“Well then, if we emphasize faith, does this mean that we can forget about the law? Of course not! In fact, only when we have faith do we truly fulfill the law.”
Romans 3:31 (NLT)
Paul is telling us that faith does not throw the law away. We don’t nullify the law because Jesus Christ came. Jesus said in Matthew 5 that He didn’t come to abolish the law, but to fulfill it. He’s making it complete. And it still benefits us to follow God’s instruction. The law was given to offer us life as God designed it, life that is a blessing to us here on earth.
But the law wasn’t given to save us. Galatians 3:11–12 helps us understand again that nobody is made right with God through the law. The righteous will in fact live by faith. We can’t be in complete relationship with God by following the law. The law pointed us to Jesus and showed our need for salvation because of our inability to follow God’s instruction completely.
Faith opens the door for a life that comes through Jesus Christ. When we come into faith in Jesus, we get to be completely restored to a relationship with God, to be in His presence all the time, both now and into eternity. We’re wired to love others, to be kind, to be generous. But through faith in Jesus, we also have God’s empowering presence, making us love and give, serve and be gentle in so much more depth than we do apart from Him.
This is part of the fulfillment Jesus made of the law. God’s Word is written not to beat us over the head, but to show us how to have a blessed life here on earth, eternal life through a relationship with Jesus, and abundant life by the Holy Spirit. We have the Holy Spirit guiding our lives like God leading Israel through the wilderness. While we’re here, the law is not dead. We want God’s instruction for the life He intended for us on earth and His salvation for life that’s both eternal and abundant.