An Enduring Perspective

I first read the book from which the following quote was taken twenty-five years ago, and the impact on my faith continues to be immeasurable. Recent study has taken me back.

“Jesus did not simply eliminate the law of Moses as a futile manner of attempting to secure righteousness. (With the New Testament) He did away with the “law principle.” He did not substitute one written code for another. Instead of giving us a law, He gave us Himself. It is not by trust in deeds of law, but by faith in Him as a person that we secure and sustain a right relationship with the Father. Law has gone and faith has come.”
Death of the Custodian, by Carl Ketcherside.

"The law was our custodian until Christ came, that we might be justified by faith. But now that faith has come, we are no longer under a custodian.” Galatians 3:24-25

You require your 15 year-old son to be in the house by 10:00 pm on school nights, and by 12:00 pm on weekends, and you require that he tell you before he goes anywhere exactly who he will be with and where he is. When that son turns 18, graduates from High School, but still chooses to live in your house for a while – the relationships change. Those earlier rules are still VERY GOOD ideas, but now the PURPOSE behind the rules comes to bear more directly. You required that he come in early and tell you where he was and who he was with because you desired his safety and responsible behavior. Now, after 18, after High School, his safety and responsibility take the forefront - not the rules. He can still be safe and responsible even if he comes in later or doesn’t keep you informed of his company or location all the time. More of the responsibility is now his – and your role as a parent (or guardian) has changed.

Consider this: “All things are lawful, but not all things are helpful. All things are lawful, but not all things build up.” I Corinthians 10:28. All things are lawful? Does the Bible really say that?!? Yes it does. Though there are many other passages for us to read and think about in order to understand that one, the basic analogy to consider is that you don’t relate to your 18 year-old the way you related to your 15 year-old.