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This is The Oaks Equipped, a podcast from The Oaks Church in Liberty Hill, TX where Pastor Josh Mings talks through the stuff he didn’t have time to say on Sunday, answers the questions people are actually asking, and keeps things way more real than polished. Expect biblical truth, practical takeaways, and just enough humor to keep you guessing whether he meant it.
If you want to follow Jesus with clarity (and laugh at least once), you’re in the right place.
Is the Law Good or Bad
00:00:00 Speaker 1: Okay. Welcome back to the Oaks Equip podcast, where we highlight the latest sermons, provide the insights to discipleship, and get you excited about reaching your neighbors with the good news of Jesus Christ. I'm here with pastor Josh Mings. My name is Glenn Mcgourty. Welcome, Josh.
00:00:15 Speaker 2: Thanks for having me. It's good to see you guys again.
00:00:17 Speaker 1: Yes, it's good to have you back. Appreciate it. It's been a busy week.
00:00:22 Speaker 2: You know it. Just doing our best to love people and advance the good news of Jesus.
00:00:28 Speaker 1: Yeah. Lots of out there. Especially during the summer when people are knocking on our doors. Yeah. So this past week, you talked about the idea that the big idea was, what is the point of having something that's not going to do anything? And you pointed out that we're really focusing in on the law and Jesus and the law. This week. You said the law is good, but then you went on to say, the law is powerless to save. Yes. Uh, are you speaking with a forked tongue there? What are we saying here?
00:00:57 Speaker 2: You know, the question of the law and how it applies to people is so interesting. So let me answer your question by kind of taking a different approach. Sure. So people will say things like, well, tell me about the law and do you keep it? And then what people will say is, oh, well, that's Old Testament. We don't do that anymore.
00:01:17 Speaker 1: Yes.
00:01:18 Speaker 2: That's an error. That's wrong. That's not the right answer to the question. So the law of God is made up of three different parts. And this is very important. Number one, we have the ceremonial law. This is in the Old Testament where they're sacrificing a dove or a goat or a ram or a lamb, lots of different ceremonial type items. Well, the reason that we don't do that anymore is because Jesus is the fulfillment of everything in the ceremonial law. And to prove it. This is actually a really this would be a really fun thing to walk through is since seventy AD, there's not been one ceremonial act, just as Jesus prophesied.
00:02:06 Speaker 1: What happened with the fall? The fall of Jerusalem and the temple being destroyed?
00:02:10 Speaker 2: Finally, when Rome sacked Rome and and displaced them and completely destroyed the temple of God. But that's okay, because what happened on the day that Christ was crucified was the veil of the temple was was torn in two. And, um, and, uh, the Spirit of God evacuated that because now it's, we have access to him. Another fun fact. One of the ceremonial traditions was that of a red cloth that would be hung on the door of the temple. That was blood red. And then so that the in the Old Testament, so that they knew that the sacrifice was accepted by God, the red cord would turn white in the Old Testament.
00:02:57 Speaker 1: Wow.
00:02:58 Speaker 2: Um, this is just a fun fact. A part of history. This is found in some of the Jewish writings, um, the, the final years after Jesus's death. That chord never turned white.
00:03:10 Speaker 1: Wow.
00:03:11 Speaker 2: And so you can find documentation on this and you can also find documentation. These are Jewish sources saying, um, before the destruction of the temple in seventy AD, the doors of the temple, which were, were massive and required multiple men with ropes and cables to open the doors would just be found open.
00:03:31 Speaker 1: Wow.
00:03:31 Speaker 2: And so don't, don't want you to run too far with that, but those are two interesting points to prove. Jesus told us that the house will be left desolate and that he fulfills the ceremonial. There's no need. That's why we don't need to sacrifice anything, because he is. His book of Hebrews says he is our once and for all final sacrifice. So that's ceremonial law. The next type of law is civil.
00:03:56 Speaker 1: Yep.
00:03:56 Speaker 2: So this comes into what does it look like for the people of God to live in a theocracy? And what are the unique practices of that people, that nation?
00:04:07 Speaker 1: And could you for our listeners, could you just explain what theocracy is?
00:04:11 Speaker 2: Yeah. Theocracy is not like what we live in. A theocracy is where the king is God.
00:04:16 Speaker 1: Yep.
00:04:17 Speaker 2: And so there were unique markers and traits and characteristics and visual things that God had established as part of the law, the civil law, uh, that their homes were to look a certain way. And the, the, the angle of the roof was supposed to be at a certain dimension and that the fabric of their clothes were supposed to be made up of certain elements and not other elements.
00:04:40 Speaker 1: Yeah.
00:04:41 Speaker 2: So that's civil. Well, the reason we don't follow the civil law is because we don't live in a theocracy under God. We are now the people of God and are part of the church.
00:04:50 Speaker 1: Right. And those are just real quick, a quick diversion here. A lot of times when we're talking to people about social behaviors, they'll go back and say, well, you're telling me that this behavior is wrong, this sexual behavior is wrong. But you don't worry about where you plant your plants. And do you ever put corn in sweet peas next to each other, or do you have cotton and polyester on your clothes? It's helpful to to clarify this point.
00:05:17 Speaker 2: So when I often get cornered about this and you know, why do you keep this law? And I'm like, well, what are we talking about? Are we talking about the ceremonial law that's fulfilled in Jesus Christ? Easy answer. Are we talking about civil laws, which would like what you're talking about?
00:05:31 Speaker 1: Yeah.
00:05:32 Speaker 2: Yeah. The makeup of our clothing and the construction of our homes. But then there's a third and final part, which is the moral law. Now this is what we need to talk about.
00:05:42 Speaker 1: Yeah.
00:05:42 Speaker 2: The moral law of God. And this is an oversimplification. So don't run too far with this. But let's just say for the moral law, we'd say the Ten Commandments.
00:05:53 Speaker 1: That's right.
00:05:53 Speaker 2: These are eternal, unchanging. It doesn't matter if if Christ has fulfilled the ceremonial law or we're not in a theocracy, it is still wrong to kill.
00:06:05 Speaker 1: That's right.
00:06:06 Speaker 2: It's still wrong to covet. It is still wrong to commit adultery. And so this is an important distinction. You need to know those three different types of law in order to have a proper biblical conversation about this. Yep. Now, the problem with the Pharisees in Mark's gospel is they have taken the law of God. All three categories moral, civil, and ceremonial, and they have added to them protections. And I sincerely believe out of pure motives, to please God, honor God. They had created rules about the rules, about the rules to create fifteen layers of safeguards over thousands of years, continuing to add on to those things. Um, but these had become burdens. And so when I say, when I say what's going on in Iraq, we need to make sure we understand that, right. Of the three different types of law. Second, we need to understand what the religious people were doing. And then as the people of God, we need to understand the law through the lens of what later, Paul tells us in the book of Galatians, where he says, the reason I can make the claim that the law is eternal and good, but it can't save you, is because of what the Bible teaches. Galatians tells us that the law was a tutor.
00:07:32 Speaker 1: That's right.
00:07:33 Speaker 2: A training, a program to lead us to an understanding all three aspects of the law moral, civil and ceremonial. Show us the holiness and the nature of God and our inability to keep the law, our inability to live perfectly. That tutor of the law was to show us we were in need of a once and for all Saviour. That's right. Point us to Christ.
00:08:01 Speaker 1: Yep.
00:08:02 Speaker 2: So we don't want to bash the law because it's God's law. It's eternal. It's good even. Even the clothing and the the configuration of of home. That's God's design. It's to bring order and life and to show the distinction of what the kingdom of God is like. It's not bad, but it can't save us. We need a Savior. And that's the purpose of the law, is that it causes us to look past the law in, in need of, and look to a Savior that can save us.
00:08:33 Speaker 1: Right. So we go on here a little bit. We see that Jesus refers to himself as the bridegroom, which is a significant messianic claim. Right? Again, this is going back to Mark's subtle way, at least initially pointing out Jesus deity. Yeah.
00:08:51 Speaker 2: He's definitely pointing to his deity. And he's also pointing to, um, he's, he's, this is a little bit of the deep end of the pool. He's referring to specifically the Galilee region, which is the region that Jesus is from, and the way that they handled a wedding. And when we get into the parables, we'll unpack this a little bit more. But there were certain traditions and practices unique only to that region of Israel. And he's going to when we get to the parables, you're really going to see the beauty of this and, um, understanding eschatology and other things. So look forward to that. But, um, he's pointing to the future reality of him as the bridegroom and the church of Christ as his bride. Mhm. Um, and so what he's saying, because the question is posed to him about fasting, why aren't your guys fasting?
00:09:39 Speaker 1: Yes.
00:09:39 Speaker 2: Well, fasting is for mourning. Fasting is for pleading with God, crying out to God. Um, and this is not a time for that. This is a time to celebrate because the bridegroom is here gathering his bride and and and bringing about the kingdom of heaven.
00:09:55 Speaker 1: Yeah. I like your illustration where you said you would certainly wouldn't go to a wedding. They serve steak and lobster. And then you look up and you say, I'm sorry, I'm I'm fasting today. That's not the day to be fasting.
00:10:06 Speaker 2: But that's a great example because that shows us how the religious people were.
00:10:10 Speaker 1: Yeah.
00:10:11 Speaker 2: Oh, I can't today. I'm fasting and, and, um, you know, Jesus actually uses this reference a few times about calling out their, their phony religious fasting. And you know, how they do that to look spiritual in.
00:10:25 Speaker 1: The eyes of.
00:10:25 Speaker 2: People.
00:10:26 Speaker 1: Standing out in public moaning about how hungry they are and everything else. Yeah, I've seen that in our in our culture as well, that when there's Ramadan, the whole, you know, like, oh, I can't eat whatever. Again, it's, it's, it's blistering about something that should be private, that if it's, if it's a health belief like that. Well, in addition to not fasting. They pick the heads of grain, which again, John's disciples weren't doing. But the Pharisees are pointing out there's a rule. There's another rule for this, right? And then Jesus goes on to explain how David took the showbread when he shouldn't have. But God made a provision for him. Why did Jesus break the Sabbath law? What's behind that? Did he break it? Or is there something else we need to look at there?
00:11:12 Speaker 2: Well, if Jesus wanted to lawyer up on this, this didn't break it or not. No, he did not break it. Um, the command of the Sabbath was to keep it holy and for God.
00:11:24 Speaker 1: Yeah.
00:11:25 Speaker 2: Um, and to deny that Jesus was keeping it holy. That's blasphemy. Um, but what he broke was the rules about the rules, about the rules, about the rules, about the rules, about the rules that the religious people had layered onto this. Yeah. Um, so no, he didn't break that law. Um, you know. I can't remember who said it exactly, but I remember one time I heard someone say something to the effect of like, well, what? What does Jesus do on the Sabbath? Whatever he wants.
00:11:55 Speaker 1: That's right. He's God.
00:11:56 Speaker 2: Because he's. And he says this, I am the Lord of the Sabbath.
00:12:00 Speaker 1: Yeah.
00:12:01 Speaker 2: And this is important because the Sabbath is a very important reality. It's unique as I unpacked the three different types of law. Um, you can fact check me on this. And and I don't have it in front of me. Sabbath keeping is one of the Ten commandments. So then the question is, is keeping a moral law? Um, it's my opinion that it's not because later on in Exodus, the Sabbath is then interpreted as a sign. Mhm. So the point of the Sabbath is to point us to a greater truth. So not murdering. Uh, excuse me. When when the Ten Commandments say things like, don't murder, don't kill. like that makes sense to us, but the Sabbath keeping seems like a unique one because it's in the middle of this. And that's why I'm grateful that later on, Exodus helps interpret it by saying, this is a sign for generations to keep, because it's pointing to a greater reality. A sign is not the point. Um, so you pull up to a stop sign. It's important, it's necessary, but it's communicating that you need to stop here because there's maybe danger in front of you, or there's a sign that points us to a restaurant. The sign is not what's important. The destination that the sign is pointing to is what's important, right?
00:13:21 Speaker 1: Every every sign has a government agency behind it that has established that rule. We're we're looking we're looking at the sign. But that's something that's been conveyed by that authority.
00:13:32 Speaker 2: Yeah. And so the thing that's to be hoped for is the restoration of what was lost in the garden. And so go back and listen to that message. But like, I really tried to do my best to prove that the Sabbath day and creation was not a day. It was a status where harmony and peace and communion with God was unfettered, uninterrupted by sin. It was beautiful. It was perfect. And that wasn't a day it was meant to be forever. So the sign points us back to what we lost, and then the Redeemer who's going to bring it back to its creation, its fulfillment. Here's the problem. I see this today. It has become very popular to become Sabbath observers today. And what I'm saying is, I don't want to go back to the Old Testament law. I want to go back to the garden.
00:14:24 Speaker 1: Right.
00:14:25 Speaker 2: And so the to the listener, this is important because even even in this year, modern prominent political leaders, uh, pundits and, and Christian leaders, you're starting to see this return to, we need to get back to worshiping on Sunday, Saturdays and keeping the Sabbath and observing it as we did in the Old Testament. And I'm saying, stop, the Lord of the Sabbath has spoken, and he has brought our Sabbath rest in himself. And I have that status that I lost in the garden. I have communion with God now. I'm not at war with him. I don't have to strive to be accepted. I'm accepted. And then the Sabbath will only get sweeter because of the coming kingdom will bring it to where there is no limitation of the glory of God, no limitation of his presence because of my fallenness and my brokenness.
00:15:20 Speaker 1: So yeah.
00:15:21 Speaker 2: Um, don't go back to Sinai in the Ten Commandments looking for life. Um, the Paradise that was lost is being restored in Christ.
00:15:33 Speaker 1: We see a quick picture of this in acts fifteen. You pointed this out several times on Sunday where the. There. There are Jewish Christians that are saying we need to go back to circumcision and the law. And they met and they spoke. There was much debate. But why don't you talk a little bit about how this ties into what exactly what you're talking about?
00:15:55 Speaker 2: So what you may say is, okay, Josh. That's great. Thanks for kind of explaining that, but I need what you should be saying is, okay, help me see this in the Bible. Help me see where, where I have this freedom. Um, in acts fifteen, the Council of the apostles meet together to begin to answer some of these questions that are needing to be fleshed out. Okay. Jesus says he's the Lord of the Sabbath, but what does that mean? And how does that imply things like Jewish festivals, uh, other types of, of traditions and practices they began to wrestle with. Then second, now we have this influx of non-Jews, Gentiles coming into the fold who haven't been circumcised on the fourth day.
00:16:42 Speaker 1: That's right. And it's creating a little controversy over there.
00:16:45 Speaker 2: And so, um, this council meets in acts chapter fifteen, not specifically to talk about the Sabbath, uh, primarily to talk about circumcision and the other festivals. And so let me just kind of give you a summary. Um, this, this chapter gives us the principle, uh, to walk through this. So Peter, Paul, Barnabas, James, um, they're all meeting, they begin to share the power of the gospel of grace and how it frees them. And the conclusion that's made by James, the half brother of Jesus, is we should not trouble the Gentiles with these matters as they turn to God. We shouldn't trouble them with more religious duty, because grace comes by faith alone in Christ alone. So when I reference that on Sunday, I wasn't trying to prove there that the Sabbath Was addressed. And, and, um, I was trying to show there's a principle that acts fifteen gives us that exactly. The context of what this passage is about is that Jesus has brought about something completely new. Now, specifically, let me just make mention of these, um, in, in Colossians chapter two, Paul says this, therefore, let no one pass judgment on you on questions of food. So kosher.
00:18:10 Speaker 1: Yeah.
00:18:10 Speaker 2: Kosher drink are regards to festivals, meaning, uh, the Feast of Trumpets, the Passover, Yom Kippur, any of the festivals and feasts that they kept the calendar.
00:18:22 Speaker 1: Yeah.
00:18:23 Speaker 2: So the calendar, the Jewish calendar. And then finally he says on Sabbath.
00:18:26 Speaker 1: Yeah.
00:18:27 Speaker 2: So he says, as free men and women, we are no longer under those obligations. And don't let the religious people put on you. Oh, why don't you worship on this day, right? Why don't you participate in this feast? And then he also says something similar. In Romans chapter fourteen. He says, one person esteems one as better than another, while other esteems all days alike. Excuse me. One person esteems one day as better than another, while others esteem all days alike. Each one should be fully convinced in his own mind. So what he's saying is Saturday is not better than Sunday, and Sunday is not better than Saturday for worship. As free men and women, I get to connect with God every day.
00:19:14 Speaker 1: Yeah.
00:19:14 Speaker 2: And so that's where that's kind of the biblical idea. Acts chapter fifteen is a principle where we should see. It would be at that council if the new Gentiles who were brought into the people of God, if Sabbath worship on Saturday, if keeping a festivals, if keeping of the moral. The civil and ceremonial law were required. The apostles would have said it there and said, these guys need to do this. And then if they would have, then it would apply to us. Since they did not, we're free.
00:19:48 Speaker 1: Yeah, just just a point of clarification based on what you're talking about. You're not saying that as free Christians, not under the we're still under the moral law, but we don't live relativistic lives. In other words, we don't just say, well, I can do this if it feels good to me, because you can pull that out of that verse where Paul says, you know, if a day is a holy day to you, then it's a day. Yeah. It's not a relativistic view of things, right? Scripture still guides us, but we can't just say, well, this is good for me, but maybe not for you. The kind of thing.
00:20:22 Speaker 2: It's not relativistic. And here's what I also say. I mean, my own family, we in our own way keep and practice things like Passover.
00:20:33 Speaker 1: Mhm.
00:20:34 Speaker 2: Um, because we think that there's great truths not in the day, but what the day points to.
00:20:39 Speaker 1: Yep.
00:20:40 Speaker 2: So if you want to worship on Saturday, worship on Saturday, if you want to worship on Sunday, worship on Sunday. We're free in that regard. So this doesn't to your point though, this isn't a pick and choose, right? Um, this isn't everything is relative. But the guiding principle should be we're free men and women in Christ.
00:20:59 Speaker 1: Yeah.
00:21:00 Speaker 2: And that should be our guiding factor. The cool thing is if you get into some of the things like in the book of Corinthians, you know, Paul tells us how to manage and use that freedom in a way that is life giving and doesn't bring offense or, um, so, so that's a whole nother topic probably for another day. Um, this isn't to create the Wild West. It's to ensure that we understand what the law is and what the law isn't, and that we don't become more religious and, and, and fall into the trappings of seeing that the law Um, is our savior when it's not.
00:21:37 Speaker 1: Yep. Okay. All right. I want to hit this last topic really quick. Um, you pointed out that or Jesus mentions the idea of sewing a patch and he uses this analogy. Uh, but you also kind of tie that into the idea of, um, being passionate about Christ. Um, we use the illustration of husbands serving their wives. You had to reiterate that twice. But the idea that with the kingdom of heaven, do we see do we see Christ as a treasure? Can you kind of tie all that together? We only have a few more minutes left, but if you could do that.
00:22:12 Speaker 2: I felt like this passage was negative. And there's nothing wrong with the way the passage is written. I just I was like, how do I convey this in a, in a life giving way? Uh, because it really dogs at the religious leaders, um, the religious leaders are again, this comes on the heels of them being mad that Jesus is eating with tax collectors and sinners. And, um, and then, you know, he goes through all these things that we're talking about now. And then there's a man in the synagogue with a dying, withered hand.
00:22:47 Speaker 1: Yeah.
00:22:48 Speaker 2: And the withering hand, in my view, seems to just represent the problem. This religion is dead and cold. And, and, you know, I'm at times I find myself envious that I wish I could have been alive in the time of Christ. Can you imagine what it was like to be with him, to be close to him? That's a that's a grace that those disciples and those followers had, um, that I wish I had. And then to see the contempt and the just the wickedness of these religious leaders towards Christ is just so disheartening.
00:23:28 Speaker 1: And you think they are aware of who he was and what he was doing? I mean, they were Suppressing that.
00:23:33 Speaker 2: It's hard. I just don't know. It really is, because it's like, how can you see these things and be so stubborn?
00:23:41 Speaker 1: Yeah. I mean, I think of like real quick. I just think when they, when he says your sins are forgiven, and then he says, in order that you might know that the Son of Man has the power to forgive. Take up your palette and walk. And they're all amazed that didn't go home and say, we got to rethink this. I don't know, I just it's it's like you're saying, it's very surprising. It's it's daunting to understand how they could have missed it or did they intentionally suppress it?
00:24:10 Speaker 2: I think so. Romans one would say they did. Mhm. Um, so so it kind of ends on that heavy note. And I'm like, okay, sometimes when you talk to your kids, you need to say things in the negative. Sometimes when you talk to your kids, you need to state things in the affirmative. So I wanted to find in the Bible another way to state this. What is Jesus looking for? Remember a few weeks ago, he said, um, I didn't come for the healthy. I came for the sick.
00:24:39 Speaker 1: Yeah.
00:24:40 Speaker 2: Well, he came to the leper colony, which has nothing but sick people. The religious leaders thought they were healthy, but they're not right. They're sick. Um, and the reason that they're sick and they continue to be sick is because they don't have the need to call out to the Savior. And, and to tie this all together, law keeping does not produce love. You know this, I know this. What's the number one command? What's the number one law to love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, with all your strength. And to love your neighbor as yourself. That's the second great commandment.
00:25:19 Speaker 1: Yep.
00:25:20 Speaker 2: So I can wake up today and say, I kept the law. I didn't kill anybody. That doesn't mean that that's me more loving God, which is my greatest call. And so that's what Christ is after. And so we ran over to another little parable that Jesus says, where he says, the kingdom of heaven is like a man who found a great treasure hidden in a field. And in his joy he went and sold everything that he might purchase that field and obtain that treasure. So he left everything to have that treasure. That sounds like joy and passion and energy and life, something that the law can't produce, but that the treasure of Jesus does produce. And so I ended with that, just to state the same thing, but in a, in a life giving.
00:26:13 Speaker 1: Yeah. And, and just to summarize, to get that passion, to have that joy, we need to be spending more time in the word to know and see the beauty of Christ. Right? And to realize that, I mean, I think sometimes we can go through the reading and say, oh, that's just amazing, and then walk away but not realize the beauty and the just.
00:26:33 Speaker 2: Someone were to ask me how do I grow in love and passion towards my wife? Yeah.
00:26:39 Speaker 1: Spend time with her.
00:26:40 Speaker 2: Exact same answers. My question in relationship because it is a relationship.
00:26:45 Speaker 1: Yeah.
00:26:46 Speaker 2: Um, and so it is quality time. It's it's worship, it's prayer, it's Bible reading, it's meditation in God's word and thought. And, um, and that's how, that's how it grows. It's service. It's serving God's people. It's, it's giving, it's evangelizing. It's all the things, um, on repeat. That's how you have a passion. Yeah.
00:27:09 Speaker 1: This is good. So we clarified the law and we, I think laid out a good picture of how Jesus fulfilled the law. But also, uh, we extend that Sabbath, uh, today and rest in him. But also we look forward to the day that he'll redeem us fully in heaven. Thank you. Josh. Great insights, I appreciate it.