WBS.026
FUNDAMENTALS
OF DISCIPLESHIP
THE LAW OF THE SPIRIT OF LIFE – I
Hebrews 10:9 Then
said he, Lo, I come to do thy will,
O Elohim. He taketh away the first, that he may establish the second.
There is a very disturbing movement
impacting the church of Yahushua in the earth, today. It demonstrates the persistence of the enemy
of our soul to entangle our lives in distractions that interfere with our
restoration to obedience to the will of Elohim.
We have seen in earlier postings that
the congregational expression of the church is a box that proscribes very
limited possibilities for our lives in Messiah, and constrains our ability to
consider the revelation of Truths that are “outside the box.” We have been told there is security in doing
what the masses are doing, in believing what the masses believe; but the fact
is, Scripture tells us to buy the truth and sell it not; and very few within the
box of congregational Christianity are paying any price for what they believe,
suggesting very strongly that what they believe is not the Truth, the whole
Truth and nothing but the Truth.
We have seen that the false names and
titles we have been given for the Father and our Master (God, LORD, Jesus,
Christ) have both limited our ability to understand Scripture and have
prevented us from understanding the fear of IAUE (which Scripture says is the
BEGINNING of knowledge and wisdom).
One would think that freedom from both
of these traps would be rescue enough to free a soul to do the will of IAUE and
enjoy the liberty that is in Yahushua Messiah; but what I have seen all too
often is believers moving outside of the box of congregational Christianity and
discovering the truth about the names of IAUE and Yahushua, only to congregate
back into an inside-the-box expression and fall prey to one of the most
dangerous and damaging errors of all: law-keeping; or as they prefer to call
it, torah-keeping. Of course, the word
“torah” is the Hebrew word for “law,” but as these gentile believers race back into the
bondage of the law, they prefer to “sanctify” their error by subscribing to all
things Jewish. Hence, law is torah; a
good deed is a mitzvah; the Holy Spirit is the Kodesh Ruach, etc. By converting terms to Hebrew instead of
using their valid English translations; and observing the Jewish memorial
festival celebrations, they think they are returning to a lifestyle that is
more faithful to IAUE. Instead, what
they are doing is returning to a lifestyle they can control, and thereby remove
themselves from the responsibility of listening to the voice of the Spirit and
obeying him on a moment by moment basis.
Law-keeping was never the ultimate
objective of IAUE. Men with criminal
hearts can still observe the speed limit or refrain from stealing or killing;
in the same way a smoker can refrain from smoking; but it doesn’t mean they
don’t WANT to smoke. Such is the
law. It can only regulate the outward
behavior of the body. It has no power to
regulate the inner man of the heart.
Messiah made this clear in the Sermon on the Mount.
22 But I say unto you, That whosoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment: and whosoever shall say to his brother, Raca, shall be in danger of the council: but whosoever shall say, Thou fool, shall be in danger of hell fire.
27 Ye have heard that it was said by them of old time, Thou shalt not commit adultery:
28 But I say unto you, That whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart.
33 Again, ye have heard that it hath been said
by them of old time, Thou shalt not forswear thyself, but shalt perform unto
the Lord thine oaths:
34 But I say unto you, Swear not at all;
neither by heaven; for it is God's throne:
38 Ye have heard that it hath been said,
An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth:
39 But I say unto you, That ye resist not
evil: but whosoever shall smite thee on thy right cheek, turn to him the other
also.
43 Ye have heard that it hath been said, Thou shalt love thy neighbour, and hate
thine enemy.
44 But I say unto you, Love your enemies,
bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them
which despitefully use you, and persecute you;
Over and over again, Messiah recited what they had heard in
the Law of Moses; then stated, “But I say…”
The Law of Moses merely regulated the outward behavior of man. The law of Messiah held the heart accountable
for its thoughts and motives, its desires and intentions. The Law of Moses was to keep the social order
within the camp of Israel. The Law of Messiah
is to define the social order of the Kingdom of Elohim. The Law of Moses is powerless to do this.
What was the purpose of the Law? The first thing we must understand is that the
Law and the Covenant are not connected.
They are not related to each other in any way.
Gal
3:17 And this I say, that the covenant, that was confirmed
before of IAUE in Messiah, the law, which was four hundred and thirty years
after, cannot disannul, that it should make the promise of none effect.
IAUE cut the covenant with Abraham 430 years before there
ever was a written “torah” to keep. So,
why was the law given to Moses?
Gal 3:19
Wherefore then
serveth the law? It was added because of transgressions, till the seed
should come to whom the promise was made; and it was ordained by angels in the
hand of a mediator.
The first purpose of the law was to restrain the
outward behavior of the Hebrew people; to bring order to their society and to
prevent them from descending into abject paganism like all the nations around
them. It kept the people conscious of Elohim,
conscious of their accountability before Him, and conscious of their need for
the Messiah.
Rom
5:20 Moreover the law entered, that the offence might
abound. But where sin abounded, grace did much more abound:
10 And the commandment, which was ordained to life, I found to be unto death.
11 For sin, taking occasion by the commandment, deceived me, and by it slew me.
12 Wherefore the law is holy, and the commandment holy, and just, and good.
13 Was then that which is good made death unto me? Elohim forbid. But sin, that it might appear sin, working death in me by that which is good; that sin by the commandment might become exceeding sinful.
The second purpose of the Law
was to convince the Hebrews that they are sinners. The Law arouses an awareness of the nature
within man, one that does not desire to do the will of Elohim. The Law awakens man to the realization of the
depth of his own selfishness. When man
becomes aware of his own wicked nature, he is also awakened to the
inevitability of the judgment. This
prepares man for the solution IAUE has provided for his wicked nature.
The Apostle Paul tells us that “the
law is not of faith” (Gal 3:17), which is to say, it does not take faith
to keep the law. Anyone can endeavor to
abide by law. It merely requires
discipline to do what it says to do, and not do what it says not to do. Life in Messiah, however, IS by faith.
Gal 3:24
Wherefore the law was
our schoolmaster to bring us unto Messiah, that we might be justified by faith.
25 But after that faith is come, we are
no longer under a schoolmaster.
The third purpose of the Law
was to bring the Hebrews unto Messiah. Paul
likened the Law to a family servant (a schoolmaster, or pedagogue) whose job
was to overlook the social, moral and intellectual training and upbringing of a
minor child, teaching him everything he needs to know in life. Everyone in Paul’s day understood the
comparison. Once a child became mature
and responsible, the servant was no longer needed. It would be deemed foolish
and inappropriate for a young adult to still have a personal trainer whose job
was to bring him to adulthood. It would
be an embarrassment. It would mean he is
still not grown up.
The Hebrew graduates from the schoolmaster (the Law of Moses)
when he comes to Messiah. That is the
ultimate objective of the Law…to bring the Hebrew unto Messiah. As we see in the verses above, Paul told the
Romans that the Law makes one conscious of his sinfulness; but once one comes
to Messiah, the Law loses its power to condemn.
Rom 6:4 For sin shall not have dominion over you: for
ye are not under the
law, but under grace.
15 What then? shall we sin, because we are not under the law, but under grace? Elohim forbid.
This was not an easy concept for the
early church to comprehend. The Jews had
been torah keepers for 1,300 years. For
the first 25 years, from the day of Pentecost (Acts 2) forward, the church of
Yahushua Messiah was almost exclusively Jewish.
They continued meeting in the synagogues, and they continued keeping
torah. When Peter first preached to the
household of Cornelius (Acts 10), he was called on the carpet for being in a
Gentile’s home; a violation of torah.
When Paul began preaching to the gentiles,
it created quite a stir in Jerusalem. “Judaizers” followed his ministry
everywhere he went. They would go behind
Paul and try to convince the new disciples that they needed to keep torah as
well. Peter declared to the church in
Jerusalem that neither they nor their fathers were able to keep-torah; and it
was senseless to place the same insurmountable burden upon the gentile
converts.
8 And Elohim, which knoweth the hearts, bare them witness, giving them the Holy Spirit, even as he did unto us;
9 And put no difference between us and them, purifying their hearts by faith.
10 Now therefore why tempt ye Elohim, to put a yoke upon the neck of the disciples, which neither our fathers nor we were able to bear?
11 But we believe that through the grace of the Master Yahushua Messiah, we shall be saved, even as they.
You will notice that I have identified
these three purposes of the Law of Moses as being exclusively for the
Hebrews. Why is that? It is because the gentiles were never under the
Law of Moses. The Law was given to the
Hebrew; not to the gentile. Not then,
nor now has the gentile ever been under the Law of Moses. We will discuss this and more, next week.
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