Have you ever wondered what is meant by "fiery law?"

In Deuteronomy 33 I read these words:

"And this is the blessing wherewith Moses the man of God blessed the children of Israel before his death. And he said, The Lord came from Sinai, and rose up from Seir unto them; He shined forth from mount Paran, and He came with ten thousands of saints; FROM HIS RIGHT HAND WENT A FIERY LAW FOR THEM. Yea, He loved the people." verses 1-3.

"From His right hand went a fiery law for them."

Why? Because He loved the people. Yea, He loved the people! This law of ten commandments is of the greatest love ever presented to man. It is the voice of God speaking to the soul in promise. There is not a negative in that law though it may appear thus. The law of God's mouth is a quickening Spirit! Ps.119:25,50,93.

The Psalmist says: "All thy commandments are righteousness." Ps.119:172. The righteousness of the commandment is like as a fire to consume sin:

"But His word was in mine heart as A BURNING FIRE shut up in my bones." Jer.20:9.

"Is not My word like as A FIRE? saith the Lord." Jer.23:29.

God's righteousness issuing out of the law of His mouth is very pure: "Thy word is very pure." Ps.119:140. "All the words of My mouth are with righteousness." Prov.8:8. It is such holiness that sin cannot bear the presence of it. God's righteousness is of such transcendent glory, purity, and power, as to be a consuming fire to sin.

Its consuming power upon sin is because of its wondrous purity; and, therefore, because of the wondrous purity and the power of that wondrous purity of the righteousness of God in Jesus Christ, He longs to come in contact with those who are laden with sins, in order that this righteousness, finding an entrance, shall consume the sin, and save the soul. "The entrance of Thy word giveth light." Ps.119:130. That is Christ's righteousness. It is one of the most blessed truths in the Bible that our God is a consuming fire because of His righteousness. For, then, in Christ Jesus we meet Him whose righteousness is a consuming fire to sin; and that is the pledge of our salvation from every stain of sin. The brightness, the glory, the all consuming purity of the words of His holy law will take every vestige of sin and sinfulness out of the man who will meet God in Jesus Christ!

The burning bush was a beautiful representation of this truth. The bush represents our humanity and the fire represents the righteousness of Christ issuing from His fiery law. The burning bush is not consumed. The fire of God's law consumes the sin and saves the soul!

"Every truly converted soul will carry the unmistakable marks that the carnal mind is subdued." 1 T 163; 2 T 479.

Any comments?

[ April 16, 2002: Message edited by: adventbeliever ]

Spot on, AB!

Dear AB,
Was wonderful! Exciting! thank you for bringing those texts and those thoughts to our attention!
I love posts like that, where I can get my mind around the text and it really sink deep into my heart! I had never read that text in the way the Holy spirit impressed you to present it!

It made me think of another in Isa.33:14-16 that might be considered similar, because it speaks of the devouring fire and everlasting burnings. See what you think:

"The sinners in Zion are afraid; fearfulness hath surprised the hypocrites. Who among us shall dwell with the devouring fire? who among us shall dwell with everlasting burnings?

He that walketh righteously, and speaketh uprightly; he that despiseth the gain of oppressions, that shaketh his hands from holding of bribes, that stoppeth his ears from hearing of blood, and shutteth his eyes from seeing evil;

He shall dwell on high: his place of defense shall be the munitions of rocks: bread shall be given him; his waters shall be sure."

These texts caused me to think of 2Thess.2:8. "And then shall that Wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of His coming."

It seems that what is a consuming fire to sin, and therefore those who hold onto sin, is a dwelling place for those of us who put our trust in God. When we let His purity, His righteousness burn out the sin in our lives, and purify us for the Day of His appearing, we can dwell in the everlasting burnings of the brightness of God's Presence. Is this something of what you are saying?

Right on Zyph and Dora!

posted by Dora:

It seems that what is a consuming fire to sin, and therefore those who hold onto sin, is a dwelling place for those of us who put our trust in God. When we let His purity, His righteousness burn out the sin in our lives, and purify us for the Day of His appearing, we can dwell in the everlasting burnings of the brightness of God's Presence. Is this something of what you are saying?

___________________

Excellent!

Isaiah 4:4! "When the Lord has washed away the filth of the daughters of Zion, and purged the blood of Jerusalem from her midst, by the Spirit of judgment, and by the Spirit of burning."

The words proceeding out of His mouth are with righteousness which is like a fire, the Spirit of burning!

"All the words of My mouth are with righteousness." Prov.8:8. "All Thy commandments are righteousness." Ps.119:172. The righteousness of His Word is as a fire to consume sin!

The tongues of fire hovering above the heads of the disciples at Pentecost were a symbol of the Spirit of burning with which they were filled. "He will baptize you with the Holy Ghost and with fire." Luke 3:16.

The fire of God's righteousness also gives a holy zeal to the believer!

[ March 26, 2002: Message edited by: adventbeliever ]

AB, thank you so much for this study! Let's do more of this, we can learn from each other, for just someone asking questions can trigger a thought, and help the Holy spirit to inspire and impress us.

There is so much I need and desire to know! True, real Bible study! And, don't get me wrong, I respect and use the SOP every day. It is just that my mind won't function in the midst of a multitude of quotes, unless there is an explanation somewhere in there of where we are going with them. Does that make sense? I would be the same with Bible texts. But, I really did like the way you presented this study. Please keep it up! I know you are an intelligent Bible scholar, and that I can learn from what you know. I thank you for this.

Thanks Dora for your encouragement. Your excitement is rubbing off on me! I don't know that I deserve to be thought of as an intelligent Bible scholar! But the Psalmist said: "You, O Lord, through Your commandments, have made me wiser than my enemies. For they are ever with me. I have more understanding than all my teachers for Your testimonies are my meditation. I understand more than the ancients for I keep Your precepts." Ps.119:98,100. "Through Your commandments I get understanding." "The entrance of Your word gives light. It gives understanding to the simple." Ps.119:104,130. To the simple!

"And it came to pass, when He was in a certain city, behold a man full of leprosy, who, seeing Jesus, fell on his face, and besought Him, saying, Lord, if Thou wilt, thou canst make me clean. And Jesus put forth His hand, touched him, saying, I will: be thou clean. And immediately the leprosy departed from him." Luke 5:12,13.

Man is full of the leprosy of sin and he cannot of himself love God with all his heart and his neighbor as himself. He has no righteousness (fire) with which to satisfy the demands of the law of God. Seeing Jesus, he falls on his face, saying, Lord, if Thou wilt, thou canst make me to love You with all my heart and my neighbor as myself. And the Lord puts forth His hand, touches him, and says, I will! ("By the which will we are sanctified." Heb.10:10)

I will! This is what the Lord is saying to us through the words of His holy law: I will! And the fire of God's love burns brightly into the soul of the penitent believer to shine forth in good works!

The will of God is expressed in the precepts of His holy law!

Lord, if thou wilt, Thou canst make me keep the Sabbath holy! And the Lord says, I will! And it is the same for every commandment proceeding out of His mouth!

We know this because His will for us is expressed in His commandments! right?

[ March 27, 2002: Message edited by: adventbeliever ]

Amen! AB! And the law is to be written in our hearts, rather than a checklist on tables of stone. Those are only a mirror, a reminder, if you will. Is that how you see it?

As to the purifying fires, what do you think of these quotes in MH p471? Do you think these fires are a part of the purifying process? The trials we must go through?

"..Often He permits the fires of affliction to assail them that they may be purified.

The fact that we are called upon to endure trial shows that the Lord Jesus sees in us something precious which He desires to develop. If He saw in us nothing whereby He might glorify His name, He would not spend time in refining us. he does not cast worthless stones into His furnace. It is valuable ore that He refines...."

Those quotes have given me hope when I have been in trials I thought I could not live through. Those quotes cause me to think that one day I may can meet all here under that Tree of Life.

I want to look up and mark some of the above texts you gave. It is strange how one can overlook something in the Bible, then, someone can bring it out so clear. Thank you again, AB.
Yes! Studying the bible in Christ's love, without argument and dissention is the most exciting thing on earth!!!

You can also bring in the fire of the Shekinah presence in the heart and the glory of God revealed through Moses. The wicked ran from Moses but Moses did not run from God but desired to get closer to Him even though He is the everlasting burning.

Even the fire which consumes the unsaved in the lake of fire at the end of time comes down from heaven and is an expression of God's love - for the wrath of God is love. Thank you Jesus! Good study, AB.

By the way, it seems as though Paul contrasts "righteousness which is of the law" and "righteousness which is of faith." What is the difference?

Romans
10:4-6 For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to every one that believeth. For Moses describeth the righteousness which is of the law, That the man which doeth those things shall live by them. But the righteousness which is of faith...

[ March 27, 2002: Message edited by: Mike Lowe ]

Mike: Good question. A question often asked! The righteousness which is of the law, or the works of the law, are the works of the coercive and restraining law, that is, of the letter of the law. Martin Luther said:

"Well may the apostle Paul declare them not our works but the works of the law because it is not our achievement but that of the constraining law."

It is an outward compliance to the letter of the law. Before his conversion, the apostle Paul was "blameless" as far as the outward compliance to the law was concerned. But that was only "filthy rags." Right?

For example, a smoker who refrains from smoking for no other reason than a non-smoking sign. It is an outward compliance and nothing more! This was the "righteousness" of the Pharisees.

The "righteousness which is of the law" is not the same as the righteousness which proceeds from the law of God's mouth: "I the Lord speak righteousness." Isa.45:19. The psalmist said: "All Thy commandments are righteousness." Ps.119:172. "The word has gone out of My mouth in righteousness." Isa.45:23. "All the words of My mouth are with righteousness." Prov.8:8. The righteousness of His commandments is so pure that it is a consuming fire to sin and it purifies the soul! This is the gold tried in the fire!

"Righteousness is love and love is the light and the life of God." M.B.18. "I will never forget Your commandments for with them You have given me life." Ps.119:93.

There is no righteousness to be had from a law engraved on stones or written with ink. The law on stones was a ministration of condemnation to show the exceeding sinfulness of sin and our need of a Savior.

But the same law, received as the voice of God speaking to the soul in promise, is Spirit and life! That is, it imparts power, it begets life. And that is the righteousness which is of God by faith! It works by love to purify the soul! It is the fire of God's love which fills up the measure of the law's requirement!

Agree?

P.S. Christ, the Spirit, is the righteousness of the law. 2 Cor.3:17. "The words that I speak unto you they are Spirit and they are life." John 6:63. Therefore, man shall live everlastingly by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God. Did not the ten commandments proceed out of His mouth? Therefore, they are imbued with His own life. It was Ellen White who said, "The reception of the word--not written merely, but spoken--is the reception of Christ Himself."

[ March 27, 2002: Message edited by: adventbeliever ]

Dora: your are right. There is such thing as the "fire" of affliction. Who does not need trials? There will never be a lack of them!

The law written on the fleshly tablets of our hearts is the impartation of the Spirit of Christ through the spoken word. Every day I hear His voice saying to me, You shall love me with all your heart! Every day I may say, "Lord, quicken Thou me according to Your word." "Strengthen Thou me according to Your word." Ps.119:50,28.

Every day I may pray, Lord if Thou wilt, Thou canst make me love Thee with all my heart. And I may know that ever the Lord's answer to me is, I will! Thank the Lord! He is ever speaking to us through the words of His law!

The psalmist understood this and he exclaimed:

"The law of Your mouth is better to me than thousands of shekels of gold and silver." Ps.119:72. "Your law is my delight." Ps.119:77.

The commandments of His mouth are more to be desired than gold, yea even than much fine gold! They are even sweeter than honey, even the honeycomb! Ps.19:10.

[ March 27, 2002: Message edited by: adventbeliever ]

posted by Greg:

You can also bring in the fire of the Shekinah presence in the heart and the glory of God revealed through Moses. The wicked ran from Moses but Moses did not run from God but desired to get closer to Him even though He is the everlasting burning.
*****************************************

Greg, if you read Isaiah 51:7 you will see that the law in the hearts of God's people is the glory which shines from within. It is the glory of an abiding Savior. Sister White said that when that law is enthroned in the heart, the world will be captivated by the glory of an abiding Savior.

The glory on Moses's face was not the glory of the new covenant but of the old covenant. Even the old covenant was glorious but it passes away. But the glory of the new covenant is everlasting and much more glorious. The old covenant is glorious because it is a schoolmaster to lead us to Christ. It teaches that man, of himself, cannot satisfy the righteous requirements of the law of God. However it does not always succeed to accomplish that. Some who profess to be Christians are actuated by the spirit of the old covenant all their lifetime, like the Pharisees!

The glory of the New covenant is that of the Spirit in the inner man proceeding or issuing from the law of God's lips as opposed to the law engraved on stones which cannot impart life.

Does that make any sense to you? Ellen White said that the first great lesson that we must learn is that God's Spirit and life are in His word, not merely written, but spoken! See 2 S.M.38,39; M.H.122; 6 T 393.

[ March 27, 2002: Message edited by: adventbeliever ]

AB, I see what you're saying, and I agree with it. But to tell you the truth, I do not spend alot of time meditating on the 10 commandments. I am more impressed with the fruits of the Spirit as manifested in the life of Jesus, and that's what I spend most of my time dwelling upon. You know what I mean?

Don't take that to mean I never think about the great "Thou shalt not" aspects of law, because I do. But I don't think of them as often as I think about Jesus. I figure if dwelling upon the life and death of sweet Jesus includes the law, then why not kill two birds with one stone!

As I see it, the fruits of Spirit are the spirit of the law and life of Jesus, and by making Jesus first, last and best in my life, making Him the central focus of my life, I am cooperating with the Spirit of God, who then empowers me to imitate the lovely example of Jesus - to live without sin and to mature in the fruits of the Spirit.

And as you wrote, when I behold Christ and Him crucified I am beholding the law in the Word made flesh. More and more I am glad in Jesus and His transforming love. Every day I am thrilled at what the Holy Spirit is doing with my life - the freedom, the peace of mind, the joy of Jesus, it's all so wonderfully awesome. That I am dead to sin is nothing when compared to the fact that I am awake to Christ and His holy righteousness. Thank you Lord!

Mike: if we truly understood the law of God's mouth, we would know what the Psalmist meant when he said: "O how I love Thy law! It is my meditation all the day." Ps.119:97. Concerning the righteous, David said: "His delight is in the law of the Lord; and in His law he meditates day and night." Ps.1:2.

What do you suppose he was meditating upon when meditating upon the law day and night if not upon the fact that the Lord imparts His Spirit to us through the words of His holy law as it proceeds out of His mouth? Understanding this wonderful truth, he could say, "Thy law is my delight." Ps.119:77. "The law of Thy mouth is better to me than thousands of shekels of gold and silver." Ps.119:72.

Would that not explain why he said: "I opened my mouth and panted; I longed for Thy commandments." Ps.119:131.

Christ is ever speaking to us through the words of His law. His law is spiritual. The voice which is heard in His law is a quickening Spirit! This is why David said, "Quicken Thou me according unto Thy word." Ps.119:25,50.

That law issuing from His lips, imparts a new life to fill up the measure of the law's requirement, to fulfil all righteousness!

As for me, I will meditate upon the law of His mouth day and night for as Moses, the man of God, said, "it is not a vain thing for you; because it is your life." Deuteronomy 32:47.

Let the people hear the word of God. Let them hear the voice of Him whose word--law--can renew the soul unto everlasting life! John 12:50; C.O.L.40.

[ March 28, 2002: Message edited by: adventbeliever ]

When God said, "Do and thou shall live," He was proclaiming the gospel. If the Israelites had fallen on their faces, and said, "Lord, of ourselves we cannot obey Thy holy and just law but if Thou wilt, Thou canst make us doers of Your word, Thou canst make us love Thee with all our hearts and with all our minds and our neighbors as ourselves."

In fact the Lord, through the commandments, was expressing His will for them. By believing this they would have received a new life in Christ and thus would have been made doers of His law! (The Lord wanted them to understand that His will is expressed in the precepts of His holy law; in His law He is actually saying, I will! I will that you love me with all your heart! If they had believed this, immediately the love of God would have been shed abroad in their hearts)

But that is not what they did. They thought they could do it themselves. The Lord knew that this is what they were thinking. He allowed them to enter into this covenant where man promises to "do" the commandments that he may live. But he always fails miserably. This is to teach him that he needs a power outside of himself in order to fulfil the requirements of the law of God. He needs to understand that the Spirit of Christ, the power to "do," is in the word itself. John 6:63. The word that proceeds out of the mouth of God is with righteousness. Isa.45:23; Prov.8:8.

In the new covenant, the commandments are received as the promises of God. Every commandment is a promise. The soul hears the voice of God in each one of them and the voice of God imparts a new life in Christ. The believer is enabled to "do" the commandments because he is now a partaker of the righteousness of Christ.

The new covenant believer says, "All Thy commandments are righteousness." Ps.119:172. "Mine eyes fail for Thy salvation, and for the word of Thy righteousness." Ps.119:123.

The commandment proceeding out of the mouth of God is with righteousness. When God says, "Do and Thou shall live," in that word "Do" is the power or the righteousness of God to make the believer a doer of the word!

It is all a matter of whether we receive the commandment, "do," as written merely, and attempt to fulfill it ourselves, which is an impossibility, or as the voice of God speaking to the soul in promise!

In Ps.119:4, David says, "Thou hast commanded us to keep Thy commandments diligently." It is the same as the commandment which says, "Do and thou shall live." But David did not go about trying to establish his own righteousness. Righteousness was imparted to him through the commandment which he received as the voice of God speaking to his soul in promise:

David could say, "I will never forget Your commandments for with them You have given me life." Ps.119:93.

David was a doer of the word because he received life, even the life of God, through the commandment. In the commandment, he heard the voice of Him whose word could renew the soul unto everlasting life. He knew, like His master when He walked upon the earth and lived as a man, that "His commandment is life everlasting." John 12:50.

"Mine ears hast Thou opened." Ps.40:8.

"The Lord God hath opened mine ear." Isa.50:5.

"Incline you ear, and come unto Me: hear and your soul shall live." Isa.55:3.

[ March 28, 2002: Message edited by: adventbeliever ]

AB, thank you for some more wonderful studies! Yes! Jesus' word is all through the Bible, not just in the NT. He spoke to us in the Garden of Eden, at the time of the Flood,in the covenant made to Noah, and later, in the covenant made to Abraham, and others. Those are precious texts you gave, and, studying this opens my eyes a bit more.

Thanks Dora. It has opened my eyes too. "Open Thou mine eyes that I may see wondrous things out of Thy law." Ps.119:18.

And it has opened my ears too! Is.50:5. Why do you think it is written: "They have ears but they do not hear and eyes but they do not see"?

The divine utterances are "living oracles". When the Lord spoke the ten words on Sinai, He was in actuality saying: Live for ever! For "His commandment is, live for ever." John 12:50.

Lord, if Thou wilt, thou canst make me live for ever. And the Lord says, I will! Live for ever! Amen! And the word imparts a new life in Christ Jesus, and that is life everlasting! John 10:27,28. In speaking the ten commandments the Lord was expressing His will for us that we live for ever!

"My sheep hear My voice... and I give them eternal life." John 10:27,28.

[ March 28, 2002: Message edited by: adventbeliever ]

AB, it probably seems as though I'm disagreeing with the texts you're posting about the law, but just because I prefer to see and hear the law through the life and death of Jesus does not mean that I'm against the law. Jesus is the law personified. Why should I focus on the law when I can focus on Jesus?

Do you remember the symbolic painting James White commissioned to depict the plan of salvation? And do you remember the one by Ellen White? One had the law front and center, whereas the other had Jesus in the middle of the foreground. This is the difference I'm talking about here.

Jesus painted a word picture of salvation on a mount overlooking the sea of Galilee. Matthew 5-7. For me this description is more encouraging than the prohibitions etched in stone. You can tell me all day along what I can't do, but it makes little difference until you show me what I can do in Jesus. Paul draws a contrast between sin and salvation in Galatians 5, and I believe this best illustrates the law and redemption in Jesus. "Against such there is no law."

GALATIANS
5:16 [This] I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh.
5:17 For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other: so that ye cannot do the things that ye would.
5:18 But if ye be led of the Spirit, ye are not under the law.
5:19 Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are [these]; Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness,
5:20 Idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies,
5:21 Envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told [you] in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God.
5:22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith,
5:23 Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law.
5:24 And they that are Christ's have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts.
5:25 If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit.

Question:
1. What does Paul mean when he writes - Against such there is no law?

I think it at least has something to do with the fact there is no command outlawing the fruits of the Spirit, unlike the moral law which prohibits sin. The ten commandments specify what we can't do, whereas the fruits of the Spirit specify what we can do. Both are necessary. You can argue that the law implies what we can do, but my answer to that is - Why should we rely on subjective implications when we have the objective example of Jesus and the fruits of the Spirit?

[ March 29, 2002: Message edited by: Mike Lowe ]

Mike: The whole Bible is a manifestation of Christ. The psalms, in particular, are an open book to the life of Christ, especially Ps.22 to 25 and Ps.119. Ps.119 is not appreciated as it should be. It is a Psalm about the law of God's lips. To many of us this Psalm is an unfathomable mystery. We cannot fathom what makes the writer so enamoured with the law of God's mouth, why it is his delight! To many this Psalm is as dry as the hills of Gilboa!

But as one ponders over the whole Psalm and begins comparing passage with passage, it becomes more and more clear, under the illumination of the Holy Spirit, that this Psalm is all about Christ and His righteousness. The secret of His sinless life is revealed in this Psalm like in no other. Verse 172, He says, "All Thy commandments are righteousness." In verse 123, He says, "My eyes fail for Thy salvation, and for the word of Thy righteousness." Therefore He prays, "Quicken Thou me according unto Thy word." verse 25,50,93.

We are all familiar with verse 11 which says: "Thy word have I hid in my heart that I might not sin against thee." Look at verse 10: "With my whole heart have I sought thee: O let me not wander from Thy commandments."

In verse 133, He says, "Order my steps in Thy word, and let no iniquity have dominion over me." This is the life of Christ. This Psalm contains the secret of His sinless life on earth as a man who felt his utter helplessnesss. In this Psalm alone, we may learn how He was strengthened to do the will of God as it is done in Heaven, in real, heartfelt service for God. Ps.103:20.

In this Psalm, the law of God is exalted, magnified and made honorable. Isa.42:21. Jesus lived by it. Verses 50,93. It was His life. Deut.32:47. And it was His delight. Verses 16,47,70,77,92,143,174. He loved it exceedingly! Verse 167. It made Him wiser than His enemies. Verse 98. Unless it too becomes our delight, His experience can never be ours. Jesus Knew the "joyful sound." Ps.89:15. He knew that the very keynote of the law of God's mouth is "rejoicing." As He meditated upon it, day and night, (verse 97; Ps.1:2) He heard, in its holy precepts, the voice of His Father speaking to Him wonderful words of life, (verse 129) and the word was to Him the joy and the rejoicing of His heart! Jer.15:16. It was His source of joy and power! Verse 28.

In this Psalm Jesus is even praying for the lost sheep. He was identified with us, saying, "I have gone astray like a lost sheep; seek Thy servant; for I do not forget Thy commandments." Verse 176.

The whole Psalm is an eye-opener as to the spiritual nature of the law of God's lips. As a man, Jesus discerned the spirituality of the law of His heavenly Father. Unfortunately, for the most part, God's people today do not discern this any more than the Jews did. It is my understanding that if we cannot see the beauty of the character of Christ, His righteousness, in the Psalms, especially in Psalm 119, we will not be able to fully understand or appreciate His life in the Gospels. The Bible is a whole as far as it is a manifestation of Christ in all its parts.

Jesus knew the meaning of the words He read through Isaiah the prophet:

"O that thou hast hearkened unto My commandments; then had thy peace been as a river and thy righteousness as the waves of the sea." Is.48:18.
Then in verse 165 of Psalm 119, he says: "Great peace have they who love Thy law." And in verse 144, "The righteousness of Thy testimonies is everlasting."

"Thy commandments are my delights." verse 143.

The Father was His teacher: "Open Thou mine eyes that I may see wondrous things out of Thy law." Ps.119:18.

P.S. Until we come to the place where we can say, with the Psalmist, "Thy law is my delight," we have not yet understood how gracious is the law of God's mouth, (Ps.119:29), that it is the word of His grace! Acts20:32. That the law of God's mouth is full of grace and truth! That it is the impartation of Christ Himself, the Spirit! John 6:63; 2 Cor.3:17.

We have access to this fountain of life on account of the merits of that great sacrifice that was made for us. Therefore, "They overcame by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony." The word of their testimony is the word that proceeds out of the mouth of God, the living oracles! Acts 7:38.

[ March 31, 2002: Message edited by: adventbeliever ]

AB, I am quite certain you have misunderstood my posts. For whatever reason you seem to feel that I am against the law of God. I am sorry I have given you that impression. I agree that the law of God is holy, just and good, and that it is a transcript of His loving character.

But I also believe the life and death of Jesus is the best and greatest portrayal of God's awesome character ever recorded in sacred history. I'm sure if the sweet psalmist had been alive during the ministry of Jesus he would have devoted more space and time writing about the lovely attributes of Jesus - just like all the other NT authors.

I prefer to see the mouth of God concerning "Thou shalt not kill" (or any other command) in the context of Jesus - who was infinitely more than the commands prohibit. Jesus not only did not kill someone, He turned the other cheek, He went the second mile, and gave His cloak in exchange for hateful treatment. In the example of Jesus I am not left to my own devices to discern what "Thou shalt not" implies.

If I focus on the law in the life of Jesus, does that mean I will be unable to appreciate the life and gospel of Jesus?

Mike: I never said or even implied that you were against or opposed to the law of God in any way, shape, or form. If you say that, then you are misunderstanding my posts!

When the Psalmist says, "Thy commandment is exceeding broad," He is speaking of Christ, because, as you have acknowledged yourself, the commandment is a transcript of the character of Christ! Ps.119:96.

[ April 02, 2002: Message edited by: adventbeliever ]

AB, I still get from your posts what I did from your very first one on this subject: That Jesus desires us to have the "New Covenant" (which has actually been around since the Garden of Eden,) written in our hearts(minds.) That we obey the laws He wrote on stone, because of our "attachment to Jesus."

Someone was telling me last night about a person who had believed the doctrine, of "Once saved, always saved" then, she read about what happens when a branch is disconnected or cut off from the vine, and she realized that it withers and dies. Yes, we keep the laws, we need to know the laws, but, what is the law? Is it not the same as the character of God?

John 14:10 "Do you not believe that I am in the Father, and the Father is in Me? The words that I say to you I do not speak on My own initiative, but the Father abiding in Me does His works." NASB

John 14:10 "Believest thou not that I am in the Father, and the Father in me? the words that I speak unto you I speak not of myself: but the Father that dwelleth in me, he doeth the works." KJV

I can't understand what is confusing about this text.

Good stuff, AB.

Good stuff, Zyph! Good stuff, AB! So much in the Bible is confusing, only because it is made so. I can't see how any of what either of the two of you have said is confusing!!

AB, thank you for the clarification.

Thanks Dora and Zyph! The subject of the law and the Gospel will be forever unfolding. It is exceeding broad! Ps.119:96.

Thanks Mike!

The Psalmist says that God's commandments are "wonderful." Ps.119:129. One of Jesus's name is, "Wonderful." Isaiah 9:6. Christ is the living Word! The commandments are "lively oracles." Acts 7:38. The Word of God's mouth is Christ, the Spirit! How else can we receive the Spirit of Christ other than through the law of God's mouth, and that takes in the whole Bible since it is an extension of the law of God!

The words and commands of God's lips are the impartation of the Spirit, and the impartation of the Spirit is the impartation of the life of Christ! John 6:63; Matt.4:4. Would that not explain why the Psalmist says that he delights in the law of God's mouth, why it is better to him than thousands of shekels of gold and silver! Ps.119:70,77,72,174.

Would that not explain why the Psalmist loves God's commandments "exceedingly?" Ps.119:167.

[ April 03, 2002: Message edited by: adventbeliever ]