need to live a life with a standard far higher than that of the old law. Our standard must be higher than that of the requirements of the law. The law requires that we should not murder anyone. But we should not even be angry with others. Even if we say to our brother, “Raca,” an expression of contempt, or, “Moreh,” a word of condemnation indicating a rebel, we shall be in danger of the judgment. Although we may not kill our brother, if we even call him a fool or a rebel, we shall find ourselves in serious trouble.
In Matthew 5 the Lord Jesus spoke about murder and adultery. Murder refers to our temper, and adultery, to our lust. Our temper and our lust constantly damage and trouble us. If we were stone, we would not be bothered by these two things. No matter how much you irritate, insult, or offend a stone, it will never react, because it does not have any temper. Furthermore, a stone has no lust. Thus, it can never be tempted by lust. But daily we are either troubled by our temper or tempted by our lust. How easy it is for us to be irritated and offended! Some of us may be offended at least ten times a day. You may be offended by your husband or wife, by your children, by your neighbors, or by your in-laws. You may even be offended by your shoes, the stove, or the tea kettle. I know some sisters who have been offended by their kitchens. It seems that their anger could never be exhausted. Others are troubled with lust. For this reason, I pointed out in one of the life-study messages on Genesis that you should never be alone with a member of the opposite sex for any length of time. If you are, you will be tempted by your ferocious lusts.
In order to live up to a moral standard higher than that of the old law, you must overcome your temper and your lusts. You may say that this is not easy to do. Right, it is not easy. This is why you need Christ. This is why you need another life. How we need to stay with Christ! We must contact Him not only day by day, but even hour by hour. Because of the temper and lust within us, we need to remain in constant fellowship with Him. You must recognize that you are neither wood nor stone. If you were wood or stone, you would not be concerned about the matter of anger and lust. But because you are a living being, you have these two things within you. Do you not have both temper and lust within? At any time we may be stumbled by our temper or tempted by our lust. Be on the alert! Be watchful and pray regarding these two “demons,” our temper and our lust. After we have been saved according to the principle of faith, we need to live a higher life, a life with the highest standard. This life with the highest standard is a life that overcomes our temper and our lust.