Nowhere does it say to disobey the law.....but we are to uphold the law. And Scripture tells us that we are not under law anymore (under it's penalty of death to the breaking of it).
Thank-you. One of the things that is confusing for many is Paul's references to no longer being “under The Law” which, as you've correctly pointed out, is actually no longer being “under the Curse of The Law”, I.e. the penalty for not keeping The Law.
According to The Law, there are blessings (rewards) for keeping it, and curses (penalties) for not keeping it, the ultimate penalty of which is
DEATH (see
Deut. 28).
Father (God) being merciful, patient and long-suffering as He is, gives us many warnings and opportunities to come to our senses and turn back to Him before enforcing the penalty clause of The Law. Father is always looking for the good in each of us, just as Christ does, always setting the correct example for us to follow.
Scriptures then says, do we do away with the law now that we are not under it's penalty, or under law....God forbid, but we uphold the law by letting it do what it was intended to do, and that is to condemn sin in sinful man and turn us to Christ as our propitiation (mercy seat) before the Father.
Agreed. God forbid that The Law ever go away, as it was given to us to protect us from evil and to set and keep us free.
A simple example of this, which hopefully everyone can understand, is the Diet.
The perfect healthy diet is part of The Law to not only keep the human animals physically healthy, but also to keep us from destroying our natural surroundings.
The unclean animals are exactly that: unclean and thus unfit for human consumption. It has absolutely nothing to do with the temperature of the fire as some posit with regard to swine flesh), but rather that ALL of the unclean animals were designed for, and serve an important function in the eco-system: they are part of the planetary waste management system, i.e. the scavengers and vacuum cleaners sent in to clean-up the mess.
So Father (God) had a perfectly engineered system for us, and told us how it worked
IN WRITING, but instead of us listening to Him and obeying Him, Satan gets people to do the exact opposite, as usual, to our own detriment. Just think of the insanity of all of the diseases that consuming pigs has created (e.g. heart-attacks and strokes), as well as the destruction that's been caused in the seas by harvesting all of the unclean sea creatures. We literally dump more and more waste into the rivers and oceans while at the same time harvesting more and more of the very same sea creatures designed to filter all of that waste.
That's how sad this situation really is, and this is just barely touching on one aspect of The Law. The court system with all of the injustice it metes out every day, and the flagrant corruption and abuses of power that go on at every level of government are likewise addressed in The Law. The list at this late hour, is literally endless. Returning to The Law is The
ONLY Solution to
ALL of those issues.
Another reason why Christ will magnify The Law during
His Second Coming (
Isa. 42:21).
But it is those who stand before God and say, I'm perfect because I kept the law as justification before God.... then Christ is no avail to you.
Considering how simple this should have been – we were Commanded to obey The Law so we would all get along with each other and enjoy the best of everything God blessed us with –
NONE of us have anything to be proud or arrogant about, as we are all still here. Striving to be perfect, as we all should be doing, and claiming to be perfect, are two entirely different things.
The reason for striving for perfection is to show Father and His Christ our sincere appreciation for everything They have done for us. To do anything less would be to make a mockery of Christ's Sacrifice.
Therefore we are justified by Faith apart from the law (in Christ) Rom. 3:27-28) and Romans Chapter 4)...you must be born again.
Christ is The Law made flesh, i.e. a flesh-and-blood example of The Law, for all of us to follow. So there really is no way to be “in Christ” (at one with Christ) and not keep The Law (God's Commandments to us all). That's why Paul said he too was establishing The Law everywhere he went (
Rom. 3:31).
John 14:20-24
14:20
At that day ye shall know that I [am] in my Father, and ye in me, and I in you.
14:21
He that hath my COMMANDments, and KEEPETH them, HE it is that loveth me: and he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him, and will manifest myself to him.
14:22 Jude saith unto him, not Iscariot, Lord, how is it that thou wilt manifest thyself unto us, and not unto the world?
14:23 Jesus answered and said unto him,
If a man love me, he will obey my words: and my Father will love him, and We will come unto him, and make our abode with him.
14:24
He that loveth me not obeyeth not my sayings: and the Truth which ye hear is not mine, but the Father's which sent me.
With regard to being “born again” (
John 3:3-7), something must die first for that to happen. And the thing that must die is the “self” (the ego) that has its own self-will and thus does whatever it selfishly thinks will please itself (the flesh). It must, in fact,
be crucified DAILY (
Luke 9:23,
Gal. 2:20), as both Christ and Paul taught. That's why Christ repeatedly said “not my will be done, but the will of my Father, Who sent me”.
Do you keep the Sabbath? Then good for you. But if break any one of the other laws.....you are under condemnation. Even if you think you are right before God by keeping the Sabbath.
All the more reason to be constantly striving to keep The Law at all times, for everyone's benefit. Why would anyone wish to knowingly disobey God?
Something that should be mentioned about our Loving and Merciful Creator, to clear up any misconceptions some may have about
James 2:10. There is a difference between knowingly and unknowingly breaking The Law.
If, for example, someone who was striving to keep The Law learned (was shown) something that they had been doing
in innocence that shouldn't be done, and they corrected their behavior as soon as possible (truly repented), Father is most-merciful and oft-forgiving. Father is always looking for the contrite heart and the good in everyone.
If, on the other hand, someone knowingly breaks The Law, and then feigns remorse for it after the fact to ask for forgiveness for something they knew they shouldn't have done in the first place, that is a different matter altogether. Father knows each and every one of us better than we know ourselves.
Read Paul's struggle with the Law and Grace. Paul thought he was perfect before the law came to life and fooled him. Study the Scripture before you reply under prayer. Romans Chapter 7 and 8
Thank-you. In Romans, Chapter 7 Paul clearly states that The Law/Commandments are Holy, Just and Good, and that he himself is living by The Law.
The struggle that Paul refers to is
NOT between The Law and Grace; it is between the spirit and the flesh. That is exactly what Paul talks about in depth in Romans 8.
The Law and Grace go hand-in-hand. One cannot stay in God's Good Graces unless they are doing God's Will, which begins with obeying His Law. We've also been very mercifully granted this Grace period to come to our senses, remember and return to The Law, or suffer the consequences for all eternity (Mal. 4). Please think on these things, asking Father for His Guidance with all of it, as we all should be doing at all times, with everything.
Peace be upon you.
