But… but… the Old Testament

Let’s not kid ourselves, even in the Old Testament the Mosaic Covenant was one that had five times more curses than blessings. There are 13 verses of blessing described (Deuteronomy 28:1-13) and 65 verses of curses (Deuteronomy 27:15-26, 28:16-68).

People lived constantly under the awareness of both the severity of the law and their inability to fulfill it! The law was always more of a curse than a blessing to those who were under it! That was its very purpose – to show just how much trouble they were in!

They knew they were to celebrate the law because it was God-given, but they never ultimately had a revelation of why it was given.

It was given to a people who wanted to do things their own way, as a way to show them they couldn’t! It showed them the standard of God’s holiness was far beyond anything they could ever hope to achieve themselves. This law was required and yet at the same time wholly impossible to obey. It was meant to drive them to grace and mercy and that grace and mercy could only come through the One who did the impossible by fulfilling the law.
The law made things worse

I know personally when I have a sin in my life I have a tendency to want to deal with it using law. When I see a sin, I think “what law can fix the problem here?” Or “what structure can I implement in my life to stop me from sinning?”

The problem is, that this is an Old Covenant way of thinking. The law is not applied to control sin, actually in both Romans 5:20 and 1 Corinthians 15:56 Paul explains to us how the law actually makes sin worse! Wherever there is law, sin starts to run rampant! It throws gasoline on the flames! That’s what the much misunderstood passage Romans 7 is all about, many think it’s about a sinful nature, actually it’s about the law stirring up sin!

But Jesus came to fulfill the law, not do away with it!

I hear this argument a LOT when I talk about this stuff, let me ask you a hypothetical question:

Let’s say you have a mortgage for $500,000 owed to the bank. Now imagine that a rich man comes along and pays that mortgage off in full. He gets his receipt of the payment and you receive written notice of the mortgage being paid in full.

Now suppose the first of the month comes round and you get your monthly bill, from the bank, demanding your $2000 monthly repayment.

What are you going to do?

You are going to go straight to the bank with your piece of paper saying that the contract you had with the bank has been paid in full! You would be crazy to keep paying according to the old, fulfilled contract.

Jesus is saying in Matthew 5:17-20 that it is imperative that the standard of the law remains. Because if that standard is not left for those who do not believe in Him people will not realize their inability to do it! To put it in another way, the law must be there otherwise nobody will realize they need grace!

Jesus paid your debt in full. He fulfilled the law. In fact Paul says that the law was nailed to the cross with Him! (Col 2:14)

OK, but just the ceremonial law right?

This is where it gets complex and I want to make it as simple as possible for us all.

You see, a lot of people try to break up the law, into either two, ceremonial and moral, or three parts, ceremonial, civil and moral. I often hear people explain that it was the ceremonial law that was nailed to the cross.

This is a nice idea we use to try keep a hold of as much of the law as we possibly can, while doing away with some. The problem is the Bible doesn’t break up the law as nice and neat as that, in fact it doesn’t break up the law at all.

However, I’m not going to argue about whether or not the law is broken up into sections, let’s just go straight for the jugular.

Paul explains that the “law” which is no longer relevant in the believer’s life is the law which is “written and engraved on stones” in 2 Corinthians 3:7.

Which law does that sound like? The ceremonial law? The civil law? Obviously this is the Ten Commandments Paul is talking about, they were the only laws to be engraved in stone.

Paul isn’t being vague here and wants everyone to know that when he says that the law is no longer applicable in the Christian’s life he means the whole package it came in!

If you feel a need to divide the law up, that’s fine, just so long as you know the whole thing was fulfilled in Christ and the whole thing is for the unbeliever not the believer (1 Timothy 1:9).

So you are saying I should go sin as much as I like?

In short, sinners sin, saints don’t. If you think God made you righteous so you could keep on sinning then you’ve completely missed the point that He made you righteous. Righteous people find it hard to sin. If you think I’m saying you cannot sin as a Christian I again refer you to the above articles!

So what are you saying?

Firstly let me say this, I’m not saying we tear out the first half of our Bible and never read it again. It is still the Bible and God still uses it to teach us and direct us. The Spirit of God helps us divide the scriptures so we understand how to read them in light of the New Covenant. God’s grace is just as present in the Old Testament as it is in the New Testament. However this article is not about the Bible,
it’s about the law.

So, secondly, I’m not saying you should never read the law or that the law should no longer exist either. We can find in the law loads of things that speak of who God is and teach us the grace and mercy of God. Not only that, but without understanding the law, our sin and the consequences of them, we will never fully be able to celebrate the freedom that God’s grace has brought us into!

We must however be able to divide correctly who the law is for. It is for unbelievers not believers. It is imperative that we understand this, those who put themselves back under the law put themselves right back under a curse. In fact it says if you do so, you are “severed from Christ”, pretty scary language if you ask me! (Galatians 5:4)

It is so important to understand that the law is good, it is perfect, it is holy (Romans 7:7-12), but most importantly it’s essential that we remember that it has a purpose. That purpose is to lead people to the end of themselves, it is there to push people, until they give up on the law and choose to rely on God’s gift of grace!

The law will never save anyone, nor will it make them a better person, whether they are a believer or unbeliever. It is simply there to show us how lost we are without grace.

The law is a mirror, but nobody ever uses the mirror to clean themselves. The purpose of a mirror is to show you your dirty face – not to clean it – you need Jesus to clean that dirty face.
Another reformation

The church is in desperate need for another reformation. For too long we have straddled the fence of the New and Old Covenant. A bit of grace here, a bit of law there. But the truth is that a little leaven ruins the whole bread. We don’t mix grace and law. Grace + Law = Law. The only way to drink grace is undiluted.

Let’s make it a priority to keep the law in its rightful context, as a tool to lead people to the end of themselves.

We must stop teaching the law as if it were a list of rules for us to follow, they are not a list of helpful moral guidelines which we are supposed to focus on trying to keep. It absolutely devastates me that the first thing children learn when they go to church is the ten commandments! Did we not read 2 Corinthians 3:14-15?

“But their minds were hardened. For to this day when they read the Old Covenant that same veil remains unlifted, because only through Christ is it taken away. Yes, to this day whenever Moses is read a veil lies over their hearts”

What are we doing to our children? To ourselves?

The truth is we have been set free from the law, and our lives in grace will look better than those of any person trying to keep the law. Because we are not cleaned from the outside, we are cleaned from the inside. We have become a new creation.

Have you ever thought about the tree of the knowledge of good and evil? If Adam and Eve didn’t have knowledge of good and evil then how did they please God?

The truth is that God has never wanted the human race to do life constantly trying to figure out if things are good and evil. He’s made us righteous so that everything we would do is good.

You see the biggest hinderance to us doing good is our knowledge of good and evil! If we were willing to put aside our desire to do good and avoid evil, and instead just follow God’s voice, we would see the most incredible changes in our lives.

What might happen if we trusted that Christ in us is good at His job and that the Holy Spirit, actually produces the fruit of the Spirit and not us?

The only thing a believer needs, to live a holy life, is to remain conscious of the fact that God has fully accepted them as His son or daughter, making them a new creation and one with Him, filled with the Holy Spirit. Forever. Amen.

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God does not think as we do, nor vice versa. With God, the "spiritual" things are the reality; and the "natural" things are what will pass away. But we have to "see" what the natural is before we can understand their spiritual results. That's the reason the examples were given to us in the OT. They were "natural guidelines" for coming "spiritual realities". But, to understand this, we must develop "spiritual" ears to "hear" what the Spirit saith unto the churches (people). Once we understand the spiritual, we can leave the "natural" examples where they belong...in the past.

I Cor. 2:14..."But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned."

If you understand these things, but someone accuses you of being "foolish" in your understanding, now you know why they don't understand. They still think in "natural" terms and have no understanding, yet, of the "spiritual", which is learned through growing in GRACE through faith. Doing the works of the law will keep you limited to only understanding the natural.

II Tim.2:15..."Study to show thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth." But it also goes on to say, (vs.16) "But shun profane and vain babblings: for they will increase unto more ungodliness." Listening to "men" (usually those who have been educated in a seminary by other "men") rather than studying the word of God by yourself.

The Lord knows who are his (vs.19), and we don't need other "men" to tell us whether or not we are "saved" by what we do, or don't, DO.

JESUS IS ALL AND EVERYTHING!!

Patti C.

For Fair Use Discussion and Educational Purposes
Absolutely, did Christ pay for our Salvation once and for all. No more sacrifices necessary; done once and for all. When we sin, we know we have an advocate to the Father through Christ Jesus. I John 2:1-5 1599 Geneva Bible.

1 My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not: and if any man sin, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ, the Just.

2 And he is the reconciliation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world.

3 And hereby we are sure that we know him, if we keep his commandments.

4 He that saith, I know him, and keepeth not his commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him.

5 But he that keepeth his word, in him is the love of God perfect indeed: hereby we know that we are in him.

I hope the fact that the name Yahweh used in the message is not grounds to disregard the lesson.


Q&A - Why does Paul say, let no one judge you in food, feast days




https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rBanmfhXsQA

Also, I would like to add that the Feasts are a Convocation of Our Heavenly Father of His Divine plan for man-kind, We know that the Spring Feasts have been fulfilled with Pentecost in the middle of the Seven but what about the Fall Feasts? They are not yet fulfilled but point to the End Days. Please let this not turn into an issue of trying to keep all 613 Laws because that is not even a consideration. Gerlinda

It is sad, but most in the Protestant and Catholic worlds have misunderstood Colossians 2:16-17 because translators who know better MISTRANSLATED it.

It is poor exegesis (biblical interpretation) to rely on a mistranslation to claim that the holy days are done away with.

Another common objection is to keeping the Holy Days is Galatians 4:8-10. Protestants, and some Catholics, tend to use this to say that no biblical dates are to be observed, so let’s look at that:

8 But then, indeed, when you did not know God, you served those which by nature are not gods. 9 But now after you have known God, or rather are known by God, how is it that you turn again to the weak and beggarly elements, to which you desire again to be in bondage? 10 You observe days and months and seasons and years. (Galatians 4:8-10, NKJV)

8 But then indeed, not knowing God, you served them, who, by nature, are not gods. 9 But now, after that you have known God, or rather are known by God: how turn you again to the weak and needy elements, which you desire to serve again? 10 You observe days, and months, and times, and years. (Galatians 4:8-10, Douay-Rheims)

There are two problems with using these passages as part of an anti-holy day argument.

The first is that the Galatians were Gentiles (although there were apparently some Jews addressed in later verses) and were NOT keeping the biblical Holy Days (plus, there is no way that the Bible would call biblical requirements as “beggarly elements” .

The second is that Catholics/Protestants/Orthodox do observe various days and years (Sunday, Easter, Christmas, New Years), so they should not observe anything if they feel that no religious days are to be observed.

Galatians 4:8-10 is not doing away with the biblical Holy Days.

http://www.cogwriter.com/news/church-history/mistranslations-and-late-traditions-are-reasons-more-do-not-keep-the-biblical-holy-days/

Dear Gerlinda,

Are we not the Body of Christ and are we not commanded to walk in His truth (the REAL ) and in HIS LIGHT? Do you really believe we are to walk in His shadow? This man on the video is deliberately misrepresenting the truth being spoken in these passages. Yes, and calling God Yahweh is offensive, but it was the least of the offenses committed here.

He takes a few verses out of context and creates his own view of what they mean. Then he says that most are wrong to see it any other way. Until this Hebrew Roots movement had become so popular and such a money maker, most people correctly understood these verses, but now it is all the rage to mix Law and Grace together, and whether you want to admit that or not it is exactly what you and this man are doing!

What I gleaned from this presentation is that I would not trust this man as far as I could throw him. Sorry, but that is the truth.

So in response, I would like to present a commentary from a Bible scholar I do trust on this issue. But first lets look at all the verses involved in this issue.

Colossians 2:8-17

Dead but Risen with Christ

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.

(Ah, this seems to be exactly what is happening in this video...vain deceit, after the traditions of men!)

9.For in him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily.

[10]And ye are complete in him, which is the head of all principality and power:

(We are made complete in the FULNESS OF CHRIST, the reality of Christ and NOT His shadow!)

[11]In whom also ye are circumcised with the circumcision made without hands, in putting off the body of the sins of the flesh by the circumcision of Christ:

[12]Buried with him in baptism, wherein also ye are risen with him through the faith of the operation of God, who hath raised him from the dead.

[13]And you, being dead in your sins and the uncircumcision of your flesh, hath he quickened together with him, having forgiven you all trespasses;

[14]Blotting out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us, which was contrary to us, and took it out of the way, nailing it to his cross;

[15]And having spoiled principalities and powers, he made a shew of them openly, triumphing over them in it.

He blotted out the ordinances, he did NOT re- institute them! So therefore why would Paul here be telling his audience to return to these ordinances? It is out of context to say that!

[16]Let no man therefore judge you in meat,or in drink, or in respect of an holyday,or of the new moon, or of the sabbath days:

[17]Which are a shadow of things to come; but the body is of Christ.

We are to walk IN THE REALITY OF CHRIST, become part of His body not become part of His shadow!

Here is a commentary that I do trust.

Matthew Henry’s Commentary

Commentary on Colossians 2:8-17

"There is a philosophy which rightly exercises our reasonable faculties; a study of the works of God, which leads us to the knowledge of God, and confirms our faith in him. But there is a philosophy which is vain and deceitful; and while it pleases men's fancies, hinders their faith: such are curious speculations about things above us, or no concern to us. Those who walk in the way of the world, are turned from following Christ. We have in Him the substance of all the shadows of the ceremonial law. All the defects of it are made up in the gospel of Christ, by his complete sacrifice for sin, and by the revelation of the will of God.

To be complete, is to be furnished with all things necessary for salvation. By this one word "complete," is shown that we have in Christ whatever is required."In him," not when we look to Christ, as though he were distant from us, but we are in him, when, by the power of the Spirit, we have faith wrought in our hearts by the Spirit, and we are united to our Head. The circumcision of the heart, the crucifixion of the flesh, the death and burial to sin and to the world, and the resurrection to newness of life, set forth in baptism, and by faith wrought in our hearts, prove that our sins are forgiven, and that we are fully delivered from the curse of the law. Through Christ, we, who were dead in sins, are quickened.

Christ's death was the death of our sins; Christ's resurrection is the quickening of our souls. The law of ordinances, which was a yoke to the Jews, and a partition-wall to the Gentiles, the Lord Jesus took out of the way. When the substance was come, the shadows fled. Since every mortal man is, through the hand-writing of the law, guilty of death, how very dreadful is the condition of the ungodly and unholy, who trample under foot that blood of the Son of God, whereby alone this deadly hand-writing can be blotted out! Let not any be troubled about bigoted judgments which related to meats, or the Jewish solemnities.

The setting apart a portion of our time for the worship and service of God, is a moral and unchangeable duty, but had no necessary dependence upon the seventh day of the week, the sabbath of the Jews. The first day of the week, or the Lord's day, is the time kept holy by Christians, in remembrance of Christ's resurrection. All the Jewish rites were shadows of gospel blessings."
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Christ is the SUBSTANCE and the shadow was the Law and the ordinances, the Sabbaths and the holy days! Nothing is said that we are to keeping walking in these shadows when the REAL HAS COME!!

It is up to you if you choose to walk in His shadow, but, as for me I will continue to choose His Light!

JESUS IS ALL AND EVERYTHING!

Patti C.

Good Morning Patti,

Let me ask you if you believe God's Sabbath has been changed or is it to be forever?

I do not adhere to the Sabbath because it is Jewish nor do I do anything special on that day but only because it has never been rescinded. It is one of the changes that came out of the Vatican and handed down through the ages. Matthew Henry taught only as he, himself, had come to believe that the Christ arose on Sunday, therefore, the day to go to church was changed to Sunday. By doing that, Satan managed to take the Sabbath Rest (Which is Christ Jesus) and put the focus upon Sunday, which we know is the Day set aside for their Sun god. There is no doubt but the Vatican is soon going to require everyone to follow their Noahide Laws that require Sunday Worship. Why would they require that if they are so Christ Loving? They aren't at all concerned with keeping Almighty God's One Day He set aside for man. Because I choose to follow His Word and not the change Rome made, I will keep it fore-most in my mind. Like I said, Pattie, There is no man-made requirement to do this or that on that Day....only to Remember it. Ok? Yes, I know there are those that say this applies just to the Israelites. What are we that have received the Salvation Gift of Jesus Christ....Spiritual Israel just as we've heard often...all part of the Root, whose Father asked that we keep His Sabbath.

Another question: Are the 7 Feasts Jewish feasts or are they God's Feasts and when did He rescind those? He didn't, because they are His Convocations of His Plan for Earth that point to the various events that will bring the return of Christ to finish off that final enemy and his minions. In fact Christ celebrated the Passover Meal, broke the bread and drank the wine with the words to His disciples to do likewise in remembrance of Him

I certainly agree with you that the Church is bogged down with man-made traditions and I want no part of them. I will adhere to these two issues mentioned which include God's Feasts, God's Calendar (the Lunar). As for the kind of food to eat and not eat; it is best to use His guideline, especially in these last days where nothing seems to be healthy anymore because the enemy of our bodies, knowing he cannot destroy our soul, still wants to shorten our lives, make us as miserable as possible.

Patti, I also agree with you regarding the Zionist Movement that is going on as a move to get people away from the Freedom in Christ Jesus. If they would remember the Sabbath and God's Feast, I would have see no problem but out of it has arisen much controversy. If only people would adhere to the Ten Commandments as best as possible which are a guide to Love the Lord God with all our might and to love our neighbor as ourselves. Not an easy thing to do most of the time. Knowing them helps people to understand what is sinful and then to repent of that sin.

Like I said before, when I grew up in the Catholic Church, those Ten Commandments were drummed into me and kept me pretty straight. Had there been no guidance, I would not have known right from wrong.

And the priest would probably have had an earful.

PS I almost forgot the shadow question. Since God's Feasts are His which point to His ultimate plan, yes, I believe they are a shadow of His Divine Out-line. Didn't the first three point to Christ's 1st coming? Then there was the one in the middle that pointed to the outpouring of the Holy Spirit upon Church and the last three tell us how it will end. These are not the Mosaic Law nor is the Sabbath. They must be kept separate to do as we are told.

Respectfully,
gerlinda

Dear Gerlinda.

I have talked about the Sabbath in numerous articles and studies, to me there is no doubt in my mind or heart that the Sabbath is Jesus and we are to rest in Him everyday!!! Was it done away with,..No, it was fulfilled!! Just as all the Laws were fulfilled in Jesus Christ, we keep all 10 commandments by being born again and being in Him as he is in us via the Holy Spirit.

The Feasts are the Feasts of the Lord, they were made Jewish feasts by the illegal and religious Pharisee and have stayed that way in being falsely carried out by a religion that does not believe in Christ, the Jews!! I also believe that all the feasts were fulfilled in Christ, and there are none to be fulfilled in the future as the Zionists want us to believe. But I will be talking much more about this in articles and studies over the next few weeks. So, please don't ask anymore about that on this thread as I will not go into it here.

As to Sunday...this has been so twisted to suit whoever is writing about it and it is distracting and certainly a waste of time to keep going over it once we understand that Jesus is our Sabbath rest, there is no way that a certain day of the week means anything!! The Sabbath was a day of rest that becomes a lifetime of rest when we accept the Lord. I have written so much about how I see this, but no one changed anything about the Sabbath, it has always been the seventh day. Sunday, the Lord's Day separated the new Christians from the false Jews, and it never replaced the Sabbath with all its religious traditions which had become the traditions of man. Christ hated that false system and destroyed the temple so that it could be destroyed too. Unfortunately the serpent seed Jews kept it going.

So, do I think Sunday is the Lord's Day....absolutely~There was a New Covenant, with a New High Priest, and a new priesthood made up of born again believers...so most definitely there was a new day to keep in remembrance of the greatest event in the world, what Christ did. The same goes for the feasts...no temple, no human High priest, no old priesthood, no more sacrifices, no more reason to keep going back to the shadow (darkness) when the light has come!!!

I think that covers what you asked, and if you want more detail I have put on many studies going into great depth about this. There you have it, and I am sure that most, if not all, on this site disagrees with me...that is okay, I don't do this to be liked, I do this to share the Truth, and defend the faith.

And now I have a question for you! I have been asking this for awhile and no one has been able to answer me...to me this proves that they cannot, but I keep hoping they will.

How do you see Christ fulfilling the Law? If you disagree with what I have written on this subject, and I believe he fulfilled all the Laws,and statues and ordinances...then tell me how and what did he fulfill?

In His Love and Light!

JESUS IS ALL AND EVERYTHING!!

Patti C.

I see Christ fulfilling all of the 613 laws that were impossible for man to fulfill. They pointed to Him. Because of Him, we are saved.

This is the shortest answer I've given in a while. lol!

g

Hi again Gerlinda,

Thanks for you short answer, I appreciate you answering me, although I disagree, I accept what you think and won't rehash my take on it. I wonder if Linda and Michael and Stacy think the same as you do...it would be great if one,or all of them could answer that question and maybe support their answers. It might be too much to hope for, but I still do.

Hey, I wish all my answers were as short too!

Loving the Lord is what counts the most and even if we disagree about some issues we should not take it personally, we are on the same side after all!

Bless you dear sister,

Patti C.