When Lucifer rebelled in heaven, he didn’t set out to be a lawbreaker. He was overawed at his own beauty and intelligence and he wanted to be like the Most High. He coveted God’s position. With these feelings fermenting inside him, he had to somehow ingratiate himself in the eyes of his fellow angels. To do this he formulated a plan. He would begin to ever so subtly undermine the authority of God. His jealousy he would disguise and express as concern. He would be seen as a benefactor – one with insights that others of his kind did not have.
Would there have been a 10 commandment law in heaven at that time? There would have been no need for it. All had been harmony and peace and goodwill. Hadn’t God given His creation His own character which was love? There was therefore no need for constraints. Those angelic beings didn’t need to be told to worship no other gods. They didn’t need to be told not to kill or steal. There was not even a Sabbath day prior to the creation of this world. That was Gods ideal then and it is His ideal now. That has always been the case.
When the rebellion became apparent, God then stepped in as a lawmaker. He exercised His right to do so. In doing so He revealed a side of His character that had never before been known. The angels went ahead in faith – in following the Most High to war. God would have told them, this is the way it has to be. “And there was war in heaven. Michael and his angels fought against the dragon, and the dragon and his angels fought back. But he was not strong enough, and they lost their place in heaven.” Rev.12:7,8NIV From that point onward, the angels – who did not fall under Lucifer’s spell were aware of good and evil. They believed God and understood that evil had to be confronted and eventually destroyed.
They would have been watching with bated breath when Satan was allowed access to the new creation with its two new inhabitants. There was the warning to Adam that if he were to partake of the tree of knowledge he would die – still no l0 commandment law, just a simple test of loyalty. When evil took hold of this beautiful new creation the angels beheld the plan that God had formulated swing into action. Remember there had been war in heaven and Satan and his angels had been cast out. For probably the first time in their existence they had been familiarized with and told how to use – force. And now they were confronted with its necessity on planet earth. Angels with flaming swords were placed at the entrance to the Garden of Eden. (Gen.3:24) These angelic beings were confronted with the need for enforcement perhaps for the first time on our planet.
The presence of these angels with flaming swords is fraught with meaning. It tells us that history could have taken a different path. Their were two possible pathways at that time:
1. If fallen man had access to the tree of life there would have been immortal sinners. This possibility is shown by the fact that God went to special lengths to ensure that fallen man did not have access to the tree of life. (Gen.3:22)
2. Complete restoration.
The first possibility was denied at the outset for reasons only fully known to the Creator. We can reason that it would have involved a softly, softly approach to rebellion. Initially it may have meant no pain but in the long term law and order would have broken down resulting in a universe of sentimentalism. We can only make these observations from a human perspective.
The second possibility would involve ultimately complete restoration of what man, angels and God had lost. It would be a hard and a painful way. It would involve a new concept called law. It would involve condemnation. “…the Scripture declares that the whole world is a prisoner of sin..” Gal.3:22 NIV It would involve complete redemption. “Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us..” Gal.3:13 NIV
Death would have been an unknown to Adam and Eve and probably even the angels. But when leaves began to fall and wither the reality of it all would have begun to sink in. But perhaps the hardest lesson was the death of the first animal. Its cries as it was killed by one who it had believed was its protector would have brought anguish to both men and angels.
Surely this was force – warfare – law and consequence being brought to a new level. For even the angels this must have been a trial – perhaps even a trial of faith. All this as a consequence of God’s authority being questioned? This may have been in the mind of all creation at that time. When really, Scripture reveals, that it went deeper than this. It had begun in the inner thoughts of the most beautiful of created beings – Lucifer. (Isa.14:12-14)
God could not allow sin to be perpetuated. It had to be destroyed.
“the soul that sinneth, it shall die.” Eze.18:4 “for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.” Gen.2:17 “What do ye imagine against the Lord? He will make an utter end; affliction shall not rise up the second time.” Nahum 1:9
It will not be perpetuated. There is no immortality for sinners. Suffering and death was ever to be the consequence of broken laws. Rules and regulations (which weren’t even apparent before the introduction of doubt and rebellion) were now in force. And God Himself was behind all of this enforcement, this punishment. And God’s creation must have asked itself, ‘Is this the way it will always have to be now?’ God was revealing a side of His character which never before had been apparent – there had been no need for it. And the Most High took responsibility for all that had happened. He wasn’t involved in blame as we are often so prone to do. He took it fairly on His shoulders.
If law and retribution were never part of God’s original perfect will, why then did He choose that way? The soft approach which would have involved no pain would ultimately lead to an unstable universe in danger of collapse. God reconciled His gentleness, which is His true character, with the way of law when He bore the full penalty for that law. His gentleness then can once again rule without the danger of slipping into self indulgent anarchy. Satan’s accusations of harshness, secrecy and manipulativness suddenly become impotent and meaningless. This was a God who suffered the most extreme torture at the behest of His own law. He was the lamb slain from the foundation of the world. (Rev.13:8) Jesus the Creator said, I made all of this, I will suffer the consequences of My own law.
Up until then, Lucifer may have had some credibility in his insinuations. There was a part of Gods’ nature that perhaps He didn’t want to reveal. God was capable of secrecy and harshness.
For the first 4000 years of this world’s history, crime and punishment, cause and effect, law and retribution, was demonstrated. And all of creation must have asked, ‘Is this how it is going to be forever?’
But their came a time when God said, ‘enough’! And what a painful time that was. The suffering and pain that had fallen upon God’s creation then fell upon God Himself. The old way of dealing with sin and rebellion had come to an end. When Jesus in His agony cried, ‘It is finished’, He knew what He was saying. What was finished? The old way – law and retribution, crime and punishment, cause and effect. At that time the veil of the temple was torn from top to bottom. (Matt.27:51) The old way where God had communicated with us through His sanctuary service was gone. The law which sat in the heart of the Sanctuary and which had been the rationale’ for all of those animal sacrifices for so many generations had been nailed to the cross. It had been “done away”(2Cor.3:7). Therefore there was now no need for the sanctuary service with its shadows and reminders. Jesus had provided a way out, a circuit breaker, not just for man but for all of creation – man, angels, and the innocent animals. A serious reading of Scripture (and indeed a study of any serious revival since the days of the early church) would seem to indicate that it was God’s intention to finish His work and return to this world very soon after Jesus’ ascension. The disciples expected His return in their day. Christians involved in the great revivals of the mid nineteenth century expected Jesus to return at that time. Were all of these people misled or was that God’s intention at those times? Was it God’s will that the horrors of the dark ages descended on this world? Was it His will that this world experienced the cataclysmic hardships of two world wars not to mention the many other horrors of the 20th century?
Before the war in Heaven the qualities manifested in the sanctuary service – justice and retribution – were unknown quantities.
There was no ‘law’. There was no need for it. His creation reflected His character perfectly. God would have wanted His creation to stay ignorant and ‘naive’ of these things. And now in His own way He was bringing His creation back to this state of innocence. Jesus didn’t die so that the old system could be perpetuated. The law was never meant as a revelation of God’s character. It was given as a revelation of His anger against sin. (see 1 Tim.1:9-11)
God did not beat His creation into submission. He led them back to the original Edenic state of peace, rest. The state of heaven before the war in Heaven. He achieved this by taking upon Himself the final stroke of punishment, the ultimate penalty. The law dealt its final blow upon Jesus, the Christ, the Lamb slain from the ‘foundation of the world’, the one altogether lovely. The One who is called, “Wonderful, Counselor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.” Isa.9:6
The law dealt its final, ultimate blow and expired at that time. The bible says of the law, that Jesus “took it out of the way, nailing it to his cross.” Col.2:14 The law killed its Creator – it could do no more. Thereafter, the law, necessary as it was, but foreign as it was to God’s perfect will, was now rendered powerless. It had performed its ultimate act. For the Christian, the law, its power to condemn and bring retribution, is dead, finished. Jesus is alive. To give this transition His seal of approval, His stamp of authority – God gave Pentecost. One only has to read the book of Acts to realize that Gods’ joy and happiness was revealed in the gifts and miracles that He poured onto the church at that time. Paul could say with all honesty, “Did you receive these gifts through keeping the law or through faith?” Gal.3:2 It would seem that the early church in its purity and power, gradually fell away from its exalted position and would fall back to the old ways of law and retribution – the way that man is comfortable with.
The central pivotal commandment around which the other nine hinge was in O.T. times a requirement, a rule, a law, causing retribution to those who disobeyed. “Ye shall keep the Sabbath therefore; for it is holy unto you: every one that defileth it shall surely be put to death: Ex.31:14 In N.T. times the Sabbath is a promise of peace and restoration, of the rest that we can have only in Christ. (Heb.4:3-11) Even in O.T. times when the Sabbath was still binding as a law, its true meaning was hinted at. “Moreover also I gave them my Sabbaths, to be a sign between me and them, that they might know that I am the Lord that sanctify them.” Exe.20:12
God initiated His new way, the new covenant – not into a perfect unfallen world – not into heaven where He dwells – but into a fallen sinful world. This is where Gods’ ultimate remedy for sin is to be tested, tried and proven – amongst fallen, sinful, corrupt, human beings. “…we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us.” II Cor.4:7 In the words of the hymn, ‘O the wonder of it all, the wonder of it all, is the fact that God loves me”.
Heaven, i.e. the original way of heaven – innocence, purity, goodwill, peace, can begin here. It could only begin with the entry of Jesus into the world. Hence the song of the angels – heard for the first time on planet earth. “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, goodwill towards men.” Lk.2:14 Not because God had given us a law which shows us how to live but because we behold ‘Him’ who bore the full penalty of that law. By beholding Him and worshipping Him, we, like Mary Magdalene, are fulfilled. We can only ever surrender to Him, not to righteousness, not to the law which can only ever condemn. But to Jesus who gives life.
Just as there was no need for a law in God’s original creation – it was an unknown quantity. There will be no need for a law in God’s new creation. Once again it will not be necessary. That era began when Jesus died upon the cross. Yes it began in a fallen sinful world. If ever it was going to succeed it would have to be in the toughest of environments.
Satan wants to keep the law prominent – it reminds people of Gods’ harshness. Satan has always said that God is only a God of retribution. He used the first simple restriction as a lever to lead our first parents into sin. (Gen.3:1-6) And until Bethlehem and Calvary his claims may have had some credibility.
The Sabbath in the heart of the law gives credibility to the other nine. In the N.T. Sabbath means rest. God wants His people to have rest – peace. (Heb.4:9) That rest and peace is achieved only in Christ. “Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you…” Jn.14:27
By resting and abiding in Christ the fire of the Holy Spirit can consume the human-ness in ourselves. That is what is taught in the symbolism of the burnt offering in the old testament sanctuary service. (Lev.6:9) The law ‘kills’ and destroys but it is the vehicle through which we are led to Christ. The O.T. gave us that law and also God’s way of dealing with that law – the Sanctuary Service.
The Sabbath and the Burnt Offering are both shadows of:
- The peace and rest we can have in Christ.
- The way we can maintain that peace and rest.
Very rarely are the symbolic truths of the sanctuary service taught correctly today. In fact the sanctuary service is taught in such a way as to keep the so called commandment keeping people in bondage to the law. There’s a whole subject there waiting to be properly addressed.
The ten commandment law is not a wall around us that protects us from the evils of the world although it has often been represented as such. It is there simply to point out sin and confirms the Law Giver. It is a ‘schoolmaster’ who points the finger and condemns.
The Sabbath in the heart of the law is the key to the rest of the law because it confirms the rightful Lawgiver as the one who created. It is the schoolmasters’ strongest and most persuasive argument. But in the New Testament it is the key to the rest and peace that we can have only in Christ. (Heb 4:9-11) The way to achieve that rest is through surrender.
Our approach to the Sabbath shows whether we are in an old covenant legal relationship with God or a new covenant faith relationship with God. The Sabbath is treated differently in the old and new testaments. If we are no longer under the schoolmaster (the law) when we come to Christ, the Sabbath is the litmus test of that fact.
God wanted to keep His original creation in naivety. His creation will never again be naïve’ with its knowledge of good and evil and its consequences. But His creation can again have peace and rest. This could not have been if it hadn’t been for our Creator stepping into the breach and saying, I will take responsibility for all that has happened – I will suffer the consequences of my own law – I will die.
The sting was taken out of the law 2000 years ago. To those who accept Christ the law is finished, done with. The law no longer hangs over them condemning them and telling them what they must do. By accepting and abiding in Christ our minds and hearts are changed, where it counts, from the inside. We don’t need to be told, who we worship, why we worship and when to worship. Worship is a state of mind. Our minds will naturally turn to Jesus when we wake in the morning, through the day and when we go to bed at night. We naturally want to share everything with God who is not now our lawgiver and judge. He is our friend. And when we forget Him, which we do, He is still there for us. Even when we are too weak to have any faith left, he remains faithful to us and will help us, for he cannot disown us who are part of himself, and he will always carry out his promises to us. 2 Tim.2:13 TLB
Fear of the law, abstinence from things we really feel like doing deep down anyway, guarding preciously the “edges of the Sabbath” as some are told they have to do – is never going to change us. Jesus changes us with His friendship and abiding presence.
If Jesus Christ is my personal saviour and friend do I need a law chiseled into stone to tell me not to steal from or harm my fellow man? It would be an insult to our Saviour to say yes to that question. And yet there are still those who say, we need a law to define sin and tell us how to live. Like Martha they are worried about many things. Her sister Mary didn’t need a law to tell her to love Jesus! And Jesus said Mary has chosen the better part.“….only a few things are necessary, really only one, for Mary has chosen the good part, which shall not be taken away from her.” Luke 10:41,42 NAS And yet there are still those today who would accuse Mary of emotionalism and extravagance in lavishing her affection on her Saviour. All four gospels contain the account of Mary lavishing the bottle of expensive perfume on the feet of Jesus. And yet there were the sad do-gooders back then who thought it was bad stewardship to waste so much money. (Matt.26:9) And still there are those today who are ready to accuse those who promote the gospel as one sided emotionalism. Would Jesus rebuke them today as He rebuked Martha?“Martha, Martha, you are worried and bothered about so many things.” Luke 10:41We can be so thankful that Jesus is not like us. He loves the Martha’s as well as the Mary’s. Mary didn’t need a written law to tell her to love God. She didn’t need a written law to tell her to give up an indulgent, sinful way of life. As a Jew she had been brought up with these laws from childhood and they weren’t enough to stop her from falling.
When God created this world He gave the Sabbath. The Sabbath was to be a sign that He is the Lord who sanctifies us. (Eze.20:12)Sanctification is necessary only because of sin.The Sabbath was necessary only because of sin. Jesus said,“The Sabbath was made for man” Mk.2:27He was talking here about man, sinful man, the only part of God’s creation that was to walk in rebellion against their Creator. Of course they would need the Sabbath. The Sabbath is at the very heart of the law – the law which would have been unnecessary had man never fallen into sin.
God knew that on this world a law would be necessary. After all, it is said of Jesus, that He is,“….the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world.” Rev.13:8 KJV Note the timing here. Not from our falling into sin. God had His plan in readiness at creation. The Sabbath was ordained at creation as the basis of a law which would swing into effect when man fell into sin. The Sabbath delineates the rationale’ for the rest of the law. Because I created this world, God says, I am taking responsibility for the enforcement of the law. There would have been no need for a memorial of creation had man never fallen. God Himself walked with man in the cool of the garden at that time. Unfallen man didn’t need a reminder of his love and devotion to his Creator.
God foresaw the need for a Sabbath at creation. He knew that man would fall. He knew that He would swing into action a law that would cause suffering and death. Think for a moment here of the alternative. A rebellious world without a law! Sinners immortalized! I can hear some thinking that that would be impossible. Why then did God place angels with flaming swords to bar the way to the tree of life? It was possible, you see, to have immortal sinners – no suffering and death.
If God knew that man would not fall into sin – i.e. if He knew that man would not have failed that simple test – He would not have ordained a Sabbath. There would have been no need. There would have been only innocence and trust.
The sanctuary service was instituted by God but never desired by God. It was necessary but never His ideal. Even in old testament times His real desire was apparent. “Wherewith shall I come before the Lord, and bow myself before the high God? Shall I come before Him with burnt offerings, with calves of a year old? Will the Lord be pleased with thousands of rams, or with ten thousands or rivers of oil? Shall I give my firstborn for my transgression, the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul? He hath shewed thee, O man, what is good; and what doth the Lord require of thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God?” Micah 6:6-8
The sanctuary was a small earthly demonstration of God’s plan. Animals were killed in vast numbers as a consequence of sin. The law which delineated sin was in the heart of the sanctuary. It gave the authority for what was happening. It was not a nice service. It caused pain and suffering to fulfill the requirements of the two tables of stone at its heart. It was never God’s intention for man and animals to suffer. Jesus stepped into the breach and accepted all of that suffering and death in Himself: so that the suffering and death of His creation could legally finish, making way for His second coming and complete restoration.
After the 6th day of creation God considered it “very good”. Even at that time of seeming perfection and harmony God knew what was about to transpire. In His infinite wisdom and knowledge, when all creation and the angels stood in awe of what He had created He knew in His heart of hearts what was about to happen. He contemplated this as He ‘rested’. And it was with these thoughts that He performed His next act – He blessed and sanctified the Sabbath. It would seem that at that moment in time God was laying the foundation for contingency plans for what was about to transpire, plans that would reclaim the peace and rest that was about to be lost. He ordained an institution which was to be at the very heart of a law – a law that would ensure punishment, retribution and justice for His creation. A law to be contained in the very heart of the sanctuary that would call for and justify the killing of vast numbers of animals and ultimately Jesus Himself– never part of God’s original will.
God’s original creation, man and animals, didn’t need a reminder that He had made their world. There was open communion, innocence and trust. The Sabbath was instituted as part of Gods’ contingency plan to confront the evil that was about to enter His new creation. It was to be the basis of the ten commandment law. It held a high priority in God’s plan. That is why Jesus said, “For the Son of man is Lord even of the Sabbath day.” Matt.12:8 (emphasis supplied) Jesus’ emphasis on the Sabbath day here is saying that even this, the highest of institutions, is under His control.
The Sabbath was the first of a set of commandments which were to be more clearly delineated as time went on. (Compare Gen.2:3, Ex.16:27-29, Ex.20:8) Note the progression here, from blessing and setting apart a day, to referring to it as a law, to including it at the very heart of the very comprehensive ten commandments. This particular day was to be used as the basis of a law which said, “remember”. The basis of a law which was at the very heart of the sanctuary service. The basis of a system of which the prominent new testament writer would say the letter of the law kills. (2 Cor.3:6)
Jesus was the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world. Rev.3:18 Peter clarifies it even more. Jesus was, “foreordained before the foundation of the world.” 1 Pet.1:20 The sanctuary service was for that time, “for the time then present” Heb.9:9“But when the fullness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law, to redeem them that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons.” Gal.4:4,5
Jesus, when He died upon the cross, brought ‘niceness’ back into the universe. He took the law and nailed it to His cross. The law – the sting of the law – perished with Jesus. The law which was necessary but which had brought the abhorrence of sin to the forefront was now nailed to the cross with its Creator. This was a way fraught with risk. It gave God the right to step back and not punish this world for gross violation of His laws. He had now taken that punishment upon Himself. If we look at the history of the Old Testament we see the destructive force of the flood in Noah’s day, the annihilation of Sodom and Gomorrah, the destruction meted out by Israel on its corrupt neighbors. These were all punishments for gross violations of Gods’ laws. It was a solid and ‘safe’ approach to sin. But now the ‘riskier’ approach of the New Covenant was initiated. Would the church and mankind embrace this privilege or trample it underfoot? The way was now open for peace to reign, once again in the universe. A reading of Isaiah chapter 11, a Messianic prophecy, indicates a close relationship between the kingdom of grace brought to us by Jesus and the liberation not only of mankind but the animal kingdom.
“A shoot will come up from the stump of Jesse; from his roots a Branch will bear fruit. The Spirit of the Lord will rest on him – the Spirit of wisdom and of understanding, the Spirit of counsel and of power, the Spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the Lord – and he will delight in the fear of the Lord. He will not judge by what he sees with his eyes, or decide by what he hears with his ears; but with righteousness he will judge the needy, with justice he will give decisions for the poor of the earth. He will strike the earth with the rod of his mouth; with the breath of his lips he will slay the wicked. Righteousness will be his belt and faithfulness the sash around his waist. The wolf will live with the lamb, the leopard will lie down with the goat, the calf and the lion and the yearling together; and a little child will lead them. The cow will feed with the bear, their young will lie down together, and the lion will eat straw like the ox. The infant will play near the hole of the cobra, and the young child put his hand into the viper’s nest. They will neither harm nor destroy on all my holy mountain, for the earth will be full of the knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the sea.” Isa.11:1-9 NIV
God’s kingdom could have begun 2000 years ago. Sadly the church and mankind have never fully grasped the Infinite Love and sacrifice offered to it. Hence the awful history of this world for the last 2000 years. But God knew what He was doing. He knew the old way would never suffice. He knew that the way of the New Covenant, dangerous and open to abuse though it is would be the way that would finally prevail. To the Christian God says, “Wait on the Lord: be of good courage, and he shall strengthen thine heart: wait, I say, on the Lord.” Ps.27:14
The devil has always used the restrictions of God as a vehicle with which he can weave his subterfuge. There was no 10 commandment law for Adam and Eve. They didn’t have to be told to have no other gods or not to kill or steal. Such concepts would have been entirely foreign to them. They were given one simple test of loyalty – not to eat of a certain tree or they would die. Satan was able to use that simple test as a vehicle with which he told the first lie to the human race. He said, “ye shall not surely die.” A lie which has been perpetuated until this present day. And then he followed the lie with a half truth. “God knows that in the day you eat of it your eyes will be opened, you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”
A restriction which had been given to protect was used as an excuse to sow seeds of doubt. And following this, the much more comprehensive set of laws – namely the Decalogue or ten commandments which were used as a basis or rationale’ for the very specific sanctuary service. These laws also, given to insulate and protect, were seen as a vehicle of condemnation and death. (2 Cor.3:6) Man in his un-fallen state could not stand against the wiles of the devil – what chance does he have in his fallen state? “For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending His own Son….condemned sin in the flesh.” (Rom.8:3) “Blotting out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us, which was contrary to us, and took it out of the way, nailing it to his cross.” Col.2:14
For the Christian the law died with Jesus. If the law is dead Satan’s lies are dead. That is why Satan hates the gospel – the unmerited favor and grace of God. The law has always been used by Satan as a vehicle to sow seeds of doubt, discontent and outright deception. We can covet something that we don’t need and the more the law tells us not to covet that object the more our mind can seemingly tell us how good and exciting and enlightening to have that object. The law then is making it harder and harder for us. It is actually condemning us. But if that condemnation has been taken away – “There is therefore no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus…” Rom.8:1 That hidden desire now no longer condemns us when we believe. Jesus has broken its back – nailed it to His cross – condemned sin in the flesh. He didn’t take it away – He condemned it. Having taken the sting out of our actions, our thoughts, we can be at peace and from that point we can grow. Mary Magdalene was still young, vibrant and loving the pleasures that the world could offer. But in beholding Jesus, her burden, her guilt, was lifted and she followed Him to become the first person to see the risen Saviour. Her youth and vitality were still there but they were now used for her Saviour. The law didn’t change her, Jesus did. And Satan hated that. To this day he hates the person who beholds Jesus and follows Him. He has no fear of someone beholding and acknowledging the ten commandment law. To him it is a very effective tool to bring either guilt or so called ‘righteous’ persecution both of which can be soul destroying and dangerous. He will use it just as effectively today as he did in the past.
No ‘condemnation’ means no law, no restrictions, legally – as was the state of God’s original creation. He has legally brought His creation back to that original state – no condemnation, which meant no law. Perfect creation – no ten commandments, no tree of knowledge – not even unnecessary memorials. Hence the words of Paul. “Let no man therefore judge you in meat, or in drink, or in respect of an holyday, or of the new moon, or of the Sabbath days, which are a shadow of things to come.” Col.2:16 (emphasis supplied) To those who think this is overstating the case consider the following:
The law to the Christian is like entering into a marriage with the partner you love but having to sign a pre-nuptial agreement. A true marriage of love does not need a pre-nuptial agreement. The Christian doesn’t need a law. The law is written on his heart. “But this shall be the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel; After those days, saith the Lord, I will put my law in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts; and will be their God, and they shall be my people.” Jer.31:33 “..not in tables of stone, but in fleshly tables of the heart.” 2 Cor.3:3
When asked the question, which is the greatest commandment, Jesus answered, “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.” Matt.22:37-40 Jesus here is hearkening back to the original Edenic state of things – no specific laws pertaining to killing, stealing, Sabbath breaking etc. These all came as a consequence of sin. Jesus here is holding a far higher ideal to the Christian. To the believer He offers an apparent transition back to God’s original Edenic state of innocence. The way it would have been had man never fallen. “There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus..” Rom.8:1
That there are still Christians who teach the law with all its preponderance of heaviness is an indictment on those who do so. They have kept generations of Christians in bondage to a system which was done away with 2000 years ago. This is the clear teaching of the NT.
“All who rely on observing the law are under a curse, for it is written: ‘Cursed is everyone who does not continue to do everything written in the Book of the Law.’ Clearly no one is justified before God by the law, because, ‘The righteous will live by faith.’ The law is not based on faith; on the contrary, ‘The man who does these things will live by them. Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us..” Gal.3:10-13
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