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Not keeping the law is not breaking the law
#31869
09/28/02 06:48 AM
09/28/02 06:48 AM
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OP
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Active Member 2012
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Joined: Jul 2000
Posts: 1,157
Jakarta, Indonesia
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I opened this new topic only for posting my answers to Ikan’s very long post that I could not find anymore in the "Search for the truth" forum. My post is also long enough, so I will divide it in 7 parts for a good and deep reading and study.
I hope, since this forum is called “Bible study”, then after reading my post here, the Administrator will not close or lock or erase this topic. If so is the case, they may as well close this forum.
If this is a forum to study the bible, then let’s us share out idea about truth and error and gives Forum readers something worthy for they to read of. The church doctrines has stand many years against many attacks, so why afraid to just a single post from a person who never took any theology courses or seminary, who was a person of nothing in the Church organization and just a mere member with his weird idea that never had given the chance to preach on the aisle.
Common’, give me your best theological defense to uphold your doctrines and teachings. And let’s the Forum readers find the truth themselves.
In His love.
James S.
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Re: Not keeping the law is not breaking the law
#31870
09/28/02 06:49 AM
09/28/02 06:49 AM
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OP
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Posts: 1,157
Jakarta, Indonesia
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PART ONE.
Quote:
Now there are those who teach that they are saved and yet do not have to keep the law. This is a very strange theology indeed. If a person is not keeping the law of God, then he is breaking it. The breaking of it is sin, as it is plainly written, “Sin is the transgression of the law” – 1 John 3:4.
Unquote.
This statement “If a person is not keeping the law of God, then he is breaking it” is true but not right and could not be applied to those who believe that the law of God (The ten Commandments) is no longer a law that they must keep and obey, a law that has an authority over them and that stands as a standard of judgment. And I am one of them who believe so!
The person (me) is not keeping the law of God because the law is no longer needed and has no more authority over me, so, how could I break the law and sinned? I will only break the law if I accept it authority and existence and obey it. In other word, I break the law and sinned when I am under the law, which means I am under it authority to keep and obey and that will stand for me as a standard of judgment.
But if I’m not under it authority since I believe the law was nailed to the cross and ended in Christ, then I could not be considered sinning if I didn’t keep it, let say I break it. How could I break a law that didn’t exist or that I’m not under it authority?
“Because the law worketh wrath; for where no law is, there is no transgression” – Romans 4:15, and “for until the law sin was in the world; but sin is not imputed when there is no law” – Romans 5:13.
Simply said; without the law, there is no transgression, and sin, which is in the world since the beginning will not be imputed!
So, if I sin without the law, my sins is not imputed, because I didn’t break any law that might legally judge and condemn me. But it doesn’t mean that I may go on sinning and still will be in heaven. The bible said, “For as many as have sinned without the law shall also perish without the law, ……” Romans 2:12, and, “What then? Shall we sin, because we are not under the law, but under grace? God forbid! – Romans 6:15.
But the important thing is that by not keeping the law doesn’t mean that I automatically breaks the law or have the right to break it as thought the law still exist.
In His love
James S.
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Re: Not keeping the law is not breaking the law
#31871
09/28/02 06:51 AM
09/28/02 06:51 AM
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OP
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Jakarta, Indonesia
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PART TWO.
Then how can I live righteous without the law?
By living with faith in Christ and according to the Spirit.
Do you believe when a person lives by faith and according to the Spirit will break the law as if the law still exists? If he does, then he is not living by faith and according to the Spirit but he lives for the flesh according to it desires. Only those who lives by faith and according to the Spirit might have the “fruit of the Spirit” that fulfill the righteous demands of the law, a righteous life that conforms to the law demands.
“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, etc…………, against such there is no law”-Galatians 5:22,23.
“”That the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit” – Romans 8:4.
So, we knew now that without the law a believer who lives by faith and according to the Spirit might still have a righteous life that conforms to the law demands, because his righteous deeds are fruits of the Spirit.
Why did the verse say, “might be”?
This is clarified in another Paul’s statement, “This I say then, walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh. For the flesh lusted lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; and these are contrary to the one to the other; so that ye cannot do the things that you would. But if ye be led by the Spirit, ye are not under the law” – Galatians 5:16-118.
Here Paul clarify, although a believer is led by the Spirit, but since he has a sinful nature that conflicts with what the Spirit desires, he still might do the things he doesn’t want to do (things that he knew is against God’s principle). This is the evidence of Paul theology that he never taught a sinless perfect life is possible and is a must for justification to enter heaven and live eternally.
But the most important point of this conflict situation is as Paul said, “But if ye be led by the Spirit, ye are not under the law.”
In His love
James S.
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Re: Not keeping the law is not breaking the law
#31872
09/28/02 06:52 AM
09/28/02 06:52 AM
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OP
Charter Member
Active Member 2012
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Joined: Jul 2000
Posts: 1,157
Jakarta, Indonesia
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PART THREE.
But the most important point of this conflict situation is as Paul said, “But if ye be led by the Spirit, ye are not under the law.
What does this mean?
This means, that a believer who lives by faith and led by the Spirit, is not under the law judgment and condemnation! Why not, he did sin all right as he did the things of the flesh?
Not because of as many as of you believes, that “in Christ there is no condemnation” (Romans 8:1), but because THE LAW HAS NO AUTHORITY OVER HIM where the law may legally JUDGE and CONDEMN him. This is what is meant with being “not under the law.”
Remember! When there is no law, there is no transgression, and sin will not be imputed! He did sin but why is his sin not imputed? Because this sin is not a sin of breaking the law where the law can judge and condemn him. Beside, his sin is not imputed because he is not under the law, but under grace (Romans 6:14), where God will remember his sins and iniquities no more (Hebrew 10:17).
On the other hand, those who believe that the law has a full authority and legality over men where they must keep and obey the law as God’s law for a standard of judgment and righteousness, will be under the law condemnation when they break it. This is what is mean by “not the hearers of the law that will be justified but the doers of the law” Romans 2:13.
And who are the doers of the law so that they might be justified by the law and got their eternal life? Or who might escape from the law condemnation when they were found guilty and could not be justified? Not any one!!!
Because the bible said, “the law can justify no one” (Romans 3:19,20; Galatians 2:16; 3:11), since no one could keep the law perfectly and continuously and fulfils it righteous demands.
In His love
James S.
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Re: Not keeping the law is not breaking the law
#31873
09/28/02 06:54 AM
09/28/02 06:54 AM
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OP
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PART FOUR.
There are no believers that could keep a sinless perfect life in this side of the world in their sinful nature that just will be perfected in a holy body at Christ second coming (1 Corinthians 15:52-54). And if anyone claims they can perform a perfect sinless life, in them there is no truth. “If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his world is not in us” 1 John 1:8,10.
Paul said, “For as many as are of the works of the law are under curse; for it is written, cursed is everyone that continueth not in all things which are written in the book of the law to do them” Galatians 3:10. Then, tell me, who of you could keep the law perfectly and continuously and fulfill it righteous demands so that you might be freed from the curse of the law? Who of you could perform a perfect sinless life?
Thus, according to the Scripture, all law keepers were under the curse of the law and will die permanently and Christ could not help them. Why not? Because firstly, they are not in Christ yet and secondly, it is not as what they believed that being ‘in Christ” the law could not touch them.
Firstly, why did I say that law keeper’s believers are not in Christ yet (but they believe they were)?
The bible said, “Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster, to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith. But after that faith is come, we are no longer under a schoolmaster. For ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus” Galatians 3:24-26. “For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone that believeth” Romans 10:4.
Clearly we read that the law served as a guide or a schoolmaster to bring its law keepers to Christ. For what? For righteousness! What righteousness? Righteousness by faith! Why not righteousness by the law? Because the law could justify no one, since no one could perform a perfect righteous life that fulfills the demands of the law (Romans 3:28; Galatians 2:16; 3:11). That’s why all law keepers were under the curse of the law (Galatians 3:10; Romans 3:19), under eternal condemnation, and only through the redemption made by Christ Jesus they may have their salvation. Thus, the law while condemning it law keepers brought them also to Christ for redemption and salvation. When they believe him and admit their faith in him, they didn’t need the serving of the law any longer. The law ministration comes to an end in Christ, to be replaced with a better and glorious ministry, which is of the Spirit. If the ministration of the law leads only to condemnation and death (for that we need Christ), then the ministration of the Spirit gives life eternal (since we are in Christ) – 2 Corinthians 3:6-10.
In His love
James Saptenno
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Re: Not keeping the law is not breaking the law
#31874
09/28/02 06:55 AM
09/28/02 06:55 AM
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OP
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PART FIVE.
From the verses above, we can simply said: “Christ is the end of the law observance (to keep and obey that will only lead to condemnation and death) because through our faith in him we may have the righteousness of the law (that we could not gain through obedience) as fruit of the Spirit fulfilled in us, and justify us for eternal life.”
In Christ through faith, a believer must live by faith according to the Spirit for a justification by faith. If he continue again in the ministration of the law by keeping and observing it, he steps out from faith ‘in Christ” and walk again in the road of the law that will only condemn him to death, and again he need Christ for his redemption. Walking in the road of the law means a law keeper is not in Christ yet, since Christ is the end of the law, he must arrive first “in Christ” and to continue his life in the way of the Spirit through faith.
Christ is the end of the law but the beginning of a faith relationship with God.
Those who keep the law with faith in Christ (as they believe so) were in fact an unbeliever and have no faith at all, they were still in the way of the law as their schoolmaster that will lead them to Christ.
That’s why the law was only made for the Jews (Romans 3:27-30) and not for the Gentiles. The law was designated only for a specific time span and not eternally, since it ends in Christ and nailed to the cross (Luke 16:16; Ephesians 2:15; Colossians 2:14,16).
Secondly, why did I say that law keepers misinterpreting Romans 8:1, as it is not as what they believe, that in Christ the law could not touch them with it curse and condemnation?
According to Romans 8:1-4, a believer “in Christ” is not under condemnation, not because the curse of the law could not touch him, but because he was led by the Spirit that sets him free from the power of sin so that he might have a righteous life that fulfils the demands of the law.
How could a Spirit led believer lives against God’s principles? If he does, he did not live by faith and is not led by the Spirit, but he lives for him self according to the flesh and satisfies it desires.
In His love
James S.
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Re: Not keeping the law is not breaking the law
#31875
09/28/02 06:56 AM
09/28/02 06:56 AM
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OP
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Joined: Jul 2000
Posts: 1,157
Jakarta, Indonesia
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PART SIX.
To think and believe that “in Christ” the law (curse) could not touch a believer and so he is not under condemnation of the law is a wrong perception of what is written in Romans 8:1-4.
What is said there is, that because a believer is led by the Spirit, he was set free from the power of sin that enable him to have a righteous life that fulfill the demands of the law. But even so, since he still has a sinful nature he might do the things he did not wants to do as according to Galatians 5:16-18 and sins against the principle of God. Only as long as he lives by the Spirit, he is not under the law, not under it judgment and condemnation, but under grace where God will remember his sins and iniquities no more.
This is in accordance with what is stated earlier in Romans 6:14, “For sin shall not have dominion over you; for ye are not under the law, but under grace.”
This verse simply said, that being under the law (where a person is under the authority of the law which require his obedience and that the law has the legal right to judge and condemn him when he breaks the law) a believer is under dominion of sin and makes sin as his master. In other word, a law keeper believer lives in sin. He did not make God as his master (even though he believes so), but sin is his master. This sin is his self-love nature that is against God’s nature of agape love. We may say, that a law keeper believer makes him self (the “I”) as his master and lives for the flesh.
How could that be?
The bible answer that with, “The sting of death is sin; and the strength of sin is the law” 1 Corinthians 15:56.
Keeping the law strengthen our sinful nature to dominate us and satisfy it desires. Keeping the law empowers sin to dominate us! This sin is our sinful nature, a nature of “love for self” invented by Lucifer that is against God’s nature of agape love. The desire to keep and obey the law is the desire of self, motivated by self-love, to be righteous, to be sinless, to gain heaven, etc.
Thus a law keeper believer did not live by faith and not led by the Spirit, but a sinful life as according to the flesh.
This truth correspond with what is written in Galatians 3:12 “The law is not of faith; but, the man that doeth them will live in them”, and “whatsoever is not of faith is sin” Romans 14:23.
In His love
James S.
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Re: Not keeping the law is not breaking the law
#31876
09/28/02 06:58 AM
09/28/02 06:58 AM
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OP
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Joined: Jul 2000
Posts: 1,157
Jakarta, Indonesia
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PART SEVEN.
Keeping and obeying the law for Christ’s believers is not an evidence of faith but rather it is an evidence of the absence of faith. Keeping the law is an act of the sinful nature, a desire of the flesh and so it is the acts of the flesh. “The man who doeth it” is the sign that who did it, did it by the flesh, an act of obedience that comes from “self”, from a desire of the flesh, it did not come from faith. And whatsoever is not of faith is sin, a sin against God’s principle.
Unless it is fruit of the Spirit that comes from faith, all other deeds are acts of the flesh.
No wonder that Paul tried his best in all of his letters to explain that the law has no longer authority over Christ believers (Romans 6:14,15; 7:6; Galatians 3:23-25; 4:1-7, 21-31), that the law was nailed at the cross (Ephesians 2:14-16; Colossians 2:14,16,17), sets aside and useless (Hebrew 7:18,19; 8:7,13) and comes to an end in Christ (Romans 10:4). That keeping the law only leads to condemnation and death (2 Corinthians 3:6-9), because the law empowers sin to dominate us (1 Corinthians 15:56, Romans 6:14; 7:1-13) and through the law kill us.
And since the ministry to the law was ended in Christ, those who believe this and live by faith are not law-breakers but instead the righteous demands of the law was fulfilled in them by the Spirit. Although there is no law for them, but being in Christ through faith and he in us through his Spirit, we will have many good fruits that conforms the righteous demands of the law, that conforms God’s principle, and by the leading of the Spirit, we will enter the gate of heaven and live eternally with God.
Those who choose the way of the law by continue in keeping the law in fact were law-breakers, because their obedience were deeds of the flesh and could not fulfill the law righteous demands. They have no faith in Christ and rely on observing the law for a righteous life, a healthy life, a wealthy life, and eternal life. But on the other hand, condemnation and death is their reward.
I have given everything I knew, be glad and grateful because at least there is some one who could tell you another way of thinking about the word of God and not just what the church told you.
END.
In His love
James S.
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Re: Not keeping the law is not breaking the law
#31877
09/28/02 07:04 AM
09/28/02 07:04 AM
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OP
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After reading these post, I will be really grateful if Forum Administrator didn’t close or lock this thread. Anyway, it is just a bible study and everybody can write what he thinks of, but the readers must choose, check and edit themselves whether it told the truth or error. If it is an error, then please advice where the error lays giving a biblical evaluations, not just closed this thread or lock it.
I love you all brothers and sisters and really want to share what I thought is the truth of the gospel of Christ. Something that is alien and weird for you but it conforms the bible teaching unless somebody could clarify it is not.
Happy study and happy Sabbath.
In His love
James S.
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Re: Not keeping the law is not breaking the law
#31878
09/28/02 02:24 PM
09/28/02 02:24 PM
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part - 1
In the time of Moses:
Exodus 16:
27 And it came to pass, that there went out some of the people on the seventh day for to gather, and they found none.
28 And the LORD said unto Moses, How long refuse ye to keep my commandments and my laws?
29 See, for that the LORD hath given you the sabbath, therefore he giveth you on the sixth day the bread of two days; abide ye every man in his place, let no man go out of his place on the seventh day.
30 So the people rested on the seventh day.
Christ the God Who spoke to Moses from the pillar of cloud, here shows that He equated refusing to do what the spoken law said to do, as breaking that same law. Not keeping the physical requirement of that law is actual breaking of that same law. The heart issues were not directly spoken about but were alluded to, since it was only some of the people and not all of the people who did this Sabbath breaking. Some of the people refused in their heart and had the gall to carry that refusal out physically.
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Re: Not keeping the law is not breaking the law
#31879
09/28/02 02:25 PM
09/28/02 02:25 PM
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part - 2
In the time of Jesus on the Mount of Olives: and what He said that is still true in our time.
Matthew 24 :
1 ¶ And Jesus went out, and departed from the temple: and his disciples came to him for to shew him the buildings of the temple.
2 And Jesus said unto them, See ye not all these things? verily I say unto you, There shall not be left here one stone upon another, that shall not be thrown down.
3 And as he sat upon the mount of Olives, the disciples came unto him privately, saying, Tell us, when shall these things be? and what shall be the sign of thy coming, and of the end of the world?
4 ¶ And Jesus answered and said unto them, Take heed that no man deceive you.
(All these things happened that Jesus spoke of during the closing of His Earthly ministry in AD 31, regarding verses 1&2 they happened in AD 70. So Jesus’s words of prophecy proved true then. )
5 For many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive many.
6 And ye shall hear of wars and rumours of wars: see that ye be not troubled: for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet.
7 For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places.
8 All these are the beginning of sorrows.
9 Then shall they deliver you up to be afflicted, and shall kill you: and ye shall be hated of all nations for my name’s sake.
10 And then shall many be offended, and shall betray one another, and shall hate one another.
11 And many false prophets shall rise, and shall deceive many.
12 And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold.
13 But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved.
(All these things happened that Jesus spoke of during the closing of His Earthly ministry in AD 31, regarding verses 5 - 13 have been happening since AD 31 on up to today. With every new type of religious or political leadership that would come up through the centuries, that decided to oppose Christ and the Bible’s teaching, this cycle of suffering has repeated . It is escalating as time moves on, it is building to become worldwide opposition as soon as God removes His measures of restraints. So Jesus’s words of prophecy proved true from then till now. )
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Re: Not keeping the law is not breaking the law
#31880
09/28/02 02:26 PM
09/28/02 02:26 PM
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part - 3
14 And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come.
15 When ye therefore shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place, (whoso readeth, let him understand:)
16 Then let them which be in Judaea flee into the mountains:
17 Let him which is on the housetop not come down to take any thing out of his house:
18 Neither let him which is in the field return back to take his clothes.
19 And woe unto them that are with child, and to them that give suck in those days!
20 But pray ye that your flight be not in the winter, neither on the sabbath day:
(All these things that Jesus spoke of during the closing of His Earthly ministry in AD 31, regarding verses 14 - 20 are building up to happen with all the worldwide force Jesus spoke of and come to pass just as He says they will here in The United States of America and Canada, the United States of America is the lamblike beast that speaks as spake the Dragon in past history, and the USA will cause all the world to worship the first beast. Here in this yet to be fulfilled future - is prophecied in verse 20 - that the same Sabbath is in-force then as has always been in-force since before Earth’s creation. It’s requirement of being kept as one of God’s Ten Commandments remains even then & being kept according to Scripture’s specific directions. So Jesus’s words of prophecy proved true in the past and present, will also prove true for the future. )
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Re: Not keeping the law is not breaking the law
#31881
09/28/02 02:27 PM
09/28/02 02:27 PM
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part - 4
In the future time after the Second Coming as the redeemed near New Jerusalem and just before they go in this declaration is given by Jesus Christ, that has been ratified by God the Father & the Holy Ghost.
Revelation 14:12 Here is the patience of the saints: here are they that keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus.
(The Apostle John was told this by Jesus Himself while on Patmos around AD 90. This verse is part of the last warning message given to the whole population of Earth - during the time the pre advent judgement of the dead is going on and closing it’s work and the pre advent judgement of the living begins and closes and all peoples fates are decided according to the evidence. Without law there is no judgement, for without law there is no sin to judge, without sin to judge - there is no need foe the offices of Judge, Advocate, and Saviour / Redeemer. Therefore it is well said by Jesus to the antinonomians of the last days - who at His coming offer their objections in the face of Christ’s charge of their law-less-ness or refusal to keep His Ten Commandment laws.
To the professed Remnant Jesus says a prophecy of how law keeping or refusing to keep - results in their destiny. They are not Babylon’s daughters, they are virgins representing a pure unconfused untainted ideological profession of faith. Within them are two camps. One group with a pure profession and a pure practice and thus a pure reception of the Holy Ghost and His work within, and a second came who are in name of profession only who do not have on the wedding garment of a changed life and character that keeps God’s law. To say there is no law is a variation of one of the many delusions that have led astray that second group.
Matthew 25:
1 ¶ Then shall the kingdom of heaven be likened unto ten virgins, which took their lamps, and went forth to meet the bridegroom.
2 And five of them were wise, and five were foolish.
3 They that were foolish took their lamps, and took no oil with them:
4 But the wise took oil in their vessels with their lamps.
5 While the bridegroom tarried, they all slumbered and slept.
6 And at midnight there was a cry made, Behold, the bridegroom cometh; go ye out to meet him.
7 Then all those virgins arose, and trimmed their lamps.
8 And the foolish said unto the wise, Give us of your oil; for our lamps are gone out.
9 But the wise answered, saying, Not so; lest there be not enough for us and you: but go ye rather to them that sell, and buy for yourselves.
10 And while they went to buy, the bridegroom came; and they that were ready went in with him to the marriage: and the door was shut.
11 Afterward came also the other virgins, saying, Lord, Lord, open to us.
12 But he answered and said, Verily I say unto you, I know you not.
That oil is the work inside a person that is ratified by the seal of God, which is the work of the Holy Spirit within & the co-operation and obedience to God’s laws both in spirit and letter.
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Re: Not keeping the law is not breaking the law
#31882
09/28/02 02:28 PM
09/28/02 02:28 PM
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part - 5
To the Remnant Church and to the churches that compose Babylon and her daughters Jesus also tells them this. In Luke 13: verses 25 - 28
Luke 13:
23 ¶ Then said one unto him, Lord, are there few that be saved? And he said unto them,
24 Strive to enter in at the strait gate: for many, I say unto you, will seek to enter in, and shall not be able.
25 When once the master of the house is risen up, and hath shut to the door, and ye begin to stand without, and to knock at the door, saying, Lord, Lord, open unto us; and he shall answer and say unto you, I know you not whence ye are:
26 Then shall ye begin to say, We have eaten and drunk in thy presence, and thou hast taught in our streets.
27 But he shall say, I tell you, I know you not whence ye are; depart from me, all ye workers of iniquity.
28 There shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth, when ye shall see Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, and all the prophets, in the kingdom of God, and you yourselves thrust out.
29 And they shall come from the east, and from the west, and from the north, and from the south, and shall sit down in the kingdom of God.
30 And, behold, there are last which shall be first, and there are first which shall be last.
In Revelation chapters 1 -3, Jesus has a specific progressive prophetic message to all the churches both good and bad , reaching from the time of AD 90 when He told it to the Apostle John till human probation is over - just before the seven last plagues - after the judgement of the living is finished. They are used as prophetic symbols of all who claim to belong to Jesus Christ for the rest of human history till the Second Coming.
Revelation 1: 11 Saying, I am Alpha and Omega, the first and the last: and, What thou seest, write in a book, and send it unto the seven churches which are in Asia; unto Ephesus, and unto Smyrna, and unto Pergamos, and unto Thyatira, and unto Sardis, and unto Philadelphia, and unto Laodicea.
Ephesus - They wrestled against the apostasy coming in and hung on, but allowed their first love to die away but Jesus commends them for this. Revelation 1: 6 But this thou hast, that thou hatest the deeds of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate.
Nicolaitans <3531>
3531 Nikolaithv Nikolaites nik-ol-ah-ee’-tace
from 3532; ; n pr m
AV-Nicolaitans 2; 2
Nicolaitans =" destruction of people"
1) a sect mentioned in #Re 2:6,15, who were charged with holding the error of Balaam, casting a stumbling block before the church of God by upholding the liberty of eating things sacrificed to idols as well as committing fornication
3531. Nikolaithv Nikolaites nik-ol-ah-ee’-tace; from 3532; a Nicolaite, i.e. adherent of Nicolaus:—Nicolaitane.
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Re: Not keeping the law is not breaking the law
#31883
09/28/02 02:30 PM
09/28/02 02:30 PM
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part - 6
SOP explanation of the teachings of the Nicolaitins. (2 SOP hits from typing in Rev.1:6 ) (hit #1)
Christ consented to die in the sinner's stead, that man, by a life of obedience, might escape the penalty of the law of God. His death did not make the law of God of none effect; it did not slay the law, lessen its claims, or detract from its sacred dignity. The death of Christ proclaimed the justice of His Father's law in punishing the transgressor, in that He consented to suffer the penalty of the law transgressed Himself, in order to save fallen man from its curse. The death of God's beloved Son on the cross shows the immutability of the law of God. His death magnifies the law and makes it honourable, and gives evidence to man of its changeless character. From His own divine lips are heard the words, "Think not that I am come to destroy the law and the prophets; I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil." The death of Christ justified the claims of the law. {BEcho, February 8, 1897 par. 5}
But the doctrine is now largely taught that the gospel of Christ has made the law of God of none effect; that by "believing" we are released from the necessity of being doers of the word. But this is the doctrine of the Nicolaitans, which Christ so unsparingly condemned. To the church of Ephesus He says, "I know thy works, and thy labour, and thy patience, and how thou canst not bear them which are evil: and thou hast tried them which say they are apostles, and are not, and hast found them liars; and hast borne, and hast patience, and for My name's sake hast laboured, and hast not fainted. Nevertheless I have somewhat against thee, because thou hast left thy first love. Remember then from whence thou art fallen, and repent, and do the first works; or else I will come unto thee quickly, and will remove thy candlestick out of his place, except thou repent. But this thou hast, that thou hatest the deeds of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate." {BEcho, February 8, 1897 par. 6}
Those who are teaching this doctrine today have much to say in regard to faith and the righteousness of Christ; but they pervert the truth, and make it serve the cause of error. They declare that we have only to believe on Jesus Christ, and that faith is all-sufficient: that the righteousness of Christ is to be the sinner's credentials; that this imputed righteousness fulfills the law for us, and that we are under no obligation to obey the law of God. This class claim that Christ came to save sinners, and that He has saved them. "I am saved," they will repeat over and over again. But are they saved while transgressing the law of Jehovah?--No; for the garments of Christ's righteousness are not a cloak for iniquity. Such teaching is a gross deception, and Christ becomes to these persons a stumbling block as He did to the Jews,--to the Jews, because they would not receive Him as their personal Saviour, to these professed believers in Christ, because they separate Christ and the law, and regard faith as a substitute for obedience. They separate the Father and the Son, the Saviour of the world. Virtually they teach, both by precept and example, that Christ, by His death, saves men in their transgressions. {BEcho, February 8, 1897 par. 7}
It is necessary that every intelligent being shall understand the principles of the law of God. Christ through the apostle James declares, "Whoso shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all." These words were spoken this side of the death of Christ; therefore the law was binding upon all at that time. {BEcho, February 8, 1897 par. 8}
The Saviour raised His voice in protest against those who regard the divine commandments with indifference and carelessness. He said, "Whosoever 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." And He also declared, "Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law till all be fulfilled." {BEcho, February 8, 1897 par. 9}
Men may talk of freedom, of gospel liberty. They may assert that they are not in bondage to the law. But the influence of a gospel hope will not lead the sinner to look upon the salvation of Christ as a matter of free grace, while he continues to live in transgression of the law of God. When the light of truth dawns upon his mind, and he fully understands the requirements of God, and realizes the extent of his transgressions, he will reform his ways, become loyal to God through the strength obtained from his Saviour, and lead a new and purer life. "Whosoever abideth in Him," says John, "sinneth not; whosoever sinneth, hath not seen Him, neither known Him."
Mrs. E. G. White. {BEcho, February 8, 1897 par. 10}
(Hit #2)
repeat of article
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SOP search - Nicolaitans = 7 hits
1. & 2. 1-5 (1 Peter 1:5; Jude 24). The Warder of the Temple Courts.-- [Rev. 2:1-5 quoted.] The words fall from the lips of One who cannot lie. The picture reveals eternal vigilance. Christ is in the midst of the seven golden candlesticks, walking from church to church, from congregation to congregation, from heart to heart. He that keepeth Israel neither slumbers nor sleeps. If the candlesticks were left to the care of human beings, how often the light would flicker and go out! But God has not given His church into the hands of men. Christ, the One who gave His life for the world, that all who believe in Him may not perish but have everlasting life, is the watchman of the house. He is the warder, faithful and true, of the temple courts of the Lord. . . . {7BC 956.2}
Christ walks in the midst of His churches through the length and breadth of the earth. He looks with intense interest to see whether His people are in such a condition spiritually that they can advance His kingdom. He is present in every assembly of the church. He knows those whose hearts He can fill with the holy oil, that they may impart it to others. Those who faithfully carry forward the work of Christ, representing in word and deed the character of God, fulfill the Lord's purpose for them, and Christ takes pleasure in them (RH May 26, 1903). {7BC 956.3}
(Eph. 1:1, 15, 16.) Evil Results of Neglect.--[Rev. 2:1-5 quoted.] In this scripture are outlined the conditions of acceptance with God. The first experience of the Ephesus church led to good works. God took delight in the fact that His church reflected the light of heaven by revealing the spirit of Christ in tenderness and compassion. The love that dwelt in the heart of Christ; the love that caused Him to give Himself a sacrifice for humanity, and to suffer with forbearance the reproach of men, even to the extent of being called a devil; the love that prompted Him to perform mighty works of healing during His ministry--this was the love that was to be revealed in the lives of His disciples. {7BC 956.4}
But they neglected to cherish Christ's compassion and tenderness. Self, as manifested in hereditary traits of character, spoiled the principles of the grand, good works that identified the members of the Ephesus church as Christians. The Lord Jesus must needs show them that they had lost that which was everything to them. The love that constrained the Saviour to die for us, was not revealed in its fullness in their lives; and hence they were unable to bring honor to the name of the Redeemer. And as they lost their first love, they increased in a knowledge of scientific theories originated by the father of lies (MS 11, 1906). {7BC 956.5}
2. See EGW on Gal. 5:6. {7BC 956.6}
2-6. Losing the Talent of Love.--This message is an example of the way in which the ministers of God are to give reproof today. Following the commendation for earnest labor comes the reproof for losing the talent of love, which is a most sacred trust. It was the love of God that saved the fallen race from eternal death (MS 136, 1902). {7BC 956.7}
4 (2 Peter 3:18; 2 John 6). Love for Christ Need Not Flag.-- "Nevertheless I have somewhat against thee, because thou hast left thy first love." Thine is a decay, a declension in holy zeal--not forsaken is the object of it, but lost is the fervor. The first affection of the convert to Christ is deep, full, and ardent. It is not necessary that this love should become less as knowledge increases, as the more and increased light shines upon him. That love should become more fervent as he becomes better acquainted with his Lord. . . . {7BC 956.8}
God will accept nothing less than the whole heart. Happy are they who from the commencement of their religious life have been true to their first love, growing in grace and the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. The sure result of their intercourse and fellowship with their beloved Lord will be to increase their piety, their purity, their fervor. They are receiving a divine education, and this is illustrated in a life of fervor, of diligence and zeal. . . . {7BC 956.9}
It is our work to know our special failings and sins, which cause darkness and spiritual feebleness, and quenched our first love (RH June 7, 1887). {7BC 957.1}
4, 5 (see EGW on ch. 3:14-18; 1 Kings 11:4). Spiritually Fallen, but Unaware of It.--In view of the many virtues enumerated, how striking is the charge brought against the church at Ephesus: "Nevertheless I have somewhat against thee, because thou hast left thy first love." This church had been highly favored. It was planted by the apostle Paul. In the same city was the temple of Diana, which, in point of grandeur, was one of the marvels of the world. The Ephesian church met with great opposition, and some of the early Christians suffered persecution; and yet some of these very ones turned from the truths that had united them with Christ's followers, and adopted, in their stead, the specious errors devised by Satan. {7BC 957.2}
This change is represented as a spiritual fall. "Remember therefore from whence thou art fallen, and repent, and do the first works"--as outlined in the preceding verses. The believers did not sense their spiritual fall. They knew not that a change had taken place in their hearts, and that they would have to repent because of the noncontinuance of their first works. But God in His mercy called for repentance, for a return to their first love and to the works that are always the result of true, Christlike love (MS 11, 1906). {7BC 957.3}
Loss of Love a Moral Fall.--The losing of the first love is specified as a moral fall. The loss of this love is represented as something that will affect the entire religious life. Of those who have lost this love, God says that unless they repent, He will come to them, and remove their candlestick out of its place (MS 1, 1906). {7BC 957.4}
6 (Jude 4). The Sin of the Nicolaitans.--Is it [our sin] the sin of the Nicolaitans, turning the grace of God into lasciviousness (RH June 7, 1887)? {7BC 957.5}
(Rom. 3:31.) Doctrine of the Nicolaitans.--The doctrine is now largely taught that the gospel of Christ has made the law of God of no effect; that by "believing" we are released from the necessity of being doers of the Word. But this is the doctrine of the Nicolaitans, which Christ so unsparingly condemned (ST Jan. 2, 1912). {7BC 957.6}
7 (ch. 22:2). The Leaves of the Tree of Life.--[Rev. 2:7 quoted.] Must we wait until we are translated before we eat of the leaves of the tree of life? He who receives into his heart the words of Christ knows what it means to eat the leaves of the tree of life. [John 6:33-63 quoted.] {7BC 957.7}
When the believer, in the fellowship of the Spirit, can lay his hand upon truth itself, and appropriate it, he eats the bread that comes down from heaven. He enters into the life of Christ, and appreciates the great sacrifice made in behalf of the sinful race. {7BC 957.8}
The knowledge that comes from God is the bread of life. It is the leaves of the tree of life which are for the healing of the nations. The current of spiritual life thrills the soul as the words of Christ are believed and practiced. Thus it is that we are made one with Christ. The experience that was weak and feeble becomes strong. It is eternal life to us if we hold the beginning of our confidence firm unto the end. {7BC 957.9}
All truth is to be received as the life of Jesus. Truth cleanses us from all impurity, and prepares the soul for Christ's presence. Christ is formed within, the hope of glory (MS 103, 1902). {7BC 957.10}
7, 11, 17, 29 (ch. 3:6, 13, 22). Ears Closed to Folly and Nonsense.--"He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches." If you "hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches," and meditate upon the instruction given to them, your ears will be closed to the folly and nonsense which surround you. You will neither hear and repeat these things, nor will you ever hanker after them. When Christ satisfies the soul hunger, these trivialities are to you distasteful and disgusting. You have no desire to feast upon them, but choose instead the bread of heaven (MS 92, 1901). {7BC 957.11}
9. The Synagogue of Satan.--Christ speaks of the church over which Satan presides as the synagogue of Satan. Its members are the children of disobedience. They are those who choose to sin, who labor to make void the holy law of God. It is Satan's work to mingle evil with good, and to remove the distinction between good and evil. Christ would have a church that labors to separate the evil from the good, whose members will not willingly tolerate wrong-doing, but will expel it from the heart and life (RH Dec. 4, 1900). {7BC 958.1}
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hit # 3. Eating of the Tree of Life
He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches; To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the tree of life, which is in the midst of the paradise of God. Rev. 2:7.
This message concerns all our churches. You can never employ your faculty of hearing better than in hearkening to hear what the voice of God speaks to you in His Word. There is a rich and abundant promise to those who overcome. It is not enough to enter upon this warfare, we must pursue it to the end. We must know nothing of yielding. We must fight the good fight of faith to the very end. To the overcomer is promised the triumphal victory. "To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the tree of life, which is in the midst of the paradise of God." Whatever was lost in the fall of Adam is more than restored in redemption. He that sitteth on the throne saith, "Behold, I make all things new" (Rev. 21:5). {YRP 361.1}
Let us look closely and critically to ourselves. Are not the vows we entered into at our baptism violated? Are we dead to the world and alive unto Christ? Are we seeking those things which are above, where Christ sitteth at the right hand of God? Is the cable cut which anchored us to the eternal Rock? Are we drifting with the current to perdition? Shall we make no effort to press and urge our passage upstream? Let us not hesitate longer, but vigorously apply the oars; and let us do our first works ere we make hopeless shipwreck. {YRP 361.2}
It is our work to know our special failings and sins, which cause darkness and spiritual feebleness, and quenched our first love. Is it worldliness? Is it selfishness? Is it the love of self-esteem? Is it striving to be first? Is it the sin of sensuality that is intensely active? Is it the sin of the Nicolaitans, turning the grace of God into lasciviousness? Is it the misuse and abuse of great light and opportunities and privileges, marking boasted claims to wisdom and religious knowledge, while the life and character are inconsistent and immoral? Whatever it is that has been petted and cultivated until it has become strong and overmastering, make determined efforts to overcome, else you will be lost.--Review and Herald, June 7, 1887. {YRP 361.3}
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hit #4. February 8, 1897 The Law and the Gospel.
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The law and the gospel cannot be separated. In Christ mercy and truth are met together; righteousness and peace have kissed each other. The gospel has not ignored the obligations due to God by man. The gospel is the law unfolded, nothing more nor less. It gives no more latitude to sin than does the law. The law points to Christ; Christ points to the law. The gospel calls men to repentance. Repentance of what?--Of sin. And what is sin?-It is the transgression of the law. Therefore the gospel calls men from their transgression back to obedience to the law of God. Jesus, in His life and death, taught the strictest obedience. He died, the just for the unjust, the innocent for the guilty, that the honour of God's law might be preserved, and yet man not utterly perish. {BEcho, February 8, 1897 par. 1}
The work of salvation in both the Old and the New Testament dispensation is the same. Christ was the foundation of the whole Jewish economy. The types and shadows under which the Jews worshipped all pointed forward to the world's Redeemer. It was by faith in a coming Saviour that sinners were saved then. It is through faith in Christ that they are justified today. {BEcho, February 8, 1897 par. 2}
In giving His Son, God gave Himself that man might have another trial. If God could have changed this law to meet man in his fallen condition, would He not have done this, and retained His only begotten Son in heaven?--He certainly would. But because His law was as changeless as His character, He gave His beloved Son, who was above law, and one with Himself, to meet the penalty which His justice demanded. {BEcho, February 8, 1897 par. 3}
Satan is working with all his deceptive power to ensnare the world. He would have them believe that this great sacrifice was made in order to abolish God's law. He represents Christ as opposed to the law of God's government in heaven and in earth. But the Sovereign of the world has a law by which to govern His heavenly intelligences and His human family, and the death of His Son fixes the immutability of that law beyond any question. God has no intention of doing away with His great standard of righteousness. By this standard He can define what a correct character is. {BEcho, February 8, 1897 par. 4}
Christ consented to die in the sinner's stead, that man, by a life of obedience, might escape the penalty of the law of God. His death did not make the law of God of none effect; it did not slay the law, lessen its claims, or detract from its sacred dignity. The death of Christ proclaimed the justice of His Father's law in punishing the transgressor, in that He consented to suffer the penalty of the law transgressed Himself, in order to save fallen man from its curse. The death of God's beloved Son on the cross shows the immutability of the law of God. His death magnifies the law and makes it honourable, and gives evidence to man of its changeless character. From His own divine lips are heard the words, "Think not that I am come to destroy the law and the prophets; I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil." The death of Christ justified the claims of the law. {BEcho, February 8, 1897 par. 5}
But the doctrine is now largely taught that the gospel of Christ has made the law of God of none effect; that by "believing" we are released from the necessity of being doers of the word. But this is the doctrine of the Nicolaitans, which Christ so unsparingly condemned. To the church of Ephesus He says, "I know thy works, and thy labour, and thy patience, and how thou canst not bear them which are evil: and thou hast tried them which say they are apostles, and are not, and hast found them liars; and hast borne, and hast patience, and for My name's sake hast laboured, and hast not fainted. Nevertheless I have somewhat against thee, because thou hast left thy first love. Remember then from whence thou art fallen, and repent, and do the first works; or else I will come unto thee quickly, and will remove thy candlestick out of his place, except thou repent. But this thou hast, that thou hatest the deeds of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate." {BEcho, February 8, 1897 par. 6}
Those who are teaching this doctrine today have much to say in regard to faith and the righteousness of Christ; but they pervert the truth, and make it serve the cause of error. They declare that we have only to believe on Jesus Christ, and that faith is all-sufficient: that the righteousness of Christ is to be the sinner's credentials; that this imputed righteousness fulfills the law for us, and that we are under no obligation to obey the law of God. This class claim that Christ came to save sinners, and that He has saved them. "I am saved," they will repeat over and over again. But are they saved while transgressing the law of Jehovah?--No; for the garments of Christ's righteousness are not a cloak for iniquity. Such teaching is a gross deception, and Christ becomes to these persons a stumbling block as He did to the Jews,--to the Jews, because they would not receive Him as their personal Saviour, to these professed believers in Christ, because they separate Christ and the law, and regard faith as a substitute for obedience. They separate the Father and the Son, the Saviour of the world. Virtually they teach, both by precept and example, that Christ, by His death, saves men in their transgressions. {BEcho, February 8, 1897 par. 7}
It is necessary that every intelligent being shall understand the principles of the law of God. Christ through the apostle James declares, "Whoso shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all." These words were spoken this side of the death of Christ; therefore the law was binding upon all at that time. {BEcho, February 8, 1897 par. 8}
The Saviour raised His voice in protest against those who regard the divine commandments with indifference and carelessness. He said, "Whosoever 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." And He also declared, "Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law till all be fulfilled." {BEcho, February 8, 1897 par. 9}
Men may talk of freedom, of gospel liberty. They may assert that they are not in bondage to the law. But the influence of a gospel hope will not lead the sinner to look upon the salvation of Christ as a matter of free grace, while he continues to live in transgression of the law of God. When the light of truth dawns upon his mind, and he fully understands the requirements of God, and realizes the extent of his transgressions, he will reform his ways, become loyal to God through the strength obtained from his Saviour, and lead a new and purer life. "Whosoever abideth in Him," says John, "sinneth not; whosoever sinneth, hath not seen Him, neither known Him."
Mrs. E. G. White. {BEcho, February 8, 1897 par. 10}
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hit #5.& 6. June 7, 1887 Losing our First Love.
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By Mrs. E. G. White.
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"Nevertheless I have somewhat against thee, because thou hast left thy first love. Remember therefore from whence thou art fallen, and repent, and do the first works; or else I will come unto thee quickly, and will remove thy candlestick out of his place, except thou repent. But this thou hast, that thou hatest the deeds of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate. He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches; To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the tree of life, which is in the midst of the paradise of God." Rev. 2:4-7. {RH, June 7, 1887 par. 1}
"Nevertheless I have somewhat against thee, because thou hast left thy first love." Thine is a decay, a declension in holy zeal,--not forsaken is the object of it, but lost is the fervor. The first affection of the convert to Christ is deep, full, and ardent. It is not necessary that this love should become less as knowledge increases, as the more and increased light shines upon him. That love should become more fervent as he becomes better acquainted with his Lord. God sees that there is not heart service, a love for Jesus, an earnest zeal in his work. {RH, June 7, 1887 par. 2}
"Remember therefore from whence thou art fallen, and repent, and do the first works; or else I will come unto thee quickly, and will remove thy candlestick out of his place, except thou repent." How much need there is for the people of God at this time to consider the words of the Majesty of heaven, and carefully review the ground over which they have traveled, and see and understand where the very first step was taken in the wrong path! Absence of zeal and devotion, of earnest willing service in the cause of God, shows how indolent many professed followers of Christ are, how destitute of earnest, heart felt effort. They might have been going on from strength to strength, from light to still greater light. They might have become strong in faith had they walked on from step to step, thinking more of Christ than of themselves. {RH, June 7, 1887 par. 3}
The Lord has a right to expect more of his believing children than they give him. Every individual Christian is indeed the light of the world. Christians connect with Christ. They reflect the character of Christ. They have been intrusted with great treasures of light; the oracles of God have been given to them, and in these they have been thoroughly furnished unto all good works. Every provision has been made, and why have the individual members of the church wearied of their Lord? Why does he who professes to love God refuse to obtain from the Source of light and power the oil of grace that he may be a bright and shining light? The church has had great opportunities, great privileges, and why is the light growing dim? Why does it not shine to the world? His church whose individual members are advancing, growing in grace and in the knowledge of Jesus Christ, is the elected means of the Redeemer's system for enlightening and saving the world. Christ lived and suffered and died to establish a church capable of doing this noble work. He bought her, he cleansed her with his own blood, and clothed her with the garments of his salvation. He laid the corner-stone upon the blood-stained rock of Calvary. He made his church the depositary of his precious law, and transferred into her hands in a high and holy sense the work of carrying out his holy designs; that the church should take the work when he left it, and carry it forward to its consummation. {RH, June 7, 1887 par. 4}
The Lord of righteousness is walking amid the golden candlesticks. And he watches every dim burning lamp of his individual believers, and says, "Remember therefore from whence thou art fallen, and repent, and do the first works; or else I will come unto thee quickly, and will remove thy candlestick out of his place, except thou repent." "He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches; To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the tree of life, which is in the midst of the paradise of God." Could mortals find language more impressive, more to the point, than these words of Christ,--words of Him who says, "I know thy works"? He presents the necessity of obtaining all the zeal and earnestness and energy that has ever glowed in the soul. And those who have cast off responsibility, and are content to have their light flickering and dim, Jesus would arouse to a sense of their obligation to let their light shine. He tells them that if they do not repent of their falling away from their first love, he will come suddenly, and remove their candlestick out of its place. As in the case of the unfruitful tree, the command will be given, "Cut it down; why cumbereth it the ground. {RH, June 7, 1887 par. 5}
God will accept nothing less than the whole heart. Happy are they who from the commencement of their religious life have been true to their first love, growing in grace and the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. The sure result of their intercourse and fellowship with their beloved Lord, will be to increase their piety, their purity, their fervor. They are receiving a divine education, and this is illustrated in a life of fervor, of diligence and zeal. They have that faith constantly becoming stronger which works by love and purifies the soul. Theirs is a child-like devotion, developing itself into activities of holiness, giving proof by the most expressive outward act of their inward gratitude, the heart-felt joy and devoted attachment to Jesus their Redeemer, the divine Restorer. {RH, June 7, 1887 par. 6}
Those who have been growing in harmony with the world in custom, in practice, in thoughts, are not growing in grace. Their prayers become less and less fervent and intelligent. They seem lifeless, and cold, and dead. They must repent. They are called upon to be inwardly grieved and ashamed and confused before the Lord for their want of love. They should blame themselves, and humbly confess before God, and condemn themselves. They must come back, retrace their steps, and do the first works; take hold again firmly in faith where they let go, recover their first zeal, their conscientious, tender love for God and his precious truth. They must pray as earnestly, and watch as diligently, as when the light of Christ's forgiving, pardoning love first fell upon their souls. A severe threatening from God follows if this work is not done. "I will come unto thee quickly, and will remove thy candlestick out of his place." {RH, June 7, 1887 par. 7}
If we, like Chorazin and Bethsaida, are exalted to heaven in point of privilege, and, notwithstanding the abundant mercy and loving, tender compassion of God, indifferently regard his great privileges and are not responding to the light and opportunities bestowed, he will come in judgments for impenitence of his churches, and remove the light, and let darkness take its place. Those who are connected with Christ, bearing the yoke of Christ, and lifting his burdens, will be constantly self-denying partakers with Christ of his sufferings. They will be one with Christ, in deep sympathy with Him who loved us and gave himself for us, that he might bring us to his side in heaven. This is the religion that is earnest, deep, firm, and far reaching, and insures rest, and peace, fullness of joy. {RH, June 7, 1887 par. 8}
The only way to grow in grace is to be interestedly doing the very work Christ has enjoined upon us to do,--interestedly engaged to the very extent of our ability to be helping and blessing those who need the help we can give them. This is the only way we can grow in grace and in the knowledge of Jesus Christ. Christians who are constantly growing in earnestness, in zeal, in fervor, in love,--such Christians never backslide. They are becoming more closely identified with the Saviour in all his plans. They are partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust. Their wisdom is increasing, their ability how to work. They seem to comprehend the largest plans. They are ready to engage in the most stirring enterprises, and they have no room for slothfulness; they cannot find a place for stagnation. {RH, June 7, 1887 par. 9}
Those who are ever pressing a little closer to the world, and becoming more like them in feelings, in plans, in ideas, have left a space between them and the Saviour, and Satan has pressed his way into this space, and low, worldly-tainted, selfish plans become interwoven with their experience. God's voice is addressing this class, which are not few: "He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches." It is of consequence that you hear attentively and obey. Come into close relationship with Christ. Keep your souls in constant contact with the world, and its customs will become your customs, its practices will become your practices, if you place yourselves where you will see and hear and feel and act as they do. {RH, June 7, 1887 par. 10}
"Come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean." Turn quickly to Jesus Christ. Yield your pride, your self love, your selfish aspirations, your love of the world, which are death to spirituality. Repent quickly. Delay not in deciding, lest you be too late. Elevate your soul's aspirations to higher spheres of action in Christian activities. Those who do this are the only class in our churches that will grow. They will speedily attain the highest moral efficiency and the clearest spiritual perceptions. They will have unusual vigor and steadiness of faith. They will know how to pray and be persevering and earnest in prayer. And all those who are deeply and interestedly engaged in the salvation of others, are the more surely working out their own souls' salvation with fear and trembling. The piety that does not reveal itself in working interestedly for others, will become a form, strengthened, bigoted, self-conceited. Coming in contact with souls for whom Christ has died, seeking to bring them to repentance, and evidencing a love for their souls, will call them out of themselves, so that they will not be exclusively engaged for their own selfish interests, either in temporal pursuits or in spiritual things. God has shown it to be our duty not to live for ourselves. Christ pleased not himself. {RH, June 7, 1887 par. 11}
The times of ignorance God winked at, but now, with the blazing light of truth shining all around us, with warnings, with reproofs, with increasing light if we will but open our eyes to see it, there is no excuse of any, even the weakest child of God, that they should not disperse light to the world. The four angels are holding the four winds that a special work may be accomplished: the saints of God are to be sealed in their foreheads. Brethren, how long before you will be ready for the seal of God? Every step you advance upon the path which God forbids, toward your own pleasure and in sin, is a step nearer your destruction. Every act of disobedience to the word of the Lord is exposing you to irreparable loss. Every moment of ease, of self-indulgence, secured by you in neglecting the divine admonitions and call to duty in earnest work for the Master, is placing you under the power and control of the prince of darkness. Your candlestick may at any moment be moved out of its place. {RH, June 7, 1887 par. 12}
Four mighty angels are still holding the four winds of the earth. Terrible destruction is forbidden to come in full. The accidents by land and by sea; the loss of life, steadily increasing, by storm, by tempest, by railroad disaster, by conflagration; the terrible floods, the earthquakes, and the winds will be the stirring up of the nations to one deadly combat, while the angels hold the four winds, forbidding the terrible power of Satan to be exercised in its fury until the servants of God are sealed in their foreheads. Get ready, get ready, I beseech you, get ready before it shall be forever too late! The ministers of vengeance will pour all the terrible judgments upon a God-forsaken people. The way of obedience is the only path of life. May the Lord help you to see it in time to open your ears, that you may hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches. {RH, June 7, 1887 par. 13}
What is my duty? What shall I do to save my children and to save many souls from the coming tempest of wrath unmixed with mercy? God claims every power, every capability of action to be invested in the doing of his work. Talents, possessions, everything that is great and noble in man he calls to be exercised in his work. Duty admits no rival, enters into no compromise with any opposing powers. The most precious friends and relatives must not step in between your duty and your God. The voice of duty is the voice of God in our souls. Obedience to its claims brings us into living personal agreement with the highest law in the universe--brings man into alliance with God. {RH, June 7, 1887 par. 14}
Let the churches be aroused. "He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches." This message concerns all our churches. You can never employ your faculty of hearing better than in hearkening to hear what the voice of God speaks to you in his word. There is a rich and abundant promise to those who overcome. It is not enough to enter upon this warfare, we must pursue it to the end. We must know nothing of yielding. We must fight the good fight of faith to the very end. To the overcomer is promised the triumphal victory. "To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the tree of life, which is in the midst of the paradise of God." Whatever was lost in the fall of Adam is more than restored in redemption. He that sitteth on the throne saith, "Behold, I make all things new." Let us look closely and critically to ourselves. Are not the vows we entered into at our baptism violated? Are we dead to the world and alive unto Christ? Are we seeking those things which are above, where Christ sitteth at the right hand of God? Is the cable cut which anchored us to the eternal Rock? Are we drifting with the current to perdition? Shall we make no effort to press and urge our passage up stream? Let us not hesitate longer, but vigorously apply the oars; and let us do our first works ere we make hopeless shipwreck. {RH, June 7, 1887 par. 15}
It is our work to know our special failings and sins, which cause darkness and spiritual feebleness, and quenched our first love. Is it worldliness? Is it selfishness? Is it the love of self-esteem? Is it striving to be first? Is it the sin of sensuality that is intensely active? Is it the sin of the Nicolaitans, turning the grace of God into lasciviousness? Is it the misuse and abuse of great light and opportunities and privileges, marking boasted claims to wisdom and religious knowledge, while the life and character are inconsistent and immoral? Whatever it is that has been petted and cultivated until it has become strong and overmastering, make determined efforts to overcome, else you will be lost. It is these cherished sins, abhorrent to God, that make enfeebled moral courage, and leave you to choose to walk apart from God, while you retain a miserable, heartless, outward form. Once the soul was all aglow with love for Jesus; but all this is changed. The great Head who moves in the midst of his candlesticks will never be without a church. There will be faithless ones who will go out from us because they were not of us. There will be apostasies. But "nevertheless the foundation of God standeth sure, having this seal, The Lord knoweth them that are his." There will be those who are evil, who hold the truth in unrighteousness, who are sensual, who are controlled by the master-worker in all evil, who will have to be separated from the church. {RH, June 7, 1887 par. 16}
"I know thy works, and thy labor, and thy patience, and how thou canst not bear them which are evil: and thou hast tried them which say they are apostles, and are not, and hast found them liars." This labor of purifying the church is a painful work, but one that must not be neglected, if the church would have the commendation of God. But repent, because thou hast left thy first love. Here is plainly presented before us our work as members of the church of Christ. If we are faithless, we shall lose the crown of life and another will take it; for in the dropping out of the faithless the places are supplied by the faithful. If we refuse to let our light shine for the Master, if we do not do the works of God, others will do that very work which we might have done and could have done, but refused to do. When we cease to fulfill our mission, when the candlestick refuses to reflect light, and the great truths committed to us individually in trust for the world, are not given to them, then the candlestick will be removed. "I will come unto thee quickly, and will remove thy candlestick out of his place." Another will be placed in his stead and will shine. Let prayer be ascending now without delay to Him who walketh in the midst of the golden candlesticks. Take not thy Holy Spirit from us. "Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean: wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow. . . . Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me. Cast me not away from thy presence; and take not thy Holy Spirit from me. Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation; and uphold me with thy free Spirit. Then will I teach transgressors thy ways: and sinners shall be converted unto thee."
Basel, Switzerland. {RH, June 7, 1887 par. 17}
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hit #7. Repeat of hit #4 in Bible Echo printed here in The Signs of the Times EGW periodical Article.
“But the doctrine is now largely taught that the Gospel of Christ has made the Law of God of no effect; that by "believing" we are released from the necessity of being doers of the word. But this is the doctrine of the Nicolaitans, which Christ so unsparingly condemned. To the church of Ephesus he says: "I know thy works, and thy labor, and thy patience, and how thou canst not bear them which are evil; and thou hast tried them which say they are apostles, and are not, and hast found them liars; and hast borne, and hast patience, and for my name's sake hast labored, and hast not fainted. Nevertheless I have somewhat against thee, because thou hast left thy first love. Remember therefore from whence thou art fallen, and repent, and do the first works; or else I will come unto thee quickly, and will remove thy candlestick out of his place, except thou repent. But this thou hast, that thou hatest the deeds of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate." {ST, February 25, 1897 par. 6}
Those who are teaching this doctrine today have much to say in regard to faith and the righteousness of Christ; but they pervert the truth, and make it serve the cause of error. They declare that we have only to believe on Jesus Christ, and that faith is all-sufficient; that the righteousness of Christ is to be the sinner's credentials; that this imputed righteousness fulfils the law for us, and that we are under no obligation to obey the law of God. This class claim that Christ came to save sinners, and that he has saved them. "I am saved," they will repeat over and over again. But are they saved while transgressing the law of Jehovah?--No; for the garments of Christ's righteousness are not a cloak for iniquity. Such teaching is a gross deception, and Christ becomes to these persons a stumbling-block as he did to the Jews,--to the Jews because they would not receive him as their personal Saviour; to these professed believers in Christ, because they separate Christ and the Law, and regard faith as a substitute for obedience. They separate the Father and the Son, the Saviour of the world. Virtually they teach, both by precept and example, that Christ, by his death, saves men in their transgressions. {ST, February 25, 1897 par. 7}
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Re: Not keeping the law is not breaking the law
#31884
09/28/02 02:31 PM
09/28/02 02:31 PM
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part - 7
If enough people request it, things about the rest of the churches of Revelation will be posted later.
Smyrna -
Pergamos -
Thyatira -
Sardis -
Philadelphia -
Laodicea -
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To say there are no Ten Commandment laws is to proclaim law-less-ness. How can anyone be a Seventh Day Adventist and say the validity of the Seventh Day Sabbath does not exist ? For the validity of the Seventh Day being the Sabbath rests completely upon the validity of the Ten Commandments being and remaining and continuing to be God's absolute requirements as long as He lives and rules. The original copy of them is under His physical Throne the seat of His rule of the universe. If God was not alive, the throne would be meaningless for it would have no intrensic ability to rule, the septer would be an empty symbol laying on the ground - without an all powerful hand to hold it and an all powerful heart & mind to rightly wield it - it has no power and authority or wisdom of rule on it's own, the Ten Commandments would be hollow dead words belonging to someone who no longer was. Only then coud they be invalid.
For the Ten Commandments to no longer be inforce God would have to be dead. That is Satan's fondest self delusion and the ultimate ramification of the false idea that God's law is no longer existing no longer binding upon all people whether on Earth or throughtout the universe.
The ramifications of espousing the law being done away with, have probably not been thought through.
God says he is the Eternal - I AM - The Living God. To say His law is dead is to say that He (God) is dead, and thus believe Satan's lies and reject God's true statements.
This is wrong to believe and teach others, repent of it - Jesus did not teach such. That is opposition to the teachings of Jesus, it has been pushed upon you by Satan the mortal enemy of Jesus and Satan uses humans as pawns to hurt Jesus by getting humans to destroy themselves by following false teachings. Satan wants you to destroy yourself through such Nicolatian teaching, resist it & return to believing Scripture as it reads. Only that way can you serve and honor Jesus Christ.
God is more powerful than Satan, else He could not have won that first battle in Heaven and hurled Satan out, then won again at calvary. Satan knows He can never conquer God intellectually, but his own sins have decieved him and he hurts God through deceving you and getting you to follow his false teaching - thus forcing God to treat you with Satan's punishment if you follow Satan's false teachings past the limit of grace & mercy & Divine patience.
You must make the choices to belive this or that, no one can live life for you, but Jesus wants to live live inside you. Jesus says in John ch 6 - to eat & drink His words & follow His testimony for He says of Scripture - Moses and the Prophets - John 5:39 "Search the scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they which testify of me."
[ September 28, 2002, 12:06 PM: Message edited by: Edward F Sutton ]
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Re: Not keeping the law is not breaking the law
#31885
10/01/02 02:15 PM
10/01/02 02:15 PM
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OP
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Counter against Edward Sutton reply.
Part 1.
You must know and don’t forget that God spoke to Moses and the Jews to whom the law was given and who were under the law. It was not an evidence that what was spoken at that time means also for us Christ believers.
Part 2.
It proves nothing against the topic of this thread.
Part 3.
Verse 20 is not a prove or evidence that Christ wants his believers to believe that Sabbath observance is still in effect after his ascention.
Christ spoke this words as a warning (prophecy) to the Jews that he knew most of them will still be Sabbath keepers and reject him as their Savior at the time of the fulfillment of the prophecy, so they must pray that it might not happen on that day so that they would not be killed easily and die because they could not walk far or run far (But do you believe the Jews will stick to their Sabbath rules when the massacre happened, or they will flee as far as possible?).
Part 4.
Revelation 14:12 Here is the patience of the saints: here are they that keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus.
In fact those who has faith in Christ kept his commandment as it is shown in their deeds that conforms the righteous demands of the law. But who did it is the question! If this obedience comes from faith (Romans 1:5), then it is fruit of the Spirit, and if it is fruit of the Spirit, then those saints were not under the law. If this obedience comes from the flesh, from the effort to live righteous according to the law demands that were a legal law for judgment, then they were not saints but unbelievers and law breakers.
Quote.
Without law there is no judgment, for without law there is no sin to judge, without sin to judge - there is no need foe the offices of Judge, Advocate, and Saviour / Redeemer.
Unquote.
This is typical human thinking, but the way of God is not the way of men, and his thoughts is not as mortal men’s thoughts.
The bible said, those who sin under the law will be judge by the law, but those who sin without the law will also disappear without the law. Is there any judgment for those who disappear without the law, it must be and God knows how! And what kind of a sin they did, if they were without the law, is it a transgression against the Ten Cs, of course not, they has not the law and without the law their sin is not imputed, but nevertheless they died. Why, can you answer that?
Part 5.
No comment!
Part 6.
James spoke those words not as a prove that the law is still binding, but read the context, he gives a comparison for those who said they have love but shows favoritism, in fact their deed was against love (the law principle) and so they were law breakers. It is just the same as those who were under the law said that they kept all God’s command but commit adultery or killing, they were law breakers too.
Part 7.
Saying and believing that a person is saved by faith without the deeds of the law but if he did not keep the Sabbath holy (and all other laws) he will go to hell, is shifting the righteousness by faith to a righteousness by works (of the law). A contradiction that only will be found in the churches of today, but not in the gospel.
Saying that not keeping the law is breaking the law has no base and misleading.
Saying that a man is justified by faith only if he has the deeds of the law through a perfect obedience is a false gospel.
Remember that the gospel said “ an obedience that comes from faith” (Romans 1:5), thus our obedience comes from faith, or the good deeds happens because we live by faith and only through faith we may have the fulfillment of the law done by the Spirit. It is not an obedience that comes from self (desire) to live righteously according to the law, which deeds is just acts of the flesh.
In His love
James S.
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Re: Not keeping the law is not breaking the law
#31886
10/01/02 02:18 PM
10/01/02 02:18 PM
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OP
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The Jews has the law and were under the law (Romans 3:19), the Gentiles not.
The Jews and the Gentiles are all under sin, no one is righteous and no one does good, all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified freely by God grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus (Romans 3:9,10,12,23,24).
Whatever the law says, it says to those who are under the law, so that every mouth may be stopped and all the world may become guilty before God. Therefore no one will be declared righteous before God by observing the law (Romans 3:19,20).
Now when a man works, his wages are not credited to him as a gift, but as an obligation. However, to the man who does not work but trust God who justifies the wicked, his faith is credited as righteousness (Romans 4:4,5).
It was not through the law that Abraham and his offspring received the promise that he would be heir of the world, but through the righteousness that comes by faith. For if those who live by law are heirs, FAITH HAS NO VALUE AND THE PROMISE IS WORTHLESS (Romans 4:13,14).
For we maintain that a man is justified by faith, apart from observing the law (Romans 3:28), because God is the God of the Jews and of the Gentiles too and he will justifies all by faith (Romans 3:29,30).
This truth is very hard to understand and so many people were mislead by their church doctrines that taught opposite was had been told here.
Conclusion from the above truth:
1. The law is for the Jews only
2. Even the Jews has the law, but they were in the same situation as the Gentiles, all were under sin and no one does good because all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.
3. But God free gift justifies the whole world (all that have sinned, Jews and the Gentiles) by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus.
4. The law did not justify the Jews; otherwise God is only a God for the Jews. But since the Jews and the Gentiles both were justified by faith, then God is for all.
5. Since no man (Jews) will be justified by the law (by works of the law), there must be another way of justification for the Jews who were under the law. This justification is the righteousness of God without the deeds of the law that comes through faith in Christ Jesus (Romans 3:21,22).
6. Since no Gentiles are under the law (the law is not for them), then they too were not justified because of their works, but because of faith (Romans 4:4,5).
7. Therefore, the Jews and the Gentiles they are all alike, justified by faith in Christ (without the deeds of the law or without works) for a FITNESS for heaven, since they too were both justified freely by the grace of God through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus as their TICKET to heaven.
8. If Abraham and his offspring become heirs of the world through the law (justification), then faith has no value (God is only for the Jews who has the law), and God promise is worthless.
9. Therefore the promise comes by faith, so that it may be by grace and maybe guaranteed to all Abraham’s offspring, not only to those who are of the law (Jews) but also to those who are of the faith of Abraham (Gentiles).
10. Teaching that at the day of judgment, the law (Ten Commandments) will be a standard for judgment as “not the hearers of the law is just before God but the doers of the law that will be justified” is circumcising the gospel of Christ and against the teaching of Paul. It is a pure salvation by works! Teaching that men could live sinless perfect life by keeping the commandment in order to be justified by faith (in fact by the law) is the false doctrine of the end of time, to avert faith to works or to self.
I have studied the very long post of Ikan, and although I saw that we have the same foundation of what we are, our hopeless situation and what God did to safe us, but we differ in the terms of justification and law keeping.
Justification according to Ikan post (and I believe that is the church view) is that the 1st justification is without the deeds of the law (this is wrong as all men were justified freely through Christ redemption that has nothing to do with the law), and the second justification which is final at the day of judgment is by faith with the deeds of the law, a perfect obedience required to be justified where the law is the standard (not the hearers of the law will be justified but the doers of the law). This is again a wrong gospel! The bible said that our justification (final) is by faith only without the deeds of the law (without works). A justification both for the Jews who has the law and were under the law and for the Gentiles who has not the law and were not under the law.
Both God justification to save men is based on his grace and love to us, and not of works at all.
Faith is all that matters, because through faith we will have fruit of the Spirit that conforms and fulfils the righteous demands of the law. And fruit of the Spirit (our deeds) is not motivated by our own desire, but the desire of the Spirit who “does the willing and the doing of God in us” who surrendered completely to the leading of the Spirit.
Keeping the law is our desire because we believe it still exist and binding, and in fact it is the act of the flesh since “the law is not of faith.”
In His love
James S.
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Re: Not keeping the law is not breaking the law
#31887
10/02/02 01:21 AM
10/02/02 01:21 AM
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James posted in part: quote:
The Jews has the law and were under the law (Romans 3:19), the Gentiles not.
The Jews and the Gentiles are all under sin,....
James says the Jews were under the law, but not the Gentiles. James then goes on to say that both the Jews and the Gentiles are all under sin. Seeing that "sin is the transgression of the law" (1 John 3:4), if all are under sin, and sin is the transgression of the law, then all, both Jews and Gentiles, are also all under the law.
The 4th Commandment law on remembering the Sabbath is another good example. Is remembering and keeping or observing the Sabbath for the Jews only, and not also for the Gentiles? I say it is for both the Jews and Gentiles for as it says in Mark 2:27 "The Sabbath was made for man." In other words, Jesus said that the Sabbath was made for both the Jews and the Gentiles. That would, therefore, mean that both the Jews and the Gentiles are under the 4th Commandment law.
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Re: Not keeping the law is not breaking the law
#31888
10/04/02 12:08 AM
10/04/02 12:08 AM
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The Jews were under the ceremonial law & the moral law (Ten Commandments).
It was wrong to do these things in 4004 BC
In 2002 AD
Is it still wrong to
1. Have gods other than the Father, Son, Holy Ghost ?
2. Bow down to idols that have been made?
3. Curse God, use profanity, be a hypocrit ?
4. Break the Sabbath or pretend to keep it how God said not to do?
5. Dishonour your parents?
6. Kill
7. Seduce someone elses wife, or someone else if you are already married ?
8. Steal ?
9. Lie ?
10. Covet what is not yours ?
If it was right & wrong before Earth was created, and still right & wrong after Earth is made new over 1000 yrs from now, where is the bill of dispensation covering the centuries from 4004 BXC to whenever the Earth is made new - that nulifies the Ten Commandments in the interum?
The Father or Son would have to do it, The Son's voice in Eden & His finger writting on stone @ Sini - was ratification as agent for Heaven authorized to make policy, enter into binding agreements for Heaven. Where is the written agreement for Heaven setting aside God's law from Cavary till the Second Coming ?
To setup law keeping on Earth, God's voice was heard in Eden setting it up, ratified after sin in writting @ Sini on stone. Neither time came through prophets - but directly from God. So to set the Ten Commands aside - God Himself will have to alter policy.
In Gethsemene 3 times God had His chance - 3 times He was silent - 3 times Jesus asked if there was any other way - 3 times scilence from the Father.
The Policy makers ( Father & Son) never set aside their laws (ten commandments) then - that was their chance.
It does not seem like they intend to do such.
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Re: Not keeping the law is not breaking the law
#31889
10/05/02 07:26 PM
10/05/02 07:26 PM
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Seems to me the gist of the argument about the law is that the list of ceremonial laws of the Jews is what was abolished at the cross. Jesus was the fulfillment of all the ceremonies that pointed to His coming as the Messiah. They then were no longer applicable. But the moral law is from eternity to eternity as the reasonable rules by which all humanity can live in harmony. I would like to ask you, James. Which one of the ten commandments would you get rid of, so that you may feel free to do what it prohibits?
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Re: Not keeping the law is not breaking the law
#31890
11/08/02 11:27 AM
11/08/02 11:27 AM
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OP
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Jakarta, Indonesia
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Restin.
The law that leads to Christ was not only the ceremonial law but also the Ten Commandment. This law was ended in Christ 2000 years ago and has no longer functions for Christ’ believers.
The moral law is human terms, but it is not the Ten Commandment. God’s moral law is a law that contains a moral principle based on his nature of love that seeks no self.
The Ten Commandment is a law written on stone tablets, a law that kills, a law that brought condemnation and death, a law that increases sin when we obey it, a law that made us slaves of sin when we obey it, a ministry of death.
The Ten Commandment has ceased to exist but its principle, which is God’s moral law of LOVE will exist till eternity.
This is the command given to us to keep it in our heart, and that might be only through a life by faith and a walk after the Spirit, since this love is fruit of the Spirit that opposed our nature of self-love. We can do nothing from our self to generate this love, not through obedience to the Ten Commandment, not also through combine effort with the Devine Power. The only way is emptying your self completely and lets the Spirit led you; let him do “the willing and the doing of God in you” and then “it is no longer I that live, but Christ that lives in me.”
I may do anything that break the Ten Commandment without being under it judgment because I’m not under it jurisdiction, but this will shows my unfaithfulness, and “who didn’t believe is already condemned”; who lives for the flesh will surely die; who did the deeds of the flesh will not enter heaven; who live for the flesh, Christ could not live in him and so at the end he is still a self-loving man that has no place in heaven where all holy beings live with a love that seeks no self.
In His love
James S
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Re: Not keeping the law is not breaking the law
#31891
11/08/02 11:49 AM
11/08/02 11:49 AM
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OP
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Daryl.
This then will stand in contradiction with the Scripture as according to Paul.
The Jews has the law and the Gentiles not, so how they can come under the obligation to keep a law that is not for them and they never hear of it that will condemn them for not keeping it? Meanwhile both Jews and Gentiles were justified by faith without the law.
Sin is the transgression of the law for those who were under the law, but those who were not under the law their deeds that was against God’s principle is also a transgression, only this sin was not taken into account when there is no law, nevertheless all die. Therefore the Jews were the nation choused among the others to carried out God’s great plan of salvation by giving them a legal written law that kills them for their sins, increases their sins when they obey it, made them slaves to sin, under dominion of sin and lock them up in prison of sin. So that through the law they will be lead to Christ, their Redeemer and Savior for a justification that comes by faith without the law.
Sabbath was made for man; is not the Jews considered “man?”
All men were under sin but not all men were under the law, there is a distinction between them.
In His love
James S
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Re: Not keeping the law is not breaking the law
#31892
11/09/02 11:12 PM
11/09/02 11:12 PM
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quote:
Originally posted by Restin:
Seems to me the gist of the argument about the law is that the list of ceremonial laws of the Jews is what was abolished at the cross. Jesus was the fulfillment of all the ceremonies that pointed to His coming as the Messiah. They then were no longer applicable. But the moral law is from eternity to eternity as the reasonable rules by which all humanity can live in harmony. I would like to ask you, James. Which one of the ten commandments would you get rid of, so that you may feel free to do what it prohibits?
Restin YOU are 100 Percent correct.
I am praying for anyone who has read what has been posted on here about God's Law and that it was for the Jews only and has been done away with, that you will not accept it as truth. God's Ten Commandment's have never been done away with. Please contact one of the Moderators here on Maritime for further study in this.
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Here is the link to this week's Sabbath School Lesson Study and Discussion Material: Click Here
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