The Law and Death
For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life through Christ Yeshua our Lord. (Romans 6:23)
The reading of many of the Old Testament texts and laws present a very legislative and judicial outlook. In fact, the Torah was once the law of the land for the sons and daughters of Israel. However, many of the modern believers from varying denominations would say that the Law is no longer in effect, as humanity is now in a time of grace. While the topic of whether the Law was truly abolished in our The Law or Grace article, one of the biggest detractors is the punishment of death. Why was this the punishment? Are those who are following the Law supposed to be killed after every sin? Does the punishment of death still apply?
The word of Yahweh is clear when it pertains to following the law: keep it (1 John 5:3; John 14:15, 21, 23 - 24). You remain under the Law when you do not abide by it, making you punishable by death. In Mosaic times, death was a literal occurrence when one was found guilty of breaking the Law (Numbers 15:32–36). While it seems barbaric in the eyes of the modern believer, it becomes understandable once one realizes that transgressions needed to be completely excised to remain pure, remove the possibility of it being done again all while serving as a warning for others. It's in that respect that Draconian laws were established in Ancient Greece in the VIIth century BCE.
Those who follow the Law will not be physically killed everytime they transgress the law as they only have one life. That being said, it is important to know that in this New Covenant, death is spiritual. It is a return to what was originally established in the Garden of Eden, when the Lord Yahweh said “You may eat freely from every tree of the garden, “but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil; for in the day that you eat of it, you will surely die” (Genesis 2:16 - 17). Adam didn’t die immediately after he ate from the fruit, as he had time to retrieve clothing and hide from Yahweh (Genesis 2:6 - 11). However, following the Law allows you to not die, as every sin is but a transgression of the law. Those who are under the Law have broken it and are punishable by spiritual death and damnation.
The punishment of death continues to be applied as the Law hasn’t changed between the centuries and covenants. The righteous live in accordance to the Law and what the Lord prescribes (Romans 10:4 - 5). Death is the consequence of not abiding by the law: it may not be immediate, but it is certain. An example of an immediate consequence of death would be to kill someone, something that is forbidden in the law (Exodus 20:13); whoever kills an innocent is no longer living within the confines of the law. They become an outlaw. They are no longer free to live as they once did, knowing that the police are searching for them. Once found, that person now loses their life, whether that be by the death penalty, a prison conviction of life without parole or even to be released but with the permanent stain of that on their criminal record, making living very difficult.
The Law has always been there to regulate and establish clear and defined limits for those who follow the Lord Yahweh in their daily lives. Those who follow do not fear death, as they know that within Yeshua - the one who never sinned - there is eternal life. However, to fear death is to understand that you have sinned and need to repent. Death doesn’t go after the innocent who follow Yeshua and His Father’s commandments (Exodus 12:12 - 13).