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LAW
LAW
“Now a man came up to Jesus and asked, ‘Teacher, what good thing must I do to get eternal life?’... Jesus replied, ‘If you want to enter life, obey the commandments.’” Matthew 19:16, 17.
In any discussion about the “Law”, remember, Paul knew there were four main laws for the Jews: 1) The Ten Commandments, 2) The Civil Laws, 3) Health Laws and 4) Temple sacrificial, ceremonial and feast day laws. When Paul talks about doing away with “Law”, he is talking about the last three laws. When talking about obeying the “Law” he is talking about the Ten Commandment law.
There is only one law that governs the whole universe. That law is the foundation of God’s throne. “Righteousness and justice are the foundation of Your throne.” Psalms 89:14. “I have taken an oath and confirmed it, that I will follow Your righteous laws.” Psalms 119:106. The only way we become righteous is by obeying the Ten Commandments. “And if we are careful to obey all this law before the Lord our God, as He has commanded us, that will be our righteousness.” Deuteronomy 6:25.
That great Law gives us freedom from death and sin. It frees us from habits that destroy us. That great Law will judge us at the end of time. Jesus said, “That very word which I spoke will condemn him at the last day.” John 12:48. How true that is. Jesus spoke the Ten Commandments. He wrote them with His own finger. It is that Word, that Law which will judge the world. “Speak and act as those who are going to be judged by the law that gives freedom.” James 2:12.
As Jesus stated above, in order to “get” eternal life, we must keep the commandments. Even today, they are still the foundation of God’s throne and justice. “Then God’s temple in heaven was opened, and within His temple was seen the ark of His covenant.” Revelation 11:19. The Ten Commandments is the standard by which all will be judged. By it our reward is determined. If we break it, the “wages of sin is death.” Romans 6:23. If we keep it, “that will be our righteousness.” Deuteronomy 6:25. “Surely You will reward each person according to what he has done.” Psalms. 62:12 “Behold, I am coming soon! My reward is with Me, and I will give to everyone according to what he has done.” Revelation 22:12. The only way we can get into heaven is by keeping the Ten Commandments perfectly. However, that brings up the next problem. How do we do that? Aren’t we born into sin and a slave of sin? Yes/No. Born into sin, yes. Slave of sin - only if you choose to be.
Let’s say that a woman is arrested and put in prison. While serving her time in prison she gives birth to a child. The child is born into prison. The child is born in among criminals and cons. However, that does not make the child a criminal or a con. It does not make that child a “prisoner”. That child is free to come and go. So in our experience. We are born into a world of sin and sinners. But as Jesus was also born into this same world of sin and sinners we too may live His perfect, righteous life by His power. He did it without sin; so I too can do it without sin. He is my example and my strength.
But you say, The Law can’t save us. You are correct. It can’t. Just like a red traffic light can’t make you stop. All it does is point out what is right and what is wrong. You must make the effort to do one or the other. Same with the Law of God, it just points out right and wrong. It is only through “His divine power” that we can have “everything we need for life and godliness”...and have the “divine nature and escape the corruption in the world caused by evil desires.” 2 Peter 1:3, 4. Only through Jesus are we able to say, “I can do everything through Him who gives me strength.” Philippians 4:13. This is the ONLY way we know IF we are IN Jesus. Not by how often we go to church, or how much money we pay the church. It is not the amount of time we claim the “NAME.” No, “Not every one 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.” Matthew 7:21. “Thus, by their fruit you will recognize them.” Matthew 7:20. (Fruit = Action, work)
If you want to know who is going to heaven, just look around you. Who is keeping all of the Ten Commandments? Not very many, but then Jesus said that very few would be saved. Paul says to examine yourself to see if you really do belong to Jesus. 2 Corinthians 13:5. So what does this have to do with the judgment? Everything. You see, in order to get to heaven, you have to have a very special passport. You must be sealed with the seal of the living God. Revelation 7:1-4. That seal is the Law of God. ‘Bind up the testimony and seal up the law among My disciples.” Isaiah 8:16.
Special Passport to Heaven
In order for you to get into heaven you must possess that special seal, passport, of the living God. That passport is obedience to the Ten Commandments. You must walk exactly as Jesus walked. “We know that we have come to know Him if we obey His commands. The man who says, ‘I know Him,’ but does not do what He commands is a liar, and the truth is not in him. But if anyone obeys His word, God’s love is truly made complete in him. This is how we know we are in Him: Whoever claims to live in Him must walk as Jesus did.” 1 John 2:3-6. And how did Jesus walk? Jesus said, “but the world must learn that I love the Father and that I do exactly what My Father has commanded Me.” John 14:31. How was that? Oh, He did “exactly” what His Father commanded Him. You may claim to be a “Christian”, but are you? Jesus has asked all who claim to be His to walk “exactly” as He did. To Love just as He loved. “If you love Me, you will obey what I command.” “Whoever has My commands and obeys them, he is the one who loves Me.” “If anyone loves Me, he will obey My teaching.” “He who does not love Me will not obey My teaching.” John 14:15, 21, 23, 24.
Jesus taught us to keep the Ten Commandments in order to have eternal life. The only way we can get to heaven is by keeping His Covenant of Love, the Ten Commandments. “For we will all stand before God’s Judgment seat.” Romans 14:10. OK, we now know that we are going to be judged by the Ten Commandments. We know that we will receive our reward of either eternal life or eternal death by our doing or not doing the Ten Commandments. But I have been a sinner in the past. Does that make me always a sinner so I can’t get to heaven? NO!
Sinners cannot go to heaven. That is correct. In prison I heard men boast of being sinners. Proud of being sinners. They thought that Jesus loved sinners and would take sinners to heaven. They have been lied to and misled. For “all sinners will be destroyed; the future of the wicked will be cut off.” Psalms 37:38. The whole process of redemption is to perfect saints out of sinners. Only saints can go to heaven. Yes, all have sinned. Yes, we have been sinners. But we must stop being sinners and become righteous through the power of Jesus Christ.
That is what the new birth is all about. “No one who is born of God will continue to sin, because God’s seed remains in him; he cannot go on sinning, because he has been born of God.” 1 John 3:9. The new birth is coming to God and doing the four following things: 1. Confess: We must recognize that we are sinners. That is what the Ten Commandments are all about. It is like a mirror that shows us our dirty face. It can not clean the face, but it lets us know it is dirty so we can do something about it. “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.” 1 John 1:9. “As far as the east is from the west, so far has He removed our transgressions from us.” Psalms 103:12.
2. After confessing, we must repent. Only as we repent is God able to wash us and cleanse us. His blood does not cover our sins, it blots them out. We must get rid of them. “Repent, then, and turn to God, so that times of refreshing may come from the Lord.” “Peter replied, ‘Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins.’” “The Redeemer will come to Zion, to those in Jacob who repent of their sins, declares the Lord.” Acts 3:19; Acts 2:38; Isaiah 59:20. 3. This is the hardest one. Turning away from our sins. We love our sins. We want to be saved in them, not from them. We somehow want God to cover our sins so that He will not see them that we may continue in them. No! We must stop sinning. His blood will not cover one sin that is not turned away from. “Everyone who confesses the name of the Lord must turn away from wickedness.” “So turn from your evil ways, each one of you, and reform your ways and your actions.” 2 Timothy 2:19; Jeremiah 18:11. 4. The fourth step is to keep in step with the Spirit. You may, on your own power, clean up your house and knock off some of your sins, but it won’t last. Without the power of Jesus to fill you with His divine power, the wicked sins will come back with a vengeance and you will be worse off than before. “Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit.” Galatians 5:25. “But now that you have been SET FREE FROM SIN and have become slaves to God, the benefit you reap leads to holiness, and the result is eternal life.” Romans 6:22.
The above four steps are much like making bread. I like to make homemade bread. I take the dough, the yeast, the water and lay them all out in front of me. Separately, they don’t do much. They are not even very tasty by themselves. But when I combine them in the bread maker and mix them appropriately, letting them bake at the right temperature and for the right amount of time, out comes a wonderful, tasty loaf of bread. That’s how you get into heaven and have eternal life. Those who have been mixed, baked and sealed by the keeping of the Ten Commandments are now ready to join the society of heaven where everyone keeps the Ten Commandments. Those who keep the Ten Commandments have their names written in the Lamb’s Book of Life. “If anyone’s name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.” Revelation 20:15.
As long as we are walking in and with the Spirit, (Ten Commandments), we have our names written in the book of life. When we sin, it is removed. “The Lord replied to Moses, ‘Whoever has sinned against me I will blot out of My book.’” Exodus 32:33. Sin is a dreadful cancer. God cannot let it into heaven. If a person has not washed his robe in the blood of Jesus, purifying himself through the truth of Jesus, he cannot join those in heaven who live the righteous, commandment-keeping life. Now we understand the second part of the judgment a bit better. Satan has made the accusation. God is doing the investigation. Your deeds are determining your reward and eternal destiny. Everything you are doing is being written in your book. Each day you are making choices that will take you in or lead you out of eternal life. There will come a time when your book will be sealed. This will happen either at your death or when you sin against the Holy Spirit.