Inner Law and Outward Love

(Pro 21:3 KJV)  To do justice and judgment is more acceptable to the LORD than sacrifice.

In our rush to proclaim the gospel of salvation by grace we tend to demonize the things taught in the Old Testament.  We try to portray the era as one of legalism and the God of the Old Testament an angry old man on a throne.  It is easy to throw out the baby with the bathwater.  The time before Jesus was guided by the law, “sacrifice” (2077) and ritual but it was still based on grace and obedience.  It was a matter of the heart.  

The liturgy of animals shedding their blood and public community atonement still required a heart-generated obedience.  The concept was rooted in what the OT calls “lovingkindness” [chesed] and the NT calls “love” [agape].  Empty ritual was a waste of time.  That is still true.

So?  We obey because we love Him.  To many people our actions may seem legalistic but they cannot see the heart that is responding to the living God.