At times people will complain that the Church of Christ is following the "letter of the law, but not the spirit of the law". This is how one writer encountered it. "During the course of that discussion, he implied rather strongly that I was a Pharisee and that I had ‘lost the spirit of the law’. His belief is that the Pharisees were condemned because they had followed the law too closely, and that I stood condemned for doing the same. The ‘spirit of the law’, in his mind, refers to the underlying intent of the law that is never directly expressed in scripture. One comes to understand this ‘spirit’ by reading between the lines of God's word or by looking at the scriptures as a whole (but not in detail)" (The Spirit and Letter of the Law. Daniel Gatlin. Gospel Anchor p. 2 (42) November 1992).

This passage and context have nothing to do with "an outward and inward meaning of God's law". The Spirit applies to the New Covenant, "servants of a new covenant…of the Spirit" and the term "letter" applies to the Old Covenant (3:6 "for the letter kills"; 3:7 "if the ministry of death, in letters engraved on stones" ), Paul does not divide the New Testament into the "letter" and the "spirit".

• Romans 2:29 "But he is a Jew who is one inwardly; and circumcision is that which is of the heart, by the Spirit, not by the letter; and his praise is not from men, but from God"

The contrast here is not between "words written verses what they really meant", and "obedience verses sincerity/a good heart". The person spoken of in verse 29, is a person who is "obeying the ordinances of the law" (2:26). Neither is Paul ridiculing those that were physically circumcised. The contrast is between: One man kept the ordinances of the law out of pure duty, ritual and rote. Another man kept such ordinances because he believed in them, he valued them, he prized them, he saw their importance, and he loved God. Obedience is not minimized, what is stressed is conformity to the will of God from a "circumcised heart"; that is from the motives of love, humility, faith and genuine trust in God.

• Romans 7:6 "But now we have been released from the Law, having died to that by which we were bound, so that we serve in newness of the Spirit and not in oldness of the letter"

The "Law" under consideration here is the Law of Moses (7:7). Serving in "newness of the spirit" does not rule out obedience. In fact, the very word "serving" demands it (See also Romans 6:17; 7:6).

This is a question that desperately needs to be answered. In fact much of the "letter and Spirit of the Law" misapplication seems to be based upon a misunderstanding of what was wrong with the Pharisees. Some would say that Jesus condemned the Pharisees because they followed the will of God too closely or strictly. Where did Jesus ever say that? In fact, where did God ever condemn people for obedience that was "too good"? "Hey, slack off, you are trying too hard, if you keep taking so seriously what I said through the prophets, my Son, or the Apostles you are going to end up lost. Stop this obedience stuff or you won't make it to heaven"? Did He tell Saul this? (1 Samuel 15: finally a man that doesn't take the commands of God so seriously?)

• The Pharisees were condemned for their hypocrisy: Matthew 23:3
• For having human traditions that violated Scripture: Matthew 15:3
• Self-righteousness: Luke 18:9
• Serving God from the motives of human praise and power: Matt. 6:1; 23:1ff

He (Jesus) never condemns them for scrupulous obedience to all of the Law. Quite the opposite, a portion of His condemnation was due to the fact that they chose to ignore certain areas of the Law, that is, justice, mercy and faith (Matthew 23:23). In addition, Jesus considered every part of the law as important, even tithing ("these ye ought to have done"). Jesus believed that all the commands were important and the Pharisees were not obedient enough when it came to the application of mercy, faith and justice.

The problem with the reasoning that places a hidden "intent of the law" between the lines of Scripture, is that the Pharisees did not have to read between the lines to know that God demanded "mercy, justice and faith". Those things were clearly stated in the Old Testament (Exodus 23:1-3; Leviticus 19:9-10; Deut. 6:4-5).

Somehow many religious people have been convinced that anyone who stresses the need to obey what God has said, lacks "true spirituality". Consider the following questions:

• Can you be spiritual without obeying God’s Commands?

John 14:15; 1 John 1:6 compare with 2:3-4. The "walking in darkness" is further defined by John as "claiming to know God and yet not keeping the commands of God". John feels that anyone who would claim spirituality apart from obedience is a liar (they do not really know God, or what God requires) and they "do not the truth"; that is have no true claim to being a Christian. In so many passages the proper attitude love, is combined with obedience (1 John 2:5; 5:2-3; 1 Corinthians 13:6).

• Is Attitude Along Enough?

Romans 10:1-2; John 12:42-43.

Points to note on the last verse: Some people argue, "Well the Lord knows my heart is right, my life my not reflect it, my actions may not show it, and I'm not much of a religious church going person but down deep the Lord knows that I love Him". Did the men in the above passage believe in Jesus? What does the Lord Himself think of such hidden faith and love? (Matthew 10:32-33) Jesus pointed out that what is truly in a person’s heart does come out in words and actions (Mark 7:20-23), and this is true of both good and bad hearts (Matthew 7:15-20; 12:25 "The good man out of his good treasure brings forth what is good; and the evil man out of his evil treasure brings forth what is evil", 12:34 "For the mouth speaks out of that which fills the heart".

Therefore, a life void of obedience, reveals a heart that is not truly interested in obeying God, which means that the motives of that heart are wrong and not good. When Jesus encountered resistance to His message, He challenged people’s love for God (John 5:42).

• Do Good intentions eliminate the need for Obedience?

Matthew 16:21-23: Did Peter have good intentions?

I am hearing more people argue that the New Testament is not a book of rules or details, but rather a book of principles. While the New Testament includes principles, such as love, compassion, kindness, and so on, it equally contains many commands that are detailed and include precise rules. Mark 16:16; Acts 2:38; 1 Corinthians 11:23-26; Titus 1:6-9; Romans 13:8-10. Even the principle of love is not left undefined by God: 1 Corinthians 13:4-8.

One writer noted, "The Bible teaches that the only way to yield to God’s love is to yield to God’s authority (John 14:15) and that therefore the love principle never rises higher than the authority principle".

Often this is forgotten in this discussion. The Bible very clearly defines the New Covenant as a Law (Hebrews 8:10; James 1:25 "the perfect law"; Isaiah 2:3 "The law will go forth from Zion, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem").

• That sin goes deeper (even obedience is not enough) than just the outward act (Matthew 5-7).
• No obedience, no salvation (Matthew 7:21).
• No obedience, means no love for God (John 14:15).
• The way to God was narrow (Matt. 7:13-14) and it was only through Him (John 14:6).
• One needs to keep the commands of God (Matthew 19:17).
• All of God’s commands are equally essential are all express love for God and our fellow man (Matthew 22:36-40). Behind every rule that God has every given is "the Spirit" and the right attitude and the right concern.

The "Spirit of the law and the letter of the Law" misconception seems to come up when people encounter a command that does not sit well with them, or a command that goes against the feelings of our popular culture. We need to remind ourselves of the following:

1. God has our best interest at heart, even when He gives commands that make our lives inconvenient for the moment.
2. The person who truly loves God comes to see God’s commands as not harsh or grievous (1 John 5:3).
3. God never said that being a Christian would be the path of least resistance (Mark 12:30; Matt. 6:33; 10:37; 16:24-26).
4. What makes various commands seem hard is not the command, but human selfishness and the opposition of unbelievers.
5. If a command seem harsh, like the commands concerning church discipline, then we really have not understood the horrific nature of sin. When we understand the harshness of evil, then God’s commands look merciful, caring and loving.

Some times people argue that God can save people without the "rules", but if that is true, why did not God save the rich man or His brothers in Luke 16:19-31? And why did not Jesus save the rich young ruler in Luke 18:18-25?