The Great Commandment

In the past few weeks we have been looking at the Lunar Sabbath in the forums. This has caused some to believe that we are preaching that, unless you honour the original Sabbath as set forth by God in His original time clock, the moon, that you cannot be saved.

I now write this newsletter to set things straight. Here at Prophecy Times we examine all the different aspects of prophecy and Biblical interpretation. Not from popular writers who do not believe in a certain concept and have never studied it in depth and only write to prove it’s err, but from those whom have studied it for years and live it’s principles themselves. It is then your responsibility to study it for yourself and rest assured in its correctness from the scripture themselves. Then it becomes your responsibility to live accordingly to the new light given no matter what any person or group says or thinks of you.

Yes it has been said in the forums that unless you obey all the commandments to the letter, including the Lunar Sabbath, that you cannot be saved. Please take it with a grin and do not let it stand in the way of the research they are presenting for all our better understanding and deeper Biblical research. Many churches and individual groups that I have been to declare that “unless you believe in our interpretation, follow our membership rules of following God, you cannot be saved for everyone else has it wrong, we are the ones that God gave the true light”.

When Christ speaks of the church, He is not talking about any one denomination over another, but of those whom have truly made Him Lord over all aspects of their life. Seeing that Jesus sees us, His Bride, as the church, then I believe that no one denomination has the full true light and we must examine everything to show ourselves approved both unto God and Christ our Groom.

If your church is not recognizing and praying for the work being done in other churches and believes they are the only true light, I would strongly conceder finding another one who recognizes the whole body of Christ and its many individual parts and ministries.

The way I do a quick study on any subject is through Strong’s; I look up every verse with the key words involved. Second I look up all the key verses and read them in context of the chapter. You will be amazed at how many times by just doing this you will find that scripture clearly states that common doctrines followed widely today are totally unscriptural. Unfortunately many get around this by saying the Old Testament is for the Hebrews and the New Testament is for Christians.

Here is a perfect example. One of the most unbiblical statements today is that “Christ did away with the Law” and they back it up with verses such as Matthew 22:36-40.

“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 first commandment. And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets.” (Matthew 22:36-40 ESV)

Note how the only teacher we are to follow, Jesus, says “This is the great and first commandment. And a second is like it:” Nowhere in the Bible do I see that Christ did away with the Law. He came to show us how to live the Law and to become the fulfillment of the perfect sacrificial sacrifice so that we may become saved through Grace. We also see that “On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets”. Depend is in no way to be interpreted as replacing lest we set ourselves up to fall for doctrines of man over God, our eternal hope and reward.

When we look up the key words of Matthew 22:36-40, we find that Christ was not replacing the Law but in actuality, confirming the Law. He actually declared that the whole Law comes down to these two points; love both God and others as yourself.

You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. (Deuteronomy 6:5 ESV)

You shall not take vengeance or bear a grudge against the sons of your own people, but you shall love your neighbor as yourself: I am the LORD. (Leviticus 19:18 ESV)

Christ was not making up new rules to follow but was quoting from the Torah itself.

What Does It Mean, Christ came to Fulfill the Law

For God has done what the law, weakened by the flesh, could not do. By sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin, he condemned sin in the flesh, in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not according to the flesh but according to the Spirit. (Romans 8:3-4 ESV)

Verse 4 does not say that Christ fulfilled the Law for us but "that the requirement of the Law might be fulfilled in us."

So the question then is: How do we fulfill the requirement of the law?

Owe no one anything, except to love each other, for the one who loves another has fulfilled the law. For the commandments, “You shall not commit adultery, You shall not murder, You shall not steal, You shall not covet,” and any other commandment, are summed up in this word: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” Love does no wrong to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfilling of the law. (Romans 13:8-10 ESV)

As we now live in the end days, is Christ looking for a people who are perfect Law keepers, NO. We are all sinners saved by Grace and none of us can keep the law perfectly. If the Hebrews could have kept the Law perfectly, then there would have been no need for Christ to shed His sinless blood upon the cross. So instead of trying to memorize all 613 laws and making our Christian walk a nightmare of do’s and don’ts, we must learn the meaning of the Torah as God gave to Moses.

If we really Love God with our whole heart, despite the circumstances that people may throw our way, we will love those who do us wrong and thus be fulfilling the whole meaning of the Law as set forth in the Torah. The Law cannot save, but through understanding and accepting the true pure Love that is God, we are saved by Grace and the Law will not be a burden, but a pleasure that is derived from demonstrating in the flesh the Love that Christ first showed for us. When we fulfill the law, we demonstrate the fruit of the spirit and show the world the outward evidence that we have been justified by faith.

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. (Galatians 5:22-24 ESV)

but I see in my members another law waging war against the law of my mind and making me captive to the law of sin that dwells in my members. Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death? Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, I myself serve the law of God with my mind, but with my flesh I serve the law of sin. (Romans 7:23-25 ESV)

When we crucify our earthly flesh through the power of the Holy Spirit, not only do we demonstrate our love for God, but for others as well. This translates into our spiritual self being converted into our physical realm and justifies our faith where the Law never could.

But by fulfilling Matthew 22:36-40 in loving others through the Spirit by faith, we become perfect in God’s eyes and can rest assured that Christ will return for us where we will then live in His perfection of love forever.

The fulfillment of Torah Law in loving others through the Spirit by faith is called the "law of liberty" or the "law of Christ" which means that as Christians, we fulfill the Law when we pursue Christ like Love over law-keeping as the grounds of justification or sanctification.

For the law of the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death. (Romans 8:2 ESV)

We look to Christ for salvation so that true love can flow through us by the power of the Holy Spirit over relying upon our own carnal flesh to live a Godly life.

The law of liberty is the leading of the Spirit, and "where the Spirit is there is freedom" (2 Corinthians 3:17).

When the law is understood, not as a set of restrictive rules, but as a way of acknowledging what sin is and freedom from its penalty, we see that its aim is to point us to Jesus Christ our Messiah who came out of selfless love to become our redeemer. Does this mean that we no longer need to follow the Law, No. It means the when we truly have Christ like Love for both God and others that following the Law will not be a burden but a blessing.

Love is manifested in the Law and Faith in Christ releases Sanctification.

Brother Chris 14/07/2012