You preach grace but I don't see grace.
If what you say above is true an believed by you, then why criticize those who are trying to serve the Lord in Love in the best way they know how?
I have not followed the discussion between you two nor know of the posts where you seem to ascertain he is not preaching grace, but by your words, those who are "trying" to serve the Lord in Love in the best way they know how sounds like religious striving on their part. If they were "trying" to do the best they can in obeying the Lord in all things, have you inquired of those that do if they condemn themselves for failing or quit christianity because they find it too hard? Do you ever hear of those who try to do the best they can in keeping the law, condemn those for not even trying to keep the law?
It seems to me that you're Always criticizing those who are trying their best to obey God.
This makes it seem as they you DON'T WANT TO OBEY GOD.
How do you describe the Jews under the law? Were they not trying to do the best they can under the law? They had a zeal and love for God.... or else why would they even try? And yet.. by failing.... what?
Romans 10:1Brethren, my heart's desire and prayer to God for Israel is, that they might be saved.[SUP] 2 [/SUP]For I bear them record that they have a zeal of God, but not according to knowledge.[SUP] 3 [/SUP]For they being ignorant of God's righteousness, and going about to establish their own righteousness, have not submitted themselves unto the righteousness of God.[SUP] 4 [/SUP]For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to every one that believeth.[SUP]5 [/SUP]For Moses describeth the righteousness which is of the law, That the man which doeth those things shall live by them.
The consequences are....
Romans 3:[SUP]19 [/SUP]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.[SUP] 20 [/SUP]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.[SUP]21 [/SUP]But now the righteousness of God without the law is manifested, being witnessed by the law and the prophets;[SUP]22 [/SUP]Even the righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe: for there is no difference:
What did His disciples decide when confronted about Gentiles keeping the laws of Moses? Look at the testimony about the Jews.
Acts 15:[SUP]5 [/SUP]But there rose up certain of the sect of the Pharisees which believed, saying, That it was needful to circumcise them, and to command them to keep the law of Moses.[SUP]6 [/SUP]And the apostles and elders came together for to consider of this matter.[SUP] 7 [/SUP]And when there had been much disputing, Peter rose up, and said unto them, Men and brethren, ye know how that a good while ago God made choice among us, that the Gentiles by my mouth should hear the word of the gospel, and believe.[SUP] 8 [/SUP]And God, which knoweth the hearts, bare them witness, giving them the Holy Ghost, even as he did unto us; [SUP]9 [/SUP]And put no difference between us and them, purifying their hearts by faith.
10Now therefore why tempt ye God, to put a yoke upon the neck of the disciples, which neither our fathers nor we were able to bear?[SUP]11 [/SUP]But we believe that through the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ we shall be saved, even as they.
It's truly strange how we are blind to what we believe. All of us.
We each must do what we feel is right in serving God.
What we feel is right, if it does not go against God's rules, is what each one of us should do.
Others should not say how wrong it is.
Galatians 2:[SUP]17 [/SUP]But if, while we seek to be justified by Christ, we ourselves also are found sinners, is therefore Christ the minister of sin? God forbid.[SUP] 18 [/SUP]For if I build again the things which I destroyed, I make myself a transgressor.[SUP] 19 [/SUP]For I through the law am dead to the law, that I might live unto God.[SUP] 20 [/SUP]I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.[SUP] 21 [/SUP]I do not frustrate the grace of God: for if righteousness come by the law, then Christ is dead in vain.
Galatians 3:1O 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?[SUP] 2 [/SUP]This only would I learn of you, Received ye the Spirit by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith?[SUP] 3 [/SUP]Are ye so foolish? having begun in the Spirit, are ye now made perfect by the flesh?[SUP] 4 [/SUP]Have ye suffered so many things in vain? if it be yet in vain.[SUP] 5 [/SUP]He therefore that ministereth to you the Spirit, and worketh miracles among you, doeth he it by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith?[SUP] 6 [/SUP]Even as Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness.
So can we finish by the religious flesh of doing the best we can in keeping the law or not? Seems Paul was telling others in the defense of the faith in Jesus Christ, not to do that, but to live by faith in the Son of God Whom is in us instead.
As it is, usually saved believers who boast of keeping the law are doing so by condemning others for not doing so, even to the point of saying that they are not saved. So it is in that, you have to watch for when defending those who boast of doing the best they can in keeping the law, including the sabbath day. It usually never comes without condemning those who do not keep the sabbath day.
Your next post is about the Covenants.
Do you believe each covenant abolished the previous one??
When the New Covenant is on better promises, because it is all on God, then the Old Covenant wherein men can boast... vanishes.
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.
One time, He addressed me to choose this day whom I will serve, the Lord Jesus Christ or something else in His name. I said "You of course.." but for some reason, that sense of urgency remained...then I prayed.. "Please help me to do this." And then the sense of urgency was gone as I had His peace once again.
Sure enough, about a week later, I was on vacation with my folks and confronted with my Aunt's church that had a "holy laughter" movement just that prior Sunday. He did not connect the dots for me to see until short while afterwards, but He kept me from chasing after those seducing spirits in serving them by preaching that movement in seeking to partake in the glory of that movement. Jesus is my Good Shepherd and I trust in Him to keep me from falling and to present me faultless to His glory.
So we may have "free will" to choose, but there is no power in that decision nor in that choice, as in there is no power in keeping that decision or choice to follow Him when obviously, I had to put all my trust & hopes in Him as my Good Shepherd to help me to follow Him.
It pays to lean on Him to teach me in His words as kept in the KJV to be grounded in the faith because it was afterwards that He provided scripture to see the role of the Holy Spirit for what He has been sent to do, and that is to keep the spotlight on the Son and not draw attention to Himself because that is what seducing spirits do in luring believers to stop seeking the face of Christ in worship to chasing after them for a sign.
Indeed, antichrist as applied in scripture means "instead of Christ" or more specifically, "instead of the Son". Jesus is the Christ and to deny the Son is the same as to deny the Father. Christ refers to deity and Jesus is the only way to come to God the Father by ( John 14:6 ) Not by chasing after the "Holy Spirit" for a sign, which it is really not the actual Holy Spirit, especially when He is in me as promised since I had first believed in Jesus Christ to be saved.
So even in that, I trust Him as my Good Shepherd to help me keep choosing to deny myself, pick up my cross daily, and follow Him because He is the power for living that reconciled relationship with God and that is through Jesus Christ.
Luke 9:[SUP]23 [/SUP]And he said to them all, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me.
2 Corinthians 5:[SUP]17 [/SUP]Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.[SUP] 18 [/SUP]And all things are of God, who hath reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ, and hath given to us the ministry of reconciliation;
Galatians 2:[SUP]20 [/SUP]I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.
2 Corinthians 3:[SUP]4 [/SUP]And such trust have we through Christ to God-ward:[SUP] 5 [/SUP]Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think any thing as of ourselves; but our sufficiency is of God;
2 Corinthians 4:[SUP]5 [/SUP]For we preach not ourselves, but Christ Jesus the Lord; and ourselves your servants for Jesus' sake.[SUP] 6 [/SUP]For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.[SUP]7 [/SUP]But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellency of the power may be of God, and not of us.
[video=youtube;_rR_Rdb1CTE]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_rR_Rdb1CTE[/video]
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