Living Under The Law- If Jesus came to fulfill the Law, why aren't Christians following the Law?
Updated: Sep 29, 2021
In Matthew 5:17, Jesus said, “Do not think that I came to destroy the Law or the Prophets. I did not come to destroy but to fulfill”. Muslims are trained to challenge Christians by asking, “if you are a true follower of Jesus why aren’t you following the law (the old testament law of Moses) just like Jesus did?”. Muslims consider Jesus as a Muslim because of his submission and obedience to God. This is a loaded challenge as it touches on the core belief of Christianity concerning law and grace and whether the atonement sacrifice of Christ has rendered the Law inoperative.
Muslims are more familiar with obedience to the Law as Islam is a religion of submission to Allah and Muhammad and piety involves personal compliance to a prescribed Islamic law (provisions of the sharia law), rituals, and daily practices in living. In other words, they are still under the law, and finding favour from Allah requires earning it through works and good deeds. This is where they are coming from when they ask this question.
In the bible, most of the doctrines of law and grace are in the epistles of the apostles, and do not be surprised, if you hear Muslims saying that these are man-made especially from Apostle Paul. Their concept of the bible excludes what comes after the four Gospels. They take this position because several doctrines are found in the epistles that contradict the Islamic narrative.
Provided below are the PDF slides and articles on the subject. It will also help if you understand the covenants of God especially on the Mosaic covenant and the New Covenant (or blood covenant). Please refer to another blog listed on this website entitled “The Covenant-Making God - A key distinction between the God of the Bible and Allah of Islam”.
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