Keeping God's Law in the Judgment Hour
William Diehl

"By their fruits you shall know them."

The Protestant Reformation has never taught that the Law of God, the Ten Commandments, was terminated at the cross. That which was nailed to the cross was the indictment that was against us with all of its damning record of our transgressions. This is known as the "curse of the Law".

Christ bore the curse of the Law for us who are under its curse because we have never perfectly obeyed the Law of God. Cursed is everyone who does not continually obey the Law of God. We have all sinned and we continually fall short of the righteous demands of God's good and holy Law. When Christ died upon the cross in our place, He bore in His own self the curse for us which we deserve to suffer because "cursed is everyone who is hanged on a tree". He became that cursed thing so that in Christ we may become the inheritors of the blessings of the Everlasting Covenant, even the forgiveness of our sins and the gift of eternal life.

This gift is unmerited by us because we did nothing to earn the gift of eternal life. We can only "earn" the just wages of our sins which is death and all who are not in Christ by faith in His blood will receive the just wages of their works of death and sin, for all works which are not done in faith are sin and under the just condemnation and wrath of God's justice. Thus Jesus Christ our Lord became sin for us so that we might be declared the righteousness of God in Him. We are saved by His righteous life and because He lives, we who are of justified by faith shall live and reign with Him. Those who are under the "obey and live" covenant are under a curse because they are not seeking to be justified by faith by rather by obedience to the Law. Those who are of the Law say, "All that thou hast said we will do". But as Paul stated,

"Moses describeth the righteousness which is of the Law, That the man which doeth those things shall live by them. But the righteousness which is of faith speaketh on this wise, Say not in thine heart, Who shall ascend into heaven? (that is, to bring Christ down [from above] Or, Who shall descend into the deep? (that is, to bring up Christ again from the dead.) But what saith it? The word is nigh thee, even in thy mouth, and in thy heart: that is, the word of faith, which we preach; That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness (justification); and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. For the scripture saith, Whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed."

But the scriptures are very clear in stating that by obedience to the Law no flesh shall be justified for all have sinned and continually fall short of the glory of God. Even today those who are of the Spirit are persecuted and hated by those who are of the works of the Law even as Esau hated Jacob. But God only accepts those who are of the faith of Abraham and He rejects those who seek to be righteous by obedience to the Law. On the last day all those who are deceivers and love to make a lie shall cry to mountains and to the rocks that they may fall upon them to hide them from the face of Him. The Lamb of God justifies all who are of the faith of righteous Abel, Noah, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Daniel, Rahab the temple prostitute, and the countless martyrs who chose death rather than receive the mark of Cain and the righteousness that is of the Law. Woe to those who speak against this Gospel and work the works of darkness to resist the final message of grace to the world. It would be better to have never been born.
Amen.

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