@GodsGrace @"ByGrace" @stunnedbygrace
What Is Belief?
Belief or faith in Yeshua is more than a person believing a man named Yeshua once lived. Believing that Yeshua was merely an historical figure will not help you. You must accept and believe in Yeshua as your savior, this is the power of Faith. And as your savior He accomplished all of the above items. If you do not believe that Yeshua delivered you from sin, then you’re not saved. If you are a Christian and still think you are capable of sinning against God the Father, you might want to look for some animals to sacrifice because Christ will probably only be crucified once, (once for all sins.) (Rom. 6:10, Hebrews 10:12) If you do not believe that Yeshua established a New Covenant between God and Man then you are not offered the grace of the New Covenant. If you do not recognize Yeshua as the Son of God you are not saved. If you still hold on to the old relationships with God, as the Jews do looking to the Law as a moral guide, you have not accepted the provisions of the New Covenant and you are not saved.
Many believe that the phrase “New Testament” means New Text or New Book, when in fact the phrase “New Testament” is a misnomer. The Old and New Testaments refer to the Old and New Covenants. Some people understand this but they do not know why the Church labeled them Testaments and I am not going to get into it....
There is a reason why the Old Covenant is called the OLD Covenant. Because it is the portion of the Bible that tells of the time when God’s people “ONCE” lived under the Laws of the OLD Covenants….the Old Agreements, with a very wrathful God. Paul made a distinction between those that are under the Law and those who are not under the Law, but rather faith. (Romans 3:19-21 & 4:14 - 16, Galatians 4:21, 1st Cor. 9:20) The Old Covenants and the Old Covenant Laws was a testimony that their was something wrong. They prescribed overtly violent acts, hideous rituals, and the Laws that pertained to women were hateful at best. God promised his people that compliance to the Law would insure many Earthly rewards and His blessings, but some of the things it involved was unthinkable. I have said it before but the reader should read through the 613 Mosaic Laws and determine for yourself. Would you want to read these Law and rituals into Church?
Now the Apostle Paul like all of us made his mistakes, but as he made his way through the journey of salvation he learnt as he went. Towards the end of His ministry he learnt the advantages of females and angels. He also realized that salvation had many elements and aspects and he wrote it down,
· Faith
· Love
· Forgiveness
· Grace
· Justification
· Sanctification
· Adoption
· Glorification
· Reconciliation with God the Father
· A dynamic relationship with God’s begotten Son
· Eternal Life
So the Apostle Paul reasoned this out by logical reasoning and divine inspiration. So he said that under the terms of the Old Covenant no flesh could be Justified. (Acts 13:38-41, Romans 3:20, Galatians 2:16-21, 3:11) Because the Law itself brought about the wrath of God. But for those that have entered into the New Covenant with God….where there is No Law, neither is there violation, (Romans 4:15) Christians are not under the Law but under grace. (Romans 10:4 Galatians 5:18) Because apart from the Law sin is dead. (Romans 7:8) As Christians we serve God in the newness of spirit and not in the oldness of the letter of the Law. (Romans 7:6) As Christians we cannot sin, (As defined by the Old Covenant.) because in order to sin, one must break the Mosaic Law (1st John 3:5-9) Because Christ, our savior was the end of the Law for righteousness to everyone that believes in Him. (Romans 10:4, Ephesians 2:15) We are Justified by Faith apart from the Law. (Romans 3:28, 5:1) The clock of Grace makes us perfect before God the Father.
The Apostle Paul referred to the Old Covenant and the Ten Commandments as a ministry of death and condemnation. Stating that the letter of the Law kills, but the spirit gives life, (2nd Corinthians 3:1-9) and said that Yeshua freed us from the curse of the Law. (Galatians 3:13) And said that the Law was only a shadow of the good things to come. (Hebrews 10:1) The Old Law was set aside because of its weakness and uselessness. For Yeshua is the mediator for us, in a better Covenant with God (Hebrews 7:18-22 & 8:1-13 & 10:9) In Ephesians 2:15&16, Paul had this to say; “….by abolishing in his flesh the ENMITY, which IS the LAW OF COMMANDMENTS contained in ordinances, that in Himself He might make the two into one new man, thus establishing peace, and might reconcile them both in one body to God through the cross, having put to DEATH ENMITY.
In Galatians Paul had a warning for those that seek to live under the Law or look to the Law as a moral guide. “You have been severed from Christ, you who are seeking to be justified by the Law; you have fallen from grace.” (Galatians 5:4) For those that look to the Laws for righteousness and thereby sin under the Law, Hebrews has this to say; “For if we go on sinning willfully after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, but a certain terrifying expectation of judgement, and THE FURY OF A FIRE WHICH WILL CONSUME THE ADVERSARIES……IT IS A TERRIFYING THING TO FALL INTO THE HANDS OF THE LIVING GOD. (Hebrews 10:26-31) In Philippians, Paul called those people that still preached adherence to the Old Laws, dogs, evil workers and warned against false circumcision. (Phil. 3:2-14) In Titus, Paul warned against paying attention to those that preached Jewish myths and commandments of men. (Titus 1:13&14)
The Mosaic Law had its quirks and hard to explain, but Paul tries to explain it this way. (Romans 15:4 & Galatians 3:17-29) “Therefore the Law has become our tutor to lead us to Christ, that we may be justified by faith. But now that faith has come, we are no longer under a tutor.”
Mosaic Laws, is made up of commandment, statues, ordinances. Before the implementation of the New Covenant, in the Gospels, Yeshua repeatedly either pointed out the deficiencies in the Laws or pointed out that their manmade traditions or interpretations nullified the intent of the Laws, or more correctly God’s intent. In John 8:17, Yeshua indirectly implies that the Mosaic Law was not His Law saying,
“Even in your law it has been written…” He could have said “the law, or our law, but He did not. This is further emphasized by the fact that nowhere in the Gospel does Yeshua ever refer to “Mosaic Law or “The Law” as His Law. He refers to His Laws as “My word” or “My Commandments” And in John verse 31&32 He indicates that to be considered one of His disciples, one most follow His word, and His word would set you free from the Law and sin; “If you abide in My word, then you are truly disciples of Mine; and you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.” And verses 34-36, go on to further illustrate that the Jewish Covenant and Laws made them slaves to sin, but Yeshua’s Covenant would set His people free of sin and the Law. “Truly , truly, I say to you, everyone who commits sin is the slave to sin. “And the slave does not remain in the house forever; the son does remain forever. “If therefore the Son shall make you free, you shall be free indeed. And verse 24 had already indicated that the Jews had no hope of salvation unless they accepted Yeshua and His Laws. “I said therefore to you, that you shall die in your sins; for unless you believe that I am He, you shall die in your sins.” There is only one way to sin and that is to break one of the Mosaic Laws. As long as the Jews looked to the Law for righteousness they could and did sin. And as long as they did not accept Christ as the Messiah, they had no hope of forgiveness of their sins or salvation. They or anyone else that teaches adherence to any of the Mosaic Laws or lifts the Mosaic Laws above Christ’s Laws will die in their sins, severed from the saving grace of Yeshua the Messiah!
After Christ’s death and after the implementation of the New Covenant, the Apostles referenced these Laws as obsolete tutors and commandments of men. In most instances that the Ten Commandments were referenced by the Apostles it was done to point out their inferiority to Christ’s teachings, or the burden that was lifted by Christ’s sacrifice, or that Christ’s Laws were so superior to the Old Laws that obeying Christ’s Laws more than fulfill the intent of the Old Laws.
