ONE OF THE MOST SIGNIFICANT DIFFERENCES BETWEEN JUDAISM AND CHRISTIANITY
IS WHETHER OR NOT THE LAWS THAT GOD GAVE MOSES, TO TEACH TO THE
CHILDREN OF ISRAEL, ARE STILL IN EFFECT TODAY. IN THIS SECTION
I WILL BE DEMONSTRATING HOW MUCH IMPORTANCE GOD PUTS ON HIS LAWS
AND HOW DIFFICULT IT IS (FOR ME) TO EVER THINK GOD WOULD NO LONGER
WANT HIS LAWS FOLLOWED.
A. WHAT THE BIBLE SAYS ABOUT GOD'S LAW
AROUND 1700 YEARS BEFORE JESUS WAS BORN, GOD MADE IT CLEAR WHY
ALL THE NATIONS OF THE EARTH WOULD BE BLESSED THROUGH ABRAHAM'S
DESCENDANTS:
GEN026:004 And I will make thy seed to multiply as the
stars of heaven, and will give unto thy seed all these countries;
and in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed;
GEN026:005 Because that Abraham obeyed my voice,
and kept my charge, my commandments, my statutes,
and my laws.
IT APPEARS THAT ABRAHAM FOLLOWED GOD'S LAW OVER 400 YEARS BEFORE
THE CHILDREN OF ISRAEL RECEIVED THE LAW IN THE WILDERNESS.
AROUND 1200 YEARS BEFORE JESUS WAS BORN, GOD TRANSMITTED HIS LAW
TO THE CHILDREN OF ISRAEL, THROUGH MOSES, THE GREATEST OF ALL
PROPHETS. THE FOLLOWING PASSAGES SHOW THE IMPORTANCE GOD PUTS
ON HIS LAWS:
DEU005:029 O that there were such an heart in them, that
they would fear me, and keep all my commandments always,
that it might be well with them, and with their children for ever!
LEV019:037 Therefore shall ye observe all my statutes,
and all my judgments, and do them: I am the Lord.
LEV020:022 Ye shall therefore keep all my statutes,
and all my judgments, and do them: that the land, whither
I bring you to dwell therein, spue you not out.
LEV025:018 Wherefore ye shall do My statutes, and
keep My judgments, and do them; and ye shall dwell in the
land in safety.
LEV026:046 These are the statutes and judgments
and laws, which the Lord made between him and the children
of Israel in mount Sinai by the hand of Moses.
DEU004:001 Now therefore hearken, O Israel, unto the statutes
and unto the judgments, which I teach you, for to do them,
that ye may live, and go in and possess the land which the Lord
God of your fathers giveth you.
DEU004:008 And what nation is there so great, that hath
statutes and judgments so righteous as all this
law, which I set before you this day?
DEU005:001 And Moses called all Israel, and said unto them,
Hear, O Israel, the statutes and judgments which
I speak in your ears this day, that ye may learn them, and keep,
and do them.
DEU011:001 Therefore thou shalt love the Lord thy God,
and keep his charge, and his statutes, and his judgments,
and his commandments, alway.
DEU026:016 This day the Lord thy God hath commanded thee
to do these statutes and judgments: thou shalt therefore
keep and do them with all thine heart, and with all thy soul.
DEU030:016 In that I command thee this day to love the
Lord thy God, to walk in his ways, and to keep his commandments
and his statutes and his judgments, that thou mayest
live and multiply: and the Lord thy God shall bless thee in the
land whither thou goest to possess it.
AROUND 1000 YEARS BEFORE JESUS WAS BORN, GOD TOOK THE KINGDOM
OF ISRAEL FROM KING SAUL BECAUSE HE DID NOT FOLLOW GOD'S COMMANDMENT:
1SA015:022 And Samuel said, Hath the Lord as great delight
in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of
the Lord? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and
to hearken than the fat of rams.
1SA015:023 For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, and
stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry. Because thou hast
rejected the word of the Lord, he hath also rejected thee from
being king.
AROUND 970 YEARS BEFORE JESUS WAS BORN, ON HIS DEATHBED, KING
DAVID SAID THE FOLLOWING TO HIS DESCENDANT SOLOMON:
1KI002:001 Now the days of David drew nigh that he should
die; and he charged Solomon his son, saying,
1KI002:002 I go the way of all the earth: be thou strong
therefore, and shew thyself a man;
1KI002:003 And keep the charge of the Lord thy God,
to walk in his ways, to keep his statutes, and his
commandments, and his judgments, and his testimonies,
as it is written in the law of Moses, that thou mayest
prosper in all that thou doest, and whithersoever thou turnest
thyself:
EVEN THOUGH CHRISTIAN THEOLOGY STATES THAT JESUS WAS A DESCENDANT
OF KING DAVID, THEY HAVE CHOSEN NOT TO FOLLOW WHAT KING DAVID
SAID.
AROUND 900 YEARS BEFORE JESUS WAS BORN, JUST BEFORE KING SOLOMON
FINISHED THE FIRST TEMPLE, GOD COMMUNICATED THE FOLLOWING:
1KI006:011 And the word of the Lord came to Solomon,
saying,
1KI006:012 Concerning this house which thou art in building,
if thou wilt walk in my statutes, and execute my judgments,
and keep all my commandments to walk in them; then will
I perform my word with thee, which I spake unto David thy father:
1KI006:013 And I will dwell among the children of Israel,
and will not forsake my people Israel.
THIS INDICATES THE IMPORTANCE GOD PLACES ON HIS COMMANDMENTS;
HERE MAKING SURE THAT KING SOLOMON DOES NOT THINK THAT BUILDING
THE TEMPLE SOMEHOW DOES AWAY WITH THE IMPORTANCE OF THE LAW.
AFTER GOD DECIDED TO SPLIT APART ISRAEL INTO TWO SEPARATE KINGDOMS
(JUDAH AND SAMARIA/ISRAEL), HE APPOINTED JEROBOAM TO BE KING OVER
SAMARIA/ISRAEL AND MADE IT CLEAR TO HIM WHAT GOD EXPECTED:
1KI011:037 And I will take thee, and thou shalt reign according
to all that thy soul desireth, and shalt be king over Israel.
1KI011:038 And it shall be, if thou wilt hearken unto all
that I command thee, and wilt walk in my ways, and do that
is right in my sight, to keep my statutes and my commandments,
as David my servant did; that I will be with thee, and build thee
a sure house, as I built for David, and will give Israel unto
thee.
BETWEEN 600 AND 800 YEARS BEFORE JESUS WAS BORN, GOD WAS STILL
STRESSING THE IMPORTANCE OF HIS LAW THROUGH HIS GREAT PROPHETS
ISAIAH, JEREMIAH, EZEKIAL, AMOS, JOEL, HOSEA, AND OTHERS:
ISA001:010 Hear the word of the Lord, ye rulers
of Sodom; give ear unto the law of our God, ye people of
Gomorrah.
ISA001:011 To what purpose is the multitude of your sacrifices
unto me? saith the Lord: I am full of the burnt offerings of rams,
and the fat of fed beasts; and I delight not in the blood of bullocks,
or of lambs, or of he goats.
ISA001:012 When ye come to appear before me, who hath required
this at your hand, to tread my courts?
ISA001:013 Bring no more vain oblations; incense is an
abomination unto me; the new moons and sabbaths, the calling of
assemblies, I cannot away with; it is iniquity, even the solemn
meeting.
ISA001:014 Your new moons and your appointed feasts my
soul hateth: they are a trouble unto me; I am weary to bear them.
ISA001:015 And when ye spread forth your hands, I will
hide mine eyes from you: yea, when ye make many prayers, I will
not hear: your hands are full of blood.
ISA001:016 Wash you, make you clean; put away the evil
of your doings from before mine eyes; cease to do evil;
ISA001:017 Learn to do well; seek judgment,
relieve the oppressed, judge the fatherless, plead
for the widow.
JER016:010 And it shall come to pass, when thou shalt shew
this people all these words, and they shall say unto thee, Wherefore
hath the Lord pronounced all this great evil against us? or what
is our iniquity? or what is our sin that we have committed against
the Lord our God?
JER016:011 Then shalt thou say unto them, Because your
fathers have forsaken me, saith the Lord, and have walked after
other gods, and have served them, and have worshipped them, and
have forsaken me, and have not kept my law;
JER016:012 And ye have done worse than your fathers; for,
behold, ye walk every one after the imagination of his evil heart,
that they may not hearken unto me:
JER016:013 Therefore will I cast you out of this land into
a land that ye know not, neither ye nor your fathers; and there
shall ye serve other gods day and night; where I will not shew
you favour.
JER026:004 And thou shalt say unto them, Thus saith the
Lord; If ye will not hearken to me, to walk in my law,
which I have set before you,
JER026:005 To hearken to the words of my servants the prophets,
whom I sent unto you, both rising up early, and sending them,
but ye have not hearkened;
JER026:006 Then will I make this house like Shiloh, and
will make this city a curse to all the nations of the earth.
JER044:023 Because ye have burned incense, and because
ye have sinned against the Lord, and have not obeyed the voice
of the Lord, nor walked in his law, nor in his statutes,
nor in his testimonies; therefore this evil is
happened unto you, as at this day.
EZE005:006 And she hath changed my judgments into wickedness
more than the nations, and my statutes more than the countries
that are round about her: for they have refused my judgments
and my statutes, they have not walked in them.
EZE018:005 But if a man be just, and do that which is lawful
and right,
EZE018:006 And hath not eaten upon the mountains, neither
hath lifted up his eyes to the idols of the house of Israel, neither
hath defiled his neighbour's wife, neither hath come near to a
menstruous woman,
EZE018:007 And hath not oppressed any, but hath restored
to the debtor his pledge, hath spoiled none by violence, hath
given his bread to the hungry, and hath covered the naked with
a garment;
EZE018:008 He that hath not given forth upon usury, neither
hath taken any increase, that hath withdrawn his hand from iniquity,
hath executed true judgment between man and man,
EZE018:009 Hath walked in my statutes, and hath
kept my judgments, to deal truly; he is just, he shall
surely live, saith the Lord God.
HOS008:001 Set the trumpet to thy mouth. He shall come
as an eagle against the house of the Lord, because they have transgressed
my covenant, and trespassed against my law.
AMO002:004 Thus saith the Lord; For three transgressions
of Judah, and for four, I will not turn away the punishment thereof;
because they have despised the law of the Lord, and have
not kept his commandments, and their lies caused them to
err, after the which their fathers have walked:
IT SHOULD BE OBVIOUS THAT GOD, THROUGH OUR PROPHETS, STRESSED
THE IMPORTANCE OF THE LAW. NOT OBEYING GOD'S LAW WAS THE CAUSE
FOR THE DESTRUCTION OF JUDAH AND SAMARIA/ISRAEL AS WELL AS JERUSALEM,
INCLUDING THE TEMPLE. THIS ALSO WAS THE REASON GOD ALLOWED THE
BABYLONIANS, LED BY KING NEBUCHADNEZZAR, TO BRING THE CHILDREN
OF ISRAEL TO BABYLON. THIS IS MADE CLEAR IN THE FOLLOWING PASSAGE:
2KI017:007 For so it was, that the children of Israel
had sinned against the Lord their God, which had brought them
up out of the land of Egypt, from under the hand of Pharaoh king
of Egypt, and had feared other gods,
2KI017:008 And walked in the statutes of the heathen, whom
the Lord cast out from before the children of Israel, and of the
kings of Israel, which they had made.
2KI017:009 And the children of Israel did secretly those
things that were not right against the Lord their God, and they
built them high places in all their cities, from the tower of
the watchmen to the fenced city.
2KI017:010 And they set them up images and groves in every
high hill, and under every green tree:
2KI017:011 And there they burnt incense in all the high
places, as did the heathen whom the Lord carried away before them;
and wrought wicked things to provoke the Lord to anger:
2KI017:012 For they served idols, whereof the Lord had
said unto them, Ye shall not do this thing.
2KI017:013 Yet the Lord testified against Israel, and against
Judah, by all the prophets, and by all the seers, saying, Turn
ye from your evil ways, and keep my commandments and my
statutes, according to all the law which I commanded your
fathers, and which I sent to you by my servants the prophets.
2KI017:014 Notwithstanding they would not hear, but hardened
their necks, like to the neck of their fathers, that did not believe
in the Lord their God.
2KI017:015 And they rejected his statutes, and his
covenant that he made with their fathers, and his testimonies
which he testified against them; and they followed vanity, and
became vain, and went after the heathen that were round
about them, concerning whom the Lord had charged them, that they
should not do like them.
2KI017:016 And they left all the commandments of the
Lord their God, and made them molten images, even two calves,
and made a grove, and worshipped all the host of heaven, and served
Baal.
2KI017:017 And they caused their sons and their daughters
to pass through the fire, and used divination and enchantments,
and sold themselves to do evil in the sight of the Lord, to provoke
him to anger.
2KI017:018Therefore the Lord was very angry with Israel,
and removed them out of his sight: there was none left but the
tribe of Judah only.
2KI017:019 Also Judah kept not the commandments of the
Lord their God, but walked in the statutes of Israel which
they made.
2KI017:020 And the Lord rejected all the seed of Israel,
and afflicted them, and delivered them into the hand of spoilers,
until he had cast them out of his sight.
2KI017:021 For he rent Israel from the house of David;
and they made Jeroboam the son of Nebat king: and Jeroboam drave
Israel from following the Lord, and made them sin a great sin.
2KI017:022 For the children of Israel walked in all the
sins of Jeroboam which he did; they departed not from them;
2KI017:023 Until the Lord removed Israel out of his sight,
as he had said by all his servants the prophets. So was Israel
carried away out of their own land to Assyria unto this day.
JUST 450 YEARS BEFORE JESUS WAS BORN, A PRIEST AND SCRIBE NAMED
EZRA BROUGHT A GROUP OF JEWS BACK TO JERUSALEM FROM BABYLON.
THE BOOK OF EZRA MAKES IT OBVIOUS THAT HE WAS DEVOTED TO GOD'S
LAW AND KNEW EXACTLY WHAT GOD EXPECTED FROM US:
EZR007:009 For upon the first day of the first month began
he to go up from Babylon, and on the first day of the fifth month
came he to Jerusalem, according to the good hand of his God upon
him.
EZR007:010 For Ezra had prepared his heart to seek the
law of the Lord, and to do it, and to teach in Israel
statutes and judgments.
WHILE THE CHILDREN OF ISRAEL WERE WANDERING IN THE WILDERNESS,
IF A MATTER OF LAW CAME UP THAT MOSES COULD NOT ANSWER, HE WOULD
ASK GOD AND GOD WOULD TELL HIM WHAT TO DO:
NUM009:008 And Moses said unto them, Stand still, and I
will hear what the Lord will command concerning you.
NUM009:009 And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying,
NUM009:010 Speak unto the children of Israel, saying, If
any man of you or of your posterity shall be unclean by reason
of a dead body, or be in a journey afar off, yet he shall keep
the passover unto the Lord.
NUM009:011 The fourteenth day of the second month at even
they shall keep it, and eat it with unleavened bread and bitter
herbs.
NUM015:032 And while the children of Israel were in
the wilderness, they found a man that gathered sticks upon
the sabbath day.
NUM015:033 And they that found him gathering sticks brought
him unto Moses and Aaron, and unto all the congregation.
NUM015:034 And they put him in ward, because it was
not declared what should be done to him.
NUM015:035 And The Lord said unto Moses, The man
shall be surely put to death: all the congregation shall stone
him with stones without the camp.
GOD KNEW THERE WOULD COME A TIME WHEN MOSES WOULD BE DEAD AND
PEOPLE WOULD NO LONGER BE ABLE TO COME TO GOD CONCERNING THE LAW.
SO HE DESCRIBES, IN THE BOOK OF DEUTERONOMY, WHAT WOULD LATER
BECOME THE SANHEDRIN:
DEU017:008If there arise a matter too hard for thee
in judgment, between blood and blood, between plea and plea,
and between stroke and stroke, being matters of controversy within
thy gates: then shalt thou arise, and get thee up into the place
which the Lord thy God shall choose;
DEU017:009 And thou shalt come unto the priests the
Levites, and unto the judge that shall be in those
days, and inquire; and they shall shew thee the sentence of
judgment:
DEU017:010 And thou shalt do according to the sentence,
which they of that place which the Lord shall choose shall shew
thee; and thou shalt observe to do according to all that they
inform thee:
DEU017:011 According to the sentence of the law which they
shall teach thee, and according to the judgment which they shall
tell thee, thou shalt do: thou shalt not decline from the sentence
which they shall shew thee, to the right hand, nor to the left.
DEU017:012 And the man that will do presumptuously, and
will not hearken unto the priest that standeth to minister there
before the Lord thy God, or unto the judge, even that man shall
die: and thou shalt put away the evil from Israel.
DEU025:001 If there be a controversy between men, and they
come unto judgment, that the judges may judge them; then
they shall justify the righteous, and condemn the wicked.
GOD SET UP WHAT WOULD BECOME THE SANHEDRIN IN ADVANCE, GIVING
IT THE ULTIMATE AUTHORITY. THEREFORE IT HAD EVERY RIGHT TO QUESTION
JESUS AND ANYONE ELSE GOING AGAINST GOD'S LAW AND IT'S RULINGS.
THE ELDERS NOT ONLY HAD THE RIGHT TO EXECUTE JUDGMENT, THEY ALSO
HAD THE RIGHT TO EXECUTE PEOPLE.
MANY CHRISTIANS BELIEVE THAT THE TEN COMMANDMENTS MAKE UP THE
ENTIRETY OF GOD'S LAW. HOWEVER GOD'S LAW IS OFTEN REFERRED TO
AS "STATUTES, JUDGMENTS AND LAWS" AS SHOWN BELOW:
LEV018:004 Ye shall do my judgments, and keep mine
ordinances, to walk therein: I am the Lord your God.
LEV018:005 Ye shall therefore keep my statutes,
and my judgments: which if a man do, he shall live in them:
I am the Lord.
LEV018:026 Ye shall therefore keep my statutes and
my judgments, and shall not commit any of these abominations;
neither any of your own nation, nor any stranger that sojourneth
among you:
THIS WOULD CERTAINLY MAKE UP MORE THAN TEN COMMANDMENTS. BESIDES,
IT IS HIGHLY UNLIKELY THAT IT WOULD HAVE TAKEN FORTY DAYS AND
NIGHTS FOR GOD TO GIVE MOSES TEN RELATIVELY SIMPLE COMMANDMENTS.
IT ALSO APPEARS THAT THE STRANGER HAD TO OBEY GOD'S LAW -- NOT
JUST THE CHILDREN OF ISRAEL.
THE FOLLOWING PASSAGES ARE VERY IMPORTANT. ISAIAH AND MICAH ARE
TALKING ABOUT THE "END OF DAYS". JEWS BELIEVE THIS
IS WHEN THE MESSIAH WILL COME AND THE CHRISTIANS BELIEVE IT WILL
BE THE SECOND COMING OF JESUS:
ISA002:003 And many people shall go and say, Come
ye, and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house
of the God of Jacob; and he will teach us of his ways,
and we will walk in his paths: for out of Zion
shall go forth the law, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem.
MIC004:001 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.
MIC004:002 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.
ACCORDING TO THESE PASSAGES, IT WOULD SEEM THAT THE LAW WILL STILL
BE IN EFFECT AT THE "END OF DAYS". GENERALLY CHRISTIAN
THEOLOGY DOES NOT MAINTAIN THAT THE LAW IS IN EFFECT DURING THE
"END OF DAYS", SINCE IT IS HELD THAT JESUS FULFILLED
IT. THE CHRISTIAN BIBLE ALSO STATES THAT GOD'S LAW WAS FOR THE
JEWS AND NOT FOR THE GENTILES. BUT ISAIAH AND MICAH MAKE IT QUITE
CLEAR THAT THE OTHER NATIONS (GENTILES) WILL COME AND LEARN THE
LAW FROM THE MESSIAH AND FROM THE CHILDREN OF ISRAEL. REMEMBER
GOD REFERS TO ALL OF THE CHILDREN OF ISRAEL AS A KINGDOM OF PRIESTS:
EXO019:006 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.
IF JESUS FULFILLED THE LAW, WHY WOULD GOD SAY THAT THE CHILDREN
OF ISRAEL WILL TEACH HIS LAW TO THE REMAINING GENTILE NATIONS?
THE LAST PROPHET MALACHI ALSO EMPHASIZES THE IMPORTANCE OF THE
LAW OF MOSES AND HOW IT WILL STILL BE IN EFFECT DURING THE "END
OF DAYS". THIS PASSAGE ALSO TEACHES US THAT GOD IS GOING
TO SEND ELIJAH AT THE "END OF DAYS":
MAL004:004 Remember ye the law of Moses my servant,
which I commanded unto him in Horeb for all Israel, with the statutes
and judgments.
MAL004:005 Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet
before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord:
MAL004:006 And he shall turn the heart of the fathers to
the children, and the heart of the children to their fathers,
lest I come and smite the earth with a curse.
IT SHOULD BE OBVIOUS THAT THE LAW STAYS IN EFFECT UNTIL THE "END
OF DAYS", WHEN ELIJAH COMES. OF COURSE IN THE CHRISTIAN
BIBLE JESUS IMPLIES THAT JOHN THE BAPTIST WAS ELIJAH:
MAT017:012 But I say unto you, That Elias is come already,
and they knew him not, but have done unto him whatsoever they
listed. Likewise shall also the Son of man suffer of them.
MAT017:013 Then the disciples understood that he spake
unto them of John the Baptist.
BUT GOD SAYS THROUGH MALACHI THAT ELIJAH COMES AT THE "END
OF DAYS". JESUS AND JOHN THE BAPTIST LIVED TWO THOUSAND
YEARS AGO, OBVIOUSLY NOT THE "END OF DAYS".
HERE GOD MENTIONS SOME OF HIS LAWS AND STRESSES THE IMPORTANCE
OF KEEPING THEM. GOD ALSO EMPHASIZES THAT HE DOES NOT CHANGE:
MAL003:005 And I will come near to you to judgment; and
I will be a swift witness against the sorcerers, and against the
adulterers, and against false swearers, and against those that
oppress the hireling in his wages, the widow, and the fatherless,
and that turn aside the stranger from his right, and fear not
me, saith the Lord of hosts.
MAL003:006 For I am the Lord, I change not; therefore
ye sons of Jacob are not consumed.
MAL003:007 Even from the days of your fathers ye are gone
away from mine ordinances, and have not kept them.
Return unto me, and I will return unto you, saith the Lord of
hosts. But ye said, Wherein shall we return?
IF GOD DOES NOT CHANGE, HOW CAN CHRISTIAN THEOLOGY TEACH THAT
WITH JESUS, THE LAW IS NO LONGER IN EFFECT? WE HAVE JUST READ
THAT NOT ONLY WILL IT BE IN EFFECT AT THE "END OF DAYS",
BUT WILL BE A REQUIREMENT FOR THE GENTILES AS WELL.
THE JEWISH BIBLE TEACHES US THAT THE GREAT PROPHET ELISHA, RECEIVED
A DOUBLE PORTION OF HIS PREDECESSOR ELIJAH'S SPIRIT. THE JEWISH
BIBLE ALSO TEACHES US THAT ELISHA PERFORMED THE SAME KIND OF WONDERS
AND MIRACLES AS JESUS IS SAID TO HAVE DONE. AS A PROPHET AND
SPEAKING FOR GOD, ELISHA SAID THE FOLLOWING:
2KI017:037 And the statutes, and the ordinances,
and the law, and the commandment, which He wrote
for you, ye shall observe to do for evermore; and ye shall
not fear other gods.
GOD SAID TO OBSERVE THE LAW FOR "EVERMORE", TO ME THAT
MEANS FOREVER. GOD SAID THIS WHEN THE CHILDREN OF ISRAEL WERE
MISBEHAVING BADLY. EVEN THOUGH THE CHILDREN OF ISRAEL WERE IGNORING
THE LAW, GOD STRONGLY MAINTAINED THAT THE LAW WAS ETERNAL.
TO SUM UP WHY I BELIEVE GOD TAKES THE LAW HE GAVE TO THE CHILDREN
OF ISRAEL VERY SERIOUSLY, YOU WILL NOW SEE WHAT GOD PROMISED THE
CHILDREN OF ISRAEL IF THEY DID NOT OBEY HIS LAWS:
DEU028:015 But it shall come to pass, if thou wilt not
hearken unto the voice of the Lord thy God, to observe to do all
his commandments and his statutes which I command thee this day;
that all these curses shall come upon thee, and overtake thee:
DEU028:016 Cursed shalt thou be in the city, and cursed
shalt thou be in the field.
DEU028:017 Cursed shall be thy basket and thy store.
DEU028:018 Cursed shall be the fruit of thy body, and the
fruit of thy land, the increase of thy kine, and the flocks of
thy sheep.
DEU028:019 Cursed shalt thou be when thou comest in, and
cursed shalt thou be when thou goest out.
DEU028:020 The Lord shall send upon thee cursing, vexation,
and rebuke, in all that thou settest thine hand unto for to do,
until thou be destroyed, and until thou perish quickly; because
of the wickedness of thy doings, whereby thou hast forsaken me.
DEU028:021 The Lord shall make the pestilence cleave unto
thee, until he have consumed thee from off the land, whither thou
goest to possess it.
DEU028:022 The Lord shall smite thee with a consumption,
and with a fever, and with an inflammation, and with an extreme
burning, and with the sword, and with blasting, and with mildew;
and they shall pursue thee until thou perish.
DEU028:023 And thy heaven that is over thy head shall be
brass, and the earth that is under thee shall be iron.
DEU028:024 The Lord shall make the rain of thy land powder
and dust: from heaven shall it come down upon thee, until thou
be destroyed.
DEU028:025 The Lord shall cause thee to be smitten before
thine enemies: thou shalt go out one way against them, and flee
seven ways before them: and shalt be removed into all the kingdoms
of the earth.
DEU028:026 And thy carcase shall be meat unto all fowls
of the air, and unto the beasts of the earth, and no man shall
fray them away.
DEU028:027 The Lord will smite thee with the botch of Egypt,
and with the emerods, and with the scab, and with the itch, whereof
thou canst not be healed.
DEU028:028 The Lord shall smite thee with madness, and
blindness, and astonishment of heart:
DEU028:029 And thou shalt grope at noonday, as the blind
gropeth in darkness, and thou shalt not prosper in thy ways: and
thou shalt be only oppressed and spoiled evermore, and no man
shall save thee.
DEU028:030 Thou shalt betroth a wife, and another man shall
lie with her: thou shalt build an house, and thou shalt not dwell
therein: thou shalt plant a vineyard, and shalt not gather the
grapes thereof.
DEU028:031 Thine ox shall be slain before thine eyes, and
thou shalt not eat thereof: thine ass shall be violently taken
away from before thy face, and shall not be restored to thee:
thy sheep shall be given unto thine enemies, and thou shalt have
none to rescue them.
DEU028:032 Thy sons and thy daughters shall be given unto
another people, and thine eyes shall look, and fail with longing
for them all the day long; and there shall be no might in thine
hand.
DEU028:033 The fruit of thy land, and all thy labours,
shall a nation which thou knowest not eat up; and thou shalt be
only oppressed and crushed alway:
DEU028:034 So that thou shalt be mad for the sight of thine
eyes which thou shalt see.
DEU028:035 The Lord shall smite thee in the knees, and
in the legs, with a sore botch that cannot be healed, from the
sole of thy foot unto the top of thy head.
DEU028:036 The Lord shall bring thee, and thy king which
thou shalt set over thee, unto a nation which neither thou nor
thy fathers have known; and there shalt thou serve other gods,
wood and stone.
DEU028:037 And thou shalt become an astonishment, a proverb,
and a byword, among all nations whither the Lord shall lead thee.
DEU028:038 Thou shalt carry much seed out into the field,
and shalt gather but little in; for the locust shall consume it.
DEU028:039 Thou shalt plant vineyards, and dress them,
but shalt neither drink of the wine, nor gather the grapes; for
the worms shall eat them.
DEU028:040 Thou shalt have olive trees throughout all thy
coasts, but thou shalt not anoint thyself with the oil; for thine
olive shall cast his fruit.
DEU028:041 Thou shalt beget sons and daughters, but thou
shalt not enjoy them; for they shall go into captivity.
DEU028:042 All thy trees and fruit of thy land shall the
locust consume.
DEU028:043 The stranger that is within thee shall get up
above thee very high; and thou shalt come down very low.
DEU028:044 He shall lend to thee, and thou shalt not lend
to him: he shall be the head, and thou shalt be the tail.
DEU028:045 Moreover all these curses shall come upon
thee, and shall pursue thee, and overtake thee, till thou
be destroyed; because thou hearkenedst not unto the voice of
the Lord thy God, to keep his commandments and his statutes which
he commanded thee:
DEU028:046 And they shall be upon thee for a sign and for
a wonder, and upon thy seed for ever.
DEU028:047 Because thou servedst not the Lord thy God with
joyfulness, and with gladness of heart, for the abundance of all
things;
DEU028:048 Therefore shalt thou serve thine enemies which
the Lord shall send against thee, in hunger, and in thirst, and
in nakedness, and in want of all things: and he shall put a yoke
of iron upon thy neck, until he have destroyed thee.
DEU028:049 The Lord shall bring a nation against thee from
far, from the end of the earth, as swift as the eagle flieth;
a nation whose tongue thou shalt not understand;
DEU028:050 A nation of fierce countenance, which shall
not regard the person of the old, nor shew favour to the young:
DEU028:051 And he shall eat the fruit of thy cattle, and
the fruit of thy land, until thou be destroyed: which also shall
not leave thee either corn, wine, or oil, or the increase of thy
kine, or flocks of thy sheep, until he have destroyed thee.
DEU028:052 And he shall besiege thee in all thy gates,
until thy high and fenced walls come down, wherein thou trustedst,
throughout all thy land: and he shall besiege thee in all thy
gates throughout all thy land, which the Lord thy God hath given
thee.
DEU028:053 And thou shalt eat the fruit of thine own body,
the flesh of thy sons and of thy daughters, which the Lord thy
God hath given thee, in the siege, and in the straitness, wherewith
thine enemies shall distress thee:
DEU028:054 So that the man that is tender among you, and
very delicate, his eye shall be evil toward his brother, and toward
the wife of his bosom, and toward the remnant of his children
which he shall leave:
DEU028:055 So that he will not give to any of them of the
flesh of his children whom he shall eat: because he hath nothing
left him in the siege, and in the straitness, wherewith thine
enemies shall distress thee in all thy gates.
DEU028:056 The tender and delicate woman among you, which
would not adventure to set the sole of her foot upon the ground
for delicateness and tenderness, her eye shall be evil toward
the husband of her bosom, and toward her son, and toward her
daughter,
DEU028:057 And toward her young one that cometh out from
between her feet, and toward her children which she shall bear:
for she shall eat them for want of all things secretly in the
siege and straitness, wherewith thine enemy shall distress thee
in thy gates.
DEU028:058If thou wilt not observe to do all the words
of this law that are written in this book, that thou mayest
fear this glorious and fearful name, The Lord Thy God;
B. WHAT JESUS SAID ABOUT GOD'S LAW
IN THIS SECTION, I WILL BE SHOWING YOU HOW JESUS NEVER EVEN HINTED
THAT HIS FOLLOWERS SHOULD STOP DOING THE LAWS THAT GOD GAVE TO
THE CHILDREN OF ISRAEL. IN FACT, YOU WILL SEE THAT HE GOES OUT
OF HIS WAY TO SAY THE OPPOSITE. JESUS MAY HAVE HAD PROBLEMS WITH
THE PRIORITIES PEOPLE WERE PUTTING ON CERTAIN LAWS, RATHER THAN
ON OTHERS, BUT HE NEVER ADVOCATED DOING AWAY WITH GOD'S
LAW.
MAT005:017 Think not that I am come to destroy the law,
or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil.
MAT005:018 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.
THIS SOUNDS A LOT LIKE WHAT THE PROPHET MALACHI SAID CONCERNING
THE LAW, THAT THE LAW WILL BE IN EFFECT UNTIL THE "END OF
DAYS". I BELIEVE THAT IS WHAT JESUS MEANT BY "TILL
ALL BE FULFILLED", BUT AFTER TWO THOUSAND YEARS THE LAW HAS
STILL NOT BEEN FULFILLED.
MAT005:019 Whosoever therefore shall break one of these
least commandments, and shall teach men so, he shall be called
the least in the kingdom of heaven: but whosoever shall
do and teach them, the same shall be called great in the kingdom
of heaven.
AS YOU WILL SEE LATER ON, PAUL TAUGHT PEOPLE NOT TO DO SOME OF
GOD'S LAWS AND MANY OF GOD'S LAWS ARE NOT BEING TAUGHT IN CHRISTIANITY
TODAY. WOULD PAUL BE CALLED "LEAST IN THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN"?
MAT005:020 For I say unto you, That except your righteousness
shall exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees,
ye shall in no case enter into the kingdom of heaven.
HERE IT APPEARS THAT JESUS SAID THAT BEING RIGHTEOUS (FOLLOWING
GOD'S LAW), IS THE ONLY WAY TO ENTER INTO HEAVEN. AS YOU WILL
SEE PAUL SAID IT ONLY REQUIRES FAITH IN JESUS. (SEEMS LIKE JESUS
AND PAUL DID NOT HAVE THE SAME BELIEF.)
MAT007:021 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.
HERE EVEN JESUS SAID THAT FAITH IN HIM WAS NOT ENOUGH. DOING
GOD'S WILL, AS MANIFESTED IN THE LAW, IS THE KEY TO ENTERING INTO
HEAVEN.
MAT023:001 Then spake Jesus to the multitude, and to his
disciples,
MAT023:002 Saying, The scribes and the Pharisees sit
in Moses' seat:
MAT023:003 All therefore whatsoever they bid you observe,
that observe and do; but do not ye after their works: for they
say, and do not.
EVEN THOUGH THE CHRISTIAN BIBLE PORTRAYS JESUS AS BEING VERY NEGATIVE
TOWARDS THE SCRIBES AND THE PHARISEES, HERE JESUS TOLD EVERYONE
TO ABIDE BY THE LAWS THAT THEY TEACH. HE EVEN ADMITTED THAT THEY
SAT IN MOSES' SEAT, NOT HIM. HE KNEW THAT THE TORAH SAYS THAT
ONLY THEY HAD THE AUTHORITY TO ADMINISTER THE LAW (SEE DEU017:008-012).
MAT023:023 Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites!
for ye pay tithe of mint and anise and cummin, and have omitted
the weightier matters of the law, judgment, mercy, and faith:
these ought ye to have done, and not to leave the other undone.
MAT023:024 Ye blind guides, which strain at a gnat, and
swallow a camel.
MAT023:025 Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites!
for ye make clean the outside of the cup and of the platter, but
within they are full of extortion and excess.
MAT023:026 Thou blind Pharisee, cleanse first that which
is within the cup and platter, that the outside of them may be
clean also.
JESUS SEEMED TO FEEL THAT THE SCRIBES AND PHARISEES WERE HYPOCRITES;
THEY TAUGHT ONE THING BUT PRACTICED ANOTHER. IT SEEMS THAT HE
FELT THEY WERE CONCENTRATING ON LITTLE THINGS AND MISSING THE
IMPORTANT ASPECTS OF GOD'S LAW. BUT PLEASE NOTE THAT JESUS MADE
IT CLEAR THAT THEY SHOULD NOT LEAVE ANY UNDONE.
MAR010:017 And when he was gone forth into the way, there
came one running, and kneeled to him, and asked him, Good Master,
what shall I do that I may inherit eternal life?
MAR010:018 And Jesus said unto him, Why callest thou me
good? there is none good but one, that is, God.
MAR010:019 Thou knowest the commandments, Do not
commit adultery, Do not kill, Do not steal, Do not bear false
witness, Defraud not, Honour thy father and mother.
JESUS DID NOT TELL THIS PERSON ALL HE NEEDED TO DO WAS TO BELIEVE
IN HIM. INSTEAD HE REPEATED A FEW OF THE TEN COMMANDMENTS. JUST
BECAUSE JESUS DID NOT REITERATE THE ENTIRE TORAH, WITH ALL 613
COMMANDMENTS, CERTAINLY SHOULD NOT IMPLY THESE ARE THE ONLY LAWS
JESUS FELT WERE IMPORTANT. FEEDING THE HUNGRY AND HELPING THE
POOR ARE PART OF GOD'S LAW, BUT NOT PART OF THE TEN COMMANDMENTS.
LUK016:016 The law and the prophets were until John: since
that time the kingdom of God is preached, and every man presseth
into it.
LUK016:017 And it is easier for heaven and earth to pass,
than one tittle of the law to fail.
EVEN THOUGH JESUS WANTED TO MAKE ADDITIONS TO GOD'S LAW, IN NO
WAY DID HE GIVE ANY INDICATION THAT WITH HIM, IT WAS THE END OF
THE LAW.
JESUS APPEARED TO HAVE LINKED LOVING HIM TO DOING GOD'S LAW:
JOH014:015 If ye love me, keep my commandments.
JOH014:021He 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.
JESUS MADE IT CLEAR THAT BEING RIGHTEOUS (FOLLOW-ING GOD'S LAW)
IS WHAT WILL GET YOU INTO HEAVEN:
MAT013:041 The Son of man shall send forth his angels,
and they shall gather out of his kingdom all things that offend,
and them which do iniquity;
MAT013:042 And shall cast them into a furnace of fire:
there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth.
MAT013:043 Then shall the righteous shine forth
as the sun in the kingdom of their Father. Who hath ears to hear,
let him hear.
WHY DID JESUS MAKE THIS STATEMENT IF YOU ARE JUSTIFIED BY FAITH
AND NOT BY RIGHTEOUSNESS?
C. WHAT PAUL SAID ABOUT GOD'S LAW
IN THIS SECTION YOU WILL SEE THAT PAUL WENT COMPLETELY AGAINST
WHAT GOD SAYS ABOUT THE LAW AND DID NOT SEEM TO HAVE A CLUE AS
TO WHAT JESUS SAID ABOUT THE LAW. IT IS NO WONDER WHY MANY PEOPLE
THINK THAT PAUL COULD HAVE PICKED ANYONE TO BE THE DEITY OF THE
RELIGION THAT HE CREATED, SINCE HE USED VERY LITTLE OF WHAT JESUS
SAID.
PAUL TAUGHT THAT WITH JESUS IT MEANT THE END OF GOD'S LAW:
ROM010:004 For Christ is the end of the law for
righteousness to every one that believeth.
HERE PAUL SEEMED TO HAVE SAID THAT THE JEWS WERE GIVEN THE LAW
BECAUSE THEY WERE HORRIBLE, DISOBEDIENT, UNGODLY SINNERS:
1TI001:008 But we know that the law is good, if a man use
it lawfully;
1TI001:009 Knowing this, that the law is not made for
a righteous man, but for the lawless and disobedient, for
the ungodly and for sinners, for unholy and profane, for murderers
of fathers and murderers of mothers, for manslayers,
1TI001:010 For whoremongers, for them that defile themselves
with mankind, for menstealers, for liars, for perjured persons,
and if there be any other thing that is contrary to sound doctrine;
1TI001:011 According to the glorious gospel of the blessed
God, which was committed to my trust.
GIVEN THE BLOODY HISTORY OF CHRISTIANITY, IT SEEMS TO ME THAT
THE CHRISTIANS THEMSELVES WOULD HAVE BENEFITED FROM THE LAW.
AS FAR AS I AM CONCERNED, HUMANS NEEDED LAWS THREE THOUSAND YEARS
AGO, TWO THOUSAND YEARS AGO AND CERTAINLY TODAY. I CAN NOT BELIEVE
THAT AFTER JESUS DIED, TWO THOUSAND YEARS AGO, THAT PEOPLE BECAME
MORE RIGHTEOUS AND NOT IN NEED OF LAWS.
PAUL TAUGHT THAT ONE CAN NOT BE JUSTIFIED BY GOD'S LAW BUT ONLY
BY HAVING FAITH IN JESUS:
GAL002:015 We who are Jews by nature, and not sinners of
the Gentiles,
GAL002:016 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.
GAL002:017 But if, while we seek to be justified by Christ,
we ourselves also are found sinners, is therefore Christ the minister
of sin? God forbid.
GAL002:018 For if I build again the things which I destroyed,
I make myself a transgressor.
GAL002:019 For I through the law am dead to the law,
that I might live unto God.
GAL002:020 I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live;
yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live
in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved
me, and gave himself for me.
GAL002:021 I do not frustrate the grace of God: for if
righteousness come by the law, then Christ is dead in vain.
ACT013:039 And by him all that believe are justified
from all things, from which ye could not be justified by the
law of Moses.
WHEN IT COMES TO GOD'S LAW, PAUL WENT AGAINST WHAT GOD SAYS AS
WELL AS WHAT JESUS SAID:
GAL003:006 Even as Abraham believed God, and it was accounted
to him for righteousness.
GAL003:007 Know ye therefore that they which are of faith,
the same are the children of Abraham.
GAL003:008 And the scripture, foreseeing that God would
justify the heathen through faith, preached before the gospel
unto Abraham, saying, In thee shall all nations be blessed.
GAL003:009 So then they which be of faith are blessed with
faithful Abraham.
GAL003:010 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.
GAL003:011 But that no man is justified by the law in
the sight of God, it is evident: for, The just shall live
by faith.
GAL003:012 And the law is not of faith: but, the man that
doeth them shall live in them.
GAL003:013 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:
GAL003:014 That the blessing of Abraham might come on the
Gentiles through Jesus Christ; that we might receive the promise
of the Spirit through faith.
GAL005:018 But if ye be led of the Spirit, ye are not
under the law.
EPH002:015 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;
PAUL SAID THAT YOU HAVE TO BE RIGHTEOUS TO GET INTO HEAVEN:
1CO006:009 Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not
inherit the kingdom of God? Be not deceived: neither fornicators,
nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of
themselves with mankind,
1CO006:010 Nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor
revilers, nor extortioners, shall inherit the kingdom of God.
I CAN NOT FIGURE OUT WHAT PAUL BELIEVES, BECAUSE AT TIMES HE SAYS
YOU ONLY NEED FAITH TO BE SAVED. HERE HE CLEARLY IMPLIES THAT
HEAVEN WOULD BE DENIED TO THE "UNRIGHTEOUS" AND EVEN
SPECIFIES SOME OF GOD'S LAWS.
HERE PAUL SAID THAT YOU CAN NOT BE JUSTIFIED IN THE LAW AND THAT
SALVATION IS THROUGH FAITH NOT THROUGH WORKS (YOUR ACTIONS):
ROM003:026 To declare, I say, at this time his righteousness:
that he might be just, and the justifier of him which believeth
in Jesus.
ROM003:027 Where is boasting then? It is excluded. By
what law? of works? Nay: but by the law of faith.
ROM003:028 Therefore we conclude that a man is justified
by faith without the deeds of the law.
ROM003:029 Is he the God of the Jews only? is he not also
of the Gentiles? Yes, of the Gentiles also:
ROM003:030 Seeing it is one God, which shall justify the
circumcision by faith, and uncircumcision through faith.
ROM003:031Do we then make void the law through faith?
God forbid: yea, we establish the law.
PAUL ALSO SAID THAT THE LAW IS NOT VOID EITHER. WHY THEN, DO
CHRISTIANS SAY THEY DO NOT HAVE TO FOLLOW THE LAW BECAUSE JESUS
FULFILLED IT ON THE CROSS, EFFECTIVELY ABROGATING IT? ACCORDING
TO PAUL, JESUS DID NOT CANCEL THE LAW BUT IN FACT ESTABLISHED
THE LAW.
STATEMENTS LIKE THESE CAUSE CHRISTIANS TO THINK THEY ARE NO LONGER
UNDER GOD'S LAW, EVEN THOUGH JESUS SAID THAT THEY WERE:
GAL005:018 But if ye be led of the Spirit, ye are not
under the law.
HERE IT SEEMS THAT PAUL SAID THAT CHRISTIANS ARE NOT UNDER THE
LAW BUT STILL HAVE TO FOLLOW IT:
ROM006:014 For sin shall not have dominion over you: for
ye are not under the law, but under grace.
ROM006:015 What then? shall we sin, because we are not
under the law, but under grace? God forbid.
MY GUESS IS, EITHER PAUL SAID DIFFERENT THINGS TO DIFFERENT AUDIENCES,
OR WHENEVER IT SOUNDS LIKE HE IS DISCOUNTING THE MOSAIC LAWS,
HE IS DOING SO ONLY TO MAKE CLEAR THAT ONE IS NOT "JUSTIFIED"
BY THE LAW. I PERSONALLY THINK PAUL MAINTAINED THAT YOU CAN ONLY
BE "JUSTIFIED" (WORTHY OF HEAVEN) THROUGH FAITH IN JESUS,
BUT BY INSTINCT (CIRCUMCISED HEART) YOU WILL NATURALLY DO THE
MOSAIC LAWS. IT WOULD APPEAR TO ME THAT THIS CONCEPT DID NOT
SEEM TO WORK, SINCE WE DO NOT EVEN SEE DEVOUT CHRISTIANS DOING
MANY OF THE MOSAIC LAWS -- WHICH INCLUDE A LOT MORE THAN JUST
THE TEN COMMANDMENTS.
HERE PAUL SEEMED TO WAVER AND SURE MADE IT SEEM LIKE FAITH WAS
NOT THE ONLY CRITERIA:
GAL005:019 Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which
are these; Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness,
GAL005:021 Envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings,
and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also
told you in time past, that they which do such things shall
not inherit the kingdom of God.
PAUL WAVERS YET AGAIN AND SAYS:
EPH002:014 For he is our peace, who hath made both one,
and hath broken down the middle wall of partition between us;
EPH002:015Having 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;
SO AGAIN PAUL SAID THAT THE LAW IS ABOLISHED. I HOPE YOU CAN
SEE WHY I HAVE NEVER REALLY FIGURED OUT WHAT PAUL REALLY FELT
ABOUT GOD'S LAW. BUT WHAT I DO KNOW IS, THE END RESULT IS THAT
MANY OF GOD'S LAWS ARE IGNORED IN CHRISTIANITY.
PAUL ADMITTED TO SAYING WHATEVER IT TOOK AND BEING WHOEVER HE
NEEDED TO BE TO CONVERT PEOPLE:
1CO009:020 And unto the Jews I became as a Jew, that
I might gain the Jews; to them that are under the law, as
under the law, that I might gain them that are under the law;
1CO009:021 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.
1CO009:022 To the weak became I as weak, that I
might gain the weak: I am made all things to all men, that I might
by all means save some.
1CO009:023 And this I do for the gospel's sake, that I
might be partaker thereof with you.
IT DOES NOT SEEM VERY HONEST TO ME.
ALTHOUGH IT IS NOT CLEAR, IT APPEARS THAT PAUL BELIEVED THAT GOD'S
LAW WAS NO LONGER IMPORTANT AND THAT ALL ONE NEEDED TO DO, TO
GET TO HEAVEN, WAS HAVE "FAITH" IN JESUS -- IT IS CALLED
"GRACE". BUT GOD SAYS THROUGH THE PROPHET HOSEA:
HOS004:006 My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge:
because thou hast rejected knowledge, I will also reject
thee, that thou shalt be no priest to me: seeing thou hast
forgotten the law of thy God, I will also forget thy
children.
DO YOU THINK GOD REJECTED PAUL? I DO! WE DO NOT KNOW IF PAUL
HAD CHILDREN BUT HE HAS MANY FOLLOWERS.
I'M SURE YOU HAVE HEARD DEBATES ON LOWERING THE REQUIREMENTS FOR
COLLEGE ADMISSIONS, SO THAT PEOPLE WHO CAN NOT MEET THESE STANDARDS,
CAN STILL HAVE AN OPPORTUNITY. I'M SURE THAT MANY CHRISTIANS,
WOULD BE AGAINST LOWERING THESE REQUIREMENTS AND IN FACT SUGGEST
THAT THESE PEOPLE WORK HARDER TO MEET THE STANDARDS. BUT LOOK
WHAT PAUL SAID:
ROM004:015 Because the law worketh wrath: for where
no law is, there is no transgression.
ROM004:016 Therefore it is of faith, that it might
be by grace;
IT SEEMS LIKE PAUL BELIEVED THAT BY DOING AWAY WITH GOD'S LAWS,
PEOPLE COULD NO LONGER BE CONSIDERED SINNERS. THEREFORE THEY
WOULD AUTOMATICALLY BE SAVED THROUGH GRACE -- HAVING FAITH
IN JESUS AND HAVING NOTHING TO DO WITH THEIR ACTIONS. TALK ABOUT
LOWERING THE STANDARDS. IF YOU DO NOT HAVE A SCALE AND CAN NOT
WEIGH YOURSELF, DOES THIS MEAN YOU CAN NOT GAIN WEIGHT? I WISH!
FROM THE MOMENT GOD GAVE HIS LAW TO THE CHILDREN OF ISRAEL (1200
YEARS BEFORE THE COMMON ERA), THE BIBLE OFTEN PORTRAYS THEM AS
TRANSGRESSING THESE LAWS. BUT NOT ONCE DOES ANY PROPHET EVEN
HINT AT DOING AWAY WITH ANY OF THESE LAWS. IN FACT, THEY CONTINUE
STRESSING THE IMPORTANCE OF GOD'S LAW.
I DO NOT BELIEVE GOD WOULD EVER LOWER HIS STANDARDS. YET I DO
NOT BELIEVE GOD EXPECTS PERFECTION EITHER (IT APPEARS IN THE BIBLE
THAT MOSES WAS SOMEHOW INVOLVED IN THE DEATH OF AN EGYPTIAN, AARON
WAS INVOLVED IN THE GOLDEN CALF INCIDENT AND KING DAVID SEEMED
TO HAVE HAD AN AFFAIR WITH A MARRIED WOMAN). BUT I DO BELIEVE
GOD WANTS US TO STRIVE TO MEET HIS STANDARD, BY FOLLOWING THE
LAWS HE HAS GIVEN TO US.
I BELIEVE THAT PAUL WAS SO CONCERNED ABOUT HIS OWN SALVATION,
SINCE HE HAD DONE SO MANY HORRIBLE THINGS TO THE FOLLOWERS OF
JESUS, THAT HE CONCOCTED THIS WHOLE CONCEPT OF GRACE.
I KNOW THAT CHRISTIANS ENJOY READING THE PROVERBS OUT OF THE JEWISH
BIBLE BUT DO THEY SKIP OVER THESE TWO?
PRO028:009 He that turneth away his ear from hearing
the law, even his prayer shall be abomination.
PRO029:018 Where there is no vision, the people perish:
but he that keepeth the law, happy is he.
IS THERE ANY WONDER WHY THE JEWISH ELDERS, WHO WERE FAMILIAR WITH
THE JEWISH BIBLE, REJECTED PAUL'S THEOLOGY? REMEMBER THE BOOK
OF PROVERBS IS ATTRIBUTED TO KING SOLOMON, THE WISEST MAN WHO
EVER LIVED. WHO DO YOU BELIEVE, PAUL OR KING SOLOMON?
THE BOTTOM LINE IS, IN THE BOOK OF EXODUS GOD MAKES IT CLEAR THAT
HE EXPECTS HIS CHOSEN PEOPLE, THE PEOPLE THAT HE MADE A COVENANT
WITH, TO KEEP HIS LAWS AND TO BE A HOLY NATION. PAUL CAN NOT
DO AWAY WITH GOD'S LAWS AND AT THE SAME TIME BELIEVE GOD'S COVENANT
IS NOW WITH THE PEOPLE WHO BELIEVE IN JESUS, INSTEAD OF WITH THE
DESCENDANTS OF JACOB.
EXO019:005 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:
EXO019:006 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.
IS IT ANY WONDER THAT THE JEWS COULD NOT BELIEVE WHAT PAUL WAS
SAYING, CONCERNING GOD'S LAW? THEY KNEW THAT KEEPING GOD'S LAWS
WAS THE "ONLY" WAY TO KEEP THEIR COVENANT WITH GOD.
D. WHAT JAMES SAID ABOUT GOD'S LAW
IT HAS BEEN SUGGESTED BY MANY BIBLICAL SCHOLARS, THAT THE BOOK
OF JAMES DESCRIBES THE ACTUAL TEACHINGS OF JESUS' BROTHER JAMES.
THROUGH THESE VERSES, FROM THE BOOK OF JAMES, YOU WILL CLEARLY
SEE THAT THE THEOLOGY OF JAMES IS MUCH MORE IN LINE WITH THAT
OF JESUS AND IN OPPOSITION TO PAUL'S. YOU WILL SEE THAT JAMES
NOT ONLY DID NOT ADVOCATE DOING AWAY WITH THE LAW, BUT MAKES IT
CLEAR THAT WITHOUT THE LAW "FAITH" IS DEAD. PAUL WE
KNOW OFTEN STATED THAT "FAITH" WAS ALL THAT YOU NEEDED
AND THAT THE LAW WAS DEAD.
JAM002:008 If ye fulfil the royal law according to the
scripture, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself, ye do well:
JAM002:009 But if ye have respect to persons, ye commit
sin, and are convinced of the law as transgressors.
JAM002:010 For whosoever shall keep the whole law, and
yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all.
JAM002:011 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.
JAM002:012 So speak ye, and so do, as they that shall be
judged by the law of liberty.
JAM002:013 For he shall have judgment without mercy, that
hath shewed no mercy; and mercy rejoiceth against judgment.
JAM002:014What doth it profit, my brethren, though
a man say he hath faith, and have not works? can faith save him?
JAM002:015 If a brother or sister be naked, and destitute
of daily food,
JAM002:016 And one of you say unto them, Depart in peace,
be ye warmed and filled; notwithstanding ye give them not those
things which are needful to the body; what doth it profit?
JAM002:017 Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead,
being alone.
JAM002:018 Yea, a man may say, Thou hast faith, and I have
works: shew me thy faith without thy works, and I will shew
thee my faith by my works.
JAM002:019 Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest
well: the devils also believe, and tremble.
JAM002:020 But wilt thou know, O vain man, that faith
without works is dead?
JAM002:021 Was not Abraham our father justified by works,
when he had offered Isaac his son upon the altar?
JAM002:022 Seest thou how faith wrought with his works,
and by works was faith made perfect?
JAM002:023 And the scripture was fulfilled which saith,
Abraham believed God, and it was imputed unto him for righteousness:
and he was called the Friend of God.
JAM002:024 Ye see then how that by works a man is justified,
and not by faith only.
JAM002:025 Likewise also was not Rahab the harlot justified
by works, when she had received the messengers, and had sent them
out another way?
JAM002:026 For as the body without the spirit is dead,
so faith without works is dead also.
AS YOU SEE, JAMES STATED THAT YOU CAN NOT BE JUSTIFIED BY FAITH
ALONE AND IS IN DIRECT CONFLICT WITH PAUL.
HOW CAN THEY BOTH BE SPEAKING THE WORD OF GOD? WHAT JAMES WROTE
CERTAINLY SEEMED TO BE MORE IN LINE WITH WHAT JESUS SAID THAN
WHAT WE READ IN PAUL'S EPISTLES. HAD JAMES' POINT OF VIEW WON
OUT OVER PAUL'S, CHRISTIANITY WOULD BE VERY DIFFERENT TODAY.
I AM COMPELLED TO SAY THAT THE CHRISTIANITY OF JAMES WOULD BE
FAR MORE COMPATIBLE WITH JESUS' TEACHINGS, AND JUDAISM GENERALLY,
THAN THE THEOLOGY OF PAUL.
WOULD YOU BELIEVE JAMES OR A MAN LIKE PAUL, WHO NOT ONLY NEVER
MET JESUS, BUT KILLED PEOPLE FOR FOLLOWING JESUS' TEACHINGS?
ON RADIO ONE EVENING, IN CHARLOTTE, NORTH CAROLINA, I HEARD A
PREACHER TELL EVERYONE TO TEAR THE BOOK OF JAMES OUT OF THEIR
BIBLES, BECAUSE YOU ONLY NEED ONE OAR NOT TWO. YOU ONLY NEED
THE OAR OF FAITH, NOT THE OAR OF WORKS. IN OTHER WORDS, AS LONG
AS YOU HAVE GRACE, YOUR ACTIONS WILL NOT HAVE AN EFFECT ON YOUR
SALVATION. IS IT ANY WONDER THAT MANY PRISONERS BECOME BORN AGAIN
CHRISTIANS?
E. JESUS' FOLLOWERS DEBATE GOD'S LAW
IT IS EVIDENT FROM THE FOLLOWING PASSAGE, THAT THE ORIGINAL FOLLOWERS
OF JESUS HAD CONSTANT DEBATES WHETHER GENTILES SHOULD HAVE TO
BE CIRCUMCISED AND FOLLOW GOD'S LAWS. IF AT THE BEGINNING OF
CHRISTIANITY, THE FAITHFUL WERE CONFUSED ABOUT THE LAW, IS IT
ANY WONDER WHY, TWO THOUSAND YEARS LATER, CHRISTIANS ARE STILL
VAGUE AS TO THE LAW'S IMPORTANCE?
ACT015:001 And certain men which came down from Judaea
taught the brethren, and said, Except ye be circumcised after
the manner of Moses, ye cannot be saved.
ACT015:002 When therefore Paul and Barnabas had no small
dissension and disputation with them, they determined that Paul
and Barnabas, and certain other of them, should go up to Jerusalem
unto the apostles and elders about this question.
ACT015:003 And being brought on their way by the church,
they passed through Phenice and Samaria, declaring the conversion
of the Gentiles: and they caused great joy unto all the brethren.
ACT015:004 And when they were come to Jerusalem, they were
received of the church, and of the apostles and elders, and they
declared all things that God had done with them.
ACT015:005 But there rose up certain of the sect of the
Pharisees which believed, saying, That it was needful to circumcise
them, and to command them to keep the law of Moses.
ACT015:006And the apostles and elders came together
for to consider of this matter.
ACT015:007 And when there had been much disputing, Peter
rose up, and said unto them, Men and brethren, ye know how that
a good while ago God made choice among us, that the Gentiles by
my mouth should hear the word of the gospel, and believe.
ACT015:008 And God, which knoweth the hearts, bare them
witness, giving them the Holy Ghost, even as he did unto us;
ACT015:009 And put no difference between us and them, purifying
their hearts by faith.
ACT015:010 Now therefore why tempt ye God, to put a yoke
upon the neck of the disciples, which neither our fathers nor
we were able to bear?
ACT015:011 But we believe that through the grace of
the Lord Jesus Christ we shall be saved, even as they.
ACT015:012 Then all the multitude kept silence, and gave
audience to Barnabas and Paul, declaring what miracles and wonders
God had wrought among the Gentiles by them.
ACT015:013 And after they had held their peace, James
answered, saying, Men and brethren, hearken unto me:
ACT015:014 Simeon hath declared how God at the first did
visit the Gentiles, to take out of them a people for his name.
ACT015:015 And to this agree the words of the prophets;
as it is written,
ACT015:016 After this I will return, and will build again
the tabernacle of David, which is fallen down; and I will build
again the ruins thereof, and I will set it up:
ACT015:017 That the residue of men might seek after the
Lord, and all the Gentiles, upon whom my name is called, saith
the Lord, who doeth all these things.
ACT015:018 Known unto God are all his works from the beginning
of the world.
ACT015:019 Wherefore my sentence is, that we trouble
not them, which from among the Gentiles are turned to God:
ACT015:020 But that we write unto them, that they abstain
from pollutions of idols, and from fornication, and
from things strangled, and from blood.
MANY CHRISTIANS CLAIM THAT THE TEN COMMANDMENTS ARE THE ONLY LAWS
FROM GOD THAT THEY HAVE TO STILL FOLLOW. THESE LAWS DESCRIBED
IN VERSE 15:20 ARE ALL GOD'S LAWS, BUT ONLY IDOL WORSHIPPING IS
PART OF THE TEN COMMANDMENTS. SO IT APPEARS THAT THESE MEN SAT
AROUND AND DECIDED WHICH OF GOD'S LAWS THE GENTILES SHOULD HAVE
TO OBSERVE AND WHICH ONES WERE TOO DIFFICULT TO EXPECT FROM THEM.
THEY DID NOT WANT TO "TROUBLE THEM", SO THEY LOWERED
THE STANDARDS.
ACT015:021 For Moses of old time hath in every city them
that preach him, being read in the synagogues every sabbath day.
ACT015:022 Then pleased it the apostles and elders, with
the whole church, to send chosen men of their own company to Antioch
with Paul and Barnabas; namely, Judas surnamed Barsabas, and Silas,
chief men among the brethren:
ACT015:023 And they wrote letters by them after this manner;
The apostles and elders and brethren send greeting unto the brethren
which are of the Gentiles in Antioch and Syria and Cilicia:
ACT015:024 Forasmuch as we have heard, that certain which
went out from us have troubled you with words, subverting your
souls, saying, Ye must be circumcised, and keep the law:
to whom we gave no such commandment:
IT IS OBVIOUS THAT SOME OF THESE ELDERS WERE VERY MUCH AGAINST
PAUL'S LAX ATTITUDE WHEN IT CAME TO GOD'S LAWS, INCLUDING CIRCUMCISION.
ACT015:025 It seemed good unto us, being assembled with
one accord, to send chosen men unto you with our beloved Barnabas
and Paul,
ACT015:026 Men that have hazarded their lives for the name
of our Lord Jesus Christ.
ACT015:027 We have sent therefore Judas and Silas, who
shall also tell you the same things by mouth.
ACT015:028 For it seemed good to the Holy Ghost, and to
us, to lay upon you no greater burden than these necessary things;
ACT015:029 That ye abstain from meats offered to idols,
and from blood, and from things strangled, and from
fornication: from which if ye keep yourselves, ye shall do
well. Fare ye well.
IT APPEARS TO ME, THAT THE DECISION CONCERNING THE LAW IN CHRISTIANITY
WAS MADE BY PEOPLE, NOT BY GOD. ONLY THE SANHEDRIN HAD THE AUTHORITY
TO INTERPRET THE LAW. JESUS' DISCIPLES AND APOSTLES CERTAINLY
DID NOT HAVE THIS GOD GIVEN AUTHORITY.
ACT021:018 And the day following Paul went in with us
unto James; and all the elders were present.
ACT021:019 And when he had saluted them, he declared particularly
what things God had wrought among the Gentiles by his ministry.
ACT021:020 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:
ACT021:021 And they are informed of thee, that thou
teachest all the Jews which are among the Gentiles to forsake
Moses, saying that they ought not to circumcise their children,
neither to walk after the customs.
ACT021:022 What is it therefore? the multitude must needs
come together: for they will hear that thou art come.
APPARENTLY THE ELDERS, AND PRESUMABLY JAMES, HAD A GREAT DEAL
OF DIFFICULTY WITH PAUL'S NEGATIVE ATTITUDE CONCERNING THE MOSAIC
LAWS. IT SAYS RIGHT HERE, THAT PAUL WAS TEACHING JEWS TO FORSAKE
GOD'S LAW. REMEMBER JESUS SAID, "WHOSOEVER THEREFORE SHALL
BREAK ONE OF THESE LEAST COMMANDMENTS, AND SHALL TEACH MEN SO,
HE SHALL BE CALLED THE LEAST IN THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN".
IS THERE ANY QUESTION THAT THIS IS EXACTLY WHAT PAUL DID AND WHAT
JAMES WAS SO CONCERNED ABOUT? JUST BASED ON WHAT JESUS SAID,
HOW CAN ANY CHRISTIAN BELIEVE THAT PAUL IS SITTING IN HEAVEN?
THIS ALONE SHOULD BE A WAKE UP CALL FOR ALL CHRISTIANS THAT PRACTICE
"PAULINE" CHRISTIANITY.
THE AUTHOR OF 2 PETER ALSO FOUND IT HARD TO UNDERSTAND PAUL'S
TEACHINGS, AS SHOWN BELOW:
2PE003:015 And account that the longsuffering of our Lord
is salvation; even as our beloved brother Paul also according
to the wisdom given unto him hath written unto you;
2PE003:016 As also in all his epistles, speaking in them
of these things; in which are some things hard to be understood,
which they that are unlearned and unstable wrest, as they do also
the other scriptures, unto their own destruction.
THE FOLLOWING IS FROM THE CHRISTIAN BIBLE:
1JO002:003 And hereby we do know that we know him, if
we keep his commandments.
1JO002:004 He that saith, I know him, and keepeth not
his commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not
in him.
1JO002:005 But whoso keepeth his word, in him verily
is the love of God perfected: hereby know we that we are in him.
1JO002:006 He that saith he abideth in him ought himself
also so to walk, even as he walked.
1JO002:007 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.
TO FURTHER CONFUSE THE ISSUE WE SEEM TO BE BACK TO THE IMPORTANCE
OF GOD'S LAW AND THE "OLD" COMMANDMENT -- NO "NEW"
COMMANDMENT.
EVEN THE AUTHOR OF REVELATION, THE LAST BOOK OF THE CHRISTIAN
BIBLE, EXPRESSED THE IMPORTANCE OF KEEPING GOD'S LAW AND NOT JUST
HAVING FAITH IN JESUS:
REV014:012 Here is the patience of the saints: here are
they that keep the commandments of God, and the faith of
Jesus.
I HAVE BEEN IN CHRISTIAN HOMES, WHERE THEY HAVE THE BIBLE OPEN
TO EITHER THE BOOK OF PSALMS OR THE BOOK OF PROVERBS. THEY MUST
IGNORE THE FOLLOWING:
PSA001:001 Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel
of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth
in the seat of the scornful.
PSA001:002 But his delight is in the law of the Lord;
and in his law doth he meditate day and night.
PSA001:003 And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers
of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf
also shall not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper.
PSA001:004 The ungodly are not so: but are like the chaff
which the wind driveth away.
PSA001:005 Therefore the ungodly shall not stand in the
judgment, nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous.
PSA001:006 For the Lord knoweth the way of the righteous:
but the way of the ungodly shall perish.
EVEN KING DAVID, THROUGH HIS FIRST PSALM, EXPRESSED THE IMPORTANCE
OF GOD'S LAW.
PRO006:020 My son, keep thy father's commandment,
and forsake not the law of thy mother:
PRO006:021 Bind them continually upon thine heart, and
tie them about thy neck.
PRO006:022 When thou goest, it shall lead thee; when thou
sleepest, it shall keep thee; and when thou awakest, it shall
talk with thee.
PRO006:023 For the commandment is a lamp; and the
law is light; and reproofs of instruction are the way of
life:
KNOWING THAT GOD, THROUGH ALL HIS GREAT PROPHETS SUCH AS MOSES,
ISAIAH AND EZEKIEL, AS WELL AS KING DAVID, STRESSED THE IMPORTANCE
OF THE LAW TO THE CHILDREN OF ISRAEL, IT IS ABSURD TO THINK THAT
PEOPLE WOULD PUT THEIR TRUST IN A MAN SUCH AS PAUL, WHO TAUGHT
TWO THOUSAND YEARS AGO, THAT THE LAW WAS DEAD.
WHEN IT COMES TO THE LAWS OF THE JEWISH BIBLE (MOSAIC/LEVITICAL
LAWS), I HAVE HEARD PREACHERS SAY THAT THESE LAWS WERE IMPORTANT
"FOR THE TIMES" AND CLAIM THEY ARE NO LONGER NEEDED.
TO USE THIS ARGUMENT SELECTIVELY, WHEN DISCUSSING GOD'S LAWS,
TENDS TO BE HYPOCRITICAL. FOR INSTANCE, I HAVE HEARD GAY PEOPLE
SAY THAT THE LAW AGAINST HOMOSEXUALITY WAS IMPORTANT IN BIBLICAL
TIMES BECAUSE GOD WANTED US TO POPULATE THE EARTH. THEY CLAIM
THAT NOW THAT WE ARE OVERPOPULATED, THE LAW IS OUTDATED. HOW
MANY PREACHERS, WHEN IT COMES TO "THE LAW CONCERNING HOMOSEXUALITY",
WOULD AGREE? MANY PREACHERS MAINTAIN THIS PARTICULAR PROSCRIPTION
IS STILL IN EFFECT, EVEN THOUGH THEY SAY MANY OTHER LAWS ARE NO
LONGER NECESSARY.
AS YOU WILL SEE I WILL BE QUOTING KING SOLOMON QUITE OFTEN. THIS
MAKES SENSE SINCE GOD SAYS THAT THERE HAS NEVER BEEN ANYONE AS
WISEAS KING SOLOMONNOR WILL THERE EVER BE:
1KI003:012 Behold, I have done according to thy words:
lo, I have given thee a wise and an understanding
heart; so that there was none like thee before thee, neither
after thee shall any arise like unto thee.
WHAT BETTER WAY TO END THIS SECTION ON THE IMPORTANCE OF GOD'S
LAW, THEN BY QUOTING FROM KING SOLOMON:
ECC012:013 Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter:
Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this is the
whole duty of man.
WHO DO YOU CHOOSE TO BELIEVE, KING SOLOMON OR PAUL?