To which I say, using your own words:
You and countless other Protestants simply do not understand their argument. They feel compelled by conscience to be observant for the same reason you and I are compelled by conscience to not steal, or murder, or lie. We don't do it to justify ourselves and neither do they. I don't know if you people refuse to understand the argument or you are simply incapable of understanding it. I tend to lean toward the latter.
Titus 3:
9 But avoid foolish questions, and genealogies, and contentions, and strivings about the law; for they are unprofitable and vain.
10 A man that is an heretick after the first and second admonition reject;
Some food for thought PH,
satan uses God's Word to deceive God's people into disobeying Him. That is its goal. To turn us away from obedience to God. The one common thread in all the faith examples of the Bible is their submission to God's Laws (His Righteousness) There is no way you can read the Bible and not see the importance of God's Laws in man's life. It would be a no brainer if it wasn't for satan using God's own words to confuse and deceive as it did to Eve.
Matt. 24:
3 And as he sat upon the mount of Olives, the disciples came unto him privately, saying, Tell us, when shall these things be?
and what shall be the sign of thy coming,
and of the end of the world?
4 And Jesus answered and said unto them,
Take heed that no man deceive you.
This must be pretty important to remember. "Take Heed" He says. Take heed of what?
5
For many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ;
and shall deceive many.
There is only one group of people on the planet that fit's this description and that is "Christianity".
Can you show me where that is not correct?
So Jesus could have warned about Atheists or Islam or heathens. But He didn't. He warned them and us about "Christians" who claim Jesus is truly the Messiah, deceiving us. And how will they deceive us? What does it mean to deceive? Is it not teaching lies about God and His Word?
Is it not "Teaching for doctrines the Commandments of men"?
Did the Apostles understand this?
2 Cor. 11:13 For such
are false apostles, deceitful workers,
transforming themselves into the apostles of Christ.
14 And no marvel;
for satan himself is transformed into an angel of light.
15 Therefore
it is no great thing if his ministers also be transformed as the ministers of righteousness; whose end shall be
according to their works.
So there can be no question, as far as the Bible is concerned, that satan is in "MANY" Mainstream Christian churches and it is working to deceive us.
Deceive us into what? Obeying God as Jesus did? Or disobeying God as Eve did. It is really so simple even a child can understand. But this wicked influence Jesus warned us of has muddied the waters to the point where most just don't know what is truth and what is not.
As a result we have hundreds of denominations with thousands of churches all preaching slightly different doctrines.
But they all have one thing in common. They all preach that we are not obligated to obey God's Commandments. They refuse to know and accept that the "Works of the Law" Paul speaks of is the separate Levitical Priesthood sacrifices and ceremonies God gave to a people He separated from all others. They falsely preach that the "Works of the Law" are not the sacrifices God initiated for the remission of sins until the Seed should come, but the he is talking about the 10 commandments, Holy Days and creation laws.
It used to be, before Jesus, that if I sinned, I went and found a Levite Priest who performed ceremonial, sacrificial, "words and Deeds of this Law" to cleanse me of my sins. But now that Jesus has come, we are no longer "Justified by the Law", or by the blood of Goats. We are now under Grace for remission of sins, not the Levitical Priesthood "works of the Law" for remission of sins. This is the New Covenant.
But this has nothing to do with the definition of sin. That's why Paul said.
1 Cor. 7:
19 Circumcision is nothing, and uncircumcision is nothing,
but the keeping of the commandments of God.
And:
Rom 2:
13 (For not the hearers of the law
are just before God,
but the doers of the law shall be justified.
He isn't talking about being justified by the blood of goats here, he is talking about the Faith of Abraham and the "works" that show our Faith.
Just remember that there were laws in place, before Jesus, that were used to justify sin. Then Jesus the Seed came. But the Mainstream Church of that time couldn't accept that their Priesthood, with their social power, free money, importance in society was gone. So they killed Jesus and continued to preach their man made doctrines and perform these Levitical Priesthood "works of the Law" for justification and remission of sins.
Even some "believers" pushed this Old Covenant.
Acts. 15:But there rose up certain of the s
ect of the Pharisees which believed, saying, That it was needful to circumcise them, and to c
ommand them to keep the law of Moses.
It was this continued doctrine that was preached to the Galatians.
Gal. 1:
1 O foolish Galatians,
who hath bewitched you, that ye should not obey the truth, before whose eyes Jesus Christ hath been evidently set forth, crucified among you?
2 This only would I learn of you,
Received ye the Spirit by the works of the law, (blood of goats and Levitical ceremonies) or by the hearing of
faith? (Repentance and belief in Christ's Blood for the remission of sins.)
The idea that the Galatians were tricked, or bewitched, into obeying God's Commandments is foolish of course, yet this is what "many" on this forum are preaching. It makes no sense to engage them given they refuse to respond to scripture that brings their doctrine into question.
Mainstream Christianity will never accept this truth because it destroys the very foundation of their belief. Jesus knows this and therefore He warned us, and specifically I might add.
I know this is a lot to swallow but after reading your posts it is evident that you know something is wrong with Mainstream preaching.
Think about this in closing. Do you know that the Mainstream Christian Church in it's entirety are the largest purveyors of disobedience to the God of Abraham on the planet?
I'll take some arrows for that statement but you think about that for a moment.
Rejection of Sabbaths, Holy Days, definition of clean and unclean, Holy and Unholy. Images of God/Jesus created after their own imaginations. I could go on and on. Given these absolute facts we can see if we stand back and look, doesn't that shed a whole new light on Jesus warning to "Take Heed"?
Love your posts PH
Hope you don't mind the intrusion.