The Spirit of the Law

Dear Kingdom workers, in my previous article, The Spirit’s Law of Life, I indicated that the Law of the Spirit and the Law of Christ agree with the Law of God.  Having posted that, I feel the need to write here today about the Spirit of the Law to ensure that I am making myself clear.

I can say with the apostle Paul that I worship the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, as a follower of Jesus Christ, and I believe everything that agrees with the Law and that is written in the Prophets. I have the hope in God that there will be a resurrection of both the righteous and the wicked. “So I strive always to keep my conscience clear before God and man.” (Ac 24:14-16)

If you need to know God’s definition of sin, read the Law and Prophets. For starters, in order to get an elementary level of understanding, go back and read The Ten Commandments, and realize that none of them have been abolished, not even the Fourth Commandment -- not one (Ex 20:1-17; Mt 5:17-20).

So am I suggesting we seek by the flesh to fulfill only the letter of the Law? Certainly not! The letter kills but the Spirit gives life.  As the apostle Paul said:

"He has made us competent as ministers of a new covenant—not of the letter but of the Spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life." (2 Co 3:6)

As a Gentile follower of the Lord Jesus Christ, I am no longer looking for instructions about circumcision, various gifts, sacrifices, food, drink, and ceremonial washings, which were merely shadows of the realities we have found in Christ (although I can still learn about God through those passages).  I’m not looking for laws to perform with regard to religious festivals, New Moon celebrations, or Sabbath days, since they are "things which are a mere shadow of what is to come; but the substance belongs to Christ." (Col 2:16, 17).

By the way, the word for the Sabbath is the Greek word "sabbaton," which means "the Sabbath (that is, Shabbath), or day of weekly repose from secular avocations (also the observance or institution itself); by extension...the interval between two Sabbaths; likewise the plural in all the above applications: - sabbath (day), week."  (Strongs). The apostle Paul's statement that "no one is to act as your judge in respect to...a Sabbath day," simply means not to let any man judge you with regard to this.  You must not let any man judge you with regard to how we keep the Sabbath, as the Pharisees did in accusing Jesus of breaking it by healing on that day, or doing anything else that is good and right in God's sight, or breaking traditions of men on that day.  You must keep it holy according to God's Word, and He will be the one to judge you if you truly break it.  One application of this is let no man judge you for not keeping the Sabbath on the seventh day of the week, as some people are known to be quite judgmental of others in this regard (see Seventh-day Adventist Heresies).  As I said, you must do what is right in the sight of God.

Since we know Paul agreed with the Ten Commandments, and everything written in the Law (Ac 24:14-16), and he upheld the Law (Rom 3:31), and he said that what matters is the keeping of God's commandments (1 Co 7:19), we know he was not suggesting we break the Fourth Commandment.  Some think he may have been referring to the plural form of Sabbath (as in "Sabbaths"), rather than the weekly "Sabbath Day."  If so, that would refer to other “special Sabbaths”, like what we would call national holidays that occur throughout the year.  Likewise, he may have meant "weeks," such as "the Three Weeks of Sorrow" and "the Seven Weeks of Comfort".  If so, that would explain why he said that these are "things which are a mere shadow of what is to come; but the substance belongs to Christ." (Col 2:17). Therefore, I am not suggesting we break the Fourth Commandment. But we are living according to the Spirit that gives life, and not the letter.  That means that we most surely honor the Lord’s day and keep it holy (1 Co 16:2; Re 1:10).  (See my blogs Resting from Work, Keeping Sundays Holy, Keeping Sundays Holy - Part II, and The Lord's Day).

Moreover, it’s a higher standard spiritually than what is written. Remember, Jesus explained God’s standard regarding the commandments in His Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5).  God looks at the thoughts and intentions of the heart, and His standard is high. This means we should always uphold the spirit of the law, and ask the Lord what His heart is for us today for His holy people with respect to these things. His heart is always that we love Him with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength and love our neighbor as ourself. (Mark 12:29-31) His heart is always that we restrain sensual indulgence (Co 2:23) by the power of the Holy Spirit, taking up our cross. His heart is always that we pursue holiness, know the Truth, and seek His righteousness (Mt 6:33; Heb 12:14, Ro 14:17; Jn 8:32-36; 14:6). His heart is always the message of the cross, repentance and forgiveness of sins, believing the gospel of the kingdom, and following Jesus in His eternal purposes (1 Co 1:18; Ac 2:38; Jn 3:16-21; Jn 4:24) Lk 13:5; Lk 24:46-47). His heart is always preaching the gospel of salvation to all creation, and rescuing lost souls from perishing in hell. (Mk 16:15; Lk 15:1-7; 2 Pe 3:9). His heart is always to destroy the works of the evil one (1 Jn 3:8). His heart is always for us to do good, do what is right, obey His commands, help the weak, the orphans, and the widows, and keep ourselves unstained by the world. (Ps 82: 3-4; 1 Jn 3:7-8; 5:3; 2:15-17; Jas 1:27).

The Holy Spirit may lead you to celebrate a special Sabbath found in the law, as a time of putting aside everything else to seek Him personally or corporately, or He may lead you to celebrate a Jewish feast found in the law as a time to worship the Lord Jesus, who is typified in all the feasts. But if you are not led to do so, don't let any man judge you with respect to such things.

By the same token, you will be viewed as odd or even judged, in these last and evil days, if you do not celebrate the so-called Christian holidays on the certain days -- and in the worldly ways -- that the apostate Church celebrates them. But if you are going to look for feasts and holidays to celebrate by gathering together, and you feel a need for that, then why not look at the Hebrew feasts that are already in Scripture? Aren’t they good enough?

Obedience is Essential for Disciples
Here are just some of the other blogs I have written, which provide a clear and biblical response to the concerns that my obedience doctrine is legalism, especially the first three in the left-hand column:

Is Obedience Optional? The Law of Christ  Faith Works! The Law Fulfilled in Us The Law Established Through Faith The Cost of Discipleship The New Covenant Costly Grace Deleted Scriptures in the Bible? Did Jesus Nail the Law to the Cross? Is Practical Righteousness a Lost Truth? The Law is Good if Used Lawfully

The Obedience of Faith Striving to Enter the Kingdom of God Aim for Perfection Righteous Deeds and White Robes Doing What is Right Your Rewards Are Based on Your Practice Partaking of the Divine Nature Walking in the Perfect Will of God Pressing on Toward the Goal Obedience by the Spirit What Then Must We Observe?

Putting it All Together
We should believe everything that agrees with the Law and that is written in the Prophets.  The Lord Jesus did.  The apostle Paul did.  The apostle John did. The apostle James did.  If you think I am being legalistic, then you will have to also call the Lord Jesus and the apostles legalistic.  As a matter of fact, you would also have to say the same about John Wesley, D.L. Moody, Philip Henry, and his son Matthew Henry, the author of the famous, Bible commentary.

Let’s get back to the Bible and seek to live our lives according to God’s Word, not according to the letter, but in the new way of the Spirit. "We have been released from the law so that we serve in the new way of the Spirit, and not in the old way of the written code." (Rom 7:6b). Do not rely on your obedience to the Law to save you, because it is only by grace that you are saved through faith (Eph 2:8-10).  Always remember that we can do nothing apart from the Lord Jesus (Jn 15:5), and if you keep His commandments, you will abide in His love (Jn 15:10).

“May the Lord make your love increase and overflow for each other and for everyone else, just as ours does for you. May he strengthen your hearts so that you will be blameless and holy in the presence of our God and Father when our Lord Jesus comes with all his holy ones. As for other matters, brothers and sisters, we instructed you how to live in order to please God, as in fact you are living. Now we ask you and urge you in the Lord Jesus to do this more and more.” (1 Thes 3:12-4:1).

Attribution notice: Most Scripture quotations taken from the NASB. Most other Scriptures taken from The Holy Bible, New International Version® NIV®, unless otherwise noted.  The "Holy Spirit" painting © 2012 Danny Hahlbohm, all rights reserved by the artist.

Author's note:  Also see part one, called The Spirit's Law of Life and my other articles called, Is Practical Righteousness a Lost Truth?, Zipporah Mushala’s Second Testimony of Hell, Obedience by the Spirit, The Person of the Holy Spirit, and Baptized with the Spirit. You can access the Main Directory for Working God's Way, or my complete blog directory at "Writing for the Master." Now I'd like to ask a very important question.

Do You Want to Know Him?
If you want to know Jesus, you can. It all begins when you repent and believe in Him.  Do you know what God's Word, the Bible says?

“Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of God, and saying, ‘The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.’” (Mar 1:14b-15).  He preached that we must repent and believe.

Please see my explanation of this in my post called "Do You Want to Know Jesus?"

___________________________________________

Len Lacroix is the founder of Doulos Missions International.  He was based in Eastern Europe for four years, making disciples, as well as helping leaders to be more effective at making disciples who multiply, developing leaders who multiply, with the ultimate goal of planting churches that multiply. His ministry is now based in the United States with the same goal of helping fulfill the Great Commission. www.dmiworld.org.

The Spirit's Law of Life

Dear Kingdom workers, I know that there are some preachers who speak against God's Law, as though it were something sinful, so I want to encourage you today not to listen to the enemy's lies.  He twists the Scriptures, but the Holy Spirit leads us into all Truth.

The Spirit's Law
In his epistle to the Romans, the apostle Paul referred to the Law as the law of the Spirit of Life.  “For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and of death.” (Rom 8:2). First of all, this means it is the Spirit’s Law, which should not surprise us, since it is God’s Law, which was inspired by the Holy Spirit Himself.  As Paul says, “All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness; so that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work.” (2Ti 3:16-17). 

“What shall we say, then? Is the Law sin? Certainly not!” (Rom 7:7a).  Yet most preachers treat it as though it is sin.  Quite the contrary!  “We know that the Law is spiritual.” (Rom 7:14a). Since the Law is spiritual, and it is the Spirit's Law, pure and holy, inspired by the Holy Spirit, we need to be careful never to treat it as if it is sinful.

The problem is not with the God’s Law.  The problem is with man’s sinful nature.  However, through Christ Jesus, I am set free from sin and death. This is the same Christ Jesus that was typified in the Law and about whom Moses prophesied in the Law.  It was through Christ Jesus that the law of the Spirit set me free.  Now that I am free from sin and death, I have power over sin and death.  And although I am no longer under the Law, yet because I am in Christ Jesus, I approach the Law differently now.  Now “the righteous requirement of the law might be fully met in us, who do not live according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.” (Ro 8:4b).

Proper Understanding of the Law
Here is the way you must understand the Law. 

Law Leads Us to Christ to Be Justified by Faith
God’s Law was a tutor that led you to Christ. "Therefore the Law has become our tutor to lead us to Christ, so that we may be justified by faith." (Gal 3:24).  We could illustrate the relationship between us and the Law (before we know Christ) like this:
Law -- > Christ.

Christ is the Goal of the Law
Another way to put this is to say that the goal of the Law is to lead us to Christ. Christ is the goal of the Law. "For not knowing about God's righteousness and seeking to establish their own, they did not subject themselves to the righteousness of God. For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes." (Rom 10:3-4)

In Christ, the Righteous Requirements of the Law are Fulfilled in Us
Once you enter into Christ by faith, and are in Him, then the Spirit’s Law sets you free from the law of sin and death.  Once you put to death the sinful nature, which was the real problem to begin with, you approach the Law differently.  You are now a dead person as it relates to sin.  What was once a law of sin and death, because of the weakness of my sinful nature, has now through Christ Jesus become for me the Spirit’s Law of Life and love.  We could illustrate the relationship between us and the Law after we know Christ like this:

Christ -- > Law of Life (righteous requirements of the Law fully met in us).

The Law makes us conscious of sin. It leads sinful man to Christ.  Then Christ leads the one, whom He sets free from sin, into the Spirit’s Law of Life.  Now I can truly love the Lord my God with all my heart, soul, mind, and strength, and love my neighbor as myself, which are the two commandments that fulfill all the Law and the Prophets. Now I approach the Law not to be justified by the Mosaic covenant, but desiring to obey God’s commandments by the Spirit, so that the righteousness requirements of the Law might be fully met in me.

The New Way of the Spirit
I am not living according to the sinful nature any more, but according to the Spirit (Rom 8:4b). I do not serve in the old way of the written code, but in the new way of the Spirit (Rom 7:6).  I am no longer looking for instructions about circumcision, various gifts, sacrifices, food, drink, and ceremonial washings, which were merely shadows of the realities we have found in Christ (although I can still learn about God through those passages).  What matters now is keeping God’s commandments (1 Co 7:19). And that is only possible by the power of the Spirit.

I live my life for Christ by the Spirit, being led by the Spirit.  “For if you live according to the flesh, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body, you will live. For those who are led by the Spirit of God are the children of God.” (Rom 8:13-14).
 
Any good fruit you see coming forth from my life is the Spirit’s fruit, not mine. “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.” (Gal 5:22-23). 

Jesus said, “I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.” (Jn 15:5). I am no longer a slave to sin, but now in Christ I have become a slave to righteousness.  “You have been set free from sin and have become slaves to righteousness.” (Rom 6:18)

If we claim to live by the Law of the Spirit of Life, then let us always say, "Yes, Lord!" to the promptings of the Holy Spirit.  Let's be controlled by the Spirit, Who takes from the Law.  Let's live for righteousness, and submit to God's righteousness, rather than seeking to establish a righteousness of our own.  

The Difference Between Serving in the New Way vs the Old Way
Here is an example that shows the difference between serving in the new way of the spirit, rather than in the old way of the written code.  If we were serving according to the old way of the written code, we would read, "You shall not murder." Since our sinful nature would still be alive, as soon as we would receive the commandment not to murder, we would be tempted to do just that.  There would be times when we would get angry enough with people that we feel hatred toward them and say angry words against them like, "You fool!" or "You idiot!"  But as long as we did not physically take the life of another human being, we would assume that we have not broken the commandment and that we are righteous. 

On the contrary, if we are serving in the new way of the Spirit, our sinful nature has been put to death. So the Holy Spirit leads us to go beyond simply not murdering our neighbor, and we also do not even utter angry words like, "You fool!"  We do not harbor bitterness and resentment toward others.  We actually pray for our enemies, forgive them, and even love them.  Thus through Christ Jesus, and by the power of the Spirit, being led by the Spirit, we live a truly holy life, and the righteous requirements of that commandment are fully met in us.  That is the Law of the Spirit of Life.

As Jesus said, “You have heard that it was said to the people long ago, ‘You shall not murder, and anyone who murders will be subject to judgment.’  But I tell you that anyone who is angry with a brother or sister will be subject to judgment. Again, anyone who says to a brother or sister, ‘Raca,’ is answerable to the court. And anyone who says, ‘You fool!’ will be in danger of the fire of hell."  (Mt 5:22-23)

Now take that illustration using that one commandment, and apply that to any other commandment.  In every case, the Law of the Spirit of Life goes way beyond the written code.  It is the high and holy intent of God's Law that the Holy Spirit always fulfills in those who are led by the Spirit.  It produces the fruit of the Spirit, against which you will never find a Law in the Bible.

It’s as if the written code was the maximum level of righteousness that one living under the Law could attain, but it is the minimum level for the one set free by the Law of the Spirit of Life.  For those of us who are in Christ, we are already righteous by faith, having received God’s own perfect righteousness.  Therefore, that is our starting point, in the realm of the Spirit; and the maximum level of fruitfulness we could potentially produce by the Spirit is without limit, since God is infinite, and He gives The Spirit without Limit.

For the man living under the Law, the glass of righteousness is half full, and he is always seeking to fill it.  For the man living by the Spirit, the glass of righteousness is already full to the brim, and he is always overflowing.  That is, he is always overflowing, provided he practices righteousness and doesn't practice lawlessness.  "Everyone who practices sin also practices lawlessness; and sin is lawlessness." (1Jn 3:4; cf., 1 Jn 3:8-10)

Those Led by the Spirit Can Submit to God's Righteousness
The apostle Paul explained it like this: "For the mind set on the flesh is death, but the mind set on the Spirit is life and peace, because the mind set on the flesh is hostile toward God; for it does not subject itself to the law of God, for it is not even able to do so, and those who are in the flesh cannot please God. However, you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you. But if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Him." (Rom 8:6-9).

The implication of this passage is that while those who live according to the sinful nature cannot submit to God's law, those who live in accordance with the Spirit can and do in fact submit to God's righteousness, because their minds are set on what the Spirit desires. He enables us to put to death the misdeeds of the body (Rom 8:13), and leads us to pray and live according to God's will (Rom 8:27).

The Law is Profitable
As I have already mentioned, Paul wrote to Timothy, “All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness; so that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work.” (2Ti 3:16-17). 

For those who are in Christ, the Law will always continue to be profitable, along with the rest of the Scriptures.  We do not neglect to teach from the Law, and focus only on the Scriptures written after Christ. It is profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness. The reason we are supposed to use all Scripture for teaching, reproof, correction, and training in righteousness, is so that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work.  If we omit parts of Scripture that are unpopular, then the man of God will not be adequate or equipped for every good work.  Therefore, we must preach the whole counsel of God, as Paul did.

Seven Different Laws?
Scripture speaks of "the law of God" (Rom. 7:22, 25; 8:7; 1Co. 9:21), "the law of Christ" (1Co. 9:21; Gal. 6:2), "the law of faith" (Rom 3:27), and "the law of the Spirit of Life" (Ro 8:2).  Then there is the "royal law" (Js 2:8), which is the law of love, also known as the "law of liberty" (Js 2:12).  These are not seven different laws, are they?  Of course, not; they are seven different expressions for one and the same law -- the gospel.

The point is that since there are several expressions given in the New Testament for the law, which are used in a positive light, indicating they still apply to us as believers in Christ. Therefore, we must take heed and believe what those verses say regarding the Spirit's law of life that is found throughout Scriptures from Genesis to Revelation.

The law of God, the law of Christ, the law of faith, the law of the spirit of life, the royal law of love, and the law of liberty all refer to the same thing -- the gospel, and none of them are called "The Law of Moses", so that we do not confuse this with being "under" the Old Covenant with all its dietary, ceremonial, and ritual laws for Jews to follow.

Even if you disagree with me, and you think these biblical expressions actually refer to seven different laws, do you think they contradict one another on principle? Certainly they do not. There is one God and Father, one Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ His Son, and one Spirit.  God's will is supreme and there is no contradiction within Him.

There is such a thing as the gospel law or gospel rule, which is the rule of life in the Kingdom of God, by which all those who believe the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ must live. This is what the Spirit desires (Rom 8:5), and it is found all across the pages of the Old and New Testament Scriptures. Both Matthew Henry and John Wesley, two famous and well-respected English preachers from the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, taught this and wrote about it in their commentaries, as I have written in my article called Wesley and Henry on the Gospel Law. 

Jesus said He did not come to abolish the Law and the Prophets, indicating He was in full agreement with the law of God.  "Do not think that I came to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I did not come to abolish but to fulfill. For truly I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not the smallest letter or stroke shall pass from the Law until all is accomplished. Whoever then annuls one of the least of these commandments, and teaches others to do the same, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever keeps and teaches them, he shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven. For I say to you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven.” (Mat 5:17-20).  

This is something to consider and pray about.  There is law and order in God's kingdom.  It's not a lawless kingdom. "Everyone who practices sin also practices lawlessness; and sin is lawlessness." (1Jn 3:4). Christ will one day tell those who practice lawlessness to depart from Him (Mat. 7:23), and they will be thrown into the furnace of fire (Mat 13:41). 

On the other hand, when you are living according to the law of the Spirit, He will convict you concerning sin, righteousness, and judgment. "And He, when He comes, will convict the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment." (Joh 16:8).

Moreover, when you are living by the law of the Spirit, He will guide you into all truth. "But when He, the Spirit of truth, comes, He will guide you into all the truth; for He will not speak on His own initiative, but whatever He hears, He will speak; and He will disclose to you what is to come. He will glorify Me, for He will take of Mine and will disclose it to you. All things that the Father has are Mine; therefore I said that He takes of Mine and will disclose it to you."  (Joh 16:13-15).

The Spirit of God does not speak on His own initiative.  He takes of what is Christ's and discloses it to the disciple of Christ. And all things that the Father has are Christ's. Therefore, what the Spirit discloses to the disciple of Christ is that which belongs to the Father. This is how the law of the Spirit of Life works.  He discloses to us the law of Christ, the law of faith, the royal law of love, also known as the law of liberty. And since the Author of this law is the same as the Author of the law of God, there is harmony between the law of God and all things that the Spirit discloses.

Obedience is Essential for Disciples
Here are just some of the other articles I have written, which provide a clear and biblical response to the concerns that my obedience doctrine is legalism, especially the first three in the left-hand column:

Is Obedience Optional? The Law of Christ  Faith Works! The Law Fulfilled in Us The Law Established Through Faith The Cost of Discipleship The New Covenant Costly Grace Deleted Scriptures in the Bible? Did Jesus Nail the Law to the Cross? Practical Righteousness, a Lost Truth?

The Obedience of Faith Striving to Enter the Kingdom of God Aim for Perfection Righteous Deeds and White Robes Doing What is Right Your Rewards Are Based on Your Practice Partaking of the Divine Nature Walking in the Perfect Will of God Pressing on Toward the Goal Obedience by the Spirit Led by the Spirit

Putting it All Together
The Law of God is not sin.  On the contrary, it is spiritual.  But let us remember that it is the Spirit's Law that brings life for those who are in Christ. It was intended to lead us to Christ, so we could be justified by faith.  But once we are in Christ, through Him, the Spirit's law of life sets us free from the law of sin and death.

Then the Spirit of God leads the one who is in Christ to walk in love (in fulfillment of the Law) without interference from the sinful nature and without death.  Now in Christ and by the Spirit, the righteous requirements of the Law may be fully met in us. I emphasize "in Christ," since we can do nothing apart from the Lord Jesus (Jn 15:5). We have our minds set on what the Holy Spirit desires (Rom 8:5), and He enables us to actually produce the fruit of the Spirit, against which you will never find a Law in the Bible.

We are no longer under the Law, as if it were our means of justification. We are not under a law of works! You cannot rely on your obedience to the Law to save you, because it is only by grace that you are saved through faith (Eph 2:8-10).  We are not keeping up the law of Moses in conjunction with the gospel. However, we profit from the lessons in righteousness found in the Law, as the Spirit takes from the Law.  Since we live for Christ, as slaves to righteousness, our hearts are beating to keep God's commandments, and to find out what pleases Him.  As the apostle Paul said, "Find out what pleases the Lord." (Eph 5:10).  The goal of our instruction is love from a pure heart and a clear conscience and a sincere faith.  And if you keep His commandments, you will abide in His love (Jn 15:10).

The Spirit of the Law (Part II of this article)

Attribution notice: Most Scripture quotations taken from the NASB. "Love the Lord with All Your Heart" by my daughter, C.V. when she was fifteen years old on the blog, A Brush with Life. 

Author's note:  If you enjoyed this post, please see Part II, called The Spirit of the Law, as well as Wesley and Henry on the Gospel Law.  You may also like Law of Love in the New Testament, Led by the Spirit, Godly Attire and Adornment -- Seven Divine Revelations, Garments of Godliness, Keeping Sundays Holy, Is Tithing Required?, Is Practical Righteousness a Lost Truth?, and the other posts available through the links on the Home page.  You may also access my complete blog directory at "Writing for the Master." 

Do You Want to Know Him?
If you want to know Jesus, you can. It all begins when you repent and believe in Him.  Do you know what God's Word, the Bible says?

“Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of God, and saying, ‘The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.’” (Mar 1:14b-15).  He preached that we must repent and believe.

Please see my explanation of this in my post called "Do You Want to Know Jesus?"

_________________________________________________

Len Lacroix is the founder of Doulos Missions International.  He was based in Eastern Europe for four years, making disciples, as well as helping leaders to be more effective at making disciples who multiply, developing leaders who multiply, with the ultimate goal of planting churches that multiply. His ministry is now based in the United States with the same goal of helping fulfill the Great Commission. www.dmiworld.org.

Faith Works!

I'd like to address the claims some people make, who say that being saved by grace through faith in Christ means we don't need to do anything.  They say that God does not require any outward or external changes, and it is only the heart that He is looking at.

They claim it is legalism to preach on the need for godly attire, as I have done in Garments of Godliness and Godly Attire and Adornment -- Seven Divine Revelations.  They also say it is legalism to preach that anyone who refuses to be conformed to the image of Christ this way will miss heaven and not see God's face.   They charge that it is "another gospel" any time we say obedience is required in any area, such as I have written about in my articles Is Tithing Required?, Keeping Sundays Holy, and The Lord's Day. 

Although I have already refuted such claims in many other blogs already, such as the ones above and others that I will list below near the end of this post, I would like to make it clear once again that faith works.  If you have true, saving faith, it will be evidenced by your works.  It must show on the outside, and if it doesn't, then it's not saving faith.  Yes, grace works!

Circumcision was the Main Heresy Paul Refuted
Although the word "legalism" or "legalistic" is not even in the Bible, people use the apostle Paul's epistle to the Galatians as the basis for their claims of legalism.  Yet in order to properly understand Paul's letter, we have to read it in context.  That letter was correcting a specific error, namely the false teaching (heresy) that says you must seek to obtain justification through the law by circumcision, in addition to your faith in Christ.

He specifically addressed the practice of Judaizing, which means to compel Gentiles to live like Jews. That is what he rebuked Peter for doing (Gal 2:14). The Greek word "Ioudaizo" in that verse means "to live like Jews."  In other words, Peter was compelling or forcing Gentiles Christians to adopt the Jewish customs or way of life. He did so by by beginning to draw back and separate himself from the Gentile Christians who had not been circumcised.

Yet Paul specifically and primarily addressed circumcision as one thing that Gentile Christians must never be forced to do, which would be a sign that they had converted to Judaism. In fact, the word "circumcision" occurs six times in that epistle and "uncircumcision" occurs twice (Gal. 2:12; 5:2,3,6,11; 6:15). He also alluded to circumcision indirectly in another instance by suggesting that the proponents of it should emasculate (castrate) themselves (Gal 5:12).

Paul's main point in this epistle was: "Behold I, Paul, say to you that if you receive circumcision, Christ will be of no benefit to you. And I testify again to every man who receives circumcision, that he is under obligation to keep the whole Law. You have been severed from Christ, you who are seeking to be justified by law; you have fallen from grace." (Gal 5:2-4)

We are free from ritual or ceremonial laws, such as circumcision. We are free from Jewish customs, such as observing days and months and seasons and years (Gal 4:10).  We are free from all mixtures of Judaism.  In fact we are dead to the Law and cannot be justified by observing it.  We are not trying to attain our goal by human effort (Gal 3:3). We are not endeavoring to keep up the law of Moses in conjunction with the gospel of Christ.  We are justified by faith in Christ alone.  But we must not receive the grace of God in vain. It is not a license to sin -- to do what God has commanded we must not do or to neglect what God has commanded we must do.  I tell you this so that no one may deceive you by fine-sounding arguments.

Paul says elsewhere, "Circumcision is nothing, and uncircumcision is nothing, but what matters is the keeping of the commandments of God." (1Co 7:19; cf., Ro 2:13 and 2:26).  What matters is the keeping of God's commandments.  Paul never said we are excused from keeping God's commandments.  He and the other apostles like John and James taught this in their epistles, as Jesus also taught in the gospels.

We Must Preach the Whole Counsel of God
We must preach the whole counsel of God, not just the popular topics.  In Paul's final meeting with the Ephesian elders, he told them, "For I did not shrink from declaring to you the whole purpose of God." (Act 20:27). 

Preach Against Sin
We must preach against sin, just as Jesus and the apostles did (Mat. 12:31; 18:21; Mark 3:29; John 1:29; 5:14; 8:7,11,21,34,46; 9:41; 15:22,24; 16:8,9; 19:11; Acts 7:60; Rom. 3:9,20; 4:8; 5:12,13,20,21; 6:1,2,6,7,10,11,12,13,14,15,16,17,18,20,22,23; 7:7, 8, 9, 11, 13, 14, 17, 20, 23, 25; 8:2,3,10; 14:23; 1Co. 6:18; 7:36; 8:12; 15:56; 2Co. 5:21; 11:7,29; Gal. 2:17; 3:22; Eph. 4:26; 1Ti. 5:20,22; Heb. 3:13; 4:15; 9:26,28; 10:6,8,18; 11:25; 12:1,4; 13:11; Jas. 1:15; 2:9; 4:17; 1Pe. 2:20,22,24; 4:1; 2Pe. 2:14; 1Jn. 1:7,8; 2:1; 3:4,5,8,9; 5:16,17; Mat. 7:23; 13:41; 23:28; 24:12; Rom. 6:19; 2Co. 6:14; 2Th. 2:3,7; Heb. 1:9; 1Jn. 3:4).

Preach Repentance
We must preach repentance, even as they did (Mat. 3:2, 8,11; 4:17; 11:20, 21; 12:41; Mark 1:4,15; 6:12; Luke 3:3,8; 5:32; 10:13; 11:32; 13:3,5; 15:7; 16:30; 17:4; 24:47; Acts 2:38; 3:19; 5:31; 8:22; 11:18; 13:24; 17:30; 19:4; 20:21; 26:20; Rom. 2:4; 2Co. 7:9,10; 12:21; 2Ti. 2:25; Heb. 6:1,6; 12:17; 2Pe. 3:9; Rev. 2:5,16,21,22; 3:3,19; 9:20,21; 16:9,11).

Preach on Hell
We must preach on hell, even as Jesus and the apostles did (Mat. 5:22,29,30; 7:19, 21-27; 8:12; 10:28; 13:42,50; 18:9; 22:13; 23:15,33; 24:51; 25:30, 41-46; Mark 9:43,45,47; Luke 12:5; 13:28; John 15:6; Jas. 3:6; 2Pe. 2:4, 17; Jud 1:11-13).

Preach on Righteousness, Self-control, and the Coming Judgment
We must preach on righteousness, self-control, and the coming judgment as they did (Acts 24:25; also see Mat. 5:20; 7:2, 12; 10:15; 11:22,24; 12:36,41,42; Luke 6:37; 10:14; 11:31,32; John 3:19; 5:22, 24, 27, 29, 30; 8:16; 9:39; 12:31; 16:8,11; Ro 1:18; 2:1-8, 12; 3:4; 11:22; 1 Cor 11:31-32; Eph 5:6; Col 3:6; 2 The 2:12; 5:9; Heb 6:1-2; 10:26-31; Rev 11:18; 16:5; 19:2; 20:12-13).

Preach Holiness
We must preach on the need to pursue holiness, without which no man will see God (Heb 12:10, 14; Rom 1:4; 12:1; 2 Cor 7:1; Eph 1:4; 2:21; 4:24; 5:27; Col 1:22; 1 Tim 2:8; 1 Pet 2:5,9; 3:5; and 2 Pet 3:11).

Name Specific Sins
We must name sins that will land people in hell, as they did (Mat 5:22, 27-48; 7:1; Rev. 2:4,14,20). And Paul gave a partial list when he wrote in Galatians 5:

"Now the deeds of the flesh are evident, which are: immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmities, strife, jealousy, outbursts of anger, disputes, dissensions, factions, envying, drunkenness, carousing, and things like these, of which I forewarn you, just as I have forewarned you, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God." (Gal 5:19-21). Also see my article, Sins That Will Keep You From Heaven.

Your Body Matters
To those who say that what a woman wears externally does not matter, and that jewelry, makeup, and other artificial adornments are not a problem for Christians to put on their bodies, this is what the Lord says.  He says the "property of Jezebel" that the daughters of God are wearing just like the world are not pure.  They are not of God.  Jezebel "painted her eyes and adorned her head" to make herself sexually attractive, in order to deceive and seduce men, probably in the hope that Jehu would not kill her (1 King 9:30b).  That is impurity.   It is also sensuality, since it lends itself to exciting sexual desires.  And it can also be idolatry, since they love those things of the world that they wear, just as the men likewise love them.  They do not want to part with them.  And it also causes men to idolize women, as if they were goddesses, because of the way they are artificially adorned with worldly things.  It also leads to lust and envy, as well as carousing, and "things like these."  Paul clearly forewarned us that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God; they will miss heaven.

To those who insist that the property of Jezebel is not impure, sensual, or idolatrous, I say that you are badly mistaken.  Don't you know where all those worldly things originally came from? Do the research as far back as you can go, and see for yourself. Those things were introduced into the world by satan through his angels.

The apostle Paul wrote:

"May God himself, the God of peace, sanctify you through and through. May your whole spirit, soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. The one who calls you is faithful, and he will do it." (1 Thes 5:23-24)

"And do not go on presenting the members of your body to sin as instruments of unrighteousness; but present yourselves to God as those alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness to God." (Rom 6:13)

"Therefore I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship." (Rom 12:1)

"Therefore consider the members of your earthly body as dead to immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and greed, which amounts to idolatry. For it is because of these things that the wrath of God will come upon the sons of disobedience." (Col 3:5-6)

"Food is for the stomach and the stomach is for food, but God will do away with both of them. Yet the body is not for immorality, but for the Lord, and the Lord is for the body...Flee immorality. Every other sin that a man commits is outside the body, but the immoral man sins against his own body. Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and that you are not your own? For you have been bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body." (1Co 6:13,18-20)

Paul explicitly taught that we must keep our bodies holy and pure.  These days it is popular to eat things that are considered "natural" and "pure".  There's nothing wrong with that.  But we must not neglect the more important matters in the sight of God, and that includes keeping our bodies holy and pure.

The Spirit of Truth Guides Us Into All Truth
The problem is that the Church has become so worldly that it is no longer able to correctly recognize as sin the worldly practices it has embraced.  Now when most people read the Word of God, they read it through a filter.  Some of the filters we use are the opinions of men, such as a commentary or our pastor. Other filters include our neighbor.  We look to our left and right and see that everyone else is doing it, so it must not be a sin.  Yet we must never read the Word of God through any filter, but let it speak for itself.  Open your Bible, shut out all the other voices, bind every lying spirit in Jesus' name, and ask the Holy Spirit to show you the whole Truth and nothing but the Truth.  I assure you that He will do so, because He is the Spirit of Truth, Who guides us into all Truth. The Lord always leads His sons and daughters into all Truth, just as He has done for those to whom He has given revelations by the Spirit, calling us back to sound biblical doctrines that have been lost or abandoned by the Church.

Obedience is Essential for Disciples
Here are just some of the other blogs I have written, which provide a clear and biblical response to the concerns that my obedience doctrine is legalism, especially the first two in the left-hand column:

Is Obedience Optional? The Law of Christ  The Law Fulfilled in Us The Law Established Through Faith The Cost of Discipleship The New Covenant Costly Grace Deleted Scriptures in the Bible? Did Jesus Nail the Law to the Cross? The Obedience of Faith Is Practical Righteousness a Lost Truth?

The Law is Good if Used Lawfully      Striving to Enter the Kingdom of God Aim for Perfection Righteous Deeds and White Robes Doing What is Right Your Rewards Are Based on Your Practice Partaking of the Divine Nature Walking in the Perfect Will of God Pressing on Toward the Goal Obedience by the Spirit What Then Must We Observe?

Putting it All Together
Dear friend, we are saved by grace through faith, not by works, but obedience is required of every disciple who claims to follow Christ.  We must preach the Word of God as it is written.  We must not dissect it into little pieces and give people what their itching ears want to hear.  We must preach the whole counsel of God, not just the popular topics.  That means that in addition to preaching the true gospel of salvation by grace through faith, we must preach against sin, which includes preaching repentance. It is always, "Repent and believe the gospel!" We must preach the Lordship of Jesus Christ, and not only that He is our Savior.  We must preach on hell. We must preach on righteousness, self-control, and the coming judgment.  We must preach holiness.  We must name sins that will land people in hell.

The devil hates it when we preach like this, because it destroys his works, and keeps people from being deceived into hell.  It brings Light into the darkness, and the Light dispels the darkness. It's the heart of Jesus, and it brings true salvation to mankind.

Since the devil hates all of this, his strategy is to lie and call this "legalism" or "another gospel" of works. He will try to say that this will not be popular, and nobody will ever want to get saved this way. But Jesus never preached what was popular.  He always preached the Truth, and warned that it is a narrow Way, which few will find (Mt 7:14).

If you struggle with what I have just presented, and you are still not sure about things like tithing, keeping Sundays holy, or godly attire and adornment, then you need to seek the Lord about it with all your heart.  Ask Him to show you these things in His Word.  Ask the Spirit of Truth to guide you into all Truth, and He will. If you really want to know the Truth at any cost, you will find it.  If you have never been baptized with the Holy Spirit, then you need to pray for that and receive it.  He will give the Holy Spirit to His true children who ask believing.

Remember that faith without deeds is useless (Js 2:26).  Grace really does work, and faith works, too!

Attribution notice: Most Scripture quotations taken from the NASB. "Faith Works" image courtesy Media Machine.

Author's note:  If you enjoyed this post, you may also like Godly Attire and Adornment -- Seven Divine Revelations, Garments of Godliness,  Is Tithing Required?, Keeping Sundays Holy, and The Lord's Day, Is Practical Righteousness a Lost Truth?  Practicing Your Righteousness, The Ways of Life, Sins That Will Keep You From Heaven, Abominations in the Sight of God, Pleasing the Lord, Holding Fast the Faithful Word, Led by the Spirit, No Flesh Will Be Justified by Works, Never Trust in Your Own Good Works, and the other posts available through the links on the Home page.  You may also access my complete blog directory at "Writing for the Master." 

Do You Want to Know Him?
If you want to know Jesus, you can. It all begins when you repent and believe in Him.  Do you know what God's Word, the Bible says?

“Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of God, and saying, ‘The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.’” (Mar 1:14b-15).  He preached that we must repent and believe.

Please see my explanation of this in my post called "Do You Want to Know Jesus?"

__________________________________________

Len Lacroix is the founder of Doulos Missions International.  He was based in Eastern Europe for four years, making disciples, as well as helping leaders to be more effective at making disciples who multiply, developing leaders who multiply, with the ultimate goal of planting churches that multiply. His ministry is now based in the United States with the same goal of helping fulfill the Great Commission. www.dmiworld.org.

God Has Not Rejected His Jewish People, Has He?

The Dohány Street Synagogue in Budapest, Hungary

Some of you may be aware that Hungary has a large population of Jews.  Today, the estimated population of Jews living in Hungary is around 120,000,with 110,000 mostly concentrated in Budapest.  In fact, the Jewish synagogue in Budapest, known as the Dohány Street Synagogue, is Europe's largest.

Since I have lived in Hungary for nearly five years as a missionary to Eastern Europe, in June of 2012 I had the privilege of visiting that synagogue in Budapest, as well as the Jewish Heritage Museum, and the Jewish sector of Budapest. You can read more about that tour of mine in my Hungarian Jewish Heritage article. Next to the nation of Israel itself, the countries with the highest population of Jews are first and foremost the United States, then France, Canada, Russia, Argentina, Germany, Brazil, Australia, and Ukraine.  Hungary is fairly high in the ranking beneath those countries.

We know from Scripture that the apostle Paul always preached the gospel first to the Jew's when he entered a city.  And he wrote, "For I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God that brings salvation to everyone who believes: first to the Jew, then to the Gentile."  So it seems that we should also have that same heart!

However, I have discovered that Jews are accustomed to antisemitism from Gentile people, which is racial prejudice against them.  In fact, I was surprised to learn that antisemitism is quite common among Christians! Jews often seem surprised when Christians treat them with love and respect.  Yet that should not be! God has not rejected His people whom He foreknew, so why should we?  As the apostle Paul said, "For I could wish that I myself were cursed and cut off from Christ for the sake of my people, those of my own race, the people of Israel. Theirs is the adoption to sonship; theirs the divine glory, the covenants, the receiving of the law, the temple worship and the promises. Theirs are the patriarchs, and from them is traced the human ancestry of the Messiah, who is God over all, forever praised! Amen." (Rom 9:3-5).  The Father of our Lord Jesus Christ is the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, the Hebrew patriarchs. And of course, Jesus Himself is a Jew!  He loves the precious Jewish people and wants to save them, too.  For Paul also said, "This mystery is that through the gospel the Gentiles are heirs together with Israel, members together of one body, and sharers together in the promise in Christ Jesus." (Eph 3:6). 

At The Dohány Street Synagogue, June 2012

I have developed a blog called Yeshua the Messiah.  On this blog, I share my testimony, Why I Trust in Yeshua, and I write various evangelistic articles that help to show from Scripture that Jesus Christ is the Jewish Messiah.  Some examples are Yeshua Ha'Maschiah in the Tanakh, The Brit Chadashah is Jewish, YHWH as Both Father and Husband to the Hebrews, Is the Trinity Originally a Hebrew or Christian Concept?, Yeshua is Yahweh, HaShem - The Name, and The Amazing Sign of Yonah. Although I have tried to develop the blog in a way that is somewhat culturally relevant for Jews, using some of their linguistic expressions and preferred ways of writing the name of God, we would like to clarify that we ourselves have not become Messianic Jews.

As the psalmist said, "Pray for the peace of Jerusalem: 'May those who love you be secure.'" (Ps 122:6)

Please Pray for the peace of Jerusalem and the salvation of the Jewish people.  And please use the Yeshua the Messiah blog yourself, as you share Jesus with your Jewish friends and loved ones.

Attribution notice:Most other Scriptures taken from The Holy Bible, New International Version® NIV®, unless otherwise noted.

Author's note:  I invite you to see these related articles of mine: Why Paul Lived Like a Jew Among the Jews, Deleted Scriptures in the Bible?, Keeping Sundays Holy, and The Law Established Through Faith. You can access the Main Directory of this blog at the Home page for Working God's Way, and you will find my complete blog directory at "Writing for the Master."

Do You Want to Know Him?
If you want to know Jesus Christ personally, you can. It all begins when you repent and believe in Jesus.  Do you know what the God's Word, the Bible says?

“Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of God, and saying, ‘The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.’” (Mar 1:14b-15).  He preached that we must repent and believe.

Please see my explanation of this in my post called "Do You Want to Know Jesus?"

_______________________________________

Len Lacroix is the founder of Doulos Missions International.  He was based in Eastern Europe for four years, making disciples, as well as helping leaders to be more effective at making disciples who multiply, developing leaders who multiply, with the ultimate goal of planting churches that multiply. His ministry is now based in the United States with the same goal of helping fulfill the Great Commission. www.dmiworld.org.

Partaking of the Divine Nature

I'd like to discuss the subject of partaking of the divine nature, which is one that is misunderstood by some people. There are those who think it means we become little gods when we follow Jesus.  Others may incorrectly believe that this is all automatic, and happens without any participation on our part.  So let's see what the Scriptures say.

He Has Granted Us Everything
Paul said, “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ,” (Eph 1:3).  Paul was clear that God has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ.  We know that's a gift from Him that we cannot earn.

Peter also said, “Seeing that His divine power has granted to us everything pertaining to life and godliness, through the true knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and excellence.” (2Pe 1:3).  This is similar to what Paul said, in that by God's power's, He has granted us everything pertaining to life and godliness.  All of this comes through the the true knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and excellence, which is our Lord Jesus Christ. 

It's so amazing to realize that He has given us every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, and everything pertaining to life and godliness!  All of this is by His glorious grace, and was paid for by the precious blood of Jesus Christ that He shed for us on the cross. It's one more reason to rejoice in the Lord and be thankful! 

Becoming Partakers of the Divine Nature
Not only has God done all of that for us, but He has also granted to us His precious and magnificent promises, so that by them you may become partakers of the divine nature.  Peter said, “For by these He has granted to us His precious and magnificent promises, so that by them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world by lust.” (2Pe 1:4)

What did Peter mean when he said we become partakers of the divine nature?  Here is the divine nature Peter meant:  moral excellence, knowledge, self-control, perseverance, godliness, brotherly kindness, and love.

“Now for this very reason also, applying all diligence, in your faith supply moral excellence, and in your moral excellence, knowledge, and in your knowledge, self-control, and in your self-control, perseverance, and in your perseverance, godliness, and in your godliness, brotherly kindness, and in your brotherly kindness, love. For if these qualities are yours and are increasing, they render you neither useless nor unfruitful in the true knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.” (2Pe 1:5-8)

Participation of the Disciple is Required
These qualities or virtues don’t just happen in your life automatically. Peter said that God has granted to us His precious and magnificent promises, so that by them you may become partakers of the divine nature.  Therefore, it is by His precious and magnificent promises that you may become partakers of the divine nature.  You must claim those promises and apply them, which requires diligence and practice on your part. Peter said you must "make every effort" to add these virtues into your life. 

It is up to you to be diligent to make certain about His calling and choosing you, which means you must confirm it.  Peter said,  “… be all the more diligent to make certain about His calling and choosing you …” (2 Pe 1:10). This diligence requires participation on your part.  You may be called and chosen well enough, but you have to make certain about His calling and choosing you. You have a choice to practice these divine virtues or not. That’s why Peter said, “…as long as you practice these things…”  He also said, “Therefore, beloved, since you look for these things, be diligent to be found by Him in peace, spotless and blameless,” (2Pe 3:14).

You've got to grow in godliness.  You’ve got to grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord.  As Peter said, “…but grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To Him be the glory, both now and to the day of eternity. Amen.” (2Pe 3:18).  The verb “grow” requires participation and action on your part.

Rewards and Punishment
There are either going to be rewards or loss, depending on whether or not you participate with the Lord and practice these virtues.

Rewards to those who do practice these things diligently and grow
Peter said, “Therefore, brethren, be all the more diligent to make certain about His calling and choosing you; for as long as you practice these things, you will never stumble; for in this way the entrance into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ will be abundantly supplied to you.” (2Pe 1:10-11)

He said you will be useful and fruitful: “For if these qualities are yours and are increasing, they render you neither useless nor unfruitful in the true knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.” (2Pe 1:8)

Peter said you would be in peace, spotless and blameless: “…be found by Him in peace, spotless and blameless,” (2Pe 3:14).  That's how the Lord will find you during your life and at the end of your life.

Loss and punishment to those who do NOT practice these qualities or lack them
Now I'd like to talk about what happens if you lack these qualities in your own life or do not practice these virtues.

Peter said, “For he who lacks these qualities is blind or short-sighted, having forgotten his purification from his former sins.” (2Pe 1:9)

This means that you are spiritually blind and near-sighted.  You are not walking correctly anymore when you are blind. And as a result of that,  by implication, you fail to "make certain about His calling and choosing you." (2Pe 1:10). 

The Greek word for “certain” is “bebaios, which means stable (literally or figuratively): - firm, of force, steadfast, sure.” (Strongs)

So if you lack these qualities, you have failed to make your calling and election sure, stable, firm, and steadfast.  Therefore your calling and election is actually uncertain.  You may have escaped the defilements of the world by the knowledge of the Lord Jesus, but if you again become entangled in those defilements, your last state is worse than before. 

“For if, after they have escaped the defilements of the world by the knowledge of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, they are again entangled in them and are overcome, the last state has become worse for them than the first. For it would be better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than having known it, to turn away from the holy commandment handed on to them.” (2Pe 2:20-21)

If you lack these qualities, you are headed back into being entangled by the world’s defilements.  And for anyone who ends up like that, it would be better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than having known it, to turn away from the holy commandment handed on to them.  The punishment will be far worse than for those who never knew the way of righteousness.

Be careful you are not led away by the error of wicked, lawless men and fall from your own safe position: “You therefore, beloved, knowing this beforehand, be on your guard so that you are not carried away by the error of unprincipled men and fall from your own steadfastness,” (2Pe 3:17).  Are your spiritual leaders teaching you this?  Are the preachers you listen to on the radio and TV preaching this?  What about the authors whose books, blogs, and articles you read?  And the videos you watch?  Beware of error, especially in this regard.

Putting it All Together
So we know that God has indeed given us everything we need for life and godliness, and that through His very great and precious promises, we may become partakers of His divine nature.  That means we can think like God, talk like God, and act like Him in moral excellence, knowledge, self-control, perseverance, godliness, brotherly kindness, and love.

But this requires participation on our part.  It doesn't happen automatically.  You have to be diligent to make your calling and election sure.  You've got to make every effort to confirm it, by developing these virtues in your life. Then you'll be useful and fruitful.  You'll be found by the Lord in peace, spotless and blameless, and you will receive an abundant entrance into the kingdom of heaven.

You participation is necessary in order to avoid falling from your safe position. If you lack these qualities, you develop spiritual blindness and near-sightedness. You can no longer see the long-range rewards awaiting those who endure to the end.  You must be careful that after you have escaped the defilements of the world that you don't become entangled in them once again, or else your final condition will be worse than the first.  Beware of who you follow, because there are many wicked and lawless men teaching their own errors to others, and leading them down to destruction.  Don't be deceived into hell.  If you gave your life to Jesus at one time, and then drift away, it would be better for you not to have known the way of righteousness, than having known it, to turn away from the holy commandment handed on to you.

That's why you need to repent of every sin, to the extent that you lack these qualities, and ask the Lord to forgive you.  Ask Him to cleanse you, making you spotless and blameless.  Ask Him to apply the cross to your earthly sin nature, and begin to apply His very great and precious promises of holiness, righteousness, and truth to your life, so that you may live in a way that is pleasing to Him.

Continued in Partaking of the Divine Nature -- Part II.

Attribution notice: Most Scripture quotations taken from the NASB. "Grow in Godliness" image courtesy of Act Like a Man.

Author's note:  This message has been beautifully expressed in a couple of poems my young daughters have written, called Perfect for the King and Reward of the Overcomer.  I encourage you to take a moment to read those.  And if you enjoyed this post, you may also like Bearing Fruit in Every Good Work, Partaking of the Divine Nature -- Part II, Following in His Steps, Godly Attire and Adornment -- Seven Divine Revelations and the other posts available through the links on the Home page.  You may also access my complete blog directory at "Writing for the Master."  Some related articles I recommend are:

Doing What is Right	Righteous Deeds and White Robes.	Godly Attire and Adornment -- Seven Divine Revelations
Is Obedience Optional?	The Cost of Discipleship	Your Rewards Are Based on Your Practice
The Law Fulfilled in Us	The New Covenant	Deleted Scriptures in the Bible?

Do You Want to Know Him?
If you want to know Jesus, you can. It all begins when you repent and believe in Him.  Do you know what God's Word, the Bible says?

“Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of God, and saying, ‘The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.’” (Mar 1:14b-15).  He preached that we must repent and believe.

Please see my explanation of this in my post called "Do You Want to Know Jesus?"

________________________________________

Len Lacroix is the founder of Doulos Missions International.  He was based in Eastern Europe for four years, making disciples, as well as helping leaders to be more effective at making disciples who multiply, developing leaders who multiply, with the ultimate goal of planting churches that multiply. His ministry is now based in the United States with the same goal of helping fulfill the Great Commission. www.dmiworld.org.

Your Rewards Are Based on Your Practice

In my previous post, Doing What is Right, I showed from Scripture that the righteous do what is right, and the recompense given at the eternal judgment is based on each person's own deeds.

Today I would like to expand on that theme from Jesus' own teaching:

Then Jesus said to His disciples, "If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross and follow Me. For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it; but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it. For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul? For the Son of Man is going to come in the glory of His Father with His angels, and will then repay every man according to his deeds." (Mat 16:24-27)

In this passage, the Lord said He is going to come back in His Father's glory with His angels, and He will pay back every person based on his deeds.  The word for "deeds" here in the Greek is "praxis", which means here a "practice, act, deed, or work" (Strongs).  According to Thayer, it may mean "1) a doing, a mode of acting, a deal, a transaction, such as the doings of the apostles, or in a bad sense, wicked deed, crime, wicked doings (our practices, i.e. trickery).  It may also mean 2) a thing to be done, business."

According to Walter Bauer's Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament, the word "praxis" as it is used in this passage in Mat 16:27 means, "acting, activity, or function."  As the NIV Bible translation puts it, "For the Son of Man is going to come in his Father’s glory with his angels, and then he will reward each person according to what they have done."

This word "praxis" was also used by the apostle Paul in his epistle to the Romans.  He wrote, "So then, brethren, we are under obligation, not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh-- for if you are living according to the flesh, you must die; but if by the Spirit you are putting to death the deeds (praxis) of the body, you will live." (Rom 8:12-13).  Paul said that if you are putting to death the "praxis" or "deeds of the flesh," you will live. 

This explains why Jesus said, "If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross and follow Me." (Mt 16:24)  The only way to put to death the praxis, or deeds, of the flesh is to deny yourself daily, take up your cross and follow Jesus.  You've got to lose your life for Jesus, in order to find it.

If you do so, then your praxis will be His praxis.  Your practice will be what He practices. You will do the deeds that Jesus did, and even greater deeds.

Jesus said, "Truly, truly, I say to you, he who believes in Me, the works that I do, he will do also; and greater works than these he will do; because I go to the Father." (Joh 14:12)

God will reward each person according to what he has done.  Anyone who says that is not true shows that he does not know what the Bible says.

King David said, "Surely you will reward each person according to what he has done." (Ps 62:12)

King Solomon said, "Will He not repay everyone according to what they have done?" (Pr 24:12b, NIV)

Jesus said, "Behold, I am coming quickly, and My reward is with Me, to render to every man according to what he has done." (Rev 22:12).  The Greek word for "what he has done" in this verse is "ergon", meaning "toil, deed, labor, work." (Strongs).

Paul said, "For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may be recompensed for his deeds in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad." (2Co 5:10).  The word for "done" here in this verse is "prasso," meaning to “practice”, that is, "perform repeatedly or habitually." (Strongs)

The Scripture is clear that if you practice evil, you will be recompensed for it at the judgment.  Jesus said you would lose your life. "For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it..."  (Mt 16:25).  Paul said, "for if you are living according to the flesh, you must die..." (Rom 8:13a).  Don't forfeit your own soul for the brief and passing pleasures of this world!  As I've said before, when you are judged before God, if your deeds were evil, you will be punished eternally.

However, if your deeds were righteous, you will inherit eternal life.  The only ones who will inherit eternal life are those who repent from evil practices, and through faith in Christ practice righteousness.  They live according to the pattern of God's and do His will. You must walk by the Spirit to do so.  This is the way to enter the eternal kingdom.  This is how you are fit for heaven.  If you are righteous, you must continue to practice righteousness. Heaven is the home of only those who practice righteousness.

Please take a moment to ask the Holy Spirit to shine the floodlight of illumination on your heart.  Ask Him to show you if there is anything hidden in your life that must go.  Are you habitually committing evil deeds?  Are you doing certain other things unworthy of God?  Are you actions unpraiseworthy?  Or are you doing deeds consistent with repentance? Are you acting in a manner consistent with the gospel?  If you are a believer, but the Lord shows you a few things in your life that you need to give up yet, then you go and give them up, and follow Jesus.  Make His practice your practice.

Attribution notice: Most Scripture quotations taken from the NASB. Most other Scriptures taken from The Holy Bible, New International Version® NIV®, unless otherwise noted. The Good Samaritan by Dan Burr of Dan Burr Illustration copyright 2013 used by permission.
 
Author's note: The message I've just taught in this article has been beautifully expressed in a couple of poems my young daughters have written, called Perfect for the King and Reward of the Overcomer.  I encourage you to take a moment to read those.  And if you enjoyed this post, you may also like the other posts in this blog available through the links on the Home page, such as Doing What is Right, Faith Works!,   Righteous Deeds and White Robes, and Practicing Your Righteousness. Remember to Never Trust in Your Own Good Works.  Some other related articles are:

Law of Love in the New Testament	The Law Established Through Faith	Costly Grace
Is Obedience Optional?	The Cost of Discipleship	Obedience by the Spirit
The Law Fulfilled in Us	The New Covenant	Deleted Scriptures in the Bible?

You may also access my complete blog directory at "Writing for the Master."

Do You Want to Know Him?
If you want to know Jesus, you can. It all begins when you repent and believe in Him.  Do you know what God's Word, the Bible says?

“Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of God, and saying, ‘The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.’” (Mar 1:14b-15).  He preached that we must repent and believe.

Please see my explanation of this in my post called "Do You Want to Know Jesus?"

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Len Lacroix is the founder of Doulos Missions International.  He was based in Eastern Europe for four years, making disciples, as well as helping leaders to be more effective at making disciples who multiply, developing leaders who multiply, with the ultimate goal of planting churches that multiply. His ministry is now based in the United States with the same goal of helping fulfill the Great Commission. www.dmiworld.org.

The Origin of the Sabbath

Some people who read my articles about keeping the Sabbath holy might incorrectly assume is something we do out of legalism, in an attempt to earn justification in God's sight through our own works.  But that is not correct.  We do it in obedience, because we love God.

You cannot rely on your obedience to the Law to save you, because it is only by grace that you are saved through faith (Eph 2:8-10).  Always remember that we can do nothing apart from the Lord Jesus (Jn 15:5), and if you keep His commandments, you will abide in His love (Jn 15:10). 

While the Lord commanded us to honor the Sabbath and keep it holy, as recorded in the fourth commandment (and we are instructed by Jesus to keep His commandments), the Sabbath was sanctified by God long before He gave the Law to Moses.  The Lord sanctified the seventh day in the very beginning, after the six days of creation.  “Then God blessed the seventh day and sanctified it, because in it He rested from all His work which God had created and made.” (Gen 2:3).

The Sabbath is not just something that was part of the Mosaic covenant, which has now become obsolete.  If you want to follow the Lord, you have to walk in His ways and do His will.  It was God’s will to sanctify the Sabbath before the Law was put into effect.  Later He simply commanded Moses and the Israelites to keep it holy, but He Himself had already made it holy.  So this is not a legalistic thing, it’s the will of God and one of God’s ways. 

If you want to follow God, you have to walk in His ways.  If you want to please God, you have to do His will.  "For this reason also, since the day we heard of it, we have not ceased to pray for you and to ask that you may be filled with the knowledge of His will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, so that you will walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, to please Him in all respects, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God; strengthened with all power, according to His glorious might, for the attaining of all steadfastness and patience; joyously giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified us to share in the inheritance of the saints in Light." (Col 1:9-12)

Pray and ask that you may be filled with the knowledge of His will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, so that you will walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, to please Him in all respects.  This is my prayer for you today.

Attribution notice: Most Scripture quotations taken from the NASB.

Author's Note: If you enjoyed this message, I also recommend reading David Wilkerson's message, Honoring the Sabbath, as well as Zipporah Mushala’s Second Testimony of Hell, in which she saw a man of God in hell for relying on His obedience to the Law to save him. You may also be interested in the other posts of mine on the Home page, especially Resting from Work, Walking in the Perfect Will of God, Keeping Sundays Holy, Keeping Sundays Holy - Part II, and The Lord's Day. I also invite you to visit my collection of blogs at Writing for the Master. 

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Len Lacroix is the founder of Doulos Missions International.  He was based in Eastern Europe for four years, making disciples, as well as helping leaders to be more effective at making disciples who multiply, developing leaders who multiply, with the ultimate goal of planting churches that multiply. His ministry is now based in the United States with the same goal of helping fulfill the Great Commission. www.dmiworld.org.