Are new covenant saints called to keep the law?

[phipps]

The New Covenant and the Ten Commandments.

Some say the Ten Commandments are not binding for New Testament/Covenant Christians. What does Jesus say about this?

Matthew 19:17, "So He said to him, “Why do you call Me good? No one is good but One, that is, God. But if you want to enter into life, keep the commandments.”

John 14:15, “If you love Me, keep My commandments."

Revelation 14:12, "Here is the patience of the saints; here are those who keep the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus."

Revelation 22:14, "Blessed are those who do His commandments, that they may have the right to the tree of life, and may enter through the gates into the city."

The New Testament plainly teaches that God's people will keep His commandments. All of us know that the world is in big trouble today because so many no longer feel it is important to obey God's law. The Bible speaks of our day by saying, "It is time for You to act, O Lord, For they have regarded Your law as void." Psalms 119:126.


Upon which law is the new covenant based?

Hebrews 8:10, "For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the Lord: I will put My laws in their mind and write them on their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people."

The two covenants were agreements between God and His people. The old covenant failed because it was based upon the faulty promises and works of the people.

Exodus 24:7, “All that the Lord has said we will do, and be obedient.”

The new covenant succeeds because it is God's law written in the heart and is based upon Jesus' promises and His miracle-working power.

Hebrews 8:10, "I will put My laws in their mind and write them on their hearts."

A person's entire nature is changed, so he or she finds doing God's will a pleasure. Notice that the New Covenant is based on the same law, but it is written in a different place (the heart) and based on better promises (God's).


Doesn't living under grace, by faith, make keeping God's law non-essential?

Romans 6:15, "What then? Shall we sin because we are not under law but under grace? Certainly not!"

Romans 3:31, "Do we then make void the law through faith? Certainly not! On the contrary, we establish the law."

Those who have been forgiven by Jesus for breaking His law are doubly duty-bound to obey His law. And sensing His blessed forgiveness, they are more desirous than others to happily follow Jesus.


Are people saved by keeping the law?

Ephesians 2:8-9, "For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast."

No one is saved by keeping God's law. All are saved by the miracle-working grace of God. But those who are saved, or transformed, by the grace of Jesus will want to obey His law as an expression of their love and thanksgiving to Him.

John 14:15, “If you love Me, keep My commandments."


What motivates a person to obey God's law?

Romans 13:10, "Love does no harm to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfillment of the law."

Matthew 22:37-39, "Jesus said to him, “‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ "

1 John 5:3, "For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments. And His commandments are not burdensome."

Love is the magnificent motivator. The first four commandments have to do with my duty to God. When I love Him, obeying those commands is a pleasure. The last six commandments embrace my duty to people. If I truly love people, I will not want to do anything that would hurt them.

 

[phipps]

Can I be a true Christian without keeping His commandments?

1 John 2:3-4, "Now by this we know that we know Him, if we keep His commandments. He who says, “I know Him,” and does not keep His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him."


Are some Old Testament/Covenant laws no longer binding upon Christians?

Ephesians 2:15, "having abolished in His flesh the enmity, that is, the law of commandments contained in ordinances."

Yes, the ordinances that regulated the priesthood and the sacrificial system have been abolished because they prefigured Christ (Colossians 2:13-17). He fulfilled them as the true Lamb of God.


What are some of the glorious rewards of keeping God's law?

John 15:11, "These things I have spoken to you, that My joy may remain in you, and that your joy may be full."

Proverbs 29:18, "Where there is no revelation, the people cast off restraint; But happy is he who keeps the law."

Psalms 119:165, "Great peace have those who love Your law, And nothing causes them to stumble."

Happiness, joy, peace, and more abundant living come to those who obey God's law. No wonder David said that God's commands are more desirable than gold (Psalms 19:10).

The 10 Commandments given by God in the Old Covenant continue to be God’s expectations of Christians today under the New Covenant.

 

[phipps]

Any Christian who says that the Law of God was done away with in the New Covenant is teaching a false doctrine, and its not based in the Word of God at all. They may genuinely believe that they are right but it is contrary to biblical doctrine I'm afraid.

The New Covenant is based upon God’s law being written on the hearts and minds of mankind and that would enable us to conquer sin should we accept Christ as our personal Saviour. However we still have to be obedient to the law. Paul wrote in Romans 3:31, "Do we then make void the law through faith? Certainly not! On the contrary, we establish the law." Otherwise why would the law be written on the hearts and minds of people. We know that sin is the transgression of the law. So if the law is written in our hearts and minds that means we should to obey it. We are saved by Grace which is a gift from God but we still have to obey God's law, that is why its written in our hearts.

This is all comes from my thread The Old and New Covenants.

 

[Lyfe]

It becomes circular, really. God knows how many times you sinned this past week. I'm willing to bet many of those sins you aren't even aware of, but that's beside the point, because the law still records them and brings a guilty and impartial verdict. God's justice is impartial.

Then with the guilty verdict the law brings, what are you relying on at that point to make you right? Grace. Who would you need to justify you with the guilty verdict? God

It really is a matter of ones heart toward God and his grace as opposed to ones own blamelessness in regards to the letter of the law. Who is justified here and why?


Luke 18:9-14
English Standard Version
The Pharisee and the Tax Collector
9 He also told this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and treated others with contempt: 10 “Two men went up into the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. 11 The Pharisee, standing by himself, prayed[a] thus: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other men, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. 12 I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all that I get.’ 13 But the tax collector, standing far off, would not even lift up his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, ‘God, be merciful to me, a sinner!’ 14 I tell you, this man went down to his house justified, rather than the other. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted.”

 

[elsbet's cat ^. .^]

Any Christian who says that the Law of God was done away with in the New Covenant is teaching a false doctrine,

But no one said that.

Let's talk about Ellen White's Warning to married people.

God, Himself, advises against White's warning -- so people should be aware of the falsehood here, too. It's bad instruction on a few levels.

No one would survive the honeymoon.

. . .
​

Marital Excess & Vital Force
LINK

INTRO
In her 100,000 pages of writing--
Ellen White never made a single positive statement about sex. For her, sex was an activity of the flesh that drained vital force from the body.

Below, Mrs. White warns that God will hold marriage partners accountable for expending their vital energy:

"They do not see that God requires them to control their married lives from any excesses. But very few feel it to be a religious duty to govern their passions.​

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They have united themselves in marriage to the object of their choice, and therefore reason that marriage sanctifies the indulgence of the baser passions.​

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Even men and women professing godliness give loose rein to their lustful passions, and have no thought that God holds them accountable for the expenditure of vital energy, which weakens their hold on life and enervates the entire system."​

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"The brain nerve-power is squandered by men and women because called into unnatural action to gratify base passions; and this hideous monster, base, low passion; assumes the delicate name of love."⁵​

LADIES ... it's your job​

Mrs. White urges wives to restrain the desires of their husbands, warning them that they will be held accountable on judgment day for "sexual excess":

"Sexual excess will effectually destroy a love for devotional exercises, will take from the brain the substance needed to nourish the system, and will most effectively exhaust the vitality.​

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No woman should aid her husband in this work of self-destruction.​

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She will not do it if she is enlightened and has true love for him. The more the animal passions are indulged, the stronger do they become, and the more violent will be their clamors for indulgence.​

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Let God-fearing men and women awake to their duty. Many professed Christians are suffering with paralysis of nerve and brain because of their intemperance in this direction.​

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"It is not pure, holy love which leads the wife to gratify the animal propensities of her husband at the expense of health and life. If she possesses true love and wisdom, she will seek to divert his mind from the gratification of lustful passions to high and spiritual themes by dwelling upon interesting spiritual subjects.​

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It may be necessary to humbly and affectionately urge, even at the risk of his displeasure, that she cannot debase her body by yielding to sexual excess.​

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She should, in a tender, kind manner, remind him that God has the first and highest claim upon her entire being, and that she cannot disregard this claim, for she will be held accountable in the great day of God."​

* Anything over once a month.


God said this:
Do not deprive one another, except perhaps by agreement for a limited time, that you may devote yourselves to prayer; but then come together again, so that Satan may not tempt you because of your lack of self-control.
1 Cor. 7:5

. . .

 

[elsbet's cat ^. .^]

God's word makes mention of two very distinct ministries in 2nd Corinthians. It speaks of the ministration of the holy spirit and the ministration of the old testament law.

The Ministry of Death.

All the False prophets hold their followers hostage to this dead-end doctrine. Did you ever see Mad Max, Fury Road?

 

[The Sojourner]

The New Covenant.

The New Covenant is written of in the Old Testament in the writings of Jeremiah, who prophesied during the last days of the kingdom of Judah on the eve of Babylonian captivity. Let us look at Jeremiah 31:31–34: "Behold, the days are coming,’ says the LORD, ‘when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah—not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day that I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt, My covenant which they broke, though I was a husband to them,’ says the LORD. ‘But this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel: After those days, says the LORD, I will put My law in their minds, and write it on their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people. No more shall every man teach his neighbor, and every man his brother, saying, “Know the LORD,” for they all shall know Me, from the least of them to the greatest of them,’ says the LORD. ‘For I will forgive their iniquity, and their sin I will remember no more’ ”

The New Covenant is based on conversion.

This brings us to the very heart of the New Covenant operation. Obedience is made possible by the writing of God's law on the heart. Through spiritual regeneration the mind and heart are transformed. Christ actually enters into the life of the believer and imparts His own strength for obedience. By partaking of the divine nature, the weakest human being begins to live the very life of Jesus Christ, manifesting His victory, and crucifying the flesh.

Paul describes that transaction this way: "For what the law could not do in that it was weak through the flesh, God did by sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, on account of sin: He condemned sin in the flesh, that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit." Romans 8:3-4.

The word for righteousness is "dikaima," meaning "just requirement" of the law. In other words, because of Jesus' sinless life in the flesh, the requirement of the law can be fulfilled in us. He overcame sin in the same kind of body we have, so that He could impart that victory to us. He will actually live out His own holy life of separation from sin in our earthly bodies if we will permit Him to do so. This is the New Covenant promise for every believing, trusting child of God. And it is absolutely the only way that anyone can meet the requirements of the law: "Christ in you, the hope of glory." Colossians 1:27. "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." Galatians 2:20.

It is most important for us to understand that the New Covenant law written on the heart is exactly the same law that was graven on the stone. Those great spiritual principles reflect the very character of God, and form the basis for His government. The difference is not in the law but in the ministration of the law. Written only upon the tables of stone, they can only condemn and minister death, "because the carnal mind ... is not subject to the law of God." Romans 8:7. Received into the heart which has been spiritualized by the converting grace of Christ, the same law becomes a delight. The beloved John declared, "For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments: and his commandments are not grievous." 1 John 5:3. Not only is the law not grievous for the Spirit-filled child of God, but obedience becomes a joyful possibility. The psalmist wrote, "I delight to do thy will, O my God: yea, thy law is within my heart." Psalms 40:8.

These two posts are excellent! They offer a very clear explanation of the change from the Old Covenant to the New Covenant in a very easily understandable way: The Law is the same, its the ministration of The Law that has changed. The Old Covenant proved the arrogance of the people who claimed they could do it all, without needing any help from God (or so they thought). They had confidence in themselves to be able to succeed, instead of appealing to God for His Grace, Mercy and His help. They were self-confident, instead of being honest or humble (truthful) about it and themselves and appealing to God and putting confidence in Him.

Under the New Covenant this has changed. The Law has not changed, but the heart and mind has become changed by the Grace and Truth brought by Christ. The eyes are opened, to the truth, and that has to bring a realisation of the truth, leading to a new heart filled with humility, instead of the previous arrogance of old, and the love for and surrender to God and to Christ. The truth sinks in, that one cannot do it in one's own strength, but needs Christ and to be willingly conformed to His Spirit, for it to become possible. It is also an open admission, of our fallen nature. This is a surrender - admitting the truth and having the eyes opened - and to then be given the same desire as Christ, to do the will of the Father and then this becomes the new purpose and the new delight. Hererby becoming changed from within, by the working of the Holy Spirit, it leads to a transformation and redemption of the soul, into the new creature that finds its delight in doing the Will of God.

"Received into the heart which has been spiritualized by the converting grace of Christ, the same law becomes a delight."

Blessings and thanks for posting this.

 

[Lyfe]

The Ministry of Death.

All the False prophets hold their followers hostage to this dead-end doctrine. Did you ever see Mad Max, Fury Road?

It's been a while, but I have seen Mad max.

 

[Lyfe]

I believe what Paul continually tried to emphasize is that true righteousness only comes from Christ and that all men aren't even just a little guilty, but in reality incredibly guilty when measured by the law.

Romans 7 is a good example. How many times this past week have you coveted, murmured, acted in anger, given place to an idol, doubted God, failed to do what you knew to be right, acted in pride, and failed to love God by making time for him when his spirit prompts you into prayer? How many sins have you committed just in omission? Slothfulness is sin too. How many times did you break the law this past week? If faith plus law keeping equals heaven then how will you get there when all these aforementioned things are clearly sin in the eyes of God?

The law will bring this to light when one stands before God in judgment and finally gets a revelation of how high and exalted he is in his holiness and how we don't even come close. You may not be aware of your sins, but the law records it all without fail. Maybe some fail to realize how holy the lawgiver is? What happened to Israel on their way to the promised land? It was pretty disastrous, wasn't it? That's The Law! That is the holiness of God! We are always and always have been completely dependent on his grace and him justifying his people. It's all by righteousness in Christ and being justified by him or it's nothing at all. You are either born again and changed and freely justified by Christ adopted into his family, or you aren't.

 

[The Sojourner]

I believe what Paul continually tried to emphasize is that true righteousness only comes from Christ and that all men aren't even just a little guilty, but in reality incredibly guilty when measured by the law.

Romans 7 is a good example. How many times this past week have you coveted, murmured, acted in anger, given place to an idol, doubted God, failed to do what you knew to be right, acted in pride, and failed to love God by making time for him when his spirit prompts you into prayer? How many sins have you committed just in omission? Slothfulness is sin too. How many times did you break the law this past week? If faith plus law keeping equals heaven then how will you get there when all these aforementioned things are clearly sin in the eyes of God?

The law will bring this to light when one stands before God in judgment and finally gets a revelation of how high and exalted he is in his holiness and how we don't even come close. You may not be aware of your sins, but the law records it all without fail. Maybe some fail to realize how holy the lawgiver is? What happened to Israel on their way to the promised land? It was pretty disastrous, wasn't it? That's The Law! That is the holiness of God! We are always and always have been completely dependent on his grace and him justifying his people. It's all by righteousness in Christ and being justified by him or it's nothing at all. You are either born again and changed and freely justified by Christ adopted into his family, or you aren't.

I believe, it is about coming to the point of turning to God and admitting, and saying to Him, that we realise that we cannot do this on our own, but we believe that with God ALL things are possible, please help us, and please guide us. And then, saying thank You, and trusting/believing (having no doubt) that it now WILL begin to change, because when God is called upon in faith, He acts and nothing is able to withstand Him and His Holiness, not even one's entire past or human nature that is against God's Laws. It's about surrendering, to Him.

 

[phipps]

These two posts are excellent! They offer a very clear explanation of the change from the Old Covenant to the New Covenant in a very easily understandable way: The Law is the same, its the ministration of The Law that has changed. The Old Covenant proved the arrogance of the people who claimed they could do it all, without needing any help from God (or so they thought). They had confidence in themselves to be able to succeed, instead of appealing to God for His Grace, Mercy and His help. They were self-confident, instead of being honest or humble (truthful) about it and themselves and appealing to God and putting confidence in Him.

Under the New Covenant this has changed. The Law has not changed, but the heart and mind has become changed by the Grace and Truth brought by Christ. The eyes are opened, to the truth, and that has to bring a realisation of the truth, leading to a new heart filled with humility, instead of the previous arrogance of old, and the love for and surrender to God and to Christ. The truth sinks in, that one cannot do it in one's own strength, but needs Christ and to be willingly conformed to His Spirit, for it to become possible. It is also an open admission, of our fallen nature. This is a surrender - admitting the truth and having the eyes opened - and to then be given the same desire as Christ, to do the will of the Father and then this becomes the new purpose and the new delight. Hererby becoming changed from within, by the working of the Holy Spirit, it leads to a transformation and redemption of the soul, into the new creature that finds its delight in doing the Will of God.

"Received into the heart which has been spiritualized by the converting grace of Christ, the same law becomes a delight."

Blessings and thanks for posting this.

Exactly. Sin is still the breaking of God's law (1 John 3:4) and the wages of sin is still death (Romans 6:23) just like it was when sin came into this world when Adam and Eve sinned, 6000 years ago!

If we have Jesus as Lord and Saviour, His law is written in our hearts and minds. Unsaved people cannot keep the law because its not written in their hearts. They cannot do what isn't in their hearts. Only the saved, who love God, who let Christ rule their lives, keep the law because its their hearts and minds. That is why Jesus said, "If you love Me, keep My commandments. ... If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our home with him" (John 14:15 and 23). Obedience is a result of loving God.

Jesus' life here on earth proves that and was an example to us of how we should live our lives. He completely relied on and obeyed His Father. That is how we are meant to obey Him too. The Bible says in Hebrews 5:8-9, "...though He was a Son, yet He learned obedience by the things which He suffered. And having been perfected, He became the author of eternal salvation to all who obey Him."

 

[Lyfe]

If you sin once you break the whole law. Your not actually keeping it and thus not letting Christ rule your life by that very standard of measurement. Every sin is a breach in The Law.

People try and lower the perfect standard of The Law to make themselves righteous. It doesn't work that way. If you sin once then you break and don't keep the law. How many times have you sinned today? No need to answer, because it's rhetorical. It's meant to give you an accurate picture of how the law really paints you. That's the point.

Shalom!

 

[phipps]

What Jesus said about the Ten Commandments/the Law.Did

"For assuredly, I say to you, till heaven and earth pass away, one jot or one tittle will by no means pass from the law till all is fulfilled" (Matthew 5:18).

‘You shall not murder,’ ‘You shall not commit adultery,’ ‘You shall not steal,’ ‘You shall not bear false witness,’ ‘Honor your father and your mother,’ and, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself’ (Matthew 19:18-19)

"If you love Me, keep My commandments" (John 14:15).

"He who has My commandments and keeps them, it is he who loves Me. And he who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him and manifest Myself to him" (John 14:21)

"He who says, “I know Him,” and does not keep His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him" (1 John 2:4).

“If you want to enter into life, keep the commandments” (Matthew 19:17).

And the book of Hebrews 5:9 says, “He became the author of eternal salvation to all who obey Him.”

In order for a person to say that the law was done away with in the New Covenant they have to reject Christ's own Words in the Bible and His life here on earth which shows us how to be completely obedient to Him.

 

[phipps]

This comes from my thread, Did Jesus Abolish the law by fulfilling it?

One of the reasons to know that the ten commandments were not abolished or done away with is that the ark of the covenant was seen by John in the heavenly sanctuary/temple in the book of Revelation:

"Then the temple of God was opened in heaven, and the ark of His covenant was seen in His temple. And there were lightnings, noises, thunderings, an earthquake, and great hail" (Revelation 11:19).

In the earthly sanctuary/temple which was modelled on and was a copy of the original sanctuary in heaven (Hebrews 8:1-2, 4-5 ), the ark of the covenant was the most important piece of furniture in it. It was a wooden box, plated with gold which contained only the tablets of the Ten Commandments. Placed on top the box were two angels made of solid gold. Between these two angels was the mercy seat (Exodus 25:17-22), where the presence of God dwelt. This symbolized God’s throne in heaven, which is likewise located between two angels (Psalm 80:1). It was the only piece of furniture in the most holy room.

The ark is often called the “ark of the testimony” because the covenant law—the Ten Commandments—was placed inside it as a testimony to the covenant relationship between God and Israel. The law was the rule of life; its violation was a serious matter that had to be addressed by the Covenant Lord. The sacrificial system dealt in different ways with the sin of the people and their need for atonement. But the law inside the ark was covered with the mercy seat, or “atonement cover” (Exodus 25:17), the place of atonement—suggesting that God’s last word for us is mercy in the form of atonement through blood.

The fact that the ark of the covenant is in the heavenly sanctuary means that the law still and always will matter for all eternity. The holy law is also the standard by which all will be judged. That law will condemn the guilty; for "sin is the transgression of the law" (1 John 3:4). The same law that condemns the sinner will witness to the righteousness of those who, through faith in Christ, have tried to walk in harmony with its holy precepts, humbly seeking forgiveness for every transgression (Romans 3:21).

There can be no government without law. The very suggestion of a kingdom is always connected with law. There could be no judgment without a law as a standard of judgment. God declares that "as many as have sinned in the law shall be judged by the law" (Romans 2:12). All God's commandments are righteousness (Psalm 119:172). The establishment, or foundation, of His throne is righteousness and judgment.

To say that the law was done away with in the New Covenant is to reject what the apostles and New Testament writers wrote and said about the law in the New Testament. It is to reject huge chunks of the Bible too.

 

[phipps]

A Complete Rule of Life.

"And the temple of God was opened in heaven, and there was seen in his temple the ark of his testament" (Revelation 11:19).

Our Redeemer testifies: “Behold, I have set before thee an open door, and no man can shut it” (Revelation 3:8). Through this open door into the temple of God, we see the royal law, deposited in the ark of the testament. Through this open door, light shines from that holy, just, and good law, presenting to man the true standard of righteousness, that he may make no mistake in the formation of a character that will meet the requirements of God. Sin is condemned by that law; we must put it away. Pride and selfishness can find no place in the character without crowding out Him who was meek and lowly of heart.

The law of God is the standard by which character is to be tested; if we erect a standard to suit ourselves, and attempt to follow a criterion of our own devising, we shall utterly fail to secure heaven at last....

The mind must yield obedience to the royal law of liberty, the law which the Spirit of God impresses upon the heart, and makes plain to the understanding. The expulsion of sin must be the act of the soul itself, in calling into exercise its noblest powers. The only freedom a finite will can enjoy, consists in coming into harmony with the will of God, complying with the conditions that make man a partaker of the divine nature.

The law of God given from Sinai is a copy of the mind and will of the Infinite God. It is sacredly revered by the holy angels. Obedience to its requirements will perfect Christian character, and restore man, through Christ, to his condition before the Fall. The sins forbidden in the law could never find place in heaven.

It was the love of God to man that prompted Him to express His will in the ten precepts of the Decalogue.... God has given man a complete rule of life in His law. Obeyed, he shall live by it, through the merits of Christ. Transgressed, it has power to condemn. The law sends men to Christ, and Christ points them back to the law. The Review and Herald.

 

[Lyfe]

Let's let the scriptures speak for themselves!

Romans 8:1-4
English Standard Version

8 There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.[a] 2 For the law of the Spirit of life has set you[b] free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death. 3 For God has done what the law, weakened by the flesh, could not do. By sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin,[c] he condemned sin in the flesh, 4 in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.

Galatians 5:1-18
English Standard Version

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 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 7:1-6
English Standard Version

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]


Acts 15:1-29
English Standard Version

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.”
12 And all the assembly fell silent, and they listened to Barnabas and Paul as they related what signs and wonders God had done through them among the Gentiles. 13 After they finished speaking, James replied, “Brothers, listen to me. 14 Simeon has related how God first visited the Gentiles, to take from them a people for his name. 15 And with this the words of the prophets agree, just as it is written,
16 “‘After this I will return,
and I will rebuild the tent of David that has fallen;
I will rebuild its ruins,
and I will restore it,
17 that the remnant[b] of mankind may seek the Lord,
and all the Gentiles who are called by my name,
says the Lord, who makes these things 18 known from of old.’
19 Therefore my judgment is that we should not trouble those of the Gentiles who turn to God, 20 but should write to them to abstain from the things polluted by idols, and from sexual immorality, and from what has been strangled, and from blood. 21 For from ancient generations Moses has had in every city those who proclaim him, for he is read every Sabbath in the synagogues.”

22 Then it seemed good to the apostles and the elders, with the whole church, to choose men from among them and send them to Antioch with Paul and Barnabas. They sent Judas called Barsabbas, and Silas, leading men among the brothers, 23 with the following letter: “The brothers, both the apostles and the elders, to the brothers[c] who are of the Gentiles in Antioch and Syria and Cilicia, greetings. 24 Since we have heard that some persons have gone out from us and troubled you[d] with words, unsettling your minds, although we gave them no instructions, 25 it has seemed good to us, having come to one accord, to choose men and send them to you with our beloved Barnabas and Paul, 26 men who have risked their lives for the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. 27 We have therefore sent Judas and Silas, who themselves will tell you the same things by word of mouth. 28 For it has seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us to lay on you no greater burden than these requirements: 29 that you abstain from what has been sacrificed to idols, and from blood, and from what has been strangled, and from sexual immorality. If you keep yourselves from these, you will do well. Farewell.”

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.


Colossians 2:13-17
English Standard Version

13 And you, who were dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made alive together with him, having forgiven us all our trespasses, 14 by canceling the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands. This he set aside, nailing it to the cross. 15 He disarmed the rulers and authorities[a] and put them to open shame, by triumphing over them in him.[b]

16 Therefore let no one pass judgment on you in questions of food and drink, or with regard to a festival or a new moon or a Sabbath. 17 These are a shadow of the things to come, but the substance belongs to Christ.


Mark 7:18-19
English Standard Version

18 And he said to them, “Then are you also without understanding? Do you not see that whatever goes into a person from outside cannot defile him, 19 since it enters not his heart but his stomach, and is expelled?”[a] (Thus he declared all foods clean.)


1 Timothy 4:1-5
English Standard Version

4 Now the Spirit expressly says that in later times some will depart from the faith by devoting themselves to deceitful spirits and teachings of demons, 2 through the insincerity of liars whose consciences are seared, 3 who forbid marriage and require abstinence from foods that God created to be received with thanksgiving by those who believe and know the truth. 4 For everything created by God is good, and nothing is to be rejected if it is received with thanksgiving, 5 for it is made holy by the word of God and prayer.


Romans 14
English Standard Version

14 As for the one who is weak in faith, welcome him, but not to quarrel over opinions. 2 One person believes he may eat anything, while the weak person eats only vegetables. 3 Let not the one who eats despise the one who abstains, and let not the one who abstains pass judgment on the one who eats, for God has welcomed him. 4 Who are you to pass judgment on the servant of another? It is before his own master[a] that he stands or falls. And he will be upheld, for the Lord is able to make him stand.
5 One person esteems one day as better than another, while another esteems all days alike. Each one should be fully convinced in his own mind. 6 The one who observes the day, observes it in honor of the Lord. The one who eats, eats in honor of the Lord, since he gives thanks to God, while the one who abstains, abstains in honor of the Lord and gives thanks to God. 7 For none of us lives to himself, and none of us dies to himself. 8 For if we live, we live to the Lord, and if we die, we die to the Lord. So then, whether we live or whether we die, we are the Lord's. 9 For to this end Christ died and lived again, that he might be Lord both of the dead and of the living.
10 Why do you pass judgment on your brother? Or you, why do you despise your brother? For we will all stand before the judgment seat of God; 11 for it is written,
“As I live, says the Lord, every knee shall bow to me,
and every tongue shall confess[b] to God.”
12 So then each of us will give an account of himself to God.

13 Therefore let us not pass judgment on one another any longer, but rather decide never to put a stumbling block or hindrance in the way of a brother. 14 I know and am persuaded in the Lord Jesus that nothing is unclean in itself, but it is unclean for anyone who thinks it unclean. 15 For if your brother is grieved by what you eat, you are no longer walking in love. By what you eat, do not destroy the one for whom Christ died. 16 So do not let what you regard as good be spoken of as evil. 17 For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking but of righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit. 18 Whoever thus serves Christ is acceptable to God and approved by men. 19 So then let us pursue what makes for peace and for mutual upbuilding.
20 Do not, for the sake of food, destroy the work of God. Everything is indeed clean, but it is wrong for anyone to make another stumble by what he eats. 21 It is good not to eat meat or drink wine or do anything that causes your brother to stumble.[c] 22 The faith that you have, keep between yourself and God. Blessed is the one who has no reason to pass judgment on himself for what he approves. 23 But whoever has doubts is condemned if he eats, because the eating is not from faith. For whatever does not proceed from faith is sin.[d]

 

[Lyfe]

1 John 3:16-24
English Standard Version

16 By this we know love, that he laid down his life for us, and we ought to lay down our lives for the brothers. 17 But if anyone has the world's goods and sees his brother in need, yet closes his heart against him, how does God's love abide in him? 18 Little children, let us not love in word or talk but in deed and in truth.
19 By this we shall know that we are of the truth and reassure our heart before him; 20 for whenever our heart condemns us, God is greater than our heart, and he knows everything. 21 Beloved, if our heart does not condemn us, we have confidence before God; 22 and whatever we ask we receive from him, because we keep his commandments and do what pleases him. 23 And this is his commandment, that we believe in the name of his Son Jesus Christ and love one another, just as he has commanded us. 24 Whoever keeps his commandments abides in God,[d] and God[e] in him. And by this we know that he abides in us, by the Spirit whom he has given us.

Romans 8 righteous requirement of law FULFILLED by those who walk in the spirit
Romans 13:8-13 Love FULFILLS the law


John 14:15-21
English Standard Version

15 “If you love me, you will keep my commandments. 16 And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper,[a] to be with you forever, 17 even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, for he dwells with you and will be[b] in you.
18 “I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you. 19 Yet a little while and the world will see me no more, but you will see me. Because I live, you also will live. 20 In that day you will know that I am in my Father, and you in me, and I in you. 21 Whoever has my commandments and keeps them, he it is who loves me. And he who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I will love him and manifest myself to him.”

John 15:12-15
English Standard Version

12 “This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. 13 Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends. 14 You are my friends if you do what I command you. 15 No longer do I call you servants,[a] for the servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all that I have heard from my Father I have made known to you.

1 Timothy 1:5
Now the end of the commandment is charity out of a pure heart, and of a good conscience, and of faith unfeigned:

 

[Lyfe]

Only Christ(through his spirit at work within us) can bring us to perfection and completion. The law makes nothing perfect!

For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes. Romans 10:4

Are you so foolish and senseless? Having begun [your new life by faith] with the Spirit, are you now being perfected and reaching spiritual maturity by the flesh [that is, by your own works and efforts to keep the Law]? Galatians 3:3

For we are the circumcision, who worship by the Spirit of God and glory in Christ Jesus and put no confidence in the flesh— Philipians 3:3

 

[phipps]

John 15:10, "If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love, just as I have kept My Father’s commandments and abide in His love."

 

[phipps]

The Bible shows us that obedience identifies God’s true people.

1 John 2:3-4; "Now by this we know that we know Him, if we keep His commandments. He who says, “I know Him,” and does not keep His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him."

1 John 3:24; "Now he who keeps His commandments abides in Him, and He in him. And by this we know that He abides in us, by the Spirit whom He has given us."

Revelation 12:17; "And the dragon was enraged with the woman, and he went to make war with the rest of her offspring, who keep the commandments of God and have the testimony of Jesus Christ."

Revelation 14:12; "Here is the patience of the saints; here are those who keep the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus."

Our Saviour speaks so plainly so that everyone understands that true love will always produce obedience. The religion of Jesus Christ is love. Obedience is the sign of true love. Christ and the Father are one, and those who in truth receive Christ, will love God as the great centre of their adoration, and will also love one another.