"In Christ is man perfected and made complete." Christian Doctrine As Freedom, Not Control

[Lyfe]

...everyone believes they are a good person or at the very least not that bad, yet the entertainments we subject ourselves to say something about the human heart. I used to believe I was a good person, yet I would listen to gangster rap and play video games like grand theft auto in my earlier days before I gave my life to Christ( and received the holy spirit). I used to watch entertainments that always depicted incredible and gruesome acts of violence. The truth was that my inner being delighted in these things, yet I was only partaking in what everyone else was subjecting themselves to. These entertainments are now considered normal and a part of everyone's regularly scheduled programming. What does it say about someone if their heart actually desires these things? If someone was truly and inherently good(by their very nature) they would be grieved and sickened by these entertainments. God is constantly grieved and repulsed by the evil entertainments that we now embrace and see nothing wrong with. This is, because God's nature is inherently good and man's is not. If man was inherinetly good then he would reject and be heartbroken by the sort of things being depicted on television and radio. That would be his default reaction instead of one that welcomes and tolerates the evil projected by Hollywood.

There would simply be no place for these influences to thrive in a society of inherently good beings. It's human nature to overestimate our virtue and even reject God's diagnosis and verdict of the reality of the human condition. The Bible says that man by his very nature lives in opposition to God and his good purposes. Jesus(through the holy spirit) is the only way the sickness(we inherited at the fall of man) that exists within our hearts can be healed and the only way a person can have peace with God. The Bible says he came to undo and destroy the works of the devil. Until a person receives Christ and becomes spiritually reborn they will remain an opponent to God just by carrying out the lusts and twisted desires of their unregenerated heart(a heart that hasn't been changed by the holy spirit). God says that he will remove the heart of stone from us and give us a heart of flesh when we acknowledge our guilt and turn to Christ for salvation and restoration.

John 2:23-25
English Standard Version
Jesus Knows What Is in Man
23 Now when he was in Jerusalem at the Passover Feast, many believed in his name when they saw the signs that he was doing. 24 But Jesus on his part did not entrust himself to them, because he knew all people 25 and needed no one to bear witness about man, for he himself knew what was in man.

Mark 7:21-23
English Standard Version
21 For from within, out of the heart of man, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, 22 coveting, wickedness, deceit, sensuality, envy, slander, pride, foolishness. 23 All these evil things come from within, and they defile a person.”

Jeremiah 17:9
King James Version
9 The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?

 

[Lyfe]

One thing The Lord has really emphasized to me this past year is the need to start proclaiming the work of the holy spirit and the power of the blood of Jesus. We strip the witness of Christ and the gospel of it's firepower when we neglect to testify of these things. It also needs to be emphasized that the advent and raising of Christ is God's answer to a desperate and broken humanity. Only in him and through the healing and regenerative work of the holy spirit can a person be made whole. Only the life giving blood of Christ has the power to cleanse the poisoned and infected spirit. Only the blood can remove the chronic infection that ails the human soul. Only the blood of Christ can come in and cleanse the soul of all it's guilt, shame, and regret. People are so depressed, because their soul and spirit are metaphysically poisoned and overflowing with sin and the wine of Babylon(Hollywood). Depression is a spiritual condition and is a result of a soul being so poisoned that it manifests as what people recognize to be depression. The powers of darkness love a weakened and diluted gospel.

 

[Lyfe]

This widely believed notion that one goes to heaven based off of their own merit ( self perceived goodness) is deceiving countless souls with a false hope. God's word says that through our actions, our thoughts, our very imaginations we have all become unclean(defiled). God is holy and it says that he dwells within unapproachable light. In the old testament the holy of holies (within the temple) was an earthly representation of the dwelling of God. There was a veil or barrier between this room and the outer rooms that kept man from entering into. If an unauthorized person went into this room they would have perished and if the high priest(only one with rightful access) sought to go in without first having been made clean they would also likewise perish.

The Bible says that Gods eyes are so pure that they cannot behold evil. Jesus shed his blood so we could be cleansed of everything that defiles us in order that we may have the right to access the immediate dwelling of God. If someone has not received Christ for the remission of their sin then that means they are still unclean and cut off from access to God and without hope. In the book of revelation it says that nothing unclean or defiled will have access to "the dwelling of God.'. We are made clean, presentable, and accepted by God through the blood of Christ. He is the only hope and THE ONLY WAY to God. He removes our sin and uncleanness, he purifies our conscience, soul, and spirit. God is holy. Man is not. No amount of goodness or good deeds can remove the stain and guilt of sin from an already defiled soul/spirit. We must come to Christ through repentance and faith. We must come to the fountain that God gave us. We must come to this fountain to be purified from all that keeps us from a pure and holy God.

“On that day there shall be a fountain opened for the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, to cleanse them from sin and uncleanness. Zechariah 13:1

 

[A Freeman]

This widely believed notion that one goes to heaven based off of their own merit ( self perceived goodness) is deceiving countless souls with a false hope.

1 John 3:7-10
3:7 Little children, let no man deceive you: he that doeth righteousness is righteous, even as he (Christ) is righteous.
3:8 He that committeth sin is of the devil; for the devil sinneth from the Beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that he might destroy the works of the devil.
3:9 Whosoever is born of God doth not commit sin; for His seed remaineth in him: and he cannot sin, because he is born of God.
3:10 In this the children of God are manifest, and the children of the devil: whosoever DOETH NOT righteousness is NOT of God, neither he that loveth not his brother.

God's word says that through our actions, our thoughts, our very imaginations we have all become unclean(defiled). God is holy and it says that he dwells within unapproachable light. In the old testament the holy of holies (within the temple) was an earthly representation of the dwelling of God. There was a veil or barrier between this room and the outer rooms that kept man from entering into. If an unauthorized person went into this room they would have perished and if the high priest(only one with rightful access) sought to go in without first having been made clean they would also likewise perish.

The Bible says that Gods eyes are so pure that they cannot behold evil. Jesus shed his blood so we could be cleansed of everything that defiles us in order that we may have the right to access the immediate dwelling of God.

Romans 3:23-25
3:23 For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;
3:24 Being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus:
3:25 Whom God hath fore-ordained [to be] an atonement through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins THAT ARE PAST, through the forbearance of God;

James 4:17 Therefore to him that knoweth to do good, and doeth [it] NOT, to him it is SIN.

Hebrews 10:26 For if we sin wilfully after that we have received the Knowledge of The Truth, there remaineth no more sacrifice for sins,

If someone has not received Christ for the remission of their sin then that means they are still unclean and cut off from access to God and without hope.

1 John 2:1-4
2:1 My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not. And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous:
2:2 And he is the atonement for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for [the sins of] the whole world.
2:3 And hereby we do know that we know him, IF we keep His Commandments.
2:4 He that saith, I know him, and keepeth NOT His Commandments, is a LIAR, and the truth is NOT in him.

In the book of revelation it says that nothing unclean or defiled will have access to "the dwelling of God.'. We are made clean, presentable, and accepted by God through the blood of Christ. He is the only hope and THE ONLY WAY to God. He removes our sin and uncleanness, he purifies our conscience, soul, and spirit.

Revelation 2:17 He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the communities; To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the hidden Manna, and will give him a white stone, and IN the stone a NEW name written, which no man knoweth saving he that receiveth [it].

Revelation 3:5 He that overcometh, the same shall be clothed in white raiment; and I will not blot out his name out of the Book of Life, but I will confess his name before my Father, and before His angels.

Revelation 3:12 Him that overcometh will I [Christ] make a pillar in The Temple of MY God, and he shall go no more out: and I will write upon him the name of MY God, and the name of the city of MY God, [which is] New Jerusalem, which cometh down out of heaven from MY God: and [I will write upon him] my NEW name (see Ps. 68:4; Mal. 4:5).

Revelation 12:17 And the dragon was wroth with the woman, and went to make war with the remnant of her seed, which KEEP the Commandments of God, and have the Testimony of Christ Jesus (the Bible).

God is holy. Man is not. No amount of goodness or good deeds can remove the stain and guilt of sin from an already defiled soul/spirit.

Hebrews 10:16-17
10:16 THIS [is] The Covenant that I will make with them after those days, saith the Lord, I will put My Laws into their hearts, and in their minds will I write them;
10:17 And their [former] sins and iniquities will I remember no more.

We must come to Christ through repentance and faith. We must come to the fountain that God gave us. We must come to this fountain to be purified from all that keeps us from a pure and holy God.

James 2:12-26
2:12 So speak ye, and so do, as they that SHALL be judged by the (Royal) Law of Liberty (God's Laws).
2:13 For he shall have Judgment without mercy, that hath showed no mercy; and mercy rejoiceth against judgment.
2:14 What [doth it] profit, my brethren, though a man say he hath faith, and have not works? can faith save him?
2:15 If a brother or sister be naked, and destitute of daily food,
2:16 And one of you say unto them, Depart in peace, be [ye] warmed and filled; notwithstanding YE give them NOT those things which the body has need of; what good have ye done?
2:17 Even so FAITH, if it hath not WORKS, is DEAD, being alone.
2:18 Yea, a man may say, Thou hast faith, and I have works: show me thy faith without thy works, and I will SHOW thee my faith BY my works.
2:19 Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest well: the devils (liars) also believe, and tremble.
2:20 But wilt thou know, O vain (worthless) man, that FAITH WITHOUT WORKS is DEAD?
2:21 Was not our father justified by WORKS, when he had offered Isaac his son upon the altar (and God made him your example - Sura 16:123; 60:4)?
2:22 Seest thou how faith wrought with his works, and BY WORKS was faith (trust in God) MADE PERFECT?
2:23 And the Scripture was fulfilled which saith, Abraham believed ONLY God, and it was imputed unto him for righteousness: and he was called the Friend of God.
2:24 Ye see then how that by WORKS a man is justified, and NOT by faith only.
2:25 Likewise also was not Rahab the harlot justified by WORKS, when she had received the messengers, and had sent [them] out another way?
2:26 For as the body without the spirit is dead, so FAITH WITHOUT WORKS IS DEAD also.

“On that day there shall be a fountain opened for the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, to cleanse them from sin and uncleanness. Zechariah 13:1

Isaiah 1:16-19
1:16 Wash you, make you clean; put away the evil of your doings from before Mine eyes; cease to do evil;
1:17 Learn to do well; seek Judgment, relieve the oppressed, judge the fatherless, plead for the widow.
1:18 Come now, and let us reason together, saith the "I AM": though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool.
1:19 If ye be willing and obedient, ye shall eat the good of the land:

1 John 1:5-7
1:5 This then is the message which we have heard from him, and declare unto you, that God is Light, and in Him is no darkness at all.
1:6 If we say that we have fellowship with Him, and walk in darkness, we lie, and do NOT the truth:
1:7 But IF we walk in the Light, as He is in the Light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus+Christ His Son cleanseth us from all sin.

 

[Lyfe]

It really is the Christians duty to be a seed sower and to give knowledge of God and knowledge of salvation to this world. This sentiment will probably suggest a type of obligation to most, but the actual desires and endeavors to carry this out come from something much deeper. All of this is a work of the holy spirit and the natural result of someone being indwelt and led by him . Jesus said that the holy spirit will bear witness to and glorify him. The holy spirit is a person and his chief ambitions(as revealed in scripture) are to glorify God and bear witness to Christ here on earth. His desire is to worship and praise God. The more one is pruned of their old self and yields to the indwelling holy spirit the more they will find themselves walking in agreement with God as if their own mind and his(to some degree) have become synchronized as one. The Bible even corroborates this reality when it says Gods adopted children (through the holy spirit) have the mind of Christ. The holy spirit through the regenerating of our heart brings new priorities and a new outlook centering on the things of God. Scriptures speak of 'the new man' and this is part of Gods promise to give someone a new heart and put his spirit within them at the moment of salvation. The holy spirits desire is to declare the works of God and to make Christ known and this is the real motivation behind every major advancement of Gods kingdom. The holy spirit is how a few men stemming from Jerusalem brought the gospel to the entire world. It is when a child of God comes out of the world to be separate (as scripture calls them to) and stops quenching the holy spirit when he really begins to work in and through them to produce his fruit(sustenance). The world and it's devices choke the life out of the word and quench the holy spirit, but prayer and supplication along with Gods word(spirit and life) sow to the spirit. If we are filled with the holy spirit then all that can come out of us is praise and the continual mention of his(Jesus) name. This is how the early church was such a powerful and unstoppable force. No government or outlawing of Gods word was able to stop them.

Galatians 5:22-23
English Standard Version
22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.

Romans 8:14-17
English Standard Version
14 For all who are led by the Spirit of God are sons[a] of God. 15 For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, “Abba! Father!” 16 The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, 17 and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with him in order that we may also be glorified with him.

Zechariah 4:6
Then he said to me, “This is the word of the LORD to Zerubbabel: Not by might, nor by power, but by my Spirit, says the LORD of hosts.

 

[A Freeman]

Romans 13:8-14
13:8 Owe no man any thing, but to love one another: for he that loveth another hath fulfilled The Law.
13:9 For this, Thou shalt not commit adultery, Thou shalt not murder, Thou shalt not steal, Thou shalt not bear false witness (lie), Thou shalt not covet; and if [there be] any other commandment, it is briefly comprehended in this saying, namely, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as [or more than] thyself.
13:10 Love worketh no ill to his neighbour: therefore love [is] the fulfilling of The Law.
13:11 And that, knowing the time, that now [it is] high time to awake out of sleep: for now [is] our salvation nearer than when we believed.
13:12 The Night is far spent, the Day is at hand: let us therefore cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the Armour of Light.
13:13 Let us walk honestly, as in the day; not in rioting and drunkenness, not in chambering and wantonness, not in strife and envying.
13:14 But put ye on the Lord Christ the Saviour, and make no allowance for the flesh, to fulfill the lusts thereof.

 

[Lyfe]

I will say it one more time. The law made nothing perfect. You can put someone under the law, but if that persons heart is still secretly bound to and filled with a desire for evil things then they can't please God. It's only a pretend. This is why all the emphasis in the NT is on serving God in the newness of the spirit. I used to be an alcoholic and loved evil entertainments. It wasn't the law that set me free and regenerated my heart. It was the power of the holy spirit. The old covenant was ministration of the law and the new covenant is the ministration of the holy spirit as the superior way(2 Corinthians 3). The law is external regulation whereas the holy spirit brings inward transformation. The answer to the apostate condition of the churches isn't to put them under the law. The answer is that they need to get born again and receive a heart of flesh to begin with.

 

[A Freeman]

I will say it one more time. The law made nothing perfect. You can put someone under the law, but if that persons heart is still secretly bound to and filled with a desire for evil things then they can't please God. It's only a pretend. This is why all the emphasis in the NT is on serving God in the newness of the spirit. I used to be an alcoholic and loved evil entertainments. It wasn't the law that set me free and regenerated my heart. It was the power of the holy spirit. The old covenant was ministration of the law and the new covenant is the ministration of the holy spirit as the superior way(2 Corinthians 3). The law is external regulation whereas the holy spirit brings inward transformation. The answer to the apostate condition of the churches isn't to put them under the law. The answer is that they need to get born again and receive a heart of flesh to begin with.

Do you believe God is perfect and good @Lyfe ?

 

[Lyfe]

Do you believe God is perfect and good @Lyfe ?

Yes I do, but man is not.


Romans 7:10-14

The very commandment that promised life proved to be death to me. 11 For sin, seizing an opportunity through the commandment, deceived me and through it killed me. 12 So the law is holy, and the commandment is holy and righteous and good. Did that which is good, then, bring death to me? By no means! It was sin, producing death in me through what is good, in order that sin might be shown to be sin, and through the commandment might become sinful beyond measure. 14 For we know that the law is spiritual, but I am of the flesh, sold under sin.

Gods law demands perfection which is why it proves to be death and condemnation to carnal man. In fact the endless quantity of bulls and goats that were slaughtered in the old testament(to atone for sin) only really point us to one conclusion ----> Man completely and utterly fails to measure up to the righteous requirements of the law. It highlights the inability for humans(in their flesh) to be submitted to God's law.

Romans 8:7-9

For the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God, for it does not submit to God's law; indeed, it cannot. 8 Those who are in the flesh cannot please God. You, however, are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if in fact the Spirit of God dwells in you. Anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him.

Jesus was the only one EVER to keep God's law. This is why our right standing with God can only ever be based off of his righteousness. He had a perfect resume. He had the perfect score. If he is offering me entrance into his kingdom by giving me his results with an already perfect score than what can I possibly contribute? You can't add or contribute something more to an already perfect righteousness. It's credited to us by faith. The one who seeks to be justified by his own striving does not have a perfect score. He's measures by the law and is found short. If God is offering you a perfect righteousness then why would you try to get into heaven with your own? It won't work.

God came to usher in the new covenant, because of man's inability and failre to keep the law of the first.


Hebrews 8:6-13

English Standard Version



6 But as it is, Christ[a] has obtained a ministry that is as much more excellent than the old as the covenant he mediates is better, since it is enacted on better promises. 7 For if that first covenant had been faultless, there would have been no occasion to look for a second.
8 For he finds fault with them when he says:[b]
“Behold, the days are coming, declares the Lord,
when I will establish a new covenant with the house of Israel
and with the house of Judah,
9 not like the covenant that I made with their fathers
on the day when I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt.
For they did not continue in my covenant,
and so I showed no concern for them, declares the Lord.
10 For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel
after those days, declares the Lord:
I will put my laws into their minds,
and write them on their hearts,
and I will be their God,
and they shall be my people.
11 And they shall not teach, each one his neighbor
and each one his brother, saying, ‘Know the Lord,’
for they shall all know me,
from the least of them to the greatest.
12 For I will be merciful toward their iniquities,
and I will remember their sins no more.”
13 In speaking of a new covenant, he makes the first one obsolete. And what is becoming obsolete and growing old is ready to vanish away.


Acts 15:1-11

15 But some men came down from Judea and were teaching the brothers, “Unless you are circumcised according to the custom of Moses, you cannot be saved.” 2 And after Paul and Barnabas had no small dissension and debate with them, Paul and Barnabas and some of the others were appointed to go up to Jerusalem to the apostles and the elders about this question. 3 So, being sent on their way by the church, they passed through both Phoenicia and Samaria, describing in detail the conversion of the Gentiles, and brought great joy to all the brothers.[a] 4 When they came to Jerusalem, they were welcomed by the church and the apostles and the elders, and they declared all that God had done with them. 5 But some believers who belonged to the party of the Pharisees rose up and said, “It is necessary to circumcise them and to order them to keep the law of Moses.”
6 The apostles and the elders were gathered together to consider this matter. 7 And after there had been much debate, Peter stood up and said to them, “Brothers, you know that in the early days God made a choice among you, that by my mouth the Gentiles should hear the word of the gospel and believe. 8 And God, who knows the heart, bore witness to them, by giving them the Holy Spirit just as he did to us, 9 and he made no distinction between us and them, having cleansed their hearts by faith. 10 Now, therefore, why are you putting God to the test by placing a yoke on the neck of the disciples that neither our fathers nor we have been able to bear? 11 But we believe that we will be saved through the grace of the Lord Jesus, just as they will.”

If God looks at his law and judges you by it you will be found guilty.

 

[A Freeman]

Yes I do, but man is not.

If you believe that God is perfect and good, then how could His Law, which God gave us for our benefit, to protect us from evil and to set us free from the bondage of sin (which is breaking The Law) not likewise be perfect and good?

Agreed about humans (man) not being good (not one single human is good, as the Scripture says - Ps. 53:1-3, Rom. 3:10-12), which is why the human ("self") nature must be overcome and crucified DAILY.

 

[Lyfe]

If you believe that God is perfect and good, then how could His Law, which God gave us for our benefit, to protect us from evil and to set us free from the bondage of sin (which is breaking The Law) not likewise be perfect and good?

Agreed about humans (man) not being good (not one single human is good, as the Scripture says - Ps. 53:1-3, Rom. 3:10-12), which is why the human ("self") nature must be overcome and crucified DAILY.

The law is holy and good. Paul even recognized this. The real problem is within our flesh and the sharp contrast between God's nature and man's. God is spiritual. Man is carnal. This is why Paul refers to The Law as the ministration of condemnation and death. God's holy and perfect standard is too high of a mark for our carnal nature. The law is so supreme that only Jesus ever kept it. That's why salvation is on the basis of his imputed righteousness. If God grades any of us fairly by the law we will miss the mark. This is why we need Christ's perfect righteousness.

The new covenant and ministration of the holy spirit is referenced as being superior to the law, because through it we are spiritually reborn and become new men "created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness[Eph:4:24]" by the regenerative work of the holy spirit. We ere released from the law(Paul's words). The law imputes sin, but where there is no law there is no transgression.

 

[Lyfe]

There is a divine restoration and quickening of the human soul that takes place when one acknowledges and confesses their sins before God. The Fathers will is to cause the withering and dead soul to feel alive again and this is always accomplished through acknowledging Gods ability to do this and though repentance. Repentance always precedes the restoration of our being. We are given the exhortation to seek his throne of grace that we may obtain mercy and grace in our time of need. Its Gods good pleasure to take away our sin and uncleanness and in exchange for our shame and guilt give us his kingdom. Its his desire to take away our sackcloth and ashes and bestow upon us a garment of praise and a beautiful headdress(Isaiah 61). It's God's delight to give comfort to those who mourn. This is a testament to the nature and goodness of God.

David said that when his iniquities prevailed against him that God(through his incredible love)makes atonement in order that we may receive healing and be welcomed back into his pleasant embrace and into the joy of salvation. We are given relief and calm and brought to inner(spiritual and emotional) health through repentance. The inward chaos and unrest through the consequence of sin are distilled by God's work of grace on the human soul.

It is through repentance that the blood of Christ cleanses our soul and spirit of all of the spiritual abscess of our former sins. The soul created in the image of God was never designed to find its sustenance in the vain entertainments of this world and through the pollutions of sin.

Secondly, renunciation of sin is breaking agreement with the adversary and his demonic assignments, it severs any and all rights and legal claims they may have to our person. Sin opens a door for unclean spirits. Their desire is for a vessel that they can live out their twisted and self destructive lusts through. As long as a person is indulging in these mutual lusts and living in agreement with them the unclean spirits have a legal right to bring bondage, oppression, and torment.

God is the only true healer and deliverer, but beforehand a person must repent and turn to Christ for their soul to be healed and made well. He is the only one who has the power to break the spiritual and demonic chains of sin, oppression, and bondage. He is the only one who can truly make a person feel alive again through the indwelling holy spirit. Jesus is the only PHYSICIAN(appointed by God) for our spiritual well-being.

Luke 5:31-32
Amplified Bible
31 And Jesus replied to them, “It is not those who are healthy who need a physician, but [only] those who are sick. 32 I did not come to call the [self-proclaimed] righteous [who see no need to repent], but sinners to repentance [to change their old way of thinking, to turn from sin and to seek God and His righteousness].”

 

[A Freeman]

The law is holy and good.

Agreed. Why then would anyone not strive to keep it, if for no other reason than to show their gratitude for the suffering and sacrifice Christ made on our behalf? How could anyone truly love God and their neighbour without keeping The Law?

Paul even recognized this.

Agreed. Paul also said he was keeping The Law himself (Rom. 7:25), that he was establishing it everywhere he went (Rom. 3:31), and that only DOERS of The Law shall be justified (Rom. 2:13).

The real problem is within our flesh and the sharp contrast between God's nature and man's. God is spiritual. Man is carnal.

Agreed; however we are human+Beings (i.e. a spirit-Being/Soul inside a human), NOT just humans. Unless someone recognizes this fact, and is reborn as their spirit-Being, they cannot see the Kingdom of heaven, much less enter it (John 3:3-7).

This is why Paul refers to The Law as the ministration of condemnation and death.

???
How could something from God that is holy, just and good be the "ministration of condemnation and death"?

It is the breaking The Law (sin - 1 John 3:4) that is DEATH (Ezek. 18:4, 20, Rom. 6:23); The Law is a BLESSING to all those who keep it (Deut. 28).

God's holy and perfect standard is too high of a mark for our carnal nature.

Hence the reason why one MUST be reborn from above as their spirit-Being. A spirit-Being/Soul is from above (heaven); a carnal human is from beneath (Earth).

1 John 5:2-3
5:2 By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God, and KEEP His Commandments.
5:3 For THIS is the love of God, that we KEEP His Commandments: and His Commandments are NOT grievous.

The law is so supreme that only Jesus ever kept it.

Genesis 5:24 And Enoch walked WITH God: and he [was] not; for God took him.

Hebrews 11:5 By faith Enoch was translated that he should not see death; and was not found, because God had translated him: for before his translation he had this testimony, THAT HE PLEASED GOD.

That's why salvation is on the basis of his imputed righteousness.

This is how Christ, our Judge (John 5:22) said He will judge each of us:
Matthew 16:27 For the Son of Man shall come in the glory of his Father with his angels; and then he shall reward every man according to his WORKS.

Revelation 20:12-15
20:12 And I saw the "Dead", small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another Book was opened, which is [the Book] of Life: and the "Dead" were judged out of those things which were written in the Books, according to their works.
20:13 And the "sea" gave up the "Dead" which were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their WORKS.
20:14 And death and hell were cast into the "Lake of Fire". This is the second death.
20:15 And whosoever was not found written in the Book of Life was cast into the "Lake of Fire".

If God grades any of us fairly by the law we will miss the mark. This is why we need Christ's perfect righteousness.

Agreed. And how shall we show our love and gratitude to God and His Christ for the Sacrifices made on our behalf? By continued disobedience or by coming to our senses and obeying The Law/Commandments of God?

1 John 3:4-9
3:4 Whosoever committeth sin transgresseth also The Law: for sin is the transgression of The Law.
3:5 And ye know that he was manifested to take away our (past) sins; and in him is no sin.
3:6 Whosoever abideth in him sinneth not: whosoever sinneth hath not seen him, neither known him.
3:7 Little children, let no man deceive you: he that doeth righteousness is righteous, even as he (Christ) is righteous.
3:8 He that committeth sin is of the devil; for the devil sinneth from the Beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that he might destroy the works of the devil.
3:9 Whosoever is born of God doth not commit sin; for His seed remaineth in him: and he cannot sin, because he is born of God.

The new covenant and ministration of the holy spirit is referenced as being superior to the law,

???
The New Covenant is literally defined by The Law being so ingrained into the hearts and minds of those who accept it that they no longer sin/break The Law, proving by their works that Christ and His Righteousness lives within them.

Hebrews 10:16-17
10:16 This [is] The Covenant that I will make with them after those days, saith the Lord, I will put My Laws into their hearts, and in their minds will I write them;
10:17 And their [former] sins and iniquities will I remember no more.

because through it we are spiritually reborn and become new men "created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness[Eph:4:24]" by the regenerative work of the holy spirit.

How could someone claim to be reborn of God and continue in sin (i.e. continue to break The Law/Commandments of God)?

1 John 3:9 Whosoever is born of God doth not commit sin; for His seed remaineth in him: and he cannot sin, because he is born of God.

This is what Ephesians 4:17-24 actually says:-
4:17 This I say therefore, and testify in the Lord, that ye henceforth walk NOT as other Gentiles walk, in the vanity of their mind,
4:18 Having the understanding darkened, being alienated from the Life of God through the ignorance that is in them, because of the blindness of their heart:
4:19 Who being past feeling have given themselves over unto lasciviousness, to work all uncleanness with greediness.
4:20 But ye have NOT so learned [from] Christ;
4:21 If so be that ye have heard him, and have been taught by him, as the Truth is in Jesus:
4:22 That ye put off concerning the former conversation the old man, which is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts;
4:23 And be renewed in the spirit of your mind (your Being/Soul);
4:24 And that ye put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness (1 John 3:9).
4:25 Wherefore putting away lying, speak every man truth with his neighbour: for we are members one of another.

We ere released from the law(Paul's words). The law imputes sin, but where there is no law there is no transgression.

Paul NEVER released anyone from keeping The Law. Why would Paul establish The Law everywhere he went if he didn't teach people to keep The Law as he himself did?

And again, how can The Law -- which is holy, just and good -- somehow impute sin? It is the exact opposite: it is the breaking of The Law that is sin, exactly as it says in Scripture (1 John 3:4).

 

[Lyfe]

Agreed. Why then would anyone not strive to keep it, if for no other reason than to show their gratitude for the suffering and sacrifice Christ made on our behalf? How could anyone truly love God and their neighbour without keeping The Law?


Agreed. Paul also said he was keeping The Law himself (Rom. 7:25), that he was establishing it everywhere he went (Rom. 3:31), and that only DOERS of The Law shall be justified (Rom. 2:13).


Agreed; however we are human+Beings (i.e. a spirit-Being/Soul inside a human), NOT just humans. Unless someone recognizes this fact, and is reborn as their spirit-Being, they cannot see the Kingdom of heaven, much less enter it (John 3:3-7).


???
How could something from God that is holy, just and good be the "ministration of condemnation and death"?

It is the breaking The Law (sin - 1 John 3:4) that is DEATH (Ezek. 18:4, 20, Rom. 6:23); The Law is a BLESSING to all those who keep it (Deut. 28).


Hence the reason why one MUST be reborn from above as their spirit-Being. A spirit-Being/Soul is from above (heaven); a carnal human is from beneath (Earth).

1 John 5:2-3
5:2 By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God, and KEEP His Commandments.
5:3 For THIS is the love of God, that we KEEP His Commandments: and His Commandments are NOT grievous.



Genesis 5:24 And Enoch walked WITH God: and he [was] not; for God took him.

Hebrews 11:5 By faith Enoch was translated that he should not see death; and was not found, because God had translated him: for before his translation he had this testimony, THAT HE PLEASED GOD.


This is how Christ, our Judge (John 5:22) said He will judge each of us:
Matthew 16:27 For the Son of Man shall come in the glory of his Father with his angels; and then he shall reward every man according to his WORKS.

Revelation 20:12-15
20:12 And I saw the "Dead", small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another Book was opened, which is [the Book] of Life: and the "Dead" were judged out of those things which were written in the Books, according to their works.
20:13 And the "sea" gave up the "Dead" which were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their WORKS.
20:14 And death and hell were cast into the "Lake of Fire". This is the second death.
20:15 And whosoever was not found written in the Book of Life was cast into the "Lake of Fire".


Agreed. And how shall we show our love and gratitude to God and His Christ for the Sacrifices made on our behalf? By continued disobedience or by coming to our senses and obeying The Law/Commandments of God?

1 John 3:4-9
3:4 Whosoever committeth sin transgresseth also The Law: for sin is the transgression of The Law.
3:5 And ye know that he was manifested to take away our (past) sins; and in him is no sin.
3:6 Whosoever abideth in him sinneth not: whosoever sinneth hath not seen him, neither known him.
3:7 Little children, let no man deceive you: he that doeth righteousness is righteous, even as he (Christ) is righteous.
3:8 He that committeth sin is of the devil; for the devil sinneth from the Beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that he might destroy the works of the devil.
3:9 Whosoever is born of God doth not commit sin; for His seed remaineth in him: and he cannot sin, because he is born of God.


???
The New Covenant is literally defined by The Law being so ingrained into the hearts and minds of those who accept it that they no longer sin/break The Law, proving by their works that Christ and His Righteousness lives within them.

Hebrews 10:16-17
10:16 This [is] The Covenant that I will make with them after those days, saith the Lord, I will put My Laws into their hearts, and in their minds will I write them;
10:17 And their [former] sins and iniquities will I remember no more.


How could someone claim to be reborn of God and continue in sin (i.e. continue to break The Law/Commandments of God)?

1 John 3:9 Whosoever is born of God doth not commit sin; for His seed remaineth in him: and he cannot sin, because he is born of God.

This is what Ephesians 4:17-24 actually says:-
4:17 This I say therefore, and testify in the Lord, that ye henceforth walk NOT as other Gentiles walk, in the vanity of their mind,
4:18 Having the understanding darkened, being alienated from the Life of God through the ignorance that is in them, because of the blindness of their heart:
4:19 Who being past feeling have given themselves over unto lasciviousness, to work all uncleanness with greediness.
4:20 But ye have NOT so learned [from] Christ;
4:21 If so be that ye have heard him, and have been taught by him, as the Truth is in Jesus:
4:22 That ye put off concerning the former conversation the old man, which is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts;
4:23 And be renewed in the spirit of your mind (your Being/Soul);
4:24 And that ye put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness (1 John 3:9).
4:25 Wherefore putting away lying, speak every man truth with his neighbour: for we are members one of another.


Paul NEVER released anyone from keeping The Law. Why would Paul establish The Law everywhere he went if he didn't teach people to keep The Law as he himself did?

And again, how can The Law -- which is holy, just and good -- somehow impute sin? It is the exact opposite: it is the breaking of The Law that is sin, exactly as it says in Scripture (1 John 3:4).

I think you need to refamiliarize yourself with Paul's writings. I am merely reiterating the language he used. He had referred to The Law as the ministration of condemnation and death as well as a yoke of bondage. He was the one who said we are released from The Law.

I think what you fail to grasp is that striving to keep The Law just simply isn't good enough. You either keep The Law or you dont and there is no on between.

If God judges you(without partiality) by his law then you will be found guilty. Every mouth is stopped. The law only imputes and records your sin. You say, "I did this, that and this" but the law says "Yes, but you also fell short in this area and failed to do this, that, and this.". The law is perfect, is it not?

...by your own standards you assert someone who doesn't keep the law doesn't know God. According to this standard do you even know God?

Wouldn't it be terrible to find out on judgment day that despite your best efforts to keep God's law you are still found guilty? Nobody shall be justified in his sight by the deeds of the law.

 

[A Freeman]

I think you need to refamiliarize yourself with Paul's writings. I am merely reiterating the language he used.

No, you're not "merely reiterating the language he used". You're being dishonest about what Paul said, and you clearly don't understand what he meant.

He had referred to The Law as the ministration of condemnation and death as well as a yoke of bondage.

No, Paul didn't refer to The Law as "the ministration of condemnation and death as well as a yoke of bondage", as you are falsely claiming. Isn't that why you haven't produced a single verse where Paul actually says what you're falsely claiming?

Again, here is what Paul actually said:

Romans 7:25 I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord. So then with the mind (Being) I myself serve The Law of God; but with the flesh (human) the law of sin.

Which is why Paul said he was crucifying his "self" (the flesh), so he (Paul, the spirit-Being) could serve The Law of God.

Galatians 2:20 My "Self" is crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I (the "Self"), but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.

1 Corinthians 9:27 But I keep my body under [control], and bring [the "Self"] into subjection: lest that by any means, when I have preached to others, I myself should be a castaway.

Romans 8:1-8
8:1 [There is] therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk NOT after the flesh, but (with their Being) after the Holy Spirit.
8:2 For The Law of the Spirit of Life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death (habitual sin/breaking The Law carries the death penalty according to The Law).
8:3 For what The Law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending His Own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh:
8:4 That the Righteousness of The Law might be fulfilled in us, who walk NOT following the flesh, but following the Spirit.
8:5 For they that are after the flesh do mind the things of the flesh; but they that are after the Spirit the things of the Spirit.
8:6 For to be carnally minded [is] death; but to be spiritually minded [is] life and peace (John 3:5-6).
8:7 Because the carnal mind [is] enmity against God: for it is not subject to The Law of God, neither indeed can it be.
8:8 So then they that are in the ways of flesh cannot please God.

If someone is in the ways of the flesh (human), giving in to what the flesh (human) wants, then they very clearly have NOT been born again from above, regardless of whatever LIE their "self" may be telling them.

1 John 3:9 Whosoever is born of God doth not commit sin; for His seed remaineth in him: and he cannot sin, because he is born of God.

If you're still sinning/breaking The Law, then you have NOT been born again and are still "in the ways of the flesh", which Christ has CONDEMNED.

2 Corinthians 6:14-17
6:14 Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? And what communion hath light with darkness?
6:15 And what concord hath Christ with Wickedness? Or what part hath he that believeth with an infidel?
6:16 And what agreement hath The Temple of God with idols? for ye are the temple of the Living God; as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in [them]; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people.
6:17 Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean [thing]; and I will receive you,
6:18 And will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be My [adopted] sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty.

He was the one who said we are released from The Law.

No, Paul never said that, nor did Paul have any authority to say such a thing.

And Christ, Paul's Teacher, most certainly never said that either. In fact Christ condemned anyone who teaches others to break any of the Commandments as the lowest of the low in God's Eyes (Matt. 5:19).

Romans 3:31 Do we then make void The Law through faith? God forbid: yea, we establish The Law.

I think what you fail to grasp is that striving to keep The Law just simply isn't good enough.

If obeying God's Law isn't good enough, then disobeying God's Law most certainly isn't good enough, is it? And who made you a judge of The Law?

James 4:11-12
4:11 Speak not evil one of another, brethren. He that speaketh evil of [his] brother, and judgeth his brother, speaketh evil of The Law, and judgeth The Law: but if thou judge The Law, thou art not a doer of The Law, but a judge.
4:12 There is ONE Lawgiver, who is able to save and to destroy: who art thou that judgest another?

You either keep The Law or you dont and there is no on between.

Agreed. And our eternal lives DEPEND upon keeping The Law, exactly as Christ teaches.

Matthew 19:17 And he said unto him, Why callest thou ME good? [there is] none good but One, [that is], God: but IF thou wilt enter into Life, KEEP THE COMMANDMENTS.

If God judges you(without partiality) by his law then you will be found guilty. Every mouth is stopped.

The Law is always impartial, exactly as Father (God) is.[/QUOTE]

The law only imputes and records your sin.

The Law defines what is good (lawful) and what is evil (unlawful - sin), so that we may CHOOSE, of our own free-will, to do good instead of evil, knowing the difference between the two (Deut. 30:15-20)

You say, "I did this, that and this"

When has any such personal statement ever been made in anything that's been personally posted?

but the law says "Yes, but you also fell short in this area and failed to do this, that, and this.". The law is perfect, is it not?

Of course The Law is perfect, which is why it should be read, studied and applied in our daily lives, so that we may draw closer to God.

...by your own standards you assert someone who doesn't keep the law doesn't know God.

Except that isn't my "own standard", is it? It's what the Scripture plainly states, which has been shared with you in God's Service.

1 John 2:1-5
2:1 My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not. And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous:
2:2 And he is the atonement for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for [the sins of] the whole world.
2:3 And hereby we do know that we know him, IF we keep His Commandments.
2:4 He that saith, I know him, and keepeth NOT His Commandments, is a LIAR, and the truth is NOT in him.
2:5 But whoso keepeth his word, in him verily is the love of God perfected: hereby know we that we are in him.

According to this standard do you even know God?

As above please.

Wouldn't it be terrible to find out on judgment day that despite your best efforts to keep God's law you are still found guilty? Nobody shall be justified in his sight by the deeds of the law.

Paul, in his letter to the Romans, stated the following:

Romans 2:13 (For not the hearers of The Law [are] just before God, but the DOERS of The Law (The Torah) SHALL be justified.

Wouldn't it be terrible to find out on Judgment Day that Satan duped you into believing the exact opposite of what it actually and repeatedly teaches us throughout the Scriptures? The Fire awaits all those who refuse to return to The Law, as we've been warned for thousands of years (e.g. Mal. 4).

God told us in His Law to OBEY HIS COMMANDMENTS, STATUTES and JUDGMENTS, found only in His Law, because they are always just and fair for all concerned.

ALL of God's Prophets told us exactly the same thing: obey God and His Law (Commandments) and LIVE; disobedience brings evil and death (physical and spiritual).

Christ taught exactly the same thing: obey God and His Law (Commandments).

ALL of Christ's Disciples conveyed actually the same message: obey God and His Law (Commandments).

ALL of the Apostles, including Paul, likewise conveyed exactly the same message: obey God and His Law (Commandments).

Anyone who claims to know The Word/Christ, and is not keeping The Law/Commandments of God is a LIAR, and the Truth is NOT in them, exactly as it says in Scripture.

1 John 2:4 He that saith, I know him, and keepeth NOT His Commandments, is a LIAR, and the truth is NOT in him.

 

[Lyfe]

All of my posting is done from a phone so I dont have the convenience of someone who can post scripture from a computer. It's allot more time consuming and tedious on a phone so I don't usually do it, but I will go to the trouble on this one since you are saying Paul didn't say things that he actually did.

Romans 7:1-6

7 Or do you not know, brothers[a]—for I am speaking to those who know the law—that the law is binding on a person only as long as he lives? 2 For a married woman is bound by law to her husband while he lives, but if her husband dies she is released from the law of marriage.[b] 3 Accordingly, she will be called an adulteress if she lives with another man while her husband is alive. But if her husband dies, she is free from that law, and if she marries another man she is not an adulteress.
4 Likewise, my brothers, you also have died to the law through the body of Christ, so that you may belong to another, to him who has been raised from the dead, in order that we may bear fruit for God. 5 For while we were living in the flesh, our sinful passions, aroused by the law, were at work in our members to bear fruit for death. 6 But now we are released from the law, having died to that which held us captive, so that we serve in the new way of the Spirit and not in the old way of the written code.[c]


2 Corinthians 3:1-11

3 Are we beginning to commend ourselves again? Or do we need, as some do, letters of recommendation to you, or from you? 2 You yourselves are our letter of recommendation, written on our[a] hearts, to be known and read by all. 3 And you show that you are a letter from Christ delivered by us, written not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of human hearts.[b]
4 Such is the confidence that we have through Christ toward God. 5 Not that we are sufficient in ourselves to claim anything as coming from us, but our sufficiency is from God, 6 who has made us sufficient to be ministers of a new covenant, not of the letter but of the Spirit. For the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life.
7 Now if the ministry of death, carved in letters on stone, came with such glory that the Israelites could not gaze at Moses' face because of its glory, which was being brought to an end, 8 will not the ministry of the Spirit have even more glory? 9 For if there was glory in the ministry of condemnation, the ministry of righteousness must far exceed it in glory. 10 Indeed, in this case, what once had glory has come to have no glory at all, because of the glory that surpasses it. 11 For if what was being brought to an end came with glory, much more will what is permanent have glory.


Galatians 5:1-18

5 For freedom Christ has set us free; stand firm therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery.
2 Look: I, Paul, say to you that if you accept circumcision, Christ will be of no advantage to you. 3 I testify again to every man who accepts circumcision that he is obligated to keep the whole law. 4 You are severed from Christ, you who would be justified[a] by the law; you have fallen away from grace. 5 For through the Spirit, by faith, we ourselves eagerly wait for the hope of righteousness. 6 For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision counts for anything, but only faith working through love.
7 You were running well. Who hindered you from obeying the truth? 8 This persuasion is not from him who calls you. 9 A little leaven leavens the whole lump. 10 I have confidence in the Lord that you will take no other view, and the one who is troubling you will bear the penalty, whoever he is. 11 But if I, brothers,[b] still preach[c] circumcision, why am I still being persecuted? In that case the offense of the cross has been removed. 12 I wish those who unsettle you would emasculate themselves!
13 For you were called to freedom, brothers. Only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another. 14 For the whole law is fulfilled in one word: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” 15 But if you bite and devour one another, watch out that you are not consumed by one another.

16 But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. 17 For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh, for these are opposed to each other, to keep you from doing the things you want to do. 18 But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law.


Galatians 2:18-21

18 For if I rebuild what I tore down, I prove myself to be a transgressor. 19 For through the law I died to the law, so that I might live to God. 20 I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. 21 I do not nullify the grace of God, for if righteousness[a] were through the law, then Christ died for no purpose.


Galatians 3:23-26

Now before faith came, we were held captive under the law, imprisoned until the coming faith would be revealed. 24 So then, the law was our guardian until Christ came, in order that we might be justified by faith. 25 But now that faith has come, we are no longer under a guardian, 26 for in Christ Jesus you are all sons of God, through faith.


Galatians 4:21-31

21 Tell me, you who desire to be under the law, do you not listen to the law? 22 For it is written that Abraham had two sons, one by a slave woman and one by a free woman. 23 But the son of the slave was born according to the flesh, while the son of the free woman was born through promise. 24 Now this may be interpreted allegorically: these women are two covenants. One is from Mount Sinai, bearing children for slavery; she is Hagar. 25 Now Hagar is Mount Sinai in Arabia;[a] she corresponds to the present Jerusalem, for she is in slavery with her children. 26 But the Jerusalem above is free, and she is our mother. 27 For it is written,
“Rejoice, O barren one who does not bear;
break forth and cry aloud, you who are not in labor!
For the children of the desolate one will be more
than those of the one who has a husband.”
28 Now you,[b] brothers, like Isaac, are children of promise. 29 But just as at that time he who was born according to the flesh persecuted him who was born according to the Spirit, so also it is now. 30 But what does the Scripture say? “Cast out the slave woman and her son, for the son of the slave woman shall not inherit with the son of the free woman.” 31 So, brothers, we are not children of the slave but of the free woman.

There it is for you. Paul saying all the things you said he didn't.

 

[A Freeman]

All of my posting is done from a phone so I dont have the convenience of someone who can post scripture from a computer. It's allot more time consuming and tedious on a phone so I don't usually do it, but I will go to the trouble on this one since you are saying Paul didn't say things that he actually did.

You are either out of ignorance or intentionally misinterpreting what Paul said in the passages below, and using a horrible translation to do it.

Romans 7:1-6

7 Or do you not know, brothers[a]—for I am speaking to those who know the law—that the law is binding on a person only as long as he lives? 2 For a married woman is bound by law to her husband while he lives, but if her husband dies she is released from the law of marriage.[b] 3 Accordingly, she will be called an adulteress if she lives with another man while her husband is alive. But if her husband dies, she is free from that law, and if she marries another man she is not an adulteress.
4 Likewise, my brothers, you also have died to the law through the body of Christ, so that you may belong to another, to him who has been raised from the dead, in order that we may bear fruit for God. 5 For while we were living in the flesh, our sinful passions, aroused by the law, were at work in our members to bear fruit for death. 6 But now we are released from the law, having died to that which held us captive, so that we serve in the new way of the Spirit and not in the old way of the written code.[c]

In context, the above passage is NOT releasing anyone from keeping The Law which Paul, in the very same chapter, says is holy, just and good and tells everyone that he (Paul) himself is keeping it. Read what it actually is saying, rather than what you want it to say, so you can continue to live in bondage to sin.

Romans 7:5-7
7:5 For when we were in the flesh, the motions of sins, which were by The Law, did work in our members to bring forth fruit unto death.
7:6 But now we are delivered from (the Curses/Penalty Clauses of) The Law, that being dead (to "Self") whereby we were held; that we should serve in newness of spirit, and not [in] the oldness of the letter.
7:7 What shall we say then? [Is] The Law sin? God forbid. Nay, I had not known [what was] sin, except by The Law: for I had not known [what] lust [is], except The Law had said, Thou shalt not covet.

Christ's sacrifice was to pay the penalty (the curse) we incurred because of our refusal to stop breaking The Law. Please study Deuteronomy 28, so that you can actually understand what Paul was talking about.

Paul very obviously was NOT teaching people to break The Law; he was teaching people to keep The Law. The ONLY Way to be delivered from the curse/penalty clause of The Law IS BY KEEPING THE LAW.

Deuteronomy 27:26, 28:1-2
27:26 Cursed [be] he that confirmeth not [all] the words of this Law to do them. And all the people shall say, Amen.
28:1 And it shall come to pass, if thou shalt hearken diligently unto the voice of the "I AM" thy God, to observe [and] to do all His Commandments which I command thee this day, that the "I AM" thy God will set thee on high above all nations of the earth:
28:2 And ALL THESE BLESSINGS* shall come on thee, and overtake thee, if thou shalt hearken unto the voice of the "I AM" thy God.

*Read verses 3-14 for the list of blessing that come as the result of keeping The Law

Deuteronomy 28:14-15
28:14 And thou shalt not go aside from any of the Words which I command thee this day, [to] the right hand, or [to] the left, to go after other gods to serve them.
28:15 But it shall come to pass, if thou wilt NOT hearken unto the voice of the "I AM" thy God, to observe to do all His Commandments and His Statutes which I command thee this day; that ALL THESE CURSES** [of the Law] shall come upon thee, and overtake thee:

**Read verses 16-68 for a list of all of the curses/penalties for NOT keeping The Law, which bring about all disease and DEATH.

It should therefore be obvious that it is our refusal to obey God and His Commandments that brings about CURSES, DEATH and EVIL (sin IS evil) and NOT keeping The Law, which brings about BLESSINGS, LIFE and GOOD.

2 Corinthians 3:1-11

3 Are we beginning to commend ourselves again? Or do we need, as some do, letters of recommendation to you, or from you? 2 You yourselves are our letter of recommendation, written on our[a] hearts, to be known and read by all. 3 And you show that you are a letter from Christ delivered by us, written not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of human hearts.[b]
4 Such is the confidence that we have through Christ toward God. 5 Not that we are sufficient in ourselves to claim anything as coming from us, but our sufficiency is from God, 6 who has made us sufficient to be ministers of a new covenant, not of the letter but of the Spirit. For the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life.
7 Now if the ministry of death, carved in letters on stone, came with such glory that the Israelites could not gaze at Moses' face because of its glory, which was being brought to an end, 8 will not the ministry of the Spirit have even more glory? 9 For if there was glory in the ministry of condemnation, the ministry of righteousness must far exceed it in glory. 10 Indeed, in this case, what once had glory has come to have no glory at all, because of the glory that surpasses it. 11 For if what was being brought to an end came with glory, much more will what is permanent have glory.

2 Corinthians 3:4-14
3:4 And such trust have we through Christ toward God:
3:5 Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think any thing as of ourselves; but our sufficiency [is] from God;
3:6 Who also hath made us able ministers of the New Covenant; not of the letter, but of the spirit: for the letter killeth, but the spirit giveth life.
3:7 But if the ministration of death, written [and] engraven in stones, was glorious, so that the children of Israel could not steadfastly behold the face of Moses for the glory of his countenance; which [glory] was to be done away:
3:8 How shall not the ministration of the spirit be more glorious?
3:9 For IF the ministration of condemnation [be] glory, much more doth the ministration of righteousness exceed in glory.
3:10 For even that which was made glorious had no glory in this respect, by reason of the glory that excelleth.
3:11 For if that which is done away [was] glorious, much more that which remaineth [is] glorious.
3:12 Seeing then that we have such hope, we use great plainness of speech:
3:13 And not as Moses, [which] put a veil over his face, that the children of Israel could not steadfastly look to the end of that which is abolished:
3:14 But their minds were blinded: for until this day remaineth the same veil untaken away in the reading of the Old Covenant (Testament); which [veil] (the veil not The Covenant - Rev. 15:3) is done away in Christ.

Revelation 15:3 And they sing the "Song of Moses" (Old Covenant - Deut. 31) the servant of God, AND the "Song of the Lamb" (New Covenant), saying, Great and marvellous [are] Thy works, Lord God Almighty; just and true [are] Thy Ways, Thou King of the holy people.

Galatians 5:1-18

5 For freedom Christ has set us free; stand firm therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery.

John 8:34 (KJV) Jesus answered them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Whosoever committeth sin is the prisoner of sin.

How obvious does it need to be made for you that the yoke of slavery IS TO SIN (BREAKING THE LAW); God BLESSES the keeping of The Law, which is FREEDOM.

James 1:25 But whoso looketh into the Perfect Law of Liberty (the true mirror), and continueth [therein], he being not a forgetful hearer, but a DOER of the work, this man shall be blessed in his deed.

2 Look: I, Paul, say to you that if you accept circumcision, Christ will be of no advantage to you. 3 I testify again to every man who accepts circumcision that he is obligated to keep the whole law. 4 You are severed from Christ, you who would be justified[a] by the law; you have fallen away from grace. 5 For through the Spirit, by faith, we ourselves eagerly wait for the hope of righteousness. 6 For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision counts for anything, but only faith working through love.
7 You were running well. Who hindered you from obeying the truth? 8 This persuasion is not from him who calls you. 9 A little leaven leavens the whole lump. 10 I have confidence in the Lord that you will take no other view, and the one who is troubling you will bear the penalty, whoever he is. 11 But if I, brothers,[b] still preach[c] circumcision, why am I still being persecuted? In that case the offense of the cross has been removed. 12 I wish those who unsettle you would emasculate themselves!
13 For you were called to freedom, brothers. Only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another. 14 For the whole law is fulfilled in one word: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” 15 But if you bite and devour one another, watch out that you are not consumed by one another.

16 But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. 17 For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh, for these are opposed to each other, to keep you from doing the things you want to do. 18 But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law.

Galatians 5:16-21
5:16 [This] I say then, Walk as the Spirit (Being), and fulfill NOT the lust of the flesh (human).
5:17 For the flesh (human) lusteth against the Spirit (Being), and the Spirit (Being) against the flesh (human): and these are opposed the one to the other: so that ye cannot do the things that ye would.
5:18 But IF ye be led by the Holy Spirit, ye are not under [the curse of]The Law.
5:19 Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are [these]; Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness,
5:20 Idolatry, pharmacy, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies,
5:21 Envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told [you] in time past, that they which do such things shall NOT inherit The Kingdom of God.

Galatians 3:10 For as many as are of the works of The Law are under the Curse (penalty clause): for it is written, Cursed [is] every one that continueth not in ALL things which are written in the Book of The Law (The Torah) to do them (Deut. 27:26).

YOU CAN ONLY RECEIVE GOD'S BLESSINGS, PROTECTION AND FREEDOM BY KEEPING THE LAW. CHRIST PAID THE PENALTY FOR US TO GIVE US A RENEWED OPPORTUNITY TO COME TO OUR SENSES AND KEEP THE LAW. Those who refuse to return to The Law are cursed, and will spend eternity in the Lake of Fire (Rev. 20:12-15).

Galatians 2:18-21

18 For if I rebuild what I tore down, I prove myself to be a transgressor. 19 For through the law I died to the law, so that I might live to God. 20 I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. 21 I do not nullify the grace of God, for if righteousness[a] were through the law, then Christ died for no purpose.

Galatians 2:17-21
2:17 But if, while we seek to be justified by Christ, we ourselves also are found sinners
(law-breakers, i.e. criminals), [is] therefore Christ the minister of sin? God forbid (for
sin is the transgression of The Law – 1 John 3:4).
2:18 For if I build again the things which I destroyed, I make myself a transgressor.
2:19 For I through The Law am dead to The Law (the “self” MUST die, and be crucified
DAILY in accordance with The Law – Luke 9:23, otherwise it is IMPOSSIBLE to love one's
neighbour as much or more than one's self), that I might live unto God (READ what
CHRIST said in the Gospel according to Matthew, Matt. 5:17-20).
2:20 My "Self" is crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I (the "Self"), but
Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of
God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.
2:21 I do not frustrate the grace of God: for if righteousness [come] by The Law***, then
Christ is dead in vain [Christ died in our place].

***This reference has a two-fold meaning. First, if righteousness had come by the ordinances and animal sacrifices of The Law, there would have been no need for The Lamb of God to be sacrificed for the sins of the world. Animal sacrifices, which foreshadowed “self” sacrifice, were done away with at the cross (Col. 2:14) when the priesthood was formally and forever reduced from many to ONE (Heb. 6:20).

Colossians 2:14 Blotting out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us, which was contrary to us, and took it out of the way, nailing it to his cross;

Secondly, according to The Law, we all had fallen under the “Curse” or penalty clause of The Law for not keeping it (Deut. 28:15-68). The penalty for not keeping The Law is DEATH, so if righteousness had come by The Law, we would have all suffered the death penalty for our sins/lawlessness (crimes) at that time. But that does NOT mean we will not have to answer for our sins/crimes on Judgement Day (Eze. 18:4, 20, Rom. 6:23), which is why we MUST remember and return to keeping The Law (Mal. 4).

Galatians 3:23-26

Now before faith came, we were held captive under the law, imprisoned until the coming faith would be revealed. 24 So then, the law was our guardian until Christ came, in order that we might be justified by faith. 25 But now that faith has come, we are no longer under a guardian, 26 for in Christ Jesus you are all sons of God, through faith.

Galatians 3:20-26
3:20 Now a mediator is not [a mediator] for one, but God is ONE (NOT a trinity).
3:21 [Is] The Law then against the promises of God? God forbid: for if there had been a law given which could have given Life, verily righteousness should have been by The Law.

Note well: If we would have kept The Law, Christ would not have had to suffer the agony of the cross to pay the penalty for OUR LAWLESSNESS.

3:22 But the Scripture hath concluded all under sin, that the promise by faith of Jesus Christ might be given to them that believe [him].
3:23 But before faith came13, shut up unto the faith which should afterwards be revealed (Jer. 31:31-34, Heb. 8:10-12).

Note well: Faith is trust in God, that He ALWAYS knows what is best and that His Law is PERFECT, Just and Fair for ALL. It is a lack of faith and/or will-power to resist temptation that causes us to sin/break The Law. And when we sin/break The Law, we make a mockery of Christ's Sacrifice.

3:24 Wherefore The Law was our schoolmaster [to bring us] unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith14.

Note well: The ONLY way The Law can be a schoolmaster/teacher is IF we study it, learn from it and keep and apply it. There is simply no other way to learn the lessons that can ONLY come from keeping The Law, and ONLY THOSE LESSONS can bring us to Christ.

3:25 But after that faith is come, we are no longer under a schoolmaster (but under Christ, Who is The Word/Law made flesh – John 1:14).
3:26 For ye are all the (adopted) children of God (IF ye do His Will) by faith (trust) in Christ Jesus.

John 14:15 IF ye love me, KEEP my COMMANDments.

Galatians 4:21-31

21 Tell me, you who desire to be under the law, do you not listen to the law? 22 For it is written that Abraham had two sons, one by a slave woman and one by a free woman. 23 But the son of the slave was born according to the flesh, while the son of the free woman was born through promise. 24 Now this may be interpreted allegorically: these women are two covenants. One is from Mount Sinai, bearing children for slavery; she is Hagar. 25 Now Hagar is Mount Sinai in Arabia;[a] she corresponds to the present Jerusalem, for she is in slavery with her children. 26 But the Jerusalem above is free, and she is our mother. 27 For it is written,
“Rejoice, O barren one who does not bear;
break forth and cry aloud, you who are not in labor!
For the children of the desolate one will be more
than those of the one who has a husband.”
28 Now you,[b] brothers, like Isaac, are children of promise. 29 But just as at that time he who was born according to the flesh persecuted him who was born according to the Spirit, so also it is now. 30 But what does the Scripture say? “Cast out the slave woman and her son, for the son of the slave woman shall not inherit with the son of the free woman.” 31 So, brothers, we are not children of the slave but of the free woman.

Galatians 4:21-31
4:21 Tell me, ye that desire to be under The Law, do ye not hear The Law (he who sins not breaks not, and so needs not, The Law)?
4:22 For it is written, that Abraham had two sons, the one by a bondmaid, the other by a freewoman.
4:23 But he [who was] of the bondwoman was born after the flesh; but he of the freewoman [was] by promise (the Good News).
4:24 Which things are an allegory: for these are the two Covenants; the one from the mount Sinai, which gendereth to bondage (for those who refuse to keep The Law given to us on Mt. Sinai), which is Hagar.
4:25 For this Hagar is mount Sinai in Arabia, and answereth to Jerusalem which now is, and is in bondage with her children (bondage to sin, i.e. transgressing The Law).
4:26 But Jerusalem which is above is free, which is the mother (of cities) of us all.
4:27 For it is written, Rejoice, [thou] barren that bearest not; break forth and cry, thou that travailest not: for the desolate hath many more children than she which hath an husband.
4:28 Now we, brethren, as Isaac was, are the children of promise.
4:29 But as then he that was born after the flesh persecuted him [that was born] after the Spirit, even so [it is] now (John 3:3-7).
4:30 Nevertheless what saith the Scripture? Cast out the bondwoman and her son: for the son of the bondwoman shall not be heir with the son of the freewoman.
4:31 So then, brethren, we are not children of the bondwoman (Hagar, who gave birth to Ishmael), but of the free (Sarah, who gave birth to Isaac).

Keeping The Law = FREEDOM FROM SIN, SUFFERING AND DEATH.
Breaking The Law = BONDAGE TO SIN, SUFFERING AND DEATH. THE WAGES OS

The choice, as always, is ours to make.

Deuteronomy 30:15-20
30:15 See, I have set before thee this day life and good, and death and evil;
30:16 In that I command thee this day to love the "I AM" thy God, to walk in His Ways, and to keep His Commandments and His Statutes and His Judgments, that thou mayest live and multiply: and the "I AM" thy God shall bless thee in the land where thou goest to possess it.
30:17 But if thine heart turn away, so that thou wilt not hear, but shalt be drawn away, and worship other gods, and serve them;
30:18 I denounce unto you this day, that ye shall surely perish, [and that] ye shall not prolong [your] days upon the land, where thou passest over Jordan to go to possess it.
30:19 I call heaven and earth to record this day against you, [that] I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing: therefore choose life, that both thou and thy seed may live:
30:20 That thou mayest love the "I AM" thy God, [and] that thou mayest obey His voice, and that thou mayest cleave unto Him: for He [is] thy Life, and the length of thy days: that thou mayest dwell in the land which the "I AM" sware unto thy fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob/Israel, to give them.

There it is for you. Paul saying all the things you said he didn't.

As above please. You trying to argue that good is evil and that evil is good (Isa. 5:20-21), which will NEVER work. The Law is holy, just and good, exactly as Paul said, which is why Paul was keeping The Law, establishing The Law wherever he went, and striving to share with others that unless we return to keeping The Law, we will remain in bondage to our SINS, and spend eternity in The Fire.

That which is holy, just and good can NEVER bring bondage and death.. Only sinning (breaking The Law) can do that.

Hence the NEED to be born again and LEARN to keep The Law/Commandments of God, exactly as Christ teaches (and as Paul, the student of Christ, was sharing).

Learn The Way home or face The Fire.

 

[Wigi]

Galatians 3:10 For as many as are of the works of The Law are under the Curse (penalty clause): for it is written, Cursed [is] every one that continueth not in ALL things which are written in the Book of The Law (The Torah) to do them (Deut. 27:26).

YOU CAN ONLY RECEIVE GOD'S BLESSINGS, PROTECTION AND FREEDOM BY KEEPING THE LAW. CHRIST PAID THE PENALTY FOR US TO GIVE US A RENEWED OPPORTUNITY TO COME TO OUR SENSES AND KEEP THE LAW. Those who refuse to return to The Law are cursed, and will spend eternity in the Lake of Fire (Rev. 20:12-15).

Why you quote Galatians 3:10 and do not continue with verse 11 to 14 so you can bear false witness by saying 'freedom is by keeping the law'? I quote 10-14:

For as many as are of the works of the law are under the curse; for it is written, “Cursed is everyone who does not continue in all things which are written in the book of the law, to do them.” But that no one is justified by the law in the sight of God is evident, for “the just shall live by faith.” Yet the law is not of faith, but “the man who does them shall live by them.” Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law, having become a curse for us (for it is written, “Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree”), that the blessing of Abraham might come upon the Gentiles in Christ Jesus, that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith.
Galatians 3:10‭-‬14

You often do that and hide it through a barrage of verses hoping no one is going to notice you twist the Gospel to return under the law.
You can return to the law if you want but in Jesus, God sends His Holy Spirit and give a renewed mind enabling us to keep His commands. This is the grace of God, not personal efforts.

"I do not set aside the grace of God; for if righteousness comes through the law, then Christ died in vain."
Galatians 2:21

Sure, God's grace hurts those trying to live righteous lives by themselves. You can pretend to keep the Law as much as you want, without the Spirit you don't belong to Him.

"Because the carnal mind is enmity against God; for it is not subject to the law of God, nor indeed can be. So then, those who are in the flesh cannot please God. But you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you. Now if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he is not His."
Romans 8:7‭-‬9

You finish your post by saying we learn to keep the law/commandments, in fact you don't have to "learn" to keep them when you have a real fellowship with God because He's molding you and convincing you to stop living a sinful life. No one told me I had to stop alcohol or stop listening hurtful music for the soul for exemple. Instead it's God who convinced me to quit what I had to quit and made it possible by His spirit. It's way better to have a spiritual life rather than a religious life hence why Jesus said we had to worship in spirit and truth, unlike Pharisees focused on being law keepers but unable to have their inner self transformed.

 

[Lyfe]

You are either out of ignorance or intentionally misinterpreting what Paul said in the passages below, and using a horrible translation to do it.



In context, the above passage is NOT releasing anyone from keeping The Law which Paul, in the very same chapter, says is holy, just and good and tells everyone that he (Paul) himself is keeping it. Read what it actually is saying, rather than what you want it to say, so you can continue to live in bondage to sin.

Romans 7:5-7
7:5 For when we were in the flesh, the motions of sins, which were by The Law, did work in our members to bring forth fruit unto death.
7:6 But now we are delivered from (the Curses/Penalty Clauses of) The Law, that being dead (to "Self") whereby we were held; that we should serve in newness of spirit, and not [in] the oldness of the letter.
7:7 What shall we say then? [Is] The Law sin? God forbid. Nay, I had not known [what was] sin, except by The Law: for I had not known [what] lust [is], except The Law had said, Thou shalt not covet.

Christ's sacrifice was to pay the penalty (the curse) we incurred because of our refusal to stop breaking The Law. Please study Deuteronomy 28, so that you can actually understand what Paul was talking about.

Paul very obviously was NOT teaching people to break The Law; he was teaching people to keep The Law. The ONLY Way to be delivered from the curse/penalty clause of The Law IS BY KEEPING THE LAW.

Deuteronomy 27:26, 28:1-2
27:26 Cursed [be] he that confirmeth not [all] the words of this Law to do them. And all the people shall say, Amen.
28:1 And it shall come to pass, if thou shalt hearken diligently unto the voice of the "I AM" thy God, to observe [and] to do all His Commandments which I command thee this day, that the "I AM" thy God will set thee on high above all nations of the earth:
28:2 And ALL THESE BLESSINGS* shall come on thee, and overtake thee, if thou shalt hearken unto the voice of the "I AM" thy God.

*Read verses 3-14 for the list of blessing that come as the result of keeping The Law

Deuteronomy 28:14-15
28:14 And thou shalt not go aside from any of the Words which I command thee this day, [to] the right hand, or [to] the left, to go after other gods to serve them.
28:15 But it shall come to pass, if thou wilt NOT hearken unto the voice of the "I AM" thy God, to observe to do all His Commandments and His Statutes which I command thee this day; that ALL THESE CURSES** [of the Law] shall come upon thee, and overtake thee:

**Read verses 16-68 for a list of all of the curses/penalties for NOT keeping The Law, which bring about all disease and DEATH.

It should therefore be obvious that it is our refusal to obey God and His Commandments that brings about CURSES, DEATH and EVIL (sin IS evil) and NOT keeping The Law, which brings about BLESSINGS, LIFE and GOOD.


2 Corinthians 3:4-14
3:4 And such trust have we through Christ toward God:
3:5 Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think any thing as of ourselves; but our sufficiency [is] from God;
3:6 Who also hath made us able ministers of the New Covenant; not of the letter, but of the spirit: for the letter killeth, but the spirit giveth life.
3:7 But if the ministration of death, written [and] engraven in stones, was glorious, so that the children of Israel could not steadfastly behold the face of Moses for the glory of his countenance; which [glory] was to be done away:
3:8 How shall not the ministration of the spirit be more glorious?
3:9 For IF the ministration of condemnation [be] glory, much more doth the ministration of righteousness exceed in glory.
3:10 For even that which was made glorious had no glory in this respect, by reason of the glory that excelleth.
3:11 For if that which is done away [was] glorious, much more that which remaineth [is] glorious.
3:12 Seeing then that we have such hope, we use great plainness of speech:
3:13 And not as Moses, [which] put a veil over his face, that the children of Israel could not steadfastly look to the end of that which is abolished:
3:14 But their minds were blinded: for until this day remaineth the same veil untaken away in the reading of the Old Covenant (Testament); which [veil] (the veil not The Covenant - Rev. 15:3) is done away in Christ.

Revelation 15:3 And they sing the "Song of Moses" (Old Covenant - Deut. 31) the servant of God, AND the "Song of the Lamb" (New Covenant), saying, Great and marvellous [are] Thy works, Lord God Almighty; just and true [are] Thy Ways, Thou King of the holy people.


John 8:34 (KJV) Jesus answered them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Whosoever committeth sin is the prisoner of sin.

How obvious does it need to be made for you that the yoke of slavery IS TO SIN (BREAKING THE LAW); God BLESSES the keeping of The Law, which is FREEDOM.

James 1:25 But whoso looketh into the Perfect Law of Liberty (the true mirror), and continueth [therein], he being not a forgetful hearer, but a DOER of the work, this man shall be blessed in his deed.


Galatians 5:16-21
5:16 [This] I say then, Walk as the Spirit (Being), and fulfill NOT the lust of the flesh (human).
5:17 For the flesh (human) lusteth against the Spirit (Being), and the Spirit (Being) against the flesh (human): and these are opposed the one to the other: so that ye cannot do the things that ye would.
5:18 But IF ye be led by the Holy Spirit, ye are not under [the curse of]The Law.
5:19 Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are [these]; Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness,
5:20 Idolatry, pharmacy, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies,
5:21 Envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told [you] in time past, that they which do such things shall NOT inherit The Kingdom of God.

Galatians 3:10 For as many as are of the works of The Law are under the Curse (penalty clause): for it is written, Cursed [is] every one that continueth not in ALL things which are written in the Book of The Law (The Torah) to do them (Deut. 27:26).

YOU CAN ONLY RECEIVE GOD'S BLESSINGS, PROTECTION AND FREEDOM BY KEEPING THE LAW. CHRIST PAID THE PENALTY FOR US TO GIVE US A RENEWED OPPORTUNITY TO COME TO OUR SENSES AND KEEP THE LAW. Those who refuse to return to The Law are cursed, and will spend eternity in the Lake of Fire (Rev. 20:12-15).


Galatians 2:17-21
2:17 But if, while we seek to be justified by Christ, we ourselves also are found sinners
(law-breakers, i.e. criminals), [is] therefore Christ the minister of sin? God forbid (for
sin is the transgression of The Law – 1 John 3:4).
2:18 For if I build again the things which I destroyed, I make myself a transgressor.
2:19 For I through The Law am dead to The Law (the “self” MUST die, and be crucified
DAILY in accordance with The Law – Luke 9:23, otherwise it is IMPOSSIBLE to love one's
neighbour as much or more than one's self), that I might live unto God (READ what
CHRIST said in the Gospel according to Matthew, Matt. 5:17-20).
2:20 My "Self" is crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I (the "Self"), but
Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of
God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.
2:21 I do not frustrate the grace of God: for if righteousness [come] by The Law***, then
Christ is dead in vain [Christ died in our place].

***This reference has a two-fold meaning. First, if righteousness had come by the ordinances and animal sacrifices of The Law, there would have been no need for The Lamb of God to be sacrificed for the sins of the world. Animal sacrifices, which foreshadowed “self” sacrifice, were done away with at the cross (Col. 2:14) when the priesthood was formally and forever reduced from many to ONE (Heb. 6:20).

Colossians 2:14 Blotting out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us, which was contrary to us, and took it out of the way, nailing it to his cross;

Secondly, according to The Law, we all had fallen under the “Curse” or penalty clause of The Law for not keeping it (Deut. 28:15-68). The penalty for not keeping The Law is DEATH, so if righteousness had come by The Law, we would have all suffered the death penalty for our sins/lawlessness (crimes) at that time. But that does NOT mean we will not have to answer for our sins/crimes on Judgement Day (Eze. 18:4, 20, Rom. 6:23), which is why we MUST remember and return to keeping The Law (Mal. 4).


Galatians 3:20-26
3:20 Now a mediator is not [a mediator] for one, but God is ONE (NOT a trinity).
3:21 [Is] The Law then against the promises of God? God forbid: for if there had been a law given which could have given Life, verily righteousness should have been by The Law.

Note well: If we would have kept The Law, Christ would not have had to suffer the agony of the cross to pay the penalty for OUR LAWLESSNESS.

3:22 But the Scripture hath concluded all under sin, that the promise by faith of Jesus Christ might be given to them that believe [him].
3:23 But before faith came13, shut up unto the faith which should afterwards be revealed (Jer. 31:31-34, Heb. 8:10-12).

Note well: Faith is trust in God, that He ALWAYS knows what is best and that His Law is PERFECT, Just and Fair for ALL. It is a lack of faith and/or will-power to resist temptation that causes us to sin/break The Law. And when we sin/break The Law, we make a mockery of Christ's Sacrifice.

3:24 Wherefore The Law was our schoolmaster [to bring us] unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith14.

Note well: The ONLY way The Law can be a schoolmaster/teacher is IF we study it, learn from it and keep and apply it. There is simply no other way to learn the lessons that can ONLY come from keeping The Law, and ONLY THOSE LESSONS can bring us to Christ.

3:25 But after that faith is come, we are no longer under a schoolmaster (but under Christ, Who is The Word/Law made flesh – John 1:14).
3:26 For ye are all the (adopted) children of God (IF ye do His Will) by faith (trust) in Christ Jesus.

John 14:15 IF ye love me, KEEP my COMMANDments.


Galatians 4:21-31
4:21 Tell me, ye that desire to be under The Law, do ye not hear The Law (he who sins not breaks not, and so needs not, The Law)?
4:22 For it is written, that Abraham had two sons, the one by a bondmaid, the other by a freewoman.
4:23 But he [who was] of the bondwoman was born after the flesh; but he of the freewoman [was] by promise (the Good News).
4:24 Which things are an allegory: for these are the two Covenants; the one from the mount Sinai, which gendereth to bondage (for those who refuse to keep The Law given to us on Mt. Sinai), which is Hagar.
4:25 For this Hagar is mount Sinai in Arabia, and answereth to Jerusalem which now is, and is in bondage with her children (bondage to sin, i.e. transgressing The Law).
4:26 But Jerusalem which is above is free, which is the mother (of cities) of us all.
4:27 For it is written, Rejoice, [thou] barren that bearest not; break forth and cry, thou that travailest not: for the desolate hath many more children than she which hath an husband.
4:28 Now we, brethren, as Isaac was, are the children of promise.
4:29 But as then he that was born after the flesh persecuted him [that was born] after the Spirit, even so [it is] now (John 3:3-7).
4:30 Nevertheless what saith the Scripture? Cast out the bondwoman and her son: for the son of the bondwoman shall not be heir with the son of the freewoman.
4:31 So then, brethren, we are not children of the bondwoman (Hagar, who gave birth to Ishmael), but of the free (Sarah, who gave birth to Isaac).

Keeping The Law = FREEDOM FROM SIN, SUFFERING AND DEATH.
Breaking The Law = BONDAGE TO SIN, SUFFERING AND DEATH. THE WAGES OS

The choice, as always, is ours to make.

Deuteronomy 30:15-20
30:15 See, I have set before thee this day life and good, and death and evil;
30:16 In that I command thee this day to love the "I AM" thy God, to walk in His Ways, and to keep His Commandments and His Statutes and His Judgments, that thou mayest live and multiply: and the "I AM" thy God shall bless thee in the land where thou goest to possess it.
30:17 But if thine heart turn away, so that thou wilt not hear, but shalt be drawn away, and worship other gods, and serve them;
30:18 I denounce unto you this day, that ye shall surely perish, [and that] ye shall not prolong [your] days upon the land, where thou passest over Jordan to go to possess it.
30:19 I call heaven and earth to record this day against you, [that] I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing: therefore choose life, that both thou and thy seed may live:
30:20 That thou mayest love the "I AM" thy God, [and] that thou mayest obey His voice, and that thou mayest cleave unto Him: for He [is] thy Life, and the length of thy days: that thou mayest dwell in the land which the "I AM" sware unto thy fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob/Israel, to give them.


As above please. You trying to argue that good is evil and that evil is good (Isa. 5:20-21), which will NEVER work. The Law is holy, just and good, exactly as Paul said, which is why Paul was keeping The Law, establishing The Law wherever he went, and striving to share with others that unless we return to keeping The Law, we will remain in bondage to our SINS, and spend eternity in The Fire.

That which is holy, just and good can NEVER bring bondage and death.. Only sinning (breaking The Law) can do that.

Hence the NEED to be born again and LEARN to keep The Law/Commandments of God, exactly as Christ teaches (and as Paul, the student of Christ, was sharing).

Learn The Way home or face The Fire.

No further need to respond. You actually have to do quite a bit of scripture twisting to justify your views. If you sinned only once in a day that would still be a guilty verdict by the laws standards. It only imputes sin. You are under delusion if you think the law can leave you with a favorable report before God. I will pray for you.

 

[Red Sky at Morning]

No further need to respond. You actually have to do quite a bit of scripture twisting to justify your views. If you sinned only once in a day that would still be a guilty verdict by the laws standards. It only imputes sin. You are under delusion if you think the law can leave you with a favorable report before God. I will pray for you.

It’s not that complicated, is it @Lyfe

Romans 3 addresses the claims of @A Freeman directly. Is this chapter even in the “King of Kings” Bible???

20 Therefore by the deeds of the law there shall no flesh be justified in his sight: for by the law is the knowledge of sin.​

​

21 But now the righteousness of God without the law is manifested, being witnessed by the law and the prophets;​

​

22 Even the righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe: for there is no difference:​

​

23 For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;​

​

24 Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus:​

​

25 Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God;​

​

26 To declare, I say, at this time his righteousness: that he might be just, and the justifier of him which believeth in Jesus.​

​

27 Where is boasting then? It is excluded. By what law? of works? Nay: but by the law of faith.​

​

28 Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith without the deeds of the law.​

​

29 Is he the God of the Jews only? is he not also of the Gentiles? Yes, of the Gentiles also:​

​

30 Seeing it is one God, which shall justify the circumcision by faith, and uncircumcision through faith.​

​

31 Do we then make void the law through faith? God forbid: yea, we establish the law.​

It would seem to me that “establishing” the law means agreeing that those standards are Gods plum line for human conduct and that all deviate from it. The Sermon on the Mount restates and clarifies that plum line. Instead of the sacrificial offerings which were given by the Jews, through Jesus we are given a new and living way to a restored relationship with the Father.

Should Christians try to love lives that please God and uphold His standards? Of course!!!

How many people say when challenged “I’ve lived a good life”, yet each one has therefore told one huge lie!

All have sinned. All need salvation.