Do we, then, nullify the law by this faith? Not at all! Rather, we uphold the law.
The age old argument. Grace or Law – Paul says “Yes Please! “
If we are under faith and grace are we then freed from the expectations determined by the law? The law was written as a standard of living that if obeyed to the letter would bring righteousness. But when we fail it is the law that tells our failure to obey the law is sin. So does faith and grace take away the expectations of behavior the law was written for? According to Paul the answer is not only no but he goes on to say the law of faith in Christ upholds the original law in it’s outcome.
The best analogy I have heard on this subject is a large roller coaster.
What Moses says
Suppose you are standing on the ground of a large roller coaster and Moses says here is the law you are to obey. Your goal is to reach the high peak of this roller coaster. You look at the wooden slats and metal structures and begin to climb. This is you under the law. You are climbing under your own effort. The higher you climb the harder it gets.
What Paul Says
Paul begins to yell at you about a different law. A law of faith. There is a large crane that has a strong wire and a harness. Allow yourself to trust the harness and trust the crane operator (He has holes in his hands and feet) then you will be placed in a special car that empowers you to ride up the roller coaster your goal. You can relax and enjoy the rise instead of working by your own effort.
Faith in the harness – Click, click, click…
So you allow yourself to be placed in the harness and you trust the operator and the strong cable as it lifts you and places you in the special car. Then click, click, click, click you begin your journey. You remember your former path to the top of the coaster by trying to climb and you were so far down and struggling. Now you trusted the crane operator and the cable. You are in a car that has power to move you and suddenly you are speeding down the coaster and then racing up the hill to your goal that Moses said was the goal of the law. You’re enjoying the ride and when your car begins to slow down because of a difficult hill you suddenly hear the click, click, click of the power being added to help you up the hill.
Faith upholds the law. Empowered by the Holy Spirit.
This is the power of the law of faith. It does not omit the law of Moses but empowers us through the Holy Spirit and Christ in us to achieve the goals without our own power. So that no man can boast. This helped me understand the two laws Paul describes and placed a happy lightnside me as I ride with my hands in the air over the top of a coaster hill.