Am I a Legalist ?

[NorthStar]

I want to keep all 10 commandments as found in Exodus 20:3-17.
WHY ?

Because Jesus Christ asked me to ...in John 14:15.....
"IF..you love me, keep my commandments"

Is it wrong to do what Jesus asks ?

I want to be one of those people that the Bible describes, as a saint.....
 Revelation 14:12   "Here is the patience of the saints: here [are] they that keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus". 

I want to be allowed into heaven.....
Revelation  22:14  " Blessed [are] they that do his commandments, that they may have right to the tree of life, and may enter in through the gates into the city". 

I don't want to be counted, as a liar !
1 John 2:3   "And hereby we do know that we know him, if we keep his commandments. 
  2:4   He that saith, I know him, and keepeth not his commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him". 

I believe this Bible verse applies to me, as a Christian.....
20:20   "And hallow my sabbaths; and they shall be a sign between me and you, that ye may know that I [am] the LORD your God". 

Again, I ask....Am I wrong to do what Jesus asks of me ?

[Soldier4Christ]

Rom 14:5  One man esteemeth one day above another: another esteemeth every day alike. Let every man be fully persuaded in his own mind.
Rom 14:6  He that regardeth the day, regardeth it unto the Lord; and he that regardeth not the day, to the Lord he doth not regard it. He that eateth, eateth to the Lord, for he giveth God thanks; and he that eateth not, to the Lord he eateth not, and giveth God thanks.

[nChrist]

Hello Northstar,

First, WELCOME!!

I'm looking forward to reading your posts and having fellowship with you.

Regarding your questions, I give thanks every day for all that changed with JESUS and the Cross. JESUS CHRIST is our Sabbath, and we rest in HIM 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. I give thanks for that and I'm glad that it isn't limited to just one day a week. It's all days every week, and this is true for eternity.

Matthew 22:36-40  NASB  "Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?" And He said to him, " 'YOU SHALL LOVE THE LORD YOUR GOD WITH ALL YOUR HEART, AND WITH ALL YOUR SOUL, AND WITH ALL YOUR MIND.' "This is the great and foremost commandment. "The second is like it, 'YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF.' "On these two commandments depend the whole Law and the Prophets."

Northstar, I give thanks that we no longer live under the Law. The Law of faith in JESUS CHRIST has set us free from the curse of sin and death. Many things in the Old Testament were shadows of what was to come, and JESUS CHRIST is the reality that replaced those shadows. We serve a LIVING Lord and Saviour, JESUS CHRIST, and the HOLY SPIRIT lives in our hearts. This is the precious truth of today for all of GOD'S children.

Thanks be unto GOD for HIS unspeakable GIFT!, JESUS CHRIST, our Lord and Saviour forever!

Love In Christ,
Tom

Revelation 1:7-8 NASB  BEHOLD, HE IS COMING WITH THE CLOUDS, and every eye will see Him, even those who pierced Him; and all the tribes of the earth will mourn over Him. So it is to be. Amen. "I am the Alpha and the Omega," says the Lord God, "who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty."

[Allinall]

Amen!!

[Pilgrim]

I want to keep all 10 commandments as found in Exodus 20:3-17.
WHY ?

It is not possible for you to keep the 10 commandments. Why?

Because you are man and man cannot keep even one of these commandments as God intended them to be kept, perfectly 100% of the time. One slip on any point and it is over.

I want to keep all 10 commandments as found in Exodus 20:3-17.
WHY ?

It is not possible for you to keep the 10 commandments. Why?

Because the Ten Commandments where only given to the children of Israel from Moses to the cross of Jesus. The Ten Commandments were never given to a gentile nation period. Even the fathers of Israel such as Abraham, Isaac, Jacob etc. were not under the Ten Commandmenets.

Exo 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:”

Deu 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.”

I want to keep all 10 commandments as found in Exodus 20:3-17.
WHY ?

It is not possible for you to keep the 10 commandments. Why?

Because they have been done away with (2 Cor. 3:11), abolished (2 Cor. 3:13), and replaced by the New Covenant (Hebrew verses).

2Co 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:”

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.”

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.”

Heb 10:9 “Then said he, Lo, I come to do thy will, O God. He taketh away the first, that he may establish the second.”

I have written three articles that go in detail concerning the Ten Commandments and why they no longer apply. These articles will answer almost all the objections you can come up with if you have a heart for God’s truth. You can read them hear if interested:

 "Which Law are You Under?"  http://www.nlbchapel.org/which%20law.htm

“Subverters of Souls”  http://www.nlbchapel.org/Subverters.htm

“Comparing the Old Covenant with the New Covenant.”  http://www.nlbchapel.org/covenant.htm

Pilgrim

[nChrist]

Brother Pilgrim,

AMEN AND AMEN!!

Colossians 2:13-17   And you, being dead in your sins and the uncircumcision of your flesh, hath he quickened together with him, having forgiven you all trespasses; Blotting out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us, which was contrary to us, and took it out of the way, nailing it to his cross; And having spoiled principalities and powers, he made a shew of them openly, triumphing over them in it. Let no man therefore judge you in meat, or in drink, or in respect of an holyday, or of the new moon, or of the sabbath days: Which are a shadow of things to come; but the body is of Christ.

[Shammu]

AMEN and AMEN Pilgrim!!

[Garden of Glory]

  So if the 10 Commandments was "done away with at the Cross", then I suppose I can lie, curse, cheat, kill, covet, and blaspheme all I want and be fine as a Christian??

One must look at Bible history and understand what constitutes the word "law" in the OT:

There are three (3) things called "the law" in the Bible:

1. The 10 Commandments = THE Law, unchangeable as God Himself, as it reflects Him, His actual Personality. It is not a set of does and don'ts, as the Hebrews saw them. (That was part of the reason for their de-commissioning) Notice that every one of the sneaky questions put to Jesus by religious hypocrites was centred on how they could fudge on this Law; no one ever asked Him questions about the other two laws below.The leaders that murdered Him were angry at His disregard of the two below and His living witness of the 10 Commandments His life exemplified. "If you love Me, keep My Commandments."

2.The ceremonial laws, rituals and ordinances, constructed by God for the missionary Jews, all of which were acted out parables pointing to Christ, and therefore died when He died on the Cross. They are no longer binding on anyone and are done away with when the veil to the Most Holy Place was torn apart by the Hand of God. They are equally useless because the Temple is gone and the Holy spirit is no longer in residence there, but within born again Christians.

3. The Rabbinical laws These are the "yokes of burden" created by men, none from the Lord ever. The rabbis created over 600 such superstitious laws, and many orthodox Jews today vainly struggle to keep them. Jesus warned agaist these types of "laws" in Matt.15:9 and the entire point of His severest sermon, Matthew 23...read the whole thing.

If you love Christ the 10 Commandments are a JOY, not a reprimand or a list.

But, yes: no one can keep them unless Christ dwells within and they LET Him keep them through them in a practial, 3-D manner.

[Soldier4Christ]

Hi Garden of Glory,

Those of us that have accepted Christ as our Saviour are no longer under the law.

Rom 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.
Rom 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.

Gal 3:23  But before faith came, we were kept under the law, shut up unto the faith which should afterwards be revealed.
Gal 3:24  Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith.
Gal 3:25  But after that faith is come, we are no longer under a schoolmaster.

Gal 5:18  But if ye be led of the Spirit, ye are not under the law.

We are not under the law but this does not mean that we can sin as we so desire. For if we are truly saved we will not desire to sin. We will have the desire to follow in His footsteps. As long as we are in the flesh we will not be perfect and will not follow perfectly but it will be in our hearts to want to be.

Rom 6:14  For sin shall not have dominion over you: for ye are not under the law, but under grace.
Rom 6:15  What then? shall we sin, because we are not under the law, but under grace? God forbid.

2Co 3:3  Forasmuch as ye are manifestly declared to be the epistle of Christ ministered by us, written not with ink, but with the Spirit of the living God; not in tables of stone, but in fleshy tables of the heart.

[nChrist]

Garden of Glory Said:

So if the 10 Commandments was "done away with at the Cross", then I suppose I can lie, curse, cheat, kill, covet, and blaspheme all I want and be fine as a Christian??

Hello Garden of Glory,

If you will read the entire thread, you will understand that you can't.

Matthew 22:36-40  NASB  "Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?" And He said to him, " 'YOU SHALL LOVE THE LORD YOUR GOD WITH ALL YOUR HEART, AND WITH ALL YOUR SOUL, AND WITH ALL YOUR MIND.' "This is the great and foremost commandment. "The second is like it, 'YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF.' "On these two commandments depend the whole Law and the Prophets."

Which ones of your list could you do if you obeyed the Two Commandments above given by JESUS CHRIST HIMSELF?

The CROSS does not represent a license to sin. Please do read the entire thread and you'll understand.

Love in Christ,
Tom

Philippians 1:21-22 NASB  For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain.  But if I am to live on in the flesh, this will mean fruitful labor for me; and I do not know which to choose.

[Pilgrim]

Hello Garden of Glory,

Greetings in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. You say that the Ten commandments are a joy, yet 2 Cor. 3 calls them a ministry of death and condemnation. The very purpose of the Ten Commandment according to God's Word is to condemn and kill, on the other hand the New Covenant was given so one could have a clear conscience before God and eternal life. I often wonder why one would even want to be under a covenant that could only condemn them to death rather than a covenant which saves them. I believe if you would read it prayerfully seeking God's truth it will be a blessing to you. I have received many letters from others who at one time were under the teaching that Christians are under the Ten Commandments. After reading the article they had a hard time expressing their gratitude and joy at being set free from the bondage of false teaching on the Ten Commandments. Below I answer some of your objection from "Which Law are You Under?"  http://www.nlbchapel.org/which%20law.htm. God bless.

Pilgrim

"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 claim 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.

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."

[nChrist]

Amen Brother Pilgrim!

Pilgrim Said:

Below I answer some of your objection from "Which Law are You Under?"  http://www.nlbchapel.org/which%20law.htm. God bless.

Brother, thanks for the link - the material is excellent. It makes me very happy to say, "The Law of Faith in JESUS CHRIST has set me free from the curse of sin and death." I'm also extremely happy to say that we are NOT living under the Law, rather we are living under the matchless Love and GRACE OF GOD!

Love In Christ,
Tom

Hebrews 10:19-23 NASB  Therefore, brethren, since we have confidence to enter the holy place by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way which He inaugurated for us through the veil, that is, His flesh, and since we have a great priest over the house of God, let us draw near with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water. Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful;

[Garden of Glory]

Pastor Roger All the reference verses you gave [except 2Co 3:3] are talking about the ceremonial laws, rituals and ordinances, or the rabbinical law, not the 10 Commandments. To confuse these laws with THE LAW (the Decalogue) is a major muddle.

black eyed peas Christ's summing up of the 10 Commandments into two topic headings (Love of God and Love for Man) is revealed in the lay-out of the Tablets itself: the first tablet has the 4 Commandments are man's duty toward God's love, the second tablet is written man's love duties towards his fellow man. Christ was not making anything new, but summing things up clarifying the Original Commandments that Christ Himself gave on Mt. Sinai.
One of the major reasons He was put to death by the Jewish priest classes was because He kept The Law (see John 8:46, and the entire chapter of Matthew 5) , but disregarded the ceremonial laws, and spurned the rabbinical laws. Nowhere does Christ preach obedience to any laws but the 10 Commandments. The Sermon on the Mount is pure Commandments preaching!

To be free of the other priest-made laws and Hebrew national specific laws (circumcision, kosher laws, feast days, intercultural marriage, sickness laws, inheritance rules, Temple offerings and a million and one ceremonies) is a great boon for Christians; but there is nothing in the Commandments that are a burden, if we have the spirit of Christ within.

Pilgrim Paul is speaking of the ceremonial laws and the rabbinical laws, not Christ's own hand-written 10 Commandments. Obeying from the heart the Commandments is what grace is all about. If we let Christ lives in us, we do not steal, lie and kill, but love without compunction.


To all Which of the Ten Commandments do you think was "done away with" at the Cross??? Number 6? 

Or Commandment 2?

How about #7?

[Soldier4Christ]

Garden of Glory

Pastor Roger All the reference verses you gave [except 2Co 3:3] are talking about the ceremonial laws, rituals and ordinances, or the rabbinical law, not the 10 Commandments. To confuse these laws with THE LAW (the Decalogue) is a major muddle.

I do believe that you need to take those verses and read then in the context of the chapters they were written in and you will see that they are indeed talking about the ten commandments.

No matter how you may twist the other verses there is now way to twist 2Co 3:3  into being anything but the ten commandments as they were the ones that were written in stone.

Where people muddle things is the teaching before the cross and those after the cross. Yes Jesus did keep the ten commandments. He is the one and only one that has ever been capable of doing so. He had to keep them in order to be a perfect sacrifice on the cross. As noted  here also that was prior to the shed blood on the cross when all were still under the law.

People that preach the ten commanments overlook the difference in the meaning of "under the law" and "under grace". One sinful thought no matter how brief it may be or one moment of anger and you have broken one of the ten commanments. To have broken one commanment is to break them all. Or are you saying that you are as perfect as Christ Himself and do not sin at all? I do not believe that for one minute. No one is perfect but God Himself.


Gal 2:21  I do not frustrate the grace of God: for if righteousness come by the law, then Christ is dead in vain.


Gal 4:9  But now, after that ye have known God, or rather are known of God, how turn ye again to the weak and beggarly elements, whereunto ye desire again to be in bondage?
Gal 4:10  Ye observe days, and months, and times, and years.

[Pilgrim]

Pastor Roger All the reference verses you gave [except 2Co 3:3] are talking about the ceremonial laws, rituals and ordinances, or the rabbinical law, not the 10 Commandments. To confuse these laws with THE LAW (the Decalogue) is a major muddle.

black eyed peas Christ's summing up of the 10 Commandments into two topic headings (Love of God and Love for Man) is revealed in the lay-out of the Tablets itself: the first tablet has the 4 Commandments are man's duty toward God's love, the second tablet is written man's love duties towards his fellow man. Christ was not making anything new, but summing things up clarifying the Original Commandments that Christ Himself gave on Mt. Sinai.
One of the major reasons He was put to death by the Jewish priest classes was because He kept The Law (see John 8:46, and the entire chapter of Matthew 5) , but disregarded the ceremonial laws, and spurned the rabbinical laws. Nowhere does Christ preach obedience to any laws but the 10 Commandments. The Sermon on the Mount is pure Commandments preaching!

To be free of the other priest-made laws and Hebrew national specific laws (circumcision, kosher laws, feast days, intercultural marriage, sickness laws, inheritance rules, Temple offerings and a million and one ceremonies) is a great boon for Christians; but there is nothing in the Commandments that are a burden, if we have the spirit of Christ within.

Pilgrim Paul is speaking of the ceremonial laws and the rabbinical laws, not Christ's own hand-written 10 Commandments. Obeying from the heart the Commandments is what grace is all about. If we let Christ lives in us, we do not steal, lie and kill, but love without compunction.


To all Which of the Ten Commandments do you think was "done away with" at the Cross??? Number 6? 

Or Commandment 2?

How about #7?

Hello Garden of Glory,

The Ten Commandments are the very heart of the Mosaic law. The division of the Mosaic law into moral, ceremonial etc. is a man made division not found in the Word of God. When trying to divide the law into parts you run into major issues.

1. Who decides what is moral law and what is Ceremonial?  Ask 100 people to divide the 600 + laws into different groups and you will get about as many different answers.

2. If it was only the ceremonial law and ordinances that Christ fulfilled on the cross and not the moral then  we are in deep trouble. That would mean that the blood of Christ would only cover the ceremonial law and ordinances. That means there is no sacrifice then for the breaking of the so-called moral law.  If Christ did not fulfill the moral law then most people could not go to heaven seeing that most would say the law against lying is a moral law.

3. When one breaks even the ceremonial law and ordinances doesn’t it then become a moral issue?

You agree that 2 Cor. 3 is speaking about the Ten Commandments. This chapter alone teaches that the Ten Commandments are done away with (verse 11), abolished (verse 13) and a ministry of condemnation and death (verses 7&9).

What do you do with all the saints who lived a righteous life and pleased God without the Ten Commandments, those from Adam to Moses? The Ten Commandments were given by Moses so those before him did not have it yet many of them were righteous and pleased God.

You ask which of the Ten Commandments were done away with at the cross. The answer is all Ten! They were replace by a far greater law, the law of Christ which is the law of love. The reason I do not practice stealing, lying, adultery etc. is not because the Ten Commandments forbid it, but because the greater law, the law of Christ forbids it.

Pilgrim