The Old and the New

The Old and the New

In modern Christian thinking there is this idea of the Old and the New. The Old ways and the new ways, the Old Testament and the New Testament, the Old covenant and the New covenant...where did this idea come from and is it biblical?

I recommend reading The "Old" Covenant for a similar (and much shorter) post along with the following information.

Bear with me as I take us through many verses to try and prove to you one thing, and one thing alone. The CONSISTENCY of scripture! I submit that scripture has never changed from the foundations of the earth before it was built to now and stretching into the future and the end of days.

The following information is by no means all scriptures related to this topic and some are not direct correlations but rather principles gleaned from scripture.

Below I will link core principles that you can find stretching through all scripture, starting with the ten commandments. This is a short list and an easy base to work off of. The ten commandments are the Torah and the Prophets in a nutshell and are summed up by the greatest commandments of all as said by Jesus,

Matthew 22:36-40King James Version (KJV) ³⁶ Master, which is the great commandment in the law?
³⁷ Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.
³⁸ This is the first and great commandment.
³⁹ And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself.
⁴⁰ On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.

The first four of the ten commandments deal with our relationship with God. The first great commandment. The last six deal with our relationship with other people. The second great commandment.

The First Commandment. 

A. Established before Sinai: Genesis 3:5 "For God doth know that
                                             in the day ye eat thereof,then your eyes
                                             shall be opened, and ye shall be as
                                            gods, knowing good and evil."

a2.                                      Satan tempts Eve. The original sin was,
                                           in essence, the breaking of the first
                                           commandment. Elevating the self to the
                                           level of God thus having other
                                          "gods" before, with, in the face of, or
                                          along side, the true God of
                                          Abraham Isac and Jacob. 

B. God gives the Command in Stone: Exodus 20:2-3 " I am the
                                                             Lord thy God, which have
                                                             brought thee out of the land
                                                             of Egypt, out of the house of
                                                            bondage. Thou shalt have no
                                                            other gods before me."

C. Command Held by Messiah: Mathew 4:10 "Then saith Jesus
                                                   unto him, Get thee hence, Satan:
                                                   for it is written, Thou shalt
                                                   worship the Lord thy God, and
                                                  him only shalt thou serve."

D.The Command Will be in the End of Days:  Isaiah 2:11 "The
                                                                           lofty looks of man
                                                                           shall be humbled, 
                                                                          and the haughtiness
                                                                          of men shall be
                                                                          bowed down, and
                                                                          the Lord alone shall
                                                                         be exalted in that
                                                                         day."

The Second Commandment

A. Established before Sinai: Genesis 35:2 "Then Jacob said unto his
                                              household, and to all that were 
                                              with him, Put away the strange gods
                                              that are among you, and be clean, 
                                              and change your garments:"

B. God gives the Command in Stone: Exodus 20:4 " Thou shalt
                                                            not make unto thee any
                                                           graven image, or any likeness
                                                           of any thing that is in heaven 
                                                           above, or that is in the earth
                                                           beneath, or that is in the water
                                                           under the earth.


C. Commandment Held after Messiah:  Acts 15:20 "But that we
                                                                write unto them, that they
                                                                abstain from pollutions of
                                                               idols, and from fornication,
                                                              and from things strangled,
                                                              and from blood."

D. Command Will be in the End of Days:  Isaiah 2:11 "The lofty
                                                                    looks of man shall be
                                                                    humbled, and the
                                                                    haughtiness of men shall
                                                                    be bowed down, and the
                                                                    Lord alone shall be
                                                                   exalted in that day."


The Third Commandment

A. Established before Sinai: Exodus 3:15 "And God said moreover
                                              unto Moses, Thus shalt thou say 
                                              unto the children of Israel, the Lord
                                              God of your fathers, the God of 
                                             Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the
                                            God of Jacob, hath sent me unto you:
                                             this is my name for ever, and this is
                                            my memorial unto all generations."

a2.                                        God himself demonstrates that His
                                             name is His memorial unto all
                                             generations. Thus putting reverence on
                                            His name.

B. God gives the Command in Stone:  Exodus 20:7 "Thou shalt
                                                             not take the name of the
                                                            Lord thy God in vain; for the
                                                            Lord will not hold him
                                                            guiltless that taketh his name
                                                            in vain."

C. Commandment Held after Messiah:  1 Timothy 6:1 "Let as many
                                                                servants as are under the
                                                                yoke count their own
                                                               masters worthy of all
                                                               honour, that the name
                                                               of God and his doctrine be
                                                              not blasphemed."

D.Command Will be in the End of Days:  Isaiah 2:11 "The lofty
                                                                   looks of man shall be
                                                                   humbled, and
                                                                   the haughtiness of men
                                                                   shall be bowed down, 
                                                                  and the Lord alone shall
                                                                 be exalted in that day."


The Fourth Commandment

A. Established before Sinai: Genesis 2:2-3 " And on the seventh
                                             day God ended his work which he
                                              had made; and he rested on the
                                              seventh day from all his work which
                                             he had made. And God blessed the
                                             seventh day, and sanctified it: because
                                             that in it he had rested from all his
                                             work which God created and made."

B. God gives the Command in Stone: Exodus 20:8 "Remember the
                                                            sabbath day, to keep it holy."

C. Commandment Held after Messiah: Mark 2:27-28 "And he said
                                                              unto them, The sabbath was
                                                              made for man, and not man
                                                             for the sabbath: Therefore
                                                            the Son of man is Lord also
                                                           of the sabbath."

D. Command Will be in the End of Days: Isaiah 66:23 "And it shall
                                                                   come to pass, that from
                                                                   one new moon to another,
                                                                  and from one sabbath to
                                                                 another, shall all flesh
                                                                 come to worship before
                                                                 me, saith the Lord."


The Fifth Commandment  

A. Established before Sinai:  Genesis 9:21-29 This story, though
                                               not posted for space sake, shows that
                                               respect (or the lack thereof) of one's
                                               parents was for sure an important
                                               thing!

B. God gives the Command in Stone: Exodus 20:12 "Honour thy
                                                            father and thy mother: that
                                                            thy days may be long upon
                                                            the land which the Lord thy
                                                           God giveth thee."

C. Commandment Held after Messiah:  Ephesians 6:1-3 "Children,
                                                                obey your parents in the
                                                               Lord: for this is right.
                                                               Honour thy father and
                                                              mother; which is the
                                                              first commandment with
                                                              promise; That it may be well
                                                              with thee, and thou mayest
                                                              live long on the earth."

D. Commandment Will be in the End of Days: Though there is no
                                                                            specific text that is
                                                                            a near quote we
                                                                            can  gauge from
                                                                            principle this will
                                                                            remain. God is our
                                                                            Father, and we will
                                                                            honor Him in the
                                                                            end of days!


The Sixth Commandment

A. Established before Sinai: Genesis 9:5-6 " And surely your blood
                                              of your lives will I require; at the
                                              hand of every beast will I require it,
                                              and at the hand of man; at the hand
                                              of every man's brother will I require
                                              the life of man. Whoso sheddeth
                                             man's blood, by man shall his blood
                                             be shed: for in the image of God
                                             made he man."

B. God gives the Command in Stone: Exodus 20:13 "Thou shalt
                                                             not kill."

C. Commandment Held after Messiah:  Mathew 19:18 "He saith
                                                               unto him, Which? Jesus
                                                               said, Thou shalt do no
                                                               murder, Thou shalt not
                                                               commit adultery, Thou
                                                               shalt not steal, Thou shalt
                                                               not bear false witness." 

D. Commandment Will be in the End of Days: Revelation 22:14-15
                                                                          "Blessed are they
                                                                          that do his
                                                                          commandments, that
                                                                          they may have right
                                                                          to the tree of
                                                                          life, and may enter in
                                                                          through the gates into
                                                                          the city. For without
                                                                          are dogs, and
                                                                          sorcerers, and
                                                                          whoremongers, and
                                                                          murderers..."

The Seventh Commandment 

A. Established before Sinai:  Genesis chapter 20: 3 and 9   3" But
                                               God came to Abimelech in a dream
                                               by night, and said to him, Behold,
                                               thou art but a dead man, for the
                                               woman which thou hast taken; for
                                               she is a man's wife."
 
                                              9 "Then Abimelech called Abraham,
                                              and said unto him, What hast thou
                                              done unto us? and what have I
                                              offended thee, that thou hast brought
                                              on me and on my kingdom a great
                                              sin? thou hast done deeds unto me that
                                              ought not to be done."

B. God gives the Command in Stone: Exodus 20:14 "Thou shalt
                                                             not commit adultery."
                                 
C. Commandment Held by Messiah: Mark 10:11-12 "And he saith
                                                           unto them, Whosoever shall
                                                           put away his wife, and marry
                                                          another, committeth adultery
                                                         against her. And if a woman
                                                         shall put away her husband,
                                                        and be married to another, she
                                                       committeth adultery."

D. Commandment Will be in the End of Days:Galatians 5:19-21
                                                                         "Now the works of
                                                                          the flesh are
                                                                          manifest, which are
                                                                          these; Adultery,
                                                                          fornication,
                                                                          uncleanness,
                                                                          lasciviousness,
                                                                          Idolatry, witchcraft,
                                                                          hatred, variance,
                                                                          emulations, wrath,
                                                                          strife, seditions,
                                                                          heresies,
                                                                          Envyings, murders,
                                                                          drunkenness,
                                                                          revellings, and such
                                                                          like: of the which I
                                                                          tell you before, as I
                                                                          have also told you in
                                                                          time past, that they
                                                                          which do such things
                                                                          shall not inherit the
                                                                          kingdom of God."


The Eighth Commandment 

A. Established before Sinai: Genesis 44:8 "Behold, the money,
                                              which we found in our sacks' mouths,
                                              we brought again unto thee out of the
                                              land of Canaan: how then should
                                              we steal out of thy lord's house silver
                                              or gold?"

B. God gives the Command in Stone: Exodus 20:15 "Thou shalt
                                                             not steal."

C. Commandment Held after Messiah: Romans 13:9a "For this,
                                                               Thou shalt not commit
                                                               adultery, Thou
                                                               shalt not kill, Thou shalt
                                                               not steal..."

D. Commandment Will be in the End of Days: 1 Corinthians 6:10
                                                                          "Nor thieves, nor
                                                                           covetous, nor
                                                                           drunkards, nor
                                                                           revilers, nor
                                                                          extortioners, shall
                                                                          inherit the kingdom
                                                                          of God."


The Ninth Commandment  
  
A. Established before Sinai: John 8:44 "Ye are of your father the
                                             devil, and the lusts of your father ye
                                             will do. He was a murderer from the
                                             beginning, and abode not in the
                                             truth, because there is no truth in him.
                                            When he speaketh a lie, he
                                            speaketh of his own: for he is a liar,
                                            and the father of it."

a2.                                      If satan is the father of lies, then lies
                                           have been wrong from the beginning.  

B. God gives the Command in Stone: Exodus 20:13 "Thou shalt
                                                             not bear false witness against
                                                             thy neighbour."

C. Commandment Held after Messiah: Acts 6:13 "And set up false
                                                              witnesses, which said, This
                                                              man ceaseth not to speak
                                                              blasphemous words against
                                                              this holy place, and the
                                                              law." 

D. Commandment Will be in the End of Days: Revelation 22:14-15
                                                                          "Blessed are they
                                                                           that do his
                                                                           commandments, that
                                                                           they may have right
                                                                           to the tree of
                                                                           life, and may enter
                                                                           in through the gates
                                                                           into the city.
                                                                           For without are
                                                                          dogs, and sorcerers,
                                                                          and whoremongers,
                                                                          and murderers, and
                                                                          idolaters, and
                                                                          whosoever loveth
                                                                          and maketh a lie."


The Tenth Commandment
  
A. Established before Sinai: Genesis 14:23 "That I will not take
                                               from a thread even to a shoelatchet,
                                              and that I will not take any thing that
                                              is thine, lest thou shouldest say, I
                                              have made Abram rich."

a2.                                        Though Abram was not directly
                                             coveting the principle of 
                                             wanting/taking what belongs to another
                                             was looked down upon.

B. God gives Command in Stone: Exodus 20:17 "Thou shalt not
                                                       covet thy neighbour's house, thou
                                                       shalt not covet thy neighbour's
                                                       wife, nor his manservant, nor his
                                                       maidservant, nor his ox, nor his
                                                       donkey, nor any thing that is thy
                                                       neighbour's."

b2.                                                 And who is our neighbor? 
                                                      (Luke 10:29-37)

C. Commandment Held after Messiah: Luke 12:15 "And he said
                                                               unto them, Take heed, and
                                                               beware of covetousness: for
                                                              a man's life consisteth not in
                                                              the abundance of the things
                                                              which he possesseth."

D. Commandment Will be in the End of Days:  Corinthians 6:9-10
                                                                            "Know ye not that
                                                                             the unrighteous
                                                                             shall not inherit the
                                                                             kingdom of God?
                                                                             Be not deceived:
                                                                             neither fornicators,
                                                                             nor idolaters, nor
                                                                             adulterers, nor
                                                                             effeminate, nor
                                                                             abusers of
                                                                             themselves
                                                                             with mankind, Nor
                                                                             thieves, nor
                                                                             covetous, nor
                                                                             drunkards, nor
                                                                             revilers, nor
                                                                             extortioners, shall
                                                                             inherit the kingdom
                                                                             of God."



Consistent Morals Through Scripture.

Romans 7:7 "What shall we say then? Is the law sin? God forbid. Nay, I had not known sin, but by the law: for I had not known lust, except the law had said, Thou shalt not covet"

1 John 3:4 "Whosoever committeth sin transgresseth also the law: for sin is the transgression of the law."

The law is not sin, it shows us our sin! Sin is transgression of the law. Sin has existed since the fall, thus the law must have, by default, also have existed from creation. The first sin never could have been if there was not already a law by which to judge actions. It also must continue to the end of time or we would no longer know sin. If we do not know sin then we do not realize we need a Savior. Anyone who realizes they need a Savior only does so by the schooling of the law.

With the sacrifice of Yeshua (Jesus) the Messiah we are no longer under the law, meaning we are no longer condemned by the law because we have been forgiven. The law still stands. To be under means to bear the penalty of, only a guilty person is under the law. If we are forgiven we are no longer guilty.

 Other things such sacrifices are also mentioned from the beginning.  In Genesis 4:3-4 it talks about the sacrifices of Cain and Abel...where did they get this concept from? It wasn't until around Leviticus 2 God gave Israel any prescribed sacrifices. In Romans 12:1 we are told as believers to offer ourselves as sacrifices to Him. The concept of offering God sacrifices maintains itself all through scripture.

The feast days are mentioned in Genesis. The stars are for signs and seasons. The word "seasons" literally mean appointed times or feast. It was not until Leviticus 23 that God gave Israel the prescribed feasts that they were to keep forever and Zechariah 14:16-19 refers to all obedient people going to Jerusalem in the thousand year reign going up for the feast of tabernacles.
Isaiah 66:23 talks about from "One new moon to another..." This too is in regards to feast days.

None of this was something God just gave to the Jews or created at mount Sinai.

<sup>Genesis 26:5 "Because that Abraham obeyed my voice, and kept my charge, my commandments, my statutes, and my laws."

What laws did Abraham follow? What Laws were the wicked men judged by before the flood?</sup>



The Unchangeable God 

James 1:17 "Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning."

 Malachi 3:6 "For I am the Lord, I change not; therefore ye sons of Jacob are not consumed"

 Numbers 23:19 "God is not a man, that he should lie; neither the son of man, that he should repent: hath he said, and shall he not do it? or hath he spoken, and shall he not make it good?"

Hebrews 6:17 "Wherein God, willing more abundantly to shew unto the heirs of promise the immutability of his counsel, confirmed it by an oath:"

Mathew 5:17-19 "Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil. For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled. Whosoever therefore shall break one of these least commandments, and shall teach men so, he shall be called the least in the kingdom of heaven: but whosoever shall do and teach them, the same shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven.

To fulfill means to make more abundant and to a fuller effect... not to do away with. 

2 Timothy 3:16-17 ^"All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness:
That the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works."

What scriptures is Paul talking about? The Torah and the Prophets. The "New Testament" (The Gospels and Epistles) did not exist at that time. 


Conclusion  

There is no Old and New. There is ONE Bible, ONE Covenant, ONE Law, ONE Way, and they all came from the ONE GOD. "For I am the LORD God, I change not..."

Inheritance of Lies (By Mike Hein)

 Inheritance of Lies (By Mike Hein)

    Jer. 16:19  “O LORD, my strength, and my fortress, and my refuge in the day of affliction, the Gentiles shall come unto thee from the ends of the earth, and shall say, Surely our
fathers have inherited lies, vanity, and things wherein there is no profit.”   So what are these lies that we have inherited, what areas of life do they affect, how much do they affect our
 lives and do they have eternal consequences?  These are just a few questions that can be asked about these lies but before addressing the questions some back ground needs to be laid.
    In Eph. 6:12 Paul writes, “For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual
wickedness in high places.”   In Isa. 14:13&14, (speaking of Satan) “For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sit
 also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north: I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most High.”  From these verses we can see that the
issues in life are always spiritual, even though they have physical ramifications as well.  Understanding this reality will help make sense of the events of life.  Satan is our enemy and
wants to cause as much death and destruction as possible.  He wants to rule, not for the purpose of preservation but destruction.   This process, though proceeding predominately in the
spiritual realms manifests itself in the physical world.  In this process I believe that there are three main things that Satan hates above all else.  He hates people holding the knowledge
of God as creator, he hates the law of God and he hates the children of Israel. 
    If Satan can destroy the idea of God as creator then he can offer an alternative to how we got here, I.e. evolution.  When it becomes accepted that we came into existence without God
then God no longer has claim on us nor does He have the right to put restrictions on our behavior and if He exists at all He would simply be another being that has evolved as we have. 
In addition creation is the foundation on which the gospel rests,  if God did not create as he stated then the gospel falls apart.
 



    When it comes to the law it is what God used to bring people to Christ because it shows man his need for a savior.  In Gal. 3:24 it says, “Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster to
bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith.”  It has been preached for centuries now that Christ did away with the law and we don’t need it any more.  But I would submit
that this is Satan’s way to destroy the path that leads to Christ.  Knowledge of sin comes from the law and with out knowing our lost and sinful condition we cannot know our need for a
Savior.        
 

    When it comes to Israel, they are the crown jewel in God’s plan.  Paul, in Rom. 11:12 says, “Now if the fall of them (Israel) be the riches of the world, and the diminishing of them
the riches of the Gentiles; how much more their fullness?”  We can see that the gospel going to the gentile world was of incalculable benefit and Paul, through his question indicates that
when Israel finally acknowledges their Messiah the benefit to the world will be much greater, and this is why Satan has and will continue trying to destroy Israel.
 

    So the lies that we have inherited fall into basically two categories.  The first is the attempt to keep people from believing in God through evolution and the second is confusion
within Christianity.  This confusion comes from all sorts of areas including evolution but it all works to make Christians ineffective and even keep some from entering the Kingdom.    
 


    Evolution is considered by most to be scientific and a theory but we will look critically at these two claims.  The definition of science is “knowledge gained by observation.  When it
comes to evolution, life beginning from non-life has never been observed, one specie changing into another has never been observed so the core requirements of evolution are unscientific.
 Darwin, in his trip to the Galapagos Islands
observed finches with different sizes and shapes of beaks but did not see any of them change.  He hypothesized ways that they could have changed but could never test his hypothesis because
it involved millions of years.  The scientific procedure starts with an observation, then an hypothesis, both of which Darwin did, but then follows with experimentation, peer review and the
 hypothesis not being disproved over a period of time can become a theory, none of which happened in the case of evolution.   But lets not quibble over that, the big issue is that there is
no scientific evidence to support evolution.  All the so called support is little more than stories trying to explain how the things in the present got here.  The fallacy of  this process
is that what happened in the past was never observed and is outside the reach of science.  Science is a wonderful tool but it is also limited to the present.  It cannot deal with the past
nor can it deal with unique events.  Science is built on the repeatable test therefore if you cannot repeat an event you cannot address it from a scientific position.  The events that are
said to have caused the evolution of the present world cannot be repeated, making them unique events and were not observed or tested. 
    The radiometric dating methods are all based on assumptions about the past and when used to date the same rock always give different ages, some times ranging into the millions of years.
  The assumptions are, consistency of decay rate, original ratio of parent to daughter material and no contamination or interference with the process over the billions or millions of years.
  Most people are unaware though that there are actually hundreds of dating methods that can be used.  The accumulation of different elements in the oceans, sedimentation of the oceans,
erosion of the mountains, shrinkage of the sun, decay of the earth’s rotational speed and it’s magnetic field and the recession of the moon just to name a few.  All of these other dating
methods give vastly different ages for the earth but all are also based on assumptions about the past.  However these cannot be discounted simply because they differ from the radiometric
methods, they are all equally valid.  What they show is that we cannot address the past with science because it is outside of the capabilities of science unless we can recreate the event.
 In addition there are 6 categories of evolution; cosmic, chemical, stellar, organic, macro and micro.  Micro evolution is not really evolution but variation within a “kind“.  This is an
observable event and has been used by man to produce different types of plants and animals for centuries but it will never produce a different “kind” of plant or animal.  However it is the
thing most often pointed to as evidence of and support for evolution.
 


    When it comes to the confusion within Christianity most of it has to do with the law of Moses or the Old Testament.  One of the most prominent lies in this area is about which day is
the Sabbath.  Most modern Christian believes that the early church, I.e. the apostles, changed the Sabbath from the 7th day to the 1st day in honor of the Lords resurrection.  But this is
 not the case and most Bible scholar will admit that there is no place in the New Testament that would indicate that the Sabbath was changed by the apostles.  (The Sabbath command is a law
 of God and it is important to know that there is one who “thinks to change times and laws”, from Daniel 7:24&25 and it is the Beast power of the end times.)   In addition the Bible never
says that Jesus rose on the 1st day of the week, when the women came to the tomb He was already risen but the time of His rising is never indicated.  The Sabbath was not changed until the
Catholic Church came on to the scene and they indicate in there own writings that they changed the Sabbath because they felt that they had the power and authority to do so.  The Catholic
Church is also the initiator of several of the lies present in the Church today.  Constantine, who started the Catholic Church was a “sun god” worshiper and he introduced several sun god
worship practices into the Catholic religion, Sunday Sabbath being one of them.  The Sabbath is a memorial and the day on which we observe it indicates which God/god we are memorializing. 
In Exo. 31:13&17,  God tells Israel that the Sabbath is a sign between them and Himself, “Speak thou also unto the children of Israel, saying, Verily my Sabbaths ye shall keep: for it is a
 sign between me and you throughout your generations; that ye may know that I am the LORD that doth sanctify you. (17)  It is a sign between me and the children of Israel for ever: for in
six days the LORD made heaven and earth, and on the seventh day he rested, and was refreshed.”   At this point one could argue, “but that was for Israel”.  In Rom. 11:11-27, Paul describes
 the gentiles are equivalent to a wild olive and Israel the good olive tree and if we are to have life we must be grafted in to the root of Israel, vs. 17, “And if some of the branches be
 broken off, and thou, being a wild olive tree, were grafted in among them, and with them partakest of the root and fatness of the olive tree;” vs. 24, “For if thou were cut out of the
olive tree which is wild by nature, and were grafted contrary to nature into a good olive tree: how much more shall these, which be the natural branches, be grafted into their own olive
tree?”   Further more Paul in Rom. 2:28&29 says, “For he is not a Jew, which is one outwardly; neither is that circumcision, which is outward in the flesh: But he is a Jew, which is one
inwardly; and circumcision is that of the heart, in the spirit, and not in the letter; whose praise is not of men, but of God.”  Paul makes it clear by these two passages that in order to
inherit life we must be grafted into Israel, we must become Israel.  This idea of becoming Israel is contrary to the standard Christian thought, for the modern Christian it is just the
opposite, Israel must become Christian.  While it is true that Israel must become Christian it is not the Christianity of the modern Christian Church which ignores the law of God.   Paul
through out the book of Romans repeatedly warns us against ignoring the law and sinning as if to make grace abound and we know from 1 John 3:4 that sin is transgression of the law.  When
we ignore the law we no longer know what behavior is and is not acceptable to God.  In Matt.  7:21-23 Jesus said, “Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom
 of heaven; …Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works?  And then will
 I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.”   In the most straight forward translation of the word, “iniquity” it would read, “depart from me, ye who are
 without law.”  and this law is specifically the Mosaic law.  More over, Paul in Rom. 2:13 says, “(For not the hearers of the law are just before God, but the doers of the law shall be justified.)”  In these scriptures we see the importance of living in obedience even though we are not saved by works of the law, the law is still God’s standard of acceptable behavior.  Some go
 as far to say that we can do anything we want because we are under grace, adopting life styles that are strictly forbidden by God, living in any sort of sin and depravity they desire all
the while thinking that they shall be saved.   It is also important to realize that it is God’s law not Church doctrine that we are to obey.  So if one does argue that the 7th day Sabbath
is for Israel they would be correct but who then is Israel?  Israel is the ones who are grafted in and are circumcised in heart and then we will love the things God loves and hate the
things that He says are abominations to Him, (see Lev. 18:24-30, Deut. 12:29-32, & Deut. 18:9-14).  We know that forsaking His law and adopting pagan practices is an abomination and we know
 that He loves His Sabbaths.  So if we want to inherit the Kingdom of God and eternal life we must come into Israel, for only Israel can enter the Kingdom but all are welcome to enter in. 
   
    Some have argued that we cannot know which day is the Sabbath because we don’t know if the days of the week have ever been messed up so the day God rested may not be the 7th day anymore
, so it doesn’t matter which day we observe.  However, this is a straw man argument because it is the pattern that is important.  If, and we do, follow a seven day week we will always have
 a first day of the week so we can then count to seven and find the Sabbath.
    The argument against the law in general has been made by saying that Jesus did away with the law because He fulfilled the law so we don’t need it any more.  (Here I will restate that it
 is important to know that there is one who “thinks to change times and laws”, from Daniel 7:24&25 and it is the Beast power of the end times.)    However all that is necessary to debunk
this idea is to look up the definition of the word “fulfill”.  Fulfill means “to bring into it’s full effect”, a synonym used in the definition is “to make manifest” which means to “remove
obscurities“.  So if we understand our own language we can easily see that the idea that Jesus did away with the law is also an inherited lie.  Jesus came to remove obscurities from the
law so we could understand it and He came to  “be” the full effect of the law.  Consider Deut. 12:32, “What thing soever I command you, observe to do it: thou shalt not add thereto, nor
diminish from it.”  If Jesus was sinless, which He was, and sin is transgression of the law, (1 Jn. 3:4),  would He have added to or diminished from the law?  Would He have changed the law?
  Could He have changed the law and NOT been a false prophet?  If He had added, diminished or changed the law He would have been in disobedience and sin.  He could not be the Lamb that
takes away the sin of the world.
            When one comes to the place of accepting the fact that Jesus did not do away with the law the most important step has been taken.  However, because there is so much paganism
woven into the fabric of Christianity it can take a lot of time and effort to weed it out.  Things such as Christmas and Easter, which have nothing to do with Jesus were both pagan holidays
 (of different names) long before Jesus was born.  In general the holidays held by the Catholic and Protestant churches are all of pagan origins.  Another issue caused by being divorced
from the law is that our thinking is based on the wrong foundation.  Even when we think we have Biblical support for the things we do it is most often wrong because our understanding of
the scripture comes from a pagan perspective.    
    When God lead the children of Israel out of Egypt to Sinai what culture did they have?  The answer is, not one that God held acceptable.  In the giving of the law at Sinai God essentially created the Hebrew culture.  I use “Hebrew” because the root from which it comes means “to cross over”.  Abraham “crossed over” when he left his home country and God was calling
Abraham’s descendants to “cross over” from paganism into a Godly culture.  The law given at Sinai governed every aspect of the Hebrew’s life, social, moral and religious.  There is no other
 culture that has been created by God so it should be clear which set of rules we should be following.  Further more in Rev. 21, we see that there are 12 gates in walls of the New Jerusalem
 which are named after the 12 tribes of Israel, 
there is not a gentile gate.
    Some of the things that have been dealt with are not direct lies that have been inherited but rather the foundational principles which proper understanding must be based on.  These
lies can affect every area of our lives and do indeed have eternal consequences.  Scripture shows that those who do not have the law are in very great danger of being disqualified from the
Kingdom regardless of the works they have done during there life time, (Matt. 7:21-23).  Prayerful consideration of one’s own life practices and greater knowledge and proper understanding
of scripture will reveal the areas which need to be brought into line with Biblical principles.  The straight and narrow way is not a path traveled in one step but takes a life time to
travel and that process must bring us daily into greater harmony with the will of God, loving and hating those things which He loves and hates.        

Who Do You Fear Offending Most? (Written by Anina Hn)

I would like to share a short post by a friend of mine. Good content and hopefully will challenge us all to look at our lives through the glasses of scripture and see whether or not we are exercising  true love or squishy love that is more concerned with self and culture/acceptableness rather than the truth of God.

 

Anina Hn

It sickens me...all of this squishiness, flakiness, maleableness I see in the "Christian" community, of today.
Hey now, no one get up and speak the truth... Oh no, that might offend someone! And we know Jesus never offended anyone right? Paul never offended anyone, right? Or any of the other apostles? Wrong...
Often times when they spoke the truth, and they did so out of love (Jesus did so perfectly) they offended many. How could this be? Is this the same Jesus then, whom we hear of who was all about "peace and love?"
(He was/is about both, but not in the misinterpreted misunderstood way our twisted culture portrays it.)
Jesus was perfect! He was and is fully God and fully man...the Messiah. Even He offended people with the truth, in all His goodness, love, and perfection. How can we expect not to, when we are as dirt compared to Him?
Another question I may ask is, why do we feel we should try SO HARD not to?? I don't believe that we should be purposefully seeking opportunity to go out offending people with the truth of God's Word. No, we should seek to be loving and reach out to people in need. However, we should also not seek to avoid every situation in which we may be offensive to someone by living our lives for the Lord.
Yes, it is hard to find the balance between the two... I still am trying to fit both together so as not to lean towards an extreme of one and neglect of the other.
Still, I see far too many people trying so hard to avoid "stepping on toes" that they begin to misuse and twist the Scriptures even. Whether knowingly or not I cannot say, but it is dangerous ground to tread on either way.
What happens when a believer becomes so ingrained in our cultures' views and demands for tolerance, and "equality" in whatever the world deems acceptable, (this obviously excludes true Christianity) that they no longer preach the full message of the gospel?? The gospel that not only includes the truth of God's most amazing gift of grace and love toward us undeserving sinners, but also the importance of SINCERE REPENTANCE and CHANGE from our old nature into a NEW CREATION...the only way in which we can fully grasp the wonderful mercies of the Lord and the salvation He offers to the world. (Even then I don't believe we can completely grasp it, as it is so far beyond us!)
The "old time" message of "REPENT and be saved!" may seem outdated to a culture unwilling and very opposed to being faced with the fact that we must change our sinful lifestyles or face eternal agony... However, that message is still ever so relevant and needed! Who will stand up and preach that scriptural message, out of love, to this lost world today? Because, trust me, most of us are proud, arrogant, and sinful people who do not like being faced with the hideous nature of our hearts.
This message...no wait... The Word of God in and of itself WILL OFFEND the people! Especially today.
Who do you fear offending most?? The Almighty Creator by not speaking His truth clearly and accurately?! Or mankind, the created, who constantly reject the truth and the Great I Am?
Do not suppose that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I did not come to bring peace, but a sword. For I have come to turn
“‘a man against his father,
a daughter against her mother,
a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law—
a man’s enemies will be the members of his own household.’
“Anyone who loves their father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; anyone who loves their son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. Whoever does not take up their cross and follow me is not worthy of me. Whoever finds their life will lose it, and whoever loses their life for my sake will find it. ~Matthew 10:34-39
You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled underfoot. ~Matthew 5:13
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To add a tad bit to this, a phrase that I will borrow from a sermon I heard... 

"The word of God is... The word of God!" Believe it or not it really is that simple. 

It is not our concern whether what we have to say will offend someone. Our only concern is, whether we are saying the things God has called us to say. Truth, in love, will offend as stated above and backed by Mathew 10:34-39

As long as we know we have spoken the message God has laid on our hearts, our part is done. If they choose to be offended that is between them and God. 

Peace to you all.