God’s laws are unchangeable because they reflect ultimate truth. The harm we experience comes not from the laws themselves, but from breaking the wisdom behind them. The Ten Commandments are spiritual in nature, though they were given to be lived out by physical people. There is nothing wrong with these laws—they bring blessings when faithfully followed. Yet human nature so often leads to failure in keeping them, as seen with the Israelites, who struggled to remain consistent.
In a world full of disappointment and confusion, trust can be hard to find. From Adam’s line, no one has fully kept these laws except Jesus, who stands alone in truth. Humanity’s purpose is to attain spiritual freedom, a freedom that cannot be found through worldly toil. The Judeo-Christian Bible, from Genesis to Revelation, offers practical guidance for that journey. The question remains: how can one truly be led to obey those laws?
Before His crucifixion, Jesus offered what should be considered the true ‘Lord’s Prayer’—distinct from the traditional version many regard as the Lord’s Prayer today. In it, He reveals that every believer has a unique purpose to fulfill before their time on earth comes to an end: “Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth. As you sent me into the world, I have sent them into the world. For them I sanctify myself, that they too may be truly sanctified.” (John 17:17-19 NIV).
Sanctification means being set apart for a sacred purpose. Jesus prayed for those who would follow His teachings, which came directly from God’s word. To follow Christ is to live by what He, as God’s sole representative, taught. The only solid foundation is God’s word—rooted in the Old Testament and fulfilled in the New. The great challenge in understanding it lies in our struggle to separate the physical from the spiritual perspective.
Seeing things purely in physical terms is fundamentally different from grasping them spiritually. Many fail to understand Jesus because they cannot distinguish between the two. True understanding, however, reveals the very heart of Christianity. As God’s chosen nation, the Israelites were called to let His laws guide their daily lives—covering marriage, diet, and a host of principles that shaped their entire society.
Life in the physical world brings its own challenges, making it difficult to fully apply spiritual principles. Yet the gap between the physical and the spiritual is not always absolute. The physical is weaker by nature and can be guided by the spirit—whether that spirit comes from God or from the devil. Ideally, all physical aspects should be brought under spiritual direction. In short, living physically calls for spiritual guidance, and the Israelites are a prime example of this.
The books of Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy lay out rules, prohibitions, and ways of living that were later summed up in the Ten Commandments. The Israelites were meant to stand apart from surrounding nations. To say they were simply more blessed than others is not quite accurate—they enjoyed God’s blessings, yes, but they also faced punishment when they strayed from those laws. Most struggled to live under God’s rule, with only a committed few succeeding. The passage below reveals their deep-seated desire to live like everyone else:
“When Samuel grew old, he appointed his sons as Israel’s leaders. The name of his firstborn was Joel, and the name of his second was Abijah, and they served at Beersheba. But his sons did not follow his ways. They turned aside after dishonest gain and accepted bribes and perverted justice.
So all the elders of Israel gathered together and came to Samuel at Ramah. They said to him, ‘You are old, and your sons do not follow your ways; now appoint a king to lead us, such as all the other nations have.’ But when they said, ‘Give us a king to lead us,’ this displeased Samuel; so he prayed to the Lord. And the Lord told him:
“‘Listen to all that the people are saying to you; it is not you they have rejected, but they have rejected me as their king. As they have done from the day I brought them up out of Egypt until this day, forsaking me and serving other gods, so they are doing to you. Now listen to them, but warn them solemnly and let them know what the king who will reign over them will claim as his rights.’” (1 Samuel 8:1-9 NIV)
Although they appeared to enjoy life under God’s protection, things were far from perfect. They couldn’t handle the idea of following God’s word to the letter. Their request—“appoint a king to lead us, such as all the other nations have”—betrayed an attraction to the ways of the world. Even with overwhelming evidence of God’s blessings, they still longed to imitate those around them. The world’s appeal can make following God’s standards seem less desirable. Why didn’t they pause to consider the consequences of wanting a king like everyone else?
They had won wars against neighboring nations without a king, guided directly by God. They knew their God was infinitely more powerful and wiser than the gods of other nations, yet the customs of others still held a powerful temptation. Worldliness is hard to resist because it offers a sense of security and belonging—a pull that can be intensely desirable. In short, it’s impossible for people in the physical world to completely live in harmony with spiritual law.
The story of the Israelites, before their eventual captivity by foreign powers, was marked by dramatic highs and lows, revealing the constant tension between good and evil. They were blessed when they followed God’s laws but faced punishment when they strayed. There was no doubt that they desired life, yet the pull of sin proved strong. Even when Jesus arrived, they still struggled to live consistently by God’s laws, as Scripture had long instructed:
“This day I call the heavens and the earth as witnesses against you that I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses. Now choose life, so that you and your children may live and that you may love the Lord your God, listen to his voice, and hold fast to him. For the Lord is your life, and he will give you many years in the land he swore to give to your fathers, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.” (Deuteronomy 30:19-20 NIV)
The physical body often resists God’s laws, even though those laws promise life and true happiness. The Israelites had testimonies of these truths, but such memories faded over time. Strangely, the physical body finds comfort in things that actually harm its survival. Though humans naturally want to live, the sinful nature keeps them from resisting death. Religion aims to teach discipline, but it can easily deteriorate into a forced, superficial observance of God’s law—creating a gap between the outwardly law-abiding person and the deeper meaning those laws were meant to convey.
The Israelites tried to follow God’s laws out of fear, yet without truly identifying with God’s nature, so that total obedience felt uncomfortable. In their relationship with God, they focused on pleasing Him rather than genuinely connecting with the significance of those laws. This left them without the freedom that flows from a real alignment with God’s love. Jesus often challenged the Pharisees, calling them hypocrites, precisely because they sought to please God without embracing His nature. As a result, they missed the freedom Jesus came to offer:
“The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to set the oppressed free, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favour.” (Luke 4:18-19 NIV)
The Israelites had experienced both physical and spiritual bondage. When they followed God’s laws merely out of obligation, the law became a burden, making religion feel far removed from genuine worship. This is why many Jews struggled to connect with Jesus. They saw freedom as turning away from God, completely missing the point that His laws were meant to set them free.
Interestingly, there was never a time when they ever cornered Jesus for disobeying those laws, as He often used God’s Supreme Law as His foundation. They couldn’t perceive the deeper meaning behind those laws. While they talked about the blessings of obedience and showed outward respect, they never truly embraced them from the heart. The core issue was that God’s laws could never fully align with a sinful nature, as Paul explained so clearly in Galatians:
“So I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. For the flesh desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the flesh. They are in conflict with each other, so that you are not to do whatever you want.” (Galatians 5:16-17 NIV)
God’s laws aren’t harsh or difficult to follow—unless someone clings to the sinful tendencies that bring them comfort. Even a strong determination to strictly follow God’s laws can still reveal a lingering sinful nature. Often, it’s the desire to avoid the physical consequences of sin that drives such behavior in those focused on worldly living. A truly spiritual person doesn’t need constant warnings about the cost of disobedience.
For example, a person with a physical mindset looks out for their own safety and benefit, while someone with a spiritual mindset aims to help and protect others. Paul points out this contrast. A religious person can easily slip into hypocrisy if they obey mainly to receive blessings. Many divisions in Christianity come from wanting to be blessed rather than wanting to bless others. The physical nature is self-focused; the spiritual nature is selfless.
The spiritual nature sacrifices personal interests, just as Jesus did, making selflessness impossible. God’s law reflects His nature, while lawlessness aligns with worldliness—which ultimately devours everything it touches. In the same way, when an animal lives as designed but eventually surrenders to lawlessness—whether due to age or failure to avoid danger—it’s overtaken by the forces of nature, even to the point of decay.
“For the entire law is fulfilled in keeping this one command: ‘Love your neighbour as yourself.’ If you bite and devour each other, watch out or you will be destroyed by each other.” (Galatians 5:14-15 NIV)
The freedom that Jesus gives allows a person to be their true self, liberated from all controlling forces. They do what is right not to impress God or anyone else, but because God’s nature moves them to act that way. Doing what is good simply becomes part of their nature, without an anxious concern for others’ approval or lack of it. Loving your neighbor as yourself comes naturally to God’s children.
The parable of the Good Samaritan (Luke 10:30-37) illustrates this perfectly. The Samaritan, unlike the priest and the Levite who were absorbed in their religious duties, wasn’t preoccupied with obligations—he simply had compassion for the injured man, even though there was no relational bond between them. Why didn’t the priest and Levite see that their religious obligations were meant to serve people?
If their real purpose was to help others, why didn’t they recognize that aiding a robbery victim was the greater duty? So often, religious people place rituals above genuine care. Religious leaders once condemned Jesus for healing on the Sabbath, yet offered no help to the person in need of healing. They lacked compassion and missed the true intent of God’s laws—to love others as oneself. Believing God’s laws are obsolete is no different from thinking that certain forms of rigid legalism are good.
A spiritual person rises above such debates, thinking like God, who loved humanity enough to send His only Son to die for them. Like Jesus, they focus on benefiting others, not on what they can gain, displaying God’s love regardless of someone’s past. Their mindset mirrors that of Christ; rooted in common sense more than in religious title or academic achievements.
Spending years in theological study without applying that common sense often leads to chasing status rather than truly loving others. Why should loving your neighbor require a degree, let alone a Master’s or a PhD? No wonder Jesus told a Pharisee, “If you were blind, you would not be guilty of sin; but now that you claim you can see, your guilt remains” (John 9:41 NIV).
The Pharisees were so fixated on God’s laws that they missed the simple joy of praising God when the blind man regained his sight. Instead of celebrating the miracle, they criticized Jesus for healing on the Sabbath, letting their egos stand in the way. Jesus had challenged their pride, but God’s laws rest on one core principle—loving your neighbor as yourself—a truth the learned Pharisees could not grasp.
“Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You give a tenth of your spices—mint, dill and cumin. But you have neglected the more important matters of the law—justice, mercy, and faithfulness. You should have practised the latter, without neglecting the former.” (Matthew 23:23 NIV)
A New Testament teacher who says God’s laws are abolished misses the point, just as an Old Testament follower who insists they must be kept with rigid legalism is also off track. Both are spiritually blind and in need of salvation. The real key is living out all that Jesus taught before truly receiving the Holy Spirit, for it is the Spirit who frees a person from this confusion.
Once someone has the Holy Spirit, they are God’s child and Christ’s sibling. They no longer need lessons on God’s laws or explanations of grace through Jesus’ work—doing so would be as pointless as trying to give such lectures to Jesus Himself. In the end, the righteous—like the Good Samaritan—will be rewarded when Christ returns (Matthew 25:34-36), while Christ’s brothers already enjoy their reward, living even now with God and Christ (John 14:23)
Andrew Masuku is the author of Dimensions of a New Civilisation, laying down standards for uplifting Zimbabwe from the current state of economic depression into a model for other nations worldwide. A decaying tree provides an opportunity for a blossoming sprout. Written from a Christian perspective, the book is a product of inspiration, relieving those who have witnessed the strings of unworkable solutions, leading to the current economic and social decay. Most Zimbabweans should find the book to be a long-awaited providential oasis of hope, in a simple conversational tone.
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