Differences Between Law of God....Law of Moses

[Silver Surfer]

 This website will help the Christian world understand the differences between the 2 Laws:
 http://home.earthlink.net/~i_t_c_t_b/

[nChrist]

This website will help the Christian world understand the differences between the 2 Laws:
 http://home.earthlink.net/~i_t_c_t_b/

UM??? You appear to be stuck in the Law and can't get out. Are you hinting above that you don't consider yourself a Christian?

Do you ever think about and talk about Jesus Christ and the CROSS? MOST IMPORTANTLY, did anything at all change after Jesus was crucified on the CROSS? For you, apparently not. If you think that anything did change at the CROSS, what do you think it is? You can't or haven't given any information about your most used word, "Sabbath", yet. If you wish to condemn folks to hell over a single word, you should know and be able to explain what that word means, what it is, and how to keep it. However, you don't keep it.

The Christian World uses a different word, over and over again:

JESUS!

Jesus Christ is LORD over every minute, hour, day, and week.

Love In Christ,
Tom

[Shammu]

S.S., question, are you Jewish?

[Jemidon2004]

Dog gone s.s. i keep seing you popping up everywhere just about on this site...From the posts i've been reading you are either a jew or a 7th day adventist...or maybe not a christian at all, but that's not for me to say. I keep seeing you refer back to the Law over and over again, yet...you seem to ignore both mine and Black Eyed Peas statements and most of all Paul the Apostle's statements that "WE AREN'T UNDER THE LAW ANY MORE, WE ARE UNDER GRACE" and we recieve the grace that has been imparted to us by God Almighty Himself. Now i will agree with you that the sabbath is on Saturday, BUT God's word commands us to worship Him EVERY DAY. How are we able to hold sabbath every day? BECAUSE HE LIVES WITHIN US! Jesus Christ is the Lord of the Sabbath...thus if He lives within us then we worship Him each and every day of our lives when we go to Him in prayer, study His Word, and offer our bodies and minds to His service as Romans 12:1-2 say. and what's this about 2 laws? As far as i've seen in Scripture there is ONE Law from God. The Law from the OT times and the fulfillment of this Law through the perfection of Jesus Christ...i.e. The Lamb of God sacrificed to take away the sins of the world. Hope this is making sense to you...if it's not i'll put it plainly. THE LAW DOESN'T CONDEMN ME ANY LONGER BECAUSE I AM UNDER THE GRACE, SALVATION AND MERCY OF MY LORD JESUS CHRIST BECAUSE OF HIS SACRIFICE. is that plain enough for ya? lol...don't mean to sound like i'm gettin on ya, but sometimes a little bluntness is needed. Jesus is the way, not the law...according to Paul, the condemnation for being under the law was death...and according to James, if you break one commandment of the law, then you've broken them all...so you and i my friend are a sinner...cause according to Jewish Scriptures there were 613 commands that the Jews had to follow in order to be considered perfect...impossible. so the only way you or I or anyone else is gonna get into heaven is through salvation in Jesus Christ, no other way...it don't matter if you hold service on saturday or sunday...that won't save you...Christ will. I gotta head to class now, so i'll be checking in...God Bless and may this message find all who read this is good spirits and under the wing of the Almighty. God Bless

In His Service,
Joshua

[2nd Timothy]

Rom 13:8  Do not continue to owe no one, nothing, except to love one another. For the one loving the other has fulfilled the Law.
Rom 13:9  For, "Do not commit adultery," "do not murder," "do not steal," do not bear false witness, "do not lust," Ex. 20:13-15, 17 and if there is any other commandment, in this word it is summed up, in the words, "You shall love your neighbor as yourself." Lev. 19:18
Rom 13:10  Love does not work evil to the neighbor. Then love is the fulfillment of Law.


Do you know the Lord Silver Surfer, or just Laws?   Jesus fulfilled all the laws.   You can now be IN Him who has fulfilled them by faith friend.   Don't rely on yourself, rely on the Son the God and be saved.

Rom 10:2  For I testify to them that they have zeal to God, but not according to knowledge.
Rom 10:3  For being ignorant of the righteousness of God, and seeking to establish their own righteousness, they did not submit to the righteousness of God.
Rom 10:4 For Christ is the end of Law for righteousness to everyone that believes.
Rom 10:5  For Moses writes of the righteousness which is of the Law: "The man doing these things shall live by them." Lev. 18:5
Rom 10:6  But the righteousness of faith says this: "Do not say in your heart, Who will go up into Heaven?" (that is, to bring down Christ);
Rom 10:7  or, "Who will go down into the abyss?" (that is, to bring Christ up from the dead.)
Rom 10:8  But what does it say? "The Word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart" (that is, the Word of faith which we proclaim) Deuteronomy 30:12-14.
Rom 10:9  Because if you confess the Lord Jesus with your mouth, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.
Rom 10:10  For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth one confesses unto salvation.

Its as simple as believing SS.  Christ has done it all.  You believe unto righteousness.  Believe on the Son of God.  Not unto self, but unto Him.

Grace and Peace!

[nChrist]

AMEN JOSHUA!!

Brother, all of our TREASURES ARE IN JESUS CHRIST!

We must submit to the righteousness and perfection of Jesus Christ. It's simple - we have no righteousness or perfection of our own. Our redemption, sanctification, and justification are IN AND THROUGH JESUS CHRIST - no other. The works, perfection, righteousness, and BLOOD OF JESUS CHRIST is the ONLY WAY for SALVATION.

The Law brings knowledge of sin and knowledge of ourselves, just how pitiful, unrighteous, and hopeless we are without Jesus Christ as our Lord and Saviour.

(Romans 3:19)  Now we know that what things soever the law saith, it saith to them who are under the law: that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world may become guilty before God.
(Romans 3:20)  Therefore by the deeds of the law there shall no flesh be justified in his sight: for by the law is the knowledge of sin.
(Romans 3:21)  But now the righteousness of God without the law is manifested, being witnessed by the law and the prophets;
(Romans 3:22)  Even the righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe: for there is no difference:
(Romans 3:23)  For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;
(Romans 3:24)  Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus:
(Romans 3:25)  Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God;
(Romans 3:26)  To declare, I say, at this time his righteousness: that he might be just, and the justifier of him which believeth in Jesus.
(Romans 3:27)  Where is boasting then? It is excluded. By what law? of works? Nay: but by the law of faith.
(Romans 3:28)  Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith without the deeds of the law.
(Romans 3:29)  Is he the God of the Jews only? is he not also of the Gentiles? Yes, of the Gentiles also:
(Romans 3:30)  Seeing it is one God, which shall justify the circumcision by faith, and uncircumcision through faith.
(Romans 3:31)  Do we then make void the law through faith? God forbid: yea, we establish the law.

Love In Christ,
Tom

[nChrist]

2nd Timothy,

AMEN BROTHER!!

I don't believe in coincidence. You were about to post your message while I was composing mine. Brother, I think that God is working here. Look at your quotes of Romans 10 and your comments and compare them to my post. I promise that I didn't try to steal any of your thunder.    The Holy Spirit was leading us both at the same time.

Love in Christ,
Tom

[2nd Timothy]

2nd Timothy,

AMEN BROTHER!!

I don't believe in coincidence. You were about to post your message while I was composing mine. Brother, I think that God is working here. Look at your quotes of Romans 10 and your comments and compare them to my post. I promise that I didn't try to steal any of your thunder.    The Holy Spirit was leading us both at the same time.

Love in Christ,
Tom

Amen!   Brother, I have no thunder to steal    God is the one with thunder, we are just sharing his truth with others.   God is bringing harvest to this very place friend.   I certainly do not believe that this is by accident either.  I believe this is by divine intervention that these are coming into our midst.  I am thrilled to be apart of Christians unite and share what God has done in my life, and I pray that He will use it for His glory and bring these to know Him and His grace.

Grace and Peace!

[Shammu]

A New Life With Jesus Christ.

John 3:17 reads, “Indeed, God did not send the Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.” That reading is from the New Revised Standard Version of the Holy Bible. Listen to this rendition from Today’s English Version: for God did not send his Son into the world to be its judge, but to be its Savior.” So is Jesus our Savior or our judge?

As we reflect on these questions, some of you may conclude that Jesus is our Savior. What’s the issue? Jesus came to help put the world right again, didn’t he? Others of you may decide that he is both, Savior and judge. Does not the cross of Jesus Christ represent both God’s judgment and God’s grace? Doesn’t salvation come in the midst of judgment? A few of you may ascertain that Jesus is our judge. Jesus in his holiness simply points a condemning finger at us telling us how bad we really are. Didn’t Jesus say, “I came into this world for judgment?

So, some of us at least, agree with our text for this message that Jesus came into the world to be our Savior, not our judge. Indeed, the message of Christian salvation is that Jesus came into the world to show God’s love and to call all to faith in him. For those who respond in faith to God’s love in Jesus Christ, life with the Eternal One is their reward.

Most of us believe that this is the message of our faith. However, how many of us really believe it? How many of us actually trust that God loves us and accepts us unconditionally, warts and all? The truth is that many of us struggle with God’s love for us. There are at least two reasons for our struggle.

The first struggle comes from a belief that many of us carry deep within the psyche. It goes something like this: Everything must be paid for. For twenty centuries most churchs has proclaimed the message of salvation, grace, and God’s forgiveness to a humanity oppressed with guilt. How then is it that even among the most fervent believers there are so few whose lives are filled with joy and freedom? The problem is that deeply engraved on every human heart is the idea that everything must be paid for. Salvation must be earned. At some level or another, we believe that salvation is something we must achieve.

Many of us struggle with the idea of Jesus taking care of all our sins at the cross. It seems impossible to us that God could remove all our guilt without our having to pay something or do something. Dr. Paul Tournier, a Swiss psychiatrist, has written in his book Guilt and Grace, “The notion that everything has to be paid for is very deep-seated and active within us, as universal as it is unshakable by logical argument.” The sad truth is that the very people who long so for love and acceptance have the greatest difficulty affirming God’s unconditional acceptance in Jesus Christ. To them God’s love and grace are too simple a solution for a life bogged down in sin and guilt.

Many of us believe in the forgiveness of sins. However, deep down in the depths of being our own sin and guilt gnaw at us. We fail to appropriate God’s grace and forgiveness to our whole sinful condition at the very deepest levels of our being.

Indeed, we believe and act as if somehow we must earn or achieve our salvation. We operate as if God’s grace can’t do it alone. We act as if our works, our achievements are more important than or just as important as our faith. Faith alone in the saving grace of God is simply not enough for us. Some of us try to earn our salvation through becoming famous. Others of us try to save a fortune and secure our salvation through wealth. Still others of us seek salvation through power over others. Some of us believe we can earn God’s grace through doing good in behalf of others. A few of us believe we can earn God’s grace through Moses's law. Still others of us contend that devotion to family or to nation will earn us our salvation. Some of us assume striving for holiness will make us good in the eyes of God and bring us the reward of eternal salvation. Others of us maintain that our practices of Christian piety will make us right with God.

The truth of the gospel is that none of these things matter in terms of our salvation. They will not remove our feelings of guilt before God; in fact, they can make matters worse. What if we fail in what we are seeking to achieve? It only produces guilt. Our failure acts as a judge of our condition before God. Nothing can remove our sin and guilt before God except God’s love as revealed in the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Only Jesus is our Savior. We are totally and unconditionally indebted to Jesus Christ for our salvation. No one, literally no one, can win acceptance with God on terms other than God’s grace given freely through Jesus Christ. Anything less amounts to a denial of the completeness and finality of the saving power of the cross of Christ.

The good news is that God’s unconditional love has come through Jesus Christ. He is our Savior, for he gave his life that we might have life. The angel of the Lord announced this good news to Joseph, while Mary awaited the birth of a son: “You are to name him Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.” Jesus proclaimed it on the eve of his crucifixion. He took a cup, gave it to his disciples, and said, “Drink from it, all of you; for this is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins.”

We can do nothing to wipe away our sin and guilt before God. Our blessing as Christians is to know that we are forgiven and that forgiveness reaches us through Jesus Christ, our Savior. God has paid the price once and for all through the atoning work of Jesus Christ. We no longer stand guilty before God because Jesus died on the cross that we might be forgiven and bound for eternity. Jesus is our Savior, not our judge.

The second reason for our struggle has to do with feelings we may have about ourselves. Some of us struggle with self-acceptance. Our logic with regard to fully accepting Jesus as our Savior goes like this; “How can God accept me when I cannot accept myself?” Persons who struggle with self-acceptance often find it inconsistent and troubling to embrace a theology based on a loving, accepting God. To them it does not make good, logical sense to be loved by a perfect being when they are so unlovable.

It is quite common for such persons to see Jesus as their judge. To them that makes more sense given their view of themselves. They contend, “There is no way Jesus can be my Savior, for I’m not worth God’s boundless love.”

It is likely that persons struggling with self-worth feelings may believe that God loves everybody but them. These persons may affirm the love of God in a general sense but refuse to believe it applies to them in any deep and lasting way. Again, to them that simply does not make good sense. They clearly cannot accept God’s love because they do not value themselves. According to research in social psychology and religion, persons who struggle with self-acceptance tend to see God as unloving, rejecting, and vindictive. Their self-image seems to require a God who punishes rather than one who loves the sinner. Despite the overwhelming message of God’s love in the Bible, they experience God in Jesus Christ as judge. They believe that Jesus came into the world for judgment, not salvation.

If this is your struggle, the revelation of God in Jesus Christ is this: in Jesus’ suffering, forgiving love upon the cross, God accepts each person. Each of us has ultimate worth because the Son of God laid down his life to affirm the value of the lost coin, the lost sheep, the lost child. In Jesus, the Savior, God has broken the tyranny of the destructive power of sin upon life and has liberated the human spirit to a new, life-affirming relationship with God.

Our Savior not only became one of us and accepted each person, but also he is doing a positive work on behalf of each of us even now. Those who welcome his caring love are the new creation of God. They are no longer captives to sin and its corrosive power, for in Jesus Christ, they are accepted and forgiven. The Holy Spirit is working in them to renew and restore their human value that has been undercut by the crippling effects of sin. The Spirit’s empowering makes us all fully human, fully valued, fully alive in Christ. Jesus is our Savior, not our judge.

What is Jesus to us? Is he our Savior or our judge? If we are struggling with a burden of guilt, we can trust the work of the Savior. He has paid the price for our guilt. In the cross God offers us grace. We cannot earn it through good works. We cannot achieve it through superhuman effort. We can only accept it. We can only receive God’s love and grace and experience its transforming power in our life. We are invited to accept Jesus as our Savior today.

If we are struggling with accepting ourselves as persons of worth and value, we can God’s acceptance of us in Jesus Christ. God loves you. God loves you more than anybody in this world loves you. God in Jesus Christ loves us more than we can ever love ourselves.

We can love and value ourselves because God loved us enough to create us. God valued us enough to send a Savior to change our lives into something of ultimate worth to God.

[Shammu]

Jn.5:46-47  "Had ye believed Moses, ye would have believed me, for he wrote of me. But if ye believe not his writings, how shall ye believe my words?"

The most important statement I will make concerning the Law of Moses is this: the Law was only for the circumcised nation Israel. I cannot possibly overstate the importance of that truth to your understanding of the New Covenant writings. No one on earth can understand the Apostle Paul's teaching without understanding that the Law was never given to the Gentiles, but only to the Jews. Read these scriptures and contemplate their meaning: Gen.17:10-14; Ex.12:43-49; Gal.2:7-9; Gal.3:7-8; Rom.3:19; Gal.5:3.

[Pilgrim]

“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:” Acts 15:24

The Ten Commandments are the very heart of the Old Covenant between God and Israel. In many of today’s churches the Ten Commandments play an important role. Many of the churches in the area in which I live start their services each week by reciting the Ten Commandments. Many professing Christians will use the Ten Commandments as the ultimate guide and rule for their life. In our society conflicts concerning the Ten Commandments are often in the national news. Almost every year we hear of a court case concerning the display of the Ten Commandments in public places such as schools or court buildings.
With the emphasis that many churches place on the Ten Commandments as well as all the fuss in society concerning them, one would think that Ten Commandments would be understood very well, especially by religious people. In fact, just the opposite is true. If religious people really understood the law of Moses (in which the Ten Commandments are the very heart) they would be horrified by what they have done with them. They would know that the Ten Commandments were a ministry of death and condemnation and could never minister to spiritual life. They would not entertain the thought for even a moment that they could live according to a standard that only had the power to condemn them to death before a holy and just God.
If a person was to claim that the Ten Commandments never applied to the gentiles and that they applied only to the Jews from Moses to the cross many would label this person as a heretic. If the person went on to say that the Ten Commandments was a ministry of death and condemnation and was not given for a righteous man many would say that this person is not only a heretic, but a lunatic as well. If this person went on and said the Law of Moses was made void and made obsolete by Jesus because it had a major fault in it and that those who tried to live by it were cursed, then this person better be prepared to be stoned. Yet, the Word of God teaches these things and more about the Ten Commandments and the Law of Moses.

Below are a few very important truths concerning the Mosaic law from God’s Word that will greatly help those who are truth seekers.

John 1:17 “For the law was given by Moses, [but] grace and truth came by Jesus Christ.”

Luke 16:16 “The law and the prophets [were] until John: since that time the kingdom of God is preached, and every man presseth into it.”

These two verses let us know the beginning and the end of the Mosaic law, which was from Moses to the cross of Jesus Christ (where He fulfilled the law).

John 1:17 tells us that the law came by Moses. This teaches two important points about the law of Moses. 1, as stated above it had a beginning and 2, that before Moses many generation existed without the law of Moses. This does not mean that people from Adam to Moses were not accountable to God for their sin. Romans 5:13 says “(For until the law sin was in the world: but sin is not imputed when there is no law. 14 Nevertheless death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over them that had not sinned after the similitude of Adam's transgression, who is the figure of him that was to come.”

God gave mankind many commandments before Moses came along with the Mosaic law. The first command God gave to mankind in which mankind broke was not to eat of the tree of knowledge of good and evil (Gen 1:16). There are many commands God gave to man before Moses Gen. 9 records a few:

Gen. 9:1 “And God blessed Noah and his sons, and said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth. 2 And the fear of you and the dread of you shall be upon every beast of the earth, and upon every fowl of the air, upon all that moveth [upon] the earth, and upon all the fishes of the sea; into your hand are they delivered. 3 Every moving thing that liveth shall be meat for you; even as the green herb have I given you all things. 4 But flesh with the life thereof, [which is] the blood thereof, shall ye not eat. 5 And surely your blood of your lives will I require; at the hand of every beast will I require it, and at the hand of man; at the hand of every man's brother will I require the life of man. 6 Whoso sheddeth man's blood, by man shall his blood be shed: for in the image of God made he man. 7 And you, be ye fruitful, and multiply; bring forth abundantly in the earth, and multiply therein.”


These commands were given to all mankind not just the children of Israel. They still apply to us today. In verse one and seven God commands mankind to be fruitful and multiply. Even though this command is still in effect (God never made it void), many today refuse to obey it. Christians who actively practice birth control are disobeying God’s clear command in these verses. They use many excuses for not obeying God, expenses, housing, schooling, nobody else is doing it, etc, but the bottom line is they are disobeying God. I wanted only two children but God gave me eight so far, and when I look at and hold each one in my lap I am so thankful my wife and I submitted to God in this area of our life. God’s Word teaches that Children are a gift from God, doesn’t it seem strange that so many Christians today refuse God’s gifts. I know my 3rd, 4th, 5th, 6th, 7th and 8th child are glad we obeyed God rather than go our own way in family planing.
Other commands in this list also teach us not to eat flesh with the blood still in it, which was repeat to the gentiles in Acts 15 by telling them not to eat things strangled. Also, not to shed another man’s blood. God also allows mankind here to eat any animal whether clean or unclean unlike the Mosaic Law which forbids the eating of unclean animals. So we clearly see that even without the Mosaic law mankind was responsible before God concerning his sin. God defined certain sins and set limits upon mankind many generation before Moses, God also judged sin as seen in Romans 5:13-14 many generations before the Mosaic law was given. In Exodus 19 God is going to make a covenant with a certain group of people. This covenant as one can read is the Ten Commandment which follow in Exodus 20. A covenant is a legally binding contract between two or more parties. In this case the text of Exodus 19 is clear that the covenant (contract) is between God and the children of Israel who were delivered from Egypt.

Ex. 19:1 “In the third month, when the children of Israel were gone forth out of the land of Egypt, the same day came they [into] the wilderness of Sinai. 2 For they were departed from Rephidim, and were come [to] the desert of Sinai, and had pitched in the wilderness; and there Israel camped before the mount. 3 And Moses went up unto God, and the LORD called unto him out of the mountain, saying, Thus shalt thou say to the house of Jacob, and tell the children of Israel; 4 Ye have seen what I did unto the Egyptians, and [how] I bare you on eagles' wings, and brought you unto myself. 5 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: 6 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. 7 And Moses came and called for the elders of the people, and laid before their faces all these words which the LORD commanded him. 8 And all the people answered together, and said, All that the LORD hath spoken we will do. And Moses returned the words of the people unto the LORD.”

There are two very important observations that a careful student of God’s Word will notice in these verses.

1. The Ten Commandment was a covenant that God made ONLY with the children of Israel.

Verse 1 “children of Israel”, verse 2 “Israel”, and in verse 3 “the house of Jacob, and tell the children of Israel;”

It is clear that God is making this covenant with only one group of people, Israel! No gentile nations or people are even mentioned or hinted at in this passage. God is singling out one nation out of the entire world and making a covenant with them exclusively. Deuteronomy 5 even claims that the covenant of the Ten Commandments was not even made with the forefathers of Israel but to them alone.

Duet. 5:1 “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. 2 The LORD our God made a covenant with us in Horeb. 3 The LORD made not this covenant with our fathers, but with us, [even] us, who [are] all of us here alive this day. 4 The LORD talked with you face to face in the mount out of the midst of the fire, 5 (I stood between the LORD and you at that time, to shew you the word of the LORD: for ye were afraid by reason of the fire, and went not up into the mount;) saying,”

2. The result of the covenant that God made the with Israel was that they would be a peculiar people, distinct and separate from all other people of the world.

Ex. 19:5 says “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:”

The result of this covenant was to make Israel a “peculiar treasure unto me above all people.” This is important to grasp because it too means that the Ten Commandments were given ONLY to the children of Israel. If God made this covenant with all people of the world this could not be true seeing everyone would be following the same covenant and Israel would not be a separate, distinct and peculiar people as a result of the covenant between them and God.
Continued

[Pilgrim]

Continued
The Bible clearly teaches in many places that a Christian is not under the law of Moses. Those who insist that we are under the law of Moses mistakenly claim that without the law of Moses you give a licenses to sin. What they don’t realize is that just because Christians are not under the law of Moses doesn’t mean they are without divine law. Think about it for a moment, people from Adam to Moses were without the law of Moses, yet God gave them commands to follow as previously shown above. Some of the laws given to those from Adam to Moses were similar to those given in the Mosaic law, such as murder. Yet others were complete opposites such as the eating of clean and unclean animals. There were two different laws to govern two different groups of people. The same is true today, Christians are not under the law of Moses, they are under the law of Christ which is love. Therefore the divine law for Christians is the law of love. If we love God as we should then we would never sin against Him. If we love our neighbors and enemies as we should then we would never sin against them. The law of love is far superior to the law of Moses. The law of Moses was an external list of 613 do’s and don’t which one could be forced to follow to a certain degree even if their heart was not in it. On the other hand the law of love covers every conceivable sin one can commit and those who obey do so from the heart because true love comes from the heart. This is why love is the greatest law and fulfills the law and the prophets. Christians do not commit murder, adultery, lies etc. because it is against the law of love, not because it is a violation of the Mosaic law. We obey righteousness because we are under the law of Christ, not as incorrectly claimed by some that we are under the law of Moses.

In the book of Romans the apostle Paul had to defend against the charge that to be without the law of Moses was a license to sin.

Rom. 6:1 “What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound? 2 God forbid. How shall we, that are dead to sin, live any longer therein?”

Because Paul taught that one is saved by grace through faith rather than law keeping his enemies accused him of teaching that a Christian had a free license to sin. Paul gave the death blow to that argument in verse 1 of Romans 6. He went on to say:

Rom. 6:15 “What then? shall we sin, because we are not under the law, but under grace? God forbid. 16 Know ye not, that to whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants ye are to whom ye obey; whether of sin unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness? 17 But God be thanked, that ye were the servants of sin, but ye have obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine which was delivered you. 18 Being then made free from sin, ye became the servants of righteousness.”

Can God’s Word get any clearer that we are not under law but under grace (verse 15)? And can God’s Word get any clearer that because were are under grace and not the law that this is not a license for free sinning? True Christians do not practice sin because they follow the law of love which comes from the heart. Notice Paul says in verse 17 “but ye have obeyed from the heart”. Those who claims to be saved and continue living a life full of sin are false professors and their actions prove that they are still servants of sin rather than a servants of righteousness just as the above verses declare. Those who are truly saved obey from the heart out of love for God and mankind. As a result their righteousness far exceeds the righteousness of the Pharisees who were trying to be righteous by the deeds of the law.

Mat 5:20 “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.”

Those who insist that Christians are under the law of Moses apparently do not understand what a great burden this is. In Acts 15 the apostle Peter is speaking against the law keepers and had this to say about the law of Moses.

This is what the law keepers said:

Acts 15:5 “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.”

And here is what Peter said:

Acts 15:10 “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?”

Peter says that the law of Moses was an unbearable burden that neither they or their fathers were able to bear. If the apostles themselves could not bear the law of Moses what chance do we have? Peter said that those who taught that Christian have to keep the law of Moses were tempting God, a very serious sin. Those who teach that Christians have to keep the law of Moses are siding with the Pharisees of verse 6 and those who temp God (verse 10) and those who subvert souls (verse 24):

Acts 15:23 “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: 24 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:”

Notice that verse 24 for says it was the troublemakers who taught that Christians must keep the law of Moses and that the apostles themselves never gave such a commandment. Now lets look at the contrast in what the Lord Jesus Christ had to offer in Matthew 11.
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Matt. 11:28 “Come unto me, all [ye] that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. 30 For my yoke [is] easy, and my burden is light.”

What the Lord is offering in Matthew 11 is just opposite of what the Bible says about the law of Moses in Acts 15. What the Lord offers is rest for the soul, an easy yoke and a light burden. What the law of Moses offered according to Acts 15 was an unbearable burden that was impossible to bear. Therefore they cannot be talking about the same thing. Jesus also said this about His commandments in 1 John 5.

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

If Jesus was talking about the law of Moses here then we would have a major contradiction with Acts 15 which says that the law of Moses was an unbearable burden. Yet this verse goes right along with the words of our Lord in Matthew 11:28-30. The only possibility then is that the commandments that Jesus is talking about in 1 John are not the commandments of the Mosaic law but of a different law. If we look at the context of 1 John it is very easy to see what commandments the Lord is referring to in 1 John 5:3.

1Jo 2:3 “And hereby we do know that we know him, if we keep his commandments. 4 He that saith, I know him, and keepeth not his commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him. 5 But whoso keepeth his word, in him verily is the love of God perfected: hereby know we that we are in him. 6 He that saith he abideth in him ought himself also so to walk, even as he walked.7 Brethren, I write no new commandment unto you, but an old commandment which ye had from the beginning. The old commandment is the word which ye have heard from the beginning. 8 Again, a new commandment I write unto you, which thing is true in him and in you: because the darkness is past, and the true light now shineth. 9 He that saith he is in the light, and hateth his brother, is in darkness even until now. 10 He that loveth his brother abideth in the light, and there is none occasion of stumbling in him.”

Notice verse 5 talking about the love of God being perfected in a believer and in verse 10 the emphasis on loving a brother.

1Jo 3:22 “And whatsoever we ask, we receive of him, because we keep his commandments, and do those things that are pleasing in his sight. 23 And this is his commandment, That we should believe on the name of his Son Jesus Christ, and love one another, as he gave us commandment. 24 And he that keepeth his commandments dwelleth in him, and he in him. And hereby we know that he abideth in us, by the Spirit which he hath given us.”

In verse 23 the Lord spells out exactly what His commandments are, “That we should believe on the name of his Son Jesus Christ, and love one another, as he gave us commandment.” There is nothing even remotely suggesting that He is talking about the law Moses in these verses, rather the emphasis is on the law of love.

I am often surprised by so-called “law keepers” lack of understanding of the book of Hebrews. To rightly understand the book of Hebrews one must see that it is a comparison of the Old Covenant (which is the law of Moses starting with the Ten Commandments) with the New Covenant. One of the key words to pay attention to in Hebrews is the word “better” which is used numerous times in reference of the New Covenant being better than the Old. The book of Hebrews deals with many of the errors that “law keepers” so often teach. One common error of the law keepers is that they believe that a person is drawn closer to God in their attempts at keeping the law of Moses. Yet, what they fail to realize in their foolish zeal of the law of Moses, is that the law of Moses never had the power to make a person right with God.

Heb 7:18 “For there is verily a disannulling of the commandment going before for the weakness and unprofitableness thereof. 19 For the law made nothing perfect, but the bringing in of a better hope did; by the which we draw nigh unto God.”

Verse 18 is talking about the Old Covenant being annulled. The Greek word used for disannulling means:
athete??sis
ath-et'-ay-sis
From G114; cancellation (literally or figuratively): - disannulling, put away.
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It is interesting that God’s Word says that the Old Covenant has been canceled yet the “law keepers” continue to act as if it is still in effect. Who is right, God who cannot lie, or the “law keepers” who not only can lie but be deceived as well? If God says the Old Covenant is cancelled then it is cancelled regardless of what any man may say. “Law keepers” think that their feeble attempt at keeping the law of Moses will draw them closer, and make them more pleasing, to God. Yet, verse 18 claims that the law could not make anything perfect, nor could it draw them closer to God. That is why the New Covenant which is referred to as “the bringing in of a better hope” was made. The New Covenant was made in the Blood of the Lord Jesus Christ and it is by that precious blood that we are drawn closer to God, not the law of Moses.

Hebrews 8 says that the Old Covenant is obsolete and vanishing away.

Heb 8:13 “In that he saith, A new covenant, he hath made the first old. Now that which decayeth and waxeth old is ready to vanish away.”

The Greek word for old means obsolete or worn out. Hebrews 10 goes on with this thought.

Heb 10:7 “Then said I, Lo, I come (in the volume of the book it is written of me,) to do thy will, O God. 8 Above when he said, Sacrifice and offering and burnt offerings and offering for sin thou wouldest not, neither hadst pleasure therein; which are offered by the law; 9 Then said he, Lo, I come to do thy will, O God. He taketh away the first, that he may establish the second. 10 By the which will we are sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all. 11 And every priest standeth daily ministering and offering oftentimes the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins: 12 But this man, after he had offered one sacrifice for sins for ever, sat down on the right hand of God;”

Here Jesus takes away the first (Old) Covenant that He may establish the Second (New). According to Hebrews the Old Covenant has been cancelled made obsolete and replaced by the New Covenant. Yet “law keepers” would have you believe that the Old Covenant (which is the law of Moses starting with the Ten Commandments) is still in effect. If this is true then it has not been cancelled, made obsolete or replaced by the New Covenant as the book of Hebrews declare. Again, who is telling the truth, God who cannot lie, or the “law keepers” who can?

2 Cor. 3:6 “Who also hath made us able ministers of the new testament; not of the letter, but of the spirit: for the letter killeth, but the spirit giveth life. 7 But if the ministration of death, written [and] engraven in stones, was glorious, so that the children of Israel could not stedfastly behold the face of Moses for the glory of his countenance; which [glory] was to be done away: 8 How shall not the ministration of the spirit be rather glorious? 9 For if the ministration of condemnation [be] glory, much more doth the ministration of righteousness exceed in glory. 10 For even that which was made glorious had no glory in this respect, by reason of the glory that excelleth. 11 For if that which is done away [was] glorious, much more that which remaineth [is] glorious. 12 Seeing then that we have such hope, we use great plainness of speech: 13 And not as Moses, [which] put a vail over his face, that the children of Israel could not stedfastly look to the end of that which is abolished: 14 But their minds were blinded: for until this day remaineth the same vail untaken away in the reading of the old testament; which [vail] is done away in Christ. 15 But even unto this day, when Moses is read, the vail is upon their heart. 16 Nevertheless when it shall turn to the Lord, the vail shall be taken away. 17 Now the Lord is that Spirit: and where the Spirit of the Lord [is], there [is] liberty. 18 But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, [even] as by the Spirit of the Lord.”

2 Corinthians 3 is talking specifically about the Ten Commandments (verses 7) in comparison to the New Covenant. Paul says in verse 3 that they are ministers of the New Covenant (New Testament) which is not of the letter (Ten Commandments), but of the Spirit. The Ten Commandments are not part of the gospel, the gospel and the Ten Commandments are opposed to each other so that they cannot be mixed. The Ten Commandments brought forth death and condemnation while the gospel of the New Covenant brought fort life and a clear conscience before God.

Notice verse 7 refers to the Ten Commandments as a ministry of death, not one of life, and verse nine says the Ten Commandments were a ministry of condemnation, not one that would clear a guilty conscience. I am amazed that some people insist upon putting themselves and others under a ministry of death and condemnation. Why would anyone who is sane want to be under a covenant that could only condemn and kill them in the first place? Are they under a false delusion that a ministry of death and condemnation is able to bring them life and a clear conscience before God? No wonder the apostles, elders and brethren of Jerusalem said it was the subverters of souls who taught that Christians are to keep the law of Moses Acts 15:24).

Verse 11 clearly teaches that the Ten Commandments are done away with and that the New Covenant is what remains. The so-called law keepers cannot explain verse 11. Verse 11 says that the Ten Commandments are done away with and the so-called law keepers say it is not. Who’s lying, the so-called law keepers, or God? I will give a little hint it’s not God. Verse 13 declares that the Ten Commandments are abolished, how can a Christian be subject to something that is abolished and no longer in force? The reason some people insist that the Ten Commandments are in force today is explained in this chapter as well. It’s because they are blind by a vail upon their heart in their understanding of the Old Testament (verse 15). In other words they don’t even understand the purpose of the Old Covenant and like the unbelieving Jews they think that their righteousness is by the deeds of the law (Rom.9:30-33). This vail will only be removed when they repent by turning their hearts away from the ministry of death and condemnation to the cross of Jesus Christ where they will find life and a clear conscience before God.
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Like the self righteous Pharisees of old, today’s subverters of souls think that they are serving God when they teach their false gospel of works based salvation. Like the Pharisees of old, they lead souls to hell rather than heaven.

Matt. 23:13 “But woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye shut up the kingdom of heaven against men: for ye neither go in [yourselves], neither suffer ye them that are entering to go in. 14 Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye devour widows' houses, and for a pretence make long prayer: therefore ye shall receive the greater damnation. 15 Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye compass sea and land to make one proselyte, and when he is made, ye make him twofold more the child of hell than yourselves.”

Strong words from our beloved Lord Himself. Those who teach that Christians must keep the law of Moses are enemies of the cross and wether they realize it or not they help promote Satan’s deadliest work of blinding mens eyes to the light of the glorious gospel of Jesus Christ.

2 Cor. 4:3 “But if our gospel be hid, it is hid to them that are lost: 4 In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them.”

Many who teach that the Law of Moses is still enforce use a the following few verses as proof. The number one objection that I hear most often is Matthew 5:17-19. Let’s take a closer look at this verse and see if it can be used to support the idea that the Mosaic Law is still enforce today.

Mat 5:17 “Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil. 18  For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled. 19  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.”

Verse 17 is very straight forward and declares that Jesus purpose in coming here to earth was to fulfil the Law. If this was His purpose in coming then we know for sure He completed His task before going back to heaven. Jesus even said that He completed the work the Father sent Him to do (John 4:34, 17:4). On the cross Jesus cried out “It is finished”.

The so-called law keepers say that verse 18 teaches that heaven and earth will pass away before even the smallest change takes place in the law.  Yet, that is not what verse 18 is teaching. Verse 18 is teaching that heaven and earth will pass away before one jot or one tittle is changed in the law “TILL ALL BE FULFILLED”. When was all fulfilled?  The answer is obvious, at the Cross of Christ Jesus. Now that Jesus fulfilled the law it could be changed. We see this fact in Hebrews 7:

Heb 7:12 “For the priesthood being changed, there is made of necessity a change also of the law.”

Notice, if one jot or one tittle cannot be changed till heaven and earth pass, then Hebrews 7:12 cannot be true. Not only that, but Hebrews 7:12 is far greater than just a jot or tittle being changed, it’s a major overhaul of the Mosaic Law. If the way many apply Matt. 5:17-19 in support of the Mosaic Law is true then it would it contradict the clear teaching in 2 Cor 3:11 about the Ten Commandments being done away with and abolished and many other verses as well.
   If Matt. 5 teaches what the so-called law keeps  claim then 2 Cor. 3 is a major contradiction. Yet, if Matt 5 teaches that the Mosaic Law could be changed after “ALL BE FULFILLED” then there is no contradiction with 2 Cor 3 and many other verses, instead you have complete harmony the way Scripture should be.
When Jesus spoke the words of verse 19 He was still under the Old Covenant even though man placed the gospels under the heading of the New Testament. The Old Covenant was in force until the death of Jesus. After the Cross the New Covenant started. Hebrews teaches this.

Heb 9:16 “For where a testament is, there must also of necessity be the death of the testator. 17  For a testament is of force after men are dead: otherwise it is of no strength at all while the testator liveth.”
 
So when Jesus uttered these words the Old Covenant was in fact in force, therefore if anyone at that time would teach that one should break the Sabbath or any other commandments they would have violated verse 19. After the cross a New Covenant with better promises was made, the Old Covenant passed.

Another verse often cited is Romans 3:31 which says:

Rom 3:31 “Do we then make void the law through faith? God forbid: yea, we establish the law.”

Rom. 3:20-31 in context is talking about establishing righteousness. These verses teach that righteousness could not be established by the deeds of the law but by the law of faith Rom. 3:21,22,28. By believing on the Lord Jesus Christ one becomes righteous, by trying to be righteous by the law one becomes condemned. Prefect law keeping would establish that one was righteous, the problem was that there were none righteous by the deeds of the law. The Lord Jesus is righteous and therefore was able to keep the law perfectly. What we could not do He could and did. When we believe on the Lord Jesus Christ His righteousness is imputed to us through faith. This is how through the law of faith one establishes the law of righteousness. Those who sought to establish righteousness by the deeds of the law failed, those who sought to establish righteousness by faith in Jesus succeeded. Romans 3:31 in context teaches that true righteousness is through faith in Jesus Christ not by efforts at law keeping. It does not teach that Christians are to keep the law of Moses.
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