the law – Jesus the Righteous Path

As a believer I know Christ is the center of the New Covenant. He paid the highest price by becoming the sacrifice for the penalty of our sin. The scriptures I’m referring to read;

Now as they were eating, Jesus took bread, and after blessing it broke it and gave it
to the disciples, and said, ‘Take, eat; this is My body.’ And He took a cup, and when He
had given thanks He gave it to them, saying, ‘Drink of it, all of you, for this is
My blood of the Covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sin.

Matthew 26:26-28

Christ told us to receive forgiveness of sin we must believe in Him and the blood He shed on the cross. Because it’s through Him that our sins are forgiven so we can have everlasting life, but, only when we believe. The scriptures read;

For God so loved the world that He gave His only Begotten Son, that
whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.

John 3:16

Once we believe what then? Jesus provides more information when He was speaking to Nicodemus, He explained, that to enter the Kingdom of God one must be born of water and the Spirit because the Spirit gives new life. The scripture reads;

Jesus answered, ‘Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and
the Spirit, he cannot enter the Kingdom of God. That which is born of the
flesh is flesh, and that which is born of Spirit is spirit.

John 3: 5,6

The Holy Spirit renews us, teaches us, guides us, helps us during our prayer time, helps us to praise God, and keeps us focused on the Lord. But, the Holy Spirit has another important task, He helps us to walk in Faith so we can keep God’s Law. Keeping God’s Law is extremely important because God announced long ago, in the days of Jeremiah, in the days of King David, in the days of Isaiah and in the day of Ezekiel, what He would do through the New Covenant, which says;

Behold, days are coming, declares the LORD, “When I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah, not like the one covenant which I made with their fathers on the day I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt, My covenant which they broke, although I was a husband to them”, declares the LORD.

Jeremiah 31:31,32

In these scriptures you can see how the LORD plainly states He is making a new covenant. Originally, it was with the house of Israel and the house of Judah, but, seeing the Lord was rejected by His own He turned to the gentiles. This is why we receive the blessing of the covenant. But read what Ezekiel also stated;

Moreover, I will give you a new heart and put a new Spirit within you; and I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put My Spirit within you and bring it about that you walk in My statues, and are careful and follow My ordinances.

Ezekiel 36:26,27

Since we know the LORD does NOT change, why would HE state that the people would follow HIS statues and are careful to follow HIS ordinances if they were nailed to the cross? That makes NO sense. But to provide additional information read what the Apostles stated;

Therefore, it is my judgment that we do not cause trouble for those from the Gentiles who are turning to God, but we write to them that they abstain from things contaminated by idols, from acts of sexual immorality, from what has been strangled, and from blood.

Acts 15:19,20

When Christians read these couple of scriptures they seem to believe this is all we are responsible in keeping, but, that is false doctrine. You see, what many miss is the words which are spoken afterwards, which reads;

For the Law of Moses has been read for a very long time in the synagogues
every Sabbath, and his words are preached in every town.

Acts 15:21 (GNT)

As you can see in this scripture the Apostles are stating that new believers can learn the Law that was given by Moses by going to the synagogues on the Sabbath because it is taught in every town. The Law was NOT nailed to the cross, and as I’ve stated over and over, to understand what was being written one needs to understand a little of the Jewish culture.

We were given God’s Spirit to help us walk in His Law, to do righteousness and follow His ways, but, we can choose to go against the Spirit and that my brothers and sisters leads to sin.

Many Christians today believe that we are no longer under the law, or what’s better known as the Ten commandments. They believe they were nailed to the cross when Jesus was crucified and we’re no longer obligated to it. But, before I share my thoughts on this let’s look at what the Ten Commandments actually are which is found in Exodus 20:3,17

Thou shalt have no other gods before me.
Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth:
Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain; for the Lord will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain.
Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days shalt thou labour, and do all thy work: but the seventh day is the sabbath of the Lord thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates: For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore, the Lord blessed the sabbath day, and hallowed it.
Honour thy father and thy mother: that thy days may be long upon the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee.
Thou shalt not kill.
Thou shalt not commit adultery.
Thou shalt not steal.
Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbor.
Thou shalt not covet thou neighbour’s house, thou shalt not covet thy neighbour’s wife, nor his manservant, nor his maidservant, nor his ox, nor his ass, nor any thing tht is thy neighbour’s.

So if you notice majority of the commandments are already used in our society today, at least they were. For example; killing, stealing and lying in a court case, or to law enforcement, are crimes which would get you thrown into jail. Disobeying your mother and father has consequences and often lead to punishment. And committing adultery creates trust issues, hurt feelings and often affected others which could lead to breakups. Then there’s the issue of not taking the name of the Lord thy God in vain, and, where I was raised, you just didin’t do that. Which brings me to the very first commandment, no other gods before me. America was built on God, in fact, our money is printed with, in God we trust. So having said all of this, why is it so difficult for many Christians to believe that the Ten Commandments aren’t relevant today? Let’s take a look and see what Jesus has to say about it.

Do not think I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. For truly I tell you, until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen, will by any means disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished. Therefore anyone who sets aside one of the least of these commands and teaches others accordingly will be called least in the Kingdom of Heaven, but whoever practices and teaches these commands will be called great in the Kingdom of Heaven. For I tell you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the Pharisees and the teachers of the law, you certainly will not enter the Kingdom of Heaven.
Matthew 5:17,19(NIV)

Couple of things I want to point out. First, Jesus says until heaven and earth disappear, not one letter, not the least stroke of a pen will disappear from the law until EVERYTHING is accomplished. This is the scripture many Christians use to justify abandoning the Law because their argument is Jesus accomplished what he set out to. He was sacrificed on the cross, therefore, the Law was no longer valid. But, if you continue reading the scriptures Jesus goes on to say unless your righteousness exceeds the Pharisees and the teachers of the law, you will NOT enter the Kingdom of Heaven.

For me it’s pretty simple, the Ten Commandments are just as relevant today as they were when God gave them to Moses. Yes, we are saved by grace through Jesus Christ, but the law, makes us better people! Jesus Christ saves us but it is the law that prevents additional sin and this is why it’s so important to follow them. Plus, Jesus also said in Matthew 22:37 the greatest command is to love the Lord our God with all our hearts, all our soul and all our mind. But notice what he says in verse 40, On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets. Because if you “truly” love the Lord you’ll follow his commands.

If more of us followed these commandments today our world wouldn’t be in such a decline!

But, that’s just my thoughts……