"'Then Samuel took a stone and set it up between Mizpah and Shen, and called its name Ebenezer, saying, “Thus far the Lord has helped us.”'" I Samuel 7:12 This month marks 2 years since knowing-God was launched for the glory of God to be of help to the body of Christ through discipleship and encouragement from God's word, to see His people grow in the knowledge of Him. Therefore, we say indeed, "Ebenezer, thus far the Lord has helped us,." In every article, podcast episode, study video, social media post, and every single person The Lord has brough in contact with His word through knowing-God. We are deeply thankful to the Lord, again, He has helped us indeed thus far, and we trust that He will continue to help us in the great journey still ahead to bring fulfillment to His vision. We are likewise thankful to God for every person we have come to know through this ministry and for the moments that we ourselves have been blessed by God through knowing-God. As we celebrate, we take the words of Paul to encourage you, by saying, '“So now, brethren, I commend you to God and to the word of His grace, which is able to build you up and give you an inheritance among all those who are sanctified.'" Acts 20:32. Keep being a student of the word, keep growing in your faith, and keep progressing in the knowledge of God, it has great reward in this life and the life to come. Our commitment for the months ahead is to continue to humble ourselves before God and do everything as we are shown to see His will being done and His people blessed and unbelievers saved through the power of the gospel. Take a moment to thank God for His doing through knowing-God and Pray for us, that we will remain faithful to the heavenly vision. Thank you, and we will see you around in the next post. God bless you. In Christ Helder & Rebeca | Knowing-God.com Like - Comment - Share - Subscribe Love . Grace . Intimacy

Peace and grace brethren! In this Q&A article, we will seek to answer the question above. Someone said to us, "I found it interesting that you said 'Jesus fulfilled the law' and didn't abolish it. Can you talk more about the Old Testament Law and how it was not abolished? I have doubts about the laws." Thanks for asking! This is a good question, one that many sincere believers have. We have asked this question to ourselves in different occasions. We came to realize that embedded in this question is usually another question, Should new testament believers obey The Law or The Old Testament Laws? Often the latter ends up being the real question when someone asks Law-related questions. Perhaps that's why you said, "I have doubts about the laws." In either case, by the grace of God, in this article, we will seek to answer both questions in a somewhat straightforward manner, so the article doesn't get as lengthy, and another detailed article directly addressing the question, "Should New Testament Believers Obey The Law" will follow. It's our prayer that God though these articles will establish your heart regarding this issue or lead you to learn more through other materials. Let's go to the question! Did Jesus abolish The Law? Jesus Himself gave a direct and precise answer to this question, and His answer was: NO! In Matthew 5:17, Jesus said, "'“Do not think that I came to destroy the Law or the Prophets. I did not come to destroy but to fulfill.'" The verb translated destroy carries the meaning of "abolish, cancel nullify, make void, and etc." The New Living Translation translated it in the following way, "'“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.'" Matthew 5:17. The phrase that we used that led you to ask the question was essentially a paraphrase of Jesus own words. Jesus didn't abolish the law but came to accomplish its purpose. But Jesus didn't stay there, his answer was broader. While we seek to understand only whether the law was abolished or not, we see that Jesus' answer included the prophets also. The Law refers to the set of laws that Moses received in the Mount Sinai and others that followed when the Israelites first enter their covenant with God. The Law also refers to the covenant itself and indicates the time period in which that covenant was in effect. Whereas, the Prophets refer to the writings of the Prophets according to Jewish tradition, which includes Joshua, Judges, Samuel, Kings, plus all the known prophets from Isaiah to Malachi as we have in the new testament. Interestingly enough, all these prophets wrote during the time period when the covenant of the law was in effect, and spoke in figures about the coming of Jesus. Just like He did not abolish the Law, He didn't abolish what the Prophets said either. So, if He did not abolish, what happened then? On the latter part of Matthew 5:17, Jesus said, "...I came to accomplish their purpose.'" Instead of abolishing it, Jesus fulfilled the law, He accomplished its purpose. He explains further in verse 18 of Matthew 5 saying, "'For assuredly, I say to you, till heaven and earth pass away, one jot or one tittle will by no means pass from the law till all is fulfilled.'" Jot and tittle refers to the smallest characters in the Hebraic alphabet/writings. Jesus is saying that all that is written in the law and all that the prophets prophesied will be fulfilled, and not abolished. Jesus came to fulfill them, bring them to pass, bring them into existence, meaning accomplish their purpose. Perhaps its important for us to seek to comprehend the purpose of the law, so we can better understand what Jesus meant. The Law had several specifics purposes and one general purpose. The specifics are: 1) Expose our offenses or sins. It's written, "'Moreover the law entered that the offense might abound. But where sin abounded, grace abounded much more,'" Romans 5:20. 2) Make us guilt before God. It's written, "'Now we know that whatever the law says, it says to those who are under the law, that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world may become guilty before God.'" Romans 3:19. 3) Grant us the knowledge of sin. it's written, "'Therefore by the deeds of the law no flesh will be justified in His sight, for by the law is the knowledge of sin.'" Romans 3:20. Moreover, "'What shall we say then? Is the law sin? Certainly not! On the contrary, I would not have known sin except through the law. For I would not have known covetousness unless the law had said, “You shall not covet.” But sin, taking opportunity by the commandment, produced in me all manner of evil desire. For apart from the law sin was dead.'" Romans 7:7-8. 4) Keep us until faith came. It's written, "But before faith came, we were kept under guard by the law, kept for the faith which would afterward be revealed." Galatians 3:23. 5) Foreshadowing the future blessings in Christ. All the sacrifices, the feasts, the burning of incense, the ceremonies, and etc. had a prophetic nature, they were not the real things, they pointed to superior realities that would be fully revealed and available to us in Christ. It's written, "For the law, having a shadow of the good things to come, and not the very image of the things, can never with these same sacrifices, which they offer continually year by year, make those who approach perfect." Hebrews 10:1. All these specific purposes converge to the general purpose of the Law which is: Bring us to Christ. It's written, "Is the law then against the promises of God? Certainly not! For if there had been a law given which could have given life, truly righteousness would have been by the law. But the Scripture has confined all under sin, that the promise by faith in Jesus Christ might be given to those who believe. But before faith came, we were kept under guard by the law, kept for the faith which would afterward be revealed. Therefore the law was our tutor to bring us to Christ, that we might be justified by faith. But after faith has come, we are no longer under a tutor. " Galatians 3:21-25 NKJV. You see, the ultimate goal of the law was and is to lead us to Christ, and from Christ we get to the Father. The law was never meant to save us, that's why Romans 3:20 says "'Therefore by the deeds of the law no flesh will be justified in His sight, for by the law is the knowledge of sin.'"  Often when we read the old testament, we get astonished with the amount of laws and with the idea of having to keep all of them without failing a single one, otherwise, as James says we would be guilt of all of them; it's written, "'For whoever shall keep the whole law, and yet stumble in one point, he is guilty of all.'" James 2:10. This is a serious demand and speaks of the holiness of God, He is Holy and those who approach Him must be Holy (Leviticus 10:2). The requirements of the law scares us, leads us to conclude that it's impossible to keep them without failing at least one. Yes, indeed it's impossible; therefore, by the law you can see that we cannot obey God, and thus we become guilty before Him, unless we receive mercy, which is only found in Christ. In other words, the law reveals our inability to obey God, leaves us desperate, screaming, "Lord, have mercy on us, we are sinners," and then God comes and says, "Yes, you are a sinner, that's what I wanted you to see, so you can receive grace gladly. By your own deeds or your attempts obey me by keeping the law, won't work, but I made Him, Jesus, who knew no sin to be sin, so you could be justified, saved, made righteous before my eyes." [Ref, 2 Corinthians 5:21]. Is The Law Bad Then? The Answer is: No, By no means! Paul argues this saying, "'What shall we say then? Is the law sin? Certainly not! On the contrary, I would not have known sin except through the law. For I would not have known covetousness unless the law had said, “You shall not covet.” But sin, taking opportunity by the commandment, produced in me all manner of evil desire. For apart from the law sin was dead. I was alive once without the law, but when the commandment came, sin revived and I died. And the commandment, which was to bring life, I found to bring death. For sin, taking occasion by the commandment, deceived me, and by it killed me. Therefore the law is holy, and the commandment holy and just and good.'" Romans 7:7-12 Here again, Paul reminds us that the law was not a mistake. The law is holy, the commandment holy and just and good; we were the problem, we did not have the capacity to obey it. Our inability to obey the law doesn't make it bad, rather it shows that we need help. For instance, in our society we have traffic laws right? Why we have them? So that people don't go about driving anyhow, endangering themselves and other people's lives. However, how many people break the traffic laws? Many! Out of these people, how many break the law repeatedly? Several! Does it mean that the laws are useless or bad? By no means, if not for the law things would be even worse. But what about those who repeatedly break the laws? They simply show that they need help and not more and more laws! Traffic laws help us knowing what to obey but they don't give us the ability to drive well or the capacity to obey; again, they simply give us something to obey. A defensive driving course on the contrary can help us by correcting our bad driving habits. Once, one corrects his poor driving habits or rather is "empowered" to obey the traffic laws and begins to drive safely, he can surely acknowledge that the problem was never the law, but their inability to obey it. Same is applicable to us with respect to the law. The law is good, it is an extension of God's own character, and it was given in part because of transgression to keep us in line (1 Timothy 1:8-11) while The Savior, Christ, was to come, and at the same time, show us that we are guilty and helpless sinners, needing God's mercy. So, the law is good, not bad; therefore, it didn't need to be canceled. The law was not a mistake in God's agenda, as if He had given it and then realized, 'They won't be able to obey it, let me give then grace', Not at all! God knew from the beginning that Israel and we would never be able to obey the law fully, yet He gave it to us so we could be led to Christ by the revelation of sin that the Law brings. Again, this was the purpose of the Law, therefore, when Christ came, the Law had done its job and no longer was needed. Therefore, instead of saying abolished, Jesus said fulfilled. An illustration would be, If you want to go to a certain destination, and to get there, you need to take a taxi. By the time you get to your destination through the taxi, you will not say, 'The taxi was abolished because it took me to my destination'. Instead, you would say, 'The taxi fulfilled its purpose by taking me to my destination, consequently, I do not need to take the taxi again; I am at my destination'". The taxi accomplished its purpose, instead of being canceled. The Law was the means, taxi, to lead us to Christ, our destination, and by the time we are in Him, Christ, we no longer need a taxi, the law; not because taking a taxi is bad but because we no longer need it - it's not useful for us anymore. Perhaps, you can begin to see the answer of the implied question: should new testament believers obey the law? The answer is: No, because they are already at their destination, Christ. However, we can learn, and only learn, from the essence of the Law, because it still reveals the Holy nature of God, but this must be done in the light of the New Testament, without ever submitting ourselves to the Law again. Conclusion Jesus did not abolish or canceled the law, instead He fulfilled its purpose. Once the law finished its course, it was set aside, not canceled, and a New Covenant was ratified. It's written, "'For if that first covenant had been faultless, then no place would have been sought for a second. Because finding fault with them, He says: “Behold, the days are coming, says the Lord , when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah— [...] In that He says, “A new covenant ,” He has made the first obsolete. Now what is becoming obsolete and growing old is ready to vanish away.'" Hebrews 8:7-8,13. The Law could not save or transform us, therefore, a new one had to be ratified. The priesthood was changed from Levitical to Christ's, therefore the laws also changed. It's written, "'Therefore, if perfection were through the Levitical priesthood (for under it the people received the law), what further need was there that another priest should rise according to the order of Melchizedek, and not be called according to the order of Aaron? For the priesthood being changed, of necessity there is also a change of the law.'" Hebrews 7:11-12. The Law could not save or transform us, not because the law was bad but because we are sinners who cannot obey God's law and salvation was never meant to come through the law but by Faith because 430 years prior to the law, God had already justified Abraham by faith and promised that in Abraham's seed, who is Christ, all the families of the earth would be saved, or justified by Faith like Abraham was. Thus, from the very beginning the law had a temporary nature; it would only be in effect until the seed of Abraham came to scene, and He did (John 1:14). It's written, "'Brethren, I speak in the manner of men: Though it is only a man’s covenant, yet if it is confirmed, no one annuls or adds to it. Now to Abraham and his Seed were the promises made. He does not say, “And to seeds,” as of many, but as of one, “And to your Seed,” who is Christ. And this I say, that the law, which was four hundred and thirty years later, cannot annul the covenant that was confirmed before by God in Christ, that it should make the promise of no effect. For if the inheritance is of the law, it is no longer of promise; but God gave it to Abraham by promise'" Galatians 3:15-18. This covenant of Faith is the new covenant, the one that Jesus ratified in His blood, under which new covenant believers are bound, therefore, they don't have to obey the demands of the old, but in obeying the new, they fulfill the old and are made righteous before God because of Christ. Hallelujah! Hope this article was helpful in answering your question. To help you further, we recommend that you read the books of Romans, Galatians and Hebrews as they provide valuable insights about the law and the new covenant, and stay tuned for the next article. May God bless you, may you continue in knowing Him, and may your love for Him grow more and more in all wisdom and spiritual understanding. In Christ Knowing-God Family Like - Comment - Share - Subscribe Knowing-God.com Love . Grace . Intimacy

In the previous related article, we sought to answer a question we were asked, Did Jesus Abolish The Law? . In case you haven't read yet, please do it for better context. In the article we saw that Jesus did not abolish or canceled the law, instead He fulfilled its purpose, which according to Galatians 3:24, was to be a tutor and bring people to Christ . Once the law finished its course, it was set aside and a New Covenant was ratified, the covenant of Faith. As mentioned in the article also, the Law was not and is not bad, it simply worked to accomplish its purpose. Now, the question is: knowing that the Law is not bad and it was not canceled, are Christians supposed to still obey it? In our experiences, this is the real question many believers want answered when they begin to wonder or not the law was abolished. We have been there and asked ourselves the same question! it is our prayer that through this article God gives you clarity in Jesus. If the Law Is Not Bad, Should New Testament Believers Obey It Then? The straightforward answer to this question is: No! Not at all, not even a single command. Some people believe that the ceremonial laws, those pertaining to the service in the temple and the sacrifices, were the only laws canceled, but that the moral laws are still in effect. However, looking to the purpose of the law this seems contradicting. The law itself was not canceled, and not part of the was canceled or abolished either; again, Jesus Himself said it. The law had a purpose and it was accomplished, therefore, the law was set aside and not canceled, it became antiquated. Not a single commandment of the law is to be obeyed by new testament believers, hence we call it old. We are under the new covenant, thus, under the law of Christ and not under the law of Moses. However, we can learn - and believe me there is a great deal to learn in Law, but only learn, from the essence of the Law because it still reveals the Holy nature of God. Nevertheless, it must be done in the light of the New Testament, without ever submitting ourselves to the Law again, and we will explain why in the course of this article. Let's jump to it. The Law Foreshadowed Superior Spiritual Blessings As we have mentioned briefly in the previous article also, one of the purposes of the Law was to foreshadow superior spiritual blessings found in Christ. Thus, if we are in Christ, we have access to the superior-spiritual blessings themselves and not their shadows anymore, the veil is removed and we can see them clearly. If we have the superior blessings themselves, then the shadows are automatically rendered unnecessary. Why would we then, need again the lesser blessings? That would mark a regression and not a progression and render the work of Christ of no effect. The book of Hebrews put this way, "'And according to the law almost all things are purified with blood, and without shedding of blood there is no remission. Therefore it was necessary that the copies of the things in the heavens should be purified with these, but the heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices than these. For Christ has not entered the holy places made with hands, which are copies of the true, but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us;'" Hebrews 9:22-24. Notice the passage says, "the copies of the things in heavens should be purified with these, but the heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices." The system that came through the Law was a copy of the heavenly realities - superior blessings, therefore, God warned Moses saying, "'And see to it that you make them according to the pattern which was shown you on the mountain.'" Exodus 25:40. However, in Christ, we have access to the superior blessings themselves, not the copies like they had; therefore, if we focus on obeying only the righteous requirements of the new covenant, which is superior, automatically we fulfil the righteous requirements of the Law. Paul puts this way, "'There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit. For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has made me free from the law of sin and death. For what the law could not do in that it was weak through the flesh, God did by sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, on account of sin: He condemned sin in the flesh, that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.'" Romans 8:1-4 Notice the last verses, " For what the law could not do in that it was weak through the flesh, God did by sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, on account of sin: He condemned sin in the flesh, that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.' ". In other words, the Law was impotent to redeem or transform us, but Christ's sacrifice is sufficient to redeem and transform us. In him get we access to a new law, "The law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus", and if we walk on it, we fulfill the righteous requirement of the old testament law. Under this new covenant, we have access to the Holy Spirit, who leads us so we don't fulfill the lusts or the sinful desires of the flesh, and in so doing, we will fulfill the demands of justice or righteous requirements that the Law of Moses had, this is because, the bible says, "'For all the law is fulfilled in one word, even in this: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.”' (Galatians 5:14). Thus, if one loves his neighbor as himself, like the New testament commands, although is a commandment also given under the law (Leviticus 19:18), he is fulfilling the requirement of the law but not obeying the law itself and neither putting himself under its yoke. Do you see the difference? Again, obeying the requirements of the new covenant is enough for Christians; by doing so, they satisfy the law without obeying it. Now, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” refers only to the aspects of the law related to our relationship with our neighbors. However, the law had also requirements about our relationship with God Himself. Perhaps the best way to see this is by looking to the Ten Commandments first mentioned in Exodus 20:1-17. The first part comprised of the first 4 commandments, verses 1-11, pertains directly to our relationship with God, and the remaining 6 commandments comprise the second part and deals directly with our relationship with our neighbors, although it ultimately also affects our relationship with God. What is the point? The point is that with the above in mind, these 10 laws can be summed up in two great commandments. Jesus puts this way, "..., “‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’'" Matthew 22:37-39. If you obey these two great commandments to the core, you then fulfill all the ten commandments because they resume the essence of the Law, and the prophets according to Jesus. He said, "'On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets.”' Matthew 22:40. In other words, "'The entire law and all the demands of the prophets are based on these two commandments.”' Matthew 22:40 NLT. So, when new testament believers wonder whether or not they should obey the law, they show they never understood the new covenant, the character of God, the law itself and its purpose, or that they have been deceived by someone somewhere during their walk. If you have the latest iPhone why would you go back to the old? In theory the latest has all the feature of the old and much more, unless some old features were deemed unnecessary. Of course this is an imperfect analogy, considering the distraction that newer technologies can bring alongside better productivity. However, such is not the case of the new covenant. The truth is that the latest covenant of God has embedded on it the essence of the old, and obeying the demands of the new covenant in Christ leads us to obey the demands of the law, fulfilling its righteous requirements, which quite frankly are nothing compared to new. The requirements of the New covenant are stricter compared to the old. Consider the words of Jesus, "'“You have heard that our ancestors were told, ‘You must not murder. If you commit murder, you are subject to judgment.’ But I say, if you are even angry with someone, you are subject to judgment! If you call someone an idiot, you are in danger of being brought before the court. And if you curse someone, you are in danger of the fires of hell.'" Matthew 5:21-22. What is easier the old, " you must no murder" or the new, "if you are even angry with someone [without a cause], you are subject to judgment" ? Certainly the new is. If you continue, you will see that Jesus makes other contrasts and in so doing He was removing the old and establishing the new covenant, founded on better promises (Hebrews 8:6) and with stricter requirements for righteousness. However, there is a couple caveats: The new covenant is transformation driven and not performance driven, under the new covenant, we have access to a new nature (John 1:12-13) not dominated by sin and access to the Holy Spirit who helps us subdue our old carnal nature. Thus, although the demands of the new are stricter, the amount of help we have to obey them are greater also. On the contrary, if we go back to the law, we are left helpless and incapable of even obey God and fulfil the Law. Under the law it is, "either you obey all or you obey none", James frames it as follows, "'For whoever shall keep the whole law, and yet stumble in one point, he is guilty of all.'" (James 2:10). The law is not a pick-and-chose system. If one says that we should obey "some" laws relevant for us today, then we should go back sacrificing animals and etc. Paul warns us against the idea of going back to the law in his letter addressed to the church of the Galatians. A Warning Against The Old Heresy He said, "'Oh, foolish Galatians! Who has cast an evil spell on you? For the meaning of Jesus Christ’s death was made as clear to you as if you had seen a picture of his death on the cross. Let me ask you this one question: Did you receive the Holy Spirit by obeying the law of Moses? Of course not! You received the Spirit because you believed the message you heard about Christ. How foolish can you be? After starting your new lives in the Spirit, why are you now trying to become perfect by your own human effort? Have you experienced so much for nothing? Surely it was not in vain, was it? I ask you again, does God give you the Holy Spirit and work miracles among you because you obey the law? Of course not! It is because you believe the message you heard about Christ.'" Galatians 3:1-5 NLT. Paul expressly said that for someone, meaning new testament believers, who understood the meaning of Christ's death and received the Holy Spirit by believing the message of the cross, to go back to the law, it is an evil spell; it does not happen only by means of someone simply deciding to do it but by means of being deceived by a corrupted preacher, like the Judaizers that came to the church of Galatia after they had been saved by the preaching of the cross. This is the only way that new testament believers go back the law, it's by deception. Do not go back to the law! You cannot obey it and you won't be able to do so, the new covenant is enough, "'Do not be deceived: “Bad company corrupts good morals.” 1 Corinthians 15:33. You see, the attempt to get believers back to the law is not a new thing. Paul dealt a lot with this issue in several churches throughout his ministry, and it usually began with circumcision and soon the Judaizers demanded more and more. For instance in Acts 15:1-2 reads, "'And certain men came down from Judea and taught the brethren, “Unless you are circumcised according to the custom of Moses, you cannot be saved.” Therefore, when Paul and Barnabas had no small dissension and dispute with them, they determined that Paul and Barnabas and certain others of them should go up to Jerusalem, to the apostles and elders, about this question.'" Notice that Paul and Barnabas didn't stay quiet, they disputed with those Judaizers, and so shall we do. Moreover, notice also, that the Church of Antioch determined that Paul and Barnabas should to go up to Jerusalem, to the apostles and elders, to ask about this question and settle this issue once and forever. Again, this is not a new issue, the claim, "Unless you are circumcised according to the custom of Moses, you cannot be saved." is the first major heresy the church had to deal with. In fact, this is the issue that led the church to have its first major council with Paul and Barnabas going to Jerusalem; who better than the apostles and elders of the early church to resolve this issue? No one but them. Thank God, they were still alive then and made a decree concerning this issue, as written: "'They wrote this letter by them: The apostles, the elders, and the brethren, To the brethren who are of the Gentiles in Antioch, Syria, and Cilicia: Greetings. Since we have heard that some who went out from us have troubled you with words, unsettling your souls, saying, “ You must be circumcised and keep the law” —to whom we gave no such commandment— it seemed good to us, being assembled with one accord, to send chosen men to you with our beloved Barnabas and Paul, men who have risked their lives for the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. We have therefore sent Judas and Silas, who will also report the same things by word of mouth. For it seemed good to the Holy Spirit, and to us, to lay upon you no greater burden than these necessary things: that you abstain from things offered to idols, from blood, from things strangled, and from sexual immorality. If you keep yourselves from these, you will do well. Farewell.'" Acts 15:23-29. Praise God! In short, the only thing coming from the law that believers are to observe, not as means to uphold the law or go back to it, but because they became requirements of the new covenant and are tied to the nature of God, are: "'[...] abstain from things offered to idols, from blood, from things strangled, and from sexual immorality. [...]'" Acts 15:29. In another words, "'Do not eat any food that people have given to their idols . Do not eat anything that still has blood in it. If people have strangled [squeeze or constrict the neck, especially so as to cause death, of] an animal to kill it, do not eat its meat. Do not have sex with anyone that you are not married to. If you obey these rules, you will do well. Goodbye.’" Acts 15:29 EASY Bible 2024. The leaders of the early church said, " If you keep yourselves from these, you will do well." Acts 15:29b. These were the only requirements the apostles had for gentiles, they did not agree for a minute with the idea of being circumcised or obeying the law of Moses. They said, it would be "[...] a yoke on the neck of the disciples which neither our fathers nor we were able to bear?'" Acts 15:10b. For believers to obey the law is a yoke of bondage that neither the old testament figures nor the apostles were able to obey, so we won't either. Paul said in Colossians 2:16-17 NKJV, "So let no one judge you in food or in drink, or regarding a festival or a new moon or sabbaths, which are a shadow of things to come, but the substance is of Christ." . Do not go back to the law. It had a purposed and it was accomplished in Christ. What is prescribed in the new testament or covenant is enough for us. In summary The law is not bad, therefore, it did not have to be abolished and Jesus did not abolish it, rather He fulfilled it and ushered a new covenant in His blood. Thus, the Law is outdated, it is part of an old testament or covenant to which new testament or covenant believers are not liable or bound - you are only legally bound to contracts or covenants you signed or that affects you, I speak as a man! Although some people claim that the moral laws are still in effect, again, not a single command of the law is to be obeyed by new testament believer, including the moral laws - to obey them because the law says so or because they are found in the bible is to obey the law and placed upon ourselves a yoke that was already removed in Christ, and explained by no else but the leaders of the early church. Moreover, Paul warned us saying, "'Are you so foolish? Having begun in the Spirit, are you now being made perfect by the flesh? Have you suffered so many things in vain—if indeed it was in vain? Therefore He who supplies the Spirit to you and works miracles among you, does He do it by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith?— '" Galatians 3:3-5. Don't perfect yourself in the flesh by going back to the law. James says, "'For whoever shall keep the whole law, and yet stumble in one point, he is guilty of all.'" (James 2:10). Thus, we can't simply choose to obey the moral laws, it's either all or none. Hence, the law is not for new testament saints. However, we can learn, and only learn, from the essence of the Law, because it still reveals the Holy nature of God, but this must be done in the light of the New Testament, without ever submitting ourselves to the Law again because, Paul also said, "'For what the law could not do in that it was weak through the flesh, God did by sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, on account of sin: He condemned sin in the flesh, that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.'" Romans 8:3-4. As we walk in the Spirit and obey the new covenant, we satisfy the righteous requirement of law and enjoy fellowship with God, having no need to obey anything else. To be a perfect, complete or mature Christian is not to add upon ourselves the law, but rather to be a good new testament believer, obeying all that is prescribed in the new covenant only. Now it is important to note that when we talk about the Law we are not talking about the old testament. Although the Law is found in the old testament, it doesn't make up its entirety. The old testament as we have today in our bibles didn't have only the law it also had the prophets, the historical books, the wisdom books and etc, although the events and books were written when the Law was in effect. So, it's important to distinguish the Law from the Old Testament, the usefulness of the Old Testament from what has been said about the Law, and this will be the subject of the next article God willing. May God bless you, may you be free from any yoke God did not place upon you, and run the race of faith unhindered for His glory. See you and stay tuned for the next article in this category: Law & Grace . Like - Comment - Share - Subscribe Knowing-God.com Love . Grace . Intimacy

Our mission is to fulfill the commandment of our Lord as underlined in Mathew 28:18-20, Mark 16:14-18 by diffusing the knowledge of God through the preaching of the gospel, so that unbelievers can become believers, believers become disciples, and encourage the disciples to make other disciples and live faithfully each day by growing in the grace and knowledge of Christ and in intimacy with God. About Knowing-GOD "And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Amen." Matthew 28:18-20 This ministry was forged from the desire to obey the commandment of our Lord Jesus Christ, as underlined in the verses above. Hence, we want to be of help to the body of Christ in the advancement of the kingdom of God by the power of the Holy Spirit while our Lord tarries. Our mission is to make God known (John 17:3, 2 Corinthians 2:14) in every nation, tribe and tongue by preaching the gospel so they can believe and be saved. Likewise, we aim at helping those who believe to progress in Knowing God and to become true disciples of Christ by growing in His grace, in the love of God, and in intimacy with the Holy Spirit (Matthew 28:18-20, 2 Corinthians 13:14, 2 Peter 3:17-18, John 8:31-32). About Us Hi, we are very glad you are here! We are Helder and Rebeca Alexandre, servants of Jesus Christ and members of First Family Church. By the grace of God, we have married for life (Matthew 19:4-6) and it has been 5 years since we entered this covenant with God and with one another (Malachi 2:14-15). We are blessed with two children, indeed blessings from the Lord (Psalms 127:3), and very thankful to be entrusted by God with the opportunity to instruct and disciple them in His ways (Proverbs 22:6). We have been born in Angola, in the southwest region of Africa. We first saw each other back home while attending the same college, but never spoke or were officially introduced. However, little did we know that God would cross our paths again, on the other side of the Atlantic ocean. We both travelled to the US to continue our education but with a year difference, and once we both came to know God truly, washed and cleansed from our sins by the blood of Jesus, The Lord made a way for us to finally meet each other in an Skype, online bible study group through friends of friends (Psalm 37:23), and finally we began to interact. From brother and sister in Christ, we became husband and wife for the glory of God (Hebrews 13:5-6), and the rest is this story that we are living as the Lord unfolds (Psalm 139:16). We are very excited about knowing God (Jeremiah 9:23-24) and progressing in knowing Him (Hosea 6:3), living wholeheartedly for Him (Matthew 10:24-25, Ephesians 5:1) and as well instructing others about His will (Romans 12:2) in obedience to the great commission (Matthew 28:18-20). Therefore, besides serving in our local church, we have also been sharing the word of God and preaching the gospel online in order to shorten the distance and reach many more people who never heard the the gospel or have been discipled. If such is your case, we are glad to be used of God as blessing in your life according to the grace given to us (1 Peter 4:10-11). We are a young Godly family that seeks to grow in faithfulness to honor the Lord everyday of our lives because of the love with which God loved us (Ephesians 2:1-4). Expect us to talk a lot, a lot about family related topics - relationships, education, career, finance, and etc., in addition to purely sharing the word of God; believe us we will. We are very glad you are here, may God bless you, and we look forward to know you here, God willing; otherwise we will see each other on the new Earth (Revelation 21:1-8). Sis. Rebeca Alexandre Hello! I'm Sis. Rebeca Alexandre, graduated in engineering management, and in image consultancy, but I gave up my professional career to take care of my family in obedience to God. Outside of serving my family and local church, I love speaking with and to women about intimacy with God, biblical femininity, and elegance, helping them to be faithful with their God-given gifts and talents. Embracing creativity, discovery through writing, outdoor walks, culinary experiences, reading, and exploring new places are my favorite hobbies. I'm very happy to have you here! Bro. Helder Alexandre Hi, I am a mechanical engineer by background and have been working full-time for 6 years. I am very passionate about teaching the word of God in a simple and straightforward manner to encourage believers to know the certainty of their beliefs and live faithfully for Christ (Luke 1:1-4). I like learning almost about anything as long it is of good report and beneficial to my development, calling and my profession. I enjoy spending time with my family, have a good moment of fellowship with the brethren, writing, reading a laughing. Very glad to meet you, hope I see you around!

Answering your questions in the light of God's word. "So Philip ran to him, and heard him reading the prophet Isaiah, and said, “Do you understand what you are reading?” And he said, “How can I, unless someone guides me?” And he asked Philip to come up and sit with him." Acts 8:30-31 Ask a Question "So Philip ran to him, and heard him reading the prophet Isaiah, and said, “Do you understand what you are reading?” And he said , “How can I, unless someone guides me?” And he asked Philip to come up and sit with him." Acts 8:30-31 Answering your questions in the lig ht of God's word. Submit Thanks for asking, we will reach out back to you!

Knowing God is a privilege. Have you ever thought about it, God can be known by men! This is an astounding truth. The almighty, omnipresent, omnipotent, omniscient God can be known by us, His creatures. It’s written, “because what may be known of God is manifest in them, for God has shown it to them.” Romans 1:19. In other words, the writer is clearly saying that whatever it is that we can know about God is only possible and available because God Himself has chosen to reveal it. The importance and the Benefits of Knowing God Although already addressed briefly on the aforementioned points, let's examine more thoroughly the importance and some of the benefits of knowing God. The list below is by no means exhaustive but it serves to introduce us to the depths and riches of knowing God. Knowing God is a privilege Have you ever thought about it, God can be known by men! This is an astounding truth. The almighty, omnipresent, omnipotent, omniscient God can be known by us, His creatures. It’s written, “because what may be known of God is manifest in them, for God has shown it to them.” Romans 1:19. In other words, the writer is clearly saying that whatever it is that we can know about God is only possible and available because God Himself has chosen to reveal it. This is true because if God is God no one can pressure Him to make Himself known, neither can someone go to His dwelling and bring Him out to the opening, no; God lives in a place of, "unapproachable light," (1 Timothy 6:16). The truth is that whatever we can know about God is only possible to the degree He reveals to us; otherwise, we cannot know Him. Fortunately, God has revealed Himself to us. Praise God. From the very beginning God made man to know and understand him. King David expressed his admiration to such an idea by saying, “When I consider Your heavens, the work of Your fingers, The moon and the stars, which You have ordained, What is man that You are mindful of him, And the son of man that You visit him? For You have made him a little lower than the angels, And You have crowned him with glory and honor. You have made him to have dominion over the works of Your hands; You have put all things under his feet, All sheep and oxen— Even the beasts of the field, The birds of the air, And the fish of the sea That pass through the paths of the seas. O Lord, our Lord, How excellent is Your name in all the earth!” Psalms 8:3-9. Out of all creatures, God has given us the privilege of being made in His image and being capable of knowing and fellowshipping with Him. God used to visit, converse, and instruct Adam daily in the garden of Eden. It’s written, “Out of the ground the Lord God formed every beast of the field and every bird of the air, and brought them to Adam to see what he would call them. And whatever Adam called each living creature, that was its name.” Genesis 2:19. Adam knew God because God wanted him to know Him as He wants each and everyone of us to know Him. Adam was intimate to God to the degree that he knew the “sound” of God. However, one day Adam sinned against the Lord, and when He visited him, Adam received not the Lord as usual. The bible says, “And they heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God among the trees of the garden. Then the Lord God called to Adam and said to him, “Where are you?” So he said, “I heard Your voice in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; and I hid myself.” And He said, “Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree of which I commanded you that you should not eat?” Genesis 3:8-11.God’s question to Adam is still the same for each one of us, “where are you?.” Notice that although God knew what Adam had done, He did not ask Him, what have you done, instead He asked Him, “where are you?”. Meaning that the primary consequence of Adam’s action was to get him far away from God. Where are you? But even if you are far from God, know that He set things up for you to know Him already. Acts 17, 26-27 says "And He [God] has made from one blood every nation of men to dwell on all the face of the earth, and has determined their preappointed times and the boundaries of their dwellings, so that they should seek the Lord, in the hope that they might grope for Him and find Him, though He is not far from each one of us;". According to this passage we see that God scattered the descendents of Adam across the earth, determining the places where they should live and their preappointed years on earth, with one goal in mind: that they would seek Him, that is verify, investigate, search for, get to the bottom of the matter about Him; in another words, that they would come to know Him. This is the reason we are here and the reason we have been created: to know and understand God. However, God did not only set things up so everybody can find and know Him by determining where and how long each person lives but also by being close to everybody; the passage says, "though He is not far from each one of us," meaning He is near to you, just reach out, He can be found. Our location with respect to God matters, God doesn't want us far from Him because He is not far from us. However, it doesn’t matter how far we are, we can still come closer and know Him, not because we will seek Him first, but because just as He first sought Adam even after his disobedience, God still seeks each one of us to be reconciled with Him, so we can know Him. God made a way in Christ. It's written, “Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.” John 14:6. In spite of the fall, we can still know God, He wants us to have this privilege. He is mindful of us. Knowing God is far beyond simply mental awareness but it is intimately knowing, passionately relating, spiritually and truthfully worshipping, and loving Him with all your heart, soul, and strength (Mt 22:37-40). It's learning to interact with Him on the basis of the knowledge you acquire of Him. For instance, there was a men called Enoque who walked with God and God took him for Himself. It’s written, “So all the days of Enoch were three hundred and sixty-five years. And Enoch walked with God; and he was not, for God took him. ” Genesis 5:23-24. Moreover, on the basis of the knowledge of God we can be heard by Him both for us and others. The bible narrates the following about a man called Joshua, “'Then Joshua spoke to the Lord in the day when the Lord delivered up the Amorites before the children of Israel, and he said in the sight of Israel: “Sun, stand still over Gibeon; And Moon, in the Valley of Aijalon.” So the sun stood still, And the moon stopped, Till the people had revenge Upon their enemies. Is this not written in the Book of Jasher? So the sun stood still in the midst of heaven, and did not hasten to go down for about a whole day. And there has been no day like that, before it or after it, that the Lord heeded the voice of a man; for the Lord fought for Israel.” Joshua 10:12-14. Consider this, if you know God you can be heard by Him! Almighty God can hear your voice just like He heard Joshua’s. So, these are just snapshots. Knowing God is a privilege, and a journey that can also bring many tribulations because not all have the knowledge of Him, yet it's joy and wonders-filled, and as se go through it our characters begin to be like God's (Ephesians 5:1), for can two walk together unless they are agreed (Amos 3:3)? Certainty not. Chapter 1 2 of 6 Chapter 2