Law of Christ - WikiHQ

"The law of Christ" () is a New Testament phrase. The related Bible verses are in the Pauline epistles at and parenthetically ( "being under the law to Christ") at .

Some Christians hold the belief that the crucifixion of Jesus Christ and the inauguration of the New Covenant of Jeremiah 31:31–37 and Ezekiel 37:22–28 "replaces" or "completes" or "fulfills" the Law of Moses found in the Hebrew Bible. Dual-covenant theologians, the Hebrew Roots Movement, and Messianic Judaism are all examples of groups that reject this belief.

Closely related are the subjects of Christian views on the Old Covenant, early Christianity and Judaism, Paul the Apostle and Judaism, abrogation of old covenant laws, and Christian ethics.

In the Pauline epistles

thumb|250px|right|Depicted is the famous [[Sermon on the Mount of Jesus in which he commented on the Mosaic Law. Christians believe that Jesus is the mediator of the New Covenant.]]

In the Epistle to the Galatians, written by the Apostle Paul to a number of early Christian communities in the Roman province of Galatia in central Anatolia, he wrote: "Bear one another's burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ." (, NKJV). This phrase appears once and is never defined. It has been suggested that "the law of Christ" could be an allusion to the second greatest commandment ("love thy neighbor") or the New Commandment ("love one another; as I have loved you"). Others suggest this phrase is just another name for "the law of God" as Christians believe the Messiah is God.

Possibly related, in a letter to the early Christians of Corinth, Greece, in the First Epistle to the Corinthians, Paul wrote: "To those not having the law I became like one not having the law (though I am not free from God's law but am under Christ's law), so as to win those not having the law." (, NIV). In the Greek, the wording is, "to those without law, as without law -- (not being without law to God, but within law to Christ) -- that I might gain those without law." (1 Corinthians 9:21, YLT)

It is not clear exactly what Paul means by the phrase, "the law of Christ". Although Paul mentions Biblical law several times (e.g., , , , , , , ) and preached about Ten Commandment topics such as idolatry (e.g., , , , , , , , , ), he consistently denies that salvation, or justification before God, is based on "works of the law" (e.g., ), though the meaning of this phrase is also disputed by scholars, see for example the New Perspective on Paul#Works of the Law.

In the gospels

Many Christians believe that the Sermon on the Mount is a form of commentary on the Ten Commandments. It portrays Christ as the true interpreter of the Mosaic Law. In the Expounding of the Law, Jesus said that he did not come to abolish the law or the prophets, but to fulfill (complete, end, expire) them (). Jesus explicitly warns of severe consequence to those who break and teach others to break one of the least of the commands of God () In the non-canonical Gospel of Marcion's version of Luke 23:2 we find the extension: "We found this fellow perverting the nation and destroying the law and the prophets".

The Catholic theologian Bernhard Häring presents the Law of Christ as Christ himself in his person because Jesus was able to fulfill the law and provide us with the effect of this fulfillment.

The Evangelical theologian Douglas J. Moo argues that "the law of Christ" is strongly connected to the Mosaic Law, for example, that nine of the Ten Commandments are included.

George R. Law argues that the New Covenant is the Law of Christ and that the details are expressed in the Sermon on the Mount.

References

Notes

Citations

Sources

External links

Campus Crusade for Christ: Four Spiritual Laws
Cambridge Journal: The Law of Christ
Sermon 1. The Strictness of the Law of Christ
On fulfilling the Law of Christ
NewAdvent (Catholic) discussion on: "Question 106. The law of the Gospel, called the New Law, considered in itself"