Do you live by faith in the Lord Jesus or ....

The Ten Commandments, recorded in Exodus 20:

"And God spoke all these words, saying:  I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. (1) You shall have no other gods before Me. (2) You shall not make for yourself a carved image ... you shall not bow down to them nor serve them... (3) You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain, ... (4) Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. (5) Honor your father and your mother. (6) You shall not murder. (7) You shall not commit adultery. (8) You shall not steal. (9) You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor. (10) You shall not covet your neighbor's house ... i.e., anything that is your neighbor's."


After Moses returned from the mountaintop, where God had spoken to him and given him the Ten Commandments which were chiseled on stone tablets, he spoke to the people --

"Do not fear; for God has come to test you, and that His fear may be before you, so that you may not sin." (Exodus 20:20a)

In Romans, the apostle Paul writes,
1:20-21  "For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse, because, although they knew God, they did not glorify Him as God, nor were thankful, but became futile in their thoughts, and their foolish hearts were darkened." 


2:17-20, 21a, 24 "Indeed you are called a Jew, and rest (rely) on the law, and make your boast in God, and know His will, and approve the things that are excellent, being instructed out of the law, and are confident that you yourself are a guide to the blind, a light to those who are in darkness, an instructor of the foolish, a teacher of babes, having the form of knowledge and truth in law. .... you, therefore, who teach another, do you not teach yourself? .... For the name of God is blasphemed among the Gentiles because of you."


4:13 "For the promise that he (Abraham) would be the heir of the world was not to Abraham or to his seed through the law, but through the righteousness of faith." 


The law is not what saves us; obedience to the law will not reap rewards of eternity.

It is only our faith in God almighty that saves us, that sets us apart. Our righteousness comes about through faith, not following the law - its every letter.

"And therefore it was accounted ... for righteousness. ... but also for us, ... who believe in Him who raised up Jesus our Lord from the dead, who was delivered up because of our offense, and was raised because of our justification. ... Therefore, having been justified by faith we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. (Romans 4:22, 24-25, 5:1)

Faith in the Lord Jesus is our assurance of everlasting life. Obedience to laws and traditions without faith is not the direction God has shown us, that He wants us to follow.

Paul reiterates to the Galatian believers: "I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me. I do not set aside the grace of God; for if righteousness comes through the law, then Christ died in vain." (Galatians 2:20-21)

And Christ did not die in vain, for God sent Him. God is ALL and we His creation. Who are we to say He is less than He is?

How many people are saved by the law?

None. Zilch. Zero.

The laws are a standard to live by.

"... What does the Lord your God require of you, 

but to fear the Lord your God,

to walk in all His ways

and to love Him,

to serve the Lord your God

with all your heart

and with all your soul

and to keep the commandments

of the Lord 

and His statutes,..."

(Deuteronomy 10:12-13)

"Therefore you shall love the Lord your God, and keep His charge, His statutes, His judgments, and His commandments always." (Deuteronomy 11:1)

The "seed" promised by God to Abraham is Jesus Christ. The law was a precursor to what was to come. The law was given to the people as a standard to live by because of repeated disobedience to God.  When Jesus came the law was fulfilled.

"Therefore the law was our tutor to bring us to Christ, that we might be justified by faith. But after faith has come, we are no longer under a tutor. For  you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus. ... There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus. And if you are Christ's, then you are Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise."  (Galatians 3:24-26, 28-29)

And Jesus himself says in Matthew 5:17,  "Do not think that I came to destroy the Law or the Prophets. I did not come to destroy but to fulfill." 


The law keeps us confined. Christ sets us free. If we choose jail and live under the confines of rules and regulations and judgments rather than living by faith in He who died for our sins, we are separated from Christ. We cannot have both. We either live under the law ... and ultimately death  or live by faith in the Risen Lord ... and eternal life.


Remember LOVE
"Therefore you shall love the Lord your God." (Deuteronomy 11:1)
"You shall love your neighbor as yourself." (Galatians 5:14)

The world is changing .... so?

On CNN Thursday night, the comment was made that the world is changing and because it is we should just get on with things, just move on, go with the flow. But why I ask. Just because the world is changing, doesn't mean its right or that our moral values, God's laws, must also change. Just because gay marriages, abortions, stem cell research and other evils have become more common place, doesn't make it right.

Thursday morning I read what Jesus had to say in Matthew 12:39-30: "An evil and adulterous generation seeks after a sign, and no sign will be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah. For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth."

In Luke 11:29-30, Jesus says, "This is an evil generation. It seeks a sign, and no signs will be given to it except the sign of Jonah the prophet. For as Jonah became a sign to the Ninevites, so also the Son of Man will be to this generation."

Jesus Christ is the sign. For over 2000 years he has been the sign and so few see Him as He is, for what He is. He brings salvation to all and warning of judgments to come to those who refuse, who do not repent, who continue to sin.

"Woe to the world because of offenses! ..." (Matthew 18: 7)

"The Son of Man goes (a) as it is written of Him, but (b) woe to that man by whom the Son of Man is betrayed! (c) It would have been good for that man if he had not been born." (Matthew 26:24)

(a) As it is written, "For I delivered to you first of all that which I also received: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He rose again the third day, according to the Scriptures." (1 Corinthians 15:3)

(b) Jesus said to the disciples, "It is impossible that no offenses should come, but woe to him through whom they do come! It would be better for him if a millstone were hung around his neck, and he were thrown into the sea, than that he should offend one of these little ones. Take head to yourselves. If your brother sins against you, rebuke him; and if he repents, forgive him." (Luke 17:1)

Judas is the betrayer, but I believe Jesus speaks of all who sin against God and causes another to stumble or become a temptation to sin.

The judgments are written in Revelation. Revelation 19:2 reminds us, "For true and righteous are His judgments, because He has judged the great harlot who corrupted the earth with her fornication; and He has avenged on her by the blood of His servants shed by her."

In Psalm 19:9: "The judgments of the Lord are true and righteous altogether." Verses 12-13 are a prayer to keep the sin that is invading us at every corner away, to not let it dominate us. The Scripture says: "Who can understand his errors? Cleanse me from secret faults? Keep back your servant from presumptuous sins; Let them not have dominion over me. Then I shall be blameless; and I shall be innocent of great transgression."