Lesson Three • Law
Philip Piasecki
I have vivid memories of growing up and going to “Sunday School.” One of the most popular teaching tools in the nineties was the “flannel graph.” If you have no idea what I am talking about, it is definitely worth looking up. They were these little fuzzy Bible characters that would then stick to a fuzzy background scene and the teacher would use them to teach their lesson. I specifically remember these being used to illustrate Old Testament stories. You would have Moses and the parting of the Red Sea and learn about how to obey God and trust Him as Moses did. We would learn about Jonah and the whale and how we need to obey Jesus and our parents so we do not end up in the proverbial “belly of the whale.” We would learn about the Israelites and the Ten Commandments and all the rules of the Law that they were expected to follow. The list of these Bible “stories” could go on and on.
1. Did you grow up in the church? Did they use a flannel graph?
2. Whether you grew up in the church or not, what are some of your memories of your first experiences with attending church?
I had so many amazing teachers, but sometimes these stories were taught almost primarily as moral stories, fairy tales, or just a history lesson. The truths of the Old Testament really exploded in my life when I came to the realization that everything in the Old Testament is pointing towards Jesus.
3. What are some of your favorite Old Testament historical accounts and how do you see them pointing to Jesus?
When we read the Old Testament through the lens of Jesus, it can completely change our perspective of each and every page. Jesus addresses His relationship to the Old Testament when speaking to the crowd during the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew chapter 5. It is good to take a look at what Scripture has to say.
Matthew 5:17-20 says, “Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. For truly, I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot, will pass from the Law until all is accomplished. Therefore whoever relaxes one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever does them and teaches them will be called great in the kingdom of heaven. For I tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.”
4. What stands out to you from this passage?
5. Who was the audience that Jesus was speaking to?
I think when we read the Bible, it is easy to overlook some basic things. One really simple yet important thing to always remember is that when Jesus was speaking to the Jewish people, all they had for their Scriptures was the Old Testament. I know it seems basic, but think about it. These people could not just go grab their Bibles and scroll to the next book to get more context on what Jesus was talking about. All they could do was look back at their ancient texts and compare Jesus’ Word to the Word of the prophets. These prophets were their heroes, their spiritual fathers, and many of the Jesus people felt like Jesus was preaching in a way that was going to completely erase their Old Testament. However, in Matthew chapter 5, Jesus explains that what He had come to do was actually the opposite. He was the fulfillment of all these things.
6. How did Jesus fulfill the law?
Galatians 3:23-26 says, “Now before faith came, we were held captive under the law, imprisoned until the coming faith would be revealed. So then, the law was our guardian until Christ came, in order that we might be justified by faith. But now that faith has come, we are no longer under a guardian, for in Christ Jesus you are all sons of God, through faith.”
7. How would you say the law was the guardian until Christ came?
In the Old Testament, the law served many important purposes; however, there are two that I want to look at in this context. One, the law revealed and is still revealing, humanity’s sinfulness and need for a Savior. When we really look at the Law, we very quickly realize that it is something that we cannot follow. Scripture tells us that if we are guilty of one part of the law, then we are guilty of all of it. The only way for someone to go to Heaven and be in the presence of a Holy God is for them to be perfect as well, and the Law reveals to us that we cannot achieve this on our own. The Old Testament Law showed the Jewish people that they needed their coming Messiah.
8. Before you became a Christian, did you think you could be “good enough” to get to Heaven? How do we think trying to achieve being perfect would impact a person?
I see so many people striving to be good enough, and that weight just crushes them. They feel like failures every time they make a mistake. They feel like there is some cosmic power just waiting to crush them for every wrong thing. They hope and pray that one day their good deeds will outweigh their bad ones and that will grant them access to eternity. The reality is many people live this way, instead of accepting the truth that the Law is trying to show them. They cannot do it on their own. They need Jesus.
The second aspect of the Law made a way for forgiveness of sin through sacrifices. Jesus came to this Earth to become the final sacrifice for our sins. Once He died on that cross for our sin and rose again, there was no longer any need for animal sacrifices. The Old Testament practice of sacrificing for the forgiveness of sin is a picture of what Jesus was going to come to do once and for all. Jesus fulfilled this aspect of the Law when He came as a sacrifice. Now, instead of putting our faith in an animal sacrifice, we can put our faith in Jesus Christ as the forgiveness for our sins. As Galatians chapter 3 says above, we are now “justified by faith.”
9. Do you ever find yourself putting your faith in your works for your salvation or your standing with God?
My kids know that I love them, every day I make sure to tell them that. I want them to know that no matter what they do, I will always love them. When it comes to obedience, I want them to listen and obey me because they love me as well. They could easily think, “Well, I know my dad is going to love me no matter what, so I am just going to do whatever I want and I know he will forgive me.” Jesus in Matthew chapter 5 reiterates the importance of the Law as well. Just because we are not saved by the Law, does not mean that we as believers should not strive every day to follow the instructions of Christ and become more like Him. If we love Him, we should want to keep His Commandments.
John 14:15 says, “If you love me, you will keep my commandments.”
Romans 6:1-2 adds, “What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound? By no means! How can we who died to sin still live in it?”
10. Based on Romans 6:1-2, how do you think some of the Roman Christians were approaching grace?
It seems like they were taking the approach that the commandments of God do not matter because they knew there would be forgiveness for those sins. Paul quickly rebukes that. When we have died to sin due to our salvation, we should want to stay as far away from it as possible. We should want to show our love and honor for Christ by doing our best each and every day to follow His Commandments.
11. Do you ever find yourself falling into this place of sin as a believer?
We see in Matthew chapter 5 that Jesus did not come to invalidate the Old Testament, but to fulfill it. We look at the stories of faith in the Old Testament and we can see the faithfulness of Christ in the midst of it. I am so thankful that He is our final sacrifice needed for our sin. God’s forgiveness is not something that we have to earn through our faithfulness to the Law, but instead, we can be faithful to Christ’s commandments to show Him the love that we have for our Savior.
1. Did you grow up in the church? Did they use a flannel graph?
2. Whether you grew up in the church or not, what are some of your memories of your first experiences with attending church?
I had so many amazing teachers, but sometimes these stories were taught almost primarily as moral stories, fairy tales, or just a history lesson. The truths of the Old Testament really exploded in my life when I came to the realization that everything in the Old Testament is pointing towards Jesus.
3. What are some of your favorite Old Testament historical accounts and how do you see them pointing to Jesus?
When we read the Old Testament through the lens of Jesus, it can completely change our perspective of each and every page. Jesus addresses His relationship to the Old Testament when speaking to the crowd during the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew chapter 5. It is good to take a look at what Scripture has to say.
Matthew 5:17-20 says, “Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. For truly, I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot, will pass from the Law until all is accomplished. Therefore whoever relaxes one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever does them and teaches them will be called great in the kingdom of heaven. For I tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.”
4. What stands out to you from this passage?
5. Who was the audience that Jesus was speaking to?
I think when we read the Bible, it is easy to overlook some basic things. One really simple yet important thing to always remember is that when Jesus was speaking to the Jewish people, all they had for their Scriptures was the Old Testament. I know it seems basic, but think about it. These people could not just go grab their Bibles and scroll to the next book to get more context on what Jesus was talking about. All they could do was look back at their ancient texts and compare Jesus’ Word to the Word of the prophets. These prophets were their heroes, their spiritual fathers, and many of the Jesus people felt like Jesus was preaching in a way that was going to completely erase their Old Testament. However, in Matthew chapter 5, Jesus explains that what He had come to do was actually the opposite. He was the fulfillment of all these things.
6. How did Jesus fulfill the law?
Galatians 3:23-26 says, “Now before faith came, we were held captive under the law, imprisoned until the coming faith would be revealed. So then, the law was our guardian until Christ came, in order that we might be justified by faith. But now that faith has come, we are no longer under a guardian, for in Christ Jesus you are all sons of God, through faith.”
7. How would you say the law was the guardian until Christ came?
In the Old Testament, the law served many important purposes; however, there are two that I want to look at in this context. One, the law revealed and is still revealing, humanity’s sinfulness and need for a Savior. When we really look at the Law, we very quickly realize that it is something that we cannot follow. Scripture tells us that if we are guilty of one part of the law, then we are guilty of all of it. The only way for someone to go to Heaven and be in the presence of a Holy God is for them to be perfect as well, and the Law reveals to us that we cannot achieve this on our own. The Old Testament Law showed the Jewish people that they needed their coming Messiah.
8. Before you became a Christian, did you think you could be “good enough” to get to Heaven? How do we think trying to achieve being perfect would impact a person?
I see so many people striving to be good enough, and that weight just crushes them. They feel like failures every time they make a mistake. They feel like there is some cosmic power just waiting to crush them for every wrong thing. They hope and pray that one day their good deeds will outweigh their bad ones and that will grant them access to eternity. The reality is many people live this way, instead of accepting the truth that the Law is trying to show them. They cannot do it on their own. They need Jesus.
The second aspect of the Law made a way for forgiveness of sin through sacrifices. Jesus came to this Earth to become the final sacrifice for our sins. Once He died on that cross for our sin and rose again, there was no longer any need for animal sacrifices. The Old Testament practice of sacrificing for the forgiveness of sin is a picture of what Jesus was going to come to do once and for all. Jesus fulfilled this aspect of the Law when He came as a sacrifice. Now, instead of putting our faith in an animal sacrifice, we can put our faith in Jesus Christ as the forgiveness for our sins. As Galatians chapter 3 says above, we are now “justified by faith.”
9. Do you ever find yourself putting your faith in your works for your salvation or your standing with God?
My kids know that I love them, every day I make sure to tell them that. I want them to know that no matter what they do, I will always love them. When it comes to obedience, I want them to listen and obey me because they love me as well. They could easily think, “Well, I know my dad is going to love me no matter what, so I am just going to do whatever I want and I know he will forgive me.” Jesus in Matthew chapter 5 reiterates the importance of the Law as well. Just because we are not saved by the Law, does not mean that we as believers should not strive every day to follow the instructions of Christ and become more like Him. If we love Him, we should want to keep His Commandments.
John 14:15 says, “If you love me, you will keep my commandments.”
Romans 6:1-2 adds, “What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound? By no means! How can we who died to sin still live in it?”
10. Based on Romans 6:1-2, how do you think some of the Roman Christians were approaching grace?
It seems like they were taking the approach that the commandments of God do not matter because they knew there would be forgiveness for those sins. Paul quickly rebukes that. When we have died to sin due to our salvation, we should want to stay as far away from it as possible. We should want to show our love and honor for Christ by doing our best each and every day to follow His Commandments.
11. Do you ever find yourself falling into this place of sin as a believer?
We see in Matthew chapter 5 that Jesus did not come to invalidate the Old Testament, but to fulfill it. We look at the stories of faith in the Old Testament and we can see the faithfulness of Christ in the midst of it. I am so thankful that He is our final sacrifice needed for our sin. God’s forgiveness is not something that we have to earn through our faithfulness to the Law, but instead, we can be faithful to Christ’s commandments to show Him the love that we have for our Savior.
Lesson Three • Law
Philip Piasecki
I have vivid memories of growing up and going to “Sunday School.” One of the most popular teaching tools in the nineties was the “flannel graph.” If you have no idea what I am talking about, it is definitely worth looking up. They were these little fuzzy Bible characters that would then stick to a fuzzy background scene and the teacher would use them to teach their lesson. I specifically remember these being used to illustrate Old Testament stories. You would have Moses and the parting of the Red Sea and learn about how to obey God and trust Him as Moses did. We would learn about Jonah and the whale and how we need to obey Jesus and our parents so we do not end up in the proverbial “belly of the whale.” We would learn about the Israelites and the Ten Commandments and all the rules of the Law that they were expected to follow. The list of these Bible “stories” could go on and on.
1. Did you grow up in the church? Did they use a flannel graph?
2. Whether you grew up in the church or not, what are some of your memories of your first experiences with attending church?
I had so many amazing teachers, but sometimes these stories were taught almost primarily as moral stories, fairy tales, or just a history lesson. The truths of the Old Testament really exploded in my life when I came to the realization that everything in the Old Testament is pointing towards Jesus.
3. What are some of your favorite Old Testament historical accounts and how do you see them pointing to Jesus?
When we read the Old Testament through the lens of Jesus, it can completely change our perspective of each and every page. Jesus addresses His relationship to the Old Testament when speaking to the crowd during the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew chapter 5. It is good to take a look at what Scripture has to say.
Matthew 5:17-20 says, “Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. For truly, I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot, will pass from the Law until all is accomplished. Therefore whoever relaxes one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever does them and teaches them will be called great in the kingdom of heaven. For I tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.”
4. What stands out to you from this passage?
5. Who was the audience that Jesus was speaking to?
I think when we read the Bible, it is easy to overlook some basic things. One really simple yet important thing to always remember is that when Jesus was speaking to the Jewish people, all they had for their Scriptures was the Old Testament. I know it seems basic, but think about it. These people could not just go grab their Bibles and scroll to the next book to get more context on what Jesus was talking about. All they could do was look back at their ancient texts and compare Jesus’ Word to the Word of the prophets. These prophets were their heroes, their spiritual fathers, and many of the Jesus people felt like Jesus was preaching in a way that was going to completely erase their Old Testament. However, in Matthew chapter 5, Jesus explains that what He had come to do was actually the opposite. He was the fulfillment of all these things.
6. How did Jesus fulfill the law?
Galatians 3:23-26 says, “Now before faith came, we were held captive under the law, imprisoned until the coming faith would be revealed. So then, the law was our guardian until Christ came, in order that we might be justified by faith. But now that faith has come, we are no longer under a guardian, for in Christ Jesus you are all sons of God, through faith.”
7. How would you say the law was the guardian until Christ came?
In the Old Testament, the law served many important purposes; however, there are two that I want to look at in this context. One, the law revealed and is still revealing, humanity’s sinfulness and need for a Savior. When we really look at the Law, we very quickly realize that it is something that we cannot follow. Scripture tells us that if we are guilty of one part of the law, then we are guilty of all of it. The only way for someone to go to Heaven and be in the presence of a Holy God is for them to be perfect as well, and the Law reveals to us that we cannot achieve this on our own. The Old Testament Law showed the Jewish people that they needed their coming Messiah.
8. Before you became a Christian, did you think you could be “good enough” to get to Heaven? How do we think trying to achieve being perfect would impact a person?
I see so many people striving to be good enough, and that weight just crushes them. They feel like failures every time they make a mistake. They feel like there is some cosmic power just waiting to crush them for every wrong thing. They hope and pray that one day their good deeds will outweigh their bad ones and that will grant them access to eternity. The reality is many people live this way, instead of accepting the truth that the Law is trying to show them. They cannot do it on their own. They need Jesus.
The second aspect of the Law made a way for forgiveness of sin through sacrifices. Jesus came to this Earth to become the final sacrifice for our sins. Once He died on that cross for our sin and rose again, there was no longer any need for animal sacrifices. The Old Testament practice of sacrificing for the forgiveness of sin is a picture of what Jesus was going to come to do once and for all. Jesus fulfilled this aspect of the Law when He came as a sacrifice. Now, instead of putting our faith in an animal sacrifice, we can put our faith in Jesus Christ as the forgiveness for our sins. As Galatians chapter 3 says above, we are now “justified by faith.”
9. Do you ever find yourself putting your faith in your works for your salvation or your standing with God?
My kids know that I love them, every day I make sure to tell them that. I want them to know that no matter what they do, I will always love them. When it comes to obedience, I want them to listen and obey me because they love me as well. They could easily think, “Well, I know my dad is going to love me no matter what, so I am just going to do whatever I want and I know he will forgive me.” Jesus in Matthew chapter 5 reiterates the importance of the Law as well. Just because we are not saved by the Law, does not mean that we as believers should not strive every day to follow the instructions of Christ and become more like Him. If we love Him, we should want to keep His Commandments.
John 14:15 says, “If you love me, you will keep my commandments.”
Romans 6:1-2 adds, “What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound? By no means! How can we who died to sin still live in it?”
10. Based on Romans 6:1-2, how do you think some of the Roman Christians were approaching grace?
It seems like they were taking the approach that the commandments of God do not matter because they knew there would be forgiveness for those sins. Paul quickly rebukes that. When we have died to sin due to our salvation, we should want to stay as far away from it as possible. We should want to show our love and honor for Christ by doing our best each and every day to follow His Commandments.
11. Do you ever find yourself falling into this place of sin as a believer?
We see in Matthew chapter 5 that Jesus did not come to invalidate the Old Testament, but to fulfill it. We look at the stories of faith in the Old Testament and we can see the faithfulness of Christ in the midst of it. I am so thankful that He is our final sacrifice needed for our sin. God’s forgiveness is not something that we have to earn through our faithfulness to the Law, but instead, we can be faithful to Christ’s commandments to show Him the love that we have for our Savior.
1. Did you grow up in the church? Did they use a flannel graph?
2. Whether you grew up in the church or not, what are some of your memories of your first experiences with attending church?
I had so many amazing teachers, but sometimes these stories were taught almost primarily as moral stories, fairy tales, or just a history lesson. The truths of the Old Testament really exploded in my life when I came to the realization that everything in the Old Testament is pointing towards Jesus.
3. What are some of your favorite Old Testament historical accounts and how do you see them pointing to Jesus?
When we read the Old Testament through the lens of Jesus, it can completely change our perspective of each and every page. Jesus addresses His relationship to the Old Testament when speaking to the crowd during the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew chapter 5. It is good to take a look at what Scripture has to say.
Matthew 5:17-20 says, “Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. For truly, I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot, will pass from the Law until all is accomplished. Therefore whoever relaxes one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever does them and teaches them will be called great in the kingdom of heaven. For I tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.”
4. What stands out to you from this passage?
5. Who was the audience that Jesus was speaking to?
I think when we read the Bible, it is easy to overlook some basic things. One really simple yet important thing to always remember is that when Jesus was speaking to the Jewish people, all they had for their Scriptures was the Old Testament. I know it seems basic, but think about it. These people could not just go grab their Bibles and scroll to the next book to get more context on what Jesus was talking about. All they could do was look back at their ancient texts and compare Jesus’ Word to the Word of the prophets. These prophets were their heroes, their spiritual fathers, and many of the Jesus people felt like Jesus was preaching in a way that was going to completely erase their Old Testament. However, in Matthew chapter 5, Jesus explains that what He had come to do was actually the opposite. He was the fulfillment of all these things.
6. How did Jesus fulfill the law?
Galatians 3:23-26 says, “Now before faith came, we were held captive under the law, imprisoned until the coming faith would be revealed. So then, the law was our guardian until Christ came, in order that we might be justified by faith. But now that faith has come, we are no longer under a guardian, for in Christ Jesus you are all sons of God, through faith.”
7. How would you say the law was the guardian until Christ came?
In the Old Testament, the law served many important purposes; however, there are two that I want to look at in this context. One, the law revealed and is still revealing, humanity’s sinfulness and need for a Savior. When we really look at the Law, we very quickly realize that it is something that we cannot follow. Scripture tells us that if we are guilty of one part of the law, then we are guilty of all of it. The only way for someone to go to Heaven and be in the presence of a Holy God is for them to be perfect as well, and the Law reveals to us that we cannot achieve this on our own. The Old Testament Law showed the Jewish people that they needed their coming Messiah.
8. Before you became a Christian, did you think you could be “good enough” to get to Heaven? How do we think trying to achieve being perfect would impact a person?
I see so many people striving to be good enough, and that weight just crushes them. They feel like failures every time they make a mistake. They feel like there is some cosmic power just waiting to crush them for every wrong thing. They hope and pray that one day their good deeds will outweigh their bad ones and that will grant them access to eternity. The reality is many people live this way, instead of accepting the truth that the Law is trying to show them. They cannot do it on their own. They need Jesus.
The second aspect of the Law made a way for forgiveness of sin through sacrifices. Jesus came to this Earth to become the final sacrifice for our sins. Once He died on that cross for our sin and rose again, there was no longer any need for animal sacrifices. The Old Testament practice of sacrificing for the forgiveness of sin is a picture of what Jesus was going to come to do once and for all. Jesus fulfilled this aspect of the Law when He came as a sacrifice. Now, instead of putting our faith in an animal sacrifice, we can put our faith in Jesus Christ as the forgiveness for our sins. As Galatians chapter 3 says above, we are now “justified by faith.”
9. Do you ever find yourself putting your faith in your works for your salvation or your standing with God?
My kids know that I love them, every day I make sure to tell them that. I want them to know that no matter what they do, I will always love them. When it comes to obedience, I want them to listen and obey me because they love me as well. They could easily think, “Well, I know my dad is going to love me no matter what, so I am just going to do whatever I want and I know he will forgive me.” Jesus in Matthew chapter 5 reiterates the importance of the Law as well. Just because we are not saved by the Law, does not mean that we as believers should not strive every day to follow the instructions of Christ and become more like Him. If we love Him, we should want to keep His Commandments.
John 14:15 says, “If you love me, you will keep my commandments.”
Romans 6:1-2 adds, “What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound? By no means! How can we who died to sin still live in it?”
10. Based on Romans 6:1-2, how do you think some of the Roman Christians were approaching grace?
It seems like they were taking the approach that the commandments of God do not matter because they knew there would be forgiveness for those sins. Paul quickly rebukes that. When we have died to sin due to our salvation, we should want to stay as far away from it as possible. We should want to show our love and honor for Christ by doing our best each and every day to follow His Commandments.
11. Do you ever find yourself falling into this place of sin as a believer?
We see in Matthew chapter 5 that Jesus did not come to invalidate the Old Testament, but to fulfill it. We look at the stories of faith in the Old Testament and we can see the faithfulness of Christ in the midst of it. I am so thankful that He is our final sacrifice needed for our sin. God’s forgiveness is not something that we have to earn through our faithfulness to the Law, but instead, we can be faithful to Christ’s commandments to show Him the love that we have for our Savior.