I never intend to change anyone's mind. Only God could do that.
It's good to exchange ideas however. One waters, one plants...it could apply to our discussions too. It's good to think things through, make sure you believe what you believe...
Law and the ability to keep it...
WHO keeps it? Only Jesus has kept the Law.
There is none righteous, no not one.
We all break the law, but we there is no condemnation for those that love and serve the Lord. Do you think He doesn't know we'll be sinning?
But some will take this to mean that it's OK to sin.
May it never be!
1 John 1
We SHOULDN'T sin, but if we DO sin, we have a high pries and advocate, Jesus.
Seems to me you have a problem with the word LAW. Think of it as commandments then. Jesus DID say to follow His commandments. I believe I already posted John 15:14.
Also, think of this. Jesus didn't say He came to abolish the Law but to fulfill it. What does fulfill mean anyway??
It DOES NOT mean how we think of it today.
"I have come to fulfill my duties". This means I've done them and I no longer have to do them.
Fulfill in the N.T. means to make more complete, to explain better -- I'm sure you know this.
When Jesus said He came to fulfill the Law, Mathew 5:17, He meant to make it MORE COMPLETE. To do what was righteous.
NOW, if we just hate our brother we've already killed him.
Mathew 5:22 Jesus has fulfilled, or made the Law more complete.
He has brought it the the HEART LEVEL.
Or Mathew 5:28 same idea. Jesus brings everything to the heart level. He actually made following the law more difficult, not less difficult. Mathew 5:20
It BECOMES less difficult because He left and sent the Holy Spirit to help us.
Luke 24:49
John 16:7
Acts 1:8
This is from "torahthesource.com":
It speaks about what Jesus meant when John the baptist told Him that he does not need baptizing.
Mathew 3:15
Jesus said that He was to be baptized to fulfill all righteousness..thus, He WAS TO BE BAPTIZED. This did NOT mean, that NO ONE was ever to be baptized again ...
http://tse3.mm.bing.net/th?id=OIP.nO3rRqSMB3iv1ovXSEg2-QEsC7&pid=15.1
God is grace.
Grace saves us.
God is continually offering us His grace.
But Jesus said to follow His commandments.
Was He not God?
How to understand this?
There is a think red line, as you've said.
Perhaps James said it best: Faith without works is dead.
Works are a result of our faith. So if we are not willing to do works, perhaps our faith is dead?
Jesus Himself said that our works WILL be judged.
John 5:28-29 says it the best although there are many verses even in Mathew.
Let's see this in human terms. I have a cat. I love him and treat him really well and pour all my "grace" out on him. All I ask if that he does not scratch me. He keeps scratching me. Can my grace go on forever?
We like to say that God's love is unconditional.
It does have a condition. He insists that we obey Him. From Genesis 1...
JESUS said He did not come to abolish the Law.
We are not UNDER GRACE as per the New Covenant.
But we are still to follow the Laws of God, or the commandments Jesus left us with.
You need BOTH. Otherwise, if you can choose grace, and negate Law, it would mean we could sin all we want to and it wouldn't matter!
Even Paul, who is the grace preacher, proclaims we cannot sin.
In Romans 13 and 1 Corinthians 5 he tells us what NOT TO DO.
The opposite is what WE MUST DO..
Different for different couples. But rules do exist. Sounds like you're not married!
Maybe if a husband slapped a wife ONCE out of extreme frustration it could even be forgiven. What if he did it every day?
Maybe he could have an affair once, but what if it happened all the time?
Laws must be kept even in a marriage or the love diminishes.
Love covers a multitude of sin.
This new law covers all the others, incl the decalogue.
In John 13 He was speaking specifically to the disciples and telling them that they should love one another and that by that shall all men know that they are disciples of Christ.
But I do understand this to be for ALL disciples, even us.
So in John 14:15 when Jesus uses commandments in the plural (and in other places) which commandment(s) did He mean?
He said in Mathew 7:19 that every tree that does not bear good fruit will be cut down. Which good fruit was He talking about?
What future instructions?