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Topic: What Is The Law Of Christ?
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Eden
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posted
Eden had said quote:
But no one is allowed to hear from Jesus in heaven unless they are saved first.
And Carol Swenson answered quote:
Acts 9:4 (NLT)
He fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to him, “Saul! Saul! Why are you persecuting me?”
God in His sovereign power can reach down to humans if God chooses to do so and talk to them.
But other than that, no one can receive the Holy Spirit unless they are saved first and no unsaved person can be instructed by Jesus in heaven on a daily basis unless they are saved first and have the Holy Spirit.
love, Eden
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Eden
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posted
Carol Swenson wrote quote:
2 Corinthians 5:17 (NASB)
Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come.
Of course when a person is saved he receives the Holy Spirit, and in that alone, he is a new creature, because those who are NOT saved do not have the Holy Spirit. So in that regard alone we are already a new creature.
But if the Christian continues to make judgments on the basis of his 5 senses alone, he will remain and continue to act just like the people who do NOT have the Holy Spirit.
If a person owns a BMW (the Holy Spirit) but continues to drive his beat-up VW (the 5 senses), then it is all well and good that he has a BMW in his garage, but if he makes no use of it, it is the same as if he has no BMW.
Likewise, a Christian needs to stop making judgments based only on his 5 senses and the Christian needs to start to use the Holy Spirit inside of him to communicate with the Resurrected Jesus who is waiting in heaven to guide him and teach him in the way that he should go:
Psalm 32:8
I will instruct you and teach you in the way which you shall go; I will guide you with My eye.
Proverbs 1:3
To receive the instruction of wisdom, justice, and judgment, and equity.
Jesus is the head of the body of the church, and just as a natural body can do nothing without the natural head, so also the spiritual body of the church can do nothing without the head:
Colossians 1:18
And He is the head of the body, the church ...
The main reason why God gave us the Holy Spirit is so that Jesus, as the head of the body of the church, can start instructing us and guiding us from heaven in all our activities, because Jesus in heaven can see everything all at once, while we with our 5 senses only have a limited view of what is happening now and of what will be coming up shortly ahead of us.
So Christians who continue to make judgments based only on their 5 senses are either ignorant of what Jesus through the Holy Spirit can do for them, or they wilfully:
Psalm 50:17
... hate instruction and cast {His) My words behind {them}.
They continue to "lean on their own understanding" and don't use the Holy Spirit for what the Spirit was intended:
Proverbs 3:5
Trust in the LORD with all your heart; and lean not unto your own understanding.
So to repeat what Carol Swenson quoted quote:
2 Corinthians 5:17 (NASB)
Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come.
Of course when a person is saved he receives the Holy Spirit, and that already makes him a new creature, but unless he makes USE of the Holy Spirit, he might as well NOT have the Holy Spirit and for all practical purposes, he is not a new creature at all.
love, Eden
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Carol Swenson
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quote:
But no one is allowed to hear from Jesus in heaven unless they are saved first.
Acts 9:4 (NLT)
He fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to him, “Saul! Saul! Why are you persecuting me?”
Posts: 6787 | From: Colorado | Registered: Dec 2007
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Carol Swenson
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2 Corinthians 5:17 (NASB)
Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come.
Posts: 6787 | From: Colorado | Registered: Dec 2007
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Eden
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A good article ... it also said quote:
The Spirit makes us new creatures in Christ.
This is only partially true. The Spirit can be in us all He wants, but if we don't listen to or use the Spirit for the purpose for which the Spirit was given to us, namely to hear what Jesus is telling us to do from heaven by way of the Holy Spirit, then we remain just as we were, the old creature that we were, making judgments based on our 5 senses.
The Spirit does make intercession for us and the Spirit helps us understand the words of the Bible, but if the Christian continues to make judgments based only on his 5 senses, he will stay the same old creature that he was.
We only become a new creature is we make use of the Spirit and it is only partially true to say quote:
The Spirit makes us new creatures in Christ.
The Spirit only makes us new creatures in Christ if we listen to what Jesus is saying to us from heaven by way of the Spirit which is in us. We are potentially new creatures in Christ, if so be we do what Christ tells us to do next, even in the most mundane things.
A person guided by what Jesus tells him to do next IS A NEW CREATURE; because all other creatures are ONLY GUIDED BY THEIR 5 SENSES, that's the "old creature" way of doing it, and even millions of Christians are still ONLY GUIDED BY THEIR 5 SENSES and have not understood that the Resurrected Jesus in heaven wants to show them what they should do next; ONLY a person getting his step-by-step input from heaven IS A NEW CREATURE; the others are not.
But no one is allowed to hear from Jesus in heaven unless they are saved first.
love, Eden
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Carol Swenson
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becauseHElives
quote:
so what you are saying is any Born Again Believer because of "Yahweh's Grace" can lie, steal, cheat, bear false witness, dishonor Yahweh, covet other peoples stuff and commit adultery because the Law is abolished?
Romans 6:15-18 (NASB)
15 What then? Shall we sin because we are not under law but under grace? May it never be! 16 Do you not know that when you present yourselves to someone as slaves for obedience, you are slaves of the one whom you obey, either of sin resulting in death, or of obedience resulting in righteousness? 17 But thanks be to God that though you were slaves of sin, you became obedient from the heart to that form of teaching to which you were committed, 18 and having been freed from sin, you became slaves of righteousness.
The law was not abolished; it was fulfilled.
Matthew 5:17 - 18 (NLT)
Don’t misunderstand why I have come. I did not come to abolish the law of Moses or the writings of the prophets. No, I came to accomplish their purpose. I tell you the truth, until heaven and earth disappear, not even the smallest detail of God’s law will disappear until its purpose is achieved.
To say that we are not under law is not to say that we are not under the lordship of Christ and the sovereignty of God. We are justified through the principle of grace through faith (Eph. 2:8f; Rom. 3:27f; 8:1f). That grace activates our love.
WHAT IS THE NEW COVENANT RULE OF ACTION?
It is love which God in His grace infuses into our hearts. "God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit which has been given to us" (Rom 5:5). "We love, because he first loved us" (1 John 4:19). God initiates the principle of loving action, writing His law upon our hearts.
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WildB
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Member # 2917
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posted
To love your Neighbor as yourself.
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That is all.....
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becauseHElives
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so what you are saying is any Born Again Believer because of "Yahweh's Grace" can lie, steal, cheat, bear false witness, dishonor Yahweh, covet other peoples stuff and commit adultery because the Law is abolished?
Yahshua says: I Am the Way
Text: John 14:6 Yahshua saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me. (KJV)
Recently, while I was driving to Maryland I saw a billboard that simply proclaimed that “Jesus (Yahshua) is the Way.” We all recognize this phrase, and those who are True Believers as defined by Yahshua in the Book of Revelation, interpret it in the light of His definition. Unfortunately, this phrase is directed toward the unsaved that are not biblically literate enough to understand the implications of trusting Yahshua as “the way” to reconciliation with Our Creator. On the other hand, if a person is biblically literate, they understand this phrase is not a stand-alone statement, but is qualified by other scriptures relating to the subject. Unfortunately, for those who are biblically illiterate, it conveys an entirely different message than Yahshua intended, and leads to a life of destruction. This phrase becomes more important for what is not said, than what is said. When presented as it was on the billboard, it leaves a false impression. As this thought pervaded my mind I immediately contrasted this message with the scripture that states:
John 10:1 Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that entereth not by the door into the sheepfold, but climbeth up some other way, the same is a thief and a robber. (KJV)
As I continued driving the long boring miles, I began thinking about the meanings of “way” and “door.” A practical application of the terms as used by most people will see a contrasting message in the two texts. First, “way.” when read from the perspective that is most often implied by those seeking to convert the “unsaved,” seems to suggest that the person of Yahshua tangibly, and I emphasize the word tangibly, incorporates all that is needed to arrive at eternal life. That is, our intellectual and emotional acknowledgment of Him results in Salvation. However, this message is flawed, because James tells us that even the demons believe in Yahshua and tremble, and we all know they are doomed to perdition. Therefore, belief in and of itself will not qualify us to eternal life. The concept of a “Door” on the other hand indicates that we consciously apprehend an entrance way (door) as a means of access to achieve a given objective. When we resolutely enter in and find ourselves beyond the door, we pursue our objective, which was the initial reason for entering. For instance if it is to go in to lie down, we lay down, if to get a book, we get a book. Whatever it is we follow up with some action to achieve our reason for entering. Therefore, if Yahshua is the door there follows an action or actions that we must pursue to obtain our objective once we pass through the door. These were the thoughts that are the genesis of this message. Now let us go back to the text.
Yahshua is here addressing the Pharisees, the religious leaders of His day and, He is criticizing them because they have perverted Scripture and promoted a false way to G-d. That of obeying man’s traditions instead of G-d’s Torah.
I want to ask you, when you heard or read tracts that proclaimed Yahshua is the way to G-d, that is, before you became literate of the biblical plan of salvation; what impression did that leave on your mind? Please think about it earnestly for a while and take note of exactly what reactions it incites in you. Then take this statement coupled with all the other one-liners you heard such as:
1. Yahshua died for your sins
2. He took the penalty of G-d’s wrath upon His own shoulders;
3. He paid your debt
4. The Law is nailed to the cross
5. Confess Him and be saved
Does it not sound all-inclusive, leaving you with the thought that all you have to do is acknowledge Yahshua and you are eternally saved?
I think most of you would agree that this is exactly the impression you had. Its a comforting message, and involves assurance of security. It is such an agreeable message that most people would have no problem accepting it. You might have even responded to such a message with heart-felt gratitude, happiness and feelings of elation, but does an emotional reaction guarantee a changed life. After the initial reaction wore off did you find yourself still anxious and questioning? These are the questions we have to ask ourselves. And finally, will such a confession bring us under the covering of the Ruach HaKodesh?
I feel that such simplistic one-liners do a disservice to the sinner, for it never addresses the real condition sinners are in nor do they address accountability. Far worse, they fail to give us the complete plan of salvation of not only trusting in Yahshua’s faithfulness, but also living by the standards of G-d’s Torah. Even if some emphasis is give to that subject, it is preferential at best and always relativist, and for those who may be struggling to understand what relativist means it is defined as: any theory of knowledge, truth, morality, etc., holding that criteria of judgment may vary with individuals and their environments.
Because these simplistic one liners are one sided messages, the same response Yahshua delivered in John 10:1 to the Pharisees of His day is also appropriate for us when addressing our modern day Pharisees. These messages that approach salvation in such a simplistic way by their omission of observing G-d’s Torah along with trusting in the faithfulness of Yahshua has also co-opted G-d’s plan of Salvation by presenting a perversion of it.
In John 10: 7-10 we read:
John 10:7 Then said Yahshua unto them again, Verily, verily, I say unto you, I am the door of the sheep.
John 10:8 All that ever came before me are thieves and robbers: but the sheep did not hear them.
John 10:9 I am the door: by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and find pasture.
Now, I want us to take particular notice of the word “door” in verse 9. I may be reiterating here, but I want all of you to understand. Experientially, we all know what a door is, it is an entrance way, and egress and opening that one may go through to arrive at a place beyond it. A door is a means of access and may be used metaphorically as in this sentence: “Torah is the door to successful living.” Contrast that with the dictionary definition of “way”: a method, plan, or means for attaining a goal: such as “to find a way to reduce costs.” Yahshua said I am the “Way” and the “Door” to eternal life. If we understand the words correctly within the context they are given, Yahshua is saying to us He is the “door” we must open to find the “way” to G-d. Opening the door does not end the journey, but gives us access, and the avenue whereby we ascend to G-d by living as He has instructed us. It is not the end of the trip but the beginning.
Yahshua was a Torah Observant Jew. He lived Torah to its completeness. He is the model we are to emulate. He never abrogated Torah; on the contrary, He said not one jot or tittle shall pass away from Torah until there is a new heaven and earth.
It is profitable for us to read this additional passage:
Mat 5:18 For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled.
Mat 5:19 Whosoever therefore shall break one of these least commandments, and shall teach men so, he shall be called the least in the kingdom of heaven: but whosoever shall do and teach them, the same shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven.
For those that might be hung up on the word translated “fulfilled” in verse 18, let me say that the Greek word from which it is translated is ginomai, means to be brought into being or brought to pass. The only way to understand this passage is that Torah is valid, binding, and alive until the old heaven and earth pass away, and a new heaven and earth is brought forth replacing them. The last time I looked, we are still living on a hurting and decaying planet filled with sin and disorder, and for those who are interested in when G-d will replace this old hearth and heaven the book of Revelation will tell you when a new heaven and earth will be brought forth.
In retrospect, we agree that Yahshua is the “way” because of His example, and we cannot discover the “way” until we step through the “door” that is Yahshua, and receive the covering of the Ruach HaKodesh. It is a two-step process not one of merely acknowledgment and confession. If we fully understand, we will see that living within G-d’s standards, His Torah as did Yahshua, is the process whereby we receive eternal salvation after having entered through the “door” that is Yahshua. We must resist easy, non-accountability Christianity for it is the avenue to destruction. We must not allow simplistic scriptural phrases taken out of context to corrupt our understanding and miss the mark. Be on guard, understand scripture, rightly dividing the word, and step through the door of opportunity to the most exciting adventure of your life on the “way.”
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Strive to enter in at the strait gate:for many, I say unto you will seek to enter in, and shall not be able. ( Luke 13:24 )
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Carol Swenson
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The witness of the Spirit in the heart is proof that the person has been born of God (Rom. 8:9, 14-17; Eph. 1:13-14). Because you have God’s Spirit within, you share in the divine nature (2 Peter 1:1-4) and therefore want to obey the divine will. It is nature that determines conduct.
Grace
“Grace is what God may be free to do, and indeed what he does, accordingly, for the lost after Christ has died on behalf of them” (Lewis Sperry Chafer, Systematic Theology, 7:178). It is thus apparent that God’s grace is to be distinguished from His mercy and love (Ephesians 2:4-5), “But God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved).”
Mercy is therefore the compassion of God that moved Him to provide a Savior for the unsaved. Had God been able to save even one soul on the ground of His sovereign mercy alone, He could have saved every person on that basis, as Lewis Sperry Chafer points out, and the death of Christ would not have been a necessity.
Divine love on the other hand is the motivating plan behind all that God does in saving a soul.
But since God is holy and righteous, and sin is a complete offense to Him, His love or His mercy cannot operate in grace until there is provided a sufficient satisfaction for sin. This satisfaction makes possible the exercise of God’s grace.
Grace thus rules out all human merit. It requires only faith in the Savior. Any intermixture of human merit violates grace. God’s grace thus provides not only salvation but safety and preservation for the one saved, despite his imperfections. Grace perfects forever the saved one in the sight of God because of the saved one’s position “in Christ.” Grace bestows Christ’s merit and Christ’s standing forever (Romans 5:1-2; 8:1; Colossians 2:9-10); “for in Him all the fulness of Deity dwells in bodily form, and in Him you have been made complete.” Grace thus obviates any obligation to gain merit, and the law as a merit system is no longer applicable to a believer, since he is no longer “under law, but under grace” (Romans 6:14).
The problem of a holy life is met in the gospel of grace by the fact that the saved one has an entirely new position in Christ instead of in Adam (Romans 5:12-20). And being baptized “into Christ” (Romans 6:1-11), he is “dead to sin, but alive to God.” Knowledge of and faith in this glorious in-Christ position (Romans 6:11) is the key that makes it actual in the believer’s everyday experience.
Rewards for faithfulness and practical holiness of life are to be dispensed, but this is a truth not to be confused with an unforfeitable and unmerited salvation.
(Unger's)
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becauseHElives
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quote:
Grace over law
Grace is the power of Yahweh unto salvation, Grace is the merciful kindness by which God, exerting his holy influence upon souls, turns them to Christ, keeps, strengthens, increases them in Christian faith, knowledge, affection, and kindles them to the exercise of the Christian virtues....see Strong's Concordance
a picture of Grace upon the heart of man!
Ezekiel 36
26A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you an heart of flesh.
27And I will put my spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes, and ye shall keep my judgments, and do them.
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Strive to enter in at the strait gate:for many, I say unto you will seek to enter in, and shall not be able. ( Luke 13:24 )
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MentorsRiddle
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Another great post on Grace over law.
Only through grace can a person truly be saved and come to realize our new divine nature.
Our old self and Sin Nature -- our birth nature - can only be replaced with divine nature via Jesus Christ who covered us with love and his blood: forgiving us our sins.
Thanks for taking the time to post.
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With you I rise,
In you I sleep,
kneeling down I kiss your feet,
Grace abounds upon me now,
I once was lost
but now I'm found.
The gift of God dwells within,
To this love I now give in.
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WildB
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posted
Amen.
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That is all.....
Posts: 8775 | From: USA, MICHIGAN | Registered: Mar 2004
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Carol Swenson
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WHAT IS THE LAW OF CHRIST?
"Bear one another's burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ" (Gal. 6:2).
What is the law of Christ?
Jesus has assured us, "For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ" (John 1:17). Paul told disciples, "For by grace you have been saved through faith; and this is not your own doing, it is the gift of God - not because of works, lest any man should boast" (Eph. 2:8f). The grace of God appeared, teaching us (Titus 2:11f). The gospel is the message of grace to be believed for salvation (Mark 16:15f). We are saved by grace; however, under Moses' law men had sought justification by law, and there is great tendency for disciples to seek righteousness through keeping of a supposed system of law also.
COULD ONE BE SAVED BY WORKS OF THE LAW?
Paul gave a definite negative answer to this question. "For no human being will be justified in his sight by works of the law, since through the law comes the knowledge of sin" (Rom. 2:20). "By works of the law shall no one be justified" (Gal. 2:16). "I do not nullify the grace of God; for if justification were through the law, then Christ died for no purpose" (Gal. 2:21). "Now it is evident that no man is justified before God by the law" (Gal. 3:11).
The law had a weakness: it could bring death, but not life. It made nothing perfect (Heb 7:18f). It promised life but proved to be death (Rom 7:10) because a person was required to keep all the law or be cursed (Gal. 3:10f), and none could keep it all. So all had the sentence of death.
That same weakness prevents any law from saving. Law has no power to save. John assures us that all of us sin (1 John 1:8f). James adds, "For whoever keeps the whole law but fails in one point has become guilty of all of it" (James 2:10). If we keep 99% of the law but fail in the remaining one percent, what happens? We are back to zero! So it is all by grace! If one is to be saved, it must be totally by grace. One cannot be saved partly by law keeping and partly by grace. If grace saves only to the extent that one is able to keep law, then none can be saved. If one could keep all the law, he would need no grace. Our traditional exhortation to the one who fails to keep all the law is "Try harder!" While giving lip-service to grace, we frustrate disciples by urging that they must attain it by keeping all the law - or making a passing score, whatever that may be. The claim of justification by law keeping was "another gospel" of Galatians 1:6-9. Any effort to be justified by legal means is a falling away from grace (Gal 5:4). Grace is not a quality of law.
One legal system did not replace another. The law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus. Grace and truth were not a system of law to replace the old one. God did not send another law, but He sent His Son in whom we may be justified. To saved persons, Paul explained, "For sin will have no dominion over you, since you are not under law but under grace" (Rom 6:14). Please read Romans 3:20-28 and observe that justification apart from law is by grace as a free gift to those who believe. Righteousness is not attained by rule keeping, but it is a free gift (Rom. 5:17). Also please read another passage of length, Galatians 3:23 through 4:7, to learn that, now that faith has come, the custodian is no longer in charge and that God sent His Son instead of another legal custodian. Ours is a personal relationship in Him instead of a legal relationship.
WHAT IS THE NATURE OF OUR RELATIONSHIP TO GOD?
The Spirit makes us new creatures in Christ. "But now we are discharged from the law, dead to that which held us captive, so that we serve not under the old written code but in the new life of the Spirit" (Rom 7:6). This new relationship is accomplished through the new birth (John 3:3f), by which we are all sons of God through faith (Gal 3:26f), and in which our life becomes hidden with Christ in God (Col. 3:3). It is not a legal relationship, but a spiritual one.
We enter into a covenant relationship. God made a covenant with Abraham and sealed it by circumcision (Gen. 17:9f). Later the law was given to guide the covenant people (Deut. 4:4f). The law was not the covenant of promise, nor did it make them covenant people.
The new covenant is sealed in us by the Holy Spirit (Eph. 1:13f). This is done when we receive the Spirit at the time of our obedience to the gospel; the other teachings are given to guide those in covenant relationship.
The new covenant is not a written code. Paul wrote that God "has qualified us to be ministers of a new covenant, not in a written code but in the Spirit; for the written code kills, but the Spirit gives life" (2 Cor. 3:6). Hebrews 8:7-8 further emphasizes that the new covenant would not be like the old one. His law is to be written on our hearts instead of stone or paper.
How can law be written on our hearts if we are not under law? To say that we are not under law is not to say that we are not under the lordship of Christ and the sovereignty of God. Law has a range of meanings. Law may be a legal system which demands perfect obedience. Law also can be a principle of action. We are justified through the principle of grace through faith (Eph. 2:8f; Rom. 3:27f; 8:1f). That grace activates our love.
WHAT IS THE NEW COVENANT RULE OF ACTION?
It is love which God in His grace infuses into our hearts. "God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit which has been given to us" (Rom 5:5). "We love, because he first loved us" (1 John 4:19). God initiates the principle of loving action, writing His law upon our hearts.
The love which He has created in us is the master key to unlock the servile chain of any other law. "Owe no one anything, except to love one another; for he who loves his neighbor has fulfilled the law. The commandments, 'You shall not commit adultery, You shall not kill, You shall not steal, You shall not covet,' and any other commandment, are summed up in this sentence, 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself.' Love does no wrong to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfilling of the law" (Rom. 13:8f). Love fulfills God's requirements. It frees us. A legal code enslaves. "For freedom Christ has set us free; stand fast therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery" (Gal. 5:1).
Paul emphasizes these points again in Galatians 5:13f: "For you were called to freedom, brethren; only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love be servants of one another. For the whole law is fulfilled in one word, 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself.'" What greater and more comprehensive law - principle of action - could we want? How would a listing of authoritative demands help a person show love?
God directs us into right relationship with Him and man. "And he said to him, 'You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. And a second is like it, You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments depend all the law and the prophets'" (Matt. 22:37f). All through the ages, God was trying to help us simply to love Him and one another. That was the purpose of the law and the message of the prophets. God has shown us how to express that love through commands, exhortations, teachings, principles, and examples. Man has tried consistently to interpret these as lawful requirements, but God gave them as directives to love. Men argue, fight, and divide over lawful interpretations and thereby defeat the love into which God was directing. "For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision (legal hair-splitting: CH) is of any avail, but faith working through love" (Gal 5:6). As covenant people, we are guided by these but not justified by them. When we sin as disciples, we depend upon grace for our forgiveness rather than obeying more laws (1 John 1:5-10; 2:1-6).
Does this encourage sin, disobedience, and indifference? Anticipating such a question, Paul answers, "What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound? By no means! How can we who died to sin still live in it?" (Rom. 6:1f). He warns against abuse of our freedom, then cautions, "But I say, walk by the Spirit, and do not gratify the desires of the flesh" (Gal. 5:13-16). Freedom is not for unrestrained indulgence.
WHAT IS THE LAW OF CHRIST?
Some would contend that the entirety of the New Testament writing is the law of Christ. Then, is the account of the birth and temptation of Jesus the law of Christ? What of the love chapter, the resurrection chapter, and Revelation? Are these all parts of the law of Christ? The law of Christ is not a book, a listing, or a code of laws. Where is such a catalog of laws? The Jews enumerated 613 laws in their legal code. How many laws has Christ given us? Since we are to keep the law of Christ, surely someone has counted and listed those laws so we will have a check-list! Where is such a list?
Christ's law is love; yet He gives us commands, examples, exhortations, warnings, and principles as guidelines for the expression of love - our response to grace.
Christ's law is love. His laws (plural) are (1) love God and (2) love man. Love is the new commandment (John 13:34f) which John's readers had heard from the beginning of their discipleship (1 John 2:7f). "And now I beg you, lady, not as though I were writing you a new commandment, but the one we have heard from the beginning, that we love one another. And this is love, that we follow his commandments; this is the commandment, as you have heard from the beginning, that you follow love" (2 John 5f).
"And this commandment we have heard from him, that he who loves God should love his brother also" (1 John 4:21) is a re-emphasis of the first and second commandments. Love is the royal, kingly law (James 2:8).
Expressed love fulfills the law of Christ (Gal. 6:2). Love is the perfect law, the law of liberty (James 1:25, 2:12) - liberty from a lifeless legal code and efforts for legal justification. It is the Golden Rule (Matt. 7:12), that ageless law which conveys the intent and message of the law and the prophets.
How beautiful this is! God initiates the response of love: "We love, because he first loved us." He begins the working of His law in our hearts. He wants us to express it. His directives guide us in expressing it: "If you love me, you will keep my commandments" (John 14:15). So, our expressions of love become God's expressions of love through us, "For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments, and his commandments are not burdensome" (1 John 5:3). No burden! "There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear. For fear has to do with punishment, and he who fears is not perfected in love" (1 John 4:18). No fear! Keeping His law of love is neither fearful nor burdensome!
We are justified by grace through faith in obeying the gospel. Efforts to be justified by law would nullify the grace of Christ. Our response to God's grace is the love which God initiates in us. The New Testament writings guide our love into proper expression.
"Now therefore why do you make trial of God by putting a yoke upon the neck of the disciples which neither our fathers nor we have been able to bear?" (Acts 15:10).
http://www.freedomsring.org/fic/chap3.html
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