The Most Dangerous Lie in Christianity
Christ Abolished God's Law... Did He?
This widely accepted teaching in modern Christianity contradicts the clear testimony of Jesus, the apostles, and the prophets.
The teaching I'm referring to is this: "Through His death, Christ abolished the law, freeing men from its requirements." It sounds spiritual. It appears to exalt grace. It's popular in countless pulpits. And according to Scripture, it's completely false.
Here's why this matters more than you might think. When we teach that Christ abolished God's law, we're not just making a theological error—we're undermining the very foundation of the gospel message. We're suggesting that God's standards were somehow flawed or temporary, that His character has changed, and that the cross was unnecessary.
Think about it this way. If God could simply eliminate His law to solve the sin problem, why didn't He do that from the beginning? Why wait thousands of years? Why allow His Son to suffer? The very fact that Christ died proves that God's law couldn't be changed or abolished—it had to be satisfied.
But don't take my word for it. Examine for yourself what Scripture actually teaches.
Jesus Himself said, "Do not think that I came to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I did not come to abolish but to fulfill" (Matthew 5:17). That's pretty clear, isn't it? Yet somehow, many Christians have been taught the exact opposite of what Jesus explicitly stated.
The apostle Paul, who some claim taught that the law was abolished, actually wrote, "Do we then nullify the Law through faith? May it never be! On the contrary, we establish the law" (Romans 3:31). Paul understood that faith doesn't eliminate God's standards—it provides the power to meet them.
James, writing after the crucifixion, calls the Ten Commandments "the royal law" and "the perfect law of liberty" (James 2:8; 1:25). If Christ had abolished the law, wouldn't James have gotten the memo?
And what about John's vision of the end times? Revelation 22:14 pronounces a blessing on "those who do His commandments, that they may have right to the tree of life." This hardly sounds like the commandments have been abolished.
Here's what's really happening when people teach that Christ abolished the law: they're confusing justification with sanctification. They're taking the truth that we're not justified (declared righteous) by keeping the law, and wrongly concluding that we're therefore not required to keep the law at all.
But Scripture teaches that while we're justified by faith alone, we're sanctified (made holy) through obedience empowered by grace. The law doesn't save us—Christ saves us. But once we're saved, the law shows us how saved people live.
This isn't legalism—it's logic. If I tell you I love my wife but consistently treat her badly, you'd question my claim of love. Similarly, if we claim to love God but consistently ignore His clearly stated will, our profession of faith rings hollow.
The most liberating truth you can embrace is this: God's law stands forever because God's character never changes. The cross doesn't lower His standards—it provides the power to meet them. Grace doesn't eliminate obedience—it makes obedience possible.
"The law of the Lord is perfect, restoring the soul; the testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple." - Psalm 19:7
