He hath shewed thee, O man, what is good; and what doth the LORD require of thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God? – Micah 6:8
The law was given to teach what the Lord requires. Meditation on the law taught judgment, the severe punishments of the law demanded mercy, and through the sacrifices and prayers humility was openly displayed as thousands of animals bled for sins.
Judgment, mercy, and humility were divinely revealed to humanity so that even today the world’s religions hold them up as the most noble religious pursuits. Of course, the entirety of the law is contained in two maxims that Jesus identified: love thy God, and love your neighbour as yourself.
“On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets. ” – Matt 22:40
Yet, after thousands of years of living under the law one thing was evident: no one is righteous (Romans 3:10). No man can give God what he required.
“…there is none that doeth good, no not one” – Rom 3:12
It is impossible to do all that God requires. The purest requirements of judgment, mercy, love, and humility remain only dreams to a cursed world.
Our apostle Paul after receiving the mystery revelation of Jesus Christ wrote, “Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith” (Gal 3:24).
Christ accomplished all that God required.
Jesus Christ fulfilled the righteous judgment of God against sin through his death on the cross (Rom 3:25). The richness of his mercy through Jesus provided life to sinners (Eph 2:4, Rom 5:8). Lastly, it was Christ who humbled himself being made in the likeness of men so that he could do what no one else could:
“And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.” – Phil 2:8
Today, it is to God’s praise that he does not require anything from us as Christ has done it all to provide free justification to all who believe.
“But to him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness.”
If you think the Bible is simply a book telling you what God requires, then you are still living under the law. You have missed the gospel of God’s grace detailing what God has given us in Christ’s finished work.
Are you struggling to meet God’s perfect requirements? Stop struggling. Put your faith in Christ’s fulfillment of God’s requirements and receive the spiritual benefits of God’s righteousness freely (Rom 3:24)! This is the gospel of the grace of God.
Article Index Published: January 16, 2010
Last Modified: November 5, 2016