Laws of Faith and Liberty

Post 237 

Now remember it was the Apostle Paul who told us in I Corinthians 10:6&11 to use the Old Testament Hebrews as an ensample for our own New Testament Gentile faith in God, not because it was just a reasonable coincidence but because what they experienced happened specifically for our education. And the context of Paul’s instruction was to be understood in the attitude (spirit) of gratefulness that leads to action (chapter 9) as opposed to their feelings of resentful obligatory compliance.

Paul made it clear that although all of them received the representing benefits provided by God that we received *1, not all of them pleased God very much and many were overthrown in the wilderness. We learn later that only two of that first generation actually entered into the Promised Land to possess it *2 so its safe to say that excluding a tiny remnant, All of that generation were lost to the wilderness in spite of Moses’ successful intercession not to destroy them on the spot when their sin stirred up God’s wrath (Exodus 32:9-14). So while the Exodus Hebrews were in name under the law, were they not also as we; under the grace of Christ through Moses who meditated between God and sinners? And yet they failed to attain the prize; are we really so different then? (I Corinthians 9:24-27).

It is this same Paul who told us to use them as an ensample, that also wrote the famous Romans 5,6, and 7 chapters extensively used by those who promote the devil’s doctrine to be content in sin because we are no longer under the law. Clearly Paul had something else in mind as is made evident by his many other writings regarding our “obligation” to works as I have shown, but since their ensample of trusting in the law obviously didn’t work for them thereby condemning our own turn to the Jewish law of works, what could he have had in mind; We must do works but works wont save us?

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The Laws of Faith and Liberty: (Romans 3:27+31, James 1:25+2:12)

The early history of our once great nation is as good an example as has ever been to date. The very reason why the Gentile Christian pilgrims came to America was to escape the law of the king of England. That king was a tyrant and cruel and oppressive as evidenced by the itemized list of the Declaration of Independence, and yet by scripture the king (and thus his law) was ordained by God (Exodus 22:28, Habakkuk 1:12, Romans 13:1-2, Hebrews 13:17, I Peter 2:17). So in the fullness of time and the leading of God they were blessed to set sail away from that law of bondage (a type of Egypt), through the wilderness of the sea to far away regions of unknown events and hardships. But their prevailing focus (law) was faith in God though they struggled to know how to implement that faith practically in those unfamiliar events (trials and tribulations; James 1:1-5).

      

One such early implementation as a result of social difficulty encountered was the Mayflower Compact. Was the Compact a law? Well kind of, but more accurately it was a pledge that collectively was agreed to keep for the good of the whole. It was a first law of liberty sourced on the law of faith that motivated their common goals.

And so goes the structures of the legal systems of the new nation until finally culminating in a federal unifying government of protection for the independent states. That unifying government was made firm and sure by the Constitution of the United States; a law of liberty built on the Declaration of Independence; a law of faith. Where then is anarchy, Where is lawlessness in this new nation who fled from the law of kings? (I Chronicles 16:21-22) It is not found but in the wicked and hurtful factions that would not have such laws rule over them (Luke 19:14).

Yet America did not just replace one oppressive law for another in kind; the laws of this land were of another sort; these are of the law of Liberty based upon the law of Faith unlike the oppressive religious laws of the Church of England supporting the will of the king. Like the law of works and the law of liberty, In structure they have similar first appearances but the results are nothing alike. The very foundation of these elevated laws of faith and liberty are the two greatest commandments (Matthew 22:36-40). On these two commandments hang all the laws of liberty and faith as well as Moses and the prophets.

But laws of liberty built on the law of faith by their very nature cannot work for a wicked people who have neither godly faith nor its kind of liberty. So laws of Do and Don’t Do are written for a wayward people who need external restraints (I Timothy 1:9); and so we see our federal government, originally created for our protection from others, now writing ineffective laws attempting to protect us from ourselves. And since our form of government is derived and implemented from among the people then it is of our wicked selves whom we vote into office to write new laws. These wayward men misapplying and misusing this form of government by the law of liberty without the foundation of faith, are now by its nature destroying us because we are no longer righteous. The result is declared in tangible reality by the destruction of the twin towers on 911 *3 as God withdraws his spirit of protection.

While our founders understood that liberty is not the right to do what you want (anarchy) but rather the freedom to do what you should (law of faith), today our people and thus our Statesmen have no knowledge of our original documents or the deeper meaning behind our founders’ work (available only in part in the Federalist Papers) so we cannot understand what made the system so great in the first place and have no idea how to heal our land as we write faithless law after law in the confusion of anarchical liberty. And so by our own lawlessness against the law of faith by misapplying the law of liberty the land is now about to vomit us out of it (Leviticus 18:25) just as did the Promised Land of those Jews who eventually possessed it under the law of faith and works. The law of works is also built on the law of faith for a people with less internal law, but then like us they forgot the actual law of faith and replaced it with tradition and so failed to use the law of works properly. But I get ahead of myself.

If the law of faith in God is the bedrock foundational focus, then the laws of the structure’s foundation of liberty or even works can be anchored to it as evidenced by Jesus’ declaration of the greatest two commandments. That footing will last forever unless the bedrock faith is intentionally dynamited or slowly chiseled away by someone foreign or domestic (Numbers 14:36),

“But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him” Hebrews 11:6.

This is the reason why we can confidently build on that foundation seemingly any ol’ thing we want and it will remain until the judgment fire of the end where it will be judged of its worth, but until then who can judge it? (Romans 8:1) excluding of course full perversion which was immediately dealt with on the spot in the wilderness. This is why the Exodus people made it all the way to the final exam of entering in but failed at that judgment. Therefore what you build on that foundation should be seriously considered if it is of the faith or something else (I Corinthians 3:15 as opposed to John 15:6).

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Following Moses was not enough:

Did not all the people experience the salvation of the Passover? And did not all of them follow the savior Moses out of Egypt? Did they not follow him through the Red Sea in baptism? Did they not follow him into the wilderness where God himself fed them and watered them with provision unavailable but by the power of God? Did they not see the cloud of God and follow Moses wherever it led? Its true that along the way a few of them fell in the wilderness but in fact most the people successfully followed Moses right up to the river where he instructed them to go in and possess the land promised! Bravo! Good job! You made it!

Almost.

After experiencing God’s mighty miraculous care provision and protection on the journey, why would they now fear to go in and take possession of what God himself declared was theirs and the conclusion of the journey? Was not the plagues of Egypt enough to teach them the power of God to rescue? Was not the dry sea pathway enough to show his limitless power to save? Was not the leading cloud by day and the protecting pillar of fire by night enough? Was not the bread of heaven just waiting to be collected without tilling and planting and harvesting enough? Was not the Rock which miraculously split when struck producing water for man and cattle in a land virtually desolate of water enough? Was not the burning mountain, the voice of God himself or the glowing face of Moses enough!?  In longsuffering God pardoned them 10 times for their heartless, will-less following in the spirit of complaint (Numbers 14:22) *4. How much forgiveness is enough?

What would it take to make these people believe that God was there with them and would not let them fail if they would but believe God in faith? But that is just the point; it wasn’t about proof it was about desire, and they just wanted to follow their wayward heart… though as former slaves they were willing to go along wherever led, so long as it was not too uncomfortable.

After all that proof and experience with God who forgave their sins repeatedly (Numbers 14:19b), they failed to believe God, and in the same heart and spirit and might they displayed the entire journey, they failed when the final exam came (Numbers 14:1-4, Deuteronomy 1:26-28,32), and so although God pardoned them again, he would not forgive them this time (Numbers 14:19a, 20) but turned them away where they all died in the wilderness though it took 40 years of aimless wandering to do the job (Numbers 14:33-35).

Moses was still their leader (Numbers 14:25, Deuteronomy 2:1). God still provided guidance (Numbers 16:42-17). It was still the same wilderness (Deuteronomy 1:40). In fact immediately after giving them their death sentence Exodus 15 begins by God giving Moses more laws for them when they eventually do enter the Promised Land *5. To them this was just one more forgiveness in a now long list of familiar forgiveness’s; “No big deal, that is what God does”. In all appearance nothing had changed, but they were all nonetheless dead men and would never see the Promised Land let along possess it. They had been rejected by God, and all their apologetic crying and tardy “attempts to do the job instructed because they didn’t like the alternative”, were too late and to no avail (Numbers 14:39-45, Deuteronomy 1:41-45) giving deeper meaning to both layers of Hebrews 12:17, which of course was written for our New Testament age today as was the history of the Exodus people.

Remember all those verses saying plainly that God is always the same, and yet the irreconcilability of the vast differences between the Old and New Testament rules? Somehow its now a lot easier to see both Testaments are indeed from the same God who never changes.

So if going through the motions and following Moses all the way to the Promised land did not get them in, will doing the same with Jesus himself get us into the Kingdom of Heaven?

So why not kill them on the spot? (Numbers 14:15)

Why did God further waste his time and Moses’ life, and delay the two faithful from entering in? Knowing this end, why did he not kill them all back when they wanted to stone Moses in disbelief (Exodus 17:4)? What good was the baptism of water and cloud? What good was the bread of heaven? What good was the Rock of water to them but to delay their death in that same wilderness where they wandered, which is what they feared all along? (Numbers 14:28-29). It did them no good at all but to extend their existence in a harsh land. But remember your life is not about you, and neither was theirs *6; “Now these things were our ensamples, to the intent we should not...”, So in fact the delay in their destruction was of great worth on several points though it did little for them but let them die off in old age.

Great among the list of benefits is that they produced the next generation of Hebrews (Deuteronomy 1:39). If God had destroyed them early on then the race and people would have been wiped out and God would not have kept his promise to Abraham. Therefore we see that Moses’ continuing labor of care was not for them but for their children; the generation that would enter in by faith.

How do you suppose those children learned what was necessary though their parents did not? Perhaps in part by the education of the parents mistakes they taught their children. For the next 40 years you can imagine the common phrase among the people was; “We were right there at the door!” (Luke 13:23-27). Likewise, after America is rejected from the land for the same reason and our people become as all the other suffering third world nations and worse, we will be constantly remembering how good we had it but were too self absorbed with pleasure, lethargy and tolerance of wickedness to keep it. We will desire to tell our children about the land of dreams and plenty for all even as they hold their hungry tummies and snuggle up to us against the cold as we try to get some moments of sleep from the long day of laboring for our taskmasters, but we will not be given that privilege as our children will be imprisoned elsewhere.

America will be the sweatshops of the nations as our products will be sold in glorious Babylon’s WallsMart and Ameriostco stores, and the world will love our cheep prices. But our children will not hear our remorseful instruction because they were not given the promise to return as were the Jews. But again I get ahead of myself, my point here is our national foundations on the laws of Faith and Liberty were what made us the “promised land” of the Gentile era, or better said; The prototype of the Kingdom of Heaven. We lived in that place! But we were not content to dwell there in faith as reasonably obligatory by the magnificent gifts of our God. Like the Exodus people we complain against God because his ways are too burdensome and go against our lusts, which “everyone” says are OK.

How much more the wrath of God on those who have actually lived in the improved prototype kingdom of heaven under the New Testament laws of Faith and Liberty than those who never got to the Promised Land by works? (Hebrews 2:2-3, 4:1, 10:17-18, 26-27, 29,38 etc.) But I get ahead of myself again; the scriptures still have much more to show us on this matter.

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*1 Why This List of Four Things?

As a type, Salvation took place at a single point in time; the Passover in Egypt and the people were freed to depart from sin and worship God (Exodus 12:13,21-23,31). This is a one time event for every believer who applies the blood of our lamb Jesus Christ to the heart soul and might doorposts of our life (Deuteronomy 6:5). But after that we are shown more of the faith:

·       Baptism through the Sea unto Moses is a type of the baptism of water unto Christ. This happens one time for each believer very near the beginning of his spiritual journey (Acts 8:35-38).

·       Baptism in the cloud unto Moses (Exodus 19:9,16 + 20:18-19, Numbers 11:25) is the type of dwelling in the shadow of the almighty (Psalm 91:1). This is being constantly under the care and watchful eye of God the Father as we follow what he tells Christ (John 8:28, 12:49, 14:10).

·       Daily provision of Manna is a type of the Bread of Life; Jesus’ body. This is the daily word of God which Jesus taught his disciples to pray for (Matthew 6:11), it is the needful daily sustenance for all believers (Matthew 4:4) until we enter the kingdom of heaven (Exodus 16:35).

·       Water from the Rock is a type of indwelling of the Holy Spirit who teaches us all things (John 14:26), that prophetically is most always represented as flowing water. This is received through the broken body of Jesus Christ the Rock that was struck (I Corinthians 10:4) and this one time dose is perpetually refreshing (John 4:14).

*2 Two First-gens Did Enter In:

Joshua and Caleb (Numbers 13:8,16, 14:24, 30, 37-38). There is a great clue in why they made it; “But my servant Caleb because he had another spirit within him, and hath followed me fully…” Numbers 14:24. Joshua was barely of the first generation (Numbers 11:28) and his mission was different from the twelve (Numbers 13:16).

*3 The Destruction of the Twin Towers

was made possible by the misapplication of our laws of liberty which allowed our known enemies the freedom to dwell among us, use our resources and programs to learn how to fly our own airplanes, full of our own people, into our own buildings. The misuse of our law of liberty is what opens our borders to those who would kill our farmers steal their lands and destroy our people with drugs and violence. The misuse of our law of liberty allows us the freedom to kill our own unborn children without shame or remorse. It allows wickedness to run free and do what wickedness does which is to oppress the law of faith in God. The law of liberty in the hands of the wicked is self-destructive but not before it sets up the framework for a more violent law of religious oppression as was found in England from which our forefathers fled in hardship. But having been freed of England once, we can only expect what comes to be seven times worse (Matthew 12:43-45).

*4 Ten Times Pardoned, Nine Time Forgiven: (Numbers 14:22) Expanded in post 238 “ Nine Times Forgiven” (http://when-did-reason-die.blogspot.com/2012/03/nine-times-forgiven.html).

*5 These “Numbers Chapter 15” Laws

that were given after the rejection, were for the next generation, but the transition was so smooth it was not noticed even as many reading that history don’t even see it. Note that these laws were of sacrifices for sins of ignorance as they were the young generation.  While sins of ignorance is readily forgiven in 15:24 as well as I John 1:9, Numbers 15:30-31 declares that presumption is unforgiven and is confirmed in Hebrews 10:26.

*6 We Too Are Ensamples For Still Others:

Philippians 3:17, I Thessalonians 1:7, II Thessalonians 3:9, I Peter 5:3, Hebrews 12:1.

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