…so is love a ledere and the lawe shapeth[1]
For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. John 1:17
Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. 2 Corinthians 3:17
Introduction
‘If you love me, you will obey what I command’ (John 14:15). Jesus’ words to his disciples at the Last Supper include the uncomfortable thought that there is an intimate link between love for Jesus and obedience to his commands. His disciples today are not so used to thinking of a connection between love and obedience or between love and law.
Perhaps even more uncomfortably, Jesus took the Torah (the Mosaic law) seriously. He challenged contemporary interpretations of it but he never denounced it.[2] How does Jesus’ attitude towards the Torah square with what appears to be Paul’s teaching that Christians are freed from the obligation to follow the Torah?[3]
Those questions are not theoretical; they are immensely practical. In a heavily indebted economy, is the ban on interest merely a dead letter? Ought Christians to be marking one day in seven as special, putting aside work for the whole day? Does it matter if a man and his niece get married? Is there anything wrong with cross-dressing? Should Christians tithe? Should Christians not eat meat with blood in it?[4]
The argument in this paper is that Christians should still reflect on the Torah, in the light of Christ’s life and teaching,[5] under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, and learn from it how to make wise decisions about how to love God and to love our neighbours today.[6]
The love of God involves the love of Torah
The Bible is clear from beginning to end that to love God involves seeking to be obedient to God. God invites humankind to participate in intimate communion with him. In the Garden of Eden, God walked with Adam in the cool of the day.[7] God gave Adam commands too.[8] Obeying God would enable Adam to enjoy all the goodness of the Garden of Eden. Adam was called to be obedient to God because that was what was expected of humankind in the relationship of love to God which God wanted Adam to enjoy. This anchors obedience to God within a relational context, as an essential fact about human life.
