Abandoning the Law
I was brought up in the Anglican Church, but I left that denomination about forty years ago. Sixty years ago, the Ten Commandments were read in the Communion Service of the Anglican Church. That practice was eventually abandoned, and the two “great” laws were read instead. “And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength: this is the first commandment.And the second is like, namely this, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. There is none other commandment greater than these.” Mark 12:30-31. The problem is that people do not understand what love is. Love is self-sacrifice, sacrificing our own interests for others. That is explained in the Ten Commandments.
In a recent discussion I had with some young adults in our church they were trying to define sin. They came up with various ideas, some relying on feelings or common sense. I suggested that the Ten Commandments could define any sin. They thought that was an interesting concept. Later I had a discussion with some elderly people in my church about obeying God. I suggested we can obey God by using the Ten Commandments. One man suggested there is no need to teach the Ten Commandments because if you are filled with the Holy Spirit, you will automatically obey those commandments. I did not agree.
I remember a report by Focus on the Family in which they went into an American high school and asked students if they could repeat the Ten Commandments. Most of them could not repeat even one of them. Most church people can repeat some of them but probably not all of them. It seems we have abandoned those laws and other biblical laws in our Israel nations. The churches are responsible for that because it was up to them to teach the people those laws. There were various reasons for the churches abandoning those laws.
The definition of sin is breaking God’s laws (1 John 3:4). Modern theologians say sin is “missing the mark” because that is what the original Greek word means. “Missing the mark” is so vague people could interpret it anyway they want. Churches avoid teaching God’s laws because they don’t want to be perceived as a church with a bunch of rules. People don’t want to go to a church with a bunch of rules. Churches want to avoid being labeled as legalistic. Legalistic churches believe in keeping laws to earn entrance into God’s Kingdom. The Israel Truth movement has been labeled by some people as legalistic. We are not! We believe we are saved by believing in the sacrifice of Jesus Christ on the cross to take away our sins. However, we look upon God’s laws differently than the mainstream churches.
Mainstream churches point to “the curse of the law”. “Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us: for it is written, Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree:” Galatians 3:13. If people would read the law, they would realize that the law offered blessings and curses. People are blessed when they keep the law and cursed when they break the law. The “curse of the law” is caused by sin. The blessing of the law is caused by obedience. We Christians are saved from the curse of the law by the sacrifice of Jesus Christ on the cross, but the only way to have the blessing of the law is by obedience to the law. We must obey the Ten Commandments to be blessed. If we break them, we must confess our sins to God and ask for forgiveness. He forgives us because he took our sins upon himself on the cross. Are you blessed? Do you want to be blessed? Keep God’s commandments. If you are born again of God’s Spirit, you will want to obey God. Many Christians want to obey God, but they don’t know how to obey God because they don’t know the Ten Commandments.
Years ago in a church I attended there was a young woman who wanted to obey God. One Sunday the minister preached against fornication. Fornication is breaking the seventh commandment. She did not know what fornication was, so she looked it up in the dictionary. She immediately told her boyfriend she could not live with him anymore because they were living in sin, so she moved out. He decided to attend the church to find out what they had been teaching her. The result was he became a Christian. It is too bad that many pastors will not preach against the sin of fornication. It saturates our society. Jesus condemned it. “For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies: These are the things which defile a man: but to eat with unwashen hands defileth not a man.” Matthew 15:19-20. Avoidance of fornication was one of the four basic laws of the early church. (Acts 15:29).
Jesus and the apostles taught the Ten Commandments. I don’t think we should do less than that in our churches. Jesus taught them (Matthew 19:18-19). Paul taught them (Romans 13:9). James taught them (James 2:11). John taught them (1 John 2:3-4). The patience of the saints is linked to the commandments. “Here is the patience of the saints: here are they that keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus.” Revelation 14:12.
Christians need to look at the Ten Commandments in a different way. We should not look upon them as a bother or a curse. They are a blessing and bring blessings. By them we learn how to obey God. Obedience to God’s commandments results in peace, contentment, and happiness. The commandments are the secret to a successful Christian life, and I believe the reply from God on judgement day will be “well done, good and faithful servant.”
In the Israel Truth movement, we have been accused of rejecting scripture when we refuse to eat pork or shellfish. Other Christians say God has cleansed those creatures according to Peter’s vision. I do not say God will punish us for eating a ham sandwich, but it is a matter of health. Those laws and other laws are not part of the Ten Commandments, but they were given to us for our blessing. The health laws teach us how to be healthy. Of course, God gave Adam and Eve fruits and vegetables. We cannot ignore those food laws which predate Moses. Also fasting and walking great distances were practiced by God’s people to their benefit. Studying all of the Bible can show us how to be healthy and happy. Nations could benefit from scripture by a knowledge of the statutes and judgements.
The laws of God are an undiscovered gift for all of us.
