Legalism or Anarchy

Or is there something else? 
Post 233

In my last several posts I have been showing only a little of what the entire scripture has to say regarding our Christian duty and character that is our rightful conduct as Children of God;

“I beseech you therefore brethren by the mercies of God that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God which is your reasonable service” Romans 12:1.

Now while the God of Islam demands they present their bodies a dead sacrifice through Jihad and suicide bombing their enemies, our God wants us to live as examples of His character and love to ours. Yet in today’s compromise of dirty grace the modern Christian has been beguiled into an unhealthy fear of legalism to the degree that the only other option appears to be spiritual anarchy of conduct just to make sure we are not attempting to find our salvation in works. This is the confusion of a fleshly religion in trying to understand spiritual things;

“But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned” I Corinthians 2:14.

Yet today by far, the majority of Christians I meet have this strong abhorrence to the Law of Moses because that is legalism for the Jews and not for the Gentile Christians. But while so many are fully convinced this is true, very few can actually show this opinion from scripture (Acts 15:19-20 excluding 21). Yet this strong opinion is protected by a confusion so obvious that these well meaning believers close their eyes to the controversy in the fear that in the discussion they will be turned from the faith they have, to legalism they know is condemned (Galatians 3-4).

This ignorant fear is pitiful faith at best and more probable, already shipwrecked. The cause of this error is compromise with the world. The solution is full repentance as was recommended by Peter to Simon in Acts 8:22 and strangely similar to the Old Testament promise of God in II Chronicles 7:14. So in boldness lets explore one element of the obvious conflicts in the conviction of a lawless Christianity *1:

* * *

The Second Five Plus One:

The ignored conflicts in the doctrine of compromise is seen most evident in the children of them who hold it while their parents have somehow sorted out a comfortable compromise between law and grace; living outside the law as Gentile Christians yet also drawing obscure lines of law not to cross:

(#7) “Do not commit adultery” is one Mosaic Law these Christians seem to have no problem living under without feeling in bondage… as a general rule with crossable circumstances.

(#6) “Do not kill” is another of the Old Testament Law that is easily seen as a smart and acceptable way to live without feeling the weight of bondage to the law…again applicable within “normal” limits while allowed in specific circumstance such as rape resulting in a baby.

(#8) “Do not steel, and (#10) Do not covet” are a bit more gray, but still in principle are accepted as good ideas to follow in general; “Just don’t hold me to the letter because I am not under the law”. And then begins the explanations of reasonable deviation; “Big corporations are criminal anyway, the government steels from me so I’m just getting some back, It doesn’t hurt anyone, It’s not covetous I just want one too”, etc. etc.

(#9) “Do not lie” is one “everybody” knows is a good one to keep but finds it very difficult because of circumstances. Enters the words “fib” and “white lie”; the manipulation of what is actually said to imply something that is not true without actually lying. “It’s a political thing and good practice to keep the peace, We all mean well and in so meaning find it necessary to lie now and then though undesirable.”

And all these variations and excusable deviations from the Law by the parents instruct the observing children that such variations are acceptable, showing that their parents are actually hypocrites in their effort to walk in obedience while not falling under the Law. This reasonable and intelligent evaluation by the children of these believers results in their own blend of variable application of Law (# 5) “Honor your father and mother”.

Clearly by example their parents have shown that the law is something you have to figure out for yourself just how and when to apply it and how to justify breaking when necessary, and so the children understandably cannot honor their two faced parents having been trained how to live in hypocritical faith called grace, and so give their parents the same kind of confused honor as the parents give the LORD. And the parents though heart broken that their children choose wrong paths have nothing to say because they have no support in the Law while trying to convince their children to now honor the Law in whatever particular argument they find themselves.

The result is that while living comfortably within the society of the world, having no bondage to the Law, there is virtually no protection from the deceitfulness of sin or the enticement of the flesh which the New Testament repeatedly and abundantly warns us to stay away from (Romans 13:14, Galatians 5:16, 24-25, I Thessalonians 4:1-7, II Timothy 2:19,26, Titus 1:16, 2:12, etc., etc.).

Yet these are now the Last Days prophesied of old and confirmed by our present fulfillment of II Timothy 4:3-4;

“For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears; and they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables.”

This does not say they will abandon the faith but rather selectively collect teachers that teach fabricated doctrine that “sounds right” to them because its what they want to hear.

What fables is Paul speaking of? Those doctrines of demons that teach a compromised lifestyle under the blood of Jesus Christ. They call this doctrine grace. But let the New Testament scripture show God’s interpretation of the correct doctrine of grace;

“For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men, teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world;” Titus 2:11-12.

Dear Christian, do not fear the Law; it is our instruction through grace while we are ignorant of how to live for Christ who has redeemed us! If we obey the law in the genuine fear of God and raise our children to do the same, then our Christian pastors will not see their teenage daughters pregnant, or their sons shot dead in gang warfare or on drugs or in prison for crimes against God. If we are actually obedient to God, then our children just might be able to obey the 5th commandment, and in so doing will be instructed to also obey the other 9. Are these commandments so hard to obey?  They actually are impossible to obey while our hearts are in bondage to iniquity, like Simon, and to disobedience through the doctrine of compromise (Romans 6:16-18).

“This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come. For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good, traitors, heady, highminded, lovers of pleasure more than lovers of God;”

II Timothy 3:1-4.

That is really some list of wickedness! Who would want to hang around people like that anyway? But wait! Read the next verse after the semicolon;

“Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away” II Timothy 3:5.

Did you get that? These wicked self-serving people actually present themselves to appear godly and I believe actually think they are, Paul is warning against these people claiming to be fellow believers! Keep away from them, they are not of God though they will tell you otherwise and will show some hopeful signs that they are just “struggling Christians” but they are not. This is the Simonized Christian in bondage to iniquity that Peter simply rejected outright saying; “Thy money perish with thee…Thou hast neither part nor lot in this matter: for thy heart is not right in the sight of God” Acts 8:21.

Today, the churches are filled to overflowing with these people, The poling booths are filled with these kinds of voters, Our nation is made up of these kinds of citizens, all the while believing and presenting themselves to be Christians living under grace. The chances that you are one of them is mathematically very probable, therefore ask yourself in what way are you NOT one of them? But there is hope still. I too was one of them in ignorance until God delivered me from the deception of compromise. He wants to do the same for you in power;

“And you hath he quickened (made alive), who were dead in trespasses and sins; Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience: Among whom also we all had our conversation in times past in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind; and were by nature the children of wrath, even as others”

Ephesians 2:1-3.

The doctrine of compromise is established through the generalistic approach to the word of God. Once we no longer have faith that God actually meant every word of scripture and that every word actually is written for us in this time, it is easy to step the next stone in the approach that results in the lawless application of grace. This should not be! Rather we must be confident that;

“All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: That the man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works” II Timothy 3:16-17.

But such a tool is not successfully used by the ignorant and unpracticed but in their hands results in a pitiful display worthy to be mocked by observers;

“Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth”

II Timothy 2:15.

We are all instructed to do our own study, which is the way we become skillful in the use of such an instrument; To gain knowledge at the hands of others is to gain knowledge but not skill in the use of knowledge. And while knowledge is indeed a great value to acquire, the skill is equally or more valuable just as a sword is valuable but the skill to wield it is also required to succeed with the mission of its use.

Yet without the Spirit of God that comes through repentance, all the study in the world cannot quicken the spiritually dead. Such life comes only through the surrender to Jesus Christ the Son of God, and that surrender can only be unconditional. This is salvation and has very little to do with skill or knowledge. Salvation is a free gift of God that cannot be purchased or earned or intellectually acquired (Titus 3:5, Ephesians 2:9).

But what comes after salvation?

* * *

The First Four Plus One:

Earlier I walked through the practicality of the last 5 commandments found in Deuteronomy 5 and the key 4th commandment that sponsors the application of them. I showed that a compromised application in general results in confusion of faith and misapplication that ends in destruction. Those last five-plus-one commandments are in regards to loving your neighbor (fellow man) as Jesus condensed in Matthew 22:39.

So if we can rationally comprehend that Jesus had no reason to abolish those commands (Matthew 5:17), then we can with earnestness study to understand how to carefully and accurately incorporate them directly into our lives without apology. It is clear that such a practice will obviously result in our betterment regarding our relationship with our fellow man; thus these five-plus-one commandments of detail are summed up in the simple phrase; “Love your neighbor as yourself” (Matthew 22:39).

If you can’t figure out how from that single line, then study the 6 last commandments. If that still doesn't work for you, seek out still greater detail in the whole Torah (5 Books of Moses) to learn the heart of God, and then study the books of History in the Tanak (Old Testament) to see the cause and affect of application or failure thereof.

So can we apply this same approach to the first 4 commandments as well, that Jesus condensed in Matthew 22:37-38? If we cannot seem to learn how to heed the six commandments that directly apply to our flesh and blood relationships even within our own families, how much hope is there that we might figure out how to heed those that apply in the supernatural realm in relation to God himself?

The fourth commandment we saw as a very powerful tool in learning proper application of the last 5 is the same tool that can be successfully applied to the learning of the first 4. Parenting was designed by God to be extraordinarily powerful. If a parent learns to apply the commandments in everything they do, they will be a worthy tool to teach their children to do the same. This command actually comes with details of instruction that make this command somewhat conditional;

“Honour thy father and thy mother, as the LORD thy God hath commanded thee; that thy days may be prolonged, and that it may go well with thee, in the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee” Deuteronomy 5:16.

We often hear the first part; “Honor thy father and thy mother period.” But there is far more instruction here than that; Do so as God commanded you to. This implies there is a specific way this should be done. The remainder of the verse gives details regarding the instruction as proper application results in specific promises; Thus God is not actually instructing the children to be mindless robots of obedience to wicked parents, nor will obedience to wicked instruction result in the promises given, our modern Christian families are proof of that! Children must honor their parents in the specific way the LORD has commanded, this is true honor regardless of their wickedness or righteousness even if the result is not obedience to wicked instruction. Rather the intended point God is making is the instruction in righteousness as confirmed in Deuteronomy 4:40. Whole books can be written on this topic so I will move on, other than to show the powerful opportunity parents have been given to aid their children in learning to follow the commandments of God and thus extend their lives by good living causing them to be blessed.

So starting off then at Commandment (#1) “Thou shalt have no other gods before me.” That seems like an easy one to keep; “We’re all Christians here, we love God, no problem”. But do we follow this commandment in the same halfhearted way we follow the last six? Not to pick on her, but remember post 116 Selena Gomez's God?

(http://when-did-reason-die.blogspot.com/2010/11/selena-gomezs-god.html) Here is a real life situation of confused faith as she claims boldly that she belongs to her “Lord and Savior Jesus Christ” yet she declares in song that she has found another god she cannot leave, and wouldn’t leave if she could. This example so perfectly shows the confusion of American Christians today who talk and act and live out all that deeply offends God, but somehow have been deceived into thinking; "I might say it, and act it out, but I really don't mean it". What foolishness is this? Try that one on your spouse when you come home with lipstick on your collar and see how that sells! "It meant nothing, I really love only you!" Riiiiight. God declares himself to be a jealous God (Exodus 20:5,34:14, Deuteronomy 32:16, II Corinthians 11:2 etc., etc.).

Before confirming this simple and direct command to the second Exodus generation, Moses reminded them who God was and what he had recently done for them as well as what he did for their parents, and he reiterated a long list of statutes that he gave them some time previously, reminded them of the success of leaving Egypt, surviving the desert, and conquering the first portions of the promised land (Deuteronomy 5:1-6 referencing the history of the previous 4 books of Moses), “I am THAT God, and you shall have no other.”

Our own American founding fathers made it very clear by carvings in the building stones of Washington DC, and by their writings regarding the establishment of this nation, that they saw a very direct parallel of America’s separation from England with Israel’s separation from Egypt. The foundational laws of this land support and are not in conflict with the laws statues and judgments given through Moses, but wisely applied in the law of liberty. Our foundational laws are not in fear of legalism but were very inspired by God to apply the law in the couch of freedom. Incredible the superhuman wisdom of the founders to write such a document! Those men were so skilled in the word of God as to divide it faithfully into the laws of our nation without bringing us unwilling into the bondage of legalism to religion. Our national laws do not demand we maintain God as our single Lord, but they sure protect for us that right to do so and strongly encourage the same. Our National Constitution is an implement of grace!

Now, having recently cast the Holy Bible (which contained the law) from our classrooms of education, today’s America is fully engrossed with Gaia; the Mother Earth goddess through the Green movement, Evolution, Naturalism, Globalism and many other controlling philosophies contrary to God. But this is just the beginning as Barack Obama has opened that door wide by stating to the nations;

“Whatever we once were we are no longer a Christian nation (pause) at least not just; We are also a Jewish nation a Muslim nation and a Buddhist nation, and a Hindu nation, and a nation of none believers…” *2.

This declaration of pluralism is not speaking of nationalities or philosophies but their gods, just as exampled by Belshazzar in Daniel 5:4 reflecting the gods of history’s nations (Daniel 2:31) and two others representing the universally common lesser gods of strange nations (Ezekiel 20:32, Deuteronomy 28:64). So how is it that a nation full of Christians voted in a man with such Christless philosophies? How Christian are these voting masses? It seems evident that these voters hold other gods with other values in direct disobedience to God’s first command. So honestly, Who is the god of the families of these voting masses? Is it the same god of compromise that leads their daughters to conduct themselves unseemly and their sons to become criminals while confident that they are Christians?

God's only command to Adam was that he not partake of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil (Genesis 2:17). To know good or evil is to partake of its fruit to taste and see how you like it, this tree possessed the fruit that showed the differences between them and the Characters of both good and evil for personal comparison evaluation. It was not that they did not know good before they ate the fruit, but that the tree was a deviation from simple obedience to the gaining of options with knowledge in order to make an informed personal decision. They would have been far better off to simply obey God rather than to have made a god of their own opinions which was sparked by a voice other than the Creator (Matthew 6:24).

(#2) “Thou shalt not make thee any graven images…”

Doesn’t this seem to simply be redundant of #1? Well no. Obviously a statue you worship is a god that is already forbidden in the first commandment so this commandment must have additional meaning. And as we read the details of this commandment we learn more of what makes this commandment different.

While these of the second commandment are powerless human works of inanimate representations of other creations, those of the first commandment include actual supernatural powerful entities that pose as God, such as Selena's Rock God that has captivated her until she is powerless to pull away though she knows where he leads is in opposition to the one she claims is her Lord and Savior. Graven images have their powerful demons too but they pull on us differently. If we simply generalize the commandments we grow dull in thinking and conclude that as long as we don’t have a Buddha on our dash we are good here. This leaves the door wide open to actual supernatural powers to deceive us into thinking they are of God or are God himself (Deuteronomy 13:1-5) “If its not an idol, but rather supernatural, it must really be God” (Deuteronomy 17:2-3).

But Graven images we know cannot move or speak or act? "Those are harmless imitations, it’s just all in fun!" Riiiight. Thus the second specific commandment; Don't! (Exodus 23:13). This fits the category of Christians taken by “harmless” Harry Potter; “It’s just a movie, it can't hurt me, It’s all in harmless pretend” as their Christian children run around in the back yard with “magic wands” casting spells on each other, the strong pull has the same result as Selena's Rock God. See also post 208 Two Masters July 12, 2011 (http://when-did-reason-die.blogspot.com/2011/07/two-masters.html).

Now while the ancient Jews were prone to worshiping some inanimate image of man’s creation, Americans feel confident in our superior intellect to disdain such foolishness. Yet we close our eyes to the god status we place on our cars and toys and homes that drive us to work for them, and we protect them with wrath against our fellow man who will go so far as to kill to take them. Are these then not gods? No, I am pretty sure this is not actually the full meaning of this command, but we take liberality to excess until we find ourselves actually worshiping carved images, which is forbidden and have no idea how we got to such a place. You who go to church on Sunday in duty as you can’t seem to stay awake no matter how hard you try, do your children see your eyes light up afterwards when you take the Jet-Skies out for a day in the sun and have all the energy in the world? Where is your love in reality? Can they not see this?

(#3) “Thou shalt not take the name of the LORD thy God in vain: for the LORD will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain.”

Oh, this one stirs up a lot of sudden opinion! The number one argument I hear regarding this command is that it means; “in general spirit; Don’t act ungodly”. Taking the name of God as in II Chronicles 2:14 is a claim to be a follower of God. Taking that name in vain means to claim to belong to God but act otherwise as in Romans 1:18+ (see all the way to the end). Well that sure fits my whole argument to which I say “Amen”.

But let me offer an even more direct interpretation that is almost always immediately rejected with force for unexplainable reasons: To take the name of God in vain is to speak his name in blasphemy (Leviticus 24:11-16) *3. To call upon God or to speak of Jehovah is one thing, but to use his name as an expletive is a misuse and wicked. How is the name of the Most High God; The Creator of all that is; the Only God in heaven above and upon the earth beneath, how is it possible that such a name could be so unworthily uttered as the lowest of human speech?

The Jews of old got it; They in fear of God would not utter his name even in holy worship, and the Muslims of today get it still as they kill all who would misuse the name of their god. You do not casually vomit the name of your god as filthy gutter words! And you don’t politely tolerate it in your houseguests *5. But Christian Americans? Constantly without even a cringe of recognition.

Do you wish to contend my claim?

Choose your favorite 5 Hollywood movies from your shelves in your own Christian home. Now watch them as you listen for the name of God to be used in the blasphemy of expletive. Unless you are extremely rare (or you cheated and hand selected them with this in mind), you will find at least 4 of the 5 blaspheme the name of God… but you didn’t know that until I pointed it out. Why? Because it just doesn’t matter enough to you. But worse; now that you do know, you will not get rid of them for something as insignificant as that;

"That's legalism!"

Hmmm.

And if you throw them away resentfully because it’s a law, then it is legalism. But what if you know it offends the one you love? Could you if you wanted to, or do you have to keep them to remain in grace? And what if, now that you have new understanding, they actually offended YOU by disparaging the one you deeply love, could you throw them away now without a feeling of bondage to a law? In fact wouldn’t you throw them away even if there was no law demanding it?

If the Jews of Egypt were not protected from the Death Angel except they spill the blood of the Passover lamb AND THEN REMAIN INDOORS BEHIND THAT BLOOD, what makes you think that God somehow no longer cares that his people use his name in vain because Jesus died for them? Just because we are offered protection does not make us guiltless of abuse. God added that bit to confirm this is not negotiable or waivable; “…for the LORD will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain”.

How free do you fearlessly abuse the name of the Great God and then run to Jesus when God’s anger rises? The only thing missing is the classic phrase of a spoiled child hiding behind his big brother taunting; “Na-na-Na-na, Naaa-na”  in the confidence of feeling protected!

As a personal note for whatever it’s worth, I have found a very receptive and rewarding God as I burned more than 1000 personal movies that used God’s name in vain, and committed to walk out on any movie or TV show that does. As you can imagine this has dramatically cut down on my media intake, which in itself has a list of great benefits. But high among them is that this very expensive and costly effort has made me keenly aware of God’s name and the abuses of it that fly like leaves in a fall storm. I cannot recommend this enough but caution against doing so as bondage to a law and outside the Spirit of God’s movement in your life. Seek God in this matter and respond with conviction rather than preference or duty; The reward is incredible (Deuteronomy 5:29).

(#4) “Keep the Sabbath day to sanctify it, as the LORD thy God hath commanded thee”. This post is already getting long, but we must consider why Moses adds; “as the LORD thy God hath commanded thee.” Moses was standing on the East side of the river about to send the people over the river to conquer the Promised Land. Moses was not allowed by God to go with them and so was giving them his last instructions before being separated from them. The commandments of God had already been given to them in detail and Moses was only now just giving them a last will and testament reminder that he hoped would stick with them in the drama of his “dying words” so to speak. So to really get what God actually meant regarding the keeping of the Sabbath, we need to go back into the books of Moses to read the details (Exodus 16, 20, 31, 35, Leviticus 16, 23, 25 and 26) and then the books of their history to see how it went (II Kings 11:7, I &2 Chronicles) and then the prophet’s words revealing God’s perspective of their observance (Nehemiah, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Hosea and Amos). Now as I said, this is already a long post and so I will not go back to cover it at this time. Perhaps this might be a good quest that will encourage you to read with new interest the Torah (five books of Moses) and the entire Old Testament (Tanakh).

Of all the things that bring God’s wrath on his own people, the historical scriptures show that the violation of honoring the Sabbath is very high on the list (Isaiah 58:13, Jeremiah 17:27, Ezekiel 22:26 to name only a few.) If all the other of the 10 Commandments have such current and practical application, how much might this one hold as well? In my own life and personal conviction I have learned A LOT about the value of the Sabbath as completely separate from the Christian Sunday worship. That’s all I’m going to say on the matter here and allow the Spirit of God to work with you as you allow. But if you allow, God will blow your mind and again the rewards are beyond description. God is not kidding when he makes a short list of commands.

* * *

“Now these are the commandments, the statutes, and the judgments, which the LORD your God commanded to teach you, that ye might do them in the land whither ye go to possess it: That (the purpose) thou mightest fear the LORD thy God…” Deuteronomy 6:1-2a.

By our abandonment of the Law we have become utterly casual with the Almighty. A lack of fear for the dangerous kills people at work every day. It’s not rocket science. There are three different “types” of instruction by Moses; Commandments (like the 10 we covered), statutes and judgments. They are all instruction but have somewhat different applications and jurisdictions just as our modern governments have. Moses repeatedly directed them to pay attention to these instructions, which would teach them to fear the LORD God.

“And thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up” Deuteronomy 6:7.

It is really hard not to get the point that these instructions of God are to be a way of life and a premiere topic of daily conversation, yet today’s Christians can hardly stomach a whole hour once a week at church before hurrying home to turn on the game and enjoy a time of manly bonding with “my boy”. And yet these same fathers are utterly stumped that God did not keep their sons from drugs or alcohol or gangs or corruption or violence or any of a myriad of worldly entanglements in departing from the faith. My heart breaks as I watch the very young of my Christian friends grow up before me and change from youthful innocence with so much potential, to rebellious, empty, confused, worldly vagabonds and worse. And their parents ask with broken hearts and pleading eyes; “What happened, Why did God not keep them from destruction?”  Yet with hands over their eyes and fingers in their ears they would not hear the warnings that it was coming. Why? Because they failed to walk in the commandments of God and teach their children to do so as well and so they lost the fear of God that would protect them, but rather lived a powerless religion of compromise that comforted their conscience while doing what pleased them in their American-moral lives. By comparing themselves with others worse than themselves they convinced themselves that they were obedient to God.

Are these disobedient still saved? It seems evident in scripture that they are *4, but by disobedience they live in the tribulation and anguish promised;

“Tribulation and anguish, upon every soul of man that doeth evil, of the Jew first, and also of the Gentile… for not the hearers of the law are just before God, but the doers of the law shall be justified” Romans 2:9-16.

The passage goes on to describe the Gentile Christians without the law actually doing by nature the things contained in the law (Romans 2:14) but is that also describing the Gentile Christians who don’t do the things contained in the law? NO!

Remember, the Jews were the natural branches broken off for us Gentiles (Romans 11:19-21), so how is it that Gentiles do by nature the things the Jews wouldn’t do and were broken off for it? Because of the Holy Spirit of God who was given to us through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ. But what then if we never get, or later abuse, the instruction of the Holy Spirit in our hearts? Will we not be more readily broken off for our own disobedience by forgetting the law written on our hearts (Romans 11:21-24) or supposing we have that writing but don’t? Be very earnest that you, living in the last days, do not forget that law on your hearts as the Jews forgot them that were written on stone. They are not different laws but the same laws by One God, only the people are different and so too the vehicle of the same law.

Romans 7 is a favorite chapter of the rebellious Gentile Christian to argue against the usefulness of the law, but it is important to note verse 1;

“Know ye not, brethren, (for I speak to them that know the law,)…” Romans 7:1a.

His whole dissertation on departing from the law unto Christ is speaking to those already very familiar with law. But if we Gentiles never got, or have forgotten, the law of Christ written on our hearts, where are we to go to get correction? Oh what a dangerous place to find oneself!

“…Is the law sin? God forbid. Nay, I had not known sin, but by the law: for I had not known lust, except the law had said, Thou shalt not covet” Romans 7:7.

“Was then that which is good made death unto me? God forbid. But sin, that it might appear sin, working death in me by that which is good; that sin by the commandment might become exceeding sinful” Romans 7:13.

By the deceitfulness of sin and the lust of the flesh, many Gentile believers have in disobedience quenched the Spirit that opens our eyes to this truth. Yet with our eyes focused on the sin of others, we understand that we must use the Ten Commandments to convict the sinner; whether Jew or Pagan… so why not Christian! The end result is a fresh recognition of sin that leads to repentance. This is the meaning of the above verse 13.

How long will American Christians live in the promised resulting destruction while practicing dirty grace? If American Christians simply studied the law and prophets and discussed them with their families in earnest curiosity and interest, then there would be no confusion as to what is good and what is evil. The discussion of legalizing abortion, or sodomy, or drugs would not be confusing, and with knowledge the children would grow up in the fear of the LORD and most would avoid the dangers of youthful lusts. In the wisdom of God our youth would know how to approach our city councils and state governments to produce good and powerful laws rather than be led by subversive powers to “occupy” in rebellion against what they know not, in favor of what they have not considered.

Handling the Law of God is very much like Gun ownership; Just because you pack one does not mean you have to use it. Just familiarizing yourself with it and knowing how to use it creates a great respect for its power, and it has been said makes for “a polite society”.

Thomas Jefferson knew the Law of God and trembled for his country when he considered that God is Just and that his justice cannot sleep forever. Obama is actually just a small portion of God’s justice waking to action against wild branches who have forgotten that they were but grafted in. But we are yet offered a last hope of redemption;

“If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sins, and will heal their land” II Chronicles 7:14.

Does this post help explain “What wicked ways?” And, “What do I need to be humble about?” And, “What should I pray for?”

* * * * * * *

*1 If my teaching is construed into a directive toward legalism, it is by those already compromised in dirty grace and their existing faith will in fact sink if the holes in their doctrine are not repaired. I am NOT recommending a bondage to the law that could not even save the Jews to whom the law was given. This topic is not about salvation but going on in faith as encouraged by Hebrew 6:1.

*2 America is not a Christian nation - Barack Obama speech 1 (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LXcvbnzNIjg&feature=related) speech 2 (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dnRBaNIGkCQ&feature=related)

*3 post 118 “ The Flying Roll” Nov. 10, 2010 (http://when-did-reason-die.blogspot.com/2010/11/flying-roll.html)

*4 "If any man's work shall be burned, he shall suffer loss: but he himself shall be saved; yet so as by fire" I Corinthians 3:15.

This passage is speaking of building on the foundation of salvation in Jesus Christ, but have you ever seen the face of a woman severely burned in a fire? It’s the same woman, and she lived, but oh the scars that forever change her presentation to the world!

"Whosoever therefore shall break one of these least commandments, and shall teach men so, he shall be called the least in the kingdom of heaven..." Matthew 5:19.

Did this person make it in? Yes; but as if by fire. Think about it.

 

"My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge: because thou hast rejected knowledge, I will also reject thee, that thou shalt be no priest to me: seeing thou hast forgotten the law of thy God, I will also forget thy children" Hosea 4:6.

*5 “The Stranger

A few years after I was born, my Dad met a stranger who was new to our small town. From the beginning, Dad was fascinated with this enchanting newcomer and soon invited him to live with our family. The stranger was quickly accepted and was around from then on.

As I grew up, I never questioned his place in my family. In my young mind, he had a special niche. My parents were complementary instructors: Mom taught me good from evil, and Dad taught me to obey. But the stranger... he was our storyteller. He would keep us spellbound for hours on end with adventures, mysteries and comedies.

If I wanted to know anything about politics, history or science, he always knew the answers about the past, understood the present and even seemed able to predict the future! He took my family to the first major league ball game. He made me laugh, and he made me cry. The stranger never stopped talking, but Dad didn't seem to mind.

Sometimes, Mom would get up quietly while the rest of us were shushing each other to listen to what he had to say, and she would go to the kitchen for peace and quiet. (I wonder now if she ever prayed for the stranger to leave.)

Dad ruled our household with certain moral convictions, but the stranger never felt obligated to honor them. Profanity, for example, was not allowed in our home - not from us, our friends or any visitors. Our long time visitor, however, got away with four-letter words that burned my ears and made my dad squirm and my mother blush. My Dad didn't permit the liberal use of alcohol but the stranger encouraged us to try it on a regular basis. He made cigarettes look cool, cigars manly, and pipes distinguished. He talked freely (much too freely!) about sex. His comments were sometimes blatant, sometimes suggestive, and generally embarrassing.

I now know that my early concepts about relationships were influenced strongly by the stranger. Time after time, he opposed the values of my parents, yet he was seldom rebuked... And NEVER asked to leave.

More than fifty years have passed since the stranger moved in with our family. He has blended right in and is not nearly as fascinating as he was at first. Still, if you could walk into my parents' den today, you would still find him sitting over in his corner, waiting for someone to listen to him talk and watch him draw his pictures.
His name?....

We just call him 'TV.' ”

-Internet author unknown

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