Outlaws and Jesus Christ

An Outlaw

The term “outlaw” is commonly used today to describe someone who has broken the law of the land in some fashion and is wanted by the police. This carries a large part of the original idea that term “outlaw” once held, but years ago under English Common Law (which America emulated) this term had a slightly different meaning. Not only was such a person wanted for acting “outside the law”, but they were also “outside of the law’s protection”.

Under such a system, it was believed that if someone did not have respect for the law of the land by choosing to break it, that person would no longer enjoy what that law offered every other citizen. The practical meaning was that, if this person was caught by another citizen, they could be treated in any manner. If that citizen beat them, bound them, or harmed them in other fashion, they would have no recourse in the law, because they were “outside of it”.

This was, of course, a great deterrent to the committing of a crime. This also made self-defense and the protection of property a much simpler task. It is in this environment that the later common “Wanted: Dead or Alive” phrase came into existence. All because they had chosen to leave the law.

An Outlaw Before God

In a similar sense, mankind becomes an “outlaw” before God when he chooses to break the law of God. In doing so he leaves any protection the law offered, and looks forward to a fate of punishment. For the outlaws of our past, the only recourse they had was restitution, typically in the form of monetary payment. For those who are outlaws before God, there is no restitution we could pay.

But, luckily for man Jesus has chosen to come and make that restitution for us. Without Him, we are literally outside of God’s law and stand condemned by it. With Him, we have our past law-breaking expunged, our bad choices removed, and our sins forgiven. We are once more under the protection of law – the Law of Christ.

An outlaw of the past had the dismal position of carrying that shame the rest of his life, possibly for a crime committed once, years before. Anyone without Christ is in a similar position, and Satan is always ready to accuse us of the crimes of our past. Why live with such a past, when in Christ you can become blameless?