Sunday: A Better Covenant
Perhaps the greatest difference between the religion of the Old Testament and that of the New is the fact that the New Testament era was introduced by the coming of the Messiah, Jesus of Nazareth. He was sent by God to be the Savior.
Image © Linda Lovett from GoodSalt.com
Men could not ignore Him and expect to be saved. Only through the atonement He provided could their sins be forgiven. Only by the imputation of His perfect life could they stand before God without condemnation. In other words, salvation was through the righteousness of Jesus, and nothing else.
Old Testament saints looked forward to the blessings of the Messianic age and the promise of salvation. In New Testament times the people were confronted with the question, Would they accept Jesus of Nazareth whom God had sent as the Messiah, their Savior? If they believed in Him-that is, if they accepted Him for who He truly was and committed themselves to Him-they would be saved through the righteousness that He offered them freely.
Meanwhile, the moral requirements remain unchanged in the New Testament, because these were founded in the character of God and of Christ. Obedience to God’s moral law is just as much a part of the New Covenant as it is of the Old.
Read Matthew 19:17; Revelation 12:17; Revelation 14:12; and James 2:10-11. What do these texts tell us about the moral law in the New Testament?
At the same time, the entire body of ritual and ceremonial laws that were distinctly Israelite-and were distinctly tied to the Old Covenant, and all pointed to Jesus and to His death and ministry as High Priest-were discontinued, and a new order was introduced, one based on “better promises.”
Helping both Jew and Gentile to understand what was involved in this transition from Judaism to Christianity was one of Paul’s principal aims in the book of Romans. It would take time to make the transition. Many Jews who had accepted Jesus were still not ready for the great changes that were coming.
| What are some of your favorite Bible promises? How often do you claim them? What choices are you making that can stand in the way of having these promises fulfilled in your life? |
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So He said to him, “Why do you call Me good? No one is good but One, that is, God. But if you want to enter into life, keep the commandments.” Matthew 19:17. In addition, "Everyone has turned away, all have become corrupt; there is no one who does good, not even one." Psalms 53:3.
How come many are saying the phrase "Oh, my goodness"?
As a side note to this, has anyone ever wondered why Jesus never used these phrases? Maybe there is a good reason for it???
Interestingly a lot of common phrases have interesting historical backgrounds; some of them religious; others quite banal. We could, if we wanted to, get quite pedantic about it. For instance, "Dear me! is considered a vernacular form of, "Deo mea", Latin for "My God".
While I think our language should be plain and simple, I don't think we need to do a witch hunt on common expressions and their history. Many of us use such phrases in ignorance of their history as simple expressions of surprise or interest, rather then their historical, and often forgotten meaning.
Matthew 12:36
But I say unto you, That every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment.
Do not be lazy in speech.
I think the context of this verse has a different emphasis to exclamations of surprise or interest. It is more directed to speculative talk about others. That does not mean that we can exclaim anything we like. But I don’t think we need to do a search for the historical meaning of every exclamation we use either. We have more important things to do in life.
Our promises are generally for temporal needs in nature. When we face problems that are not easy or impossible to solve, we turn to the promises of Jesus for help. Psalms 46:1,John 14:13,14 ,Luke 11:9, Matthew 21:22 Philippians 4:6,19, to name a few. These promises are a source of comfort regardless of our choices. The Holy Spirit has provided the scriptures that enlighten us of our needs.
The Old Covenant is administered as a Legal System. It’s a ministry under Law. It is the Economy of Israel. The standard of Righteousness is the Righteousness of Law Dt 6:25. The subjects of this administration are natural men/women, carnal, slaves of sin, Israel according to the flesh (1 Cor 15:46; Rom 7:14; 1 Cor 10:18). They are “dead in trespass and sins” and “children of wrath by nature” (Eph 2:1,3) - like all the world.
The New Covenant is administered by Christ, he is King Ps 2:6,7. It is a ministry under Grace, the Ministry of the Spirit. The standard of Righteousness is Christ’s or God’s Righteousness (Rom 1:16,17; 3:21; Phil 3:9; Isa 46:13; 51:5-8). The subjects of this administration are New Creatures, Spiritual men/women, the Israel of God (2 Cor 5:17; Gal 6:15; Eph 4:24; Col 3:10). They are made the Righteousness of God (2 Cor 5:21). They are not mere natural humans. Christ was not a mere man. He came a “life giving Spirit”, a Spiritual Man, God-Man. (1 Cor 15:45-48) who produces seed after His kind and likeness (Isa 53:10,11; 2 Cor 3:18; Rom 8:29; John 12:24,25). He was the Adam of the New Creation, first Adam’s anti-type (Rom 5:14).
Christ, God’s Grace, came and taught us how to LIVE GODLY in this evil age Tit 2:11-13. The New Covenant adherents can live godly only if God dwells in them as He did in Christ. God does this by His Spirit. Christ said “Love your enemies … so that you may be Sons of your Father who is in heaven.” Mat 5:44. And “…you will be Sons of the Most High…” Luke 6:35.
Adam was made a perfect man, physically, spiritually. He was neither a god nor God.“The life was the light of man.” Jn 1:4. This distinguished Adam from all the other creatures he was given dominion over. He was endowed with reason, conscience… He could sympathize with God’s purposes. He could respond to God’s love. He could choose what is morally good. He could meet God and, to the extent or capacity of a man, understand God. He was capable of self determination and self consciousness… Yet Adam rebelled against God although so enlightened. He died spiritually. He lost the capacity to appreciate spiritual things. Christ redeems His people. He does not just bring man’s spirit to life. If Adam rebelled with a perfect live spirit, what would sinful-flesh, with a live spirit, do?
Christ gives to each of His people His Holy Spirit (Gal 2:20; Rom 8:9; 1 Th 4:8) in addition to quickening his spirit. This is a new creature! This is God dwelling in humans, living His life out in them, manifesting His Righteousness.
The one who lives according to Law is credited with the righteousness of Law, not God’s Righteousness (Dt 6:25; Rom 3:21; Phil 3:9; Rom 10:3,4; 9:30-32). That is his own righteousness.
2 Chronicles 7:14 - if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land.
Being humble in today's society can be considered to be weak. I pray that I can demonstrate God's strength in my life though my weakness.
The lesson calls on us to "read Matthew 19:17; Revelation 12:17; Revelation 14:12; and James 2:10-11. What do these texts tell us about the moral law in the New Testament?"
The passage in Matthew:
We have to read the entire context of Matt 19:16-22 to get what Jesus was teaching.
The rich young ruler asked about eternal life. Jesus, to make a greater point, started with the incomplete and imperfect view held by the people. He stated that to have eternal life you had to keep the commandments. The ruler asked which ones. To which Jesus listed six of the commandments. It is interesting to note that Jesus included Lev 19:18 which is not in the Ten Commandments, but in the expanded list of commandments - thus showing that the entire Torah was a package and could not be separated into Moral and Ceremonial.
The ruler replied that he had complied with all of these.
Then Jesus made the profound point, that we have to deny self and accept and follow Jesus Himself as Messiah, to be saved. Nothing more, nothing less. Jesus was showing the ruler and the people, that there was no power in the Ten Commandments, or in the entire old covenant, to save anyone or to give eternal life. It is Jesus alone, with no artificial additives - no law, no works, nothing.
The passages in Revelation:
The passages in Revelation do not refer to the Ten Commandments.
In John's writings, the word “commandments” is from the Greek word “entole”, which means teachings, instructions, or sayings. John uses the Greek word "nomos" to refer to the Ten Commandments or the Law. "Entole" is the word in both of these passages. Therefore the "Ten Commandments" were not in John's view in these passages, and so the passages tell us nothing about the "Moral Law."
Look instead at 1 John 3:23,24 and John 13:34 where John summarizes Jesus' "commandments."
The passage in James:
Similarly, the lesson points us to James 2:10, 11 in an attempt to prove the usage of the Ten Commandments. However, it ignored the preceding verses. In Jam 2:8,9 James defines the royal law according to the Scripture as Lev 19:18, (which is not in the Ten Commandments) then goes on to add verses 10,11. Again showing that the entire Torah was a package, and that he did not separate the Ten Commandments from the rest of the Law. Then in Jam 2:12 he shows the real deal - the law of liberty - the royal "law" of Christ's love. This compares with Rom 8:2 which states that "the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has made me free from the law of sin and death."
The New Better Covenant has for its foundation Christ, the Grace and Righteousness of God 1Cor 3:11; Eph 2:20-22. He is King and Lord and all must do homage to Him Ps 2:6-12. It is from Him a Law or instruction goes forth as a light of the peoples Isa 51:4; Dt 18:15,18,19; Isa 2:3; Mic 4:2. The commandments that are specified in the New Covenant are Christ’s commandments (John 14:15,21; 15:10-12).
Under the New Covenant the Old Covenant distinctions of gender, ethnicity, and nationality are abolished Gal 3:28; Col 3:11; Rom 10:12; 3:22; 1 Cor 12:13; 7:19; Gal 5:6.
Christ declared that both He and His people were not of “this world” Jn 8:23,24; 15:18,19; 17:6,9,14-16; 18:36.
As I scan some of the comments there is a question that comes to mind.Of all the references to laws and commandments, which ones are the most meaningful? The simple ones, or the complicated ones? Is ones salvation dependent on knowledge and ability such as the rich young ruler?
Paul
That is the significance of what Jesus was trying to teach the ruler and the people hearing.
Salvation is not based on keeping the commandments.
It is not a matter of importance of any of the commandments over another. All of the commandments are simple. None is more meaningful than another. They are an undivided whole. Jesus’ main point here and in His other teachings was that salvation is and was not dependent on the commandments, or knowledge or ability.
Salvation is dependent on one accepting Jesus and trusting in His sacrifice, death and resurrection, committing our way to Him, and allowing His Holy Spirit to do His work of cleansing, restoring, and sustaining us in the walk of faith. It is faith, and faith alone. No focus on works. No focus on law or commandments. The Holy Spirit will lead us in our walk, to be in harmony with all of God’s requirements for us.
The difficulty for us is that we have had the Scriptures twisted to us for all of our spiritual lives, and it therefore becomes difficult to see the plain “thus saith the Lord” as it is laid out in the Bible, without the veil being lifted.
These texts teach us to embrace the entire commandment of God. Especially try to observe the whole commandment. God is understand and see your intention. Jesus knows the devil wants to bring us dotwn to ruin our relationship with Him. Therfore for this reason Jesus Christ appreciates every efforts that we are trying to make in our lives for our Lord for him JesuChrist.
Nancy, what you suggest is just what the Rich Young Ruler did, but Jesus said he lacked "one thing." The young ruler kept all the commandment, but he did not realize that he had not surrendered his heart.
We need to embrace Jesus Christ, not the commandments.
What these texts and others should teach us is NOT to focus on the commandments, because they cannot save. They are the standard of righteousness, and there is only ONE who has lived out that standard, Jesus Christ our Lord. And He has offered to cover us with His righteousness and work out His righteousness in us if we surrender ourselves fully to Him - not just once, but continuously, every moment of every day. When we are thus surrendered, we do not sin.
The challenge and the growth in sanctification is to stay surrendered more continuously. I don't know how it is with others, but as I look back on my experience, I see that when I surrendered myself in the morning, self often took over shortly thereafter. But as I am growing in Christ, these times of surrenderedness grow longer and more continuous. It is in this way, I trust that the Holy Spirit will change me into the image of Christ.
When I was focused on keeping the Law, I did make some progress. But there was much failing and discouragement, and, frankly, a lot of focus on self. Since I learned to focus on Jesus, I began experiencing the joy that He promised His followers, and I have experienced what Nehemiah said in Neh 8:10: "The joy of the Lord is your strength." The joy of the Lord provides not only physical strength and health, but also spiritual strength and power in witnessing.
So I most heartily recommend taking the focus off the commandments and focusing on Jesus as Savior and Lord. That will mean spending significant time each day listening to Jesus, talking to Jesus and working with Jesus. It will mean keeping our hearts open to Him all the time. While we may not succeed "all the time" at first, we will grow into it as we persistently and consciously focus on Him. And through the Spirit He will live out His life in us. (And, by the way, the righteous standard of the Law will be met in us.)
Wow Inge! I wholeheartedly agree.
You are right my sister, just keeping the commandments of God will not helping you to be a better person. You need to embrace Jesus first with all your heart. I forgot this part. Then He will help you to keep his loving commitments step by step. This is for the reason I mentioned early in my comment, He sees our attention. meanings, He looks deep through our souls if we are really faithful to Him. Thank you sister for the most beautiful point for my comment. I love this. God bless.
Love your sister Nancy in Christ.
The word, “testament”, means covenant.
Is the old covenant based on faulty promises God made? Did he make (or start making) better promises two millennia ago? Of the attempts to explain what the old and new covenants are, most fail to answer that question to my satisfaction.
Here’s how I currently explain the old and new covenants. If someone can suggest a way to improve on this, please let me know. The old covenant is a relationship with the creator based on our promises, our obedience or our good intentions. The prototype of the old covenant is the promise made by the children of Israel at Sinai, “All that the Lord hath said we will do and be obedient.” The new covenant is a relationship based on God’s promises beginning with the one made at the gates of Eden, “I will put enmity between thee and the woman” etc.--sometimes known as the protoevangelium. The new covenant has been available to members of the human race ever since then. The reason the old covenant is called old and the new covenant is called new is because the old covenant was ratified with the blood of animals at Sinai before the new covenant was ratified with the blood of Jesus at Calvary.
I’m not a dispensationalist and I fear that some attempts to explain the two covenants come dangerously close to implying that before the incarnation of Jesus, salvation was received by some other means than now.
Judaism is based on traditions. We could discuss the question of how long that has been the case but traditional Judaism is different from the religion of Abraham. If Christianity is a different religion than that of Abraham, I would need to choose the faith of Abraham. Because I see Christianity as the true continuation of the religion of the Hebrew patriarchs and prophets of antiquity, I face no conundrum in that regard.
Roger Metzger
What was the problem with the old covenant? What couldn't it do? Is the new covenant an afterthought? Is it much better than the old covenant? Does the old covenant try to bring the legalistic view of God? How about the new covenant and that grace?
1) Fred and Inge, perhaps i have misconceived your posts, i do not know, kindly clear me on this point, what is the role of commandments in a Christian's life, are you suggesting a passive, lawless lifestyle devoid of any efforts at all? Summarize for me what you would tell a new convert to adventism or indeed to christianity concerning commandment keeping. Thank you.
2) Fred, arising from your posts about the fact that there is nothing called moral and ceremonial law, since you call them 2 points of the same Torah, kindly elaborate for me the reason why the 10 commandments were written by God's own finger on tablets of stone; even to the point that when Moses broke the tablets in outrage about the creation and worship of a Golden calf; God had to rewrite the commandments on an other set of stone tablets which were later placed in the arc of the covenant; where as the other laws which are commonly referred to as the law of Moses were spoken to him by word of mouth (God said, tell Israel that.....) Don't you think by virtue of this, there is a clear difference between these 2,with one set having been fulfilled through the sacrificial system while the other will reign forever as it is the embodiment of God's character; just as today's lessons says?
I do not believe you can separate keeping the commandments of God from salvation. Salvation is a free gift, no one can earn it. But God expects His children to keep the commandments that He wrote with His own finger.These Ten Commandments had been spoken by God directly to the people. Truth be told, keeping God's commandments is an expression of obedience and love. The first 4 commandments show us how to love God,and the last six show us how to love our neighbours.
As the Apostle John wrote: "For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments. And His commandments are not burdensome" (1 John 5:3). The psalmist wrote in Psalm 119:33 - 35: "Teach me, O LORD, the way of thy statutes; and I will keep it to the end. Give me understanding, that I may keep thy law and observe it with my whole heart. Lead me in the path of thy commandments, for I delight in it." We delight in keeping His law. Further, verses 42 - 48 tell us: "Let thy steadfast love come to me, O LORD, thy salvation according to thy promise; then shall I have an answer for those who taunt me, for I trust in thy word. And take not the word of truth utterly out of my mouth,for my hope is in thy ordinances. I will keep thy law continually,for ever and ever; and I shall walk at liberty, for I have sought thy precepts." for I find my delight in thy commandments, which I love. I revere thy commandments, which I love, and I will meditate on thy statutes. There can be no doubt in my mind that, keeping the commandments is tied into our own salvation.
Pascal
I can only address your first point in this post.
Are you saying that commandment keeping prevents a new convert from falling into a passive lawless lifestyle devoid of any efforts?
That seems to devalue and castigate the powerful and glorious work of the Holy Spirit in the life.
The rich young ruler kept the commandments, and walked away sorrowful – Matt 19:22. The Priest and Levite kept the commandments, but ignored the Samaritan on the side of the road - Luke 10:31,32. The Israelites kept the commandments but did not attain to righteousness - Rom 9:31,32.
The first thing I would tell a new convert is not about the commandments (the ten or otherwise), but I would point him to the saving work of Jesus Christ, the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, and the resulting power that comes from that new relationship. None of those three actions comes about as a result of law or commandments.
When someone comes to Christ, he is a new creation - 2 Cor 5:17. Old things have passed away and ALL things have become new. That new child of God was buried with Christ through baptism into death, so that he should walk in newness of life. Rom 6:4.
His walk is now not after the flesh but after the Spirit and the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has made him free from the law of sin and death. Rom 8:2,3.
Having been born of water and the Spirit – John 3:6, he now sets his mind on the things of the Spirit, because he is now living according to the Spirit – Rom 8:5.
With the implanting of the Holy Spirit by Jesus Christ Himself, he now walks in the Spirit, which will prevent him from fulfilling the lust of the flesh - Gal 5:16 – and the lawless lifestyle you envisioned. If he is being led by the Spirit, he is not under the law as his guide (Gal 5:18) but under that guidance and rulership of that powerful person of the Godhead.
As a result, the works of the flesh mentioned in Gal 5:19 will not overtake him. Instead he will bear the fruit of love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control, which is not a result of any law. Gal 5:22,23. He now belongs to Christ; living in the Spirit, and walking in the Spirit. Gal 5:25.
Turning away from sin is not the complete solution. It has to be replaced by the sustaining power of God Himself. Remember the man in Matt 12:43-45 who gave up the unclean spirit, but did not seek to be filled with the Holy Spirit. The unclean spirit returned with a worse result.
Our “efforts,” (to use your word), have to be the daily choice to lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and to run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith – Heb 12:1,2.
It is amazing to me that with the availability of all of heaven’s power-house in the form of the Holy Spirit, some Christians will choose the do-it-yourself approach of trying to keep the commandments. Note: as I have emphasized in numerous posts, I am not throwing out the commandments, but I am saying we have access to assured victory through the indwelling of the Holy Spirit.
I have given this example before. Having the Holy Spirit living and guiding from within, is like having your professor standing right next to you and giving you the correct answers to the exam. How can you fail? Why settle for second best when you can have the ultimate conquest over sin and assurance of eternal life?
Thanks for asking, Pascal. I did not think that in my comment I proposed a "a passive, lawless lifestyle devoid of any efforts at all."
I did say that a Christian's focus should not be on the Law, but on Christ. In fact, Christ gave a new law that replaces the old law of "Love your neighbor as yourself" with "Love one another as I have loved you." That has within itself a focus on Christ and His life, which is much deeper and higher than any written law which has always been but dimly comprehended.
As the Apostle Paul points out, the purpose of the Law is to point out sin. It is the schoolmaster/tutor to bring us to Christ. When we recognize how sinful we are and that we cannot make ourselves holy, we are driven to Christ who only can save us.
After meeting Christ, our aim should be to allow Christ to work out His righteousness in us. Then our life will be a reflection of Him who is the Author of the Law. That means denying our own desires and making time to spend time with Jesus in listening to Him, talking with Him and working with Him. It demands ongoing effort to allow Christ to be Lord of our life, because the devil and our own desires will continually attempt to distract us. When He is Lord of our life, He provides the power for the stern warfare against the self that is ever ready to rise back to life, after having been put to death.
In comparison "keeping the Law" is easy. The Rich Young ruler did it, but He had not done the one thing needful - He had not surrendered his heart to God.
The agony through which Christ passed in Gethsemane should give us some idea of what the Christian life entails. God asks the same of us as He asked of His Son. Our prayer and aim should continually be "not my will, but Thine be done." The difference is that our temptation can never be as strong as Christ's, because we do not have the power He had. And we have the assurance that through the Spirit we are enabled to live a life of faith in Him.
While the Christian life is in some ways a continual battle, it does enable us to experience the peace and joy that Christ promised because we realize that the battle is not ours, but the Lord's. That is one of the many paradoxes of the Christian life.
I can testify that this is not easy. It was not easy for Christ. But I do know that Christ should be our focus, *not* "keeping the Law." There is no victory in a focus on the Law. Only Christ can give us victory through the Holy Spirit. I can also testify that this gives peace and joy. 🙂
I agree with all in your post but i beg to disagree with the following text: "In fact, Christ gave a new law that replaces the old law of "Love your neighbor as yourself" with "Love one another as I have loved you". I particularly have a problem with this suggestion because so many people have used this verse to insinuate that commandments were abolished. However, i take your comment in the light that you are saying we should have the love Christ in us and allow him to guide us in our christian walk. Living with a notion that we should not focus on the law at any time demeans this law and converts us into spoilt christians who will not care for anything because "Christ paid it all" There is no spoiling that has taken place at any time, God is still the jelous God he was in the time of Israelites, which is why he agreed that his son takes our lot in death. The only thing that has changed is that death no longer has a grip on us, thanks to Christ's sacrifice on Calvary. Agreed, the main focus is on Christ but we should also "work out our salvation with fear and trembling" as the Apostle Paul says. And i believe the first step to this aspect is ; we stop thinking that Christ came to take away the commandments so that we may live freely, instead, recognize that he came to abolish the death penalty ascribed to commandment breakers, so that through him we may have eternal life.
Fred, that is why in my post i requested for you to clear me lest i misunderstand your posts. Here is the most important text i was looking for from your response"I am not throwing out the commandments, but I am saying we have access to assured victory through the indwelling of the Holy Spirit" to me this sums up my intercourse with you, and i can assure you that i agree with you 100% that this is Paul's intentions throughout his writings. I think i had misconceived your posts, looking at them as if they were the popular notions in the world today which seems to insinuate that commandment keeping has no more place in the new covenant because people are saved by grace.To me, no church should preach such a doctrine and quote from any of Paul's books because he never said it.
You say" The first thing I would tell a new convert is not about the commandments (the ten or otherwise), but I would point him to the saving work of Jesus Christ, the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, and the resulting power that comes from that new relationship. None of those three actions comes about as a result of law or commandments.
When someone comes to Christ, he is a new creation - 2 Cor 5:17. Old things have passed away and ALL things have become new. That new child of God was buried with Christ through baptism into death, so that he should walk in newness of life. Rom 6:4."
My response: after introducing this new convert to Christ, i would also tell them that after becoming a new creation, there is a new code of conduct for this creation and that is God's holy law which we do not keep to get saved but we keep in obedience and an expression that we are already saved. Even if he/she breaks this law,they should not be down cast and think they are finished, but obey the still small pleadings of the Holy Spirit to turn back to Christ who paid the price and redeemed them from death. I would tell them that they have such a high priest who sympathizes with their weakness; sympathy which made him to come and die for us. I would tell the new converts that this man was tempted to sin like we are today but unlike us, he managed to live a sinless life; i.e. a life that did not involve breaking any commandment(for sin is breaking God's law); and hence they should look to him to enable them live a life of obedience, for without him, they can do nothing. This is what i understand as the summary of Paul's books.
Fred, again you say:
Having the Holy Spirit living and guiding from within, is like having your professor standing right next to you and giving you the correct answers to the exam. How can you fail? Why settle for second best when you can have the ultimate conquest over sin and assurance of eternal life?
My response: unless i am extremely the most dull holy spirit student who has ever existed, I can confess that i have on several occasions, even with the Holy spirit giving me the correct answers, i have failed terribly! but i do not despair, i rise again and continue the struggle, not through my own abilities, but through Christ's enabling.I however have a role to play, that is to rise, and not continue lying in the mud hoping for Christ or the Holy Spirit to come and bulldoze me from that mud. But hey,the thing is, i know what i am supposed to do (keep God's commandments) and i totally acknowledge that they exists. That is totally parallel to a situation where i do not even recognize that
these commandments exist. Brother Fred, the danger of not acknowledging that God's commandments still exist today, are as valid as they were the first time they were uttered as a Decalogue on mount Sinai, and have not been banished by nailing them together with their author on the cross is that even if i sin, i will not realize that it is a sin because i do not recognize any thing which say " thou shalt not do this and that" I am so relaxed by the fact that you agree with me that the commandments of God are still there, eve if the primary focus should not be in them but in their author who is Christ.
Pascal
To your second point.
Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the MOUTH (not finger) of God. Matt 4:4.
Every word of God has power, authority and a mandate. Every command of God has equal weight, and violation thereof is sin. All and every unconfessed sin – whether small or large - could keep us out of the kingdom. Whether beaten with few stripes or many stripes; still beaten. Luke 12:47,48.
The first command God gave was verbal, not written. It had monumental significance. It was given to Adam and Eve, and their disregard of that command has us where we are today.
God’s system of government comes out and is representative of His character. Every aspect of God’s creation – nature, animals and man, were created with a built-in drive of the effect of God’s law. Earth’s inhabitants before the Children of Israel were aware of the laws affecting behavior among their fellowmen. The laws of the nations were, to some extent patterned after the innate understanding of God’s law in their hearts.
When the Children of Israel came out of Sinai, they were a “lawless,” stubborn bunch of slave-minded people with little, if any, knowledge or appreciation of who God is. God had to treat them as little children, and harness them with the bit and bridle. Psa 32:9.
God spoke, then wrote the first part – the summary of everything He had to say to them, on stone, so that they could not forget it, with their 400 years of slavery mentality. Writing, was not to show preeminence, but to give emphasis and to prevent lapse of memory. The remainder of the treatise, is still God’s words and have full importance.
The law He wrote, was His covenant with them, Ex 34:27,28 and was to last until Christ. Rom 10:4; Gal 3:19,23-25. It was perfect for the purpose for which it was given and for whom it was given. There was nothing deficient in it.
1 Tim 1:9 reminds us that the law was not made for a righteous person, but for the lawless and insubordinate, for the ungodly and for sinners, etc.
If we focus only on the Ten Commandments there are many sins we may overlook. See Prov 6:16-19; 1 Cor 6:9,10; Rom 1:29-31; 1 Tim 1:9,10 and many more references.
To be victorious in the Christian walk, the focus has to be on the indwelling Holy Spirit, and He will ensure that we will avoid all sins of the Ten Commandments and all other applicable sins outside of the Ten Commandments that may beset us. The Holy Spirit is a much better guaranteed guide for sustained Christ-like living than the Ten Commandments can ever be. That was the gist of Paul’s excellent characterization in 2 Cor 3:4-18.
I can say much more, but I will stop here, and I have prayed that the Holy Spirit will take the words of this post and translate them, simplify them, add to them or subtract from them in ways I could never do, and impress them as He sees fit, on the hearts of the readers. I commit this post totally to God for Him to do His work in our hearts.
May God richly bless you.
But do not you think some of the laws given at Sinai have local application typically applicable to an an ancient Israeli setting (not even the modern one), where as others have a universal application? for example, if we hand our modern women the lot they were handed in the time of ancient Israel, our own civil laws will be on us. Whether we agree or not, undoubtably convincing evidence still exist that different categories of laws were given at Sinai.
Bulumko
Please give me the scriptures that tell me that I am saved by keeping the commandments.
well there is none!
Matthew 19:16-22 (KJV)
16 And, behold, one came and said unto him, Good Master, what good thing shall I do, that I may have eternal life?
17 And he said unto him, Why callest thou me good? there is none good but one, that is, God: but if thou wilt enter into life, keep the commandments.
John 14:21
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.
Keeping God's commandments is the result of our faith and loving relationship with God. If you love Him, and yet detest or repudiate or disobey His commandments, then you are living in a lie (Rom 2:13).
I stand by my position. Keeping the commandments by the grace of God is an expression of of our love and obedience to God. Obedience to the will of God is a matter of life and death. We fell into sin by failing to obey God. To think you can FOCUS ON CHRIST without obeying His will and purpose I submit is an IMPOSSIBILITY and a DELUSION.
Pascal
You said:
When I read that, it reminded me of Paul in Acts 21:18-28. Paul went before the Council led by James and other apostles to relate how the Gentiles were accepting Christ as Lord, and the Council rejoiced in hearing the news. Then they laid out the accusation that Paul was teaching the people to forsake the law. The Council gave a recommendation to Paul to show that the accusation was not true: why not follow some of the rituals of the law so that the Jews would know that Paul still keeps the law. Paul conceded, but his compromise did not quench the rebellion of the people. It created greater distress and consternation.
I am confident that the Lord is leading and guiding us as we seek to know and do His will, and He will sustain us to the end.
When I gave the example of the professor giving us the correct exam answers and I likened that to the Holy Spirit working in us from the inside, that is a fail-safe, fool-proof method. We CANNOT fail. We have no choice but to get an “A” on the exam. If we find out we still failed or missed a few answers, it was not the failure of the Spirit. If we are truly born again He lives inside of us and He ALWAYS gives us the correct answer. However, in our own “wisdom” we chose a different answer, then we wonder why we failed. The Spirit NEVER fails. We fail to listen and follow His guidance too frequently.
Again, I am not throwing out the ten commandments. They have their role.
But every time we choose the approach of “keeping the commandments” over listening to the Holy Spirit – which is Almighty God’s voice and word to us and in us, we are seeking the do-it-yourself religion approach. We are seeking the path of works not faith.
Remember, the Holy Spirit will NEVER lead us to violate any one of God’s requirements for us. We should never fear to trust in the Father/Son/Spirit over what we think we can see. We have absolutely nothing to lose, and everything to gain by choosing the leading of the Holy Spirit.
Read Rom 9:30-32 again. “What shall we say then? That Gentiles, who did not pursue righteousness, have attained to righteousness, even the righteousness of faith; but Israel, pursuing the law of righteousness, has not attained to the law of righteousness. Why? Because they did not seek it by faith, but as it were, by the works of the law.”
We are falling into the same trap by upholding OUR WORKS in keeping the law, over Spirit based living.
The reason the concept of Spirit based living is so difficult to grasp is highlighted in Gal 3:2 where Paul says “Did you receive the Spirit by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith?” Then again in Gal 3:12 – “Yet the law is not of faith, but the man who does them shall live by them.”
Little, if any, faith is required to keep the law. But a considerable measure of faith is required to trust in an invisible Holy Spirit. I challenge anyone to try the Spirit based approach for a week or two – sincerely, earnestly and prayerfully. If it does not work, then go back to the old way. Probably a week is not enough because it takes time to overcome the tendency to slip back into the works-based approach.
By the way, even the “experienced” Spirit-based Christian fails from time to time. But it is not the fault of the Spirit, but the lapse of the individual.
Br Fred,I think we are on the same page, explaining the same course using different languages from the same syllabus! May the God of our spiritual ancestors be glorified. By the way, I am of the view that we should have more of these doctrinal discussions, they are very healthy and help some people like me to go back to the word to read again. I must confess I admire Fred's literal stamina on the word of God, the way he quotes the bible is astounding, bible verses are on his finger tips and I think that is how a Christian is meant to be. The word of God is our spiritual food and they who do not read get spiritual malnutrition which is detrimental to our pilgrimage towards a better place being prepared for us by our saviour. Shalom brethren...
Hi Friend if I may
We know that there's two spirit in this world, and both has a will for us.
God is love, but we need to know what is love in it's practical sense thus the ten commandments first four to God next six to neighbor.
If we don't keep these before us, then how will we know what spirit we're obeying?
We can live by the spirit only when we know the will of the spirit or have come in association with him in the past.
God will not ask us to believe anything without giving us enough evidents to hung our faith upon.
There's time when the spirit is silent and all we have is the word of God.
Listen to yourself are you saying we shouldn't keep God holy law?
Because think about it, that is what the spirit to leading us on doing, he is helping us walk in the light of God's word his law.
The problem with Israel was Keeping God law to saved themselves, but we do it because the spirit living in us as perform a change in us and because we're saved.
Friend this Grace, grace, spirit, spirit focus will have a lot to do with the time of the end, God want us to be balance in our understandings.
Notice I just used simple language and didn't need to quote the word because if you're being led by the spirit you should be able to pick upon the principles is used.
May the God of understanding and truth Jesus the faithful one be merciful unto us.
Pascal
The Lord be praised for all things. To Him be the glory. He is the one who works in us to will and to do for His good pleasure.
As Seventh Day Adventists, we have an inordinate fixation on law - the Ten Commandments. We actually "worship" the law. We adore the law more than Jesus Christ, The Father, and the Holy Spirit. In every subject, the ten commandments and the Sabbath filter their way in, and we acknowledge them with pride.
What happens when we are out driving on the back roads with no sign of police, do we ever go above the speed limit while at the same time checking the rear view mirror? Do we cheat just a little on our time with our employers? Or cheat a bit on our income tax returns? Or watch movies where the law is being broken through adulterous scenes, crime scenes, foul language, and the like? But no, we keep the Sabbath, not like those law-breaking Sunday keepers with the mark of the beast shining through their foreheads. We take pride in the "fact" that we are God's people! Mainly because we have a mental assent to the concept of keeping the commandments and having the testimony of Jesus.
Does obeying the speed limit make us a better person? The fact that we do not break into our neighbor's house mean that we are model citizens? Because we do not jump into bed with someone's else's spouse does that make us honorable?
Don't the non-Adventists avoid the same behavior?
If we break one, aren't we guilty of breaking all?
Does doing what the ten commandments call for make us better people? Are we saved because we "keep" the commandments according to our thinking of what that means?
Is Jesus going to compare our lives against the checklist of the Ten Commandments to determine if we are fit for heaven?
Happy Sabbath Fred and everyone out there, especially those of us in the Americas where the sun is just setting. May we seek to follow the Lord's instructions in Isaiah 58 :13 then we will have the basis to remind him of his promises in the same verse: to grant us the right to ride on the highest points of the earth and to be appropriated with the the heritage of our forefather Jacob, recorded in Genesis 27: 27-29!
coming to you Br Fred, i do not know who is with you in worshiping the law and adoring it more than Jesus Christ, The Father, and the Holy Spirit (since you are saying " we SDAs)!, Certainly not me! By the way, Why wouldn't any christian acknowledge the law with pride honestly? But wait, the SDA church mainly differs with other churches on one aspect; Sabbath keeping; not even law keeping because you will agree with me that every other church keeps the law of God minus the fourth commandment. Had this not been the case, the world would have been full of thieves, adulterers, and criminals of sorts in the same way that it is filled with willful Sabbath breakers who do so with utter impunity.
You say
"What happens when we are out driving on the back roads with no sign of police, do we ever go above the speed limit while at the same time checking the rear view mirror? "
My response: Do you have an idea why we check the rear view mirror? The answer is very simple: Guilt! and do you know why i get guilty when i do such? Because i acknowledge that there is a speed limit on that particular road and if any law enforcement officer catches up with me, i will be given a ticket as a punishment! The whole of that crime list you have put up is committed but trust me, nobody does so without any troubled conscious , they are guilty of crimes because it is against some regulation to do so. This analogy brings me to the reason why as an SDA, i am proud to acknowledge the commandments of God and try by all means to keep them, with the help of Christ. When i was growing up being trained in the baptismal class, i was taught the phases of prayer for it to be answered. One of the phases of this prayer is confession of sins. I am not endowed with a good memory of bible verses(i try by all means to get the general perspectives rather than memorize a particular verse); but some where the bible says that prayer can not be answered if one is harboring sins. Which means that for my prayer to be answered, i will need to wholeheartedly confess and repent of all my sins that God may hear my petition. The bible also says that sin is transgression of the law which means that before i pray, i have to remember if i have transgressed any law and put things rightly with God before i proceed in my prayer. Now, no matter how much we try to pretend by putting the law aside and struggling not to give them any attention, it should dawn on our consciouses that You can only confess a sin which you acknowledge is a sin from deep down your heart, that is you agree that a particular law has been transgressed!This means that a focus on Christ is the most important thing in our lives but we will neither sit and think a focus on the commandments secondary to a focus on Christ is evil! You are right by stating that If we break one, we are guilty of breaking all; which is why as Church, we have a mission to keep on calling upon the whole world to come to terms with keeping the Sabbath day holy as one of the commandments. However, i will be quick to state that humanity is humanity, if going to heaven will be determined by commandment keeping (which i believe will play some role besides believing in Jesus), none will be taken to heaven by their adventist beliefs if all we do is keep the Sabbath and in the same vein, no body will be taken to heaven by simply arguing their way against a particular commandment while keeping the rest!
Finally, i wish to retaliate that We can do nothing on our own. The Apostle Paul instructed us to look upon Jesus and work out our salvation with fear and trembling. Rhetorical faith in Jesus, without doing anything will not take us anywhere. We have to show our efforts and willingness to be led by him rather than sit and wait for him to come and pull our ears to follow him simply because we believe in him. Shalom....