Truth Seeker - The Law

The Law

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Page three: - what is it? how does it work?

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Immediately below: which law does Paul repeatedly mention in his letters?
Our deaths are the result of what law? Since without law there is no sin, and only the sinner shall die!

Paul spoke about the law in just about every letter he wrote, if not in all of them. What is this law that he repeatedly speaks of?

In his letter to the Romans Paul reveals at length what that law is. The letter of Romans is an excellent guide for this study and all the scriptures quoted below will be will be from that letter unless otherwise noted.

2:
17But if thou bearest the name of a Jew, and restest upon the law, and gloriest in God,
18and knowest his will, and approvest the things that are excellent, being instructed out of the law. . .
20 . . .having in the law the form of knowledge and of the truth;
21thou therefore that teachest another, teachest thou not thyself? thou that preachest a man should not steal, dost thou steal?
22thou that sayest a man should not commit adultery, dost thou commit adultery? thou that abhorrest idols, dost thou rob temples? (ASV)

Asking ourselves what law teaches not to steal, not to commit adultery, not to perform idol worship leads to only one answer ; namely, the law covenant that the Israelites received from their God at the holy mountain, Mount Sinai or Mount Horeb.

Is there more support by Paul for this understanding?

26If therefore a man of uncircumcision keeps the ordinances of the law, will not his uncircumcision be considered circumcision?
27And the man of natural uncircumcision who fulfills the law, will judge thee, a transgressor of law through a document and circumcision. (ACV)

There is no other law for the Jews that have ordinances and a document – that is: exists in written form as a pact – except the Law Covenant with its numberous ordinances and edicts of God.

Thus as Paul's dissertation continues in chapter three, we clearly are shown that the Law referred to as not being able to bring salvation through works is in fact the Law Covenant of Israel.

3: (ACV)
20Because from works of law no flesh will be made right before him, for through law is knowledge of sin.
21But now a righteousness of God has been manifested independent of law, being witnessed by the law and the prophets.

Until this point, Paul is lecturing about the Law Covenant. Now, in chapter three, Paul shows the Jew, the gentile and the Christian that man is made righteous by faith, "independent of works of law" (28). This has the effect of establishing a new kind of law based on faith through the ransom.

In this manner, the Christian faith is based not on the old obsolete Law Covenant, but on the new Law of Faith that the ransom of Christ and his coming as High Priest in the manner of Melchizedek established. (Heb 3:1)

27Where then is the boasting? It is excluded. By what law, of works? No, but by a law of faith.

28We therefore consider a man to be made righteous by faith independent of works of law.

29Or is God of Jews only and not also of Gentiles? Yes, of Gentiles also,

30since God is one, who will make the man of circumcision righteous from faith, and the man of uncircumcision through faith.

31Do we then make law void through faith? May it not happen! Instead, we establish law.

That this truly is the Law Covenant Paul speaks about repeatedly, is underscored so many times. Here is another such point:

5:13, For until law sin was in the world, but sin is not imputed when there is no law.

Indeed, "until the law" only may refer to the Law Covenant that was ratified in ca. 1513 BCE between the Almighty God, Jehovah or Yahweh and his new nation, the Israelite nation, at that time.

But, what Law is it that is established by the Christian? It is the Law of Faith, that of having faith in Christ and being in the New Covenant of Christ through which forgiveness of sins is obtained. Thus it is by grace, by faith, that the Christian is saved.

Still, on other pages of this homepage, it is amply demonstrated that faith must have its own works ; these works prove one's faith ; they do not earn salvation. Our faith is however demonstrated to God through its works, and it is this faith that earn us our salvation.

The Christian and the Law Covenant

7: (ACV)
4Therefore, my brothers, ye also became dead to the law through the body of Christ in order for ye to become to another, to him who was raised from the dead, so that we would bear fruit to God.

5For when we were in the flesh, the passions of the sins were working in our body-parts (through the law) in order to bear fruit to death.

6But now we have been released from the law, having died to what we were held, so as for us to serve in newness of spirit, and not in oldness of a document.

With the above words, Paul explains to the Christian that he no longer is under the Law Covenant because of the body of Christ ; " we have been released from the Law " – Of course, this refers throughout this dissertation to the Law Covenant. It wasn't that there was anything wrong with the Law Covenant (7:16) ; it was perfect. But therein lies the problem because imperfect people cannot be obedient, fully, to a perfect law. Thus, as Paul keeps explaining, the Law Covennant became death dealing to the Jews under it ; they needed to be ransomed from it and be put under the Law of Faith that declares righteous those who are unrighteous by means of Christ's blood and Christ's adopting them into his family away from the sinful family of Adam and Eve.

More proof:

(ACV)
Rom
7:
4, Therefore, my brothers, ye also became dead to the law through the body of Christ in order for ye to become to another, to him who was raised from the dead, so that we would bear fruit to God.

7What will we say then? The law is sin? May it not happen! Yet I did not know sin except through law. For likewise I would not have known lust, if the law did not say, Thou shall not covet

What law have Christians been made dead to? In verse seven, the Law Covenant's statements are included ; there is therefore no doubt as to what law we have died to.

9:4, who are Israelites; whose is the adoption, and the glory, and the covenants, and the giving of the law, and the service of God , and the promises; (ASV)

10:4,5, For Christ is the end of law for righteousness, to every man who believes. 5For Moses writes in the righteousness from the law, that the man that does them will live in them. (ACV)

The Israelites specifically are mentioned in regard to the 'law ' ; those that claim that this refers not to the Law Covenant are simply either disregarding the scripture or being ignorant of it.

There is more proof that (without reading all of Paul's letters for finding such) are found in several other of his letters. Please verify below.

1 Corinthians 9:8, Do I say these things according to man, or does not the law also say these things? 9For it is written in the law of Moses thou shall not muzzle an ox threshing grain. Is God concerned about oxen, 10or does he speak altogether for our sake? (ASV)

Heb 9:19, For when every commandment had been spoken by Moses unto all the people according to the law, he took the blood of the calves and the goats, with water and scarlet wool and hyssop, and sprinkled both the book itself and all the people. (ASV)

There really is no excuse for believing any other thing in regard to which law Paul speaks about. Again and again, repeatedly, successively, compounded-ly, he emphasizes and re-emphasizes that the law is that handed down as laws and regulations of Moses.

Some of these laws and regulations that Paul quote are such as were written by Moses in the Pentateuch but concerned Noah and his family, and also commandments given to Adam and Eve. Included in these is the edict against eating meat with blood and blood itself, a commandment handed down to the Christian congregation by means of the workings of the Holy Spirit and a conclave of brothers assembled in Jerusalem. (In Acts of Apostles) Another one is the edict handed down by Paul in 1 Cor 14:34,35 regarding the wife's subjection to her husband. This one has its roots in Gen 3:16. No way may then be found around admitting that we are under law at all ; the only question is what law are we under !

Christian law: the Perfect Law, the Law of Liberty, the Law of Faith

All of the above demonstrate, as James so prettily penned it, that we are under the Perfect Law, the Law of Liberty, our Christian Law. Truly we Christians are under the perfect law, the law of liberty, the law of Faith. And law it is, with its edicts and commandments that themselves if violated will be punished, if wilfully practicing sin the punishment is death eternal.

Jam 1:25, But he that looketh into the perfect law, the law of liberty, and so continueth, being not a hearer that forgetteth but a doer that worketh, this man shall be blessed in his doing. 26If any man thinketh himself to be religious, while he bridleth not his tongue but deceiveth his heart, this man’s religion is vain. (ASV)

The Christian perfect law, and law of liberty – frees us from the death dealing law covenant since no one can earn salvation through works. Only through works of faith, can we prove our faith, and by our faith we are declared righteous if we remain holy in acts and life avoiding wilful sin. Thus the pressure to perform is gone. We simply must live holy lives in faith filled with noble acts and conduct. As James also says, "27Pure religion and undefiled before our God and Father is this, to visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unspotted from the world." (ASV)

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Our deaths are the result of what law?

Paul teaches that without law, sin is not accounted or imputed to the sinner.

Rom 5:13, (for until law sin was in the world; but sin is not put to account when there is no law (Darby)

Still, he says that through one man death entered into the world.

5:
12 For this cause , even as by one man sin entered into the world, and by sin death; and thus death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned:
14, but death reigned from Adam until Moses, even upon those who had not sinned in the likeness of Adam's transgression, who is the figure of him to come. (Darby)

Thus the fact is that we all die because we are sinners! But without law there is no sin! Therefore the obvious question arise as to what law we all have been sinning against?

The law covenant didn't come into being until about 3000 years after Adam's creation. It cannot be that law that all sinned against since before its existence all men kept dying until it. Also, only the Jews were under the Law Covenant, so what about the rest of the world? did everyone there enjoy eternal life or did they die as all men? !

Through old age, and a lifelong study of the Bible together with many discussions with people of many religions, I have yet to meet anyone from any religion that could answer the above.

It is not that the answer is not found in the Bible ; instead, it is that the answer is hidden beneath a layer of little understood or researched matter ; namely, judgment on the Day of Judgment by Christ.

How does Christ judge the billions dead on judgment day?

So many from the ancient past never knew Jehovah, or his son, Jesus Christ. Only a small minority were ever of the Israelite nation under the Law Covenant, even fever were Christians in the first century. It is debatable how many true Christians have existed up until and including the present. Most certainly, we understand that a great many dead know not Christ and have no faith in his ransom. How are all these judged by Christ?

Judgment

Paul shows us how the dead ignorant ones are judged by Christ in Romans chapter two. Here the scripture says the following:

Rom 2:12-16,

For as many as have sinned without law shall perish also without law; and as many as have sinned under law shall be judged by law, 13(for not the hearers of the law are just before God, but the doers of the law shall be justified.

14For when those of the nations, which have no law, practise by nature the things of the law, these, having no law, are a law to themselves; 15who shew the work of the law written in their hearts, their conscience also bearing witness, and their thoughts accusing or else excusing themselves between themselves;)

16in the day when God shall judge the secrets of men, according to my glad tidings, by Jesus Christ.

The logic is simple, these ignorant ones of the nations shall be judged on judgment day by Christ. The judgment shall determine if they receive the resurrection or not. Their own law of conscience shall be used to judge them according to their own deeds. They are either excused or accused by this record and judged by this inborn law of conscience.

What is the importance of that?

In Ezekiel we read this unbending principle.

Ezekiel 18:4, Behold, all the souls are mine; as the soul of the father, so also the soul of the son is mine: the soul that sinneth, it shall die. (Darby)

Thus we see that these people died because they sinned. What law existed throughout all time for them to sin against? Did they all eat of the forbidden fruit? Clearly not. Then in what way were they accounted sinners that they had to die and did die, each and every one?

The only answer that remains is the simple one. Since Christ judges each and every one of these ignorant ones according to the law of conscience on judgment day, that means that this law has been present since day one when they were born and remains present on judgment day and beyond. Otherwise they couldn't be judged according to this law !

Christ does not judge these if they were sinners according to Ezekiel 18:4, that is why they died in the first place.

Because Christ provided the ransom, he judges each one according to the practice of sin, of wilful and evil sin. Thus the ransom covers each person's sins if they are accidental and that of a normal sinner. However, if they show themselves to have been evil, wicked sinners indulging in sin and evil causing this in a Satanic manner, they receive the judgment of Satan and the judgment of the Lake of Fire.

The ones that simply were unrighteous and did what they could to live a conscientious life according to their abilities will receive the resurrection into Paradise.

The Law in Question

That the above is 100% percent accurate, an 86 year old beloved Christian pointed out in a conversation. He accurately, and immediately grasped the point conspicuous.

In Genesis, before Cain kills his brother, but while clearly entertaining the idea, God warns him in this fashion: (Gen 4:4) "and if thou doest not well, sin coucheth at the door; and unto thee shall be its desire; but do thou rule over it." (ASV)

Without having any laws given by God, except the internal mechanism, Cain's conscience, the sin that "coucheth at the door" was defined only by Cain's internal sense of right and wrong.

In this way, Paul's explanation receives independent verification, and the law of conscience is established as eternal and binding. Christ's ransom delivers us from the accidental errors of conscience we perform, but acts such as Cain's are not forgiven.

Jude 11, Woe unto them! For they went in the way of Cain, and ran riotously in the error of Balaam for hire, and perished in the gainsaying of Korah.

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