PODCAST
The Spirit & The Law
September 3rd, 2012
Acts 15:1-11RG AUDIO 090312
Most of the time when Pharisees appear in Scripture it’s because they got something wrong. However in Acts 15, we read of some Pharisees who became Christians. This was a big step for them, yet they had more to learn. They mistakenly thought Christians had to become Jewish first.
In Galatians 3:23-25, Paul helpfully describes the law as a guardian that protected God’s people until faith in Christ was possible.
I find it helpful to think about this issue by comparing the law to training wheels on a bicycle. Training wheels teach you how to ride a bike by helping you keep your balance. When the training wheels are removed, you continue to ride without falling over because balancing has become part of you. The law, like training wheels, was temporary and restrictive but its influence is still felt. The Holy Spirit guides and transforms us according to the same fundamental underlying truths that informed the law. Receiving the Spirit by faith in Christ is now all that is necessary for salvation.
