Paul told Timothy, “I charge you in the presence of God … to keep the commandment unstained and free from reproach until the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ.” (1 Timothy 6:13-14) The question we face today is what “commandment” does Paul exhort Timothy to keep? Many today teach that Christians should keep all of the Old Testament commandments, at least the ones which do not command animal or food sacrifices. They would teach us that we must (or, “out of love for God”) obey every jot and tittle of the Law concerning Sabbath observance, which foods to eat, and what clothing to wear. Is this what Paul meant?

First, notice that the word “commandment” used by Paul in this passage is singular, not plural, as in “the ten commandments.” Just before charging Timothy he said, “Pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, steadfastness, gentleness. ¹² Fight the good fight of the faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called and about which you made the good confession in the presence of many witnesses.” (1 Timothy 6:11b-12) Yesterday we discussed the good confession which Timothy and Jesus both made. Today we consider the commandment Jesus desires us to keep. Whatever the commandment is I believe that it includes pursuing righteousness, godliness, faith, love, steadfastness, and gentleness.

When Jesus dwelt among us he said, “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another.” (John 13:34) James calls this “the royal law” in James 2:8 and says that if we keep this commandment, then we are doing well. If we fail to keep this law, however, he tells us that “the law,” meaning the Old Testament Law of Moses, convicts us as transgressors, for “whoever keeps the whole law but fails in one point has become accountable for all of it.” (James 2:10) Strangely, James then calls this new commandment “the law of liberty.” (James 2:12) How can this possibly be? If I fail to perfectly obey the law of liberty, then I become convicted by the Old Testament Law of Moses as a transgressor of that law? Is this really what James says? Is this why Martin Luther wanted to expunge the Book of James from the canon of Scripture, because it seems to contradict the rest of the teaching of the New Testament, and especially Paul’s doctrine? I believe the answers to these last three questions are yes, yes, and yes! But, Paul does provide the answer to this seeming contradiction.

Recall that Paul wrote the Book of Galatians specifically to tell new Christian converts that they did not need to become circumcised or submit to the manifold regulations of Old Testament law. He warned them that if they began to submit to those regulations then they would become accountable to all the Law. He said,

 Look: I, Paul, say to you that if you accept circumcision, Christ will be of no advantage to you. ³ I testify again to every man who accepts circumcision that he is obligated to keep the whole law. ⁴ You are severed from Christ, you who would be justified^[a] by the law; you have fallen away from grace. (Galatians 5:1-4)

Yet, Paul makes it clear through all of his writings that he highly honored the Law. He does not disparage it. In fact he even tells the Galatians that “the law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith.” (Gal. 3:24) Strong’s tells us that this Greek word translated “schoolmaster” here means “a servant whose office it was to take the children to school.” The Law is the servant and we are the children. The Law takes us to school in the sense that it teaches us right from wrong. It teaches us how to relate to God (the first five of the Ten Commandments) and to men (the second group of five of the Ten Commandments). The Word of God further tells us that these first five commands define what God means by the word “righteousness” and that the word “justice” sums up the second group of five. Paul takes this idea even further and says, “All the law is fulfilled in one word, even in this; Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself,” (Gal. 5:14) which, as we have seen above, is the new command Jesus gave us.

Clearly, then, Paul exhorts Timothy to keep this particular command. Just prior to telling him so he tells him how to do this. He says, “pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, steadfastness, gentleness.” When we pursue these Godly attributes then we become empowered to love others. Paul does not tell Timothy to “go and learn the Old Testament laws and do them.” Similarly, James does not tell his Christian hearers to submit to the Old Covenant laws. He simply tells them that if they fail to perfectly obey Christ’s new command, then the Mosaic laws will convict them as transgressors. This is the function of the Law, to convict us of sin. This is its function as a schoolmaster. It convicts us, we acknowledge our sin, we come to Christ for forgiveness of our sins.

No New Testament writer ever teaches us to submit ourselves to the specific Old Testament commands which demand outward signs of inward truth, signs like circumcision, tassels, garments, days of the week, weeks of the year, and natural food that we eat. Instead, each writer focuses upon spiritual reality within our hearts, spiritual reality which becomes part of our very being. Jesus taught of love, mercy, and perfection, even as God is perfect.  Paul spoke of righteousness, godliness, faith, love, steadfastness, and gentleness. James spoke of impartiality toward the rich and poor within our churches and of mercy, for “mercy triumphs over judgment.” (James 2:13)

This is “the perfect law,” “the law of liberty,” “the royal law,” the “new commandment” which Jesus and all his apostles taught. This law takes us well beyond the Old Testament Law, for that law made nothing perfect. Christ’s Law takes us to perfection itself, but it does not do this by putting us back under Moses’ law, nor by suggesting we ought to keep all the jots and tittles of that law in order to please him. Rather than demanding that we keep the Law which he gave fifteen hundred years before his birth, Jesus gives us his Spirit and says,

⁷ Nevertheless, I tell you the truth: it is to your advantage that I go away, for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you. But if I go, I will send him to you. ⁸ And when he comes, he will convict the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment:⁹ concerning sin, because they do not believe in me; ¹⁰ concerning righteousness,because I go to the Father, and you will see me no longer; ¹¹ concerning judgment, because the ruler of this world is judged.

¹² “I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. ¹³ When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth, for he will not speak on his own authority, but whatever he hears he will speak, and he will declare to you the things that are to come. ¹⁴ He will glorify me, for he will take what is mine and declare it to you.¹⁵ All that the Father has is mine; therefore I said that he will take what is mine and declare it to you. (John 16:7-15)

When Jesus made his good confession to Pilate he said, “You say that I am a king. To this end was I born, and for this cause came I into the world, that I should bear witness unto the truth. Every one that is of the truth hears my voice.” (John 18:37 KJ2000) When we come to Jesus, when we accept and acknowledge him as LORD and Savior, then we come to the truth. So long as we follow him, so long as we “obey the Gospel” (obey the good confession that Jesus is our King), then he will reveal his truth to us and we will walk in that truth he reveals to us. He does not put us back under Old Covenant Law. He declares a New Covenant, and so long as we walk in this New Covenant we walk toward that perfection he desires for us.