Greetings in the Name of Jesus and welcome to the PLN Sunday Night Bible Fellowship!
Thanks for joining us tonight and hopefully you're enjoying this new series. If you missed the first two articles, please click on the Archives link at the top of this article. I believe that this series contains important insights about our New Covenant in Christ that traditions in the Church have tended to obscure. Most of us want to be better, more effective Christians for the Kingdom of God and the Bible says that TRADITIONS block the POWER of the Word (Mark 7:13). Once we see such a strong warning expressed in Scripture, then it's our responsibility to be on the lookout for man made traditions that have crept into our personal belief system so we can override them and RECEIVE the totality of what God wants to make available to us.
So far in this new series we have come to the following general conclusions based on what the Word of God actually says:
* New Covenant believers are supposed to be dead to the LAW (Romans 7:4) because for the
believer it has become obsolete (Hebrews 8:13) and consequently set aside (Hebrews 7:18).
* The purpose of the LAW is to lead people to Christ (Galatians 3:24). Once that has been
accomplished, believers are then supposed to stop trying to live under it (Galatians 3:25) and move
on to living by faith (Galatians 3:26).
Let's examine for a moment what it means to live under the LAW? According to the Bible, it is the alternative to living by faith (Galatians 3:11-12, 26). It's also the alternative to living under GRACE (Romans 6:14). In practical application, to live under the LAW means to try to please God and/or IMPRESS OTHER PEOPLE and/or VALIDATE OURSELVES by striving to be holy. We can't do a very good job of it but we try anyway thinking that at least the trying makes us seem more deserving of God's favor. In that process we start to compare ourselves to the less holy people around us and WE FEEL BETTER ABOUT OURSELVES. Over a period of time some folks even come to believe they really ARE holy and there's nothing quite as obnoxious as Christians who think they're holy.
One of the main things I wanted to emphasize this week is that the LAW DOES still exist. It was totally and completely fulfilled by Christ but it's still available to live under if you want it. Why though would anyone want it since we now have available to us a BETTER covenant (Hebrews 7:22, 8:6) that we need to focus on and learn how to live under? In any event, it DOES still exist but the purpose of it is for showing non-believers that they need a Savior. But after they become believers, they don't need it any more (Galatians 3:25). They/we need to move on to the BETTER covenant that Jesus arranged for us at the Cross of Calvary. It's called the LAW OF THE SPIRIT OF LIFE IN CHRIST JESUS and it has set us free from THE LAW OF SIN AND DEATH (Romans 8:2).
The Ten Commandments
Now there are a lot of Christians who SAY they want to "observe" the Ten Commandments which, as you know, was what THE LAW OF SIN AND DEATH was built around. Indeed some folks get upset when I say that trying to keep those Commandments doesn't really apply to Christian believers. I understand the tremendous force of tradition behind this subject and all I ask is that you make your own study to determine what's right. My objective is always to base what I write here as much as possible on just what the Word says to the exclusion of my personal opinions. Therefore let it be clearly stated that I'm not the originator of the idea that the Ten Commandments aren't for Christians to try to live under; it's the Word of God that says it.
So, following are some of the scriptures that speak directly to this idea of trying to keep the Ten Commandments:
Galatians 5:4 = If a person is seeking to be justified by the LAW, they are fallen from GRACE.
Galatians 5:3 = If you strive to keep part of the LAW, you must keep the whole LAW.
James 2:10 = If you try to keep the whole law but stumble in one area you have become guilty of failing all of the LAW.
Exodus 20 1-17 =
The Ten Commandments are listed in these verses. How many can you name without looking? How many have you kept without stumbling? For what purpose(s) are you trying to keep them? It's all about your purpose. God is not impressed by us trying to keep Old Testament commandments that were designed so that we would never be able to keep them without a Savior.
Keep in mind as well that the operative word from Scripture you're trying to respond to is COMMANDMENTS which connects to OBEDIENCE. They didn't become SUGGESTIONS just because you became a Christian. They're still COMMANDMENTS that are designed to lead people to Christ.
Deuteronomy 28:15-68 = If we try to keep the LAW and fail, then we make ourselves vulnerable to the curses listed in these verses even though the work of Christ redeemed us from the curse of the LAW (Galatians 3:13).
2 Corinthians 3:7-9 = according to what your Bible actually says, The Ten Commandments were a ministry of death and inferior to the ministry of righteousness-by-the-Spirit that's available under the New Covenant.
Some Concluding Comments
In closing, I want to make the point that I am NOT saying the LAW is bad. The LAW is Holy (Romans 7:12), the LAW is perfect (Psalm 19:7) and the LAW is good but IT HAS TO BE USED LAWFULLY realizing that it was not made for a righteous person but for those who're lawless and ungodly (1 Timothy 1:8-9). The fact is, the LAW has ALREADY been written on the hearts (spirits) of believers (Hebrews 8:8-9) and if that heart of yours has been born again, it's already keeping the LAW as perfectly as it can be kept. You don't need to add to it by striving with your flesh to do what's already being done by the Spirit. Instead of trying to get your flesh involved, why not release your faith over the GRACE of the New Covenant that you're ALREADY as righteous as you can possibly be (Romans 3:22, 2 Corinthians 5:21).
Next week: Why we DO need the Old Testament
Thanks for joining our discussion tonight. We'll be looking for you again NEXT Sunday night on October 4. In the meantime may the Lord bless you with every spiritual blessing (Ephesians 1:3), pushing you to VICTORY in every area of life!
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Sinners' Prayer
If you've never invited Jesus to be your Lord, you can do so today just by saying out loud the following simple prayer:
Jesus I declare today with all my heart that I believe in you and I believe that God raised you from the dead. I acknowledge that my sins have been forgiven for all time and I ask you to come into my life today and be my Lord and Savior. Thank you for salvation and eternal life.
If you were sincere as you prayed this prayer, God has already come into your life and you are a new creation, a totally new species recreated in His image. Now ask the Lord to lead you to a good faith-based, bible-teaching church where you can be equipped to fulfill your potential in the Kingdom of God.
When you get a moment have someone help you look up the following scriptures because they confirm what you've done by saying this prayer and believing what you said:
Romans 10:9
2 Corinthians 5:17
Ephesians 2:8
Prayer Requests
If you have a Prayer Request, please connect to the Link below and follow the promptings. The PLN staff members pray over Prayer Requests every Tuesday morning at 10:00 AM central time. Agree with us for God to answer your petitions.
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