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IS THE LAW REALLY DEAD?
For God's Favor - Yes
For Obedience -
No.
OBEDIENCE IS FUNDAMENTAL TO BEING A CHRISTIAN
Jesus said:
If anyone loves me, he will obey my teaching.
Until we have advanced spiritually far enough to consistently hear the Voice of the Lord
and follow it in faith, being obedient to Christ's commands to us,
the Law is our schoolmaster, which we must strive to obey.
Christ died on the cross to show us by example the extent of obedience required;
for as he died on the cross in loving obedience to God, so we also must obey the promptings and commands of God,
to crucify our sinful nature on the cross of self-denial.
The world must learn that I love the Father
and that I do exactly what my Father has commanded me.
After the Law and before Christ, the only people who received the favor of God were those who walked to the best of their ability, closely conforming to the Law's requirements; those who ignored his Law, were disregarded by Him, Because of Jesus' sacrifice on the cross, with only a belief in His name and humble sorrow for the past, we can approach God by faith in the name of Christ to be able to receive the operations of his changing grace to purify our hearts and consciences; whatever our burden of past sins may be.
With faith in the name of Jesus, by grace and the cross, He can now make you perfect in every good work to do his will, ; a forever cleansing and perfection with resulting union that is now available to all who go to him for change. Until we have advanced spiritually far enough to consistently hear the Voice of the Lord and follow it in faith, being obedient to Christ's commands to us, the Law is our schoolmaster, which we must strive to obey.
Without obedience, you cannot know Jesus: We know that we have come to know him if we obey his commands.
Without obedience, you cannot love Jesus: If anyone loves me, he will obey my teaching.
Without obedience you are not a friend of Jesus: You are my friends if you do what I command.
Without obedience, you cannot have been
born again while still sinning: Whoever has been born of God does not sin.
Each time you sin, you are piercing Christ within you. If you have sorrow and regret, with resolve to not repeat the same mistake again, your godly sorrow is a soothing balm to the wounds you have inflicted. On the day of the Lord, which all will experience, you will see whom you have pierced, and you will mourn.
While the Law is dead as a way to obtain the receipt God's favor, we (Gentiles) are still required to be obedient to the core of the Law. The ministers and pastors incorrectly today tell us the law is dead, even to our required obedience - that we no longer have to observe it; instead all we need is to believe in Jesus and get baptised, excusing a life of sin.
Indeed you [God] are to them as a very lovely song of one who has a pleasant voice and can play well on an instrument;
for they hear your words, but they do not do them. Eze 33:32
But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. James 1:22
The ministers of today call trying to observe the law, works, and tell us: don't even try to obey the Law. This is colossal lie, leading their followers to destruction.
They profess that they know God;
but in works they deny him, being abominable, and disobedient,
and unto every good work reprobate. Titus 1:16
What about: Love God with all your heart, mind, soul, and strength? And Love your neighbor as you love yourself, and Don't steal, and Don't commit adultery, and Don't bear false witness, and Don't covet, and Don't murder, and Honor your father and mother? If you think you can remain a thief and obtain salvation, you are grossly deceived. If you think you can lie or remain a selfish person in your flesh, not loving your neighbor as much as you love yourself, you are grossly deceived. The law defines sin, what we must cease; which if we do not, Jesus said, 'I tell you the truth, everyone who sins is a slave to sin.' . If you are a slave to sin, Jesus cannot be your Lord. Jesus said himself, you cannot serve two masters! . The Law is our reminder of sin and that we need God's help to be able to completely stop sinning. Following the common sense portions of the law, to the best of our ability, is not only required, but is evidence of our sincere repentance for our sins of the past. The fear of God is to depart from evil. Let everyone who names the name of the Lord give up all iniquity and stand aloof from it. The purpose of this web site is to show you how to be obedient to all of God's commands, and how to receive the changing power of God to become pure and free from sin.
Servants ye are to whom ye obey;
whether of sin unto death,
or of obedience unto righteousness.
Gentle reader, Christ came and strengthened the law, making it even harder to be obedient. He changed eye for an eye, to turn the other cheek; love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you. He made adultery, not just the act, but the thought in the heart. He made murder, not just the act, but the anger and hate in your heart. He told us not to repay injury or insult. He told us that restraint of sin was not enough; that our hearts must be cleansed of the desire or inclination to sin. He said:
You have heard it said: 'You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you, that you may be sons of your Father in heaven; for He makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust. For if you love those who love you, what reward have you? Do not even the tax collectors do the same?And if you greet your brethren only, what do you do more than others? Do not even the tax collectors do so? Therefore you shall be perfect, just as your Father in heaven is perfect.
Now Jesus is fair. He would not have increased these commands on us, unless there was a way to obey them; the way is to go to him, wait and watch silently, listen for him, hear him and obey him - repentance - the inward cross of self-denial.
Listen to and obey My voice,
and I will be your God and you will be My people;
and walk in the whole way that I command you.
He [Jesus] became the Author and Source of eternal salvation to all those who give heed and obey Him.
More on that later.
How about the parts of the law such as: don't eat swine or hare, or bring in your tithes, or perform you oaths to God? These parts of the Law died, for they were only shadows, ceremonies, and forms. These parts of the law are dead to us, but the inward law, the law that is written on every man's heart, his conscience, is alive and to be obeyed. And the inward law is the same as the outward law's moral parts. What is still alive is the core of the law.
The core of the law is our schoolmaster, until we are advanced spiritually enough to be led by the Spirit of God.
The core, or inward parts, of God's Law were explained partially when Jesus answered the question:
Master, which is the great commandment in the law?
Jesus said unto him, Thou shall love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.
This is the first and great commandment.
And the second is like unto it, Thou shall love thy neighbor as thyself.
On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.
Further clues from Jesus were: Go and learn the meaning of this: I desire mercy, not sacrifice. .
Meaning outward sacrifices are not what he wants, he wants you to forgive and love your neighbor.
And what does the LORD require of you
But to do justly; To love mercy,
And to walk humbly with your God?
Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye pay tithe of mint and anise and cumin,
and have omitted the weightier matters of the law, judgment, mercy, and faith:
these ought ye to have done, and not to leave the other undone.
Ye blind guides, which strain at a gnat, and swallow a camel.
So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets. - strive to always obey this.
Why do Your disciples not order their way of living .. eat with hands unwashed and ceremonially not purified?
..These people honor Me with their lips, but their hearts hold off and are far distant from Me.
In vain .. do they worship Me, ordering and teaching as doctrines the commandments and precepts of men. Forget about food, drink, washing properly; for whatever enters the mouth goes into the stomach and then out of the body?
But the things that come out of the mouth come from the heart, and these make a man 'unclean'.
For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false testimony, slander.
These are what make a man 'unclean';
So Jesus is telling people the important part of the law is love, mercy, and faith. At the same time, he is telling us that the tithing, sacrifices, and ceremonies are not important. He is stressing the inward condition of a man's heart - whether it is filled with love and mercy or evil.
Paul tells us: for not the hearers of the law are just in the sight of God,
but the doers of the law will be justified; [permanently]
for when Gentiles, who do not have the law, by nature do the things in the law,
these, although not having the law, are a law to themselves,
who show the work of the law written in their hearts, their conscience also bearing witness,
and between themselves their thoughts accusing or else excusing them.
So all men already have an inward moral law written in their hearts, and it is to be obeyed;
the law is not to be ignored because we believe in Jesus, who supposedly excuses us from all requirements to obey the Law.
But Paul says: Only the doers of the law will be justified.
And the dragon was enraged with the woman, and he went to make war with the rest of her offspring,
who keep the commandments of God and have the testimony of Jesus Christ.
Here is the patience of the saints; here are those who keep the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus.
Blessed are those who do His commandments, that they may have the right to the tree of life, and may enter through the gates into the city.
The Righteousness Lies
Except your righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees,
you shall in no case enter into the kingdom of heaven.
Jesus told us how our righteousness must exceed the Pharisees: avoiding committing adultery is not enough, we must not even look at a woman with lust; avoiding murder is not enough, we must not harbor anger in our hearts; it is not enough to love our brother, we love even our enemies; we must bless those who curse us. These requirements of righteousness exceed restraint of conduct; they require a changed heart, a purified heart. Writing to those still sinning in the churches, Paul said: Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded. . Everyone who has this hope in him purifies himself, just as he is pure.
The ministers of today say: because you have faith in Christ, even though your continue to sin, you are righteous and saved.
He that says to the wicked, 'You are righteous;' him shall the people curse, nations shall abhor him.
You will eventually curse all who lied, saying that with belief in Jesus, you are righteous, while still sinning.
You say you have faith? But where is the evidence of your faith in Christ? Are you obedient to his law? Have you produced the fruit of the Spirit of God? For Christ said his true followers would produce fruit, much fruit: When you bear (produce) much fruit,
My Father is honored and glorified,
and you show and prove yourselves to be true followers of Mine. . And the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. 3. So unless you have the fruit of the Spirit, Jesus says you are not a true follower of his; and all branches without fruit will be thrown into the fire and burned. His fruit and his righteousness are gifts of grace over time as you seek His righteousness. It does not happen with saying that you believe in Jesus; you must be obedient to his commands.
To produce fruit, we must strive to obey the parts of the law that relate to morality: regarding love, mercy and faith. All the other important moral laws evolve from the principal and most important commandments: love God with all your heart, mind, soul, and strength; and love your neighbor as yourself. For example, stealing is covered by love your neighbor, for if you love him as yourself, you will not steal from him, or lie to him, or use him sexually, or envy him, or hate him, or plot against him, or be angry with him. Love is the opposite of selfishness. As James says, if you love your neighbor as yourself, you will do well; it is the royal law.
These blind guides, masquerading as Christ's ministers, tell you that you have the righteousness of Christ, so you need do nothing.
They say to rely on the "imputed righteousness of Christ" to us, based on our faith; as it was with Abraham.
True, Abraham received imputed righteousness even before he was circumcised. True, our faith is imputed righteousness.
But Abraham went on to be circumcised, just as we must receive the spiritual circumcision- our heart circumcised from sin.
We can't just sit around celebrating our imputed righteousness, which only gives us the right to approach God for help.
As Abraham exercised his faith to move to a new land , so we must forsake the world to enter the Kingdom of God, within and around us.
Awake to righteousness, and sin not; for some have not the knowledge of God: I speak this to your shame.
You can be sure: No immoral, impure or greedy person..has any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God.
Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of such things God's wrath comes on those who are disobedient. E You have to become pure to have any inheritance in the Kingdom of God and Christ.
You are the slaves of him whom you obey, whether that be to sin, which leads to death,
or to obedience which leads to righteousness (right doing and right standing with God)?
Notice obedience leads to righteousness. First you have to be obedient; over time, being obedient results in righteousness.
The Works Lies
Works without faith, counts for nothing. You cannot be justified without faith in Christ, who enlightens all men in the world.
Faith without works, counts for nothing. You cannot just say "I believe" and live in your sinful nature without obedience.
Works of love energized by faith, are esteemed and required by God.
I have been challenged with the question: how many works are necessary for salvation?
The answer is: as many acts of repentance as are necessary to crucify your sinful nature.
Those who belong to Christ Jesus have
crucified the sinful nature,
with its passions and desires.
For if you live according to the sinful nature, you will die;
but if by the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body, you will live.
So you may be asking, how is me crucifying my sinful nature a work?
Answer: It is work to carry your cross, hard work - required work - a work of obedience.
It is loosing your life to save it, the one true sacrifice, required by God and pleasing to him.
But the false prophets say you need do nothing; for we are not saved by works, we are saved by faith and grace. They say if you do works, (even carry your cross), you are trying to be justified under the law, and therefore you lose salvation.
Of course we are saved by faith and grace, but after repentance and after carrying our cross in faith for a time - works, through and energized by, faith. We cannot be justified by works alone without faith in Christ, but unless our faith energizes and prompts us to do many good works in obedience, our faith is imagined - make believe Christianity. We cannot be justified by following the Mosaic law, with its hundreds of commands relating to ceremonies, rituals, washings, sacrifices, etc., but you had better be sure, that without works of obedience to the moral core of the law, you will never see the Kingdom of Christ.
Surely you don't think you are moral, pure, and without greed, until you have repented of all, and have received the changing grace of God to become moral, pure, and without greed. You can be sure: No immoral, impure or greedy person..has any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God. Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of such things God's wrath comes on those who are disobedient. E. Repentance is the beginning of works.
James said, "faith without works is dead."
James further said, " You see then that a man is justified by works, and not by faith only."
Paul said, "continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling."
Again Paul said, the purpose of grace, results in a people zealous for good works.
Peter said: whoever fears Him and works righteousness is accepted by Him.
Paul again: I declared.. that they should repent, turn to God, and do works befitting repentance.
Jesus said, unless you repent you will all likewise perish. Repentance requires effort on your part.
And, As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten: be zealous therefore, and repent. (Zealous is -ardent desire, enthusiastic).
Jesus further said, Take my yoke upon you and learn from me.
Jesus said, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me.
Jesus said, I have not found thy works perfect before God. He wants perfect works, energized by faith.
Hear! Jesus said: Strive to enter in at the strait gate: for many, I say unto you, will seek to enter in, and shall not be able.
The gospel of grace would have you believe striving is unnecessary, yet Jesus ordered us to strive, (to exert much effort or energy).
Charge them that are rich in this world, that they be not high minded,
nor trust in uncertain riches, but in the living God, who gives us richly all things to enjoy;
That they do good, that they be rich in good works, ready to distribute, willing to communicate.
If you live in a prosperous industrialized nation, you are rich relative to the rest of the word. So be rich in good works.
But he who practices truth - who does what is right- comes out into the Light; so that his works may be plainly shown to be what they are--wrought with God - divinely prompted, done with God's help, in dependence upon Him. A true believer does truth, or practices truth - does what is right. (He is finished with sin, doing what is wrong.)
A believer comes out into the light, (without fear) to show that his deeds ( or works) have been:
wrought in God; or divinely prompted, done with God's help, in dependence upon God.
Now ask yourself: How many works, or deeds, have I done that have been wrought, or prompted by God and with his help? How many works have I done that God has specifically told me to do, and then helped me to do them?
The first works for all are repentance - with God prompting or showing you what to repent from, and then you through sorrow, resolving to do do better - repentance. As Paul said: I declared.. that they should repent, turn to God, and do works befitting repentance.
The Grace Lies
The definition of grace has been twisted into pernicious lies by the false prophets. They say when you repeat the "sinners prayer" or say that Jesus is Lord and/or get baptised, you instantly receive the grace of God to forgive all your past, present, and future sins; excusing you to live the remainder of your life in sin, with their guarantee of you going to heaven when you die.
Consider how completely different the Apostle Paul in Titus defines grace: (what we must be saved by)
For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men,
teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts,
we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world,
looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing
of the great God and our Savior Jesus Christ;
who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity,
and purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works.
Grace teaches us to deny ungodliness and to live righteously and godly in this present world. So to become purified and zealous for good works. Denying ungodliness and worldly lusts is repentance. Grace leads us to repentance. Grace leads us to the inward cross of self-denial, so that we can crucify our sinful nature, to become free from all iniquity and be pure. This is Paul's definition of grace. Can you see how different Paul's definition of grace is from the definition of instant, no-effort grace you have been sold by the false prophets?
One who still sins might mistakenly argue they are redeemed from all iniquity, but not that grace has purified them!
Grace has been twisted into lies from a teaching of repentance, leading to purity, to be a license for immorality and continuing in our sinful natures with no repentance required. This perversion began 2000 years ago in the early church; Jude wrote in 1:4:
For certain men, whose condemnation was written about long ago, have secretly slipped in among you. They are godless men, who change the grace of our God into a license for immorality and deny Jesus Christ our only Sovereign and Lord.
These men were false Christians, who had slipped unnnoticed among the true Christians, preaching freedom to sin through grace by faith in Jesus, but denying Christ to rule their words and actions as their sovereign and Lord, as he did with the real Christians of that time. The false gospel of grace was being sold as salvation 2000 years ago; unfortunately false instant salvation, has become universal, all sects being deficit sects. See the Great Apostasy for more information.
See True Grace vs. False Grace for a complete discussion of how the definition of grace has been twisted into malicious lies.
Your sinful nature must be crucified on the inward cross of self-denial, before you receive the powerful grace of God to circumcise your heart, renew your mind, and to be born again as an entirely new creature. Then you will walk in perfect obedience to God's commands. You cannot be obedient or be pleasing to God continuing walk in your carnal nature, (sinful nature, or flesh.)
The Lies of Liberty from the Law
There is a glorious liberty of the sons of God, who walk by the Law of Liberty. But before you are a son of God, enjoying Christian Freedom, walking by love, you must be first crucified, to become pure. God, like yourself, does not want sons full of lust, greed, anger, lies, jealousy, envy, etc.; and before he accepts you as a son, you must be chastened and scourged of all the evil within you - through the cross.
These false prophets tell you that you have the liberty to continue to sin without God's wrath to follow. These same kind of lies were being spread in the Apostles times, 2000 years ago. Peter references them:
For uttering loud boasts of folly, they beguile and lure with lustful desires of the flesh those who are barely escaping from them who are wrongdoers. They promise them liberty, when they themselves are the slaves of depravity and defilement--for by whatever anyone is made inferior or worse or is overcome, to that [person or thing] he is enslaved.
The false prophets lying about liberty from the law, and freedom to sin were also spoken of by Paul:
Brethren, together follow my example and observe those who live after the pattern we have set for you.
For there are many, of whom I have often told you and now tell you even with tears, who walk (live) as enemies of the cross of Christ (the Anointed One). They are doomed and their fate is eternal misery (perdition); their god is their stomach (their appetites, their sensuality) and they glory in their shame, siding with earthly things and being of their party.
Those who claim to be righteous, by grace, and in liberty from obeying the law are hypocrites, a stumbling block, and they scatter the true sheep from Christ. A hypocrite talks about being religious, while walking in sin. Jesus addressed the hypocrites: You are those who justify yourselves before men, but God knows your hearts. . These people draw near Me with their mouths and honor Me with their lips, but their hearts hold off and are far away from Me. . Your hearts have to be cleansed - really cleansed to purity.
So what part of the law died?
Anything relating to form, ceremony, or shadows of what Christ actually replaced - anything that doesn't relate to morals: circumcision, tithing, Sabbath days (a shadow of the rest), meats, days, oaths, dress, water baptism, etc. - all those died with Christ. Obedience to these parts of the law counts for nothing, and belies your faith in Christ's lasting sacrifice.
By his [Jesus'] sufferings, one offering, sacrifice and death, put
an end to all the legal offerings, types, shadows, and figures, outward ordinances [tithes], rites
and ceremonies, and many washings [baptisms], under the Law of Moses and Levitical
Priesthood.
(From G. Whitehead's Letter)
If your doctor persuades you that circumcision is desirable for reasons of health, no problem; but to be circumcised to please God is a serious error. Circumcision of the foreskin is but a shadow of the circumcision we must all obtain - circumcision of the heart - to become an inward Jew.
Animal sacrifices are but a shadow of the one Christian dutiful sacrifice: the Christian's fleshly, selfish animal nature and spirit slain by the cross of Christ and presented upon the altar to God, the one true sacrifice required.
Tithing died with the new Priesthood of Christ. See Fox's writing on the details of the death of tithing.
Oaths died with Christ. Now our yes is to be yes, and our no is to be no, without any swearing, which Christ and the Apostle James strongly forbid. See Fox's writing on swearing for the details.
Regarding observing special days, Paul was tolerant, allowing that one man entertaining and regarding one day above another, and another man's days are every day alike, and about meats, and not to judge one another; "But let him, said he, be fully persuaded in his own mind;” yet he condemns the Jewish customs and observation of days, meats, and
drink.
While observation of a day is a matter of individual conscience, (in which one should be fully persuaded), for a group of believers to observe a special day is definitely wrong, and a form of religion; which is condemned by Paul: 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? You observe days and months and seasons and years. I am afraid for you, lest I have labored for you in vain. Gal 4:9-11. And if your church leader says you should observe certain days, or certain foods, you are listening to a false prophet; as Paul says: Let no man therefore judge you in meat, or in drink, or in respect of an holy day, or of the new moon, or of the sabbath days, Col 2:16. So an individual can choose to celebrate certain days; but the church, as policy or rule, cannot; for that is a form of law. If necessary, the Lord will tell that individual continuing to observe certain days, which ones to stop; thus maintaining freedom of individual conscience.
There are entire sects built around the Sabbath as part of the Ten Commandments, insisting that worship be on the seventh day, instead of the first day of the week. Because Jesus said not one jot shall pass from the law, they think obeying all of the Ten Commandments is obeying the whole Law. The law is not just the Ten Commandments - it is hundreds of laws relating to ceremonies, rituals, ordinances, Sabbath restrictions, family life, sacrifices, washings, etc. Obeying the Ten Commandments is not obeying the Law.
And we have Paul to help us on the Sabbath controversy: Let no man therefore judge you in meat, or in drink, or in respect of an holy day, or of the new moon, or of the sabbath days: You can observe your "Sabbath-day" or day of worship, any day you please; however, if you think you are righteous observing Saturday, then you need to truly observe all the laws of the old Jewish Sabbath, and you really need to observe the entire Mosaic Law.
Whatever your "day of worship," beware of it being little more than a day of recreation, with a Quick-Stop for worship. It is better to worship on all days, in a rest from the labors of the world: namely, the pursuit of what we eat and wear. Rather let us every day rest from our old labors, and instead labor for the spiritual food that never perishes and labor for His righteousness by doing the following:
But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.
Stop toiling and doing and producing for the food that perishes and decomposes,
but strive and work and produce rather for the food which endures unto life eternal; The bread that comes down from heaven - the real daily bread.
Jesus replied, I am the Bread of Life. He who comes to Me will never be hungry,
and he who believes in and cleaves to and trusts in and relies on Me will never thirst any more (at any time).
The words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life.
We Need God's Help to Become Obedient - We Need His Powerful Grace
To the degree we are able, we are to obey the moral laws. But without help, it is even impossible to completely love your neighbor as yourself; and without divine help, it is impossible to love God with all our heart, mind, soul, and strength.
And there are other things, that no matter how hard we try, we can't do without obtaining divine assistance, power through grace, to be changed for the better. A few examples:
- Getting angry at someone who treats us poorly or unfairly or unjustly, or even hurts us. Jesus told us that whoever is angry with his brother, is subject to judgment. You can't stop anger without being changed by lots of grace. Try turning the other cheek, when someone next slaps you.
- John said, Anyone who hates his brother has committed murder in his heart.
- Just looking at woman with lust - Jesus tells us we have committed adultery in our heart. You can't control this without help.
- Being addicted to alcohol, drugs, cigarettes, shopping, pornography, etc. - some are so deep as to be genuine bondages that require supernatural help to break.
- Being addicted to pass-time pleasures of all sorts. Not that all pleasures are inherently evil; but if we were to feel pain from stopping participation in them, they are an idol in our life. And even if not addicted, the time we spend in their pursuit, is time we could spend preparing for eternity, by seeking to hear and obey God. The love of the world is enmity with God.
- Greed can be an addiction, or always wanting something more. That is idolatry - wanting money or anything equal to or more than your desire to please God. All of Christianity has forgotten covetousness. We systematically train our children to covet by creating Christmas lists of wants. People go through life thinking if they just had more money, or a new car, or a better house, or a vacation in Hawaii, they would be happy; but once they get what they want, they have to focus on something else to believe in as the solution to their happiness. See Fox for more on covetousness. Money is not evil; it is the love of money that is evil.
- Inability to control our emotions and passions in general.
Addictions and bondages have to be broken with the help of God, his grace, his power to change us. We don't get help by simply asking for it, (except occasionally he does grant us special favors to get rid of serious substance addictions). We get help by humbly going to him as a sinner and waiting on him to help us: by teaching us, counseling us, commanding us, and guiding us out of spiritual Egypt, through the long dry wilderness, until at last we reach the promise land of strength, purity, peace, love and joy - we receive the fruit of the spirit by crucifying the sinful nature within us on the cross of Christ, missing in today's Christianity. As we go to him, he gives us commands. Each of these commands are individually tailored to our life's circumstances, as only our creator knows how to help us. If we obey the words heard , they are written on our heart, added to the inward law; and we receive power to walk as ordered until we finally become pure. So we seek, listen, obey, seek, listen, obey..... seek, listen, obey,.. etc. This is the purification process. It is the crucifixion of the sinful nature. If we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship .., and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin
True Christianity is about a change in the heart - not saying prayers, water baptism, eating bread and grape juice - all heathenish forms and ceremonies - some newly invented by men since Judaism, but still forms and ceremonies - rituals, instead of changes in the heart. These people honor Me with their lips, but their hearts hold off and are far distant from Me. In vain .. do they worship Me, ordering and teaching as doctrines the commandments and precepts of men.
Religion is about a change of heart. Your heart and spirit must be broken by God, before you can receive his powerful change by grace.
The LORD is near to those who have a broken heart, and saves such as have a contrite spirit.
(Contrite means: feeling or expressing pain or sorrow for sins or offenses.)
The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit, a broken and a contrite heart—these, O God, You will not despise.
For thus says the High and Lofty One, who inhabits eternity, whose name is Holy:
“ I dwell in the high and holy place, with him who has a contrite and humble spirit,
to revive the spirit of the humble, and to revive the heart of the contrite ones.
God wants to be worshiped in Spirit and Truth. He wants his spirit in you to be the source of your praise and worship, not your carnal mind and your rebellious heart. Your heart has to be changed to be able to worship in Spirit and Truth. Changes in the heart only take place from divine power through grace - Christ, who is the Light, which is risen in the conscience, which purges and cleanses the conscience, by his Spirit from dead works, to serve the living God. And until we can hear the Lord and follow his counsel to become changed, the outward law is our schoolmaster, a reminder to us of our problems; and being a motivator to repent from our old ways and to seek divine help to be even more different, therefore becoming pleasing to God. While the law is our schoolmaster, we know the states Paul described he once was: "for what I would, that do I not; but what I hate, that do I." , and "it is not longer I that sin, but the sin that remains in me, ." Paul passed through both of these states, and everyone must pass through these stages before you arrive at the liberty of the sons of God to enjoy Christian freedom. (Paul's final state was: it is no longer I that live, but Christ within me.)
From George Fox's Journal:
I saw this law was the pure love of God which was upon me, and which I must go through, though I was troubled while I was under it; for I could not be dead to the law but through the law, which judged and condemned that which is to be condemned. I saw, many talked of the law, who had never known the law to be their schoolmaster; and many talked of the gospel of Christ, who had never known life and immortality brought to light in them by it. You that have been under that schoolmaster, and the condemnation of it, know these things; for though the Lord in that day opened these things unto me in secret, they have been since published by his eternal spirit, as on the house top. And as you are brought into the law, and through the law to be dead to it, and witness the righteousness of the law fulfilled in you, you will afterwards come to know what it is to be brought into Christ, who is the author of, and you will have peace and access to God.
To enjoy Christian Freedom as a son of God, you must first be set free from sin.
This is done by going to God yourself; because everyone has his Spirit within them by grace. You have no need of any teacher but the anointing within you. He is the Light that enlightens all men who come into the world, the Life which is the Light of men. You sit quietly and whenever you think, you think on the name of Jesus. This is how we learn from Him, get cleansed by Him, be led by Him, and come to know Him. He said: "Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light." He is the Light, he is the Word, and he has sent us the Spirit of Truth to teach us. If any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me. Eventually you will hear Him. He has a soft voice; that is why it is written, "Be still and know that I am God." He will tell us things about Himself. He will encourage us. He is kindness. He will tell or show us things about ourselves; some will be things that are ugly. Christ the Light will show us all the hidden lusts, affections, and pride in our heart. But since he is our friend, we know that he is showing them to us for our own good. So we listen and watch. And we don't run, we stand before the Son of Man. And we repent of what he shows us. And sometimes he gives us commands. We are hearing the Word of God, the living Word. As we hear the Word of God, (Jesus speaking through the Spirit) our faith will increase by leaps and bounds; and keep increasing - if we obey his commands heard and show him we love him by being obedient. Christ in you, the hope of glory.
For everyone who comes to Me and listens to My words and does them, I will show you what he is like: He is like a man building a house, who dug and went down deep and laid a foundation upon the rock; and when a flood arose, the torrent broke against that house and could not shake or move it, because it had been securely built or founded on a rock. Upon this rock, he builds his Church; by doing so, you have received the Christ within you as the Son of God; your hearing and obeying him is true faith.
He can't make it any plainer! He said: come to me, listen to My words (not the Bible), and do them.
To do them, is to obey; and when you obey them, you have received Christ by recognition and obedience.
From this sure foundation he builds true faith and hope which eventually purifies you.
If anyone loves me, he will obey my teaching. My Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him.
These above two teachings of Jesus are the core teachings of this web site:
1) Come to him, Listen to his words, do the words he gives you - obey his commands.
2) If you Love Jesus, you will obey him. The Father then loves you, and he and Jesus come to you and make their home with you;
and their home is the Kingdom of God within you. They dwell in a pure heart.
Write what you hear down is a notebook; review your commands periodically so you don't forget one, and keep repenting.
The Lord has said to me: "Where there is obedience, there is righteousness; without it, you have World War II."
Even Adolph Hitler said Jesus was his Lord and Savior. - a sinner saved by grace???? WHILE NOT OBEDIENT???
He [Jesus] became the Author and Source of eternal salvation to all those who give heed and obey Him.
(And how do you obey Him to attain salvation?)
Listen to and obey My voice, and I will be your God and you will be My people
If you abide in My word, [that you hear] you are truly My disciples.
You will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.
So if the Son liberates you, then you are really and unquestionably free.
Jesus came so he could destroy the devil and his works[sin] in us - if we go to him.
For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, [in us] that he might destroy the works of the devil.
You are the slaves of him whom you obey, whether that be to sin, which leads to death, or to obedience which leads to righteousness. .
If we are a slave to sin, he can't be our Lord. You cannot serve two masters.
We are incapable of being controlled or ruled until our sinful nature is destroyed, at least enough to be Spirit led.
For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin—
Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the sinful nature with its passions and desires.
Since you have been set free from sin and have become the slaves of God,
you have your present reward in holiness and its end is eternal life
Man, who originally followed his creator in obedient love, became a rebel to decide his own way, taking thought, judging what is good and bad for himself. When man is restored into the image of God, he ceases to make his own decisions; instead returning to reverent, loving obedience to his creator, of him and of the universe. Part of this restoration is to destroy the rebellious, self-seeking, self-gratifying mind. This is a lengthy process for most. And as the mind is destroyed, the Lord's guidance fills the void. When our selfish nature is slain, we will receive the Spirit of Christ, so that we will be obedient in our love for God - and our obedience is by choice, God not having taken away our free will. Love never insists on its own way. But our love for God will make our obedience to his every wish to be the joy of our life. For never forget - he loves us beyond measure - so whatever he asks will be to our ultimate benefit and total satisfaction. So we obey his every gentle prompting and leading, to both our and his great joy.
So that we lead every thought and purpose away captive into the obedience of Christ (the Messiah, the Anointed One), . So that we have the mind of Christ (the Messiah) and do hold the thoughts (feelings and purposes) of His heart, . We must put off, concerning your former conduct, the old man which grows corrupt according to the deceitful lusts, and be renewed in the spirit of your mind, and that you put on the new man which was created according to God, in true righteousness and holiness, . This does not mean we continue to think with a new set of rules we have learned from the Bible. No; the carnal mind, which is inimical to God, must be destroyed so that we do not think for ourselves any longer. Instead as a new creature, we rely on the promptings received from God, just like Christ did when he walked the earth; as he said:
I have many things to say and to judge of you: but he that sent me is true;
and I speak to the world those things which I have heard of him.
the Father who sent Me gave Me a command, what I should say and what I should speak.
And I know that His command is everlasting life.
Therefore, whatever I speak, just as the Father has told Me, so I speak.
the Son is able to do nothing of Himself (of His own accord);
but He [the son] is able to do only what He sees the Father doing,
for whatever the Father does is what the Son does in the same way.
I can of Myself do nothing. As I hear, I judge; and My judgment is righteous,
because I do not seek My own will but the will of the Father who sent Me.
So, even Christ did not make his own decisions. Notice, Jesus said he only did the will of the Father, not his own. In Mat. 7:21, Jesus said: Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven. So here Jesus tells us what is necessary to go to heaven - to do nothing of ourselves - to only say what we hear the father tell us to say- to only do what the Father shows us to do - to only judge how we are told to judge by the Father. So, we are not to think for ourselves - we are to only follow the promptings of the Father. We must have our carnal mind destroyed to the point that we speak and act from the promptings of the Spirit of God; this is the end of obedience - to think, speak, and act according to God's promptings. You have probably prayed the Lord's prayer a thousand times, saying "thy will be done, in earth as it is in heaven," without a clue as to how it could be done. Now you know what it takes - and it is not easily accomplished - only with dedication to seek the Kingdom of God as your first priority, with perseverance, and with obedience to every command you hear.
Perhaps you are now beginning to see how the false gospels, which dismiss the cross as a necessity, spread so quickly to become so pervasive. The cross is not easy, but it is bearable. As Jesus told us: even prostitutes and tax collectors were entering the Kingdom in his time. As Isaiah tells us: the simple ones and fools, shall not err in it and lose their way. Isa 35:8. What you lose is the the liberty of worry, fear, and anxiety in trying to make the best decision, to say the right words, to do the right thing; never being sure, and frequently being wrong. What you gain is to have God's direction in everything, with confidence that he knows all, and whatever his will is for you, is inherently perfect, without flaw - and always to your ultimate benefit. So you are free from worry, doubt, fear - free from having to analyze and choose - free to live in love, free to follow virtue; free from the law; confident, and assured your life is one of noble purpose and results. Being filled with God's love, you are then free to show that love to the world; and to show your love for God, in your continued choice to obey his commands and promptings, which will be your greatest joy. And free to have fellowship with Christ and the Father, in the light - basking in their presence, filled with and experiencing their constant love.
A major reason Christ died on the cross, was to show us by example the extent of obedience required; for as he went to the cross in loving obedience to God, so we also must obey the promptings and commands of God, to crucify our sinful nature on the inward cross of self-denial.
If those who hear will obey, their progress will be swift.
Those who follow their own brain will weep and mourn; there will be great pain. Voice of the Lord 3/04/08
Yes, the Law must be fulfilled in us; Christ must change us to become like himself so we too fulfill the Law. Until we are under control by the Spirit of God, the outward Law is our schoolmaster, reminding us of our shortcomings. We must pass through the time of impurity, seeking purity, with the law sounding our deficiencies and transgressions to our sorrow and resulting in our motivation to seek divine help to change. If we ignore the law and its requirements for good conduct, reminding us to find God's help to be rid of sin, we are hopelessly locked into sin, with the condemnation of the Lord sure to follow.
So we walk by the inward law that Christ writes in our hearts, until we are pure. Becoming pure, we are filled with love.
Blessed are the pure in heart for they shall see God.
When Christ, Who is our life, appears, then you also will appear with Him in [the splendor of His] glory.
When he appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is.
Everyone who has this hope in him purifies himself, just as he is pure.
Unto them that look for him shall he appear the second time without sin unto salvation.
For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass,
one jot or one title shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled.
And the world passes away and disappears, and with it the forbidden cravings (the passionate desires, the lust) of it.
Owe no man any thing, but to love one another: for he that loves another has fulfilled the law.
For this: Thou shall not commit adultery, Thou shall not kill, Thou shall not steal, Thou shall not bear false witness, Thou shall not covet; and if there be any other commandment, it is briefly comprehended in this saying, namely, Thou shall love thy neighbor as thyself. Love works no ill to his neighbor: therefore love is the fulfilling of the law. -10
For all the law is fulfilled in one word, even in this; Thou salt love thy neighbor as thyself.
When the Lord appears to complete your salvation, you will be filled with love and you will totally walk by the love and light of God.
As James Parnell has so well stated in his memoir:
“And thus is the church of Christ gathered by one Spirit, and by the same circumcised, and baptized into one life, light, and power, where all dwell as members of one body, of which Christ is the head. And here is the blessed union and communion in one; and here is God worshipped ‘in spirit and in truth;’ and as Christ is spiritual, so is [His church, which is] His body, and so are His ordinances; and here are the true Christians, not those who have the imagination of these things, but they that can witness [testify to the reality], and possess them in life. They that believe, have passed from death into life; and the life they now live is by faith in the Son of God; they are new creatures, who are ‘in Christ Jesus,’ to whom there is no condemnation, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit; against such there is no law, for they are translated out of that nature, [translated into the higher dimension of the Kingdom of Heaven] for which the law was added; and are set free by the law of the Spirit of life, and are made partakers of the divine nature of Christ, by which they are made Christians. And such now witness the effect of the blood of Christ wrought within them, and the end of His coming, and the benefit of His death, who are dead with him, and risen through the death of the cross; and these are those who have escaped the pollutions of the world through the knowledge of the Son of God within them; Christ within, the hope of glory.”
For more on the continued requirements of the law, see Margaret Fox's outstanding writing on this site.
This web site's purpose is to show how to become
free from sin
by benefiting from the changing power of God through the cross,
which leads to union with God in his Kingdom.
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