Cp. 9 Understanding Our Relationship to the Law - Part 2

These two commandments are the only ones we as Christians need to concern ourselves with. The love we have for God and each other fulfills the requirements of the law as Paul explains in Rom 13:8-10: “Let no debt remain outstanding, except the continuing debt to love one another, for he who loves his fellowman has fulfilled the law. 9 The commandments, "Do not commit adultery," "Do not murder," "Do not steal," "Do not covet," and whatever other commandment there may be, are summed up in this one rule: "Love your neighbor as yourself." 10 Love does no harm to its neighbor. Therefore love is the fulfillment of the law.” (NIV)

If we obey the law of love for God and each other then we are fulfilling the requirements of the Sabbath rest and have no need of an additional day. To believe otherwise would be like telling God, “Ok, I followed you and obeyed you all week long but now because it’s the Sabbath day, I really mean it this time.” People who are Sabbath-keepers also fail to realize that our living bodies are the temple of the Holy Spirit. We now have God residing within us. We are the 24/7 residence of He who dwelt in the inner sanctuary of the Holy of Holies. That makes us the temple so how can going to another building on a special day make us any more holier? What can a calendar day do for us that the Holy Spirit residing within us can’t do? My answer is…absolutely nothing!

The Law in general

Those Christians who insist that we have a God-given admonishment to obey the law usually quote these verses:

Matt 5:17-18: “Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfill.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.” (KJV)

Luke 16:17 - “It is easier for heaven and earth to disappear than for the least stroke of a pen to drop out of the Law.” (NIV)

Rom 7:12 - “So then, the law is holy, and the commandment is holy, righteous and good.”

We as believers are no longer under the law but the law is still in effect. The purpose of the law is to let us know what sin is. Rom 3:20-21: “Therefore no one will be declared righteous in his sight by observing the law; rather, through the law we become conscious of sin. 21 But now a righteousness from God, apart from law, has been made known, to which the Law and the Prophets testify.” (NIV)

Rom 5:20 - “The law was added so that the trespass might increase. But where sin increased, grace increased all the more,” (NIV)

Rom 7:7 - “What shall we say, then? Is the law sin? Certainly not! Indeed I would not have known what sin was except through the law. For I would not have known what coveting really was if the law had not said, "Do not covet." (NIV)

1 Co. 15:56 - “The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law.” (NIV)

The following paragraphs are a summary of scriptural teachings about the law. Instead of listing several verses, I combined them into a smooth, easily read, albeit large, statement. I will list the references at the end of the paragraph.

“Through Christ, everyone who believes is justified from everything you could not be justified from by the law of Moses. For we maintain that a man is justified by faith apart from observing the law. Do we, then, nullify the law by this faith? Not at all! Rather, we uphold the law. It was not through law that Abraham and his offspring received the promise that he would be heir of the world, but through the righteousness that comes by faith. For if those who live by law are heirs, faith has no value and the promise is worthless, because law brings wrath. Where there is no law there is no transgression.

Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, and in this way death came to all men, because all sinned— for before the law was given, sin was in the world. Sin is not taken into account when there is no law. Nevertheless, death reigned from the time of Adam to the time of Moses, even over those who did not sin by breaking a command, as did Adam, who was a pattern of the one to come. Sin shall not be your master, because you are not under law, but under grace.

So, my brothers, you also died to the law through the body of Christ, that you might belong to another, to him who was raised from the dead, in order that we might bear fruit to God. For when we were controlled by the sinful nature, the sinful passions aroused by the law were at work in our bodies, so that we bore fruit for death. But now, by dying to what once bound us, we have been released from the law so that we serve in the new way of the Spirit, and not in the old way of the written code. What shall we say, then? Is the law sin? Certainly not! Indeed I would not have known what sin was except through the law.

There is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of life set me free from the law of sin and death. Christ is the end of the law so that there may be righteousness for everyone who believes.

Know that a man is not justified by observing the law, but by faith in Jesus Christ. So we, too, have put our faith in Christ Jesus that we may be justified by faith in Christ and not by observing the law, because by observing the law no one will be justified. I do not set aside the grace of God, for if righteousness could be gained through the law, Christ died for nothing. All who rely on observing the law are under a curse, for it is written: "Cursed is everyone who does not continue to do everything written in the Book of the Law. Clearly no one is justified before God by the law, because, "The righteous will live by faith and the law is not based on faith. The law was put in charge to lead us to Christ that we might be justified by faith. Now that faith has come, we are no longer under the supervision of the law.

Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us, for it is written: "Cursed is everyone who is hung on a tree." What, then, was the purpose of the law? It was added because of transgressions until the Seed to whom the promise referred had come. Is the law, therefore, opposed to the promises of God? Absolutely not! For if a law had been given that could impart life, then righteousness would certainly have come by the law.

The entire law is summed up in a single command: "Love your neighbor as yourself." Carry each other's burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ. By abolishing in his flesh the law with its commandments and regulations. His purpose was to create in himself one new man out of the two, thus making peace. We also know that law is made not for the righteous but for lawbreakers and rebels, the ungodly and sinful, the unholy and irreligious; for those who kill their fathers or mothers, for murderers, The former regulation is set aside because it was weak and useless (for the law made nothing perfect), and a better hope is introduced, by which we draw near to God. If you are led by the Spirit, you are not under law.”

( Acts 13:39, Rom. 3:28,31, 4:13-15, 5:12-14, 6:14, 7:4-6, 8:1-2, 10:4, Gal. 2:16,21, 3:10-13, 19-21, 24,25, 5:14,18, 6:2, Eph. 2:15, 1 Tim. 1:9, Heb. 7:18-19 )

The problem with Christians picking out some laws to obey is you can’t have it both ways. It has to be either faith and grace or the law. If you observe the Sabbath or pay tithes because you believe the law says to then James 2:10 is for you. “For whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles at just one point is guilty of breaking all of it.”

If you fail to observe the Sabbath correctly or pay less then a tenth of your tithes or skip a week because of bills or whatever, there is no remedy for forgiveness because you put yourself under the law and not under faith.

Paying Tithes

The prosperity teachers who ask you for sacrificial offerings or the pastors who demand a tithe from the members of their congregations usually use this verse to justify their demands. Mal 3:8-10: "Will a man rob God? Yet you rob me. "But you ask, 'How do we rob you?' "In tithes and offerings. 9 You are under a curse — the whole nation of you — because you are robbing me. 10 Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this," says the LORD Almighty, "and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that you will not have room enough for it.” (NIV)

This chastisement and promise of blessings are for the nation of Israel, not Christians. The New Testament really has little to say about tithing. I will list the verses for you. Matt 23:23 - “Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye pay tithe of mint and anise and cummin, and have omitted the weightier matters of the law, judgment, mercy, and faith: these ought ye to have done, and not to leave the other undone.” (KJV)

Luke 18:11-12 - “The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, God, I thank thee, that I am not as other men are, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this publican.12 I fast twice in the week, I give tithes of all that I possess.” (KJV)

There ia a verse in Luke 11 that references the same speech of Christ’s from Matt. 23so it can be said that the New Testament only speaks of tithing twice. There is another occurrence in Heb. 7:5-9 where the author is referring to Abraham paying a tithe to Melchizedek. All references to tithing are Old Testament law based references because the new covenant didn’t take effect until after the death of Christ. Does the New Testament have anything else to say on this topic? 2 Co. 9:6-7: “Remember this: Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously. 7 Each man should give what he has decided in his heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.” (NIV)

We are free to give as much or as little as we decide but our rewards will echo our giving. God does not ask or demand a tithe from you and anyone who teaches otherwise is a false teacher or at least not a good student of the bible. Let’s be realistic, a church needs money to operate effectively in their community and to support their missionary efforts. It is perfectly acceptable to voluntarily give a percentage of your income to the church, but the percentage is solely between you and God. Sacrificial giving is also acceptable because God will bless you for giving generously. All I’m saying is that if a pastor or denomination insists upon a tithe as a condition of membership or in some cases threatens you with Ananias & Sapphira consequences should you fail to give what they expect of you, then you should find a new church. Let’s take a closer look at their story.

“Now a man named Ananias, together with his wife Sapphira, also sold a piece of property. 2 With his wife's full knowledge he kept back part of the money for
himself, but brought the rest and put it at the apostles' feet. 3 Then Peter said,
"Ananias, how is it that Satan has so filled your heart that you have lied to the
Holy Spirit and have kept for yourself some of the money you received for the land? 4Didn't it belong to you before it was sold? And after it was sold, wasn't the money at your disposal? What made you think of doing such a thing? You have not lied to men but to God." 5 When Ananias heard this, he fell down and died. And great fear seized all who heard what had happened. 6 Then the young men came forward, wrapped up his body, and carried him out and buried him. 7 About three hours later his wife came in, not knowing what had happened. 8 Peter asked her, "Tell me, is this the price you and Ananias got for the land?" "Yes," she said, "that is the price." 9 Peter said to her, "How could you agree to test the Spirit of the Lord? Look! The feet of the men who buried your husband are at the door, and they will carry you out also." 10 At that moment she fell down at his feet and died. Then the young men came in and, finding her dead, carried her out and buried her beside her husband. Acts 5:1-10 (NIV).

The lesson to be learned here is not that God will strike you dead if you don’t give all or pay your tithes but that if you pledge a certain amount you must pay it. They were free to hold part of the price back if they wanted, but by laying it at Peter’s feet they were signifying that they were giving all. They compounded their sin by lying about it. If Ananias had simply said up front that they received a certain price but were keeping part of it, this story would have had a happier ending.

As I’ve stated earlier, successful spiritual warfare depends greatly on your knowledge of scripture. The devil knows the bible better than most Christians and he continually distorts the scriptures or takes advantage of our ignorance of scripture to cause believers to doubt their significance to our daily lives. Satan also tries to destroy the church from within by hiding the truth or by using church leaders to erode the child-like faith of new believers by overwhelming them with law-like regulations that discredit God’s simple plan of salvation through faith and grace.

I encourage all that read this book to always find ways to be content with your lot in life. To persevere in your efforts to be spiritual warriors and to take control of your faith, utilize the armor that God has provided for us and try to find other like-minded Christians to share your struggle with. Christianity was never meant to be a one-on-one battle with the devil. Our strength is in our unity as the Body of Christ.