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Many here on this site are taking passages so far out of context to support a doctrine of a Covenant without laws.
Every time a passage is posted concerning obedience, passages such as Rom 3:28 are posted back in an attempt to refute the position that obedience is required by the Christian, and is essential to salvation.
Rom 3:28 will be discussed shortly. If one is teaching that since we are under grace, that we have no more laws at all, then one is also teaching according to the definition of sin, that sin itself has ceased to exist.
There are many passages that tell us we are not under "the law" and that it is a sin to try and be justified (saved) by the "the law".
Yet if one is serious about understanding God's words, and not purposely trying to ignore context, then God has revealed to us the truth about laws.
1. "THE LAW" IS NOT SPEAKING OF "ALL LAWS" IN GENERAL.
When we see the words "the law", we must ask, which laws are considered "the law"?
Is this meaning all laws, or a certain set of laws?
Rom 3:28 shows exactly what his means:
Rom 3:28 Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith without the deeds of the law.
We could just take this passage, and say, "see we are not under and deeds of law, therefore disobedience will not hinder one from being saved".
Yet if we look at the context, we understand what laws are being spoken of. We must start at the begining. What is the context of verse 28?
Verse 1:
Rom 3:1 What advantage then hath the Jew? or what profit is there of circumcision?
Rom 3:19 Now we know that what things soever the law saith, it saith to them who are under the law: that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world may become guilty before God.
Rom 3:20 Therefore by the deeds of the law there shall no flesh be justified in his sight: for by the law is the knowledge of sin.
It is not hard to see Paul here is speaking of the Jews and there laws. Circumcision, though instituted before the law of Moses, it was part of the laws as given again, to show as a sign one is under the covenant with God.
These passages have nothing to do with laws under the NT. This context is not about that, it does not say if we do, or do not have laws under the NT. SO this cannot be used to refute a teaching of laws, because it does not support that.
Passage 2:
Gal 5:4 Christ is become of no effect unto you, whosoever of you are justified by the law; ye are fallen from grace
First of all, those who attempt to use this passage to show we do not have any laws are contradicting themselves.
To say this passage is teaching that if we try to be saved by obeying God's commands, it will cause us to fall from from grace. they are in fact making a law that a Christian cannot seek to be under a law. That is a paradox.
You cannot have a law that says we have no law, and if that law that says we have no law is violated, then we fall from grace and Christ becomes of no effect.
Second, again, the context, is not about laws in general, but THE LAW OF MOSES. Those who teach we must obey God are not teaching that we should return to the law of Moses.
Context proves this:
1 Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage. (<--the law of Moses)
2 Behold, I Paul say unto you, that if ye be circumcised, Christ shall profit you nothing. (circumcision again the problem the judaizing teachers were tying to bind on the Christians)
3 For I testify again to every man that is circumcised, that he is a debtor to do the whole law(a debtor to what law? The law of Moses)
Again, this NT LAW is stating that it is a sin to return and keep all or parts of the law of Moses. Doing so, will cause us to be a debtor to the whole law, and Christ will become of no effect.\
So this is A NEW TESTAMENT LAW concerning keeping the law of Moses which has been done away with.
Passage 3:
Gal 3:24 Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith. 25 But after that faith is come, we are no longer under a schoolmaster
This passage is used over and over to show we are not under any law. This is not saying we have no law, but it is saying we are no longer under THE LAW OF MOSES because it was only a tutor.
In fact, we in the NT do not even need the law to bring us to Christ, we can go directly to him through the teachings of the NT.
This was written to the Gal. The law was a tutor to bring man to Christ. It was a shadow of what was to come - Heb 10:1
Not that the true image has come (Christ and his covenant) we no longer need the shadow (the law of Moses).
A shadow leads to the true image. You can find an apple tree by following it's shadow, yet once found you dont need it anymore. You dont reach to the shadow to get the fruit, you reach for the tree.
Again the context, which has already been shown, shows this is dealing with the Law of Moses, not all laws.
2. IF WE HAVE NO LAWS, THEN SIN DOES NOT EXIST ANYMORE:
The definition of sin remains, it does not change:
I Jn 3:4 Whosoever committeth sin transgresseth also the law: for sin is the transgression of the law
If sin is only by the transgressing of God's laws, and we have no laws, then we cannot sin anymore under the NT.
Some say, this is true, because Christ died for all sin, past present and future.
Christ did die for sin, if he did not shed his blood, then we could not repent and be cleansed. This does not mean if we choose to violate the NT commands, that it is not sin anymore.
If sin take opportunity by the command, and it exists by the transgression of those commands then we must have commands:
Rom 7:8 But sin, taking occasion by the commandment, wrought in me all manner of concupiscence. For without the law sin was dead
There is no way around this. In order to sin, a command MUST be broken.
3. NEW TESTAMENTS COMMANDS THAT WE ARE UNDER:
II Thess 3:4 And we have confidence in the Lord touching you, that ye both do and will do the things which we command you.
5 And the Lord direct your hearts into the love of God, and into the patient waiting for Christ.
6 Now we command you, brethren, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that ye withdraw yourselves from every brother that walketh disorderly, and not after the tradition which he received of us
14 And if any man obey not our word by this epistle, note that man, and have no company with him, that he may be ashamed
I Thess 4:1 Furthermore then we beseech you, brethren, and exhort you by the Lord Jesus, that as ye have received of us how ye ought to walk and to please God, so ye would abound more and more. 2 For ye know what commandments we gave you by the Lord Jesus.
3 For this is the will of God, even your sanctification, that ye should abstain from fornication
There are so many other examples that can be given. These passages are written to Christians, warning them to keep those commands that have been given.
Commands are no different from laws. A command is a law, and the violation of those laws are sin.
Some may say, okay we have commands, but it does not say that if we do not keep them we will be judged eternally.
Yet is does say this. Example: I Thess 4:3 above says the abstaining from fornication is the will of God. Can we enter heaven if we do not do the will of God?
Answer:
Matt 7:21 Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven
Do let any fool you into thinking we have no laws under the NT. We have many commands, and by keeping them is ONLY way to show we love Christ.- Jn 14:15, and 15:14.
So many want to say "love fulfills the whole law".
They are right!
If you have true love then your obeying his commands.
JN 14:15 "If ye love KEEP MY COMMANDS"
If you are obeying his commands then you are keeping the laws that have been given to us.
Heb 8:8 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: 9 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. 10 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
Every time a passage is posted concerning obedience, passages such as Rom 3:28 are posted back in an attempt to refute the position that obedience is required by the Christian, and is essential to salvation.
Rom 3:28 will be discussed shortly. If one is teaching that since we are under grace, that we have no more laws at all, then one is also teaching according to the definition of sin, that sin itself has ceased to exist.
There are many passages that tell us we are not under "the law" and that it is a sin to try and be justified (saved) by the "the law".
Yet if one is serious about understanding God's words, and not purposely trying to ignore context, then God has revealed to us the truth about laws.
1. "THE LAW" IS NOT SPEAKING OF "ALL LAWS" IN GENERAL.
When we see the words "the law", we must ask, which laws are considered "the law"?
Is this meaning all laws, or a certain set of laws?
Rom 3:28 shows exactly what his means:
Rom 3:28 Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith without the deeds of the law.
We could just take this passage, and say, "see we are not under and deeds of law, therefore disobedience will not hinder one from being saved".
Yet if we look at the context, we understand what laws are being spoken of. We must start at the begining. What is the context of verse 28?
Verse 1:
Rom 3:1 What advantage then hath the Jew? or what profit is there of circumcision?
Rom 3:19 Now we know that what things soever the law saith, it saith to them who are under the law: that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world may become guilty before God.
Rom 3:20 Therefore by the deeds of the law there shall no flesh be justified in his sight: for by the law is the knowledge of sin.
It is not hard to see Paul here is speaking of the Jews and there laws. Circumcision, though instituted before the law of Moses, it was part of the laws as given again, to show as a sign one is under the covenant with God.
These passages have nothing to do with laws under the NT. This context is not about that, it does not say if we do, or do not have laws under the NT. SO this cannot be used to refute a teaching of laws, because it does not support that.
Passage 2:
Gal 5:4 Christ is become of no effect unto you, whosoever of you are justified by the law; ye are fallen from grace
First of all, those who attempt to use this passage to show we do not have any laws are contradicting themselves.
To say this passage is teaching that if we try to be saved by obeying God's commands, it will cause us to fall from from grace. they are in fact making a law that a Christian cannot seek to be under a law. That is a paradox.
You cannot have a law that says we have no law, and if that law that says we have no law is violated, then we fall from grace and Christ becomes of no effect.
Second, again, the context, is not about laws in general, but THE LAW OF MOSES. Those who teach we must obey God are not teaching that we should return to the law of Moses.
Context proves this:
1 Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage. (<--the law of Moses)
2 Behold, I Paul say unto you, that if ye be circumcised, Christ shall profit you nothing. (circumcision again the problem the judaizing teachers were tying to bind on the Christians)
3 For I testify again to every man that is circumcised, that he is a debtor to do the whole law(a debtor to what law? The law of Moses)
Again, this NT LAW is stating that it is a sin to return and keep all or parts of the law of Moses. Doing so, will cause us to be a debtor to the whole law, and Christ will become of no effect.\
So this is A NEW TESTAMENT LAW concerning keeping the law of Moses which has been done away with.
Passage 3:
Gal 3:24 Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith. 25 But after that faith is come, we are no longer under a schoolmaster
This passage is used over and over to show we are not under any law. This is not saying we have no law, but it is saying we are no longer under THE LAW OF MOSES because it was only a tutor.
In fact, we in the NT do not even need the law to bring us to Christ, we can go directly to him through the teachings of the NT.
This was written to the Gal. The law was a tutor to bring man to Christ. It was a shadow of what was to come - Heb 10:1
Not that the true image has come (Christ and his covenant) we no longer need the shadow (the law of Moses).
A shadow leads to the true image. You can find an apple tree by following it's shadow, yet once found you dont need it anymore. You dont reach to the shadow to get the fruit, you reach for the tree.
Again the context, which has already been shown, shows this is dealing with the Law of Moses, not all laws.
2. IF WE HAVE NO LAWS, THEN SIN DOES NOT EXIST ANYMORE:
The definition of sin remains, it does not change:
I Jn 3:4 Whosoever committeth sin transgresseth also the law: for sin is the transgression of the law
If sin is only by the transgressing of God's laws, and we have no laws, then we cannot sin anymore under the NT.
Some say, this is true, because Christ died for all sin, past present and future.
Christ did die for sin, if he did not shed his blood, then we could not repent and be cleansed. This does not mean if we choose to violate the NT commands, that it is not sin anymore.
If sin take opportunity by the command, and it exists by the transgression of those commands then we must have commands:
Rom 7:8 But sin, taking occasion by the commandment, wrought in me all manner of concupiscence. For without the law sin was dead
There is no way around this. In order to sin, a command MUST be broken.
3. NEW TESTAMENTS COMMANDS THAT WE ARE UNDER:
II Thess 3:4 And we have confidence in the Lord touching you, that ye both do and will do the things which we command you.
5 And the Lord direct your hearts into the love of God, and into the patient waiting for Christ.
6 Now we command you, brethren, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that ye withdraw yourselves from every brother that walketh disorderly, and not after the tradition which he received of us
14 And if any man obey not our word by this epistle, note that man, and have no company with him, that he may be ashamed
I Thess 4:1 Furthermore then we beseech you, brethren, and exhort you by the Lord Jesus, that as ye have received of us how ye ought to walk and to please God, so ye would abound more and more. 2 For ye know what commandments we gave you by the Lord Jesus.
3 For this is the will of God, even your sanctification, that ye should abstain from fornication
There are so many other examples that can be given. These passages are written to Christians, warning them to keep those commands that have been given.
Commands are no different from laws. A command is a law, and the violation of those laws are sin.
Some may say, okay we have commands, but it does not say that if we do not keep them we will be judged eternally.
Yet is does say this. Example: I Thess 4:3 above says the abstaining from fornication is the will of God. Can we enter heaven if we do not do the will of God?
Answer:
Matt 7:21 Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven
Do let any fool you into thinking we have no laws under the NT. We have many commands, and by keeping them is ONLY way to show we love Christ.- Jn 14:15, and 15:14.
So many want to say "love fulfills the whole law".
They are right!
If you have true love then your obeying his commands.
JN 14:15 "If ye love KEEP MY COMMANDS"
If you are obeying his commands then you are keeping the laws that have been given to us.
Heb 8:8 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: 9 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. 10 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
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