reddogs
20th March 2007, 09:18 AM
The law pointed to salvation of man through Jesus Christ as God knew man could not keep the law even at creation, and so God sent His Son to come to earth, live as a man, and yet without sin, die on the cross and be resurrected to life to fulfill the laws requirement for sin. During this time on the earth Jesus gave us a number of guiding principles that show that these were His law, His precepts, His testimonies that were not to be forgotten.
John 10:30 (http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?book_id=50&chapter=10&verse=30&version=9&context=verse)
I and my Father are one.
One of the fundamental reasons that Christians do not live the Christian life successfully is that they do not know God and His Son who Jesus tells us they are one, His law, His precepts,or His testimonies very well and you cannot know God and His Son Jesus Christ unless you listen to His revelation of Himself in the OLD and the NEW Testament of the Bible.
Matthew 7:21 (http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?book_id=47&chapter=7&verse=21&version=9&context=verse)
Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven.
Can these aspects of God be known from through Creation? Yes, Romans 1:20 (http://biblegateway.com/cgi-bin/bible?language=english&version=NKJV&passage=Romans+1%3A20) tells us "For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made, so that they are without excuse." So his law, his precepts,his testimonies were seen in everything he did and made. What can we see in what he did during creation, he created man in his own image with freewill, he created the Sabbath for man, he made know the consequences of sin when he put the tree of knowledge.
From this point forward it was clear in that within God's law, His precepts, His testimonies they contained the guiding principle that should be in our life, we should love the Lord our God with all are heart, mind, soul and strength and to love our neighbor as we love ourselves. Jesus repeated these In Mark 12:30-31 Christ was asked about the commandments and He summed up all God’s law into two simple statements: “Thou shalt Love the Lord thy God with all thy heart and with all thy soul and with all thy strength...and...Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself - there is none other commandment greater than these.
Christians should value and live by the words which the Lord spoke here on earth. What did Jesus say about the Law of God and did He in fact, substantiate that God has a divine Law?
At the conclusion of His ministry Jesus declared to His very disciples, “I have kept My Father’s commandments and abide in His love.” (John 15:10). Jesus prefaced this statement of truth by instructing the disciples, “If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love, just as I have kept My Father’s commandments and abide in His love.”
Jesus declared that God does have a divine Law by which He governs all things. Jesus declared that God’s commandments are established on a “love” principle. Law-keeping may degenerate to legalism and a salvation-by-works kind of religion but this was not and is not God’s intention.
After Moses had rehearsed the Ten Commandments in the hearing of Israel (Deuteronomy 5) he then instructed them in the succeeding chapter, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength. And these words which I command you today shall be in your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children.” (Deut. 6:4-7).
God’s government has a divine Law and that Law governs His creation. His divine Law is founded on a love-principle. (Matthew 22:37-40). Legalism and mere formality in religion mean nothing to God anymore than merely mouthing the words “I love you” to your spouse in a mechanical way.
Jesus spoke of God’s commandments as “His” commandments because He took ownership of them. He practiced and showed us how to obey God’s commandments. Jesus did not come to establish His own set of rules and commandments but rather gave the example of honoring and obeying God’s already established divine commandments. He clearly stated, “Do not think that I have come to destroy the Law or the Prophets. I did not come to destroy but to fulfill.” (Matthew 5:17). Does the word “fulfill” mean “take away” or “abolish” or “set aside” or “nail to the cross?” Or does “fulfill” mean what our Lord had already stated, “I have kept My Father’s commandments?”
Jesus, Himself, answers this by saying in that same breath, “Whoever therefore breaks one of the least of these commandments, and teaches men so, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven.” (Matthew 5:19).
It would have been ludicrous of Jesus to first of all, leave for us the example of “keeping My Father’s commandments” and then turning right around and saying, “Oh, but you don’t need to keep those commandments, just keep Mine.” Will heaven be a divided government with some people honoring the “Father’s Commandments” and others honoring “Jesus’ Commandments?”
It was Lucifer who first rebelled against God’s government and was cast out of heaven for it. (Revelation 12:7-9; Isaiah 14:12-14). Would Jesus have come to likewise teach men to rebel against the Father’s commandments and instead keep His? When a questioner once approached Jesus and asked about eternal life, Jesus responded, “If you want to enter into life, keep the commandments.” The questioner asked which ones Jesus was referring to and Jesus without hesitation began to quote some of the Ten Commandments.
Was Jesus promulgating legalism and a salvation-by-works kind of religion? The context tells us that Jesus wanted to get at the “heart” of the matter with this questioner. The questioner stated that he had been obeying the commandments of God all his life. Jesus then challenges this young man to give up all his possessions in order to test whether this man’s commandment-keeping was from the heart or mere legalism. (Matthew 19:16-22).
Why are we to honor the Law as written in the Ten Commandments above all the other laws, precepts, or statutes given in Scripture? The reason is they are the clearest understanding of God and his love, and the greatest reason of all is that Jesus left for us such an example. The next reason is stated right there in the chapter where Moses rehearsed the Law of God to God’s people, “These words the Lord spoke to all your assembly, in the mountain from the midst of the fire, the cloud, and the thick darkness, with a loud voice, and He added no more.” (Deuteronomy 5:22).
Then Moses went on to say, “He wrote them on two tablets of stone and gave them to me.” God, Himself, differentiated His divine Law of Ten Commandments from all other commandments, statutes, ordinances and laws. The reason for this is that His government is founded upon these Ten Commandments. They are eternal while all other ones were for a specific purpose and design. The law of ceremonies and sacrifices, for example, were given to foreshadow the coming “Lamb of God,” the Messiah. (Heb. 10:1).
Exodus 31:18 tells us that the Ten Commandments were “written with the finger of God” on “tablets of stone.” This is further emphasized with the words, “Now the tablets were the work of God, and the writing was the writing of God.” (Exodus 32:16). When we read that Moses threw down the tablets of Ten Commandments, demonstrating that the people of God had rebelled against God’s government (Exodus 32:1-4, 19) we also read that God thought so much of the Ten Commandments that He replaced them Himself, “The Lord said to Moses, Cut two tablets of stone like the first ones, and I will write on these tablets the words that were on the first tablets which you broke.” (Exodus 34:1).
These are the only set of laws that God wrote with His very own finger. To sum up, the Ten Commandments hold a particular place for each Christian believer because: 1) God, Himself, wrote them 2) Jesus, Himself, honored them 3) they are God’s direct revelation of truth (Psalm 119:142) 4) Jesus taught, “whoever does and teaches them, he shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven.” (Matthew 5:19).
So Gods love is revealed in his Law which Jesus reiterates and is what man needs to come to a understanding and accept if he wants a relationship with Him. His precepts are revealed in what he does with man, forgiving and preparing a plan of salvation through His Son. His testimonies are given to man directly from God, throught His prophets and through Jesus words, and the Holy Spirit as they come from the same source. You cannot know someone if you ignore the love they give you and show in everything they tell you and do for you..
John 10:30 (http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?book_id=50&chapter=10&verse=30&version=9&context=verse)
I and my Father are one.
One of the fundamental reasons that Christians do not live the Christian life successfully is that they do not know God and His Son who Jesus tells us they are one, His law, His precepts,or His testimonies very well and you cannot know God and His Son Jesus Christ unless you listen to His revelation of Himself in the OLD and the NEW Testament of the Bible.
Matthew 7:21 (http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?book_id=47&chapter=7&verse=21&version=9&context=verse)
Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven.
Can these aspects of God be known from through Creation? Yes, Romans 1:20 (http://biblegateway.com/cgi-bin/bible?language=english&version=NKJV&passage=Romans+1%3A20) tells us "For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made, so that they are without excuse." So his law, his precepts,his testimonies were seen in everything he did and made. What can we see in what he did during creation, he created man in his own image with freewill, he created the Sabbath for man, he made know the consequences of sin when he put the tree of knowledge.
From this point forward it was clear in that within God's law, His precepts, His testimonies they contained the guiding principle that should be in our life, we should love the Lord our God with all are heart, mind, soul and strength and to love our neighbor as we love ourselves. Jesus repeated these In Mark 12:30-31 Christ was asked about the commandments and He summed up all God’s law into two simple statements: “Thou shalt Love the Lord thy God with all thy heart and with all thy soul and with all thy strength...and...Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself - there is none other commandment greater than these.
Christians should value and live by the words which the Lord spoke here on earth. What did Jesus say about the Law of God and did He in fact, substantiate that God has a divine Law?
At the conclusion of His ministry Jesus declared to His very disciples, “I have kept My Father’s commandments and abide in His love.” (John 15:10). Jesus prefaced this statement of truth by instructing the disciples, “If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love, just as I have kept My Father’s commandments and abide in His love.”
Jesus declared that God does have a divine Law by which He governs all things. Jesus declared that God’s commandments are established on a “love” principle. Law-keeping may degenerate to legalism and a salvation-by-works kind of religion but this was not and is not God’s intention.
After Moses had rehearsed the Ten Commandments in the hearing of Israel (Deuteronomy 5) he then instructed them in the succeeding chapter, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength. And these words which I command you today shall be in your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children.” (Deut. 6:4-7).
God’s government has a divine Law and that Law governs His creation. His divine Law is founded on a love-principle. (Matthew 22:37-40). Legalism and mere formality in religion mean nothing to God anymore than merely mouthing the words “I love you” to your spouse in a mechanical way.
Jesus spoke of God’s commandments as “His” commandments because He took ownership of them. He practiced and showed us how to obey God’s commandments. Jesus did not come to establish His own set of rules and commandments but rather gave the example of honoring and obeying God’s already established divine commandments. He clearly stated, “Do not think that I have come to destroy the Law or the Prophets. I did not come to destroy but to fulfill.” (Matthew 5:17). Does the word “fulfill” mean “take away” or “abolish” or “set aside” or “nail to the cross?” Or does “fulfill” mean what our Lord had already stated, “I have kept My Father’s commandments?”
Jesus, Himself, answers this by saying in that same breath, “Whoever therefore breaks one of the least of these commandments, and teaches men so, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven.” (Matthew 5:19).
It would have been ludicrous of Jesus to first of all, leave for us the example of “keeping My Father’s commandments” and then turning right around and saying, “Oh, but you don’t need to keep those commandments, just keep Mine.” Will heaven be a divided government with some people honoring the “Father’s Commandments” and others honoring “Jesus’ Commandments?”
It was Lucifer who first rebelled against God’s government and was cast out of heaven for it. (Revelation 12:7-9; Isaiah 14:12-14). Would Jesus have come to likewise teach men to rebel against the Father’s commandments and instead keep His? When a questioner once approached Jesus and asked about eternal life, Jesus responded, “If you want to enter into life, keep the commandments.” The questioner asked which ones Jesus was referring to and Jesus without hesitation began to quote some of the Ten Commandments.
Was Jesus promulgating legalism and a salvation-by-works kind of religion? The context tells us that Jesus wanted to get at the “heart” of the matter with this questioner. The questioner stated that he had been obeying the commandments of God all his life. Jesus then challenges this young man to give up all his possessions in order to test whether this man’s commandment-keeping was from the heart or mere legalism. (Matthew 19:16-22).
Why are we to honor the Law as written in the Ten Commandments above all the other laws, precepts, or statutes given in Scripture? The reason is they are the clearest understanding of God and his love, and the greatest reason of all is that Jesus left for us such an example. The next reason is stated right there in the chapter where Moses rehearsed the Law of God to God’s people, “These words the Lord spoke to all your assembly, in the mountain from the midst of the fire, the cloud, and the thick darkness, with a loud voice, and He added no more.” (Deuteronomy 5:22).
Then Moses went on to say, “He wrote them on two tablets of stone and gave them to me.” God, Himself, differentiated His divine Law of Ten Commandments from all other commandments, statutes, ordinances and laws. The reason for this is that His government is founded upon these Ten Commandments. They are eternal while all other ones were for a specific purpose and design. The law of ceremonies and sacrifices, for example, were given to foreshadow the coming “Lamb of God,” the Messiah. (Heb. 10:1).
Exodus 31:18 tells us that the Ten Commandments were “written with the finger of God” on “tablets of stone.” This is further emphasized with the words, “Now the tablets were the work of God, and the writing was the writing of God.” (Exodus 32:16). When we read that Moses threw down the tablets of Ten Commandments, demonstrating that the people of God had rebelled against God’s government (Exodus 32:1-4, 19) we also read that God thought so much of the Ten Commandments that He replaced them Himself, “The Lord said to Moses, Cut two tablets of stone like the first ones, and I will write on these tablets the words that were on the first tablets which you broke.” (Exodus 34:1).
These are the only set of laws that God wrote with His very own finger. To sum up, the Ten Commandments hold a particular place for each Christian believer because: 1) God, Himself, wrote them 2) Jesus, Himself, honored them 3) they are God’s direct revelation of truth (Psalm 119:142) 4) Jesus taught, “whoever does and teaches them, he shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven.” (Matthew 5:19).
So Gods love is revealed in his Law which Jesus reiterates and is what man needs to come to a understanding and accept if he wants a relationship with Him. His precepts are revealed in what he does with man, forgiving and preparing a plan of salvation through His Son. His testimonies are given to man directly from God, throught His prophets and through Jesus words, and the Holy Spirit as they come from the same source. You cannot know someone if you ignore the love they give you and show in everything they tell you and do for you..