What then, of the law? How are Christians supposed to treat the Old Testament commandments? For Paul the key is to see the law both in its biblical and historical context. 1. Biblical: The Law was never understood to bring life. Only faith (like Abraham’s) does that. Instead the law’s purpose was to keep people close to God. 2. Historical: That purpose, since Jesus, has now run its course. Jesus has fulfilled the law. And so as Christians we do not destroy the law, we simply view it as it now is - part of a bygone era. The law was like a preliminary sketch for godly living. Because of Jesus we have the full-blown oil-on-canvas masterpiece. So godly living is now forever governed by two equal elements: 1. The dynamic life-giving ethics of Jesus: ‘Love God and love one another’; and 2. The dynamic life-giving direction of the Spirit. Be fully immersed in both. It is the only way we can get close to Jesus’ command to ‘Be perfect as our Father in heaven is perfect.’