"Know ye not, brethren, (for I speak to them that know the law) how that the law hath dominion over a man as long as he liveth?" -Romans 7:1

NOTICE:
2 Corinthians 3:3 says, "Forasmuch as ye are manifestly declared to be
the epistle of Christ ministered by us, written not with ink, but with the Spirit of the living God; not in tables of stone, but in fleshy tables of the heart." What is the epistle of Christ? Hebrews 10:16 says, "This is the covenant that I will make with them after those days, saith the Lord, I will put my laws into their hearts, and in their minds will I write them;"

The "epistle of Christ" is His Law.

ALSO NOTICE THIS:
Proverbs 6:23 "For the commandment [is] a lamp; and the law [is] light; and reproofs of instruction [are] the way of life:"

Psalms 119:105 "NUN. Thy word [is] a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path."

 To abolish the law is to abolish his word.

click here to see this video animation based on this passage

Psalms 111:7-10  The works of his hands are verity and judgment; all his commandments are sure.  (8)  They stand fast for ever and ever, and are done in truth and uprightness.  (9)  He sent redemption unto his people: he hath commanded his covenant for ever: holy and reverend is his name.  (10)  The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom: a good understanding have all they that do his commandments: his praise endureth for ever.

Is Jesus really your KING?
(Now on VIDEO)

This page is now available in the book titled, "The Law of God - still valid?"   

 This page in RUSSIAN

 

"Concerning thy testimonies, I have known of old that thou hast founded them for ever."
-Psalms 119:152

"testimonies"  = Strong's #05713 `edah {ay-daw'} from 05707 in its technical sense; TWOT - 1576c,1576e; n f  AV - testimonies 22, witness 4; 26

 1) testimony, witness
    1a)
always plural and always of laws as divine testimonies

 "Know ye not, brethren, (for I speak to them that know the law,) how that the law hath dominion over a man as long as he liveth? Wherefore the law is holy, and the commandment holy, and just, and good." -Romans 7:1,12

KEEPING THE LAW GRANTS US WISDOM!
"O how love I thy law! it is my meditation all the day. Thou through thy commandments hast made me wiser than mine enemies: for they are ever with me. I have more understanding than all my teachers: for thy testimonies are my meditation. I understand more than the ancients, because I keep thy precepts. I have refrained my feet from every evil way, that I might keep thy word. I have not departed from thy judgments: for thou hast taught me. How sweet are thy words unto my taste! yea, sweeter than honey to my mouth! Through thy precepts I get understanding: therefore I hate every false way." -Psalms 119:97-104

"Circumcision is nothing, and uncircumcision is nothing, but the keeping of the commandments of God." -1 Corinthians 7:19

 

Since the Cross of Jesus there has been one attack after another on the Law of God. Many churches that have started since the days of the Apostles have even gone so far as to "rewrite" the Ten Commandments to fit their fleshly desires. Paul warned the Thessalonian church back then that, ".the mystery of iniquity doth already work:" -2 Thessalonians 2:7, and as we view church history we see that the Law of God was always the focus of attack. Many new religions popped up over the years that totally omit the Law of God from their doctrinal foundation merely because they could not give up the sins they cherished so much. And yes, even some Christians churches have gone so far as to rewrite the Law in a way that proves they sought to create God in their own image. Worse yet, one has gone so far as to remove portions of the Law entirely so as to keep Pagan doctrines alive in the Christian church. Case in point... The Catholic church omitted the second Commandment in their Catechism merely because they prefer to bow before statues. However, they now had only nine commandments in their dogma. So in order to fill the gap created, they moved the remaining commandments up one notch and "split" the tenth Commandment in two. (SEE: St Joseph's Catechism) This is why the Roman Catholic's list of commandments is always one off when held up along side the Scripture.

"The law and the Gospel are intimately connected. They are closely associated. If the divine law had never been transgressed, there would have been no need of the Gospel. Since the basis of God's government and authority is the immutable law, when this divine code was violated, a remedy for sin was essential. The saving grace of God is His only remedy." -F.C.Gilbert "Messiah in His Sanctuary" p. 20

Was the Law abolished at the cross?

Some churches preach to this day that Jesus abolished the Ten Commandments when He died on the cross. They proclaim this assumption by using Ephesians 2:15 as their basis of evidence, which says. "Having abolished in his flesh the enmity, even the law of commandments contained in ordinances;..." The obvious truth here is, that the verse states that it was the Commandments contained in ORDINANCES that was abolished at the cross. Not the Ten Commandments contained in stone. The passage in Colossians 2:14-17 has also been used to preach the Commandments abolished. But if you read it you will find it was, "Blotting out the handwriting of ordinances", again that is mentioned in that passage. According to the Word of God, these ordinances were "added because of transgressions, till the seed should come to whom the promise was made" (Galatians 3:19) It's rather clear to see here that the "commandments contained in ordinances" were added by Moses for a specific reason. If we read the passage again we see it also states these ordinances were only added TILL the seed should come. And who was this seed according to Scripture? Galatians 3:16 boldly proclaims, "thy seed, which is Christ."

The commandments contained in ordinances were added by Moses thousands of years ago as a way to prepare the people for the FIRST arrival of Messiah. They showed their faith in the coming Messiah by keeping the ordinances on a regular basis. When Jesus died on the cross, the ordinances were no longer needed because he fulfilled them by all He did while visiting us as Messiah. So, what are these ordinances?  In Colossians 2:14-17 it says...  "Blotting out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us, which was contrary to us, and took it out of the way, nailing it to his cross; And having spoiled principalities and powers, he made a shew of them openly, triumphing over them in it. Let no man therefore judge you in meat, or in drink, or in respect of an holyday, or of the new moon, or of the sabbath days:   Which are a shadow of things to come; but the body is of Christ." 

Right off we see the "ordinances" were a series holy days, new moons, and Sabbath days that were to be considered a "shadow of things to come." The word "ordinance" is NOT the same as the word "commandment."

ORDINANCE

1378 dogma {dog'-mah} from the base of 1380; TDNT - 2:230,178; n n  AV - decree 3, ordinance 2; 5

 1) doctrine, decree, ordinance
    1a) of public decrees
    1b) of the Roman Senate
    1c) of rulers

 2) the rules and requirements of the law of Moses; carrying a suggestion of severity and of threatened judgment

 3) of certain decrees of the apostles relative to right living

COMMANDMENT

06680 tsavah {tsaw-vaw'} a primitive root; TWOT - 1887; v AV - command 514, charge 39, commandment 9, appoint 5, bade 3, order 3, commander 1, misc 4; 494

 1) to command, charge, give orders, lay charge, give charge to, order
    1a) (Piel)
        1a1) to lay charge upon
        1a2) to give charge to, give command to
        1a3) to give charge unto
        1a4) to give charge over, appoint
        1a5) to give charge, command
        1a6) to charge, command
        1a7) to charge, commission
        1a8) to command, appoint, ordain (of divine act)

    1b) (Pual) to be commanded

Also notice in verse 16 of Colossians 2 it states, "...Let no man therefore judge you in meat, or in drink..." I ask, where in the Ten Commandments does it speak of "meat and drink?" Nowhere do we find such statements in the Law of God. However, when we peer into the ceremonial law, and annual Sabbaths, or feast day rituals, or ORDINANCES of the Old Covenant church, we find it speaks volumes on meat and drink offerings that were to be used to acknowledge a future event Christ the Lord would perform in reality. It is therefore literally impossible for the ordinances and the Ten Commandments to be the same thing.

Also notice that nowhere within the Ten Commandments do we see any mention of, "holydays or new moons" as this passage additionally declares is part of the ordinances. The Old Testament people were just as much believers in Jesus as the New Testament people. The obvious difference is they looked forward to Jesus coming the first time. They acknowledged that faith in Messiah by performing the ordinances Moses was instructed to give them.

I will give one example as a way to illustrate how the feast days, or annual Sabbaths were performed as a way for the believers back then to acknowledge, or proclaim their faith in certain events prophecied to occur in Christ's ministry while on earth walking among us.

Each family, or group of families, if the family performing the ordinance was a small one, slew what was considered a Passover lamb during the feast of unleavened bread. After they killed it they ate it along with the unleavened bread as a way to proclaim their faith in the coming Messiah. As we know, John the Baptist spoke of Jesus as "the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world" in John 1:29. Paul also declared later that, "Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed" in 1 Corinthians 5:7. With that said, we can see how the ancient believers believed the Messiah would come in the future to die for their sins. Since Christ is the Lamb who was sacrificed on Calvary 2000 years ago, then there is no need to celebrate the Passover feast that pointed forward to the coming of God's Lamb who would take "away the sin of the world!" This is why Paul declared these ordinances were "nailed to the cross" when Christ took the "shadowy thing" the ancient believers performed on an annual basis and "made a show of them openly" before the eyes of all the nations when He hung on that cross. This was done openly to make it very clear in the hearts of those with eyes that see that the ordinances were in fact abolished on Calvary.

Looking back 2000 years, we realize all this has been done as prophecied in many areas of the Old Testament. As Christians, we now await His second coming of Messiah today. All the "meat, drink, holy days, & sabbaths," or feast days as most call them today were abolished at the cross. Jesus fulfilled their purpose perfectly 2000 years ago.

This passage in Colossians also called these sabbath days a "shadow of things to come." Each of these annual feast days spoke of future events in the life and work of Messiah, as I illustrated in the previous explanation of the Passover feast day. The weekly Sabbath of the Lord can in no way be a shadow of something future. All the "shadowy things" were instituted long before Christ came and pointed forward to His arrival as Saviour on the cross as an offering for mankind's sin.

Many believe the Law never existed before Sinai simply because it was then the Law was etched in stone. However, there are 2 ways to prove the Law valid in the Garden of Eden, and one way to prove it in force before Sinai and after Eden.

IN EDEN.

#1 Had the Law not been in force at that time, the sin Adam and Eve committed would not have been able to force them from the Garden. As we know, sin is not allowed in Heaven. In Revelation 21:27 when speaking of the Heavenly city of God, it says, "And there shall in no wise enter into it any thing that defileth, neither whatsoever worketh abomination, or maketh a lie: but they which are written in the Lamb's book of life." This is also why Jesus said in Luke 10:18 that He, "...beheld Satan as lightning fall from heaven." Satan sinned and he could no longer reside in Heaven. Adam and Eve sinned as well, "Therefore the LORD God sent him forth from the garden of Eden, to till the ground from whence he was taken. So he drove out the man; and he placed at the east of the garden of Eden Cherubims, and a flaming sword which turned every way, to keep the way of the tree of life." - Genesis 3:23-24 Since the Word of God says, "...sin is the transgression of the law." in 1 John 3:4, then the Law had to have been in force in Eden..

#2 According to Genesis 2:3, "God blessed the seventh day, and sanctified it: because that in it he had rested from all his work which God created and made." When the Law was later etched in stone by the finger of God and given unto Moses to give to the people, the Sabbath commandment was already considered part of the Law, and placed right there upon those tablets of stone proving the same holy day that was sanctified in Eden, was still valid when it was etched in that stone. Had the Law not been present in Eden, that sanctified Seventh day would never had been part of the Edenic experience as Genesis 2:3 proves it was.

AFTER EDEN AND BEFORE SINAI.

Long before the Jewish nation ever came into existence, it is declared in Genesis 26:5, "Because that Abraham obeyed my voice, and kept my charge, my commandments, my statutes, and my laws."

The feast days pointed FORWARD to a future event. The Seventh Day Sabbath points actually BACKWARD to the ultimate event. Creation. Not only does the very first word of that Sabbath commandment denote a REMEMBRANCE of the work of Creation. We find that within the words of that commandment itself, it speaks of that which the Lord did in creation week, including the fact He sanctified that seventh day long before sin was ever an issue. Exodus 20:11 says, "For in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the LORD blessed the sabbath day, and hallowed it."

Read Leviticus 23:24-38 and you will find that the sabbaths mentioned in Colossians chapter 2 are again confirmed to be the "annual sabbaths" that the Lord instructed the people to keep. Make special note that it even says in Verse 38 of Leviticus 23 that these annual sabbaths are BESIDES the Sabbath of the Lord. That of course referring to the weekly Sabbath. Jesus Himself confirms the fact He did not come to abolish the Law when He said, "Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil." Matthew 5:17

Notice the "sabbaths" of Leviticus...Count them and you will find they come too frequently to be considered WEEKLY Sabbaths. You will find 5 sabbaths within a 15 day period. This proves beyond a doubt they cannot possibly be the weekly Sabbath of the Lord.

Leviticus 23:23-38, "And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, Speak unto the children of Israel, saying, In the seventh month, in the first day of the month, shall ye have a sabbath, (sabbath #1 day #1) a memorial of blowing of trumpets, an holy convocation. Ye shall do no servile work therein: but ye shall offer an offering made by fire unto the LORD. And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, Also on the tenth day of this seventh month there shall be a day of atonement: it shall be an holy convocation unto you; and ye shall afflict your souls, and offer an offering made by fire unto the LORD. And ye shall do no work in that same day: for it is a day of atonement, to make an atonement for you before the LORD your God. For whatsoever soul it be that shall not be afflicted in that same day, he shall be cut off from among his people. And whatsoever soul it be that doeth any work in that same day, the same soul will I destroy from among his people. Ye shall do no manner of work: it shall be a statute for ever throughout your generations in all your dwellings. It shall be unto you a sabbath of rest,  (sabbath #2 day# 10) and ye shall afflict your souls: in the ninth day of the month at even, from even unto even, shall ye celebrate your sabbath.(sabbath #3 day #9) And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, Speak unto the children of Israel, saying, The fifteenth day of this seventh month shall be the feast of tabernacles for seven days unto the LORD. On the first day shall be an holy convocation: ye shall do no servile work therein.(sabbath #4 day #15) Seven days ye shall offer an offering made by fire unto the LORD: on the eighth day shall be an holy convocation unto you; and ye shall offer an offering made by fire unto the LORD: it is a solemn assembly; and ye shall do no servile work therein.(sabbath #5 day #8) These are the feasts of the LORD, which ye shall proclaim to be holy convocations, to offer an offering made by fire unto the LORD, a burnt offering, and a meat offering, a sacrifice, and drink offerings, every thing upon his day: Beside the sabbaths of the LORD, and beside your gifts, and beside all your vows, and beside all your freewill offerings, which ye give unto the LORD."

Did you notice the meat and drink offerings mentioned in this passage? This confirms they are the same sabbaths spoken of in Colossians 2:14-17. Fact is, If this "law contained in ordinances" is the same as the "Law contained in stone" then I ask for all those that preach such a thing to please share with me the commandment that is written within the Ten Commandments that speaks of "meat and drink" offerings. Biblical fact is...

Hebrews 9:1,10 "Then verily the first covenant had also ordinances of divine service, and a worldly sanctuary. Which stood only in meats and drinks, and divers washings, and carnal ordinances, imposed on them until the time of reformation."

What does the term in Colossians 2:17 mean where it said  those ordinances are, "...a shadow of things to come; but the body is of Christ"?

When I stand in front of a light source I cast a shadow correct? Now, if you find that shadow I cast and follow it you will eventually come to my body, correct? Does my shadow continue on behind me? No, it stops at the body does it not? All those feast days are shadows of things that Jesus did in reality. When you follow those shadows you will eventually come to rest before the body of Jesus Christ on that cross. There is no shadow beyond the cross. The ordinances were nailed to that cross, and that body on that cross is in fact Christ. He did EXACTLY as those shadows depicted He was to do.

So... what did Jesus Himself think of the Royal Law of God His Father? Did He preach they were to be abolished one day? Or did He preach them as eternal in nature? Jesus Himself said, "If ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love; even as I have kept my Father's commandments, and abide in his love." -John 15:10  

Some still hold to their beliefs that the Law is abolished because this was said by Jesus BEFORE the cross itself. So what did the Holy Spirit indwelt Apostles of Jesus Christ believe AFTER Jesus died and resurrected? Did they keep and preach the Ten Commandments as Truth? Upwards of 60 years after the cross of Christ John the Apostle said in 1 John 3:22, "And whatsoever we ask, we receive of him, because we keep his commandments, and do those things that are pleasing in his sight." 1 John 5:2 also states, " By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God, and keep his commandments." 1 John 5:3 declares, " For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments: and his commandments are not grievous." If you do a study on this you will find literally dozens of New Testament Scriptures proving the early Christian church indeed KEPT the Ten Commandments in loving obedience to their Heavenly Father. These three I just quoted should be all the Christian needs. Why? They are IN THE CHRISTIAN BIBLE and the Apostles themselves penned those words as inspired Truth for all those after them to embrace.

Yes I am very aware it is impossible for us to keep the Ten Commandments on our own because the flesh is weak. The events surrounding Mt. Sinai proved that nicely. That's my entire point! We have proven to God that we cannot keep the Ten Commandments in our fleshly bodies. We are too weak to do it alone. We need the Lord to help us. If you believe His Word, then you believe the following verses as Truth.

  • Hebrews 8:10 ...I will put my laws into their mind, and write them in their hearts
  • Philippians 4:13  I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.
  • Romans 8:3,4 ...God sending his own Son... That the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.

We can't do it without the soul steering help of Jesus. Jesus walked as we should have walked, and then He died the death we deserve. He did it all for us, and He is still there for us to this day. For He also said, "lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen." Matthew 28:20

Let's take that statement Jesus made, "lo, I am with you alway, even to the END OF THE WORLD" and further drive home the reality of what He's actually saying here. Since the Word tells us that His Law has been placed in our minds and hearts, and we can do all things through Christ, we then know the righteousness of the Law can be fulfilled in us if we choose not to walk after the flesh but after the Spirit. And since He declared He will be with us always till the end, we have that assurance that we will be victorious as long as we walk closely with Him. After all, He did say in Matthew 5:18, "For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled." Isn't it good that He will be with us till all be fulfilled to walk as He needs us to walk?

By the way, for those skeptics out there that still believe the Law passed away at the cross. Jesus just said in Matthew 5:18 that nary a speck of His Law will pass away till heaven and earth pass and all is fulfilled. With that said, I must ask, is heaven above and the earth beneath still here? And have all prophecies been fulfilled wherein we are in the city of Heaven? No? Then this means His Law is still binding no matter what you may think or have been taught. There is no getting around the simplicity of that statement made by Christ in Matthew 5:18 In fact, how do those that claim His Law was abolished at the cross answer to the New Testament Scriptures that are mostly penned after the cross that speak of His Ten Commandments as still being valid?

 

Old Testament          

New Testament

Commandment # 1

Exodus 20:3

Matthew 4:10

Commandment # 2

Exodus 20:4-6

1John 5:21  &  Acts 17:29

Commandment # 3

Exodus 20:7

1Timothy 6:1

Commandment # 4

Exodus 20:8-11

Hebrews 4:4,8,9 (The word "rest" in verse #9  = "sabbatismo" = "A keeping Sabbath" in Strong's #4520

Commandment # 5

Exodus 20:12

Matthew 19:19

Commandment # 6

Exodus 20:13

Romans 13:9

Commandment # 7

Exodus 20:14

Matthew 19:18

Commandment # 8

Exodus 20:15

Romans 13:9

Commandment # 9

Exodus 20:16

Romans 13:9

Commandment # 10

Exodus 20:17

Romans 7:7

How's it possible to say we need not keep the Ten Commandments when it's found in both the Old and the New Testaments? How's it possible for some denominations to preach it's sin to keep God's Ten Commandments after the cross of Christ? They make this claim as if to say we keep the Law as works towards salvation. But the Word was plain we could never keep the Law to get saved because we can only keep it after Christ is present to help us. In other words, we don't keep the Law of God to get saved, we keep it because we are saved! In fact, Romans 10:5 clearly says, "For Moses describeth the righteousness which is of the law, That the man which doeth those things shall live by them. "

Before Christ came into our lives, as the Old Covenant proved, mankind was literally too weak to keep His Law on their own. We needed a better covenant, or a New Testament. This is why Christ came. "But now hath he (Christ) obtained a more excellent ministry, by how much also he is the mediator of a better covenant, which was established upon better promises.  For if that first covenant had been faultless, then should no place have been sought for the second.  For finding fault with them, (mankind) he saith, Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah:  Not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day when I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt; because they continued not in my covenant, and I regarded them not, saith the Lord.  For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, saith the Lord; I will put my laws into their mind, and write them in their hearts: and I will be to them a God, and they shall be to me a people:" - Hebrews 8:6-10

Now that we have His Law in our minds and heart thanks to His Holy Spirit, it's far easier to, "hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man. For God shall bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil" Ecclesiastes 12:13,14  "So speak ye, and so do, as they that shall be judged by the law of liberty" James 2:12 

According to these faithful verses, the Ten Commandments are not only the "Whole duty of man," but the standard of JUDGMENT used to determine our worthiness of Heaven. To further solidify that fact in the heart, the Word is plain when speaking of the Ten Commandments as that which was to be kept from the beginning. The apostle John was moved by the Lord to declare, "And this is love, that we walk after his commandments. This is the commandment, That, as ye have heard from the beginning, ye should walk in it ."  2 John1:6

John also stated in 1 John 2:7, "Brethren, I write no new commandment unto you, but an old commandment which ye had from the beginning. The old commandment is the word which ye have heard from the beginning."

Many are also taught to proclaim that Commandment keeping is for the Jew and Jew alone. In saying this they un-knowingly condemn all non-Jewish Christians to hell in one fell swoop. This is evident because of what has been written in the book of Revelation for all Christians who trust His Word to read..."Blessed are they that do his commandments, that they may have right to the tree of life, and may enter in through the gates into the city." (Revelation 22:14) That city IS HEAVEN. If only Jews are to keep the Commandments, then they are proclaiming only Jews enter Heaven. If this is so, then why does Paul say in Romans 2:10,11, "But glory, honour, and peace, to every man that worketh good, to the Jew first, and also to the Gentile:  For there is no respect of persons with God." And in Romans 10:12,-13, "For there is no difference between the Jew and the Greek: for the same Lord over all is rich unto all that call upon him.  For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved."

When do most Christians feel the judgment is to occur? Thanks to all the world wondering after the beast and it's spurious doctrines, universal belief in all denominations that don't understand the theology of the prophesied "investigative judgment" believe it's a far into the future event right? Even if they do understand the prophetic facts regarding the investigative judgment; thanks to Rome's ability to twist the Truth on this out of context, Ecclesiastes chapter twelve appears to them as a way to confirm the "final" judgment is indeed prophesied as a future event for every human that is still being judged today. With that in mind, ask them to read Ecclesiastes 12:13,14 so as to get a better view of the truth here.

Ecclesiastes 12:13-14, "Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man. For God shall bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil."

Have them make special note that they should consider the statement that "God shall bring every work into judgment" in that passage. First it is mentioned in this passage that the whole duty of man is indeed keeping the Ten Commandments. Directly after making that statement the Bible declares mankind is judged by how he performs his duty. The question then arises, what is that duty that is to be judged? It is written in that passage that mankind must, "Fear God, and keep his commandments" In blunt easy to understand terms, the Bible says the whole duty of man is to keep the Ten Commandments because the judgment is based on how man performs that duty. And since the reward that judgment brings is indeed a future event, the Ten Commandments are STILL valid today! For it is written in Revelation 22:12, "And, behold, I come quickly; and my reward is with me, to give every man according as his work shall be." The reward is based on how we are judged. If we are judged worthy, our reward is eternal life. If we are judged unworthy, our reward is eternal death.

As intimated earlier, many still feel the Ordinances abolished at the cross are the same as the Law contained in stone. With that said, is there Scriptural evidence that can put this fallacy to rest that shows the apparent difference between God's Law contained in stone and Moses' law contained in ordinances?"

This Table on VIDEO

MOSES' LAW
"Contained in Ordinances"  

GOD'S LAW
"Contained in stone"

Called "Law of Moses"

Luke 2:22, "And when the days of her purification according to the law of Moses were accomplished, they brought him to Jerusalem, to present him to the Lord;" 

 

 

Called "The law of the Lord" 

Isaiah 5:24, "Therefore as the fire devoureth the stubble, and the flame consumeth the chaff, so their root shall be as rottenness, and their blossom shall go up as dust: because they have cast away the law of the LORD of hosts, and despised the word of the Holy One of Israel." 

Called "Law contained in ordinances"

Ephesians 2:15, "Having abolished in his flesh the enmity, even the law of commandments contained in ordinances; for to make in himself of twain one new man, so making peace;"
 

Called "The royal law" 

James 2:8, "If ye fulfil the royal law according to the scripture, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself, ye do well:"

 

 

Written by Moses in a book.

2 Chronicles 35:12, "And they removed the burnt offerings, that they might give according to the divisions of the families of the people, to offer unto the LORD, as it is written in the book of Moses. And so did they with the oxen."
 

Written by God in stone

Exodus 31:18, "And he gave unto Moses, when he had made an end of communing with him upon mount Sinai, two tables of testimony, tables of stone, written with the finger of God."

(Also see Exodus 32:16)

Placed on side of the Ark. 

Deuteronomy 31:26, "Take this book of the law, and put it in the side of the ark of the covenant of the LORD your God, that it may be there for a witness against thee."

Placed inside the ark. 

Exodus 40:20, "And he took and put the testimony into the ark, and set the staves on the ark, and put the mercy seat above upon the ark:"
 

Ended at the cross. 

Colossians 2:14, "Blotting out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us, which was contrary to us, and took it out of the way, nailing it to his cross;"

(Also see Ephesians 2:15-16)


 

Will stand forever.

Psalms 111:7-8, "The works of his hands are verity and judgment; all his commandments are sure. They stand fast for ever and ever, and are done in truth and uprightness."

Luke 16:17, "And it is easier for heaven and earth to pass, than one tittle of the law to fail."

Added because of sin. 

Galatians 3:19, "Wherefore then serveth the law? It was added because of transgressions, till the seed should come to whom the promise was made; and it was ordained by angels in the hand of a mediator."
 

Points out sin. 

Romans 7:7, "What shall we say then? Is the law sin? God forbid. Nay, I had not known sin, but by the law: for I had not known lust, except the law had said, Thou shalt not covet."

(Aso see Romans 3:20)

Contrary to us, against us.

Colossians 2:14, "Blotting out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us, which was contrary to us, and took it out of the way, nailing it to his cross;"

Not grievous. 

1 John 5:3, "For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments: and his commandments are not grievous."

Carnal. 

Hebrews 7:16, "Who is made, not after the law of a carnal commandment, but after the power of an endless life."

Spiritual. 

Romans 7:14, "For we know that the law is spiritual: but I am carnal, sold under sin."
 

Made nothing perfect. 

Hebrews 7:19, "For the law made nothing perfect, but the bringing in of a better hope did; by the which we draw nigh unto God."

Is perfect.

Psalms 19:7, "The law of the LORD is perfect, converting the soul: the testimony of the LORD is sure, making wise the simple."

Judges no one. 

Colossians 2:14,16, "Blotting out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us, which was contrary to us, and took it out of the way, nailing it to his cross;  ..Let no man therefore judge you in meat, or in drink, or in respect of an holyday, or of the new moon, or of the sabbath days: "
 

Judges all people. 

James 2:10-12, "For whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all.  For he that said, Do not commit adultery, said also, Do not kill. Now if thou commit no adultery, yet if thou kill, thou art become a transgressor of the law.  So speak ye, and so do, as they that shall be judged by the law of liberty."

Some still think the early church was somehow immune to certain temptations we have today. I guess they figure since they were so long in the past that they had to be holier for some reason. Yet even back then they too had such heresies running amuck as we do today. Even back then they claimed as Christians that they were no longer "under the Law" as so many believe today. However, Paul clearly said in Romans 6:15, "What then? shall we sin, because we are not under the law, but under grace? God forbid." So yes, it appears that even way back then Paul had to deal with the same type of theology that sought to abolish the Law. I go into far more detail on this in the rebuttal section of this page.

After all is said an d done, some have the question that asks, why do we need a new covenant / testament anyway? In Hebrews we read.

Hebrews 8:7-9, "For if that first covenant had been faultless, then should no place have been sought for the second. For finding fault with them, he saith, Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah: Not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day when I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt; because they continued not in my covenant, and I regarded them not, saith the Lord."

Please understand that a "covenant" is no different than a "testament" according to Strong's # 1242...

COVENANT:
1242
diatheke {dee-ath-ay'-kay}

from 1303; TDNT - 2:106,157; n f

AV - covenant 20, testament 13; 33

1) a disposition, arrangement, of any sort, which one wishes to
be valid, the last disposition which one makes of his earthly
possessions after his death,
a testament or will
2) a compact,
a covenant, a testament
2a) God's covenant with Noah, etc

 

Understand that the Lord God did not change His part of the arrangement, covenant, or testament with the people of Israel, or anyone in all of creation for that matter. As Hebrews 8:8 just illustrated, Scriptures declare it was "finding fault with them, " that lead to the need of this "new covenant." The Lord's agreement in the beginning never changed. He still declared all His blessings on those that would keep His Law. Mankind's part of the arrangement was simply to KEEP His laws to receive the blessings He had planned for them.

Exodus 19:5-6, "Now therefore, if ye will obey my voice indeed, and keep my covenant, then ye shall be a peculiar treasure unto me above all people: for all the earth is mine: And ye shall be unto me a kingdom of priests, and an holy nation. These are the words which thou shalt speak unto the children of Israel."

And did the people promise to keep this covenant as outlined by the Lord that day? Yes they did later in verse 8...

Exodus 19:8, "And all the people answered together, and said, All that the LORD hath spoken we will do. And Moses returned the words of the people unto the LORD."

As we know, when Moses returned 40 days later, they had already broken that covenant they said they would keep. They couldn't keep it for as little as 40 days!. The Law of God never changed since then. His part of the arrangement remains the same. Malachi 3:6 says, "For I am the LORD, I change not..." Mankind's part in the covenant evidently had to change because we were the ones that "had fault." We are the ones that were too weak to keep it no matter how hard we tried. The Lord made no error, nor could He. Nothing evil comes from above! The people are the ones that made the error here. The amazing thing here is, even now the Lord is still merciful. He realized a new covenant is needed. But how will the Lord do it? How will He be able to get us weaklings to keep a law that is proven impossible for us to keep?

Hebrews 8:6, "But now hath he obtained a more excellent ministry, by how much also he is the mediator of a better covenant, which was established upon better promises."

MEDIATOR:
3316
mesites {mes-ee'-tace}  from 3319; TDNT - 4:598,585; n m

 AV - mediator 6; 6

 1) one who intervenes between two, either in order to make or
 restore peace and friendship, or form a compact, or forratifying a covenant

 2) a medium of communication, arbitrator 

With Jesus by our side as He promised, we can do all things. We need this better covenant which is based on better promises because we have no more strength than the Jewish people of their day. Think about that. Think about how they had an open physical sign of the Almighty's presence on a daily basis in the desert for forty years, and still they broke His laws all along. They saw Him split the Red Sea, and defeat their enemies, feed them with heavenly manna, yet they still murmured in that desert. Now look at today when there are no apparent "columns of smoke or fire, red sea's splitting, or manna raining from above" to declare His blunt and visible presence to boost our faith. Since we are no stronger, and in fact, many ways weaker than they, Jesus is the only way we can do this! He had to come as He planned all along, or else none of us would ever be able to keep the Law so as to gain Heaven. In short.

  • The Old Covenant was an arrangement between God and His people.
  • The New Covenant is an arrangement between God and Jesus Christ

THAT'S THE BETTER COVENANT HE PROMISED US! It is no longer between us and God the Father. We proved too weak to do that. It is now between Jesus and His Father. The Lord didn't re-write His laws or His "arrangement" between man and Himself at all. "The wages of sin is still death" (Romans 6:23) just like it was 6000 years ago! Like back then, if we try to keep the Law on our own we will fail miserably and be worthy of eternal death. Jesus came to do what we proved we could not do! He kept that covenant with His Father FOR US as a living and breathing man. It's no longer the covenant between God and mankind, it's now a covenant between God and the man Jesus. He kept this covenant in the exact same human body we have! Now, Jesus actually makes it far easier for us to keep His Father's Law simply because, as promised, He is placed it deep within the heart of every true follower. And here's your Biblical proof...

  • Hebrews 8:10, "For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, saith the Lord; I will put my laws into their mind, and write them in their hearts: and I will be to them a God, and they shall be to me a people:"

That's the new covenant that He has made with us. If we have Jesus as Lord and Saviour, His Law is written in our hearts and minds. So, again, for all those scoffers that say we keep the Law to GET saved. You are so wrong! Mankind proved long ago such an act was utterly impossible to keep for as little as 40 days! We keep the Law now because we ARE Saved! Before I knew Christ I was a sniveling wimp unable to do anything I set my heart to. Now, "I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.".- Philippians 4:13

As the Lord assured us through His prophet Isaiah, He promised to "Bind up the testimony, seal the law among my disciples." - Isaiah 8:16

Where's the SEAL placed you ask? Did He not say that He will be our God, and we will be His people, and He will put His law in our MINDS and our HEARTS? Did you catch that? The SEAL is placed in the HEART and the MIND! The Law in the heart is an obvious sign, which I'll get into in a moment. But the Law is also important to have in the mind.

  • Romans 4:11, "And he received the sign of circumcision, a seal of the righteousness of the faith..."

What I'm getting at here is, the Scripture uses the words, sign, seal, and mark interchangeably. Just as the seal of God that is placed in the foreheads of His children in Revelation 7:3 is a sign of their allegiance to God. The mark of the beast is also a SEAL in the forehead, or mind that signifies allegiance. (For an in-depth look at the mark of the beast, click here)

Revelation 7:3, "...Hurt not the earth, neither the sea, nor the trees, till we have sealed the servants of our God in their foreheads."

It's no mistake the word "mind" is used here when describing where the Lord wrote His Law. When Scientists recently mapped the human brain, they found the forehead is where we make all our decisions. So, no, it's no coincidence the Lord declares He puts the Law in the minds of His people. Our hearts of course symbolize the love true Christians will have for their heavenly Father. This is why Jesus illustrated the Christian lifestyle so perfectly when He said in Matthew 22:37, "...Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind." Love like this seeks to please Him in all that we do. Suffice it to say, it's the love that craves to see Him smile! The mind simply symbolizes our decision that it is right to do, and so we do it. Is it not written that the Lord wants us to "reason together" with Him in Isaiah 1:18? And what happens when we make the right decision to listen to reason? He says in that same passage, "though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool"

Isaiah 1:18, "Come now, and let us reason together, saith the LORD: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool."

Look at the children of Israel when the Lord was sending the angel of death among them as an example. How did He instruct them to avoid certain death in the final plague of Egypt? In that plague it was announced the first born of every household will die unless they kill a lamb and place it's blood upon the doorposts of their home.

·         Exodus 12:12, "For I will pass through the land of Egypt this night, and will smite all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both man and beast; and against all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgment: I am the LORD."

If they did as they were instructed by the Lord, He promised them that when the angel of death arrived in their midst, he would "Passover" every house that had blood upon the doorposts. 

Now, let me ask you this. Did the blood on the doorposts save them? No it did not. Hebrews 10:4 says, "For it is not possible that the blood of bulls and of goats should take away sins." Obedience was the key here. So, again, no, the blood of those sheep, like the Law of God cannot save anyone. However, was their serious consequences if they chose NOT to put the blood there? YES! The first born would most assuredly die! Many say, "It doesn't make a single bit of difference if I keep His commandments or not," I say unto you, yes it does! It certainly won't save you if you keep them, but there are serious consequences if you don't.

  • Exodus 12:13, "And the blood shall be to you for a token upon the houses where ye are: and when I see the blood, I will pass over you, and the plague shall not be upon you to destroy you, when I smite the land of Egypt."

What's that word "TOKEN" mean?

TOKEN:
0226 'owth {oth}

probably from 0225 (in the sense of appearing); TWOT - 41a;
n f

AV - sign(s) 60, token(s) 14, ensign(s) 2, miracles 2,
mark 1; 79

1) sign, signal
1a) a distinguishing mark
1b) banner

1c) remembrance
1d) miraculous sign
1e) omen
1f) warning
2) token, ensign, standard, miracle, proof

That "sign" "token" "mark" or "seal" is actually WRITTEN IN BLOOD! The blood of the Lamb. The one who walked as we should have walked. He did it for us, and sealed it with His very own blood on the cross. That is the only blood that truly saves! That is the blood symbolized in the doorposts back in Egypt.

  • Galatians 3:29, "And if ye be Christ's, then are ye Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise."
  • Ephesians 2:12, "That at that time ye were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope, and without God in the world:"

Remember when He said, "I WILL BE YOUR GOD, AND YOU WILL BE MY PEOPLE" in Hebrews 8:10? When you come to Christ you enter into that covenant with the Father, but only by the merits of Christ. You did nothing! He did it all! He sealed that covenant on the cross with His own blood to prevent any change being made to it. And it will NEVER change! Luke 16:17 says it would be, ".easier for heaven and earth to pass, than one tittle of the law to fail."

The blood of the Lamb, the one who walked as we should have walked long ago, allowed His blood to spill for the sins of mankind. This very act proved the firmness of the Law was unchangeable. Had it been changeable, Jesus would never have to die. There could have been an easier way to remove sin from the lives of His people. But again I say, Luke 16:17 says it would be, ".easier for heaven and earth to pass, than one tittle of the law to fail."

The prophet Isaiah said in 8:16, "Bind up the testimony, seal the law among my disciples." As we know, the word seal, sign, and mark are used interchangeably. With that said, how is it this Law is sealed in our hearts and minds? Is there a specific way this is done? Is there a way the actions of mankind can illustrate or prove he is sealed by the Lord? Is it possible for mankind to display faith in God, while at the same time keep His Law as a way to proclaim Him Lord?

  • Exodus 31:13, "Speak thou also unto the children of Israel, saying, Verily my sabbaths ye shall keep: for it is a sign between me and you throughout your generations; that ye may know that I am the LORD that doth sanctify you."
  • "Moreover also I gave them my sabbaths, to be a sign between me and them, that they might know that I am the LORD that sanctify them. And hallow my sabbaths; and they shall be a sign between me and you, that ye may know that I am the LORD your God." -Ezekiel 20:12,20

The Sabbath is just as much a SIGN, SEAL or MARK of God as the blood on the doorposts of old. Like baptism is an open profession of faith in Christ's death and resurrection, the keeping of Sabbath is an open profession of faith in the God of creation. It is a proof before the masses that you ARE His child, and He is your God. Anyone, and almost ALL "Christians" of today try to keep 9 of the Ten Commandments. However, according to Scripture, only those that keep His Sabbaths have that open profession of faith in Him as their God. The Sabbath truly is a SIGN, MARK, and SEAL of the living God that He is your God, and you are His people. For ALL the Bible facts about the Sabbath, click here. That's what makes the Sabbath important. It proves to the world AND the Lord that you are His. 

For those that still believe His Law was abolished at the cross, look a little closer at that passage in Exodus I just shared. That passage does not say it is a sign between me and you UNTIL JESUS DIES ON THE CROSS. It says THROUGHOUT your generations. As we learned earlier, the Law was already in force in Eden long before the Jewish nation came into existence. That fact alone proves the early Roman church lied on March 07, 321 A.D. when they said the Sabbath was to be considered a "Jewish" law, and all Christians from that day forward should keep Sunday holy. How could it be a Jewish Sabbath when Adam and Even kept it 2500 years before a Jew was ever born? And how could it be a Jewish Law when the angels themselves kept the Law of God before even Adam and Even were created?

  • Psalms 103:20, "Bless the LORD, ye his angels, that excel in strength, that do his commandments, hearkening unto the voice of his word."  

Have you ever signed a document to legalize or confirm that it is authentic? Have you ever given your "seal of approval" on something? Have you ever "marked" an item of yours as proof of ownership? In government, this is an ancient fact of life. As we know, when a document is signed, that signature actually authenticates that document. This is what government bodies refer to as a government seal. An official seal or signature must always have three distinct features for it to be considered legitimate:
 

  •  (1) The name of the official
  •  (2) The title
  •  (3) The territory

For example, when the President of the United States signs a bill into law, he will sign it, 1.Name "George Washington" 2.Title "President" 3.Territory "of the United States of America." Every document must be signed or sealed in this manner for it to become an official legal document.

As Christians we are completely aware there is a government in heaven.

·         Isaiah 9:6, "For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful,"

Like the governments of the world today that have their own laws; the government of Heaven also has Laws. Truth is, it was in Heaven first that governing structures and laws were created as a basis of rule. Mankind copied this structure 6000 years ago when the descendants of Adam and Eve grew to such a number, they needed a way to govern the people. Most are unaware of this because it happened so long ago. Since we know Heaven has a government that is ruled by Christ. What are the laws set forth in that kingdom? The Ten Commandments, or Law of God as most call it today.

Now that we have established there is a government in Heaven, and that government has a ruling Law. Is there an official seal on that Law of God like mankind has? Mankind had to learn that rule of law somehow, so let's see. Looking closely we see that right in the midst of the Law there is an official seal, that has all three distinctive features to make it legitimate. In commandment number four we find the words... "For in six days the LORD made Heaven and earth." How does this break down into a seal you ask? In the exact same way mankind learned to do so very long ago...

SEAL = For in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, ...." Exodus 20:11

NAME

THE LORD ("I am the Lord: that is my name" Isaiah 42:8)

TITLE

CREATOR (Notice, "the LORD made" in above verse)

TERRITORY

HEAVEN AND EARTH (Notice, "Heaven and earth" in above verse)

Collectively, His signature reads, "The Lord, Creator, of Heaven and Earth." Plainly, one can see that the "seal" that makes this Law of God binding and eternally legitimate is in fact found in the Sabbath commandment. This very commandment not only confirms His status as Creator, it points back to creation week wherein He rested after creating all we see.

·         Exodus 20:8-11, "Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days shalt thou labour, and do all thy work: But the seventh day is the sabbath of the LORD thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates: For in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the LORD blessed the sabbath day, and hallowed it."

One thing many Christians today miss is the prophetic statement made in that commandment. The prophet Isaiah revealed in 46:10 that this God we worship is capable of, "Declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times the things that are not yet done" The word "remember" in that commandment is purposely declaring that in the last days Christians will be taught to forget His Law, and especially His Sabbath. Look around, has this prophetic fact come to be known? Yes it has, the overwhelming majority of the Christian churches have forgotten His Law and they now worship on Sunday. Worse yet, most of them preach the entire Law was done away with at the cross! Truth is, this act was prophecied as well to occur in our day. It has to do with the mark of the beast. If you want more info on that, see the mark of the beast page on the site.

When we keep His Sabbath we are expressing that we recognize and worship Him as our Creator, because it was the Creator that sanctified that day after He finished creation. Everyone I come across agrees that the Jews kept the Sabbath in the Old Testament. Everyone I come across also agrees 100% that Jesus kept the Sabbath as well. Since this is understood, I have a question to ask. What about AFTER Jesus? If the covenant was going to be changed, it would have to be changed before Jesus died, right? We all know that it is impossible to change a "testament" or a "covenant" or a "last will and testament" after the Testator dies. Did Jesus ever change the Sabbath to the first day of the week before He died? There is not a single solitary verse in the Old or New Testament before or after Jesus died that declares the Sabbath was changed. Not one. In fact, if you can find such a verse that says God changed the Sabbath, this ministry will not only give you $10,000 cash, I will also give your name to the preacher in Illinois that is offering $1,000.000.00 for the same verse!

The law always demands perfection. Whether it be God's law or man's law makes no difference. All law demands perfection in following it. 

  • Matthew 5:48, "Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect."

How can I be perfect?

  • Hebrews 5:9, "And being made perfect, he became the author of eternal salvation unto all them that obey him;"

OBEDIENCE is the KEY!

Common sense is a blessing here. Many people believe that all they need to do is believe in Jesus as Messiah and they have Heaven guaranteed. With that type of theology, Satan will be guaranteed Heaven as well. For it is written in, James 2:19 that,"...the devils also believe, and tremble."

Think of it this way. Look at Adam and Eve. They too believed in Christ. In fact, Jesus was often found, "...walking in the garden in the cool of the day: " (Genesis 3:8) talking with them. They literally saw Him and conversed with Him daily. They had no problem believing in Him. So what got them cast out of the garden? DISOBEDIENCE! It's that simple.

Many that read Hebrews 5:9 ask, how was Jesus "perfected?" What does this mean? It means He lived a life in perfect obedience to God's law. Peter tells us in 1 Peter 1:19 that, "the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot:" was the key to salvation. He had to be the perfect sacrifice for sin on that cross if this was going to work. This is why in the Old Testament whenever the people sought forgiveness for sin that was committed, they would offer up a lamb for their sin that was without blemish.

·         Leviticus 4:32, "And if he bring a lamb for a sin offering, he shall bring it a female without blemish."

To be without spot or blemish is to declare a perfect sacrifice is done. The spots and blemishes represented sin. The sacrifice had to be perfect because the Lord Jesus would never sin when He came to be that sacrifice later on. I challenge every man and woman on earth to show me one verse where Jesus broke the Law of God in any way shape or form. You may as well not waste your time, there is no such verse. Not one. So... why was Jesus to be perfect? Was there a reason for this?

  • Colossians 1:28, "Whom we preach, warning every man, and teaching every man in all wisdom; that we may present every man perfect in Christ Jesus:"

We are imperfect. Our righteousness is nothing but a pile of filthy rags. No matter how hard we try we cannot keep the Law. Mankind has proven himself too weak to do so. This has been proven in Scriptures, and this has been proven in reality by every soul on earth. Yet, Jesus did walk perfectly the entire time He walked among us. If we have Him as Saviour, so shall we walk perfectly by His guidance. Jesus kept the law in perfection for each one of us. Since His Holy Spirit is in the hearts of His followers, will He do no less than perfect our walks as He promised? In a nutshell...

  • Romans 5:18-19, "Therefore as by the offence of one judgment came upon all men to condemnation; even so by the righteousness of one (That being Jesus) the free gift came upon all men unto justification of life. For as by one man's disobedience (Adam) many were made sinners, so by the obedience of one (Jesus) shall many be made righteous."

One thing must be realized here. It was prophecied that Jesus was on a mission when He came here. Adam sinned, and by his sin all were made sinners simply because we are now born into the sinful nature. Without Christ being trusted to guide us as Adam refused at the start, we have no power over sin, hence, "As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one:" (Romans 3:10) But as we learned, there is a new covenant between God and the man Jesus. Before Christ, the Law was impossible to keep, and actually became of lesser importance to many as we see today when pastors preach it was abolished. So, as prophecied, Christ came to not only make it possible for man to keep the Law, by His obedience we can all be made righteous. This mission of our Lord was prophecied in Isaiah 42:21. The Word tells us that Jesus was to come to, ".magnify the law, and make it honourable."

Jesus proved the Law was a necessity for the Christian. He is our eternal example on how to walk. Yes, as prophecied for our day, many are taught they do not have to keep the Law. To them it is our duty to echo towards them in our walks and in our words what Romans 2:13 says. It's, ".the doers of the law shall be   justified."

BOTTOM LINE: If it is so written...

  • "It is easier for heaven and earth to pass, than one tittle of the law to fail." -Luke 16:17

 Then how is it Sunday preachers say Commandment #4 has somehow failed or been replaced? Claiming Sunday as Sabbath means "one tittle" of the law has to have failed. That word "remember" in Commandment #4 is specifically for those that claim this heresy. The Lord said it never changed, in fact He said in Exodus 31:16 that the people of God will, ".observe the sabbath throughout their generations, for a perpetual covenant."

 

The commandment is plain. It says to keep the SEVENTH DAY Holy. As we learned earlier, the Vatican demands in writing that mankind must abolish the Seventh day and keep Sunday holy instead, and all the world bows in agreement. So, in essence they again preach one "tittle" of the Law has failed, and in one fell swoop they proclaim Christ lied, just like Satan did in the Garden of Eden when the Lord said Adam and Eve would die if they were disobedient. They twist God's Word to make Him out to be a liar. But the real truth is, "He that saith, I know him, and keepeth not his commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him." -1 John 2:4

Truth is, as we learned earlier, since the law of the Lord is perfect according to Psalm 19:7, Acts 22:3 & James 1:25, then every variation from this perfect Law must be evil. Those who disobey the commandments of God, and teach others to do so, are eternally condemned by Christ. In fact, in Proverbs 28:9 it says, "He that turneth away his ear from hearing the law, even his prayer shall be abomination."

In Isaiah 42:21 it says, "The LORD is well pleased for his righteousness' sake;  he will magnify the law, and make it honourable." Is this not what Jesus did when He came and walked among us?  Did He not say when He was here,  "For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled." (Matthew 5:18) After He ascended back to His Kingdom, did He not also instruct His Apostles to teach the church that "not the hearers of the law are just before God, but the doers of the law shall be   justified." (Romans 2:13) Furthermore, if we claim Christ Lord and keep His Law that is written within our hearts and minds, does this not make us, ".his witnesses of these things; and so is also the Holy Ghost, whom God hath given to them that obey him."(-Acts 5:32) If we obey Him, and all these things are true, is it not a wise statement to say, "... if thou wilt enter into life, keep the commandments." -Matthew 19:17

Do you recall what Abraham told Isaac that day he was being tested by God? We all know of that event. The Lord came to Abraham and asked him to sacrifice his only son on the altar. When they were headed for that altar, Genesis 22:7-8 says, "Isaac spake unto Abraham his father, and said, My father: and he said, Here am I, my son. And he said, Behold the fire and the wood: but where is the lamb for a burnt offering? And Abraham said, My son, God will provide himself a lamb for a burnt offering: so they went both of them together." Did not the Father send us the, ".Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world." (John 1:29) in the person and prophecied Messiah, Jesus Christ?

Not long after Abraham told Isaac about the Lord sending a lamb to be sacrificed, Genesis 22:13 tells us that, ".Abraham lifted up his eyes, and looked, and behold behind him a ram caught in a thicket by his horns:"

The Law of God is so sure, and so unchanging that with every sin there must be a death. Sin cannot enter into the kingdom of Heaven. In fact, Revelation 21:27 says, ".there shall in no wise enter into it any thing that defileth," "For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord." - Romans 6:23

Abraham was offering that lamb as a sin offering long before the Law of God was etched in Stone, proving, the Law was not only active at that time, it also proves it's not a "Jewish law" as some preachers proclaim. As intimated earlier, the lamb was a symbol of the sacrifice for sin that would end in the future at the cross. That is the basic definition of Messiah's duty when He arrives. This is why John the Baptist declared when he saw Jesus coming towards him, ".Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world." (John 1:29) This confirms all those sheep offered for sins were in fact pointing to Christ.

By the way.. did you ever notice? The ram was caught by thorns wrapped around his head in Abraham's day. Jesus also wore that crown of thorns in His day as a symbol declaring He was doing His Father's will for us. Just as the life of Isaac was spared on that altar that day by the lamb supplied by God, so were our lives spared when the Father sent Jesus to be our Lamb 2000 years ago.

If the Law wasn't an etched in stone permanent Law, then Jesus would not have to die. There is no escaping the fact nothing that defiles will enter into Heaven. Mankind proved long ago that he cannot keep God's Law without His help.

Let me ask the young in Christ, or even the non-believer a question. Have you ever lied? (Commandment #9) Everyone will say yes. Have you ever stolen anything, even if it's the change in your mother's purse? (Commandment #8) Most will say yes. Have you ever looked upon another in lust? (Commandment #7) If you have Jesus says in Matthew 5:28 that you have committed adultery in your heart.

·         Matthew 5:28, "But I say unto you, That whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart."

Since we all admit that we have broken anywhere from one to many of the commandments, and since we know that the wages of sin is death, we know we are worthy of death because we have sinned. How will we ever be able to get into Heaven if we are such vile sinners? By the most famous statement made in Scriptures today...

John 3:16, "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life."

The Law is so strong that no one would ever be able to enter Heaven because, ".all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;" (Romans 3:23) Therefore Jesus agreed to die for us before the foundation of the world if mankind did in fact choose to sin. Adam and Eve did just that, and the rest of us followed their example.

Hebrews 9:26-28, "For then must he often have suffered since the foundation of the world: but now once in the end of the world hath he appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself.  And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment:  So Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many; and unto them that look for him shall he appear the second time without sin unto salvation."

When a non-believer stands before the judgment seat without Christ, he has no defense for the sins he has committed. Therefore, since the wages of sin are death, that unbeliever must die that death for his own sins, because that is the payment for sin. However, if that soul is a believer, even though he was a liar, a thief, or an adulterer, when he stands before God in judgment, he does not have to die that death for his sins because he believes and rightfully claims Jesus died that death for his sins long ago. Jesus paid that price for us. All we need to do is believe it, and He has promised to give us salvation as a gift for trusting Him.

In closing

The Law of God is like a mirror. For example, if I was to go outside and roll around in a mud puddle, when I come back into the house and stand before a mirror, can I say to the mirror, make me clean? No, the mirror cannot do that. It can only tell me I need to be cleansed by reflecting my filth before my eyes. In the same way, when we look at the Ten Commandments and realize we have broken many of the Laws, the Law tells us we are in need of a cleansing. But, mankind cannot cleanse himself or even stop sinning for that matter. All the Law can do is warn us, we need a Saviour!

Now do you see why Satan attacks the Law of God? It points to His biggest threat! JESUS CHRIST! The devil knows that if people today look at the Lawof God it will CONVERT them into obeying God. Psalms 19:7 says, "The law of the LORD is perfect, converting the soul: the testimony of the LORD is sure, making wise the simple."

"It was impossible for the sinner to keep the law of God, which was holy, just, and good; but this impossibility was removed by the impartation of the righteousness of Christ to the repenting, believing soul. The life and death of Christ in behalf of sinful man were for the purpose of restoring the sinner to God's favor, through imparting to him the righteousness that would meet the claims of the law and find acceptance with the Father.
     But it is ever the purpose of Satan to make void the law of God and to pervert the true meaning of the plan of salvation. Therefore he has originated the falsehood that the sacrifice of Christ on Calvary's cross was for the purpose of freeing men from the obligation of keeping the commandments of God. He has foisted upon the world the deception that God has abolished His constitution, thrown away His moral standard, and made void His holy and perfect law. Had He done this, at what terrible expense would it have been to Heaven! Instead of proclaiming the abolition of the law, Calvary's cross proclaims in thunder tones its immutable and eternal character. Could the law have been abolished, and the government of heaven and earth and the unnumbered worlds of God maintained, Christ need not have died. The death of Christ was to forever settle the question of the validity of the law of Jehovah. Having suffered the full penalty for a guilty world, Jesus became the Mediator between God and man, to restore the repenting soul to favor with God by giving him grace to keep the law of the Most High. Christ came not to destroy the law or the prophets, but to fulfill them to the very letter. The atonement of Calvary vindicated the law of God as holy, just, and true, not only before the fallen world but before heaven and before the worlds unfallen. Christ came to magnify the law and to make it honorable." 
-Faith and Works page 118

A few Biblical Facts
Common Rebuttals to the Biblical Truth


Rebuttal #1: THE TEN COMMANDMENTS WERE MADE FOR THE JEWS

Biblical facts...

  • Genesis 4:7, "If thou doest well, shalt thou not be accepted? and if thou doest not well, sin lieth at the door. And unto thee shall be his desire, and thou shalt rule over him."

The definition of SIN = 1 John 3:4, "Whosoever committeth sin transgresseth also the law: for sin is the transgression of the law."

So when the Almighty spoke of sin unto Cain in Genesis 4, he was speaking of the Ten Commandments more than 2000 YEARS before a Jew was born.

  • Genesis 26:5, "Because that Abraham obeyed my voice, and kept my charge, my commandments, my statutes, and my laws."

Again we see the Almighty speaking of His Commandments HUNDREDS OF YEARS before Jews ever step on the planet.

  • Genesis 39:9, "There is none greater in this house than I; neither hath he kept back any thing from me but thee, because thou art his wife: how then can I do this great wickedness, and sin against God?"

 NOTICE THE WORD SIN? This is way before any Jewish people were ever born! Plus, how would Joseph know that adultery was a sin unless he understood the definition of sin is as we know it? And how do we understand that definition? 1 John 3:4, "Whosoever committeth sin transgresseth also the law: for sin is the transgression of the law."

  • Exodus 15:26, "And said, If thou wilt diligently hearken to the voice of the LORD thy God, and wilt do that which is right in his sight, and wilt give ear to his commandments, and keep all his statutes, I will put none of these diseases upon thee, which I have brought upon the Egyptians: for I am the LORD that healeth thee."

To say they get disease, is to say WHY as well. For those that broke the law had no protection. That fact alone proves the EGYPTIANS could have kept the law as well. Which proves again it is NOT just for Jews! For those that say the Ten Commandments were ONLY given to the Jews, here we see that BEFORE the Tablets which contained the Ten Commandments were carved, the Law was already there!

  • Exodus 16:28, "And the LORD said unto Moses, How long refuse ye to keep my commandments and my laws?"

Ditto.

Rebuttal #2 THE TEN COMMANDMENTS ARE FOR ISRAEL ALONE

Biblical facts...

  • Jeremiah 31:31, "Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel, and with the house of Judah:"
  • Matthew 21:43, "Therefore say I unto you, The kingdom of God shall be taken from you, and given to a nation bringing forth the fruits thereof."

Fact is, according to this verse, they are correct. HOWEVER, who is Israel?

  • Hosea 2:23 And I will sow her unto me in the earth; and I will have mercy upon her that had not obtained mercy; and I will say to them which were not my people, Thou art my people; and they shall say, Thou art my God.

When was this prophetic statement fulfilled with 100% accuracy?

  • Acts 13:46 Then Paul and Barnabas waxed bold, and said, It was necessary that the word of God should first have been spoken to you: but seeing ye put it from you, and judge yourselves unworthy of everlasting life, lo, we turn to the Gentiles. 
  • Romans 2:28,29 For he is not a Jew, which is one outwardly; neither is that circumcision, which is outward in the flesh: But he is a Jew, which is one inwardly; and circumcision is that of the heart, in the spirit, and not in the letter; whose praise is not of men, but of God. 
  • Romans 9:6-8 Not as though the word of God hath taken none effect. For they are not all Israel, which are of Israel: Neither, because they are the seed of Abraham, are they all children: but, In Isaac shall thy seed be called. That is, They which are the children of the flesh, these are not the children of God: but the children of the promise are counted for the seed. 
  • Galatians 3:29 And if ye be Christ's, then are ye Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise. 

In other words. CHRISTIANS = ISRAEL

ONE MORE THING: Satan himself proves the Law of God is NOT a Jewish Law. In fact, Satan proves the Law of God was valid before a Jew was ever born.

As we all know, Satan is an angel. And the only way an angel can be cast out of Heaven is to sin; and the only way they can sin is if the very law of God that defines sin is broken. 1John 3:4 says "Whosoever committeth sin transgresseth also the law: for sin is the transgression of the law." This means the Law was already in place long before mankind was created. This confirms His Law IS ETERNAL! Satan was cast out of heaven with his angelic cohorts because they broke God's Law.

Rebuttal #3: JESUS CAME TO FULFILL THE LAW/COMMANDMENTS

Biblical facts...

  • Matthew 5:17, "Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil."

This actually has to be one of the easiest one to expose as error. Some go so far as to define the word, "fulfill" to mean "done away with." So, lets see if that makes sense shall we? Let's re-word that verse to their liking... "Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to do away with it" Rather obviously wrong is it not? In fact, it's actually rather a stupid statement. Ever notice how everyone seems to have no problem acknowledging 9 of the 10 commandments? But when it comes to the one and only commandment that the Almighty specifically states to "REMEMBER" it's this one they forget? Do you realize that there is a reason for this?  

So... what does this word "fulfill" mean in this verse?

4137 pleroo {play-ro'-o}
from 4134; TDNT - 6:286,867; v

AV - fulfil 51, fill 19, be full 7, complete 2, end 2, misc 9; 90

Notice the word fulfill used in another verse by Jesus...

  • Matthew 3:15, "And Jesus answering said unto him, Suffer it to be so now: for thus it becometh us to fulfil all righteousness. Then he suffered him."

According to their theology of defining "fulfill = done away with. They are now preaching Jesus wanted baptism to DO AWAY WITH RIGHTEOUSNESS? Ridiculous isn't it? Jesus come to John to be baptized by him. As the Word declares, John wants to be baptized by Jesus instead. Yet Jesus wants him to go ahead an baptize Him anyway so that He can FULFILL ALL RIGHTEOUSNESS! Jesus came to magnify the Law. He came to fulfill it. He came to make it real unto us. PLus, what of this passage...

  • Matthew 5:18, "For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled."

Let's take that that "lo, I am with you alway, even to the END OF THE WORLD" and further drive home the reality of His law. In Matthew 5:18 we read, "For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled." Until "Heaven and earth pass" away we understand here that the Law of God will be here ALWAYS EVEN TO THE END OF THE WORLD do we not? Fact is, the Heavens and the Earth have NOT yet passed away have they? And all has NOT yet been fulfilled has it? And seeing how the Earth, and Heavens are still here, the Law must still be binding, and seeing how the Law is still binding we see that Jesus is still with us EVEN TO THE END OF THE WORLD

PLUS, with understanding of the REAL meaning of the word "fulfill" here, what is this verse saying? Not one jot or tittle of the Law will NO WISE PASS FROM THE LAW until ALL is fulfilled. Shall we rephrase it the way the World preaches it? This verse especially makes them out to be in grave error. This is how THEY preach it...

THEY SAY... "For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be DONE AWAY WITH."

Again, it really comes off as a rather stupid comeback. The Scriptures openly expose them with such ease it's rather laughable at this point is it not? I mean come on already... they are saying that NOT ONE JOT OR TITTLE WILL PASS AWAY UNTIL ALL IS DONE AWAY? ?  ?   ?    ?

One more point to notice here. The passage said... "one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled." Look around! Has the Heaven and the Earth PASSED AWAY? No? Then neither has ONE JOT OR TITTLE of that Law.

Summing it up. The main purpose for the walk of Jesus Christ?

  • Romans 8:3-10, "For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh: That the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, (There's that word FULFILL again!) who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. For they that are after the flesh do mind the things of the flesh; but they that are after the Spirit the things of the Spirit. For to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace. Because the carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be. So then they that are in the flesh cannot please God. But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his. And if Christ be in you, the body is dead because of sin; but the Spirit is life because of righteousness."

And the righteousness spoken of here is the righteousness of the law (that) might be fulfilled in us.. And by the way, the word "FULFILL" in this passage is the exact same word (Strongs # 4137) they say meant "done away with" in Matthew 5:17! Truth is, their own theology exposes them perfectly.

The Law Christ came to fulfill was actually the Law of Moses that held shadowy elements that pointed to the cross. I go into far more detail about that on another page on the site. Click here to see it.

If I were asked to share one passage that proves He came to fulfill the Law of Moses which are customs of the Jewish nations as pertains to feast days. I would quote Acts 6:14 where it says, "For we have heard him say, that this Jesus of Nazareth shall destroy this place, and shall change the customs which Moses delivered us."

CUSTOMS :485 ethos {eth'-os} 
 from 1486; TDNT - 2:372,202; n n 
 AV - custom 7, manner 4, be wont 1; 12
 
 1) custom
 2) usage prescribed by law, institute, prescription, rite

One last note:

  • Romans 13:8-10, "Owe no man any thing, but to love one another: for he that loveth another hath fulfilled the law.  For this, Thou shalt not commit adultery, Thou shalt not kill, Thou shalt not steal, Thou shalt not bear false witness, Thou shalt not covet; and if there be any other commandment, it is briefly comprehended in this saying, namely, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.  Love worketh no ill to his neighbour: therefore love is the fulfilling of the law."

Read that passage carefully and you will see that to LOVE actually FULFILLS the Law! The first 4 commandments deal with how we show our love to God. The last 6 deal with how we show love to each other. If you LOVE as Jesus did. You can FULFILL the purpose of the Law as well.

Rebuttal #4: THE TEN COMMANDMENTS ARE NO LONGER NEEDED

Biblical facts...

  • Exodus 32:15, "And Moses turned, and went down from the mount, and the two tables of the testimony were in his hand: the tables were written on both their sides; on the one side and on the other were they written."

Have you ever had a contractual agreement with someone? Have you ever signed a LEASE with a landlord? Do you AND the Landlord keep a copy of the lease after agreement is acknowledged by both parties? Do you recall how the people of old said the following words as "agreement" unto the Commandments of the Lord?

  • Exodus 19:8, "And all the people answered together, and said, All that the LORD hath spoken we will do. And Moses returned the words of the people unto the LORD."

What happened immediately after they made this statement? Moses goes up to the mountain to get the Commandments written in stone by the Almighty. By the time he returns the people of Israel have broken ALL TEN of the Commandments! So, how does the Almighty remedy this situation? Does He hatefully EVICT all of the Human race out of existence? Or does He lovingly give us another chance to KEEP THE CONTRACTUAL AGREEMENT with Him?

  • Hebrews 8:6, "But now hath he obtained a more excellent ministry, by how much also he is the mediator of a better covenant, which was established upon better promises."

    The better covenant, and the better promises are these...
  • Hebrews 10:16, "This is the covenant that I will make with them after those days, saith the Lord, I will put my laws into their hearts, and in their minds will I write them;"
  • 2 Corinthians 3:3, "Forasmuch as ye are manifestly declared to be the epistle of Christ ministered by us, written not with ink, but with the Spirit of the living God; not in tables of stone, but in fleshy tables of the heart."
  • Philippians 4:13, "I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me."

In the Old Covenant, we have man making a promise with God Almighty, and God Almighty making a promise with man. It was a CONTRACTUAL AGREEMENT between man and God. But it was broken wasn't it? And not only was it broken. His Word records the fact that the Almighty is aware of the broken agreement.

  • Hebrews 8:7, "For if that first covenant had been faultless, then should no place have been sought for the second."

His Word is indeed proclaiming fault in the "first" or "Old" Covenant here is He not? But WHO was at fault in the Old Covenant? WHO BROKE IT? Did the Almighty break His covenant with Israel? Or did Israel break it with Him?

  • Hebrews 8:8, "For finding fault with them, he saith, Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah:"

Mankind broke His covenant. They proved that man could NOT keep the Laws of God. So, did the Almighty decide to ABOLISH His Law altogether so as to allow for His children to attain Heaven? If that is so, then the Law of God would be AGAINST or CONTRARY to the promises He made in the first place. Is this the case?

  • Galatians 3:21, "Is the law then against the promises of God? God forbid: for if there had been a law given which could have given life, verily righteousness should have been by the law."

In other words, the Law is NOT against His promises. Plus we also see another blessed Truth surfacing in this passage. So many believe that because "we" keep the Ten Commandments we feel that doing so SAVES US. Well, if the Law was "salvation" instead of the loving Sacrifice of the Lamb of God in the person Jesus Christ, then it would have been made aware in the Word that to keep the Law would have saved you. Or as Paul puts it, "verily righteousness should have been by the law." 

The "better covenant" was needed. The old Covenant was based on the keeping of the promises of man and their God. The Almighty kept His side of the bargain, mankind messed up. And still, this Almighty Father decides to actually make it VERY easy for us now to KEEP THAT PROMISE we should have kept long ago...

  • 2 John 1:6, "And this is love, that we walk after his commandments. This is the commandment, That, as ye have heard from the beginning, ye should walk in it."
  • 1 John 5:3, "For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments: and his commandments are not grievous."

Not only is the Law of God the very same commandments, "That, as ye have heard from the beginning, ye should walk in." But thanks to Jesus Christ we "can do all things" because He helps us. And keeping the promise made long ago is now much easier. He took the Ten Commandments that were in the temple of the Lord inside the ark, and placed them in our "temples." Is it not written that we ARE the temple of the Lord? And is it not also written that He has placed this law on the "fleshy tables of the heart"? And is not the "ark" in the MIDST of the TEMPLE of the Lord? 

Kinda makes it easier to see WHY the Temple veil r-r-r-r-ripped now doesn't it? 

It used to be that Israel said, "We will do all that the lord has said." But now it is reality that JESUS will do it for us INSIDE US! That's why it's so easy to keep His Law now. In fact, it's "not grievous" to keep them because we are governed by His Love. And our LOVING obedience to Him as our Father makes it oh so aware to us as it does the Angels that to kill, lie, steal, etc is just plain WRONG and not right to do. We actually choose not to sin simply because we know it's wrong. Think about that. Did the Almighty have to keep track of the Angels before sin arrived in Heaven? Did He have to constantly remind the two thirds that DIDN'T fall for the lies of Lucifer that it was wrong to do? NO! They KNEW it was wrong and chose not to do it.

By the way... for all you Preachers out there that preach in prisons. Go ahead, tell those convicted murderers they no longer need the Law. I wonder...what Law will they be thinking about breaking? Do you suppose you will live through it? 

Rebuttal #5: THE NEW COVENANT IS LOVE, NOT KEEPING THE LAW

Biblical facts...

  • James 2:8, "If ye fulfil the royal law according to the scripture, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself, ye do well:"

Correct! But to walk IN THAT LOVE you must at first be KEEPING THAT LAW. Keeping the Law of God is actually open evidence that you DO love your neighbor. In fact, Jesus summerized the LAST SIX commandments like this...

  • John 13:34, "A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another."

Look at the last six commandments and see it is our relationship WITH EACH OTHER. To keep those commandments proves you LOVE your neigbor. Would you show love to your neighbor if you steal from him? Kill him? Covet his wife or his good? Lie about him? Etc... 

So, I agree, the New Covenant is indeed based on love. But to truly love each other we must keep the ten commandments. And by the way, this theology runs true with the first four commandments as well. How so...?

  • Matthew 22:37-38, "Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment."

Is this something that can be verified as an Old Covenant promise He desired of us? 

  • Deuteronomy 6:5, "And thou shalt love the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might."
  • Deuteronomy 11:13, "And it shall come to pass, if ye shall hearken diligently unto my commandments which I command you this day, to love the LORD your God, and to serve him with all your heart and with all your soul,"
  • Joshua 22:5, "But take diligent heed to do the commandment and the law, which Moses the servant of the LORD charged you, to love the LORD your God, and to walk in all his ways, and to keep his commandments, and to cleave unto him, and to serve him with all your heart and with all your soul."

It says.. Heart? Mind?

  • Hebrews 10:16, "This is the covenant that I will make with them after those days, saith the Lord, I will put my laws into their hearts, and in their minds will I write them;"

Want the entire Decalogue (Ten Commandments) summarized in ONE NEW TESTAMENT VERSE?

  • Luke 10:27, "And he answering said, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength, and with all thy mind; and thy neighbour as thyself."

Now think about that for a moment. In fact, let's read that verse again along with the verses before and after to see something quite amazing.

  • Luke 10:25-28  And, behold, a certain lawyer stood up, and tempted him, saying, Master, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?  (26)  He said unto him, What is written in the law? how readest thou?  (27)  And he answering said, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength, and with all thy mind; and thy neighbour as thyself.  (28)  And he said unto him, Thou hast answered right: this do, and thou shalt live.

As we know, by keeping the first 4 commandments shows God we love Him. And by keeping the last 6 commandments we show the Lord we love our fellow man as well. And so, when we love God and love our neighbor, we are keeping all Ten Commandments. And so I have to ask, if the Ten Commandments are not for obedient Christians, then why does Jesus say the only way to gain eternal life is by keeping them? And then Paul years later in the book of Hebrews as I just shared makes it clear that when you accept Jesus as Lord and Saviour, He promises to put His law in our hearts.

The REAL definition of love ...  John 14:15, "If ye love me, keep my commandments."

  • Matthew 22:37-40, "Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. (Christ summarized the first four) And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. (Jesus summarized the last six) On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets."

Think about how we as humans show love to one another by keeping The Law of God.

  • Do you show love when you don't honor your mother or father?
  • Do you show love when you kill your fellow man?
  • Do you show love when you commit adultery against your spouse?
  • Do you show love when you steal from your fellow man?
  • Do you show love when you bear false witness against your fellow man?
  • Do you show love when you covet your neighbors wife or anything else that belongs to Him?

If as Christian's we realize that in order to show love for our fellow man, you must keep all of the last six commandments. Can you not also see as a Christian that to show love unto God is to keep the first four commandments?

If you as a Christian realize that in order to show love for your fellow man, you must keep all of the last six commandments that Jesus summarized as the "second commandment" in Matthew 22:39. Can you not also see as a Christian that to show love unto God is to keep the first four commandments that Jesus summarized in Matthew 22:37,38?

So, I ask you.

  • Do you show love for the Lord when you place another god before Him?
  • Do you show love for the Lord when you bow down before an image?
  • Do you show love for the Lord when you take His name in vain?
  • Do you really love Him when you break His Sabbath that He speciafically said was the seventh day, and He specifically said to REMEMBER it? 

I ask those that break His law knowingly. Why is it you can so easily show love for each other, but when you are asked to show love to God, it's impossible? The REAL Christian will not only keep all ten of the commandments. The REAL Christian will go beyond them because of their love for Jesus! Case in point, Jesus said in Matthew 5:40-41, "And if any man will sue thee at the law, and take away thy coat, let him have thy cloke also.  And whosoever shall compel thee to go a mile, go with him twain."

Love always gives more than is required without looking upon it as a burden. 1 John 5:3 said, "For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments: and his commandments are not grievous." It's no such much that Jesus is FORCING us to love each other. It's more like He is stating we WILL love our fellow man more than the norm simply because Christ's love will be apparent within us. 

The true Christian will go the extra mile simply because their love compels them to do so. They do so with a joyful heart a heart that won't grumble while going the extra mile simply because they feel their fellow man needs them to, and in Christian love they are compelled to show this love. We should go far beyond that which is written. For example, the Law states thou shalt not committ adultery. But Jesus illustrates how much more the true Christian love will abound for Him and His truth by saying.

  • Matthew 5:28, "...That whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart."

Jesus shows that the true Christian will go far beyond the written letter of the law. Love will always raise the standard. The Christian not only keeps the Ten Commandments. He or she will also go so far as to not even THINK on those things within the heart that are against the Law of their God. We do this because we love Him and want to please HIm with all our hearts! We don't do this because we don't want to burn in Hell. Christianity isn't fire insurance! Thoughts like this don't even come to the mind of the true child of God. It truly is a labor of love.

  • Philippians 4:8, "Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things."

Rebuttal #6: WE ARE NOT UNDER THE LAW BUT UNDER GRACE

Biblical facts...

I am a Baptist and I understand that Romans 6:14 declares that I can never lose my salvation no matter what. Why is it you think otherwise?

ANSWER:

Verse in question:
Romans 6:14  For sin shall not have dominion over you: for ye are not under the law, but under grace

Actually, verse 14 cannot be used on it's own. But that is how the world does it to prevent truth from spreading to the ears of those that wont open Bibles. They know if they read the verse alone from a pulpit, those in the church will trust it as God's Word, which it is. But to preach it without the following verse is to purposely deceive the hearers into trusting a doctrine written by the enemy of souls.

This is how the World preaches this verse... Romans 6:14-15, "For sin shall not have dominion over you: for ye are not under the law, but under grace..."

AND THEY STOP!
But let us continue on and finish the verse shall we. It finishes by saying "What then? shall we sin, because we are not under the law, but under grace? God forbid."

Popular theology not only found with the Baptist is that if we sin after being saved we can no longer loose our salvation because we are under grace. I actually have NUMEROUS verses listed on my site that prove that to be error... My favorite verse is of course...

 

  • Hebrews 6:4-8, "For it is impossible for those who were once enlightened, and have tasted of the heavenly gift, and were made partakers of the Holy Ghost, And have tasted the good word of God, and the powers of the world to come, If they shall fall away, to renew them again unto repentance; seeing they crucify to themselves the Son of God afresh, and put him to an open shame. For the earth which drinketh in the rain that cometh oft upon it, and bringeth forth herbs meet for them by whom it is dressed, receiveth blessing from God: But that which beareth thorns and briers is rejected, and is nigh unto cursing; whose end is to be burned."
     

And so, what is Paul actually saying when he says were not UNDER the Law in Romans 6? What does under the law really mean? Well, first we need to define SIN so as to get a better understanding.
 

  • The definition of sin = 1 John 3:4, "Whosoever committeth sin transgresseth also the law: for sin is the transgression of the law."
  • The penalty of sin = Romans 6:23, "For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord."
  • The cost of sin = 2 Corinthians 5:21, "For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him." 1 Corinthians 6:20, "For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God's."
     

To be "under the Law" means to be "under the curse" of the Law; and since Roman 6:23 says "the wages of sin is death", therefore the curse is in fact death. And for those that do not believe the Gospel message is not found in the Old Testament. The Biblical reality here is nicely outlined by the prophet Daniel.

 

  • Daniel 9:11, "Yea, all Israel have transgressed thy law, (to transgress = sin) even by departing, that they might not obey thy voice; therefore the curse is poured upon us. because we have sinned against him."
     

Daniel is rather clear here. To transgress the law is the definition of sin and so when we sin without a Saviour the curse is poured upon us. We are then under the curse of the law when we break it. No getting around that. It's right there in black and white. Notice this as well...

 

  • Galatians 3:10, "For as many as are of the works of the law are under the curse: for it is written, Cursed is every one that continueth not in all things which are written in the book of the law to do them."
  • Galatians 3:13, "Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us: for it is written, Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree:"
     

Here it's once again made quite clear that to be an obedient Christian means we are redeemed from that curse. But my favorite passage on explaining this is again found in the Old Testament.

 

  • Deuteronomy 11:26-28, "Behold, I set before you this day a blessing and a curse; A blessing, if ye obey the commandments of the LORD your God, which I command you this day: And a curse, if ye will not obey the commandments of the LORD your God, but turn aside out of the way which I command you this day, to go after other gods, which ye have not known."
     

So.. according to Deuteronomy, which was written by our unchanging and ever living God via the hand of Moses, there is..

 

  • A blessing if you keep the Law
  • A Curse is you break it
     

And so, using in context truth and simple common sense one can see that the only way someone is under the law is when they break the law. Once broken you deny God's grace. And so I must ask, how can you still be under grace when sinning? You're either under His grace when you choose not to sin, or you are under the curse when you choose to sin.

  • Romans 2:12-13,16, "For as many as have sinned without law shall also perish without law: and as many as have sinned in the law shall be judged by the law; (For not the hearers of the law are just before God, but the doers of the law shall be justified. In the day when God shall judge the secrets of men by Jesus Christ according to my gospel."
     

To further address the "Once saved always saved" issue. Notice this passage...

 

  • John 5:14, "Afterward Jesus findeth him in the temple, and said unto him, Behold, thou art made whole: sin no more, lest a worse thing come unto thee."
     

This verse proves as did the passage I shared earlier in Hebrews 6 that if we choose to sin after becoming "made whole" then a worse thing will come unto us. The ultimate verse for a clear rebuttal unto the doctrine of once saved always saved, or as it is sometime called once under grace always under grace, has to be the following found in Romans chapter one.

 

  • Romans 1:5, "By whom we have received grace and apostleship, for obedience to the faith among all nations, for his name:"
     

Yes, it's true we have been blessed with grace in the age of the church. But according to the Word of God, that grace is what helps us to be OBEDIENT to the faith. Look at Adam and Eve. They are what man was meant to be before the fall. But what was the fall? They were disobedient.

Many believe all they have to do is believe in Jesus to gain Heaven. But they fail to realize that both Adam and Eve saw Jesus face to face in the garden each and every day. They had no problem believing in Him. In fact, even the "devils believe and tremble,"- James 2:19. It was disobedience that caused Adam and Eve's fall.

And since the devils believe, does this mean they will gain Heaven as well? No, of course not. And so to declare all one needs is to believe in Jesus is a theology that will no doubt garner billions of souls into hellfire.
 

One last verse from one who is known as the end time prophet, and again this is from the Old testament.

 

  • Ezekiel 33:13, "When I shall say to the righteous, that he shall surely live; if he trust to his own righteousness, and commit iniquity, all his righteousnesses shall not be remembered; but for his iniquity that he hath committed, he shall die for it."
     

Iniquity is actually defined as known sin. If we are no longer under the law but under grace as the Baptist claims, and being as such means sin is ok to do, or at the very least unable to remove our grace, why does Ezekiel say they die for their known sins?

Now some Baptists will claim that this is for those that never accept Christ, but Ezekiel clearly declares them to be righteous at one point and then worthy of death the next. He is not talking about sinners that know Jesus because these types of people simply don't know what sin is until they find Christ and His perfect Law. In fact, notice what Paul says here.

 

  • Romans 3:20, ".for by the law is the knowledge of sin."
  • Romans 7:7, ".I had not known sin, but by the law: for I had not known lust, except the law had said, Thou shalt not covet."
     

So the reality here is that Ezekiel is talking about people claiming to be God's people. Sinners that have no clue of what the law is, can't commit known sin. Only believers do that. Need I remind you of the believers Jesus spoke of in Matthew 7?

 

  • Matthew 7:21-23, "Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven. Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity."
     

They called Him "Lord" in this passage did they not? And at the same time Jesus called them workers of iniquity. Had they been simple sinners unaware of Christ or His Law, they never would have called out, "Lord, Lord" would they? Being "Under Grace" means simply that. Being under His grace while being obedient to that which proffers His grace.
 

For example... and I've shared this a few times before online. Picture being pulled over by a cop for speeding. You are not "under" the law until you actually speed. You broke the law by speeding and now the "curse" of the law is your just dessert; which in this case is the speeding ticket. However, if you ask the cop for mercy, and he gives it, are you now allowed to speed whenever you get in the car? No, of course not. You are under his grace now. So you are then extra careful not to break the law now. You don't pull away spraying gravel on the cop because you don't want to insult his mercy. It's that simple.

Rebuttal #7  IF WE HAVE FAITH WE NEED NOT THE LAW!

  • Romans 3:31, "Do we then make void the law through faith? God forbid: yea, we establish the law."
  • Romans 6:15, "What then? shall we sin, because we are not under the law, but under grace? God forbid."

It appears the early church also thought they no longer needed the law of God once they had the faith of Jesus. Paul tackles this situation directly by stating GOD FORBID! How can one say that, that which brought Him the knowledge of Christ is now no longer needed? Our faith in Christ and what He died for ESTABLISHES that Law. We accepted Christ when we found out we were IN SIN. Now that He showed us our sin, are we to go back to it? Sadly, some do.. For Peter states.

  • 2 Peter 2:21-22, "For it had been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than, after they have known it, to turn from the holy commandment delivered unto them.  But it is happened unto them according to the true proverb, The dog is turned to his own vomit again; and the sow that was washed to her wallowing in the mire."

If the Law wasn't blunt and powerful enough to sentence all sinners to death, then why did Jesus come to die for us? And WHY did we accept Him as Saviour? Saviour from WHAT then? If we think faith in Jesus allows us to break His Law, then WHAT are we saved from? People go to Hell for SIN, and according to the Bible SIN = TRANSGRESSION OF THE LAW! (1 John 3:4) THAT is what we are saved from!

  • Galatians 3:24, "Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith."

Many will say that because the Word then says we are no longer "under" schoolmaster that we need not carry the law. I say unto them, what if your schoolmaster was a tightrope walker? After he teaches you all the information you need about tightrope walking do you merely ignore ALL he taught you the day you climb out on a tighrope hundreds of feet in the air? If you have such a strong memory to recall all he taught so as to spare your physical life, why is it you forget all about your eternal life?

  • Romans 7:7, "What shall we say then? Is the law sin? God forbid. Nay, I had not known sin, but by the law: for I had not known lust, except the law had said, Thou shalt not covet."

Rebuttal #8 I AM A CHRISTIAN AND I AM "WITHOUT" OR "NOT UNDER" THE LAW

  • 1 Corinthians 9:21, "To them that are without law, as without law, (being not without law to God, but under the law to Christ) that I might gain them that are without law."

Then it is for you I preach. Need I say more?

"under the Law" means to be "under the curse" of the Law.

  • Galatians 3:10, "For as many as are of the works of the law are under the curse: for it is written, Cursed is every one that continueth not in all things which are written in the book of the law to do them."
  • Galatians 3:13, "Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us: for it is written, Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree:"
  • Romans 2:12-13,16, "For as many as have sinned without law shall also perish without law: and as many as have sinned in the law shall be judged by the law;  (For not the hearers of the law are just before God, but the doers of the law shall be justified. In the day when God shall judge the secrets of men by Jesus Christ according to my gospel."

Christ hung on that tree to illustrate the ultimate CURSE OF THE LAW. DEATH! For the Word says plain, the wages of sin IS death! Now that we are "saved" from death, we no longer have to worry about the"curse" of the Law because Christ in us helps us to keep the Law perfectly. And since He is doing that, keeping it has become NOT GRIEVOUS" to do so as 1 John 5:3 so boldly proclaims.

Rebuttal #9 I NEED NOT WORRY ABOUT THE "CURSE OF THE LAW"

  • Galatians 3:13, "Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us: for it is written, Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree:"

Look at the "law" in general for a moment. Take for example the "laws of nature." Can you break the laws of nature and not suffer their curse upon you? What of the law of gravity? Can you leap from a tall building and NOT crash to the ground? The curse of that particular law is DEATH if you break it. No matter how hard you try to explain away, or preach that that law is not for you, or it's curse does not apply to you simply because you are "above the law" or "special" or "non-believing" of it. No matter, the curse will apply to you. Jump from the building, the curse will apply. You will die.

So... I ask, if you cannot side step the mere laws of nature, HOW pray tell can you side step the laws of God? Break His Law, and you will suffer the curse of the law. Plain and simple. Jesus proved that when He died. He dies for our SINS! And the LAw said the "wages of sin is death" does it not? THAT is the curse we are no longer "under" because Christ helps us now to be "overcomers." See Galatians 3:10-14 for a BLUNT lesson...

  • Galatians 3:10-14, "For as many as are of the works of the law are under the curse: for it is written, Cursed is every one that continueth not in all things which are written in the book of the law to do them.  But that no man is justified by the law in the sight of God, it is evident: for, The just shall live by faith.  And the law is not of faith: but, The man that doeth them shall live in them.  Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us: for it is written, Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree:  That the blessing of Abraham might come on the Gentiles through Jesus Christ; that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith."

What's the promise?

  • Galatians 3:29, "And if ye be Christ's, then are ye Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise."

You prefer a little more in depth? I love the way Paul explained it here...

  • Galatians 4:21-31, "Tell me, ye that desire to be under the law, do ye not hear the law?  For it is written, that Abraham had two sons, the one by a bondmaid, the other by a freewoman.  But he who was of the bondwoman was born after the flesh; but he of the freewoman was by promise.  Which things are an allegory: for these are the two covenants; the one from the mount Sinai, which gendereth to bondage, which is Agar.  For this Agar is mount Sinai in Arabia, and answereth to Jerusalem which now is, and is in bondage with her children.  But Jerusalem which is above is free, which is the mother of us all.  For it is written, Rejoice, thou barren that bearest not; break forth and cry, thou that travailest not: for the desolate hath many more children than she which hath an husband.  Now we, brethren, as Isaac was, are the children of promise.  But as then he that was born after the flesh persecuted him that was born after the Spirit, even so it is now.  Nevertheless what saith the scripture? Cast out the bondwoman and her son: for the son of the bondwoman shall not be heir with the son of the freewoman.  So then, brethren, we are not children of the bondwoman, but of the free."
  • Old Covenant was "after the flesh" and couldn't keep the Law by using "flesh"
  • New Covenant is "after the Spirit" and we can keep the Law using the "Spirit."

If you don't believe in Christ then you will perish because the Law cannot be broken. If there is sin, then there must be a death. That is why Christ came to dei for you. However, if you are a follower of Jesus Christ and understand the Law defines sin, yet sin anyway, then you will be judged by that Law for any un-confessed sin you commit.

  • Romans 2:12-13,16, "For as many as have sinned without law shall also perish without law: and as many as have sinned in the law shall be judged by the law;  (For not the hearers of the law are just before God, but the doers of the law shall be justified. In the day when God shall judge the secrets of men by Jesus Christ according to my gospel."

So.. BLUNTLY? What is the curse of the Law?

  • Deuteronomy 11:26-28, "Behold, I set before you this day a blessing and a curse; A blessing, if ye obey the commandments of the LORD your God, which I command you this day: And a curse, if ye will not obey the commandments of the LORD your God, but turn aside out of the way which I command you this day, to go after other gods, which ye have not known."
 
As a Christian I am blessed by the law of liberty. I am actually at liberty to obey. Picture being pulled over by a cop for speeding. You are not "under" the law until you SPEED. You broke the law and now the "curse" of the law is your just desert, which in this case is the ticket. However, if you ask the cop for mercy, and he gives it... are you allowed to speed now? No, of course not! You are under his GRACE right? So you are then extra careful NOT to break the law now. You don't pull away spraying gravel on the cop because you don't want to insult his MERCY. It's THAT simple.

Rebuttal #10  AFTER JESUS DIED THE COVENANT WAS CHANGED

  • Hebrews 9:16-17, "For where a testament is, there must also of necessity be the death of the testator. For a testament is of force after men are dead: otherwise it is of no strength at all while the testator liveth."

According to Scripture, the testament / covenant actually goes in force after the death of the Testator. In other words, in order to change ANYTHING in the Covenant, the Testator MUST DO SO BEFORE DEATH! Ask any lawyer and they will tell you that you can change your last will and testament before you die, but after you die it is impossible! That which the Testator placed in writing before death, becomes strong and rock solid after his death. And Scripture verifies that fact. Jesus SEALED it with His blood. 

Rebuttal #11 CHRISTIANS NEED NOT OBEY THE LAW

  •  Romans 6:16, "Know ye not, that to whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants ye are to whom ye obey; whether of sin unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness?"
  • 2 Peter 1:10, "Wherefore the rather, brethren, give diligence to make your calling and election sure: for if ye do these things, ye shall never fall:"

Obedience is extremely important! Simple Biblical fact is Satan wants you to dis-obey, where the Almighty wants you to obey. It's the same old story since day one. The Word tells us in Revelation 21:27, "And there shall in no wise enter into it any thing that defileth, neither whatsoever worketh abomination, or maketh a lie: but they which are written in the Lamb's book of life." The Word is telling us that nothing sinful will enetr into Heaven. THAT is why Satan wants you to keep disobeying the Lord. He does not want you to enter in. Just as Adam and Eve were asked to OBEY the Lord, so are we asked to OBEY the Lord. The truth is this folks, the Lord tells us that "...affliction shall not rise up the second time."-Nahum 1:9 That means that sin will NOT start up again in Heaven after we get there. Do you realize what that means? WE ARE BEING TESTED! The Lord is looking for those human beings He created that will CHOOSE NOT to sin down here on earth no matter what the situation is. How can the Lord allow us into His Kingdom knowing we choose not ot obey Him down here? One major issue of this whole ball of wax is this. Disobediance is Satan's main concern, he has devised tricks and situations all through history designed to get man to sin, thereby declaring their disloyalty to the Creator. And ALL of it is about to come to a major head. The very last attack on mankind in general has to do with WHO you will choose to obey. The Almighty and His Word, or the devil and His lies. The MARK OF THE BEAST is Satan's masterpiece that declares unto the Creator that he has been able to convince literally BILLIONS upon the Earth that his evil ways are better than the Lord's Truth. Look around and see for yourself, Satan has gotten almost all of mankind to obey him, instead of the Lord. Literally billions of "so called" Christians are obeying the fabricated unBiblical lies of the devil over and above the easy to research Truths of Scripture.

  • Romans 3:31, "Do we then make void the law through faith? God forbid: yea, we establish the law."

You are placing us under the OLD COVENANT!

       I had just finished preaching on the subject of the Sabbath in one of my evangelistic crusades. As I stepped off the platform to greet the people as they left, three young men blocked my way in the aisle. One of hem addressed me in quite a loud voice- loud enough to cause about fifty people near the front of the auditorium to stop and listen. "Brother Joe," he said, "we were disappointed tonight with the way you put us back under the Old Covenant. Don't you realize that we are living under the New Covenant now, and should keep Sunday instead of the Sabbath?" Although most of the congregation were leaving the building, the group near the front  gathered closer to hear all that the young men were saying. It was obvious that I would have to take the time to answer this trio's challenging question. As I suspected, they turned out to be young seminarians in training at a local Bible college. Eagerly they held their Bibles in their hands and waited triumphantly for me to answer. Usually, I do not like to debate controversial matters in a public forum, for fear of stirring combative natures, but there seemed no way to avoid dealing with these ministerial students. Anyway, they had my path completely blocked, and the circle of listeners looked at me expectantly for some explanation.

           "Well, it seems as though you have studied the subject of the covenants quite deeply," I suggested. "Oh, yes," they affirmed, "we know all about the covenants."  "Good," I replied. "You undoubtedly know when the Old Covenant was instituted." One of them spoke up quickly, "It was started at Mt. Sinai." "And how was it ratified?" I asked. Without a moment's hesitation one of them answered, "By the sprinkling of the blood of an ox." "Very good," I commented, "and how was the New Covenant ratified?" All three chorused the answer, "By the blood of Jesus on the cross." I commended the young men for their knowledge of the Scriptures and asked them to read me two verses out of their own Bibles-Hebrews 9:16,17 and Galatians 3:15. They responded eagerly to the invitation, and read the verses, commenting on each one after reading. "We agree that the New Covenant did not go into effect until after Christ died, and nothing can be added or taken away after He ratified it on he cross," the spokesman for the group asserted. All three nodded their heads emphatically over this point. I said. "Now you must answer two more questions for me. Here's the first one, and you must think carefully to give me the correct answer: When did Sunday-keeping begin?" There was a moment of shocked silence, and then another, and another. The boys looked at each other, and then down at their feet, and then back at me. I gently prodded them for the answer, "Surely you can tell me the answer to this question. You have known all the others, and have answered correctly. When and why do you think people began keeping Sunday?" Finally, one of them said, "We keep Sunday in honor of the resurrection of Jesus." I said, "Then I must ask you my last question. How could Sunday keeping be a part of the New Covenant? You just stated that nothing could be added after the death of Christ. He died on Friday and was resurrected on Sunday. If Sunday was added after Jesus died, it could never be a part of the New Covenant could it?"  The three young men shuffled their feet, looked helplessly around, and one of them said, "We'll study into that and talk to you later." Then they fled from that auditorium as fast as they could go. I can assure you, also, that they never returned to talk further about the covenants." -

...a concerned Christian

Galatians 4:21-31, "Tell me, ye that desire to be under the law, do ye not hear the law?  For it is written, that Abraham had two sons, the one by a bondmaid, the other by a freewoman.  But he who was of the bondwoman was born after the flesh; but he of the freewoman was by promise.  Which things are an allegory: for these are the two covenants; the one from the mount Sinai, which gendereth to bondage, which is Agar.  For this Agar is mount Sinai in Arabia, and answereth to Jerusalem which now is, and is in bondage with her children.  But Jerusalem which is above is free, which is the mother of us all.  For it is written, Rejoice, thou barren that bearest not; break forth and cry, thou that travailest not: for the desolate hath many more children than she which hath an husband.  Now we, brethren, as Isaac was, are the children of promise.  But as then he that was born after the flesh persecuted him that was born after the Spirit, even so it is now.  Nevertheless what saith the scripture? Cast out the bondwoman and her son: for the son of the bondwoman shall not be heir with the son of the freewoman.  So then, brethren, we are not children of the bondwoman, but of the free."

  • Old Covenant was "after the flesh" and couldn't keep the Law by using "flesh"
  • New Covenant is "after the Spirit" and we can keep the Law using the "Spirit."

GAL 3:10 & ROM 3:20 SAY WE ARE CURSED BY KEEPING THE LAW

Many that misunderstand Scripture, and choose not to adhere to Biblical jurisprudence or a "line upon line or precept upon precept" method of investigating Bible truths will use two passages out of context to evangelize a lie regarding the Law of God. The passages they say claim it is a sin or a "curse" to keep the Law of God are as follows...

  • Galatians 3:10, "For as many as are of the works of the law are under the curse: for it is written, Cursed is every one that continueth not in all things which are written in the book of the law to do them."
  • Romans 3:20, "Therefore by the deeds of the law there shall no flesh be justified in his sight: for by the law is the knowledge of sin."

Seeing how these verses seem to contradict themselves would be the first red flag most Christians would decide warrants further study. For example, in Galatians 3:10 it appears that the first half of the passage is saying those that keep the Law are cursed, yet the second half reveals the exact opposite. Looking at Romans 3:20 we see the same scenario as well. So, what's going on here?

If you research this using a parallel Bible that shows word for word these passages in both English as well as Greek you will find something quite amazing. There is a word missing in BOTH those verses! the word "EK" is missing. The English translation of that word is "OUTSIDE." So, looking at those two verses again with that word placed where it belongs we see why the devil removed it...

  • Galatians 3:10, "For as many as are OUTSIDE of the works of the law are under the curse: for it is written, Cursed is every one that continueth not in all things which are written in the book of the law to do them."
  • Romans 3:20, "Therefore by the deeds OUTSIDE of the law there shall no flesh be justified in his sight: for by the law is the knowledge of sin."

Truth is, if one does the "line upon line and precept upon precept" as Isaiah suggested in chapter 28 of his book we would see MANY verses prove both passages were missing a word. My favorite verse that validates all this is from Romans chapter 2...

  • Romans 2:13, "For not the hearers of the law are just before God, but the doers of the law shall be justified."

If you still think Galatians 3:10 and Romans 2:20 are saying you cannot be justified by keeping the Law of God, then you need to rip out a LOT of verses that say otherwise.

I FOLLOW THE LORD PERFECTLY, AND I CHOOSE SUNDAY AS SABBATH!

The Word says...
  • "He that saith he abideth in Him ought himself also so to walk, even as He walked." 1 John 2:6

Jesus said...

  • John 15:10, "If ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love; even as I have kept my Father's commandments, and abide in his love."
Christians should say...
  • "I delight to do Thy will, O My God: yea, Thy law is within My heart." Psalm 40:8
 
Many claim the 7th day Sabbath was valid before Christ came. Then suddenly after Christ came and ascended back to Heaven it became Sunday. But what of this verse...?
  • Isaiah 66:23, "And it shall come to pass, that from one new moon to another, and from one sabbath to another, shall all flesh come to worship before me, saith the LORD."

Why do they pray a prayer they call the "Lord's prayer" where they recite the words, "Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven" ? The truth is, that so called prayer plainly says, "Thy will be done ON EARTH as it is IN HEAVEN." If they are keeping SUNDAY as Sabbath on earth while praying that prayer, don't they realize that Jesus knows they are NOT doing His will on earth as He has written it is done in Heaven?

AM I NOT "DEAD TO THE LAW" NOW THAT I AM A CHRISTIAN?
  • Romans 7:4, "Wherefore, my brethren, ye also are become dead to the law by the body of Christ; that ye should be married to another, even to him who is raised from the dead, that we should bring forth fruit unto God."

Yes we are "dead to the Law" because the wages of SIN = DEATH. (Romans 6:23) Since Jesus died for that sin, His death is what the Law accepts as payment for our sins. So, we are "dead to the Law" by the body of Christ that died for us. However, if we continue to sin thinking we are longer held accountable, then we place ourselves back under the curse of the law which is death.

JEWS WERE FIRST TO KEEP THE LAW, THEREFORE IT'S MADE ONLY FOR THEM!

  •  Psalms 103:20, "Bless the LORD, ye his angels, that excel in strength, that do his commandments, hearkening unto the voice of his word."
 
It appears HIS ANGELS.. DO HIS COMMANDMENTS! Truth is, if the angels keep them, the Law had to have been there BEFORE man arrived. PLUS, how could Satan "sin" and be cast from Heaven BEFORE Mankind arrived if no law existed? Everyone knows, the definition of sin is... "TRANSGRESSION OF THE LAW"

1 John 3:4, "Whosoever committeth sin transgresseth also the law: for sin is the transgression of the law."

BEING "LEAST IN HEAVEN" MEANS YOU WILL STILL BE THERE?

Truth is, being called "least" in Heaven means you are NOT there. Why?

1. We REIGN with Christ

  • 2 Timothy 2:12, "If we suffer, we shall also reign with him: if we deny him, he also will deny us:"
  • Revelation 20:6, "Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection: on such the second death hath no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand years."

2. It is HEAVEN where nothing defiling resides.

  • Revelation 21:27, "And there shall in no wise enter into it any thing that defileth, neither whatsoever worketh abomination, or maketh a lie: but they which are written in the Lamb's book of life."

3. If someone of a "lesser" degree is there, it will remind us of SIN. But an "utter end" of sin will be accomplished and it will not be allowed to rise up ever again!

  • Nahum 1:9, "What do ye imagine against the LORD? he will make an utter end: affliction shall not rise up the second time."

GENTILES WEREN'T UNDER "MOSAIC" LAW, AND THEREFORE UNDER THE "ROYAL LAW."

Truth is, yes they were.

  • Romans 3:10, "As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one:"

If they "converted" to the truth offered by the Jews who held the Torah, as did Ruth and others, they had to keep that law as did the Jews. Just because the Jews hoarded the law and never shared and taught it like they were called to do, doesn't mean they were the only ones liable.

Was Abel a Jew? No. Did he do sacrifice? Yes. In fact, his righteous act, or as some refer to it as "his Mosaic agreement" got him killed!

WE WON'T HAVE TO KEEP THE LAW IN HEAVEN!

Micah 4:1-3, "But in the last days it shall come to pass, that the mountain of the house of the LORD shall be established in the top of the mountains, and it shall be exalted above the hills; and people shall flow unto it. And many nations shall come, and say, Come, and let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, and to the house of the God of Jacob; and he will teach us of his ways, and we will walk in his paths: for the law shall go forth of Zion, and the word of the LORD from Jerusalem. And he shall judge among many people, and rebuke strong nations afar off; and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruninghooks: nation shall not lift up a sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more."

This passage obviously speaks of Heaven. If we are keeping the Law in Heaven as this verse declares, then those of us that keep His Law on earth are doing so because His Spirit moves us to. Since it is understood that His Law is being kept in Heaven, it is also understood to be a fruit of the Christian rather then good works or a prerequisite to gain Heaven as some assume we believe.

To put it plainly.. I don't keep the law to GET saved. I keep the because I AM saved.

YOU'RE KEEPING THE LAW TO GET SAVED! YOU'RE TRYING TO BE SAVED BY WORKS.

As most Christians are aware, it is "Not of works, lest any man should boast." (Ephesians 2:9) Still, some claim that by us keeping the Law we are attempting to get saved by the Law. Truth is, we do not keep the Law to GET saved, we keep it because WE ARE saved. Works are merely a fruit of the Christian walk. It is what Jesus was talking about when He said in Matthew 7:20, "Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them." These works of obedience are nothing more than the Holy Spirit doing what He promised long ago. In Jeremiah 31:33 it was prophesied about the New Testament Christian church that, "...this shall be the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel; After those days, saith the LORD, I will put my law in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts; and will be their God, and they shall be my people."

Back when the Gentiles were first hearing about Jesus Christ as Messiah, many of them started to keep the Law without ever being taught to do so. In Romans 2:14-15 it is written, "For when the Gentiles, which have not the law, do by nature the things contained in the law, these, having not the law, are a law unto themselves:  Which shew the work of the law written in their hearts, their conscience also bearing witness, and their thoughts the mean while accusing or else excusing one another)"

Bottom line is this when it comes to the "work" of keeping the Law of God. In James 2:24-26 it is plainly written, "Ye see then how that by works a man is justified, and not by faith only.  Likewise also was not Rahab the harlot justified by works, when she had received the messengers, and had sent them out another way?  For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also."

WHEN THE JEWS BECAME CHRISTIANS THEY STOPPED KEEPING THE LAW  

Some have been taught that when the Jews became Christians they gave up the law. But the following passage proves this is not true. They were not only believers, they were "zealous of the law."

Acts 21:20, "And when they heard it, they glorified the Lord, and said unto him, Thou seest, brother, how many thousands of Jews there are which believe; and they are all zealous of the law:"

Also notice how Paul describes a New Testament believing Christian names Ananias...

Acts 22:12, "And one Ananias, a devout man according to the law, having a good report of all the Jews which dwelt there,"

JESUS' LAST WILL AND TESTAMENT

Nicholas I know you get a lot of e-mails but thought you might find this interesting. I sent this to a man from my old Baptist church who is a lawyer.

David this seems to be a legal issue, and I thought of you.

Last Will and Testament of Jesus

Hebrews 9:15-18 (KJV) 
15" And for this cause he is the mediator of the new testament, that by means of death, for the redemption of the transgressions that were under the first testament, they which are called might receive the promise of eternal inheritance. 16 For where a testament is, there must also of necessity be the death of the testator. 17 For a testament is of force after men are dead: otherwise it is of no strength at all while the testator liveth."

Question- A last will and testament does not go into effect until the death of the testator, correct?

Question- In order for a new testament to change anything in a older testament it would have to be done by the testator, before his death, correct? In the case of Jesus, because the testator made no change of Gods law either by commandment or by example before His death, would it not be logical to conclude that that any change after His death would not be unlawful?

What do you think,
Jim

 Here is his response

Jim,
Very interesting.  I believe you are correct.  A will and testament is always revocable or amendable as long as the testator is alive and mentally competent.  Once the testator dies, it cannot be changed and must be probated in order to have any real legal effect.

God cannot deny His Law no matter what!

So many think God can and will ignore His law because He loves the people so much. But do you recall how much king Darius loved the prophet Daniel? So much so he tried all night long to get Daniel's sentence of death in the lion's den revoked. That king in Daniel's day could not change the law he wrote. In other words, Daniel HAD to step into the den of lions! The only way Daniel would make it out alive is if God stepped in with him because that law cannot change.

My point is, if the law of a human king cannot be changed no matter how much that king would want it changed, how I ask can the law of the living God be changed? Since it cannot be changed, then just as Daniel was spared a death in that den by God stepping in to stop the lions from killing him, we too are spared death in hellfire because of Jesus dying on the cross. The death decree against all that break God's law could not be changed any more than the death decree against the king's law in Daniel's day could be changed. And like Daniel being spared death by the intervention of God Himself, we are spared death by intervention of Christ on that cross!

WHY DOES THE DEVIL ATTACK THE LAW

Why do you suppose the Devil would make such an open and apparent attack on the Ten Commandments? Do you suppose there's something about the Law of God that is so important that the enemy would not have us find out about it? Have you ever seen this passage?

Galatians 3:24, "Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith."

The Law of God is what defines sin! The Law of God declares we NEED a Saviour! The Law of God tells us to seek out Jesus to help us because we cannot do it without Him. Think about the simplicity of that fact. The Ten Commandments are the actual laws of the Creator God that declares in 1 John 2:4, "He that saith, I know him, and keepeth not his commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him." That is in essence saying, HOW can you claim to be A CHRISTIAN if you don't keep His Law? How? That's exactly what that passage says! You are a LIAR if you say to the World that you are a Christian, and then bow down in front of a statue to pray a rosary. You are a LIAR if you say to the World that you are a Christian, and then break the Seventh Day Sabbath of the Lord Jesus Christ who is in fact LORD OF THE SABBATH according to Matthew 12:8. The basic fact is, the Law of God POINTS OUT SIN to you. That's why the Devil does not want you to keep it. If he can keep you from the Law of God, he can sufficiently prevent you from finding out that you are in sin...

Romans 3:20, "...for by the law is the knowledge of sin."
Romans 7:7, "What shall we say then? Is the law sin? God forbid. Nay, I had not known sin, but by the law..."

And then Romans 7:7 confirms it's speaking of the Law of God when it explains further at the end of the verse, "for I had not known lust, except the law had said, Thou shalt not covet." Is that amazing? Now do you see why the devil wants you to believe the Law was abolished at the cross??

Want a rather amazing connection between the Law of God and the Mark of the Beast? First I must ask four simple questions...

Revelation 14:9, "And the third angel followed them, saying with a loud voice, If any man worship the beast and his image, and receive his mark in his forehead, or in his hand,"

#1 Who is this verse speaking of? The wicked who receive the mark of the beast, right?

Revelation 14:10, "The same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out without mixture into the cup of his indignation; and he shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels, and in the presence of the Lamb:"

#2 Who is this verse speaking of? The wicked who receive the mark of the beast, right?

Revelation 14:11, "And the smoke of their torment ascendeth up for ever and ever: and they have no rest day nor night, who worship the beast and his image, and whosoever receiveth the mark of his name."

#3 Who is this verse speaking of? The wicked who receive the mark of the beast, right?

Revelation 14:12, "Here is the patience of the saints: here are they that keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus."

#4 Who is this verse speaking of? The saved who do NOT receive the mark of the beast, right? 

Did you notice what occurred? It is stating in verses 9, 10, & 11 the just deserts of those that receive the mark of the beast. And in verse 12 it describes the general makeup of saints in the last days when the Mark of the Beast is being enforced. It declares them as those that KEEP THE TEN COMMANDMENTS AND HAVE THE FAITH OF JESUS! Do you hear what that's saying? It's saying, if you keep the Ten Commandments, and have the faith of Jesus, you will NOT receive the mark of the Beast!

Let me explain further on this simple fact...

This website is literally drenched with many articles, Catholic doctrines, Vatican announcements, and historic events that prove, the Roman Catholic church has declared war on the Ten Commandments as well as the faith in Jesus. Fact is, Revelation 14:12 is supplying two major conditions for NOT receiving the Mark of the Beast isn't it? It is speaking of those that keep His commandments and have faith in Jesus as SAINTS correct? 

Notice this...

"If anyone shall say that by faith alone the sinner is justified so as to understand that nothing else is required to cooperate in the attainment of the grace of justification, and that it is in no way necessary that to be prepared and disposed by the action of his own will, let him be anathema." -Council of Trent

"There is only one holy and apostolic church, outside of which there is no salvation for every creature to be subject to the Roman Pontiff." -Pope Bonafice VIII in his Unam Sanctum

Do you realize what was just said? It is saying that if you believe that you are justified by faith alone, then you are to be LOST!  As I explained earlier, the Catholic church with it's blunt changing of the Law of God, they removed commandment #2 and changed #4, they openly admit to doing the exact opposite of those saints in Revelation 14:12. As for the "faith in Jesus," did you notice the Council of Trent is actually stating FAITH ALONE IN JESUS is insufficient! 

I'll let my Lord's Word expose that lie...

Romans 1:17, "For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith: as it is written, The just shall live by faith."
Romans 3:28, "Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith without the deeds of the law."
Romans 5:1, "Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ:"
Galatians 2:16, "Knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law, but by the faith of Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Jesus Christ, that we might be justified by the faith of Christ, and not by the works of the law: for by the works of the law shall no flesh be justified."
Galatians 3:11, "But that no man is justified by the law in the sight of God, it is evident: for, The just shall live by faith."
Galatians 3:24, "Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith."

There you have it. The Law of God is being attacked for a reason. It is allowing for those people who believe the lies of Rome to be deceived into receiving the mark of the beast. They do so simply because they choose to believe a lie over the easy to research Truth in God's Word.

Are you keeping Sabbath to GET Saved?

 Now on video! 

Ever since I started to keep the seventh day Sabbath of the Creator God years ago, Christians have declared that I am keeping the Sabbath to get saved. This is my answer to that claim.

First and foremost, long ago we know that the people of God promised to keep the Law of God the day Moses went up to receive the Law written in stone. No, this doesn't mean it was the first time the law was every written, but it is the first time it was written in stone. In fact, Psalms 103:20 says, "Bless the LORD, ye his angels, that excel in strength, that do his commandments, hearkening unto the voice of his word." In other words, long before mankind was created the law was already the law of the land in the city of New Jerusalem. Truth is, if it wasn't already in Heaven, how I ask could Satan have sinned if sin was not yet defined. 1 John 3:4 clearly says that, "Whosoever committeth sin transgresseth also the law: for sin is the transgression of the law."

As we know the people of God failed to keep the Covenant they made with the Lord that day long ago and so a New Covenant was needed. God would still do as He said in 2 Chronicles 7:14 which was, "If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land." But since mankind proved they could not keep His law, He blessed them with a way to help them keep it.

2 Corinthians 3:3 says, "Forasmuch as ye are manifestly declared to be the epistle of Christ ministered by us, written not with ink, but with the Spirit of the living God; not in tables of stone, but in fleshy tables of the heart." And yes, that is why Jesus said in John 14:21, "He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me: and he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him, and will manifest myself to him." And He most assuredly manifested Himself to everyone that 'truly' calls Him Lord as they all kept His law throughout history and to this day.

As we see, Jesus said those that follow Him "hath His commandments," because as Paul put it, the Lord wrote His law on our hearts to make us walking epistles of Christ. In other words, if you accept what Jesus did on the cross as a way to forgive all the transgressions you made against the law throughout your life, then the Holy Spirit will enter into your heart and write the law of God therein. This is why Jesus said in Matthew 7:15-16, "Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves.  Ye shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles?"

The Lord loves you and doesn't want you to be lured away from Him and so He told us to check the fruits of the leaders in the church. The false prophets are as I illustrated in my "Many False Prophets" video of last June. They are all the Sunday keeping pastors who do not have the fruit Jesus speaks of here. If they teach all must keep the Roman Sunday Sabbath holy, then they prove beyond a doubt that the Holy Spirit is not in them. If He was, they would have the power to keep holy the seventh day Sabbath because as promised it would have been written on their hearts and Christ would have manifested Himself to them. And so you cannot gain truth from these wolves any more than you can pick a grape from a thorn bush or a fig from a thistle weed. Yes, all of these pastors claim to love, know and even teach Jesus as Lord; but as prophesied, they preach another Jesus (See 2 Corinthians 11:4) because 1 John 2:4 clearly says, "He that saith, I know him, and keepeth not his commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him." And so who are you going to believe? The lying pastor, or the God of truth?

If you stay in such a church you are allowing the blind pastor to lead you into the pits of hell. But if you truly accept Jesus as Lord and allow His Holy Spirit to enter into your heart, He will manifest His power deep within you to keep His law so as to gain Heaven. For it is also penned in Revelation 22:14, "Blessed are they that do his commandments, that they may have right to the tree of life, and may enter in through the gates into the city."

That city is New Jerusalem, or Heaven as most call it. And so, to answer the claim that I keep the law of God to get saved, no. I do not keep the law to get saved. I keep it because I am saved.

 If you keep the Law then you can't use electricity or the stove on Sabbath

"He who pronounced his work good, and established the institution of the Sabbath to commemorate its completion, must put a period to his labor, and stop the never-ending routine of the universe.

     Should God forbid the sun to do its office upon the Sabbath, cut off its genial rays from warming the earth and nourishing vegetation? Must the system of worlds stand still through that holy day? Should he command the babbling brooks to stay their course from watering the fields and forests, and bid the advancing and receding waves to still their ceaseless ebbing and flowing? Must the wheat and corn stop growing, and the ripening cluster defer its purple bloom for a single day? Must the waving trees and the delicate flowers put forth no bud nor blossom on the Sabbath?

     Surely in such a case man would miss the fruit of the earth and the blessings that make life desirable. Nature must continue her unvarying course; God must not stay his hand a single moment, or man would faint and die. And, in a like proportion, man has a labor to perform on this day. The necessities of life must be attended to, the sick must be cared for, the wants of the needy must be met. God does not hold him guiltless who stays his hand from relieving the suffering on the Sabbath day. The holy Sabbath was made for man, and acts of mercy and benevolence are always in order upon that day. God does not desire his creatures to suffer an hour's pain that may be relieved upon the Sabbath or any other day.

     Jesus sought to impress upon the narrow minds of the Jews a sense of the folly of their view of the Sabbath. He showed them that God's work never ceases. It is even greater upon the Sabbath than upon ordinary occasions, for at that time his people leave their usual employments and spend the time in prayerful meditation and worship. They ask more favors of him upon the Sabbath than upon other days, they demand his special attention, they crave his choicest blessings, they offer importunate prayers for special favors. God does not wait for the Sabbath to pass before he grants those requests, but he deals to the petitioners, with judicious wisdom, whatever is best for them to have.

     Heaven's work never ceases for a moment, and men should never rest from doing good. The Sabbath law forbids labor on the sanctified rest-day of the Lord. The toil that gains a livelihood must cease; no labor for worldly pleasure or profit is lawful upon the Lord's day; but the work of Christ in healing the sick did honor to the holy Sabbath. Jesus claimed equal rights with God in doing a work equally sacred and of the same character with that which engaged his Father in Heaven." {2SP pp 162.2 - 164.1}  

FINAL THOUGHT...

Well.. Putting it simple, the Devil hates the Law of God because ..."by the Law is the knowledge of sin." (Romans 3:20) so he has to attack it and make it trivial in the eyes of the people! If the devil can keep you from looking in the "Biblical mirror" or using the "measuring rod" which is in fact the Law of God, he has won. He wants to prevent the world from looking to the Ten Commandments. He knows that if the people peer into the Law they WILL realize they are in sin, and they will also realize they are in need of a Saviour. 

 

 

Professor Edwards A. Park, in setting forth the current religious perils, ably says: "One source of danger is the neglect of the pulpit to enforce the divine law. In former days the pulpit was an echo of the voice of conscience. . . . Our most illustrious preachers gave a wonderful majesty to their discourses by following the example of the Master, and giving prominence to the law, its precepts, and its threatenings. They repeated the two great maxims, that the law is a transcript of the divine perfections, and that a man who does not love the law does not love the gospel; for the law, as well as the gospel, is a mirror reflecting the true character of God. This peril leads to another, that of underrating the evil of sin, the extent of it, the demerit of it. In proportion to the rightfulness of the commandment is the wrongfulness of disobeying it. . . . 
     "Affiliated to the dangers already named is the danger of underestimating the justice of God. The tendency of the modern pulpit is to strain out the divine justice from the divine benevolence, to sink benevolence into a sentiment rather than exalt it into a principle. The new theological prism puts asunder what God has joined together. Is the divine law a good or an evil? It is a good. Then justice is good; for it is a disposition to execute the law. From the habit of underrating the divine law and justice, the extent and demerit of human disobedience, men easily slide into the habit of underestimating the grace which has provided an atonement for sin." Thus the gospel loses its value and importance in the minds of men, and soon they are ready practically to cast aside the Bible itself.  -Great Controversy p. 465

 

 

Think about it. Have you ever lied? Then you are guilty of breaking commandment number 9. Have you ever stolen something? Then you have broken commandment # 8. How about adultery? Now keep in mind, Jesus said in Matthew 5:28, "But I say unto you, That whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart." That means if you just look at a woman or a man lustfully you are breaking commandment # 7. This is why the devil uses sex to sell everything from cars to candy bars. He gets millions to sin daily! This goes double for those that cause others to sin. Not only are you sinning, you cause others to sin by your suggestive clothing or mannerisms.

Now, I just mentioned three of the ten commandments that probably everyone on earth has broken at least one of. And according to the Word of God, the wages of breaking God's Law is DEATH. There are no ifs ands or buts about it. If you sin, there must be a death for that sin. "For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord." (Romans 6:23) The devil knows this and so he does all he can to prevent people from opening a Bible and learning about how the law of God proves they need a Saviour.

How does the Law do this? Look at it this way. Go outside, roll in a mud puddle. Now walk back into the house and stand in front of a mirror. Ask the mirror to clean all the mud off of your body. Can it do that? No, of course not. All the mirror can do is show you that you have the mud on you. It's only purpose is to let you know you need to be cleansed. The Law of God is no different. In James chapter one we see the Word of God depicting the Law of God as a looking glass where man can peer into. Like the mirror, the Law cannot make anyone clean. It's sole purpose is to let us know where we need to be cleansed. It lets us know we are filthy with sin. Mankind cannot clean this sin off though, so the man looking in the mirror of God realizes he is in need of one that can clean him of this sin. This is where Jesus comes in. The Law of God cannot remove our defilement. It can only reveal we are defiled. And contrary to popular belief, we cannot clean ourselves as some religions teach. Take the Roman Catholic church that declares we can gains Heaven by our good works. Yet it says in Ephesians 2:9 that it is, "Not of works, lest any man should boast."

The wages of sin is death. And the definition of sin in both the old and new testament is in fact transgression of the law. And according to 1 John 2:4, "He that saith, I know him, and keepeth not his commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him."

#17-20 Let none suppose that Christ allows his people to trifle with any commands of God's holy law. No sinner partakes of Christ's justifying righteousness, till he repents of his evil deeds. The mercy revealed in the gospel leads the believer to still deeper self-abhorrence. The law is the Christian's rule of duty, and he delights therein. If a man, pretending to be Christ's disciple, encourages himself in any allowed disobedience to the holy law of God, or teaches others to do the same, whatever his station or reputation among men may be, he can be no true disciple. Christ's righteousness, imputed to us by faith alone, is needed by every one that enters the kingdom of grace or of glory; but the new creation of the heart to holiness, produces a thorough change in a man's temper and conduct. -Matthew Henry comments on Matthew 5:17-20

 "The sting of death is sin; and the strength of sin is the law." -1 Corinthians 15:56


-The Ten Commandments-

1.    Thou shalt have no other gods before me

2.    Thou shalt not make unto thee any God in graven image, or any likeness of anything that in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the LORD thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me; And shewing
mercy unto thousands of them that love me, and keep my commandments.

3.     Thou shalt not take the name of the LORD thy God in vain; for the LORD will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain.

4.    Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days shalt thou labour, and do all thy work: But the seventh day is the Sabbath of the LORD thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates: For in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the LORD blessed the Sabbath day, and hallowed it.

5.    Honour thy father and thy mother: that thy days may be long upon the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee.

6.    Thou shalt not kill.

7.    Thou shalt not commit adultery.

8.    Thou shalt not steal.
  

9.    Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbor.

10.    Thou shalt not covet thy neighbour's house, thou shalt not covet thy neighbour's wife, nor his manservant, nor his maidservant, nor his ox, nor his ass, nor any thing that is thy neighbour's -Exodus 20:1-17


NOTE: How do we nurture our relationships with each other hear on earth? We have "quality time" with each of those we love. we spend time with each other often to make our relationships grow. The 4th Commandment, the 7th day Sabbath IS THAT QUALITY TIME that helps us to grow with Him. Now do you see why the Devil wants to stop you from keeping the TRUE Sabbath? It's a "special day" created for a special purpose. To SPEND QUALITY TIME with the Lord. If the Devil can remove the Biblically commanded time you share with the Lord, then your relationship with the Lord will end.


In a nutshell... 
We don't keep the Ten Commandments to get Jesus in us. It is when we accept Him and receive in us that we keep them. Think of it this way... People in the prisons are NOT released from prison on parole until they can prove they will keep the laws of the land. Why would the Almighty be any different? Why would He let those that break His law into His kingdom? If you can't keep the laws of His land, why should He let you into it? Now do you understand why it is written in, Revelation 22:14, "Blessed are they that do his commandments, that they may have right to the tree of life, and may enter in through the gates into the city."

The awesome think about the New Covenant is that Jesus will HELP us keep His Law!

"For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments: and his commandments are not grievous." -1 John 5:3,

 


Ever Notice This?

Not only is the sky BLUE to remind us of the Law of God, which was carved on blue sapphire stone.

  • Exodus 24:10  And they saw the God of Israel: and there was under his feet as it were a paved work of a sapphire stone, and as it were the body of heaven in his clearness.
  • Numbers 15:38-39  Speak unto the children of Israel, and bid them that they make them fringes in the borders of their garments throughout their generations, and that they put upon the fringe of the borders a ribband of blue:  And it shall be unto you for a fringe, that ye may look upon it, and remember all the commandments of the LORD, and do them; and that ye seek not after your own heart and your own eyes, after which ye use to go a whoring:

Now notice this.

Job 37:18  Hast thou with him spread out the sky, which is strong, and as a molten looking glass?

And as we all know as Christians that the Law has always been described as a mirror unto the people of God to see wherein they need to work out their salvation. Is it not written in James 1:23  For if any be a hearer of the word, and not a doer, he is like unto a man beholding his natural face in a glass:

The word "GLASS" is defined as such.

STRONG'S # 2072 esoptron {es'-op-tron} from 1519 and a presumed derivative of 3700; TDNT - 2:696,27/264; n n

AV - glass 2; 2

1) a mirror


   
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