Sorry and help please.
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A
God made us each unique. Some He told to give up everything and follow Him (12 apostles). Others He told to stay home (example: Mary, Martha and Lazarus)
Even then God commands about exactly what to do changes.., when He sent His apostles to tell people of His coming,he sent them without a purse or sword or change of clothes. However before He was crucified he told his disciples to take back us the coinpurse, sword and extra clothes.
What God command us to do depends on the mission He sends us to accomplish. He equips us with spiritual gifts and the power to accomplish what He wills for us to do.
Some are teachers, some evangelist, some pastors, some prayer warriors and other caregivers. All are beloved parts of the body of Christ, and all are equiped differently to fulfill the task God sets them to do.
Even then God commands about exactly what to do changes.., when He sent His apostles to tell people of His coming,he sent them without a purse or sword or change of clothes. However before He was crucified he told his disciples to take back us the coinpurse, sword and extra clothes.
What God command us to do depends on the mission He sends us to accomplish. He equips us with spiritual gifts and the power to accomplish what He wills for us to do.
Some are teachers, some evangelist, some pastors, some prayer warriors and other caregivers. All are beloved parts of the body of Christ, and all are equiped differently to fulfill the task God sets them to do.
I think I kept saying, "What is your motive?" Maybe I wasn't clear, but that isn't limited to only wanting the best for others.
The law says "Do not kill" (I'm using this example it to keep it extreme for us) Well, I and many others my age have killed more times than we can count. Sure, we can try to righteously claim the defense and patriotic angles to justify it. But, I think God knew there would be a much deeper emotional and psychological price to pay when He told us not to do that.
And, I know, that till the day I die, I will be deeply affected in my heart and soul for depriving others (who were doing nothing more than "obeying" like I was) of their lives with their young wives and little children. The understanding of the confusion and hatred I may have caused some orphans to grow up with is also a heavy load to bear sometimes.
So, not killing, as the law says, would have been the better thing for a lot of people.
But, what about the lesser laws.... maybe the dietary ones? I think most of us know there have been proven many good reasons for adhering to those laws. For one thing, we might not have such a prevalent spread of cancer today.
Then we have the social things (not the least of which is homosexuality) How very much of the fabric of our national cultures has been destroyed by ignoring those things?
So......... back to MOTIVE. If you are keeping OT laws to try and create a better existence for yourself and others. What is wrong with that? I say, NOTHING........... because you understand WHY you are doing it, and you have not fooled yourself into thinking it gets you extra "Goodie Points" with God.
The law says "Do not kill" (I'm using this example it to keep it extreme for us) Well, I and many others my age have killed more times than we can count. Sure, we can try to righteously claim the defense and patriotic angles to justify it. But, I think God knew there would be a much deeper emotional and psychological price to pay when He told us not to do that.
And, I know, that till the day I die, I will be deeply affected in my heart and soul for depriving others (who were doing nothing more than "obeying" like I was) of their lives with their young wives and little children. The understanding of the confusion and hatred I may have caused some orphans to grow up with is also a heavy load to bear sometimes.
So, not killing, as the law says, would have been the better thing for a lot of people.
But, what about the lesser laws.... maybe the dietary ones? I think most of us know there have been proven many good reasons for adhering to those laws. For one thing, we might not have such a prevalent spread of cancer today.
Then we have the social things (not the least of which is homosexuality) How very much of the fabric of our national cultures has been destroyed by ignoring those things?
So......... back to MOTIVE. If you are keeping OT laws to try and create a better existence for yourself and others. What is wrong with that? I say, NOTHING........... because you understand WHY you are doing it, and you have not fooled yourself into thinking it gets you extra "Goodie Points" with God.
The law as a schoolmaster points us to Christ....it condemns the whole world before God that everyone's mouth may be stopped...
NO ONE, except Jesus has kept the law........that is why his sacrifice was acceptable unto the Heavenly Father.......Christ is the end of the law (condemnation) unto all who believe and acknowledge JESUS by faith......!
NO ONE, except Jesus has kept the law........that is why his sacrifice was acceptable unto the Heavenly Father.......Christ is the end of the law (condemnation) unto all who believe and acknowledge JESUS by faith......!
Does His words help here?
Hebrews 8:[SUP]6 [/SUP]But now hath he obtained a more excellent ministry, by how much also he is the mediator of a better covenant, which was established upon better promises.[SUP]7 [/SUP]For if that first covenant had been faultless, then should no place have been sought for the second.[SUP]8 [/SUP]For finding fault with them, he saith, Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah:[SUP]9 [/SUP]Not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day when I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt; because they continued not in my covenant, and I regarded them not, saith the Lord.[SUP]10 [/SUP]For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, saith the Lord; I will put my laws into their mind, and write them in their hearts: and I will be to them a God, and they shall be to me a people:[SUP]11 [/SUP]And they shall not teach every man his neighbour, and every man his brother, saying, Know the Lord: for all shall know me, from the least to the greatest.[SUP]12 [/SUP]For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins and their iniquities will I remember no more.[SUP]13 [/SUP]In that he saith, A new covenant, he hath made the first old. Now that which decayeth and waxeth old is ready to vanish away.
Hebrews 8:[SUP]6 [/SUP]But now hath he obtained a more excellent ministry, by how much also he is the mediator of a better covenant, which was established upon better promises.[SUP]7 [/SUP]For if that first covenant had been faultless, then should no place have been sought for the second.[SUP]8 [/SUP]For finding fault with them, he saith, Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah:[SUP]9 [/SUP]Not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day when I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt; because they continued not in my covenant, and I regarded them not, saith the Lord.[SUP]10 [/SUP]For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, saith the Lord; I will put my laws into their mind, and write them in their hearts: and I will be to them a God, and they shall be to me a people:[SUP]11 [/SUP]And they shall not teach every man his neighbour, and every man his brother, saying, Know the Lord: for all shall know me, from the least to the greatest.[SUP]12 [/SUP]For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins and their iniquities will I remember no more.[SUP]13 [/SUP]In that he saith, A new covenant, he hath made the first old. Now that which decayeth and waxeth old is ready to vanish away.
It depends on what law you are considering. I think a good deal of the Old Testament law was aimed at the Jews. However, the commandments are for all of us, and I think it's pretty easy to tell the difference between the two. The purpose of the commandments is to keep us out of trouble. It's possible to get ourselves into a lot of trouble in this world. The commandments show us how to avoid that.
R
The law isn't meant to be ignored and following it isn't wrong (although following the parts like stoning people to death certainlly is). Romans 7:7 states " What then shall we say? That the law is sin? By no means! Yet if it had not been for the law, I would not have known sin. For I would not have known what it is to covet if the law had not said, “You shall not covet.”
The law points out sin to us so that we know it, but sin goes deeper than just following the letter of the law. For instance, because of the Ten Commandments, the Jewish people of Jesus's day knew it was wrong to sleep with someone outside of marriage Jesus pointed out that anyone who lusted after another man's wife had already committed adultery in his mind. Even if a person stops him or herself from sinning in deed, there's a mental component to the sin that a person can also commit. And it's impossible for humans to keep from sinning in both deed and mind. James 2: 10 "For whoever keeps the whole law but fails in one point has become guilty of all of it."
When Christ came He abolished the law in the sense that He freed us from being judged according to the law. If one tried to be saved by adhering to the law it would be impossible because humans just can't remain completely sinless. That doesn't mean the law is wrong. It just means that, under Christ, we're no longer judged by whether or not we uphold it perfectly.
Now, why do we obey some laws and not others? That's a more involved question. There are moral and cultural laws. The moral ones apply across most, if not all, situations. Do not steal. Do not lie. Do not murder. The cultural laws are laws that were given to the Israelites in the Old Testament to set them apart from other cultures or keep them safe in certain circumstances. For instance, God forbade the Israelites from eating certain animals, yet in the New Testament told Peter it was okay to eat animals that were previously considered unclean. We're not entirely sure whether this command was because of a health risk, because neighboring peoples ate certain types of animals and God didn't want the Israelites drawn into other religions, or just to make the Israelite culture different. Maybe all three. But the law applied only to the Israelites, not to us as Christians. Other laws, Jesus fulfilled entirely. We no longer offer sacrifices for our sins because Jesus's sacrifice was all we needed.
Now, sometimes it gets confusing which laws are cultural and which are moral. As a guide, it's helpful to see which ones are repeated in the New Testament and which are overthrown, but there are some that are up for debate. However, that's how I've had it explained to me.
The law points out sin to us so that we know it, but sin goes deeper than just following the letter of the law. For instance, because of the Ten Commandments, the Jewish people of Jesus's day knew it was wrong to sleep with someone outside of marriage Jesus pointed out that anyone who lusted after another man's wife had already committed adultery in his mind. Even if a person stops him or herself from sinning in deed, there's a mental component to the sin that a person can also commit. And it's impossible for humans to keep from sinning in both deed and mind. James 2: 10 "For whoever keeps the whole law but fails in one point has become guilty of all of it."
When Christ came He abolished the law in the sense that He freed us from being judged according to the law. If one tried to be saved by adhering to the law it would be impossible because humans just can't remain completely sinless. That doesn't mean the law is wrong. It just means that, under Christ, we're no longer judged by whether or not we uphold it perfectly.
Now, why do we obey some laws and not others? That's a more involved question. There are moral and cultural laws. The moral ones apply across most, if not all, situations. Do not steal. Do not lie. Do not murder. The cultural laws are laws that were given to the Israelites in the Old Testament to set them apart from other cultures or keep them safe in certain circumstances. For instance, God forbade the Israelites from eating certain animals, yet in the New Testament told Peter it was okay to eat animals that were previously considered unclean. We're not entirely sure whether this command was because of a health risk, because neighboring peoples ate certain types of animals and God didn't want the Israelites drawn into other religions, or just to make the Israelite culture different. Maybe all three. But the law applied only to the Israelites, not to us as Christians. Other laws, Jesus fulfilled entirely. We no longer offer sacrifices for our sins because Jesus's sacrifice was all we needed.
Now, sometimes it gets confusing which laws are cultural and which are moral. As a guide, it's helpful to see which ones are repeated in the New Testament and which are overthrown, but there are some that are up for debate. However, that's how I've had it explained to me.
