Mercy beyond the Law

Mercy beyond the Law. Mercy was demonstrated under the Law of Moses by the offering of gifts and rituals that God accepted in exchange for His mercy. But there was also mercy demonstrated by God apart from the Law that would make atonement for complete national failure under the Law.

It is this that Jesus referred to when he said: "But go and learn what this means: ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice.’ For I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.” Matt 9.13.

The book of Hebrews is excellent in its explanation that the Law was incomplete, and could only bring Israel into fellowship with God on a temporary basis. Forgiveness needed to be had not just for occasional sins, but also for the entire Sin Nature of Man. Atonement had to be made not just for individual sins, but also for the whole nation, which ultimately failed under the Law.

The system of Law had to be replaced and fulfilled. It had to be replaced with a system of righteousness free from the constraints of a Law that kept Israel out of the Garden of Eden and away from the Tree of Life. It had to be fulfilled by a system of mercy that freed them from making atonement for sin endlessly, without any ultimate closure.


Hosea 6.6 For I desire mercy, not sacrifice,
and acknowledgment of God rather than burnt offerings.
7 As at Adam, they have broken the covenant;
they were unfaithful to me there.

Let me know what you think?

For we know that since Christ was raised from the dead, He cannot die
again; death no longer has dominion over Him. The death He died, He
died to sin once for all; but the life He lives, He lives to God. So you too
must count yourselves dead to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus. Romans 6:9-11

Humanity's problem is not sin. It is that we are born dead. We are sinners by nature. We can no more stop sinning than fly to the moon. Lord Jesus did not say that He came to give us a better set of rules to follow, a good example of how to live or to overcome all the social problems of the world. He tells us that He came to give us new life, the uncreated life of God Himself.
God revealed His intent to Ezekiel:

Ezekiel 36:25-27
…I will also sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean. I will cleanse you from all your impurities and all your idols. I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; I will remove your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes and to carefully observe My ordinances.…

The sermon on the mount reveals that God's "statutes and ordinances" are not the ten commandments. God's ways are far more demanding than the Law. It would be possible to keep the law, but the sin nature refuses to obey. So we need a new nature, one that not only does not sin, but one that is positively righteous and inclined towards God, not away from Him. And that is what it means to be born again. Through the cross, we die and sin loses its power over us. Through the resurrection, we rise up to new life, found only in Christ. Through the indwelling life of Christ, we are able to walk in God's ways. It is not God helping us. Lord Jesus lives in place of what we used to be - if we will let Him. That is victory. That is overcoming. That is the way of holiness and righteousness. It is "No longer I, but Christ".

Sorry, but humanity's problem is, in fact, sin. And we aren't born dead. We're born with a death sentence due to sin. Therefore, sin is a very real problem.

We can indeed stop sinning, just as God told Cain, "you must overcome it." What we can't eradicate is our sin nature, with its predisposition to sin, with its corruption of everything we do, good or bad, with impurities.

We are not only called upon, by God, to overcome sin, but also to receive Christ's new life. And the new life you speak of is critical, because not only is it needed to overcome sin, but it is also needed for atonement for sin and to obtain eternal life.

The Sermon on the Mount confirmed that God's statutes and ordinances were the 10 Commandments. And that's because when Jesus gave this sermon, he was still in the OT era of the Law of Moses. The 10 Commandments were still in force, together with the rest of the Law.

It was possible to obey the Law, but not to the extent of obtaining justification. It required a perfect and a divine Christ to win justification for us by forgiving our sins.

But Israel was always able to keep the Law, if even imperfectly. There were provisions under the Law by which certain failures were remedied to keep Israel in good standing with God, to obtain forgiveness of sin.

We have a new nature, through Christ, but we still have the Sin Nature, which "refuses to obey." What this means is that we can obey God's laws, and we can reproduce God's character in our lives. But we still perform righteousness imperfectly, with human impurities. It is Christ's atonement who covers for our sins, and enables our righteousness to stand.

I don't know what you mean, "It is not God helping us?" Of course it is God helping us! If Christ's spiritual life is within us, giving us the grace to obey God's laws and to show God's character, it is certainly God helping us! Perhaps I'm misunderstanding?

The born again are "not under the law, but under GRACE"

Grace is also a system of Law. You are referring to the Law of Moses. It would be a contradiction for me to say the Law of Moses is replaced with the Law of Moses!

Please do not change my quotation to look like I was asking a question. That is a misrepresentation of what I said.

There is the old covenant. And in it you find the law, given by moses.

You now have a new covenant., and here you find this........."The law came by moses, but Grace and Truth came By Jesus."

Jesus has "redeemed us from the curse of the Law".

Paul said the law (the letter) Killeth, but the Spirit maketh alive".

When a Christian tries to stay in God's acceptance by keeping law and commandments, this believer is 'fallen from Grace".

Paul says this believer is.....>"bewitched".........."fallen from Grace"..........and "in the flesh".

Who are they?
These are they who teach that you can lose your salvation. They teach "predestination".....and they believe that water saves you, and these are they who rant about commandments.

See all that? That is stuff a person does......whereas Salvation is something God provided, as "the gift of Salvation".

Sounds like you're covering all bases in your criticism? Those who "teach that you can lose your salvation?" Those who "teach predestination?" It really doesn't show where you stand on any of this. At any rate, it is a little removed from any discussion about what "the Law" is.

Again, you're referring to the Law of Moses. "Grace and Truth" are not, of course, the Law of Moses. It is the New Testament system advocated for by the apostles of Jesus.

But just because the words "grace and truth" are used does not mean it is not a system of Law. Again, you're talking about the Law of Moses. I am not. And I'm certainly saying that the NT system of Grace is a form of Law. Definitely. If it is called "righteousness" at all, and it is, then it is a system of Law.

Rom 2.13 For it is not those who hear the law who are righteous in God’s sight, but it is those who obey the law who will be declared righteous.

3.27 Where, then, is boasting? It is excluded. Because of what law? The law that requires works? No, because of the law that requires faith.

Mankind has always been required to follow God's Word, to obey His Law. But to do so, He has always had to operate in faith. In that way, God becomes part of the equation of human obedience. With faith we participate with God to do good. We operate together with His Word to do good works.

Justification has always had to take place apart from our good works, because no matter how much good we do, we still sin. We still have a Sin Nature.

So justification came by operating by faith in Jesus, so that we participate together with him to do good. And his atoning work covers our failures.

In this way, justification came to us through Christ. But we are still required to do good *through him.* Faith in Christ is a righteous, lawful system. One should not say otherwise.

James 2.17 In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.