Calvinism, Arminianism, Election & Predestination: Romans 8:29-30, 33

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Ken Ham: One Race, One Blood

How Does the Law Apply Under the New Covenant

You will often hear Christians quote chapter and verse from the Bible about not being subject to the Law of Moses or that by acknowledging the Ten Commandments they are placing themselves under the curse of the Law.

The Apostle Paul spoke at length in his epistles about the believer not being under the Law but under grace. In Romans 6:14 Paul says “For sin shall not have dominion over you, for you are not under law but under grace.” but in Romans 3:31 Paul has previously stated “Do we then make void the law through faith? God forbid: yea, we establish the law.” One statement would seem to cancel out the other. So what can we say to bring clarity to this important subject.

Well I am a Christian but on occasion I have broken the Law of the Land. When driving I have run the occasional red light. Now I haven’t been pulled over by a traffic officer for running a red light but I know that I broke the Law and if an officer had caught me then as a Christian I would have had to accept that I broke the law and am due what ever penalty the law demands. So I am a Christian but I am under the Law of the Land which is based to a large extent on both the Ten Commandments and the Torah.

Just as I cannot murder someone according to the Ten Commandments neither can I murder according to the Law of the Land. Just as there are civil laws in the Torah of the Bible so our society has civil laws which are a part of the Westminster system of government and which, every citizen is bound to abide by and which maintain order in our daily life.

We don’t run around breaking the Law with wreckless abandon and saying “I’m a Christian so I’m no longer bound by the Law. Imagine trying that line on the traffic officer. You’d be lucky not to end up in a cell. The reality is we live in a nation of laws and that is how we ensure the peace and safety of our friends and fellow citizens.

So what is Paul meaning when he says we are no longer under the Law but under Grace? In the book of Hebrews he states the following as he quotes from the Prophet Jeremiah.

Hebrews chapter 8 verses 7 - 12 “For if that first covenant had been faultless, there would have been no occasion sought for a second. For finding fault with them, He says, “Behold, days are coming, says the Lord, When I will effect a new covenant With the house of Israel and with the house of Judah; Not like the covenant which I made with their fathers On the day when I took them by the hand To lead them out of the land of Egypt; For they did not continue in My covenant, And I did not care for them, says the Lord. “For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel After those days, says the Lord: I will put My laws into their minds, And I will write them on their hearts. And I will be their God, And they shall be My people. “And they shall not teach everyone his fellow citizen, And everyone his brother, saying, ‘Know the Lord,’ For all will know Me, From the least to the greatest of them. “For I will be merciful to their iniquities, And I will remember their sins no more.”

Therefore it is not the Law that is the issue as much as it is the Covenant. What Paul is warning the gentile believers about in his epistles is not about the Law. It is which Covenant are you upholding. He warns them against returning to Judaism and placing themselves under the Mosaic Covenant. You see if you keep the Ten Commandments and the Torah under the Old Covenant then you are back to the sacrifice of animals and the sprinkling of blood on the altar by the Priests for the remission of sins.

Circumcision, the sacrificial law and obedience to the Torah in your own stead cannot bring you salvation. It brings only judgment and condemnation. The Old Covenant and Judaism leads ultimately to the Second Death. You need to be under the New Covenant to gain salvation. In the New Covenant God puts His Law in you and writes it on your heart. In the New Covenant the Law is fulfilled in the life of Jesus Christ. In the New Covenant Christ Jesus is the lamb that was slain and who shed his blood to wash away the sins of all who believe on Him. In the New Covenant the Holy Spirit indwells the believer revealing the nature of Jesus Christ in them and making a new creature in the process. In the New Covenant the believer overcomes the condemnation of the Law and keeps the Law in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, our Saviour, the Lamb of God. In the New Covenant the believer is hidden in God with Christ so that our sins are not held to our account but to that of the Saviour himself. Jesus Christ. Thus as Paul says we have a better covenant thus the old one is done away with.

Now my point is that the Old Covenant is done away with but the Law is never done away with. It is a foundation to the Laws of many nations. As Jesus said “Not one jot or one tittle will be done away with until all is accomplished.” and “He came not to abolish the Law but to fulfil it.” So Paul did not warn against keeping the Law but against returning to the Old Covenant and Judaism. He warns against becoming a Pharisee.

Now in my experience Christians are generally law abiding citizens and mostly keep the law without even realising it. I believe this is because in the life of a Spirit filled believer the law is put in them and written on their hearts. Hence when they read the Ten Commandments and even much of the Torah they don’t have a problem with much of what they find there. It mostly seems to be common sense and in perfect agreement with the Holy Spirit of God who indwells their heart.

Just my thoughts on the matter.

1. A Christian Perspective #3

Have you heard from other brothers and sisters in Christ Jesus how you don’t want to become legalistic or you’re under bondage in the law. Maybe you think this way as well. I used too say those kind of things myself but I don’t really think that way anymore.

The apostle Paul says in Galatians chapter 3 verse 3 “Are you so foolish? Having begun by the Spirit, are you now being perfected by the flesh?” and in Romans chapter 8 verse 7 “...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...” NASB

My point here is that it is important not to have a fleshly mindset because it is death to life in the Spirit and hostile to God while not being subject to the law. You’ll note that it is important to have a loving attitude toward God and subject yourself to His laws while seeking that which is acceptable to the Holy Spirit and therefore walking in the Spirit.

Remember where one of the Pharisees asked Jesus which is the greatest of the commandants. Matthew chapter 22 verses 36 – 40 records this exchange.: “Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?” And He said to him, “‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ This is the great and foremost commandment. The second is like it, ‘You shall love your neighbour as yourself.’ On these two commandments depend the whole Law and the Prophets...” NASB

Jesus answered in a way that the Pharisee would have been familiar with because the great commandment is inclusive of the first four commandments and the second includes the last six commandments of the ten. My question to those who feel that the law is done away with is “Who among us would disagree with the concept of loving the the Lord your God with all you have and who among us would not want to love our neighbour as ourselves?” So how is the law done away with and why would someone who seeks to keep the law be in error?

One argument is that if you seek to keep the law and break even one of the commandments you are guilty of breaking all of them. True enough James chapter two verse 10 says this; “For whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all.” KJV Yet even under the law in ancient times the blood sacrifice of a lamb could atone for sin and in the sacrifice of our High Priest, Christ Jesus, the Lamb of God. Thus all of our sins are atoned for through His shed blood.

Jeremiah chapter 31 verses 31 – 34 says this; “Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel, and with the house of Judah: Not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day that I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt; which my covenant they brake, although I was an husband unto them, saith the LORD: But this shall be the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel; After those days, saith the LORD, I will put my law in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts; and will be their God, and they shall be my people. And they shall teach no more every man his neighbour, and every man his brother, saying, Know the LORD: for they shall all know me, from the least of them unto the greatest of them, saith the LORD: for I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more.” KJV

The apostle Paul repeated the verses from Jeremiah chapter 31 in the book of Hebrews at chapter 8 verses 8 – 12 repeated as follows “For finding fault with them, he saith, Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah: Not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day when I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt; because they continued not in my covenant, and I regarded them not, saith the Lord. For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, saith the Lord; I will put my laws into their mind, and write them in their hearts: and I will be to them a God, and they shall be to me a people: And they shall not teach every man his neighbour, and every man his brother, saying, Know the Lord: for all shall know me, from the least to the greatest. For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins and their iniquities will I remember no more” KJV

So the law is written on our hearts and put into our minds when we believe on Christ Jesus under the new covenant. Such that the law is not done away with but rather placed within us as the Holy Spirit reveals the nature of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ in our person.

It is true to say that any person who seeks to obey the Law of God in his own might is under the curse of the law. However, to the person who believes on Jesus Christ, the only begotten Son of God, who died and was raised from the dead. The Law of God is fulfilled in them through the indwelling of the Holy Spirit as it was fulfilled in the life of Jesus Christ our Lord and Saviour.

It is also true that the person who seeks to keep the law, to obtain salvation and enter the Kingdom of Heaven by his or her own works is lost. Only in the imputed righteousness of Jesus Christ can we enter the Kingdom of Heaven. For as the wages of sin is death so the law cannot save us. Only in the shed blood of Christ is there salvation and eternal life.

To conclude I would simply say that sin is the breaking of God’s law. Salvation in Christ Jesus is therefore based around the repentance from sin, such that, in the power of the Holy Spirit God’s law fulfilled in our lives. I would finally quote two well known scriptures. Acts chapter 2 verse 38 says; “Repent, and each of you be baptised in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.” NASB and John chapter 14 verse 15 says this “If you love Me, you will keep My commandments.” NASB

A Christian Perspective #2

When I was a youngster I grew up in a very different New Zealand. I know I have mentioned before that it was a place virtually without crime where people left the keys in the car and the door of the home open when they went out. The wallet on the front seat of the car and the windows open on the main street of town.

 

A time where people loved to talk to people not mull over cell phones in personal contemplation. When children got together and a whole street would go to the park, or a vacant lot, to play together. Every child walked or biked to school. A neighbour would call in and if you weren’t at home would leave a little offering of garden produce on the kitchen table. Mum or Dad would know who it was from the composition of the gift and would give them a call to thank them and apologise for missing their call.

 

You know most of these people were not overtly Christian. If you spoke of religion to them they would probably have said that they had their own beliefs or felt you should keep you religious views to yourself. They would most likely have gone to Church occasionally or kept the major festivals like Easter and Christmas. Yet they had strong Christian morals and values and it made a huge difference to society at that time.

 

They were godly people and these were lovely times. Every adult was an uncle or aunt and would step in and discipline a child if necessary. Mum or Dad would have a quite chat with any youngster and offer sage advice where required. Everyone cared for everyone else.

 

As a rule they lived by the last six commandments encompassed by “Love your neighbour as you love yourself.” However most would have had no problem with the first four commandments under the great commandment “Love the Lord your God with all of your heart, all of your soul, with all of you mind and all of your strength” By this I mean many of these dear folk believed in God even if they didn’t attend a church regularly.

 

Today we live in a secular world where moral compromise is often mistaken for love and tolerance. Just because a person seeks to get close to an erupting volcano to understand more about volcanism doesn’t mean that we should allow them to do so. No matter how upsetting they find it if we deny them the opportunity to get close to the volcano it is our moral responsibility to protect them. We are being loving and tolerant by implementing restraint in not consenting to allow them to enter a dangerous situation no matter how emotionally damaged they may feel they are by that decision. So it is in regard to LGBTQ rights or euthanasia or, for that matter abortion. The moral responsibility out weighs emotional consequences to the person involved.

 

So it was that when we had a Christian moral majority we had laws in society that prevented immoral practices. Today however, that majority has been eroded and many Christians have surrendered their devotion to the Word of God and the moral precepts found therein. Secular values have supplanted Christian values throughout society. We live in a time of shadow and where as described in the book of Matthew there is a Great Turning Away. But do not despair there will be a time of testing but Jesus Christ is coming soon.

 

Take heart for as the apostle John said “God is love.” As I shared with you earlier in this piece I grew up with folk who held sound morals and values and behaved in a Godly manner. They believed in giving good advice to the young and living good lives by example. They weren’t particularly judgemental and possibly weren’t overly religious but lived a form of practical Christianity that I believe is a good model for those who are lost in this era. My advice is to follow that model. To seek to share Christ Jesus with those who will listen. Without being excessively overzealous or filled with judgement and condemnation. Rather being loving and helpful, giving wise counsel from God’s word and in the power of the Holy Spirit. To be gentle and compassionate, a light yoke and breath of fresh air. Behaving as the Savior Himself.

 

I heard recently that in China that Christians standout as being much more hard working and honest and trustworthy as well as having relationships that last and children who get into less trouble with the authorities. Apparently the state knows this all to well but are unwilling to acknowledge it because it would make Communism seem somehow less effective. It would also give credit to Christianity which is something no atheist would do.

 

My final point is that as Christians in New Zealand we want to standout for the right reasons. Complaining about secularism and atheism has its place but a far more efficient way of garnering attention to the value of Christianity is to let Christ Jesus shine in our daily lives. Be as the Chinese Christians are and stick to hard working, honest and trustworthy Christian values based in love, joy and peace combined with compassion and understanding that underpinned our parents lives and were staples of that generation.

 

Food for thought?

A Christian Perspective #1

You would be forgiven for feeling that a Christian perspective is the last thing that most Kiwi’s in our day and age would relate too. Particularly if you follow news media shows like TVNZ’s Breakfast TV where an entirely secular narrative is produced that seems to counteract bible based Christian values with equal entirety.

As a Christian it’s hard not to become deeply depressed by the continuous anti-christian diatribe. One despairs that that New Zealand society in 2019 seems to have become completely irreligious and in the words of Jesus Christ as it was in the days of Noah.

As a Christian who is prone to be somewhat infuriated by the blatantly evil practices that are accepted as being absolutely normal in this day. Abortion, the gender debate and euthanasia to name just a few of the hot issues of our time. One feels it is becoming increasingly dangerous to make a stand against the secular humanist agenda and that persecution is now a distinct possibility.

When I look at other conservative commentators in New Zealand like Family First or the New Conservative Party. I notice they are radiating the same sense of frustration that I am feeling. There is a not particularly attractive underlying animosity toward perceived irritants and miscreants. Sadly with increasing numbers of New Zealanders who consider themselves to be atheistic or irreligious. A commentary from Christianity that seems distant and somewhat sanctimonious  is not really helping the conservative cause.

I was listening to a morning media show recently and one of the presenters repeatedly made the claim that in the New Zealand of the future the nation will no longer be able to support the elderly. The current generation of baby boomers will have consumed all of the resources necessary to provide for subsequent generations. I found this to be an interesting assertion.

Surely a people has a responsibility to take care of its elderly. The fifth commandment reads “Honor your father and mother.” So at least at a family level we have a burden to care for our parents if nowhere else in society. We live in a time when capitalism completely controls the distribution of wealth amongst many of the nations in our time. There are a select few who can direct virtually unlimited wealth in whichever direction they choose. Believe me these people can easily create the money required to take care of the elderly in the nations of this world and not effect the World’s economy in any significant way.

The point I making here is that in a righteous society ordered by God we need to protect the unborn, take care of the elderly, educate the children, provide food and infrastructure for the people and give sound moral guidance to all. We need a society based on God’s law and God’s love in Jesus Christ. In God’s way society and the people can be blessed and a virtual utopia is distinctly possible.

What we are instead rapidly moving toward is a society founded in unrighteousness. Where the unborn have no rights to life. Where we contemplate euthanasia for the suffering but can’t help but surmise that this doesn’t bode well for the obsolete. Where we are discussing not having a responsibility to care for our parents on the pretext that resources are too scarce but we really just don’t want to be responsible for them. Where our young people are being misinformed about their gender and encouraged toward paganism. Where inner enlightenment is put forward as self elevation toward perceived personal Godhead.

It may seem that we are heading into an enlightened society and a coming World Government that will last for a thousand years but God will not tolerate this unrighteousness. The bible warns in the book of Daniel and the book of Revelation of judgement at the end of the age. The society we are constructing is doomed because it is based on false values. We are straying into the mistakes that the people made in the days of Noah where the every intent of the hearts of men was only to evil continually. Final judgement came then and sadly if we do not turn away from our wickedness in this time we also will experience the consequences of our sins in the form of God’s judgement once more.

So what can we do as Christians then in this difficult time. Well we need to be as Jesus to the people of this time. Rather than spewing judgement and condemnation we need to be a breath of fresh air. Helping those who have need. Bringing wise counsel to those who are struggling with the challenges of daily life. Giving the Gospel of Jesus Christ to those who are seeking true Salvation. That is, that those who believe that Jesus bore their sins on the Cross shall not perish but will inherit eternal life. John 3:16