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Fully revised "SYNERGISM: Law of Love" in Paperback & Kindle

Companion book available: Five Stumbling Blocks to the Christian Faith

Preface

This book got its kick-start in one of my personal meditations when i was reading Matthew 5:17-20 NASB:

But what i hear being preached in the Church is quite contrary to this above teaching of our Lord. I then resolved to research and wrote a series of letters to the elders and pastors of my church, together which culminated in the writing of this book. Looking back, considering how small i am, i could not have done this gigantic task without the guidance from God.

"Loving God Back" was the earlier title of this book but strikingly there were few takers. I was reminded of what Jesus said when the ten lepers were healed and only one returned to thank Jesus. Jesus said, "Were there not ten cleansed? But where are the nine?" This is the pathetic state of the Church today. An ungrateful Church has no interest in loving God back. It was then appropriately re-titled, "Naked Christian." Well, that was the preface to the old edition. I continue writing the article with renewed hope and strength, now with a new title. I write not as one who knows it all but as one who hears and sees the more obvious. In other words i write from a layman's point of view. Of course without the help of the Holy Spirit i would be nowhere. Please note that this document is under construction. I am depending on the Lord to overcome all delusions.

"For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life." (John 3:16 KJV). You might have acknowledged it, believed it and even memorized this verse but that is only one thing. It is altogether another thing to reciprocate the love back to God.

The title of this book "Lovest thou Me?" may be seen as having two edges. One of, do you love me personally, a neighbor who has such and such a background and testimony? And another, do you love the holiness of God in Christ?

As a noted author points out, the climax of the Lord's prayer in John 17 was that we, His Bride, would have the same love for Him (Jesus) as the Father has for Him. The implied meaning is that we should have love one for another just as the Father has for Jesus (Matthew 25:40 , 1 John 2:3-4:21). Sure enough, Jesus Himself set us an example and said, "Just as I have loved you, love one another." This surely challenges us! We notice too that the final emphasis in John's Gospel is on this very matter. Three times Christ asked Peter, "Lovest thou me?" And another three times He told Peter, "Tend my sheep." This, evidently, was what the Lord had in view throughout the Gospel -- a people who loved Him and would love all those whom He loved! It is for this that He had revealed Himself! In John 13, our Lord commands us to love one another that the world may know that we are His disciples. However in the prayer to the Father in John 17, the Command to love is more cutting.

Paul too in his epistles is candid about love and goes beyond the teachings of our Lord. In 1 Corinthians 13 he writes, "If I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but do not have love, I have become a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. And if I have the gift of prophecy, and know all mysteries and all knowledge; and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. And if I give my possessions to feed the poor, and if I deliver my body to be burned, but do not have love, it profits me nothing."

In this book we will discuss what it means to reciprocate God's love because Jesus is coming soon. He has come and died for the world 2000 years ago and He has been taking a people for himself all along. And this is the Church of the living God. Now the Church has to become ready, prepared and mature to become the Bride of our Lord Jesus Christ. He is returning to receive her -- a Bride that loves and trusts Him and are waiting for Him, whose love has not grown cold. When a V.I.P, a mere human being, is coming to our city we make so many arrangements to meet him; how much more should we be prepared to receive the King of kings and the Lord of lords and that too our own beloved husband. We ought to be ever ready! Don't we?

What does this all-important being-ready mean? A "readiness" when the Lord Jesus Christ will return to the earth for His marriage, as we read in Revelation 19:7 --"...the marriage of the Lamb has come and His Bride has made herself ready." Does it not mean that the members of Ekklesia (the Church) are entirely sanctified by then? Meaning that through the bonding agency--love--the loosely coupled congregation has become one body and is now referred to as the Bride!

The counsel of Grace is only a part, but here i would like to share the whole counsel of God! If on some issue i differ with you please bear with me till the end. But for goodness sake please don't entertain fascism. On the other hand if you do come to recognize that our forefathers have sinned against God and that you want to join with me in prayer as in the times of Ezra and Nehemiah to rebuild the temple of God and repair the walls of Jerusalem ...be my guest.

The doctrine that is put forth in this book is simple: Man is born as a child with a sinful predisposition. At some point in time in his life he realizes his sin nature and discovers Jesus Christ who is ready to pay the penalty for all the sins that he has committed. From there on, after receiving Jesus Christ as his personal savior, with the counseling of the Holy Spirit which is of love, he becomes a law-abiding citizen by loving God and his fellowmen in the kingdom of God.

What we witness today is a number of "believers," masquerading as followers of the Lord Jesus Christ, who on the merits of Grace are spreading a dangerous venom of "lawlessness," poisoning themselves as well as everyone around them. This cuts across every fabric of our lives so much so that much of today's crimes may be attributed directly or indirectly to the failure of the Church in restraining criminals. On the contrary it gives them a license to sin. They believe that since Jesus Christ lived under the Law and died for us--fulfilled the Law-- there is no necessity for us to keep the Law of God. Obviously this poison does not come dressed up as lawlessness but as "liberty." The danger lies not so much in itself as much as in its tendency for apostasy.

Note that Paul speaks about "the lawless one" in the last days in 2 Thessalonians 2:1-12 and not about the unspiritual. While there is some truth in how things have changed since Jesus fulfilled the Law--that we should not walk by the letter (literally) but by the spirit, which is love--the yardstick for judgement remains the Law. Jesus Himself kept the Law to the letter as long as He did not have the Holy Spirit in Him but once He got the Holy Spirit at the time of baptism, He walked by the spirit to surpass the righteousness of the Law. Though Jesus simplified the letter of the Law into just two Commandments namely, (1) Love God with all your heart, mind, strength and soul and (2) Love your neighbor as yourself; He nonetheless magnified the content in the process of doing so. When we know what these two Commandments mean and strictly keep them, we would automatically surpass the righteousness of the Law and we can say with Paul the Apostle: "as for the righteousness that is in the Law, blameless." (Notice that in verse 3:9 of Philippians, Paul was referring to the righteousness of Jesus Christ that was imputed to us through faith at justification and not the righteousness that we would gain in sanctification made known to us (or imparted to us) by the Holy Spirit.)

It is fine and dandy we got a free ride through Jesus Christ dying for us but we could well be a fig tree planted in the Lord's vineyard and subject to be cut off if we don't bear fruit (Matthew 3:10; Luke 13:6-9). We are saved from sin but not saved if we continue in sin.

Perhaps this phenomenon of lawlessness is due to the Church going through an infancy stage, characterized by a grappling with a belief in God to begin with and bordering on the belief in Jesus Christ. Unsure of what He has done or what it means to have salvation, they waste away on worldly things or at the most they dwell on elementary things. Their love back to God is limited to offering lip service on Sunday mornings and "tithing." I say these things not so much to shame you as much as it is to alert you because I have been guilty of it myself. Nevertheless, God enabling, we shall do all these things and then more. But first the Church leaders must attain to the next stage of maturity.

As a commentator put it, "Can there be any content to the Law of Love without the Law?" Is it not true when you delete something from the thing that it summarizes you no longer have the summary? Yes indeed the Law of Moses and the Law of Love are inseparable. John Wesley declared that the Ten Commandments are renewed in the Sermon on the Mount in their sanctifying purity and spirituality and that they describe the life of practical Christian holiness, which is the end of faith and the commandments. If you break one you have broken the other since all the Law and the Prophets hang on these two Commandments (Matthew 22:40). As C.I. Scofield comments, the Sermon on the Mount that Jesus gave is closely related to the Law in the highest spiritual sense. So why then this widespread antinominism that we witness today? Are there cracks in the walls itself that is rendering us easy target for the enemy? What has really changed since Jesus has come? Do we have a new Law by which we have a license to break the old Law? Or do we have an exhortation to surpass the existing Law?

In Acts 15 we see a simplified version of the Law being presented to the gentiles. In verse 28 and 29 we read: "It seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us not to burden you with anything beyond the following requirements: You are to abstain from food sacrificed to idols, from blood, from the meat of strangled animals and from sexual immorality."

Even a cursory look today would tell us that this is by no means a sufficient requirement. What then was the purpose of the Holy Spirit in dispensing it? We should understand this from the perspective of the entrance to the Tabernacle. Gentiles until then were only in the outer court. Whereas the Hebrews were allowed in the inner court on account of their higher holiness as they were the keepers of the Law. Today however, the veil is torn in two and the wall of separation between the Hebrews and the Gentiles has been broken in Jesus Christ (Ephesians 2:14). So from Acts 15 and Ephesians 2 we can understand that Gentiles too have direct priestly access to God but can enter into the Most Holy Place through a process of sanctification. The Gentiles at that time would have been overwhelmed if the whole Law of God were suddenly given to them to keep. But today it is a different story; we have come a long way and found to be shoulder to shoulder with our fellow Hebrew brethren in the study of the Word of God and the knowledge of God. We cannot now shrink from the higher calling.

 The meaning of Jesus fulfilling the Law

From what i understand, Christ came to fulfill the Law and not to abolish it (Matthew 5:17). What i gather from the word "fulfill" is that Christ paid the full penalty (the perfect sacrifice) for our sins with respect to what the Law dictated for God to reconcile us with Himself. Fulfill here does not just mean prophesies fulfilled (as if we do not believe in Jesus being the Messiah) but means that the ceremonial Laws that point to Jesus Christ are fulfilled. That is, He vindicated the Law. This in no way implies that thenceforth, we can sin with impunity or have a license to sin. Today we see many Bible teachers are giving away such licenses to their church members using theories ostensibly based on the epistles of Paul.

I am not saying here we will never sin again (i.e. transgress from the Law 1 John 3:4). But to remain in a perpetual state of confession is nothing but presumptuously sinning. Such is the condition of many today. What God desires is repentance on our part.

"Not come to abolish," means the Law is still in force and applies to us. He has not "untied" or made "loose" the Law (from the Greek word kataluo for the word "abolish"). But on the contrary, by clarifying and addressing the spirit of the Law He magnified it (see Matthew 5:21-48). Matthew Henry commenting on Jeremiah 31:33 writes: "God said, 'I will put my law in their inward part and write it in their heart;' not, 'I will give them a new law' (as Mr. Gataker well observes), for Christ 'came not to destroy the law, but to fulfill it.'" The word "fulfill" (Greek pleroo) means that Christ filled the Law to it's full. It means, with the life and sacrifice of Jesus Christ, the Law that came through Moses has become all the more applicable to us. "Christ is the end of the Law" (Romans 10:4). This does not mean Christ has put an end to the Law. That is, He is the last chapter of the Law and it is now given to us to keep it, even to us Gentiles who are grafted to the same vine, the body. It is now in full force, established, applicable to all without any excuse. "How can this be?" you might ask. Mankind is now bound to it because the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ has vindicated the Law. It has freed God of all responsibility of having given the Law in the first place especially to those who haven't had access to it, to begin their life with. As there is now a relief for the burden of sin. Here is given an opportunity to start life afresh. This, at a time when one is well into years and is fully conscious of sin. Now having turned a new leaf and conscious of sin, one is accountable for one's own sin. Now what is sin? Sin is transgression of the Law. We can no longer say we cannot keep the Law because we have the power of the Holy Spirit at our disposal, which is to love. Then we ourselves can and must fulfill the Law (Romans 13:8) because love can fulfill the Law. Paul mentions this to the Galatians as well in 6:2--"Bear one another's burdens, and thus fulfill the Law of Christ." Now if the Law of Christ states that we should love our neighbor, does it not go without saying that God is our foremost neighbor who has helped us in times of trouble and need. Even at the time of our birth when the very source of life, the navel cord was cut, God put breath into our lungs and caused our hearts to receive and pump the newly oxygenated blood to the ends of our body. Should we not bear the little burden of love He puts upon us. We will be judged by the Law of Love as it is the same Law that is written on the heart for a Gentile, and written on stone (mind) more explicitly for the Jew (Romans 2:14,15). The resurrection of Jesus Christ has made it a "natural" law for eternal life. We "have been set free from sin and have become slaves to righteousness" (Romans 6:18). So if you pick only the Commandments that Jesus explicitly mentions in Matthew 19, and call it the new Law ("Law of Christ"), you don't have the greater component of the summarized Law, which is loving God. In actuality Jesus indirectly mentions the first Commandment: "You shall have no other Gods before me" in verse Matthew 19:21 which the rich young man failed to keep because he had money as his God. Of course no one can say he loves God while hating his brother. But that does not mean loving your neighbor constitutes loving God. On the contrary it is the other way around--if you love God you will obey God's Commandment of loving your neighbor. Now that God has sacrificed His only begotten Son Jesus Christ, it is all the more important to love God back. By that I mean, obey His Commandments. How? Of course with the new found principle, that of love. But somehow we have to keep the Commandments of God.

Notice what Moses writes in Deuteronomy 4:2: "Do not add to what I Command you and do not subtract from it, but keep the Commands of the Lord your God that I give you." However why did our Lord say in John 13:34 (Amplified Bible): "I give you a new Commandment: Just as I have loved you, so you too should love one another." Was our Lord adding to the Law? The answer to this is found in 1 John 2:7-8, "Dear friends, I am not writing a new Command but an old One, which you have had since the beginning. This old Command is the message you have heard. Yet I am writing you a new Command; its truth is seen in Him and you, because the darkness is passing and the true light is already shinning." Meaning to say that we were previously in darkness not knowing the full meaning, significance and implication of the "Love your neighbor as yourself" Commandment (Leviticus 19:18), so much so that when Jesus magnified it, it is new to us.

Most of us agree that we should lead a holy life or just plain old "be good." What does it mean to be good? Each person has his own idea. But God has set the standards and it is enshrined in the Law. When Paul says, "you are not under law, but under grace," (Romans 6:14) he is implying that we are not under the penalty ensued by the Law but the directions in keeping the order intact themselves apply. Thus, "Christ redeemed us from the curse of the Law" (Galatians 3:13) and not from the Law itself! Note that there is a distinction between the curse (judgements) of the Law and the Order (or the Commandments) of the Law. Paul himself draws us to make this distinction in Romans 6:1: "What shall we say then? Shall we go on sinning (meaning, go on transgressing from the Order of the Law) so that grace may increase?" It is apparent that he is writing this only because his intuition is saying so. But Paul himself at times appears to be against the Law in his writings. Galatians 4:19-5:1 and Romans 7:1-6 for instance. But these verses are somewhat understandable given that Paul was dealing with a people who were intrinsically legalistic and he had to make emphasis on Grace. When reading Paul's letters we have to consider the context under which he was writing. Works or goodness as a virtue was taken for granted. So Paul did not have to reiterate it. However having his eye on the target he allowed his reference point-- the Law-- to get blurred. On the other hand we should also consider the dynamic revelation of scripture and never read it in isolation, for light gets brighter and brighter with time. It may be that God, through the testimony of Paul to the Galatians and then later to the Romans in chapter 7, is dynamically developing for us an idea about the law of sin and death (v. 23) and contrasting it with the Law of God (v.22). This is reemphasized in v.25 because he had to correct an error he made earlier in his testimony where he did not distinguish between the Law of God and the law of sin and death (v.7). It is not the Law of God that we had been married to before we were saved. If that were the case we would have been Law abiding even before we came to Jesus Christ. Rather we were married to the law of sin (Romans 8:2) and the Law of God was powerless on account of the flesh (Romans 8:3). That is, we were bonded to a propensity to sin, to sinful nature or to the devil and we were walking according to his dictates or laws that brought us death. Matthew Henry commenting on John 3:3 writes:

Christ died on account of the slavery to the law of sin that took precedence in our members and not on account of the slavery to the Law of God. He became sin on our behalf, put to death or broke in His body the shackles of death and freed us into eternal life. Having now been set free from the slavery of sin and death, we are married to God and come under His protection - the Law, which gives life. Prior to Jesus Christ, we were aliens to Christ excluded from citizenship in Israel (Ephesians 2:12) but now betrothed to God we have all the more a reason to be Law abiding citizens. And now having come to the realization of what sin is and how we are safe in Jesus who died according to the Law of Moses and was raised to life, we no longer want to do those things for which he had to die for - a genuine loving God back, our Savior! Indeed we bring our free will in line with that of God's will. And where else is His will more manifest than in the Law (Psalm 40:8). As for death, it did not come on account of the Law. This viewpoint assumes that it is okay to be in a state of rebellion and anything that comes against this state is bad. So you see, it is the straying/rebellion that brought us death from the time of Adam and Eve (Genesis 2:17) and not on account of the Law as Romans 7:4 is conventionally read. Man already stood dead even before the Law came. Rather we have to count ourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus (Romans 6:11). And it is only now that the obedience to the Commandments will lead us to life (Leviticus 18:5; Ezekiel 20:11; Proverbs 7:2; Nehemiah 9:29; Matthew 19:16,17; Luke 10:25-28). We know this is true because Jesus Christ who having kept all the Law that came through Moses, even though was put to death, was raised to life. Death could not hold Him down. He was raised to life on the third day. Thus even justifying sinners. The Law is therefore a safeguard that saves us from being hurt. Jesus was raised to life because the Law he kept was perfect (Psalm 19:7-9) (See also Appendix 1: Who is Jesus -- Part II).

Indeed when God's temple in heaven is opened we will see the Ark of the Covenant there (Revelation 11:19) which contains the Ten Commandments written on stone tablets (Hebrews 9:4). This indicates that God's Law is eternal. And it is from Sabbath to Sabbath and from New Moon to New Moon that we will worship God (Ezekiel 46:1-15; Isaiah 66:23). The Bread too which represents the body of Jesus Christ is to be replenished every Sabbath (Leviticus 24:5-9).

Conformity to a law reflects the love towards the giver of that law. Unlike what Paul suggests in the letter to the Galatians (Galatians 5:1), without a law there will be no freedom but only chaos. Rather it is through the Law that we have freedom (James 1:25). We are finite beings as long as we are in this finite body and therefore we need a finite boundary-- a law. The Garden of Eden is a picture of the boundary we had and enjoyed in the beginning. We may eat the fruit of all the trees except from one tree. It is in the Law that we have freedom. Where there is a Law there is love. The Law spells out the boundary and therefore it is a joy to know it and keep it, just as it was for the Psalmist (Psalm 119). When you see "sinning" as a straying outside of that boundary, then you will see the significance of the requirement to be satisfied by Jesus Christ to be finite--to be fully man only¹. The author of Hebrews acknowledges: "Therefore, in all things He had to be made like His brethren, that He might be a merciful and faithful High Priest in things pertaining to God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people."

Why is the Sabbath so important? It is because love and obedience go hand in hand and the Sabbath is a sign of obedience. So let us examine further the keeping of the Sabbath Commandment.

No doubt the Sabbath was misunderstood even in Jesus' times. And Jesus tried to correct the misconception but the enemy was crafty and sowed tares among the wheat.

The phenomenon of not observing the Sabbath and the Law itself presumably came from Paul's obscure teachings. Peter too admits that Paul's epistles can be obscured by a casual reader ( 2 Peter 3:16). Given Paul's epistles² and what they currently stand for, the verses Romans 14:5-6; Colossians 2:17; Acts 20:7; Romans 9:11; 1 Corinthians 16:2; Galatians 3:3; 4:9,10; Philippians 3:9; Hebrews 8:13; Ephesians 2:15 are not in agreement with the rest of the Scripture, for instance with Matthew 12:12; Matthew 5:18; Deuteronomy 4:2; Luke 23:56. Or rather we should understand them dynamically and correctly. God ignored this lack of understanding in the past but is not willing any longer, the Church having come this far in becoming the mature Bride of Jesus Christ.

The phenomenon may also have been fueled by the interpretation of Luke 13:10-16 and John 5:17 where Jesus is said to have broken the Sabbath and thus the Law. In actuality, Jesus was only clarifying the real significance of the Sabbath, which was misconstrued by the teachings (Talmud) of that day that totally defeated the individual rather than give freedom. Indeed as we read in John 5:18, it is the Rabbinical version of the Sabbath Commandment that Jesus broke and not that of the Law. The enemy is so crafty that he can take a seemingly weak spot and run havoc in our midst making a mountain out of a molehill. Jesus Himself desired that no one stumble on account of Him (Matthew 11:6). And He also warned us of the yeast of the Pharisees (Matthew 16:6) which is false doctrine that leads to hypocrisy.

It is unclear which Sabbath, Paul is referring to in his writings (Colossians 2:16), since the ceremonial feast - the Day of Atonement - is also regarded as a Sabbath (Leviticus 23:32). This is indeed the day that was fulfilled in the atoning sacrifice of Jesus Christ. I do believe that the Sunday worship served to identify a believer in the Lord Jesus Christ at that time and distinguish him from a non-believing Jew. Sunday became the mark of a willing heart to come to the house of God and worship Jesus Christ our Lord. It became the sabbath for a time. Indeed it has been recorded in the books of the Roman Catholic church that the church instituted the Sunday worship to distinguish herself from the Jewish community. No doubt we Gentiles knew not what day it is we should come to the house of worship. All that we knew was just as the Israelites celebrated the Passover, we ought to celebrate our born-again experience not just once a year but every week on the day of resurrection because it is a greater redemption, for a testimony to the Jews who worship on the Sabbath. No doubt it has to be a day different to that of the Sabbath, to distinguish it. But we should see for how long we should harp on this testimony. And for how long we are going to dwell in the born-again experience or in elementary things. Can we afford to put aside the sacred scriptures of which we are now a part of (know so well) and "celebrate"? This cannot be at the expense of one of God's Commandments. The sacraments of Communion and Baptism have the role of distinguishing the believer from the non-believer. The Sabbath really plays the role of being a sign of sanctification for those who believe in the God of the Bible. It plays the role of loving God back, not only because He is our creator (Exodus 20:11) and Father (John 1:12) but also because He is the author of our salvation (Deuteronomy 5:12; John 3:16). A child that has to have meaning and purpose to everything the father commands him/her does not really trust the father. The Sabbath is a sign between God and us --citizens of Israel--(Exodus 31:12-18; Ezekiel 20:12; Ephesians 2:19) ⁴ and is very significant in the Order of God. Therefore it is not so much a day's rest that is important than which day we take that rest, worship God and strive to keep holy in mind, body and soul. Of course we have to keep all days holy. But we have to "throw off everything that hinders, encumbers, or weighs us down and the sin that so easily entangles" especially on the 7^th Day because it is the Day of appointment with our Lord in the house of God. Here again, the more we love the house of God, the more committed we will be in obeying the Sabbath Commandment. Both are inseparably linked. Notice that it is at the end of the week that we wash ourselves with the Word of God for the sins committed during the week -- a provision made by the foreknowledge of God but not to be taken as a license to sin. So what better way is there than cessation from labor and fellowshipping with the saints, holiness implied, and worship God on the 7^th Day? Indeed the Sabbath is designed to be a day of holy convocation and corporate worship (Leviticus 23:3). Thereby testifying about the creator and His work, praising Him who raised us up out of dust by creating power and praying to Him who created us anew by the Spirit of grace through the precious blood of Jesus Christ for sustenance through sanctification unto salvation and restoration of all things, by which faith we find rest for our souls. "Let us, therefore, make every effort to enter that [physical] rest [for we have believed in the Gospel preached to us], so that no one will fall by following their example of disobedience" (Hebrew 4:11 NIV paraphrased). Note that the Sabbath rest is a physical rest for all including the cattle. If it is a rest only with respect to the soul, God would not have mentioned cattle when issuing the Commandment (cf. Exodus 20:10). Surely however it is a sign of rest that we have received for our souls, that we have been justified and that we will enter that eternal rest one day.

Compare and see if there is any congruence between what Paul wrote in Romans 14:5,6 and what God spoke through the prophet Ezekiel in Chapter 22:26. "Her priests do violence to my law and profane my holy things; they do not distinguish between the holy and the common; they teach that there is no difference between the unclean and the clean; and they shut their eyes to the keeping of my Sabbaths, so that I am profaned among them." Paul no doubt was in pains regarding the subject. Let the spirits of the prophets be subject to prophets (1 Corinthians 14:32).

Even though the appointments according to the Law are on the Sabbaths (including the days we observe the feasts when we look backward to that day when Christ atoned for our sins) and the New Moon days, Christ has made provision for the gentiles by being present where ever two or three are gathered together in His name (Matthew 18:19,20). Nevertheless the Seal of God spoken of in Revelation 9:4 is the Sabbath, and it this that signifies our sanctification (Ezekiel 20:12 NASB) from those who are in rebellion.

When Christ says He is the Lord even of the Sabbath (Mark 2:28), He is saying He is the enforcer of the Sabbath, being the object of worship on the Sabbath as well. So in the context of Mark 2 we can see that since He knows fully well about the Sabbath, He was teaching the right observance of it. When Jesus says He is the Lord even of the Sabbath it also means the Lord's Day is the Sabbath. As David Hinkley put it: "Do you honestly believe that the Lord of the Sabbath would NOT approve of the Sabbath?" The fact that He said, "It is lawful to do good on the Sabbath" (Matthew 12:12) is in itself an indication that Jesus is an implicit believer in the Sabbath Commandment. Indeed He was teaching the Law in the Sermon on the Mount which was the climax of His teaching ministry. So it is sheer myopia to say that the Sabbath Commandment is not mentioned in the New Testament when it says right here: "It is lawful to do good on the Sabbath" (Matthew 12:12). Matthew Henry comments here:

Another instance where Jesus implicitly states that we should keep all the Commandments of the Old Testament is when a Pharisee asks Jesus which is the greatest Commandment in the Law. Jesus replied by quoting from the Law: "Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the first and the greatest Commandment. And the second is like it: Love your neighbor as yourself." And then He adds: "All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two Commandments" (Matthew 22:36-40). By saying, "all the Law and the Prophets," the Son reinforced the Commandments of the Father. The Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit are always in agreement. Neither contradicts the other.

The Bible is very consistent about the matter--the Old and New testaments agree with one another. In the Old Testament Moses ordered a man who picked branches on the Sabbath to be stoned to death (Numbers 15:32-36). In the New Testament, Jesus said, "Which of you, having a donkey or an ox that has fallen into a pit, will not immediately pull him out on the Sabbath day?" From these two citations we can draw a conclusion as to what constitutes as work on the Sabbath. Any work on the Sabbath, which is meant for personal gain, is work; and any selfless work, is doing good. And it is lawful to do good on the Sabbath (Matthew 12:12). In the gray area between work and doing good is works of necessity. In determining what constitutes as work and what does not, we have to know what was God's intention in instituting the Sabbath. No doubt the Sabbath is a day for rest. But rest here does not mean we sleep the whole day. It is a time to stop and rejuvenate by the restoring power of God. It is a time to meditate on God's Law and worship God for who He is, for the everlasting covenant with us and for what He has done for us. Any work done that hinders this intended purpose of the Sabbath is not work of necessity but is work of personal gain and is subject for condemnation. But as Matthew Henry comments, "The greatest shall not have their lusts indulged, but the meanest shall have their wants considered."

The appearance of Jesus on the first day of the week does not warrant the changing of any Commandment of God, including the Sabbath. You do not, by any means, commemorate the resurrection of Jesus Christ by violating one of God's Commandments! You would be honoring the resurrection rather than the man of the resurrection. Are we to worship the wood because it was on wood that Jesus triumphed over death? By no means! Some do even this, in direct violation of the second Commandment of God³. It is not God who wills us to "change the set times and laws" (Daniel 7:25) but sin, seizing the opportunity afforded by the situation deceived us. But God has Satan at his own game.

We cannot change the Sabbath day because it is God who sets the appointments for holy convocations (Leviticus 23:2), not us.

There are some that regard Sunday as the Sabbath day and abstain from work on that day. This has no basis because after God raised Jesus from the dead, Christ was ceaselessly active, not resting on the first day. This in itself is an indication that Jesus Christ on His part did not replace the Sabbath (essentially a day of rest from secular work) with the first day. Yet there are others who take Acts 20:7 NASB as their basis and espouse that the first Church changed the Sabbath day. This is not a sound basis as the first Church broke bread on a daily basis (Acts 2:42,46 NASB).

God consecrated the 7^th day and not the 1^st (Exodus 20:11 - "...Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and hallowed it.") So the 7^th day Sabbath cannot be replaced by Sunday. The appointed Sabbath day for holy convocations is the 7^th day.

Salvation is a process that has two phases: Justification and Sanctification. All the three concepts have to be understood well to get a clear idea of what our Lord Jesus Christ has done and what God requires of us now.

It is through the Commandments that we "abide" in His love (continue in His love-- John 15:9,10 Amplified Bible) and show our love for Him by obeying them (John 14:15; 1 John 2:5). Indeed the phrase, "If you love me you will obey my Commands / Teachings" was repeated twice by Jesus. This is not to say we are justified by works as some might have it, since that would be undermining the efficacy of the sacrifice of Jesus Christ. But as A.W Tozer writes in his book Incredible Christian, "Love's Final Test" is obedience. He adds:

When James writes about justification, I believe he is really referring to the whole process of salvation. And when Paul is referring to sanctification in Acts 26:18, I believe, he is really referring to the first step of sanctification which is justification. Jesus Christ performed this first step of our sanctification for us on Calvary's tree. While it is true that we have "crossed over from death to life" after we hear our Lord Jesus Christ and believe in the one who sent Him (John 5:24), we are not yet translated into heaven but remain in this mortal body with a free will. (Note that this 'will' is not just 'self' but it is 'free'.) And it is what we do with this free will that ultimately determines our salvation. That is, we can obey God's Commandments or we can disobey them during our sanctification. The choice is still ours while we remain in this mortal bodies. The faith that expressed itself by believing in the finished work of Jesus Christ at justification will now express itself in good works, in keeping the Commandments, Holy Spirit enabling. Justification is by grace through faith and sanctification is by works through the same faith. You might say, "Does God exact double service, yes, triple service-first to have the law obeyed by the surety for us by Jesus, then that He must suffer the penalty for us, and then that we must repent and obey ourselves?" It is not double or triple but eternal service. First, Jesus makes us Sons of God by imputing to us His righteousness of having kept the Law to the full just as though we ourselves have lived His life, thus placing us in a position wherein if we die we have consideration as Sons to live again and not return to the dust as man would. Then for the sins we have committed in our lives He pays the penalty with His death on Calvary's tree thereby enabling us to cross over from death to life even as we live in this mortal bodies. Then with the help of the Holy Spirit eternally credited to our account He imparts (makes known) to us righteousness so we may please God the rest of eternity. We don't keep on, in believing in the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Some doubts may arise later but keeping on in the believing of the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ is not our calling. Our calling is for good works (Titus 2:14; Ephesians 2:10). Indeed when we remain in step one, doubts about that step itself are bound to arise rather than dispel. But when we build on top of step one, the fact that our building remains, reinforces our faith in the foundation (step one). Therefore only those who are "prudent" and continue to burn the flame of faith in good works will be taken by the Lord and the rest left behind (Parable of the ten virgins: Matthew 25:1-13 NASB). Indeed God expects that the Bride be dressed up with good deeds appropriate for a woman who professes to worship God (1 Timothy 2:10).

So in James' equation, Salvation = (Faith in the finished work of Jesus Christ that produces Justification
X Work of Jesus Christ ) + (Faith that produces Works X Work to do the will of God)

We know from R.C Sproul Faith = Justification +Works

Also Salvation = Justification + Sanctification

Sanctification is by Faith times Work to do the will of God with the help of the Holy Spirit.

In Mrs. Charles Cowman's compilation, "Streams in the Desert", we read: we are saved by a faith that works (James 2:14). Like an apple tree that bears forth apples not because it wants to become an apple tree but because it is an apple tree, good works should follow justification. As another Pastor put it, our faith shows, whether it is being calm amidst a storm, doing good works against all odds or just kneeling down to pray. With yet another preacher (Dr.Woodrow Kroll), Ephesians 2:8 should always be read in conjunction with verse 10. We are saved by grace through a faith that produces works. We are saved for good works.

All fell short of a faith that produces works of obedience to all of God's Commandments, so God's all-inclusive will for our redemption is manifest in this: that none should perish but all come into repentance through His Grace shown in the sacrificial work of His Son Jesus Christ (John 14:6; 2 Peter 3:9). God does continue to shower His grace upon us after we are born-again, but the one who does not believe in works (keeping the Commandments through love) or doing good deeds has not fully understood the purpose of Jesus dying for us nor has he understood God who wants to bestow blessings and honor to His Children for what they have done (Deuteronomy 28:1-13; Matthew 25:31-46; Luke 19:11-27; John 5:29; Revelation 20:12). Indeed we can comfortably say that the one who completely ignores works has not been touched by God. First and foremost we must add to our faith, goodness (2 Peter 1:5). The righteous works are not anymore filthy rags (Isaiah 64:6) because these are of robes dipped in the blood of the Lamb emanating light penetrating a world full of darkness! Indeed as we read in Revelation 19:8 the Bride is rewarded with fine linen, bright and clean to wear which stands for the righteous acts of the saints.

In the name of justification-by-faith-alone, in the finished work of Jesus Christ, the Church has thrown the baby out with the bath water. That is, we have equated justification (the act by which one is made acceptable to God through justice) with salvation (process by which one is saved from the penalty as well as the power of sin). We have thrown out works, which determines our sanctification. Charles G. Finney, the great American preacher of the 18^th century rightly discerns:

Apostle James corrects the misunderstanding that arose from Pauline epistles by writing, "Was not Abraham our father justified by works, when he offered up Isaac his son on the altar? You see that faith was working with his works, and as a result of the works, faith was perfected; and the scripture was fulfilled which says, 'And Abraham believed God and it was reckoned to him as righteousness,' and he was called the friend of God. You see a man is justified by works and not by faith alone." In his first epistle, Apostle John too writes even as to little children: "Little Children, let no one deceive you; the one who practices righteousness is righteous, just as He is righteous" (1 John 3:7). If this is so for little children, how much more so it is for us! Indeed the apostle here is asking us to consider the more obvious by calling us "little Children." Paul himself writes elsewhere, "... keeping the Commandments of God is what matters" (1 Corinthians 7:19 NKJV).

Salvation has two phases: justification and sanctification. Justification is through faith alone and there is no boasting and so it is by grace alone. Even though there is grace after justification, thenceforth God weighs our faithfulness in keeping His Commandments. Sanctification involves our ability by faith (1 John 5:4), to love and to do good works overcoming the world, the devil and the flesh with the help of the Paraclete. One who is sanctified has finally triumphed over the power of sin. Sanctification is by works through faith with the power of the Holy Spirit. This is not to question the efficacy of the sacrifice of Jesus Christ but it pleases God to reward our goodness in sanctification. Even though the Holy Spirit imparts sanctification, it is by our works because our self-will is a strong force to reckon with and overcome, as we make decisions good or bad. And God does not take this self will away. It is true that as far as justification is concerned, it is by grace through faith and not by works. Since the righteousness that is by faith says: "Do not say in your heart, 'Who will ascend into the heaven or who will descend into the deep.' But it says, 'the word is near you; it is in your mouth and in your heart'" (Romans 10:6-8). While it is simply a matter of confessing with our mouth and believing with our heart that Jesus was raised from the dead that justifies us, sanctification is altogether different. It involves striving through the narrow gate. Many try to enter but only a few make it through (Luke 13:24). Matthew Henry commenting on this verse writes:

Now what is this "that" which will not be attained without a laborious striving? Is it not sanctification? Brother Bakht Singh wrote in his book 'The Overcomers' Secret', '"Daniel proposed in his heart that he would not defile himself" (Daniel 1:8). This is the secret of leading a victorious life.' So in Sanctification, our will as well as our faith play a crucial role. Can you honestly say that when Jesus says, "deny yourself" He is not calling on our will? Or for that matter when he says, "if your eye causes you to stumble, pluck it out..." does he not mean it and is He not calling on our will? Yes indeed these very verses will either condemn us or acquit us depending on how we responded to it during our sanctification. If it seems so hard for you to pluck out your eye then avoid the presumptuous sin like the plague. Ask God to forgive and repent. Apostle John does not mince his words when he writes of the sanctification by hope through works in 1 John 3:2-3 NASB--"Beloved, now we are children of God, and it has not appeared as yet what we shall be. We know that, when He appears, we shall be like Him, because we shall see Him just as He is. And everyone who has this hope fixed on Him purifies himself, just as He is pure." 993.020

Lord. They are no different from the Gnostics of old. Paul talks about bearing fruit to God in Romans 7:4. In 2 Corinthians 5:9,10 (Amplified Bible) he talks of "striving earnestly to be pleasing to Him for we must all appear and be revealed as we are before the Judgement seat of Christ, so that each one may receive [his pay] according to what he has done in the body, whether good or evil [considering what his purpose and motive have been, and what he has achieved, been busy with, and given himself and his attention to accomplishing]." The antinomians take this fruit to mean totally something else apart from the Law. Let's take the case of Cain and Abel. Cain offered sacrifices to God as he saw fitting. But Abel sacrificed an animal that was recommended by God (Genesis 3:21). While we can bear much fruit, what pleases Him most is when we walk according to God's recommendations.

After we have died to sin in Christ, we bear fruit. But on what principal? Is it not on the principal of the Law or the spirit of the Law, which is Love? (Matthew 22:37-40; cf. John 6:63; 1 John 4:16) The firstfruits of our faith is also the keeping of the Commandments of God starting with Baptism which have been prepared beforehand for us to bear. This brand or the kind of fruit is no doubt that of the Spirit which, as Paul writes to the Galatians, is full of love, joy, peace, long-suffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. No doubt Jesus did mention that those who eat His flesh and drink His blood will remain in Him (John 6:56), but how? Is it not by self-examination around the Lord's Table? To say faith alone in the blood of Jesus Christ is sufficient even in sanctification is contrary to the teachings of Jesus Christ. It is false humility, not based on the truth. The Psalmist declares that the way of keeping God's Commandments too is a faithful way (Psalm 119:30 NASB).

While, keeping the Commandments is a noble thing, there is a danger to those who do not have their hearts in order. The Father desires those who humble themselves and acknowledge the way of mercy that He has set out for us through the sacrifice of His Son Jesus Christ, rather than those who flex their muscles with pride about their own offerings and abiding (works) - Hosea 6:6. God is never going to make a way where man can boast about his own goodness as having given him entry into heaven. Justification is only by faith in the finished work of Jesus Christ. What does a man deserve who thinks in his pride that he is blameless though he is not, and rejects the only help God has provided him? It is a sin against the very remedy. So it is not so much the obedience of the Commandments that is important but the condition of the heart that is. But the keeping of the Commandments, we must, since it is possible to overcome and keep all the Commandments of God (1 John 5:3,4) and thus live (Leviticus 18:5 NASB; Ezekiel 18:5-9 NASB; Proverbs 7:2 NASB; Luke 10:25-28). Now you may ask: If keeping the Commandments is sufficient, where is the need for Jesus to come and die for us? The answer lies in this: it is impossible to keep the Commandments of God by ourselves (Matthew 19:26). When the Lord Jesus comes along and cleanses us by His blood, we are declared righteous and a vessel worthy for the Holy Spirit to reside in. This is the baptism of the Holy Spirit that John the Baptist talked about, that the Lord Jesus Christ would perform on us (Luke 3:16). When the Holy Spirit thus comes and resides in us, we will have the power to keep the Commandments of God and live as we continue in this mortal bodies. So to the one who is whole-heartedly trying to keep the Commandments of God, the sacrifice of Jesus should come more as an incentive than as a put-down.

And if Jesus has given us a new Commandment - "Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another" (John 13:34), it does not mean that the old is made "obsolete." It only means the Commandment of loving your neighbor as yourself (Leviticus 19:18) is defined here with example--the extent to which we should love our neighbor. (John too agrees in 1 John 2:7-11 that the Command is not new but old.) And loving our enemy is the next step higher in the Commandment of loving our neighbor, our Lord Jesus is taking us so that our righteousness surpasses that of the Pharisees (Matthew 5:20). Just think about it: as a pastor said, "Does the command mean that we should love Satan who is our enemy?" The answer is, "No!" Rather, Jesus is only saying that all in mankind are really our neighbors because we share with them so much in common. The Jewish teachers were wrong in interpreting God's Commandment of "Loving our neighbor" to mean "hating whomever they made as enemy." We are to honor all men. As Matthew Henry comments, "we must take notice, with pleasure, of that even in our enemies which is amiable and commendable; ingenuousness, good temper, learning, and moral virtue, kindness to others, profession of religion, etc., and love that, though they are our enemies."

So the Law of God has not changed. When God's temple in heaven was opened after the "seventh trumpet" was sounded, the ark of God was seen within the temple (Revelation 11:19). This tells us that God goes by the same Law even then. Moreover in Malachi we read, "I am the Lord, I change not." A senior Pastor observes, "considering the setting of the book itself, it may be said that Malachi's message forms the transition link between the two dispensations, the Old and the New." The Word who was God (John 1:1) changes not.

Jesus himself kept the entire Father's Commandments (John 15:10) and did not have to reiterate all of them again to a community that is already familiar with it (Acts 15:21). Nevertheless three of four Gospel authors make mention of the rich young ruler who came to find out the way to eternal life. Jesus answered him and said, "Keep the Commandments." His zeal for the Commandments is evident in Matthew 12:50 - "Whoever does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother and sister and mother"; and again in Matthew 7:21 -"Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven." Where else is God's will more manifest than in the Commandments! He was building His foundation over on top of the rock the Father gave Him. Should we not as well? When Jesus Christ Himself is the one who lives in us (John 14:20) we being the members of His body (1 Corinthians 6:15), we have to be all the more careful to be righteous lest we drag Him now into unrighteousness. Paul himself testifies, "For me to live is Christ." So unless we allow Him to work a righteousness through us, which should surpasses that of the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law, we will certainly not enter the kingdom of heaven (Philippians 2:13 + Matthew 5:20).

It is the Holy Spirit who convicts us (John 16:8) when we are not yielding to the Christ in us. Indeed it is Christ who lives in us through the Holy Spirit. He guides us into all Truth (to the very nature of God) by taking from what is of the Father (beginning with the Law) and making it known to us (John 16:13,15). And this is why it was written beforehand, "I will put my laws in their minds and write them on their hearts" (Jeremiah 31:33). Meaning that it will be with ones own will that we would obey God and not by any external source. That is, no one will need to go and tell his neighbor, 'Know the Lord.'" Indeed, with the love offering of God -- the sacrifice of Jesus Christ, His only begotten Son -- we take God and His Law to heart. But as Paul writes, there is another law working in our members waging war against the law of our mind and making us a prisoner of the law of sin at work within our members (Romans 7:23). So how then do we bring to justice these two contradictory forces? The answer comes by looking intently into the Mirror of God (the Law), just as Jesus did as He was led by the Holy Spirit when he was tempted by the devil in the desert (Matthew 4:1-11). He kept telling Satan, "It is written, It is written." While we don't try to walk by the letter (literally), we do compare and judge if all that we are, through the power of the Holy Spirit, surpasses what we see in the Mirror (refer to Matthew 5:20). So the Mirror (the Law) does have its function in rectifying a blemish that we may have even though we walk by the Spirit. This is especially true when we are examining and self-judging ourselves individually and corporately before we partake in the Lord's Table.

Indeed it is the written code that the Holy Spirit brings to our attention when we are walking by Him! The Spirit and the written Word are inseparable. But we have to be careful here because our own minds too can bring certain scripture to our attention. We should not walk just by the letter because that would still be legalism. We should not rest on our own righteousness alone but engage the higher virtues of Trust, Faith, Hope, Love and Humility. We walk by the spirit; and that spirit is love. Then consequentially we would be obeying the Commandments of God. However our young will need to have a "schoolmaster" (the Law) to lead them to Christ until they can exercise true faith in God (Galatians 3:24 KJV). As for the older men the differences among them would tell us who it is that has the approval of God.

So as we saw earlier, sanctification is by works, done with the help of the Holy Spirit, in contrast to justification that we received by grace. There are good reasons why God decided that the Counselor, the Holy Spirit be an invisible being living inside of each one of us. One reason of course is, He can pervade the whole earth. But another reason I believe is He wants us to stand on our own feet with regarding to keeping the Law of God. It is like a father training a son to ride a bicycle. At one point the son does not know if the father is holding the bicycle at the back or not. Nevertheless like all fathers our heavenly Father wants us to be dependent on Him though we are capable of independence to some extent. Now the Holy Spirit Himself comes upon us by the laying on of hands or just by the words of a preacher (Acts 8:17; 11:15). I myself can testify that the Holy Spirit came upon me when i pondered the words of a preacher and i wrote in an unusual tongue and interpreted it. The Holy Spirit works within us and brings to us the very nature or the very essence of God. He holds together all that belongs to the Father and the Son, and guides us into it (John 16:13). It is a relationship where we have access to the very mind of God. We will know Him not only in letter but also in spirit-person and thus be recipients of eternal life as a result of that (John 17:3). But first we must have the Law of God put in our minds, to be able to comprehend God's mind and to make sense of it⁵. The Law of God is a "transcript" of God's character. This is unlike the old covenant where God led us by holding our hand (i.e.: by the letter, as in the expression "by the book"). Herein lies that distinction between the old and the new covenant: we do not merely and ritualistically observe the Law to the letter (a facet of being "under the Law" - Galatians 5:18) but we yield our spirit to that of God out of shear love for God through Jesus. That is, "be filled by the Spirit of God" (or be controlled by the Spirit of God) so much so that the Law of God becomes the desire of our heart and our will. Though the Law is perfect (Psalm 19:7) it has been weakened by the flesh (Romans 8:3) because our will was catering to only the delights of the flesh and not of the Spirit. Matthew Henry commenting on Leviticus 18:5 writes: "the law could not give life, because we could not perfectly keep it. It was weak through the flesh, not in itself." Even though grace continues to come to us through the Holy Spirit (Paraclete) who now enables us to "mortify the deeds of the flesh" we must ourselves conform to the Law and live according to Leviticus 18:5 and Ezekiel 18. So there is work to be done. What drives us to work, is the love for our God. What equips us to work, is the faith in our God. What maintains us in work is the fear in our God. In the old covenant it was directly to keep the Commandments but in the new it is in self-judgement around the Lord's Table. But ultimately both covenants draw on the Law of God.

While we walk in the Spirit keeping Jesus Christ as our target, our standard at the Lord's Table is Moses first and Jesus next. Because as someone quipped, we have our heads in the sky but don't have our feet on the ground. Our aim is to surpass the righteousness of the Pharisees but we should not forget the basics. If we have to do this we have to also use the standard the Pharisees use, which is the Law. Consider dear friends for a moment what the Pharisees are really like. As R.C Sproul correctly analyses, they were basically evangelists who would even travel land and sea to win a convert. They were very scrupulous in paying their tithe. No doubt they should have considered the weightier matters of the Law--justice, mercy and faith--and then addressed these also. But how far are we in doing these things ourselves? For instance mercy: how far are we in showing compassion to the sick, the poor, the naked, the hungry and the downtrodden? Are we washing off our hands by only saying a word of prayer for them? Or even worse, just wishing them well? Then only come the great commission and tithing. The Law spells out what God desires and hates. So it is "what would Jesus do (WWJD)" while we walk, and the Mirror while introspecting around the Lord's Table.

Does being in tune with the Holy Spirit mean that we are actually geared to Him? Not at all! (Though we can be.) Here in lies that other distinction: the Holy Spirit serves in the capacity as a Helper (John 16:7 NASB). He does not actually manipulate you into being good nor make you holy because we still posses the free will. Nor can we expect to sit back and let the Holy Spirit do the work for us. He is there as a Paraclete only, one who comes along side to help us but invariably in the end, it is we who have to keep the Commandments out of love for our God. Confession is our part, cleansing, the Father's. The LORD will establish us as a holy people to Himself, just as He has sworn to us, if we keep His Commandments and walk in His ways (Deuteronomy 28:9). No doubt we have the outer man and the inner man--two natures. But does the blood of Jesus cleanse us from sin or the propensity to bad behavior itself? In other words, is the inner-outer man, a logical dichotomy that exists or a physical one? Christ Jesus would not have said - "Be perfect therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect" in the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5:48), if it were the later. The Law of sin that Paul talks about, that is at work within our members is really a conditioning the members of our body received to the propensity to sin. So it is up to us to recondition ourselves, getting rid of the outer man so that we don't sin. We have to purify ourselves with the hope that we will be like Him when He appears (1 John 3:3). Keeping the Sabbath is the first step and the Holy Spirit helps by bringing the outer man to surface as dross is brought to surface in a pot of molten metal. So there remains a Baptism of Fire (Luke 3:16) not for the removal of sin but for putting to death the outer man-- to be precise, the presumptuous man. The Holy Spirit offers this revelation by witnessing to our conscience (Romans 2:15; Romans 9:1). But since our consciences can be weak, corrupted, defiled or even seared, we have to fall back on the written Word of God when there is a contention. For instance we know from the Word of God that the appointed time for sacred assembly is on the 7^th day and not on the 1^st (Leviticus 23:1-3). Any written word however should be consistent with the former revelation of God -- to the Law and to the Testimony (Isaiah 8:20) -- if it is to be adjudged a part of the canon. John the Apostle too warns us that if anyone comes to us and does not bring the teachings of Christ we should not welcome him lest we share in his wicked works (2 John 10,11). It is up to us to take Him and "be in step" with Him ridding ourselves of the outer man. And in this way we exercise our will and keep ourselves holy since we are commanded by the Lord to be holy (Exodus 22:31 NASB). We also read this in Leviticus 20:26: "And you shall be holy to Me, for I the Lord am holy, and have separated you from the peoples, that you should be Mine." What does it mean to be Holy? Is it mere piety? Is it not loving God and loving your neighbor? That is, keeping the Commandments of God? Yes, the just shall walk by faith. And it is with faith we keep God's Commandments (Psalm 119:30). As for any sin we unknowingly commit and are convicted by the Holy Spirit, God is faithful and just and will forgive us when we confess them (1 John 1:9; John 20:21-23; Matthew 18:18; James 5:16). We have to claim the blood of our Lord⁶ Jesus Christ⁷ and own our sins. If we ignore the prompting of the Holy Spirit, we end up grieving Him who lives in us and there will be consequences due to it. "If we deliberately keep on sinning" (i.e. transgressing the Law - 1 John 3:4) "after we have received the knowledge of the truth, no more sacrifice for sins is left, but only a fearful expectation of judgement and of raging fire that will consume the enemies of God" (Hebrews 10:26). There can be no more "breaking of bread" (Communion). Let us not be deluded into thinking grace will still abound. Grace has its limits. If we willfully or presumptuously sin there is no more sacrifice of Jesus left except the sacrifice of saints wherein we will be crucifying the Son of God all over again subjecting Him to public disgrace. For this reason dear friends let a register be established of Israel (Ezekiel 13:9).

What then is this Law of God which our Lord Jesus Christ used as foundation for His ministry at His intervention-the first coming, and that which the Holy Spirit is using as foundation today? 

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Appendix

1 See Part II of my Testimony titled, "Who is Jesus?"

2 From what I gather, much of Paul's teaching has lent itself to the erosion of the Law than the "upholding" of it. Perhaps these crept in because Paul in his zeal was overstepping his vision. Instead of preaching only to the gentiles he also tried to reach the Jews as well, against the perfect will of God (Acts 21:10-14). Isaiah wrote, "To the Law and to the Testimony! If they do not speak according to this word, it is because there is no light in them" (Isaiah 8:20). And Paul himself confesses, "Now we see but a poor reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known" (1 Corinthians 13:12). From Galatians to Romans we can see the dynamics of God's revelation to Paul. The dynamics are important because God is leading us into maturity using Paul's progressive testimony. In Galatians and until Romans 7:23 he speaks of only one Law-- that of God. But from Romans 7:25 he speaks of another law --that of sin which he is warring against. In Romans 8:2 he corrects himself and testifies that he has been set free from the law of sin and death and not from the Law of God as previously mentioned by him in Galatians 4,5 and Romans 7:1-6. We see the same kind of dynamic revelation and progressive testimony for instance also in Ecclesiastes. Wrong conclusions can be drawn if passages are read in isolation. Perhaps this is the reason why the Church leadership in the past did not release the scripture to the public. All this however, I believe is in the grand plan of God and He is working together everything for the good - to reveal the true Sons of God (2 Thessalonians 2)! God ignored this compromise in the past having Grace foremost in His mind for the nations. Indeed the prophesy that God will cause the feast days and the Sabbaths to be ceased (Hosea 2:11) has been fulfilled. We have to recognize that it has been ceased only to our loss. Scripture stands infallible in that it did not fail in achieving its principal purpose that of disseminating the Gospel of Grace to all the nations. One might say that Paul was undermining the Law for salvation but upheld it for sanctification. This argument is weak because it is not his intentions that matter in scripture but the effect or the end result it has on people who read it as scripture. Again scripture is infallible in sifting out the lawless ones because if they are not under the Law of Moses then they ought to be having a law of their conscience working in their heart bearing the fruit of the Law. But they rather want to pick and hear what their itching ears want to hear-- anything that is not labeled "law." So they take to their own destruction (2 Peter 3:16). For instance Ephesians 2:15 speaks of Ceremonial Law and not the whole Law because the sacrifices and ceremonies point to what Jesus Christ has accomplished. Indeed the verse should be read as in NASB: "abolishing in His flesh the enmity, which is the Law of Commandments contained in the ordinances..." (i.e. the ceremonial Law). Paul himself claimed that he kept the Law (Philippians 3:6) and indeed it was his custom to meet on the Sabbath (Acts 17:2) which means he kept the Law and the Sabbath. If one takes a closer look at Paul's teachings except for Romans 7:1-8 it is apparent that Paul was speaking for the upholding of the Law and very much the keeping of it (Romans 8:7; 1 Corinthians 7:19). Indeed he talks of establishing the Law in Romans 3:31. Note carefully what he writes in Ephesians 6:1-3: "Children obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. Honor your father and mother (which is the first Commandment with a promise), that it may be well with you, and that you may live long on the earth." By saying, "which is the first Commandment with a promise," he has underwritten the Ten Commandments. So there is no excuse even on the basis that one is simply following the first Church.

3 I would rather not have the monument lest it becomes a stumbling block for the weak. Indeed there is more to Jesus than His death on the wood. For heaven's sake you honor the Man for the Words He spoke --for who He is-- while He walked on this earth for they are spirit and life (John 6:63). Today's Church is like the poacher who hunts the elephant for it's tusks and the tiger for it's skin. They preach not the power in the message but a power in a wood, which is idolatry. There appears to be more damage coming out of the wood than benefit and it is God's will that it should be removed (Word for Today on Easter Sunday, April 4, 1999).

4 Please note here that "they are not all Israel who are descended from Israel" (Romans 9:6; Romans 2:28,29). It is the Spiritual lineage and not the physical who will be reckoned (John 1:12,13; 1 Corinthians 7:14; Acts 2:38,39). The name Israel was given to Jacob when he acknowledged that he was a deceiver (Genesis 32:22-32). Therefore just as Jesus acknowledges Nathaniel as a true Israelite (John 1:47) we too will be acknowledged true Israelites.

5 Experiments conducted by scientists at the Moody Scientific Laboratories on a man who wore inversion eye lenses proved conclusively that the mind adapted to the inverted images of the world that were brought to it by the eye. There was an active principle in the mind that told the mind that indeed the world was not inverted.

6 He deserves the Lordship because we not only avail His blood but also follow Him, to the glory of the Father (Philippians 2:11). The LORD of our Lord Jesus Christ is the Father. Our Lord will sit at the Father's right hand until all His enemies are made a footstool for His feet (Psalm 110:1).

7 While "all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God," all are not totally unclean (John 13:10).

• Lovest thou Me? - II
• Lovest thou Me?: Parts 3, 4 and 5
• Lovest thou Me?: Part 6 Altar of God
• Lovest thou Me?: Part 7 Baptism of Fire