Spirit over letter

In the last article we saw the distinction the Bible makes between the Spirit and the letter of the Law of God. The Bible also makes it clear that not only is there a distinction between the spirit and the letter but whenever the two seem contradictory the spirit prevails over the letter of the law. James 2:13 tells us that God’s mercy “triumphs over” His judgment. That is to say, when God’s mercy inclines him to act one way and his judgment inclines him to act the opposite, his mercy will almost always “triumph” in the contest, and he will act in mercy. This same principle is true in the case of the Spirit and the letter of God’s law.

In Matthew 12:1-7 we find an incident from the life of Jesus that illustrates this principle:

Jesus and his disciples were walking through fields of grain on the Sabbath, when his disciples became hungry and began to eat some of the grain. Certain Pharisees, seeing this told Jesus, “Your disciples do what is not lawful to do on a Sabbath.” Jesus responded to this charge by directing the Pharisees attention to several stories in the Old Testament: "Have you not read what David did when he became hungry, he and his companions, how he entered the house of God, and they ate the consecrated bread, which was not lawful for him to eat nor for those with him, but for the priests alone? Or have you not read in the Law, that on the Sabbath the priests in the temple break the Sabbath and are innocent?”

The clear point in both of these stories is that someone (in the first story, David and his men, and in the second story, the priests in the temple) acted in clear violation of the letter of the law and yet they were innocent in the eyes of God. The point Jesus was making to the Pharisees was that God was not as interested in their strict outward observance to the legal demands of the law as he was in their heart acting in a manner that was consistent with the spirit of the Law. In each of these stories it is easy to see how the letter of the law would have brought death, but the spirit brought life. It is also clear from both of these stories that the spirit “triumphed over” the letter.

Jesus then told the Pharisees, “If you had known what these words mean, 'I desire mercy, not sacrifice,' you would not have condemned the innocent. For the Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath.” Again his point is simply that God is more concerned with the Spirit of the law and the inward matters of our heart (ie: “mercy”) than the letter of the law and the outward acts of the body (ie: “sacrifice”). He made this same point in Matthew 23:23, where he rebuked the Pharisees for focusing on the outward things of the letter – “you tithe mint and dill and cumin” while ignoring the inward things of the spirit – “You have neglected the weightier provisions of the law: justice and mercy and faithfulness.”

Another story that illustrates how the Spirit triumphs over the letter is the occasion of King Hezekiah celebrating the feast of Passover. 2 Chronicles 30:18-20 tells us that, “A multitude of the people… had not purified themselves, yet they ate the Passover otherwise than prescribed. For Hezekiah prayed for them, saying, ‘May the good Lord pardon everyone who prepares his heart to seek God, the Lord God of his fathers, though not according to the purification rules of the sanctuary.’ So the Lord heard Hezekiah and healed the people.” This passage makes it clear that many of the people were not purified in the manner “prescribed” by the letter of the law, and yet God overlooked this fact and healed the people because they had prepared their heart to seek him. Again the clear point is that the letter of the law (outward purification) was not as important as the Spirit (preparation of the heart). And again, when the two collided, spirit “triumphed over” letter.

If you have been trying to serve God through the “oldness of the letter” (Romans 7:6) give up! Embrace the “newness of the Spirit” of God and He will “triumph” in every area of your life!