The theme of God’s law and the question of its binding nature have accompanied the entire history of Christianity. Saint Paul deals with it in his most famous letters. Although he explains everything carefully, even in the time of the first Christians, there was a misunderstanding of the meaning of Christian freedom from the Law, which is why we hear the warning of the Second Letter of Peter. The Lord Jesus clearly says that he did not come to abolish the Law. And he adds that he came to fulfill it, which could also be translated as “to fulfill.” What does “not to abolish, but to fulfill” mean?
First, let’s see what it does not mean. The so-called freedom from the Law would be difficult to reconcile with “not to abolish.” So no person can say that he is free from God’s law or that he can determine (recognize) for himself what is right. Such an attempt was already made here in Paradise, and we know how it turned out. In essence, it would be a form of liberalism in spiritual life. Liberalism is about freedom/unconstrainedness, but we are called to freedom. Freedom, however, does not mean either liberty or unconstrainedness. Our freedom is based on God, and in Him we even speak of necessity, not freedom. He goes
He asserts that he came to fulfill the Law. This means that the way the Old Testament man approached the Law will no longer be the best. The Lord Jesus fulfilled the Law in his preaching and actions, which culminated on the cross. And with his life, he gave us an example to follow. In this way, he points to the essence of the Law itself, while St. Paul contrasts the Old Testament concept of the Law and the cross of Jesus Christ. The essence of God’s law is to show the way to God. The essence of the redemptive work culminating on the cross is the path to God.
Therefore, fulfilling the law means going to God in the right direction. Going in the wrong direction—failing to fulfill the Law—misses the goal. The law, understood in this way, is complete. The idea of obeying the Law among the Old Testament people was simply to follow commands or prohibitions, and navigating it as if it were a series of human paragraphs was good but flawed. They may have lived exactly according to the words of the Law, but words are not everything. Avoiding killing is not enough. If I understand what the fifth commandment is about and what it protects, I will avoid killing and unjust anger. However, I will not say, “I understand; this commandment loses its meaning for me; I am going to kill.” Just when I have understood it, I am all the more likely to keep it completely. To understand the law. To understand, and with this understanding, we do not kill to fulfill it. Contrary to popular belief, our goal is not only to understand the law but also to uphold it actively. How could someone come to God who would reject his commandments and replace them with his own? Such a person would not be heading towards God but towards himself and eternal solitude.
And so we do not kill, but Timeskill out of love for God and man. We do not kill because we ourselves have already internalized God’s law, as they say. And this is Pauline Christian freedom: We do not need an external command. However, it is not liberalism. Sometimes, we can act independently; at one moment, I refrain from killing, and at another, I kill based on my own judgment, believing in my own righteousness. However, we humans are not masters of morality, so God’s will is the same for everyone. In the second reading, we heard about living according to wisdom; in the first, about approaching God’s commandments responsibly. Freedom carries with it responsibility; liberalism does not. Wisdom leads to the knowledge of God. God himself gave his commandments. Wisdom also means penetrating God’s commandments—God’s, not one’s own. To reject God’s commandments and replace them with our own decisions, ideas, and desires would mean rejecting God and replacing Him with ourselves. Five
We are often reminded of the repeated comparison between a guardian and a child being raised, where the guardian represents the law. When a child is little, he does what he is told. When he grows up and no longer needs a guardian, he continues to act as he was taught. He acts in the same way and in the same spirit in which he was raised. Only the motivation is different. Likewise, the Christian acts similarly, but with a different motivation, in accordance with the Law. Pauline’s. He does not do so because of the law, but for much higher reasons. There
Relawmains another, and in a sense even more Relawmains, meaning of the words “to fulfill the Law.” We have already mentioned Christ and redemption. What man cannot do with his strength and his efforts to preserve the Law, correctly understood, is sufficient for this: God’s infinite mercy and God’s forgiveness when we return to God with repentance and receive the opportunity for a new beginning in holy confession. The law will not bring salvation to the sinner, but God’s forgiveness will. We now address the Law and its meaning, as we all need God’s forgiveness. However, we do not rely on God’s mercy rashly. Our conversion must be genuine, our disagreement with sin and our turning away from it must be sincere.
