When I think of the Law, I am overwhelmed. It is so many things. The law covered just about every imaginable aspect of daily living: What you could eat, what you could wear, when you could work, tattoos, skin rashes, sexual intimacy, sexual immorality, every aspect of farming, harvesting, sacrificing, celebrating, mourning, speech, intentional and unintentional sins, contact with mold, tithing, worshipping, prayer, etc. This list goes on and on. And why shouldn’t it? God gave us the law to expose our sins. Since we were ruled by a sinful nature, sinful behavior came from every area of our lives. Therefore, the law covered every area of our lives. Still, it is overwhelming to think about trying to keep track of all those laws so that you do not break any of them. Thank you, Lord, for the cross and the gift of faith!
Jesus said, “Come to me all you who are weary and burdened and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” Matthew 11:28-30
In this passage, Jesus is speaking about the weight of sin and the burden of the law. You will never find rest ruled by a sinful nature living under the law. It was designed to be exhausting—by God.
When Jesus went to the cross, He took the law with Him. Having fulfilled it, He was without sin. Paul tells that God the Father “took it [the law] away, nailing it to the cross” (Col2:14). He nailed the law to the cross! God then instituted a new covenant for believers—Grace.
Now, you will notice in the passage above from Jesus, that He told us His yoke was easy and His burden was light. We should not miss the fact that there is a yoke that believers must carry. Yes, we have been set free from sin and declared righteous through faith. Our yoke is not the burden of trying to stay right with God or to be pleasing to Him. As new creations in Christ, that is who we already are. We are sons of God.
So, what is this yoke we are to carry? What are we supposed to do? I can tell you it is just one thing: Surrender to the Lordship of Christ every day. This involves prayer, praise, thanksgiving, and meditating on His Word. Unlike the yoke of the Law and its multitudes of rules and regulations, Jesus said His yoke was easy because it is only one thing. “Abide in Me everyday through prayer and praise.”
Similarly, the reason He said that His burden was light is because He sent His Holy Spirit. The moment you begin expressing your faith in Jesus Christ, the Holy Spirit steps in to help. Moreover, He leads and guides your thoughts, prayers, and praise. The burden is light because the power of the Holy Spirit carries you along. What He requires from you is only one thing: allow your faith in Christ to express itself.
People often tell me that it cannot be that simple. They contend that there must be many other things we must do. Sometimes, they even show me passages from Paul, Peter, and others telling us what some of those things are. Well, I agree. I agree that there is going to be more to the Christian life than only prayer and praise. I agree that there are acts of love that must take place, forgiveness to give, the Gospel to share, etc. In fact, there are more things to do under grace than under the law. The only thing I disagree with is that we do these works. No, it is the Holy Spirit who “does” them (by His power) through you. If you think you must do them, you will set aside the grace of God to do so. Dangerous!
In response to a question about doing what God requires, Jesus said, “The work of God is this: To believe in the One He sent” (Jn 6:29).
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