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Hello,
You wrote: "sounds like you're not familiar with being led by the Spirit."
My response: What Spirit? The Spirit who testifies that Torah is written upon our hearts? (Heb. 10:15-17)
Yes, I'm VERY thankful for this Spirit of our Messiah!
Why would you oppose 100% obedience to the very Torah the SPIRIT testifies is to be written upon your heart?
Of course we are children of God....in fact, we are children of the God who tells us to obey Him! (that means Torah-obedience)
Of course we do not fear God's judgment of our sins...rather, we are accepted as His children! Thus, we obey Him (i.e., obey TORAH) with gladness (not fear).
So again, why would you oppose 100% obedience to the very Torah the SPIRIT testifies is to be written upon your heart?
best...
BibleGuy
You wrote: "sounds like you're not familiar with being led by the Spirit."
My response: What Spirit? The Spirit who testifies that Torah is written upon our hearts? (Heb. 10:15-17)
Yes, I'm VERY thankful for this Spirit of our Messiah!
Why would you oppose 100% obedience to the very Torah the SPIRIT testifies is to be written upon your heart?
Of course we are children of God....in fact, we are children of the God who tells us to obey Him! (that means Torah-obedience)
Of course we do not fear God's judgment of our sins...rather, we are accepted as His children! Thus, we obey Him (i.e., obey TORAH) with gladness (not fear).
So again, why would you oppose 100% obedience to the very Torah the SPIRIT testifies is to be written upon your heart?
best...
BibleGuy
Not sure how you define "valid law keeper"...
In practice, one's halacha develops and matures over time as we grow in faithful obedience to the Torah of the covenants in which we participate.
Different people are at different stages in their halacha-growth-process.
As long as we are all moving in the right direction, then we must graciously permit people the time and space they need for the Spirit to move that process forward.
This can be frustrating for the impatient ones among us who have already moved forward farther than others...
Patience is required...
We've got a good 1700 or so years of REALLY BAD (along certain dimensions) theology we've inherited within Christendom...and Judaism has a centuries-long tradition of theological error (along certain dimensions) as well....so I would not expect substantial correction for, say, a few centuries, realistically.
But to be specific, one's interpretation of "work" during Sabbath could be good or bad, depending upon a variety of factors...
We really need to know WHY someone thinks cooking with electricity is fine (or not fine) before we can judge the validity of one's halacha.
Your hypothetical examples have not given sufficient detail to really understand what these hypothetical people are thinking and why.
best...
BibleGuy
In practice, one's halacha develops and matures over time as we grow in faithful obedience to the Torah of the covenants in which we participate.
Different people are at different stages in their halacha-growth-process.
As long as we are all moving in the right direction, then we must graciously permit people the time and space they need for the Spirit to move that process forward.
This can be frustrating for the impatient ones among us who have already moved forward farther than others...
Patience is required...
We've got a good 1700 or so years of REALLY BAD (along certain dimensions) theology we've inherited within Christendom...and Judaism has a centuries-long tradition of theological error (along certain dimensions) as well....so I would not expect substantial correction for, say, a few centuries, realistically.
But to be specific, one's interpretation of "work" during Sabbath could be good or bad, depending upon a variety of factors...
We really need to know WHY someone thinks cooking with electricity is fine (or not fine) before we can judge the validity of one's halacha.
Your hypothetical examples have not given sufficient detail to really understand what these hypothetical people are thinking and why.
best...
BibleGuy
What does that verb TRUST (Heb. "batach") even mean?
If we understand the broader Scriptural context of the meaning of "batach", then we are immediately brought back to our need to obey Torah!
You see: Those who trust (Heb. "batach") in YHVH do not rely upon deceptive worthless words (Jer. 7:4-8); rather, they walk in obedience to YHVH’s commands (Jer. 7:23). The commands of YHVH are contained in the Torah (1 Ki. 2:3).
Thus, Christians should TRUST in YHVH in obedience to His commands in the Torah.
So, Pr. 3:5 (when interpreted within the broader context of the Tanach) clearly confirms that we should simply OBEY TORAH rather than lean upon human understanding that is contrary to Torah.
So, do you "batach" YHVH or not?
If yes, then you obey Torah.
If not, then you've got problems with your mere human understanding!
best...
BibleGuy
Hi BibleGuy
Thanks, same here
The law of faith..... not a logical opinion of or philosophical theory of God’s faith, is..... If he has begun the good work of faith that brings salvation in us he will finish it. If he begins it does not end up with our flesh finishing His work. Seeing no man will be found with a righteousness that could come from something they could do. Christ either does all the work of salvation or he does nothing.
John 6:37 All that the Father giveth me shall come to me; and him that cometh to me “I will in no wise cast out”.
The context is if God is drawing a person towards Himself he will in no wise (impossible) cast them out.
Joh 6:44 No man can come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw him: and I will raise him up at the last day.
Joh 6:45 It is written in the prophets, And they shall be all taught of God. Every man therefore that hath heard, and hath learned of the Father, cometh unto me.
Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works?And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity. Mat 7:22
The one that thinks the wonderful works they are doing can draw themselves closer to God he call a workers of iniquity .He does not deny they might of even done the work.
What kind of work that a person does causes Christ to cast one out if it is not a self-righteous work of someone who thinks they could keep the law without stumbling at one point and finds themselves guilty of the whole wager (eternal damnation) but cannot?
What happens when you sin .What is the wage for that one sin? Since it redenders a person dead with no ability to get back up?
Thanks, same here
The law of faith..... not a logical opinion of or philosophical theory of God’s faith, is..... If he has begun the good work of faith that brings salvation in us he will finish it. If he begins it does not end up with our flesh finishing His work. Seeing no man will be found with a righteousness that could come from something they could do. Christ either does all the work of salvation or he does nothing.
John 6:37 All that the Father giveth me shall come to me; and him that cometh to me “I will in no wise cast out”.
The context is if God is drawing a person towards Himself he will in no wise (impossible) cast them out.
Joh 6:44 No man can come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw him: and I will raise him up at the last day.
Joh 6:45 It is written in the prophets, And they shall be all taught of God. Every man therefore that hath heard, and hath learned of the Father, cometh unto me.
Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works?And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity. Mat 7:22
The one that thinks the wonderful works they are doing can draw themselves closer to God he call a workers of iniquity .He does not deny they might of even done the work.
What kind of work that a person does causes Christ to cast one out if it is not a self-righteous work of someone who thinks they could keep the law without stumbling at one point and finds themselves guilty of the whole wager (eternal damnation) but cannot?
What happens when you sin .What is the wage for that one sin? Since it redenders a person dead with no ability to get back up?
All things are lawful, but not all things are beneficial.
I can eat eggs without asking if they were cooked in lobster juice.
but if the eggs have bits of really tough (thus probably under-cooked) chicken in them, they wouldn't be beneficial.
it will sound contradictory to a person who doesn't understand natural and spiritual.
I can eat eggs without asking if they were cooked in lobster juice.
but if the eggs have bits of really tough (thus probably under-cooked) chicken in them, they wouldn't be beneficial.
it will sound contradictory to a person who doesn't understand natural and spiritual.
A private interpretation is a persons personal commentary of His law of faith. Private interpretations are not the law. They express the opinion of men who studies His interpretation,the very law. It is His prescribed way that we can seek His approval and not the approval of men coming from the private interpretations thereof.
Knowing this first, that no prophecy of the scripture is of any private interpretation.For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost.2Pe 1:20
It’s not what we think as to how we can rationalize according to the thoughts of another. No man does other than Christ who can see into the heart of all men.
God’s thoughts are not ours and neither are His ways ours. It’s God law according to His interpretation, the Bible. And not after the philosophies of men, through the oral traditions in respect to their own personal interpretation. .
Colossians 2:8 Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ.
God's law is not a proposition its a law that must be obeyed. So then logical truth coming from whose truth ,whose logic?
We reason according to His faith not that of our own. His word, everyone of them, is law, not theory.
I think I have and recognize His thoughts are not ours.
I do not reject any of them. It the goal he has set before us... that no man could keep without falling. No man keeps the law perfectly without stumbling .
So then How does a Christian keep the law seeing of themselves they cannot?
BibleGuy
Perhaps you can give us your meaning of “private interpretation”(called a heresy)?
Does it mean we are reasoning among our own self and not according to the law of God, which would help us understand why Jesus called it little faith or no faith coming through the law of faith.... God’s word?
Why did Christ call the disciples of little faith when they did reason among themselves? What was missing from their reasoning if not God’s law of faith?
Matthew 16:8 Which when Jesus perceived, he said unto them, O ye of little faith, why reason ye among yourselves, because ye have brought no bread?
Knowing this first, that no prophecy of the scripture is of any private interpretation.For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost.2Pe 1:20
It’s not what we think as to how we can rationalize according to the thoughts of another. No man does other than Christ who can see into the heart of all men.
God’s thoughts are not ours and neither are His ways ours. It’s God law according to His interpretation, the Bible. And not after the philosophies of men, through the oral traditions in respect to their own personal interpretation. .
Colossians 2:8 Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ.
God's law is not a proposition its a law that must be obeyed. So then logical truth coming from whose truth ,whose logic?
We reason according to His faith not that of our own. His word, everyone of them, is law, not theory.
I think I have and recognize His thoughts are not ours.
I do not reject any of them. It the goal he has set before us... that no man could keep without falling. No man keeps the law perfectly without stumbling .
So then How does a Christian keep the law seeing of themselves they cannot?
BibleGuy
Perhaps you can give us your meaning of “private interpretation”(called a heresy)?
Does it mean we are reasoning among our own self and not according to the law of God, which would help us understand why Jesus called it little faith or no faith coming through the law of faith.... God’s word?
Why did Christ call the disciples of little faith when they did reason among themselves? What was missing from their reasoning if not God’s law of faith?
Matthew 16:8 Which when Jesus perceived, he said unto them, O ye of little faith, why reason ye among yourselves, because ye have brought no bread?
Hi Guy
No one is opposing the 100 % idea .It’s just that no man can keep it. It written to be against us as the one reforming authority in every generation.
If we say we have not sinned we make him out to be liar and therefore make the faith of God that works in us making our hearts soft, without effect.
No one is opposing the 100 % idea .It’s just that no man can keep it. It written to be against us as the one reforming authority in every generation.
If we say we have not sinned we make him out to be liar and therefore make the faith of God that works in us making our hearts soft, without effect.
the Spirit would lead a believer out of the situation you describe.
GALATIANS 5:16 But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you won’t fulfill the lust of the flesh.
I agree with all four points.
GALATIANS 5:14 For the whole law is fulfilled in one word, in this: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.”
The law written on my heart is not the 10 commandments. It's the law of the spirit of life in Christ Jesus. The law of love. Love fulfills the intent of the law.
The law of Christ is much higher then the law of Moses which is why Jesus elevated the law so much - for example when He said that to lust for someone in your heart is committing adultery - the law never did say that.
The Law Written on Our Hearts is not the Ten Commandments
“This is the covenant I will make with them after that time,” says the Lord. “I will put my laws in their hearts, and I will write them on their minds.” (Heb 10:16)
“This is obviously a reference to the law of Moses,” says the law-preacher. “The Ten Commandments were written in stone, now they’re written in the hearts and minds of God’s people.”
Not true. Here are seventeen reasons why God has not written the Ten Commandments on your heart:
1. The law inflames sin (Rom 5:20) and the strength of sin is the law (1 Cor 15:56). Why would God want to stir up sin in your life?
2. The law condemns (2 Cor 3:9), yet there is no condemnation to those in Christ.
3. The law ministers death (2 Cor 3:7), but God wants you to enjoy abundant life.
4. Law and grace don’t mix. You are under grace, not law (Rom 6:14).
5. Living by the law will alienate you from Christ (Gal 5:4).
6. Living by the law is cheating on Jesus (Rom 7). Why would God do anything to encourage spiritual adultery?
7. We’re to live by faith but the law is not of faith (Gal 3:12). The law encourages us to depend on ourselves instead of Jesus.
8. Those who live under the law are under a curse (Gal 3:10). Why would God curse those he has blessed?
9. The law binds and enslaves (Rom 7:6), but Jesus wants you free.
10. The law keeps you immature for it makes nothing perfect or complete (Heb 7:19).
11. We have died to the law so that we may serve in the new way of the Spirit and “not in the old way of the written code” (Rom 7:6).
12. When there has been a change of priesthood, the law must be changed also (Heb 7:12). For God to write the old law on our hearts would be like saying Aaron is greater than Jesus.
13. God found fault with the law-keeping covenant and made it obsolete (Heb 8:7,13). Why would God insult his Son’s sacrifice by giving you the very thing his sacrifice rendered obsolete?
14. The law is a shadow of the good things to come and not the reality (Heb 10:1). Why would God give you the shadow instead of “the good thing”?
15. The Jews considered the law to be ordained by angels (Heb 2:2). If so, says the author of Hebrews, then it is inferior to the gospel of Jesus (Heb 1:4). Why would God give you an inferior gift?
16. Some Christians think that God gives them the law as a guide to live by, but why would God want you to repeat the mistake of the Galatians (Gal 3:2)? Why would God do anything to make you fall from grace?
17. The old law-keeping covenant required an accounting or remembering of sin, but the new covenant is characterized by God forgiving and forgetting on account of Jesus (Heb 10:17). If the law that God writes in our hearts is the law of Moses, then Jesus died for nothing.
If God has written the Ten Commandments on your heart and mind, you should be able to list all ten with no trouble. Can you? What’s the seventh commandment? You can’t do it because it’s not there, and a very good thing that is too! If the law that God writes in our hearts is the law of Moses, you’re in big trouble.
The good news is that God has written in us a far better law. What is this new and better law? We’ll find out in the next post!
Here is the website for this article. It has a comment section at the bottom where people can ask questions.
https://escapetoreality.org/2015/04/...-commandments/
The law of Christ is much higher then the law of Moses which is why Jesus elevated the law so much - for example when He said that to lust for someone in your heart is committing adultery - the law never did say that.
The Law Written on Our Hearts is not the Ten Commandments
“This is the covenant I will make with them after that time,” says the Lord. “I will put my laws in their hearts, and I will write them on their minds.” (Heb 10:16)
“This is obviously a reference to the law of Moses,” says the law-preacher. “The Ten Commandments were written in stone, now they’re written in the hearts and minds of God’s people.”
Not true. Here are seventeen reasons why God has not written the Ten Commandments on your heart:
1. The law inflames sin (Rom 5:20) and the strength of sin is the law (1 Cor 15:56). Why would God want to stir up sin in your life?
2. The law condemns (2 Cor 3:9), yet there is no condemnation to those in Christ.
3. The law ministers death (2 Cor 3:7), but God wants you to enjoy abundant life.
4. Law and grace don’t mix. You are under grace, not law (Rom 6:14).
5. Living by the law will alienate you from Christ (Gal 5:4).
6. Living by the law is cheating on Jesus (Rom 7). Why would God do anything to encourage spiritual adultery?
7. We’re to live by faith but the law is not of faith (Gal 3:12). The law encourages us to depend on ourselves instead of Jesus.
8. Those who live under the law are under a curse (Gal 3:10). Why would God curse those he has blessed?
9. The law binds and enslaves (Rom 7:6), but Jesus wants you free.
10. The law keeps you immature for it makes nothing perfect or complete (Heb 7:19).
11. We have died to the law so that we may serve in the new way of the Spirit and “not in the old way of the written code” (Rom 7:6).
12. When there has been a change of priesthood, the law must be changed also (Heb 7:12). For God to write the old law on our hearts would be like saying Aaron is greater than Jesus.
13. God found fault with the law-keeping covenant and made it obsolete (Heb 8:7,13). Why would God insult his Son’s sacrifice by giving you the very thing his sacrifice rendered obsolete?
14. The law is a shadow of the good things to come and not the reality (Heb 10:1). Why would God give you the shadow instead of “the good thing”?
15. The Jews considered the law to be ordained by angels (Heb 2:2). If so, says the author of Hebrews, then it is inferior to the gospel of Jesus (Heb 1:4). Why would God give you an inferior gift?
16. Some Christians think that God gives them the law as a guide to live by, but why would God want you to repeat the mistake of the Galatians (Gal 3:2)? Why would God do anything to make you fall from grace?
17. The old law-keeping covenant required an accounting or remembering of sin, but the new covenant is characterized by God forgiving and forgetting on account of Jesus (Heb 10:17). If the law that God writes in our hearts is the law of Moses, then Jesus died for nothing.
If God has written the Ten Commandments on your heart and mind, you should be able to list all ten with no trouble. Can you? What’s the seventh commandment? You can’t do it because it’s not there, and a very good thing that is too! If the law that God writes in our hearts is the law of Moses, you’re in big trouble.
The good news is that God has written in us a far better law. What is this new and better law? We’ll find out in the next post!
Here is the website for this article. It has a comment section at the bottom where people can ask questions.
https://escapetoreality.org/2015/04/...-commandments/
JEREMIAH 7:23 but this thing I commanded them, saying, ‘Listen to my voice, and I will be your God, and you shall be my people; and walk in all the way that I command you, that it may be well with you.’
'Listen to my voice'
that's walking in the spirit, doing God's commands as the Spirit understands them.
JOHN 16:13 However when he, the Spirit of truth, has come, he will guide you into all truth, for he will not speak from himself; but whatever he hears, he will speak. He will declare to you things that are coming.
What is the Law Written on Our Hearts?
Six-hundred years before Jesus came, the prophet Jeremiah spoke of a new covenant that God would make with his people:
“This is the covenant I will make with the people of Israel after that time,” declares the Lord. “I will put my law in their minds and write it on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people. No longer will they teach their neighbor, or say to one another, ‘Know the Lord,’ because they will all know me, from the least of them to the greatest.” (Jer 31:33-34)
What is the law that God writes on our hearts and minds? Here are three things it is not:
So what is this law that the Lord writes on our hearts and minds and embeds in our very being?
It is Himself.
Let’s look at three things the New Testament says about the new law in our hearts.
1. The law of love
A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. (John 13:34)
Under the old law covenant, love was demanded from you. “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind and strength.”
But under the new covenant of grace, love is given to you – “As I have loved you” – and out of the overflow of Christ’s measureless love we are able to love others.
How does it happen?
God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us. (Rom 5:5)
God abundantly pours his love into our hearts by giving us the Holy Spirit, a.k.a. the Spirit of Christ. Do you see the difference between the old and new?
2. The law of the Spirit of life
It’s important that you understand the difference between the old law (a written code you can’t keep) and the new Law (Christ himself, living in you). Try and live by the old laws, as Paul did, and it make you miserable:
What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body that is subject to death? (Rom 7:24)
Paul couldn’t keep the old law no matter how hard he tried. He needed a new law and that new law is a Who:
Who will rescue me…? Thanks be to God, who delivers me through Jesus Christ our Lord. (Rom 7:24-25a)
Do you see? The old law is a what; the new law is a Who. The old law ministers condemnation and death (2 Cor 3:7-9), but the new “law of the Spirit gives life” (Rom 8:2).
For the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life. (2 Cor 3:6)
Who gives life? Not a set of rules, but the Spirit of Christ within you. The new law is a Who.
3. The perfect law of liberty
James wrote of “the perfect law that gives freedom” (Jas 1:25), which can be contrasted with the law of Moses that binds (Rom 7:6). What is the perfect law that gives freedom? Well, what is the implanted word that can save you (Jas 1:21)? It’s not the Ten Commandments or the Bible. It’s Jesus, the living Word who sets us free.
The perfect law of liberty describes what Jesus has done (perfectly fulfilled or completed the law) and the fruit he will bear in our lives (liberty) if we trust him.
But whoever looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues in it – not forgetting what they have heard, but doing it – they will be blessed in what they do. (Jas 1:25)
Look into the mirror of Moses’ law and you will be miserable, for it exposes all your faults. But look into the perfect law which is Jesus and you will be blessed, for it reveals his righteousness.
“Don’t just listen but do what it (the perfect law of liberty) says” (Jas 1:22). In other words, allow the Spirit of Christ to convince you that in him you are righteous and holy. Don’t walk away from the perfect law and forget who you are in Christ. Fix your eyes on Jesus. Look intently with an unveiled face and be transformed into his likeness.
The Law written in our hearts is Jesus
Jeremiah said those who had the new law written on their hearts would know the Lord and would no longer need others to teach them. This is describing your union with Christ. One with the Lord you have the mind of Christ (1 Cor 2:16). His Spirit dwells in you and teaches you all things (John 14:26).
The law of the Lord written into your members is your Father’s spiritual DNA. It is the seed of God birthed in you by the Holy Spirit. It’s Jesus himself.
How do you know he’s there? Because you are a new creation with new hopes and desires. You no longer want to sin. Your desire is to love God and others and that desire has nothing to do with old rules written in stone.
Christian, you are who you are because Christ lives in you. He is the new law written, by God, in your heart and mind.
Here is the website for this article. It has a comment section at the bottom where people can ask questions.
https://escapetoreality.org/2015/04/...on-our-hearts/
Six-hundred years before Jesus came, the prophet Jeremiah spoke of a new covenant that God would make with his people:
“This is the covenant I will make with the people of Israel after that time,” declares the Lord. “I will put my law in their minds and write it on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people. No longer will they teach their neighbor, or say to one another, ‘Know the Lord,’ because they will all know me, from the least of them to the greatest.” (Jer 31:33-34)
What is the law that God writes on our hearts and minds? Here are three things it is not:
- It is not the law of Moses. As we saw in the last post, if God wrote the Ten Commandments on our hearts then Jesus died for nothing.
- It is not a new and improved version of the law. It is not the new commands of Jesus or the New Testament. We cannot please God by keeping a new law any more than we could please him by keeping an old one.
- It is not the knowledge of right and wrong that was bestowed upon us – against the Lord’s wishes – by Adam.
So what is this law that the Lord writes on our hearts and minds and embeds in our very being?
It is Himself.
Let’s look at three things the New Testament says about the new law in our hearts.
1. The law of love
A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. (John 13:34)
Under the old law covenant, love was demanded from you. “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind and strength.”
But under the new covenant of grace, love is given to you – “As I have loved you” – and out of the overflow of Christ’s measureless love we are able to love others.
How does it happen?
God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us. (Rom 5:5)
God abundantly pours his love into our hearts by giving us the Holy Spirit, a.k.a. the Spirit of Christ. Do you see the difference between the old and new?
- Under the old, the law was a rule for weak men to obey. Under the new, the Law is the Spirit of Christ given to us, loving us, and loving others through us.
- Under the old, you loved others because you feared punishment. But under the new, you love because a Lover lives in you and it is his nature to love.
- Under the old, you had to make an effort to obey. But under the new you have to make an effort to disobey. It’s a whole new way of life.
2. The law of the Spirit of life
It’s important that you understand the difference between the old law (a written code you can’t keep) and the new Law (Christ himself, living in you). Try and live by the old laws, as Paul did, and it make you miserable:
What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body that is subject to death? (Rom 7:24)
Paul couldn’t keep the old law no matter how hard he tried. He needed a new law and that new law is a Who:
Who will rescue me…? Thanks be to God, who delivers me through Jesus Christ our Lord. (Rom 7:24-25a)
Do you see? The old law is a what; the new law is a Who. The old law ministers condemnation and death (2 Cor 3:7-9), but the new “law of the Spirit gives life” (Rom 8:2).
For the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life. (2 Cor 3:6)
Who gives life? Not a set of rules, but the Spirit of Christ within you. The new law is a Who.
3. The perfect law of liberty
James wrote of “the perfect law that gives freedom” (Jas 1:25), which can be contrasted with the law of Moses that binds (Rom 7:6). What is the perfect law that gives freedom? Well, what is the implanted word that can save you (Jas 1:21)? It’s not the Ten Commandments or the Bible. It’s Jesus, the living Word who sets us free.
The perfect law of liberty describes what Jesus has done (perfectly fulfilled or completed the law) and the fruit he will bear in our lives (liberty) if we trust him.
But whoever looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues in it – not forgetting what they have heard, but doing it – they will be blessed in what they do. (Jas 1:25)
Look into the mirror of Moses’ law and you will be miserable, for it exposes all your faults. But look into the perfect law which is Jesus and you will be blessed, for it reveals his righteousness.
“Don’t just listen but do what it (the perfect law of liberty) says” (Jas 1:22). In other words, allow the Spirit of Christ to convince you that in him you are righteous and holy. Don’t walk away from the perfect law and forget who you are in Christ. Fix your eyes on Jesus. Look intently with an unveiled face and be transformed into his likeness.
The Law written in our hearts is Jesus
Jeremiah said those who had the new law written on their hearts would know the Lord and would no longer need others to teach them. This is describing your union with Christ. One with the Lord you have the mind of Christ (1 Cor 2:16). His Spirit dwells in you and teaches you all things (John 14:26).
The law of the Lord written into your members is your Father’s spiritual DNA. It is the seed of God birthed in you by the Holy Spirit. It’s Jesus himself.
How do you know he’s there? Because you are a new creation with new hopes and desires. You no longer want to sin. Your desire is to love God and others and that desire has nothing to do with old rules written in stone.
Christian, you are who you are because Christ lives in you. He is the new law written, by God, in your heart and mind.
Here is the website for this article. It has a comment section at the bottom where people can ask questions.
https://escapetoreality.org/2015/04/...on-our-hearts/
S
Good day, Dan! I hope you had a nice weekend. I enjoyed a peaceful Sabbath and then finally got caught up on lawn care on Sunday. Lots of catching up to do here, as well, so please be patient as it will take me days to do so with my busy work/life schedule.
To repeat, simplifiedtruth said: All things are lawful to those who already are obedient to the law, but that does not mean all things are beneficial to do just because you have a right to do it (like eating meat in front of a vegetarian, thereby causing and offense).
His understanding of the verse makes sense. Only the things which are lawful to do are lawful to do. This excludes things which are unlawful, of course, because unlawful things are not lawful to do. Paul is not saying that anything we do is lawful and permissible, because that would include literally anything: murder, theft, sexual perversion, etc. -- these things are clearly unlawful and not permissible. So, when Paul talks about "all things are lawful" (which many translations indicate this to be a quote he is repeating, not his own words), the context is the things that are already pre-defined by the Father as lawful and permissible. The Torah defines the things that are lawful and permissible and those which are not. These verses do not justify eating unclean meats any more than they justify murder, theft, sexual perversion, etc. If we interpret them to literally mean "ALL THINGS are lawful (i.e., permissible) but not everything is beneficial", then we are opening up ourselves to false ideas such as "murder is lawful but not beneficial, so I don't murder on the basis that it's not beneficial." No, murder is not lawful to begin with, so there is no sense in talking about whether it's beneficial or not. Likewise, we must start with all the things that are lawful to us and then make the decision about whether it is beneficial or not to carry those things out in all circumstances. The specific example that Paul is talking about here is eating meat sacrificed to idols. He is making a halachic decision that it is lawful to buy meat from the markets and consume it even when we do not know its source, but if we are served this meat by an unbeliever and they tell us directly that it was used in an idol sacrifice, then we are not to eat it because it would cause them to stumble. I believe Paul's lesson here to simply be that we are to even sometimes limit the things which are lawful to us for the sake of others. This is about limiting our freedom of doing things which are lawful, not about expanding our freedom to include things which are not lawful. Therefore, we cannot use this verse as justification to do things which are already determined to be unlawful (e.g., eating unclean meats which the Torah defines as unlawful, though what I gather from your other posts is that you do not believe that the Torah's commands concerning unclean meats were actually about physically eating unclean meats, so we will look at that in another post).
Blessings, friend.
To repeat, simplifiedtruth said: All things are lawful to those who already are obedient to the law, but that does not mean all things are beneficial to do just because you have a right to do it (like eating meat in front of a vegetarian, thereby causing and offense).
His understanding of the verse makes sense. Only the things which are lawful to do are lawful to do. This excludes things which are unlawful, of course, because unlawful things are not lawful to do. Paul is not saying that anything we do is lawful and permissible, because that would include literally anything: murder, theft, sexual perversion, etc. -- these things are clearly unlawful and not permissible. So, when Paul talks about "all things are lawful" (which many translations indicate this to be a quote he is repeating, not his own words), the context is the things that are already pre-defined by the Father as lawful and permissible. The Torah defines the things that are lawful and permissible and those which are not. These verses do not justify eating unclean meats any more than they justify murder, theft, sexual perversion, etc. If we interpret them to literally mean "ALL THINGS are lawful (i.e., permissible) but not everything is beneficial", then we are opening up ourselves to false ideas such as "murder is lawful but not beneficial, so I don't murder on the basis that it's not beneficial." No, murder is not lawful to begin with, so there is no sense in talking about whether it's beneficial or not. Likewise, we must start with all the things that are lawful to us and then make the decision about whether it is beneficial or not to carry those things out in all circumstances. The specific example that Paul is talking about here is eating meat sacrificed to idols. He is making a halachic decision that it is lawful to buy meat from the markets and consume it even when we do not know its source, but if we are served this meat by an unbeliever and they tell us directly that it was used in an idol sacrifice, then we are not to eat it because it would cause them to stumble. I believe Paul's lesson here to simply be that we are to even sometimes limit the things which are lawful to us for the sake of others. This is about limiting our freedom of doing things which are lawful, not about expanding our freedom to include things which are not lawful. Therefore, we cannot use this verse as justification to do things which are already determined to be unlawful (e.g., eating unclean meats which the Torah defines as unlawful, though what I gather from your other posts is that you do not believe that the Torah's commands concerning unclean meats were actually about physically eating unclean meats, so we will look at that in another post).
Blessings, friend.
S
I'm sorry friend, but this is where we are going to strongly disagree. Sexual immorality is absolutely not permissible. It doesn't matter which "law" one points to as their guiding principle (Law of Moses, Law of Christ, Law of the Spirit, or whatever), there is not one by which it is permissible. We don't conduct our behavior simply on the basis of whether or not something is "beneficial". To do so is highly subjective and would open us up to all sorts of sin. These verses are talking about judging specific circumstances to decide whether or not it is proper to do the things we are otherwise knowingly permitted to do. In order to make those judgments, we must first have the knowledge of what we are permitted to do and not do. Again, these verses are not discussing the basic issue of what is permissible or not, but how we might need to limit our permissible behavior in front of certain people.
For example:
Correct theology: In obedience to our Father, it is permissible for us to do A, B, and C, but not X, Y, and Z. But sometimes in front of John or Jane, you should also not do B or C for their sake.
Incorrect theology: In obedience to our Father, it is permissible to do A, B, C, X, Y, and Z. But sometimes in front of John or Jane, you should not do C or Z for their sake (but it's ok to do Z otherwise).
For the sake of the gospel and others, we sometimes need to limit our behavior of permissible things. That's all that's being said here. The gospel doesn't give us permission to do impermissible things.
For example:
Correct theology: In obedience to our Father, it is permissible for us to do A, B, and C, but not X, Y, and Z. But sometimes in front of John or Jane, you should also not do B or C for their sake.
Incorrect theology: In obedience to our Father, it is permissible to do A, B, C, X, Y, and Z. But sometimes in front of John or Jane, you should not do C or Z for their sake (but it's ok to do Z otherwise).
For the sake of the gospel and others, we sometimes need to limit our behavior of permissible things. That's all that's being said here. The gospel doesn't give us permission to do impermissible things.
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