Can the Law be “Done Away”?
By
Gary Primo
Oct. 10, 2015
Two things that occurred this week prompted this study. The first was the news story about the stone sporting the 10 Commandments being removed from the Oklahoma capital building after 10:30pm, under cover of darkness.
The second was a discussion I had with my local mechanic, who is a Born Again Christian. He is usually quite vocal concerning his beliefs and has often asked me to meet with him and his group. However, because they are antinomian and staunchly believe in the Trinity, I have always sought to avoid them. My main reason is that I do not feel like being “ganged up on” by him and his buddies. But perhaps this was wrong of me. Perhaps Yahuwah was opening a door for me to glorify his name before this group and let my light shine. The other thing is my complete lack of confidence in my speaking ability. Even I fall asleep listening to myself talk. (Lol.)
Anyway, my conversation with my mechanic got into the realm of the law being “done away”, which, of course, I staunchly opposed.
The way I see things, the Law of Yahuwah was built into the very creation (nature) and has by nature either positive or negative consequences for either obedience or disobedience (respectively).
Man’s effort to do away with the law has gone on since the Garden of Eden. They believed that if they could do away with the law, they could do whatever they wanted. Wouldn’t that be nice? To get away with anything one wished without fear of consequence, without conscience, without any moral responsibility to our fellow man! Believe me, this kind of thinking has only led to the screwed up world we now find ourselves in.
Yahuwah’s instruction concerning the two trees was in fact a law. They represented two choices – to follow and obey Yahuwah or to go their own way. They of course chose to go their own way. In choosing to disobey Yahuwah, they were in effect saying that His Law was done away and they could do as they saw fit.
Today we are headed toward full global Sodom and Gomorrah. Everyone is getting on the band wagon to get civil laws changed to embrace their perverted and disgusting life-styles. They give little thought to the consequences of their actions. They are completely selfish and self serving. Abortions no longer apply to unborn children; they are now performing full-term live abortions. This is first degree murder, but everyone is burying their heads in the sand.
Society agreed to let homosexuals out of the closet and now they are perverting the minds of our youth and confusing them about their own sexual orientation.
And now, even pedophiles are demanding rights under the law. Of course I am referring to civil law, not Yahuwah’s. Yahuwah is quite clear in the Scriptures when He states that no homosexual is going to make it into the Kingdom of Heaven. If they think that freedom from social law equates to freedom from spiritual law, they are going to be very disappointed. Helen DeGeneres may be enjoying her celebrity status now, but sadly that is going to be her only reward.
Sodom and Gomorrah were destroyed as an example to the rest of mankind of where there disregard for the Laws of Yahuwah ultimately lead. The entire society was either bisexual or full homosexual. I have never read or heard anything in regard to what purpose women actually served in that society. Were they sacrificing any children that were born to their pagan gods? Such a society can only implode on itself and self-destruct. They honestly believed that the Law of Yahuwah was done away, but in the end, it was Yahuwah’s law that judged them to be immoral, and they suffered the consequences of their actions. Like Isaac Newton once said, “For every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction”. Nothing is more true than when it comes to the natural laws of Yahuwah that were built into the very creation.
The scary part is that we have no idea how bad our society is going to become. I predict that it is going surpass anything even the citizens of Sodom and Gomorrah could have imagined.
I image that if the New World Oder becomes a reality (which it is presently attempting to do), new depths of human depravity will be realized. Already, the Elite, who gather at Bohemian Grove, California, every year, are doing mock child sacrifices. It won’t be too long before they are using live human infants and it will be considered an honour to have one’s child sacrificed to Molech.
HaSatan was, of course, the very first antinomian creature. He thought that he could fulfill his destiny on his own, apart from Yahuwah and His Laws. He though wrong. However, he never learned from his lesson and continues to oppose Yahuwah, all the while claiming that the Laws of Yahuwah are done away.
Likewise, man followed in HaSatan’s footsteps instead of Yahuwah’s and found themselves in the same pickle as HaSatan; and yet, they still have not learned the error of their ways and continue to seek salvation free from Yahuwah and His Laws.
Prior to the flood, it was the fallen angels who brought antinomian ideology to earth. They taught this ideology to mankind. Their purpose, of course, was to destroy the outcome of Yahuwah’s creation and ensure that His purpose is never realized. Misery loves company! And, all who share this ideology will suffer the same fate.
The fallen angels were almost victorious (or so they thought) in their rebellion against the Most High Elohim before the flood. The society at the time did reach a state of depravity that even surpassed ours today. For the fallen angels, it was all about the destruction of man and Yahuwah’s purpose for us. It finally reached a point that even Yahuwah could not tolerate anymore, and He made the decision to destroy all that he had made on the Earth except for Noah and his three sons. These four then became the fathers of all humans born after the flood.
They were saved because of the righteousness of Noah. One cannot be deemed righteous apart from the Law of Yahuwah. It is obedience to the Laws of Yahuwah that defines righteousness.
Neither could sin exist without the law. Sin is the transgression of the law.
1 John 3:4 - Whosoever commits sin transgresses also the law: for sin is the transgression of the law.
The definition of sin is “the transgression of the Law”. Therefore, without the law there is no sin. The sad part; however, is that man might be able to do away with the Law and sin in his own mind, but is certainly not capable of removing it from its vital place in the creation. It is there permanently until the new earth and new heavens are created.
Matt. 5:17 - Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil.
18 - 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.
19 - 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.
20 - For I say unto you, That except your righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, ye shall in no case enter into the kingdom of heaven.
Dictionary .com
righteous
[rahy-chuh s]
adjective
1.
characterized by uprightness or morality:
a righteous observance of the law.
2.
morally right or justifiable:
righteous indignation.
3.
acting in an upright, moral way; virtuous:
a righteous and godly person.
These are the words of Yahushua Himself. How can anyone misconstrue their meaning? Yahushua fulfilled the Law by living a life of obedience to the law, by which He satisfied all the requirements of the law to the point that He was no longer “under” the Law. He completely served the Law because He was the Elohim of the Old Testament who created the Law. And as we just read, the Law is to remain until heaven and earth pass away and the new heaven and earth are created.
Let’s not forget that Yahushua is the “seed” of all life and that these laws were built into His DNA. Was Yahuwah wrong? Is He capable of error? Of course not! Therefore, we must ascertain that the error lies with man’s interpretation of His words. Yahushua did not come to “do away” with the law. The law will remain in place until all is fulfilled. And, all things will only be fulfilled when the present heaven and earth passes away and the new is ushered in.
And, one must ask why Yahushua even made this statement if the Law did not still stand. Was He looking into the future? Could He clearly see a great apostate, counterfeit church rising in the place of true Believers and persuading their followers that the Law was done away?
Take special notice of the last verse. Our righteousness must EXCEED that of the scribes and Pharisees if we hope to make it into the Kingdom of Heaven! The scribes and Pharisees followed the letter of the law quite strictly – yet they did not internalize the Law, thereby becoming one with Yahuwah, writing the Law on their minds and hearts and making it part of their nature. This is precisely what we must do to EXCEED the righteousness of these two groups.
1 John 3:5 - And you know that he was manifested to take away our sins; and in him is no sin.
6 - Whosoever abides in him sins (commits lawlessness) not: whosoever sins (commits lawlessness) hath not seen him, neither known him.
How is it that Yahushua had no sin? He has the same nature as the Father. The Father has always walked with and dwelt in him. Yes Yahushua was (like us) born with the power of free will; but He freely chose to follow the Father and made the Father’s nature His own. Therefore, the thought to sin (transgress the law) does not exist within Him. That is what made him the perfect sacrifice for sin and the perfect example before mankind. This is how we are to become – ones who wrote the Law on our minds and hearts, making them part of our nature too, so that we can be exactly like Yahushua.
If we abide in Yahushua we “sin not”. Since the definition of sin is “the transgression of the law”, this means that we do not transgress or violate the law. Nor do we attempt to weaken or water them down. We can only be free from sin if we are free from lawlessness. And, we can only be free from lawlessness when we incorporate the Law into our nature.
We will only be free of the law when we have written them on our hearts and minds to the point that they become part of our nature, as it is with the creation. That is, the laws are written into the creation and are therefore a part of the nature of the creation. Only man was given the power of free choice. Only man has attempted to defy these laws. So until the laws become a part of our nature and we no longer even think to sin, the Law will still stand.
1 Tim. 1:9 – Knowing this, that the law is not made for a righteous man, but for the lawless and disobedient, for the ungodly and for sinners, for unholy and profane, for murderers of fathers and murderers of mothers, for manslayers,
10 - For whoremongers, for them that defile themselves with mankind, for men stealers, for liars, for perjured persons, and if there be any other thing that is contrary to sound doctrine;
A righteous man is, by nature, obedient to the law. The law needed only to be defined because of the unrighteous. All who made the free will choice of attempting to gain salvation apart from following the Way of Yahuwah are counted as unrighteous. It automatically follows that if one is not following the Way of Yahuwah, neither is he following His laws. If there were no law pertaining to any of the above, why are they presented as obstacles to salvation?
The antinomian Christians claim the law is done away with; yet, when you ask about the 10 commandments, they admit that they are still in effect. So what laws were done away with? They answer, the temple laws. Since there is no temple presently then that is a natural assumption. But if the temple is prophesied to be rebuilt, then the temple laws will naturally be reinstituted following its completion. Therefore, one must assume that the temple laws have merely been postponed, not “done away”.
Where the antinomians slip up is with including the Sabbath command with the temple laws. The Sabbath command was the very first commandment given along with the creation of man. How can they include it amongst the temple laws, which were only given during the exodus?
The Ten Commandments
Ex. 20:3 - You shall have no other elohim before me. 4 - You shall not make unto you any graven image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth: 5 - You shall not bow down yourself to them, nor serve them: for I Yahuwah thy Elohim am a jealous Elohim, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me; 6 - And showing mercy unto thousands of them that love me, and keep my commandments. 7 - You shall not take the name of Yahuwah your Elohim in vain; for Yahuwah will not hold him guiltless that takes his name in vain. 8 - Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. 9 - Six days shall you labour, and do all your work: 10 - But the seventh day is the Sabbath of Yahuwah thy Elohim: in it you shall not do any work, you, nor your son, nor your daughter, your manservant, nor your maidservant, nor your cattle, nor your stranger that is within your gates: 11 - For in six days Yahuwah made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore Yahuwah blessed the Sabbath day, and hallowed it. 12 - Honour your father and your mother: that your days may be long upon the land which Yahuwah your Elohim giveth thee. 13 - You s shall not kill. 14 - You shall not commit adultery. 15 - You shall not steal. 16 - You shall not bear false witness against your neighbour. 17 - You shall not covet your neighbour’s house, you shall not covet your neighbour’s wife, nor his manservant, nor his maidservant, nor his ox, nor his ass, nor any thing that is your neighbour’s.
The above are what is known as the 10 Commandments. They are the basis of all the law, statutes and ordinances. They all come under one heading – LOVE. They all constitute the Law of Love – first toward Yahuwah and then toward the creation (our fellow man). If the Law of love is written in our nature we automatically are obedient to all the others.
The fourth of these Great Commandments concerns the weekly Sabbath. Four verses comprised of 92 words are attributed to this one command. It is clearly an integral part of the Ten Commandments.
The Christians maintain that the Ten Commandments remain in effect, while they deny this one commandment. If we are guilty of transgressing one law, we might as well be guilty of transgressing all – for it only takes one to render us as unrighteousness, corruptible and unfit for the Kingdom.
The Christians claim that Yahushua did away with the law; and yet, one can read the New Testament from beginning to end and find no authorisation from Yahuwah for rescinding His laws. Only history tells who rescinded those laws. It was Emperor Constantine. In 325 AD, with the Council of Nicea, Constantine gave the royal edict that no Roman citizen was to keep the traditions and customs of the Jews. This edict was decreed specifically towards the True Believers.
True Believers were originally all Jews. They naturally followed all the customs and traditions of the Jews. As long as they kept it within the Jewish community, the Romans were ok with it. However, once they began converting non-Jewish, Roman citizens at an alarming rate, the Roman officials became concerned.
The Jews were also concerned. They only marginally tolerated True Believers amongst the Jewish ranks, but once they began bringing so many Gentiles to the synagogues, they became concerned and collaborated with the Roman authorities to draw a line between the Jews and Messianic Believers, so as to classify them as a separate and distinct religion. That way they disassociated this messianic group from themselves and avoided sharing the same persecution.
When this group was officially registered in Antioch, they were registered in their absence, under a name which they considered quite offensive. The name “Christian” or “Christiani” was derived from the term “Augustiani” which was given to the official “cheer leaders” of Emperor Augustus. It was meant to be a term of ridicule. It was a term that the True Believers hated and would never have registered themselves under. They referred to themselves only as Believers or Messianic Believers; and the faith they followed was called the Way of Yahuwah. But they were registered under the name “Christian” anyway (in their absence). And the name stuck.
However, the persecution against True Believers never ceased. Those who freely chose to follow Emperor Constantine were called Christians, and did not seem too concerned about the name. However, in the Eastern provinces, the True Believers were much more adamant about keeping the Jewish traditions and were heavily persecuted and almost driven into extinction. It is my belief that there has always been a remnant of True Believers around since that time, but that they have been relatively few in number and forced to hide from the powers that were trying to wipe them out.
These true Believers have ALWAYS kept the Law of Yahuwah. They have always kept the weekly and annual Sabbaths. They have always been obedient to the only One with the power over life and death. Some wrote the Laws of Yahuwah on their minds and hearts, but there were some who followed the path of the Jews in worshiping the law over the Lawgiver.
The same thing is happening today as well amongst certain groups seeking to regain their Hebrew roots. They seem to stop cold at copying Judaism and refuse to EXCEED the righteousness of the Jews. This is a dangerous dilemma that we should all be careful of.
Now let us look at some more scriptures dealing with the actual words Yahushua spoke concerning the Law. After all, who would know more concerning the Law than the one who ordained them in the first place?
Matt.22:36 - Master, which is the great commandment in the law?
37 – Yahushua said unto him, You shall love Yahuwah your Elohim 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, You shall love your neighbour as yourself.
40 - On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.
Yahushua was explaining to His apostle that all of the Law comes under one general heading – the Law of Love. Our first obligation is to demonstrate love towards Yahuwah. Our second obligation is to show love towards the creation and specifically our fellow man. The Law to Love Yahuwah first is covered by the first three of the Ten Commandments. The last six deal with loving mankind (i.e. the creation). Right in the middle of these is the Law of the Sabbath.
If one truly loves Yahuwah, then he/she would keep all of His Laws, not pick and chose.
Lu. 16:17 - And it is easier for heaven and earth to pass, than one tittle of the law to fail.
If even one law is transgressed the entire Law of Love falls apart.
John 7:19 - Did not Moses give you the law, and yet none of you keep the law? Why go you about to kill me?
Again, if we transgress one law, we transgress them all. Why would Yahushua make this accusation if the Law were done away? Wouldn’t it have been a mute point? Like I said before, the Jews came to worship the Law above the Lawmaker. They even went so far as to apply their own definition of the Law in the Talmud, which they revere in higher regard and authority than the Torah. They were so blinded from worshiping the Law that they actually put the Lawmaker to death – which definitely violated the law. They broke every one of the 10 Commandments when they tried and put Yahushua to death. When the Jews wrote the Talmud, they were in effect saying that the Laws of Yahuwah were “done away” and replaced by the Talmud laws.
Let’s move on to the words of the Apostles concerning the law. Since Shaul (Paul) is usually hailed as the one who supposedly taught that the law was done away, we will begin with his writings.
Rom.3:31- Do we then make void the law through faith? Elohim forbid: yea, we establish the law.
What does Shaul mean by this? He means that the Law and faith in Yahushua go hand in hand. One must keep the law to learn the nature of Yahuwah. And, one must have faith in Yahushua to receive a reprieve from the penalty of death that we are under. We will read more concerning this in the Book of James.
Rom. 7: 5 - For when we were in the flesh, the motions of sins, which were by the law, did work in our members to bring forth fruit unto death.
6 - But now we are delivered from the law, that being dead wherein we were held; that we should serve in newness of spirit, and not in the oldness of the letter.
The Laws of Yahuwah were intended to teach mankind how to construct the nature of Elohim within his own nature – making him one with Yahuwah. However, except for some extremely rare cases, the Law alone never accomplished that task. Israel continuously backslid into apostasy. They did not take on the Law of Love and incorporate it into their nature. If they had there would have been no need for Yahushua to come and offer himself up as the perfect sacrifice for sin. If the Jews truly had the Law of Love written on their minds and hearts they would have made Yahushua their King right there and then instead of murdering Him.
What made Yahushua perfect? It was the indwelling of His Father spirit which compelled the Law to be so deeply ingrained in His nature that he was never, at any time, compelled to transgress it. To come out from under the law (and the penalty of eternal death) we must follow Yahushua’s example and internalize the Law to the same degree that He did, so that we, also, never even think to transgress it and become of one mind with the Father. Until we do that, we are still (individually) under the law and the penalty of eternal death.
The point that Shaul was making is that following merely the letter of the law, as the Jews did, did not produce that nature of Yahuwah in the Israelites. This can be compared to a prison inmate who is sitting on death row. He may be remorseful following his incarceration and realize that what he did was wrong. But to become lawful after the fact does not remove the death sentence from them. They are still going to die.
It was only through belief; making ourselves over into the image of HaMashiyack and making obedience to the Law an integral part of our nature that make the Law meaningless because it then becomes impossible to disobey. Only then will we be judged incorruptible.
Rom. 7:12 - Wherefore the law is holy, and the commandment holy, and just, and good.
If the Christian doctrine were true, this would have been the perfect opportunity to proclaim it. Instead Shaul calls both the law and the commandments holy (set apart). He uses the word “is” instead of “was” indicating that the law and the commandments were still in effect. Shaul calls the law and the commandment “just and good”. Is Shaul contradicting himself, or are the Christian spin doctors applying a totally wrong meaning to Shaul’s words? I would support the latter scenario.
13 - Was then that which is good made death unto me? Elohim forbid. But sin, that it might appear sin, working death in me by that which is good; that sin by the commandment might become exceeding sinful.
14 - For we know that the law is spiritual: but I am carnal, sold under sin.
Shaul was often said to be difficult to understand; and because of that fact his words are often misunderstood. Naturally, when someone has difficulty understanding Shaul’s words, they apply their own meaning.
Here Shaul calls the Law and the Commandment “just and good”. How can it be just and good if it is done away with? In other verses Shaul admits that he was constantly at war with his own carnal nature. So I believe that what he meant was that no matter how well we followed the written law we would never reach the point of absolute incorruption until following the resurrection when our belief in Yahushua would be afforded us as righteousness and our nature will be changed in an instant making us over into incorruptible elohim beings. But that does not mean that the Law is done away or meaningless to our spiritual growth
Rom. 7: 22 - For I delight in the law of Elohim after the inward man:
23 - But I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members.
24 - O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from the body of this death?
25 - I thank Elohim through Yahushua HaMashiyack our Lord. So then with the mind I myself serve the law of Elohim; but with the flesh the law of sin.
As with all of us, Paul had his own battle with sin. He desired to overcome sin, but his carnal nature was constantly at war with his spiritual nature. I am sure that most all of us find ourselves contemplating sinful actions before we even realize it. That is because our nature is antinomian. If the spirit of Yahuwah had not been added to our sinful carnal nature, we would not have any hope of salvation. We would be completely ruled by our carnal nature, which blinds us and leads us away from Yahuwah, not towards Him. And so, we have these two forces warring within our members and seeking the victory over our spiritual future. Yahuwah’s spirit will only win out when we are completely at one with Him and of the very same nature.
1 Cor. 15:54 - So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory.
55 - O death, where is your sting? O grave, where is your victory?
56 - The sting of death is sin; and the strength of sin is the law.
The corruptible must put on incorruption. Nothing that remains corruptible will survive the coming of the new heaven and the new earth. All the corruptible, physical elements will be cleansed by a spiritual fire and anything that remains corruptible will be burnt up.
How is corruption measured? By the Law! How is incorruption determined? By the Law! Therefore, it only stands to reason that without the law, neither corruption nor incorruption can be determined or defined.
Doing away with the law only occurs in the minds of those remaining corruptible. In reality they cannot be done away with as they are part of the creation. As long as we remain corruptible we are at odds with the purpose for which Yahuwah created us. To be born again in the new creation, we must take on incorruption to the scale that the thought to sin never again can enter our minds; and that will only happen when we write the Law on our minds and hearts, so that by nature, we are eternally obedient.
DEATH is the penalty for sin (lawlessness). This statement goes way beyond physical death. It applies more so to our spiritual death. Everyone has to die the first death. But that should hold no fear for those who love Yahuwah for they know and trust that Yahuwah holds the power over death and is able to resurrect us again to life.
In the end all are going to be resurrected and stand before Yahuwah in the Judgement. The purpose of the judgement will be to determine if one has achieved, or at least expended all their energy to try to achieve, the state of incorruptibility. What criteria do you suppose will be used to determine if you in fact have achieved that state? The Law!
A talent can be defined as a portion of the spirit. When we receive the spirit at baptism we only receive a portion of it. We will call that one talent. When we receive that talent (portion of the spirit) we are to nurture it and compel it to grow into 2, 3, 5, and hopefully 10 talents (the full measure of the spirit). It is the internalization of the Law that compels that spirit to grow inside of us until it takes over our nature and we are transformed from corruptible to incorruptible. Only the incorruptible will inherit the Kingdom. It is impossible for corruption to enter. All that remains corruptible will be burnt by spiritually cleansing fire. Naturally, if one is successful in internalizing the Law, they will also be obedient outwardly. Otherwise, they would be a walking contradiction.
Galatians 2:16 - Knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law, but by the faith of Yahushua HaMashiyack, even we have believed in Yahushua HaMashiyack, that we might be justified by the faith of HaMashiyack, and not by the works of the law: for by the works of the law shall no flesh be justified.
Notice it saws that we are justified by the faith OF Yahushua. What was the faith of Yahushua? Was it not faith in His Father? Are we not seeking the same faith? It was His faith in the Father that allowed Yahushua to grow into the full stature of the Father. It afforded Him full access to the mind of the Father, so that His thoughts were the Father’s thoughts (and visa versa), and His actions were the Father’s actions. Since the Father cannot approach corruption without destroying it, He chose the Firstborn to be His representative before His creation. The Son only filled this role because He had made Himself into the prefect image of the Father. That is what qualified Him to be the creator of all things by and through the Father. And, it was internalizing the Laws of the Father that enabled Him to attain to an incorruptible state.
17 - But if, while we seek to be justified by HaMashiyack, we ourselves also are found sinners, is therefore HaMashiyack the minister of sin? Elohim forbid.
18 - For if I build again the things which I destroyed, I make myself a transgressor.
19 - For I through the law am dead to the law, that I might live unto Elohim.
20 - I am crucified with HaMashiyack: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but HaMashiyack lives in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of Elohim, who loved me, and gave himself for me.
21 - I do not frustrate the grace of Elohim: for if righteousness come by the law, then HaMashiyack is dead in vain.
Again, Shaul was referring to the way the Jews worshiped the Law in place of the Lawgiver. We have already examined passages where righteousness can only be determined by the Law, but that it was the internalizing of the Law, not the mechanical following of the Law that brought true righteousness. The mechanical keeping of the Law did not keep the Jews from lying, bearing false witness or using their definition of the Law to “legally” commit murder.
We are justified by faith in HaMashiyack. However, if we continue in sin (lawlessness) we deny Yahushua’s sacrifice and make it of no value. Yahushua came to put away sin. That is NOT to say that sin or the Law is done away with. It will not be done away until it is no longer part of our nature. And, that state may never be realized in our physical lifetimes.
That is where mercy and grace enter the picture. Our carnal nature will remain with us until our physical deaths. It will always be at war with our spiritual nature. But like it says at the end of each of the seven letters to the churches, we have to OVERCOME to see salvation. Overcome what? Sin! What is sin? Lawlessness! The only way we can overcome it is to write the Law on our minds and hearts and change our nature from carnal to spiritual. However, if we are faithfully working towards overcoming sin by writing those laws on our hearts and striving earnestly to change our nature, our efforts will be accounted to us as righteousness and once born into the Kingdom, our nature will be fully changed into spiritual. That is what is meant by mercy and grace.
At baptism we are to bury the old man and become dead to sin. But that obviously does not occur immediately. We first have to learn what sin is, and we cannot do that apart from learning the Law which defines sin. We cannot fully evolve while we remain in our carnal bodies. That element of carnality always remains with us. However, our attitude towards overcoming, which can only come about through our faith in Yahushua, is what will eventually save us when we are reborn into the Kingdom.
Again, we can only become “dead to the Law” by making obedience to the Law the most integral part of our nature. If the Law were done away with, why bother? There would be nothing to overcome. No one would even be striving to make it part of their nature. Anything we proposed to think, do or say would be perfectly alright.
And, since the core of the Law is love, is love also done away? Of course not! The Law teaches us to love the way Yahuwah loves; and His love knows no bounds.
As we know, some of the Jews attempted to frustrate grace by teaching the Jewish mindset of worshipping the Law rather than the Lawgiver. The decision concerning circumcising the Gentiles is a prime example. The rite of circumcision applied to the Jews only. It was they, through Abraham that made the covenant with Yahuwah. The rite of circumcision was the seal of that covenant. Abraham was fully aware of what the covenant entailed and demonstrated his agreement to it by circumcising himself and all who were connected to him. This was the precursor to the seal that Yahushua would set on the new covenant – circumcision of the heart.
Circumcision of the flesh did nothing for the Jews. They continuously fell away from following the Law, making their circumcision of no effect and violating that covenant. And, like with an unfaithful spouse, Yahuwah had to eventually divorce His bride and marry anew. However, He did not uproot the entire tree, but merely grafted new branches onto it. Therefore, the root (universal Law) remained intact. We are supposed to do what the Jews failed to do, internalize the Law and make it part of our nature. That is what circumcision of the heart truly means.
The Jews continued to circumcise their young because of the covenant. However, it meant nothing spiritually unless they spiritually circumcised their hearts too. It is that circumcision of the heart that saves us, not the physical counterpart. Abraham understood that, but future generations did not.
If the Jews had correctly applied the Law to their nature, there would have been no need for the Messiah to come. Salvation cannot come by the physical keeping of the Law alone. It has to become part of our nature to obey. We do that through practice, practice and more practice. As long as our carnal nature dwells inside us, we fall short of the mark. Yet, our efforts to overcome are accounted to us as righteousness and we will be judged on that effort rather than the actual degree of overcoming we have achieved, for none of us will be perfected until we are raised from the grave in victory.
Gal.3:16 - Now to Abraham and his seed were the promises made. He says not, And to seeds, as of many; but as of one, And to your seed, which is HaMashiyack.
17 - And this I say, that the covenant, that was confirmed before of Elohim in HaMashiyack, the law, which was four hundred and thirty years after, cannot disannul, that it should make the promise of no effect.
18 - For if the inheritance be of the law, it is no more of promise: but Elohim gave it to Abraham by promise.
Under the Law, all are guilty of sin; and all are worthy of eternal death. There is no reprieve from physical death, but there is a reprieve from spiritual death through belief in Yahushua, to whom the promise was made. Death is the natural consequence of sin (lawlessness). The Law was intended to teach us the true nature of Yahuwah and help us to overcome lawlessness by incorporating it into our nature so that we become like Yahuwah and reflect His nature in our own. We must become like Yahushua; and like Yahushua, we must become one with the Father as He is. We can only do that by taking on the law-abiding nature of the Father, in which the thought to sin does not exist.
19 - Wherefore then serves the law? It was added because of transgressions, till the seed should come to whom the promise was made; and it was ordained by angels in the hand of a mediator.
20 - Now a mediator is not a mediator of one, but Elohim is one.
21 - Is the law then against the promises of Elohim? Elohim forbid: for if there had been a law given which could have given life, verily righteousness should have been by the law.
Again, these verses are talking about the physical keeping of the Law alone. Alone they cannot bring salvation. They are merely teaching tools to instruct us what the Law is. We cannot write the Law on our minds and hearts if we do not know what it is. Neither can we obtain salvation by merely mouthing the words, “I believe”. That belief must be followed by action as we will soon see in the Book of James. We prove our faith by our works.
22 - But the scripture hath concluded all under sin, that the promise by faith of Yahushua HaMashiyack might be given to them that believe.
For sure, salvation comes only through belief in the Messiah. However, there are more elements to that term, “belief”, than many realize. If one believes, he/she must follow Yahushua’s example. Yahushua’s example was that He was tempted in all ways as we are, yet He remained sinless (lawful).
It was His obedience to and internalization of the Law that qualified Him to be the Saviour. If he had of succumbed to the temptations of Satan, there would have been no hope for any of us. The Jews did and still do believe in the coming Messiah. They merely cannot get past the literal, physical keeping of the Law. Their problem is that they go to their teachers (Rabbis), just as we go to our ministers and priests for an interpretation of the Law and pretty much all scriptures. We should have only one teacher. That teacher is Yahushua himself. He is the only One in whom there is no corruption or deceit.
Some may be thinking, “How do I go to Yahushua for teaching when He is not available?” Poppycock! He most certainly is available – through His spirit dwelling in us and the writings of the apostles. That was the whole purpose in sending His spirit to guide us. Without it, we would be no better off than the Jews.
Gal. 3:23 - But before faith came, we were kept under the law, shut up unto the faith which should afterwards be revealed.
24 - Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto HaMashiyack, that we might be justified by faith.
25 - But after that faith is come, we are no longer under a schoolmaster.
26 - For ye are all the children of Elohim by faith in Yahushua HaMashiyack.
Merely uttering a pronouncement of faith is not true faith. Action must follow the words. If not the uttering is useless.
Many also profess their faith in some made-up character by the name of “Jesus Christ”. No person by that name ever existed at the time of Yahushua. His given name would have been “Yahushua bar Yoseph”. His first name was never “Jesus”. His last name was never “Christ”. Therefore, all who profess belief in this character who never existed are wasting their breath. Therefore, their profession is worthless and their confidence in their belief system is a bitter delusion.
Gal. 5:18 - But if you be led of the Spirit, you are not under the law.
19 - Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these; Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness,
20 - Idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies,
21 - 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 Elohim.
22 - But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith,
23 - Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law.
24 - And they that are HaMashiyack’s have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts.
25 - If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit.
What is the proof that we live in the spirit? We walk by the spirit. If we walk by the spirit, we do not do any of the things mentioned in verses 19-21, for they are against the law. Why would these things be mentioned as things that would bar one from inheriting the Kingdom of Yahuwah? If the Law were done away, how could they be classified as unlawful? Can one truly expect their profession of faith in the Messiah made these things legal? I certainly hope not!
If one is truly living and walking in the spirit, obedience to these laws would be a part of their nature and would never enter the mind to do. They would instead be demonstrating the fruits of the spirit mentioned in verses 22 & 23, the first and most vital of which is “love”.
We are not talking about the human version of love, but the unconditional version that Yahuwah demonstrates. We demonstrate love first towards Yahuwah so that we can learn His version of love and then apply it to the creation. The love of Yahuwah is so deep and pure that He can be thought of as the personification of love. If love is truly at the core of all our thoughts, words and deeds, the thought to sin would rapidly retreat from us. Only then would we be above the law and the thought to sin would no longer exist in us. If we continue in sin (lawlessness), then not only does the spirit not abide in us, but we spiritually crucify Yahushua all over again by our own hand.
James 2: 17 - Even so faith, if it has not works, is dead, being alone.
18 - Yea, a man may say, You have faith, and I have works: show me your faith without your works, and I will show you my faith by my works.
19 - You believe that there is one Elohim; you do well: the devils also believe, and tremble.
20 - But will you know, O vain man, that faith without works is dead?
21 - Was not Abraham our father justified by works, when he had offered Isaac his son upon the altar?
22 – See you how faith wrought with his works, and by works was faith made perfect?
23 - And the scripture was fulfilled which saith, Abraham believed Elohim, and it was imputed unto him for righteousness: and he was called the Friend of Elohim.
24 - You see then how that by works a man is justified, and not by faith only.
James 2:26 - For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also.
We demonstrate and prove our faith BY OUR WORKS. How can I make it any plainer than James does? It is simple math. Faith plus works equals “perfection” (verse 22). Do we desire to be only partially perfect in the spirit? Of course not! We desire to be fully perfect. Therefore, it only stands to reason that we can only perfect our faith by our works, which equates to the practice of lawfulness. Practice makes perfect!
Rev. 21:7 - He that overcomes shall inherit all things; and I will be his Elohim, and he shall be my son.
8 - But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burns with fire and brimstone: which is the second death.
Who is going to inherit all things? He who overcomes! What are we to overcome? Our sinful, carnal nature! How do we overcome it? By practicing the works of the Law until it become fully ingrained into our nature and the thought to sin no longer exists in us.
The very fact that the things that are mentioned in verse 8 are mentioned is proof that the Law will exist as a point of reference all the way up to the time when the old passes away and the new is ushered in. If we hope to survive the second death, we must put all of these things far behind us. If that is not obedience to the Law, I don’t know what is.
We are all going to have to stand in the judgment before the Almighty Elohim, Yahuwah. Just as in any human court of judgment, we will be judged according to the law. Without the law, there is no basis for judgment. There is nothing to overcome. All would inherit the Kingdom on their word alone – that they believe in and are faithful to Yahushua. However, Yahuwah is going to demand proof of our faith. We can only prove our faith by our works and if our works do not match our confession of faith, all is for naught!
Conclusion
The conclusion should be obvious by now. Faith without works is dead. The two go hand in hand and cannot be separated without forfeiting the hope of salvation.
Historically, HaSatan was the very first to declare that the Law was done away. He managed to convince 1/3 of the angels that this was so. Approximately 200 angels gave up their former domain to descend to earth and teach humans their error, beginning with Adam and Eve. Satan deceived Eve, Eve deceived Adam and Adam deceived the rest of mankind. In not following the Way of Yahuwah, all have naturally declared the Law done away.
Why did the flood come upon the earth? Because of lawlessness! What did Nimrod teach his followers? That the Law was done away! Those that believed in and followed after him, worshipped the one to whom they were obedient – Nimrod. And, emperor worship is still alive and well today. Just look at the way Catholics worship their Pope and refer to him as “god on earth”.
When Judah and Northern Israel separated, the northern tribes stopped going to the Temple in Jerusalem. They, instead, took on the pagan gods and practices of their neighbours. They changed their day of worship from the Sabbath to Sunday. They adopted all of the pagan rituals, customs and practices. They followed another god, but continued to call on Yahuwah also. They sacrificed their children to Molech. They, in fact, practiced all manner of lawlessness. For their lawlessness, they were taken into captivity, never to return to the Promised Land. They, instead, migrated into practically every nation on earth and promoted their brand of paganism wherever they went.
The Jews (to the south) also turned away from Yahuwah and in doing so declared His Law done away. They were taken away into captivity in Babylon for 70 years. Many repented and returned to Jerusalem. However, they continued to put all their faith in the Law instead of the Lawmaker. And when the Lawmaker came in the flesh, they crucified Him. They were, in fact, saying that the Law was done away.
Then came the Christians. They too threw the Laws of Yahuwah to the side and took on all the pagan customs and traditions of the Roman Empire. In obeying Constantine’s edicts to NOT follow the customs and traditions of the Jews; and NOT to observe the Jewish Sabbath, the Christians made Constantine their god. Him that you obey, him also do you worship. The Christians openly boast that the Law is done away; yet, they have no problem coming under obedience to the laws of pagan religions and taking on their customs and traditions.
Christianity is nothing more than Emperor Constantine’s version of a one world religion which incorporated all of the pagan religions within his empire. The Global Elite of today are presently in the process of bringing us a “new” one world religion known as “Christlam”. It is a mixture of Christianity and Islam, with some Buddhism thrown in for good measure. It will soon be forced upon the world in the same manner Christianity was. It too will claim that the Law of Yahuwah is done away.
I would compare it to buying a new car. With every new car the manufacturer supplies a manual. Let’s say that the manual teaches the owner the laws concerning that car. Once you have read the manual and know how everything works, you don’t need the manual anymore, except to occasionally reference. You have written the law of the car on your minds and hearts and no longer need the law (manual).
We are at a milestone, where the true faith in the Way of Yahuwah is concerned. There are only two choices before us – to follow the Way of Yahuwah, or not. Following the Way of Yahuwah is the only path that leads to salvation and eternal life. All the other paths lead us toward lawlessness, corruption and eternal death.
Is it not worth our salvation to at least study into this matter and ensure we are on the right path?
Yahuwah Bless
G.P.