He magnified the Law, and showed us that sin is not just an overt act, but begins and is accountable within.
Jesus died for us (No more sacrifices need). We accept him and become new creatures. We want to do His will.
"If ye love me, keep My Commandments.
And the New covenant is actually from the OT!
Look!!! .
Deut 6:5 And thou shalt love the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might
Lev 19: 18 You shall not take vengeance or bear a grudge against the sons of your own people, but you shall love your neighbor as yourself I am the Lord.
How can the Commandments be done away with, if EVERY ONE of them teaches love for God and neighbor? You keep 9 of them, I bet.
I know why you use this as an argument, and you do as well. Because of the Sabbath.
Dear Cassandra,
A
converted believer will keep the Law because Christ fulfills the Law for them.
The sacrificial ordinances were fulfilled at the cross. The Sabbath Day law is fulfilled when a person is converted and they enter into the rest of Christ. The remainder of the law is fulfilled by loving God and our neighbor. And since Christ is the one who causes a converted believer to "will and do of His good pleasure", Christ fulfills that, too. There is nothing left for the person to do. They contribute nothing toward their salvation because Christ does all the work. For that reason, Paul says that no one has anything to boast about concerning their salvation.
If a person believes that they must contribute their own works toward their salvation, they are saying that they have something to boast about. From this false understanding of how a person is saved, it will cause them to believe that they are smarter, wiser, or just not as evil as those who continue to reject Christ. This makes for a very self-righteous Christian.
When a believer adds their own works to the works of Christ (even just one), they are committing the "sin that leads to death". This sin will cause them to fall from grace (Gal 5:1-4) and lose their salvation. It is by this sin that Satan kills the saints. "Falling away" happens to all new believers shortly after they are given the Early Rain of the Spirit. No one has the ability to direct their own steps to avoid becoming "worse than the first" (Mat 12:43-45).
Below are some scriptures which teach the truth about whether or not mankind must contribute their own works to their salvation:
Eph 2:8 For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: 9 Not of works, lest any man should boast. 10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.
Prov 16:1 The preparations of the heart in man, and the answer of the tongue, is from the LORD.
Phil 2:13 For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure.
Isa 26:12 O Jehovah, thou appointest peace to us, for, all our works also thou hast wrought for us.
John 1:12 But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name: 13 Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.
Do you believe that mankind has a "free will" to make decisions and to decide who to follow (Christ or Satan)?
Scripture says that mankind has no such ability. Only God the Father has a free will, and with it, He rules supreme. Nothing in God's creation happens without God causing it to happen; even all the evil in the world.
Prov 20:24 Man's goings are of the LORD; how can a man then understand his own way?
Isa 64:8 But now, O LORD, thou art our father; we are the clay, and thou our potter; and we all are the work of thy hand.
Jer 10:23 I know, Jehovah, that the way of man is not his own; it is not in a man that walketh to direct his steps.
Prov 16:4 The LORD hath made all things for himself: yea, even the wicked for the day of evil.
Ecc 1:13 An experience of evil God has given to the sons of humanity to humble them by it.
Ecc 7:13 Consider the work of God: for who can make that straight, which he hath made crooked?
Lam 3:38 Out of the mouth of the Most High doth not there proceed evil and good?
Ezek 14:9 And if the prophet be deceived when he hath spoken a thing, I the LORD have deceived that prophet, and I will stretch out my hand upon him, and will destroy him from the midst of my people Israel.
Amos 3:6 Shall a trumpet be blown in the city, and the people not be afraid? shall there be evil in a city, and the LORD hath not done it?
God is spirit and He works spiritually
within all mankind. He directs each person's steps and He has
always done so. However, since mankind is carnal, we have no ability to see the spiritual work that God does within our heart.
Ecc 3:11 He has made everything fitting in its season; However, He has put obscurity (the world, our carnality) in their heart so that the man may NOT find out His work, that which God does, that which God does from the beginning to the end.
Because mankind cannot see the spiritual work of God, mankind believes that they are making their own decisions and directing their own paths. But God says differently.
Do you have the faith necessary to believe Him?
As for keeping the Sabbath Day law, converted believers keep it spiritually. The Sabbath Day law under the Old Covenant is kept physically (one day a week). However, that law foreshadows the time when it is spiritually fulfilled under the New Covenant.
The Old Covenant is outward and physical. It requires man's works to follow it (which cannot be done). In contrast, the New Covenant is inward and spiritual. It requires no work from man to follow it. All the works of the New Covenant are the
works of Christ. For that reason, when a person is saved (converted), they will
enter into the rest of Christ who will do the work. In this way, Christ is fulfilling the Sabbath Day law within the person. At that time, the believer will rest 24/7 from their own works.
Rev 14:13 And I heard a voice from heaven saying unto me, Write, Blessed are the dead which die in the Lord from henceforth: Yea, saith the Spirit, that they may rest from their labors; and their works (works of faith) do follow them.
The phrase "blessed are the dead" represents Elect believers who have been converted. They have spiritually died and have been "born again" as a child of God. This concept is what these verses teach:
Jer 18:4 And the vessel that he made of clay was marred in the hand of the potter: so he made it again another vessel, as seemed good to the potter to make it.
Mat 26:52 Then said Jesus unto him, put up again thy sword into his place: for all they that take the sword shall perish with the sword.
John 12:24 Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone: but if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit.
Consider communion; it is also spiritually fulfilled after a person is converted:
Mat 26:26 And as they were eating, Jesus took bread, and blessed it, and brake it, and gave it to the disciples, and said, Take, eat; this is my body. 27 And he took the cup, and gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, Drink ye all of it; 28 For this is my blood of the new testament, which is shed for many for the remission of sins. 29 But I say unto you, I will not drink henceforth of this fruit of the vine, until that day when I drink it new with you in my Father's kingdom.
After a believer is given the Early Rain of the Spirit and a measure of faith, they will remain carnally minded and spiritually blind. Because of these weaknesses, they will remain
unconverted. In this condition, they will physically consume the Lord's communion - this means that their understanding of the Word of God is carnal and not spiritual. But when Christ "comes again" with the Latter Rain and heals the believer's spiritual blindness, they will begin receiving the Lord's communion spiritually. This happens as Christ feeds His truth (bread) and New Wine (New Covenant) to the believer by the "Spirit of Truth" which is now within them. This event is also called the Marriage Supper of the Lamb.
Another example is water baptism. After a person receives the Early Rain of the Spirit, they will be physically baptized in water. Water baptism is a physical "type" which foreshadows its spiritual fulfillment which occurs when a believer receives the baptism of the Spirit (the Latter Rain).
Joe
