The Law and the Christian: God's Light Within God's Limits

by Ken Casillas

Ken Casillas explores whether Christians are under the law in The Law and the Christian. Reformed theology and theonomy emphasize intertestamental continuity and subjection to the law, but dispensationalism and Lutheranism emphasize discontinuity and freedom. Casillas says Christians are both under and not under the law. He covers differences between Israel and the church, purposes of the law, and non-legalistic ways to apply Old Testament commands. His balanced exposition and interaction with secondary sources will enrich both professional and personal study. Essential for expositors.

Part of Biblical Discernment for Difficult Issues, a series from Bob Jones University Seminary.

Genres: Theology, Nonfiction

80 pages, Paperback

First published July 1, 2007

Reviews

[Brian Pate · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very helpful resource from my friend, Ken Casillas. Step by step, he walks the reader through a complicated issue, with clear exegesis and a gracious spirit toward other views.

We are not under the law (as law), but now we can fulfill the law of Christ by loving one another and walking in the Spirit. How does the OT law apply to NT believers? We must understand the universal principles based in the character of God. Then we must interpret the laws in light of Christ's redemptive work.

[Jeremy · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good intro to the issue; summarizes the major views from dispensational to theonomy, noting strengths and weaknesses of each. Critique of Reformed view: 3-fold distinction not biblical. Critique of theonomy: Jerusalem Council (Acts 15) and Paul (1 Cor. 5) do not seem to expect the entire Mosaic law to be enforced now; "it is not clear in Scripture that Christ intends to exercise his Lordship over civil governments through a direct use of Israel's law" (23). The differences tend to boil down to matters of emphasis, degree, and methodology. Practically, most Christians agree on what we should do; the disagreement is on how we arrive at that conclusion. Does a very satisfying job of working out the tension between being under the law and not being under the law.

"The Old Testament law contains rich material for a total world and life view appropriate to a people of God.... What is needed is a principled Pauline-like use of the law to guid our thinking about hose aspects of life which it addresses in a theistic way.... Israel's institution's represent a revelational 'slice of life' by exhibiting one people of the ancient world as a sample of God's revealed moral will ..." (Dewitt).

Ch. 3--We are not under the law
The apostles did not view the Mosaic law a covenantal code binding on the Church; they called for selective observance.
Gal. 3:10-12--the point is that the law emphasized "doing" and was heavily contingent on human obedience; this is different from a relationship based on faith alone.
The theological reason for the NT's negative assessment of the law is man's inability to keep it (1 Cor. 15:56; Rom. 6:14; Acts 15:10) and also from the standpoint of historical fulfillment--the law has served its purpose historically. Thus Rom. 10:4--the law here may refer to a particular historical phase in God's program during which he was leading Israel (Rom. 5:20; 7:7-13; Gal. 3-4), a temporary measure whose jurisdiction ended when Christ came. "There was a time when the central feature in this program was an arrangement that emphasized God's requirements and man's inability to obey them. That arrangement has been left behind, and the main emphasis now is the grace displayed through the work of Jesus Christ" (44-45).

KC contrasts life as OC member with life as a NC member--key difference is the role of the Holy Spirit (Gal. 5-6). Love is the central feature of "the law of Christ"--"The point is that Christ, His redemptive work, and His teaching shape all our ethical decisions" (47).

Ch. 4--We are under the law
Gal. 5:13-15; Matt. 22:36-40--there must be some way in which the actual content of the law remains normative.

As they obeyed God's law, Israel was to be a model for the nations--demonstrating the wisdom of God. "By obeying the Torah, Israel would model what God's wisdom/righteousness looked like in her specific covenant and historical-cultural situation" (54).

Jer. 31:31-34--the law written in the heart--in OT context, we would assume a strong connection with Mosaic law (cf. Dt. 30). "recipients of the New Covenant would receive the internal capacity to live by the transcendent ethical standards upheld in the Mosaic law" (57). Matt. 5:17-19--"It is inadequate to say either that none of the Old Testament applies unless it is explicitly affirmed int he New or that all of the Old Testament applies unless it is explicitly revoked in the New. Rather, all of the Old Testament remains normative and relevant for Jesus' followers (2 Tim. 3:16), but none of it can rightly be interpreted until one understands how it has been fulfilled in Christ" (Blomberg)--this is what the sermon on the mount does; it sets forth the law of Christ which includes "the moral norms" of the OT (Schreiner). Rom. 8:4: by the HS, Christ enables us to live in a way that is in keeping with the ethics revealed in OT law.

The NT views the OT law as a paradigm (cf. Greek student studying luo--he doesn't memorize all those forms because every Greek vb looks exactly like it, but because by that word, he can learn basic PATTERNS to help him analyze similar verbs).

Truth about God sits right on the surface of many laws; thus they are directly applicable today (cf. Lev. 18 which God expected the nations to follow). Other laws so specific to Israel--1 Cor. 9:8-11. "God did the implementing for his people in the Old Testament, while in the New he in large measure gives us the freedom in Christ to do our own implementing.... But in both cases he holds us to the blueprint of the law of creation. in the Old Testament the explanations he gave included detailed instructions for the implementation of the blueprint; that was by way of apprenticeship. IN Christ we are journeyman builders--still bound to the architect's explicit directions, but with considerable freedom of implementation as new situations arise" (Wolters)

Conclusion:
* The law does not have direct covenental authority over the Christian
* The Christian must continue to use the law as a paradigm--all laws remain binding "in a revelatory and pedagogical sense" (Dorsey)

See 69-70 for humorous hypothetical examples of people insisting that certain ethical standards are merely APPLICATIONS of the law and thus not binding (ex: Bible prohibits stealing, but not embezzling)--even OT Israel had to think paradigmatically

Question: Can the unbeliever today be said to be "under the law"?

[Paul · Rating 5 out of 5]

This short book of 70 pages can be easily read in one sitting. After the short introductory chapter, there are just 4 chapters"
2. Competing Views
3. We Are Not Under the Law
4. We Are Under the Law
5. Conclusion

In the second chapter, the author gives various competing views on the OT law, and provides a brief evaluation of each one. In the third chapter, Casillas examines the very common claim that Christians are not under the law as a covenantal code, as a way of salvation, or as a general emphasis in our relationship with God. In the fourth chapter Casillas explains in what sense we are under the law. The last chapter focuses on the tension between law and grace, and how we as Christians must walk a tightrope, not falling off on either side.

I highly recommend this little book as an overview of law and grace.

[Robert Luff · Rating 5 out of 5]

This excellent little book from one of my seminary professors (so yeah, I'm biased) is really helpful. Casillas explains how to understand the relationship of the Old Testament Law to the New Covenant era and how to interpret it in its light. But I also found myself grateful that he expresses the tension and difficulty that I feel when I try apprehensively to preach the Law today. The author takes you under his wing and says, "I get your dilemma; let me show you what helps me." He lays out several pitfalls to avoid and guidelines to follow without being unnecessarily negative toward any one system of theology. I read The Law and the Christian in full a couple of years ago, and I find myself going back to it as a reference work and feeling refreshed.

[Daniel · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a good introduction to the topic, written by a Bob Jones University professor from a “modified Dispensational” perspective.

[Aldo Herrera · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great little book on the tension between law and grace.

[Lily-joseph Jo · Rating 4 out of 5]

It gives you a foundational reason why Christians are not under the law but they are under he law in a differen sense at the same time. A good introductory book to the relationship between the law and the Christian life and it refers to a variety of sources (Covenant, Dispensational & Lutheran) which you can go to if you need a deeper study in this matter. Dr. Casillas is one of OT professors at BJU Seminary.

[Andy]

0151

[Michael · Rating 4 out of 5]

Concise and helpful.