THE LAWS (a reminder)

Exodus 20:1

Then God gave the people all these instructions:

No part of scriptures have been contemplated like the laws, starting from the first ten commandments to the following laws, from how the place of worship should be constructed to how to relate to one another.

Many laws in secular states have their origin from these laws and the extract of it is still practiced up till today. Starting from the ten commandments (the decalogue) to the laws and commandments which Moses wrote on scrolls as he received them from God.

Many rabbis and scholars have written on the decalogue and the Torah, for if you look at Exodus 24: 12, it seems as if Moses received more than the ten words or ten commandments:

Exodus 24:12

Then the Lord said to Moses, “Come up to me on the mountain. Stay there, and I will give you the tablets of stone on which I have inscribed the instructions and commands so you can teach the people.”

Anyway we are looking at the law in general, then the ten commandments as a summary.

As we read through Exodus 20-24 up till the book of Leviticus, we see instructions given to the people of Israel concerning their daily living. This devotional cannot take each of this instructions one after the other, however the ten commandments stand as a summary to their relations with God and fellow humans:

1. You shall have no other Gods before me

2. You shall not make for yourselves an idol

3. You shall not misuse the name of the LORD your God

4. Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy

5.  Honor your father and your mother

6. You shall not murder

7. You shall not commit adultery

8. You shall not steal

9. You shall not give false testimony

10. You shall not covet

One characteristic of the giving of these laws was fear, though we are to fear God our relationship with Him was not to be born out of fear but love. Selah

The question is do believers need these laws? For some Jewish followers wonder why Christians still carry the law in their book - the bible(old covenant), since there is a new covenant, birthed through Christ Jesus.

However we hear Jesus say:

Matthew 5:17-19

“Don’t misunderstand why I have come. I did not come to abolish the law of Moses or the writings of the prophets. No, I came to accomplish their purpose.

I tell you the truth, until heaven and earth disappear, not even the smallest detail of God’s law will disappear until its purpose is achieved.

So if you ignore the least commandment and teach others to do the same, you will be called the least in the Kingdom of Heaven. But anyone who obeys God’s laws and teaches them will be called great in the Kingdom of Heaven.

We must understand that it is not an abolishment, but a correct interpretation of. . . This we see on the sermon on the mount, Matthew chapters 5 to 7.

Every believer ought to go through these three chapters as a basic study.

For every kingdom has its laws thus God's kingdom also has its laws, a sample of it is what Moses brought down from mount Sinai, however the Word of God, Christ Jesus brought to us the correct interpretation of the laws of God. For the laws and the prophets were yet shadow of things to come. Christ Jesus was the fulfilment:

Luke 16:16-18

“Until John the Baptist, the law of Moses and the messages of the prophets were your guides. But now the Good News of the Kingdom of God is preached, and everyone is eager to get in.

But that doesn’t mean that the law has lost its force. It is easier for heaven and earth to disappear than for the smallest point of God’s law to be overturned.

“For example, a man who divorces his wife and marries someone else commits adultery. And anyone who marries a woman divorced from her husband commits adultery.”

The liberty and victory we have in Christ Jesus is the rebirth to the nature of God, then His Spirit dwells in us to empower us to continually please the Lord.

John 3:3,5

Jesus replied, “I tell you the truth, unless you are born again, you cannot see the Kingdom of God.”

Jesus replied, “I assure you, no one can enter the Kingdom of God without being born of water and the Spirit.

The nature of sin is destroyed, that is we have a renewed spirit, we then bring our bodies to subjection:

2 Corinthians 5:17,21

This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun!

For God made Christ, who never sinned, to be the offering for our sin, so that we could be made right with God through Christ.

Romans 12:1-2

And so, dear brothers and sisters, I plead with you to give your bodies to God because of all he has done for you. Let them be a living and holy sacrifice—the kind he will find acceptable. This is truly the way to worship him.

Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect.

So no one in Christ can be a breaker of the law for His Spirit dwells in him.

Galatians 5:22-24

But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against these things!

Those who belong to Christ Jesus have nailed the passions and desires of their sinful nature to his cross and crucified them there.

So we see Christ came to liberate us from the bondage of the law. (For law bringeth the consciousness of sin)

Romans 3:20

For no one can ever be made right with God by doing what the law commands. The law simply shows us how sinful we are.

Christ Jesus has given us His Spirit that makes us align to the Heavenly Father. Glory to God.

We have God's laws written in our hearts as the prophets of old prophesied, thus we obey the Heavenly Father, not just to feel good, to let people see us or out of fear but out of love.

Read careful this revelation by John:

1 John 4:7-8,12-13,16-18

Dear friends, let us continue to love one another, for love comes from God. Anyone who loves is a child of God and knows God.

But anyone who does not love does not know God, for God is love.

No one has ever seen God. But if we love each other, God lives in us, and his love is brought to full expression in us.

And God has given us his Spirit as proof that we live in him and he in us.

We know how much God loves us, and we have put our trust in his love.God is love, and all who live in love live in God, and God lives in them.

And as we live in God, our love grows more perfect. So we will not be afraid on the day of judgment, but we can face him with confidence because we live like Jesus here in this world.

Such love has no fear, because perfect love expels all fear. If we are afraid, it is for fear of punishment, and this shows that we have not fully experienced his perfect love.

Just as Jesus said, the summary of the obedience of God's law is love:

Matthew 22:37-40

Jesus replied, “‘You must love the lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind.’

This is the first and greatest commandment.

A second is equally important: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’

The entire law and all the demands of the prophets are based on these two commandments.”

Thus keepers of the law must understand that people may see those (your) outside shows, form of godliness, ablutions, praying and fasting in the open for all to see, legalism etc. However, the Heavenly Father is interested in the heart, what is your motivation, what is the driving force?

Luke 16:15

Then he said to them, “You like to appear righteous in public, but God knows your hearts. What this world honors is detestable in the sight of God.

Have you been freed from the bondage of the law and brought to the law of liberty which is in Christ Jesus? If NO, You can do that today.

Remember:

John 1:17-18

For the law was given through Moses, but God’s unfailing love and faithfulness came through Jesus Christ.

No one has ever seen God. But the unique One, who is himself God, is near to the Father’s heart. He has revealed God to us.

The Lord guide us aright.

He calls us blessed.

Love

@the watcher.