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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

Jesus is: The great "I AM..." [Ref: John 8:58] "The bread of life..."  [Ref: John 6:35] "The Son of God... " [Ref: Revelation 2:18] “The light of the world..." [Ref: John 8:12] “The door of the sheep..."  [Ref: John 10:7-9] Jesus is: "Life-given Spirit..." [Ref: 1 Corinthians 15:45] "Our righteousness..."  [Ref: 1 Corinthians 1:30] “The resurrection and the life..."  [Ref: John 11:25] "One like the Son of Man..." [Ref: Revelation 1:13] "He who is holy and is True..."  [Ref: Revelation 3:7] Jesus is: “The way, The truth, and The life..." [Ref: John 14:6] "The firstborn from the dead..."  [Ref: Revelation 1:5] "He who has the key of David..."  [Ref: Revelation 3:7] "He who has the seven Spirits..."  [Ref: Revelation 3:1] "The Ruler over the Kings of the earth..." [Revelation 1:5] Jesus is: "The Amen, the Faithful and True Witness..."  [Revelation 3:14] "The Beginning of the creation of God..." [Ref: Revelation 3:14] "He who has the sharp two-edged sword..." [Ref: Revelation 2:12] He who has " the government upon His shoulder... " [Ref: Isaiah 9:6] He whose  ".... name is called The Word of God...."  [Ref: Rev 19:13-16] Jesus is: "He who holds the seven stars in His right hand..." [Ref: Revelation 2:1] “The true vine" and "His Father is the vinedresser…" [Ref: John 15:1-5] “He who is and was and is to come, the Almighty...” [Ref: Revelation 1:8] "The propitiation for our sins… and for the whole world"  [Ref: 1 John 2:2] "He who washed us from our sins in His own blood..."  [Ref: Revelation 1:5] Jesus is: “The good shepherd who gives His life for the sheep..."  [Ref: John 10:11-14] "The First and the Last, who was dead, and came to life..."  [Ref: Revelation 2:8] "The Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End,...” [Ref: Revelation 1:8] "He who walks in the midst of the seven golden lampstands..." [Ref: Revelation 2:1] "He who opens and no one shuts and shuts and no one opens...” [Ref: Revelation 3:7] Jesus is, He who is " called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace .", and "... has on His robe and on His thigh a name written: KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS.'..." [Ref: Isaiah 9:6, Revelation 19:16] All Hail Jesus Christ, who is The Kings of Kings and Lord of Lords! Like - Comment - Share - Subscribe ________________________________ Knowing-God.com Love . Grace . Intimacy

Knowing or not knowing God is what determines how people live their lives. It is written, “Now by this we know that we know Him, if we keep His commandments. He who says, “I know Him,” and does not keep His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him. But whoever keeps His word, truly the love of God is perfected in Him. He who says he abides in Him ought himself also to walk just as He walked.” 1 John 2:3-6. If someone doesn’t know God, he will leave his life anyway he wants. Knowing God is the basis for righteous living Knowing or not knowing God is what determines how people live their lives. It is written, “Now by this we know that we know Him, if we keep His commandments. He who says, “I know Him,” and does not keep His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him. But whoever keeps His word, truly the love of God is perfected in Him. He who says he abides in Him ought himself also to walk just as He walked.” 1 John 2:3-6. God is righteous and Holy and He calls on all of His creatures to be holy and righteous, not to pervert justice and walk blamelessly before Him. 1 Peter 1:16 says " 'but as He who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, because it is written, “Be holy, for I am holy.” And if you call on the Father, who without partiality judges according to each one’s work, conduct yourselves throughout the time of your stay here in fear; '" I Peter 1:15-17. No one is entitle to do as he pleases, God will hold all accountable. However, if someone does not know God he may think he can do as he wishes. Psalm 10:11-13 says, "'He has said in his heart, “God has forgotten; He hides His face; He will never see.” Arise, O Lord ! O God, lift up Your hand! Do not forget the humble. Why do the wicked renounce God? He has said in his heart, “You will not require an account. ”' Notice this person says in his heart "God has forgotten, He Hides His face, He will never see, God will not repay me for my sins." It's obvious from these words that this person doesn't know God and he has been living his life lawlessly; hence, the Psalmist called him, "wicked". If someone doesn’t know God, he will leave his life anyway he wants; however, if someone knows God, he ought to obey God’s commandments, live as Christ lived. If someone doesn’t do it, yet claims to know God, he is a liar. Jesus said, “... by their fruits you will know them,” (Matthew 7:20). People’s lives are a reflection of what they know or what they believe. For instance, Psalm 53:1 says, “The fool has said in his heart, “There is no God.” They are corrupt, and have done abominable iniquity; There is none who does good.” Psalms 53:1 NKJV. Because this person whom the bible calls a fool believes there is no God, he committed all sorts of abominable iniquity or sins. Likewise, Psalm 94, 7 describes the actions of a man that believes that God does not see; therefore, He also commits all kinds of sin. it is written, “They utter speech, and speak insolent things; All the workers of iniquity boast in themselves. They break in pieces Your people, O Lord , And afflict Your heritage. They slay the widow and the stranger, And murder the fatherless. Yet they say, “The Lord does not see, Nor does the God of Jacob understand.” Psalms 94:4-7. In addition, concerning people who ignore the knowledge of God, the bible says in the book of Romans, “because, although they knew God, they did not glorify Him as God, nor were thankful, but became futile in their thoughts, and their foolish hearts were darkened. Professing to be wise, they became fools, and changed the glory of the incorruptible God into an image made like corruptible man—and birds and four-footed animals and creeping things. Therefore God also gave them up to uncleanness, in the lusts of their hearts, to dishonor their bodies among themselves, who exchanged the truth of God for the lie, and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen. For this reason God gave them up to vile passions. For even their women exchanged the natural use for what is against nature. Likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust for one another, men with men committing what is shameful, and receiving in themselves the penalty of their error which was due.” Romans 1:21-27. What people know about God matters. It determines their lifestyle. Again, someone who does not regard God is doomed to commit all sorts of iniquity and eat of the fruit of his sin because God will let them have the sinful lives they want, will give them to their desires. Look around you, how many things were prohibited before and the government thought by legalizing it would incentivize people to consume, use, or do less? Instead the opposite scenario became the norm, people sought for more and more. For God to let you do as you wish to believe, it’s not a good thing, neither for you nor for your neighbor. Know God and be changed. Having in mind that the lives of people affect the society they live in, thus, knowing or not knowing God is also what determines how a society will be. It’s written, “For a long time Israel has been without the true God, without a teaching priest, and without law; but when in their trouble they turned to the Lord God of Israel, and sought Him, He was found by them. And in those times there was no peace to the one who went out, nor to the one who came in, but great turmoil was on all the inhabitants of the lands. So nation was destroyed by nation, and city by city, for God troubled them with every adversity.” II Chronicles 15:3-6. Notice that Israel was without the The true God because they did not have a teaching priest to teach them the law, which they ended also being without. Hosea 4:6 says, “My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge. Because you have rejected knowledge, I also will reject you from being priest for Me; Because you have forgotten the law of your God, I also will forget your children.” Again, Pay attention to the progression found in II Chronicles 15:3-6, the lack of someone to teach the law, led the people not to have the knowledge of The True God, and led them to be without Him, and to be without the law, therefore, everyone did as they pleased. As a consequence, they were troubled in everything, society was in turmoil, because God who was able to protect them, did not protect them since they did not seek Him; hence, adversity was their portion. However, in their affliction they sought the Lord, and He answered them. So, there is hope for any society provided they repent and go back to God and keep His laws. Any society will only rise to the degree of their knowledge of God, for good or bad. In Judges 2:8-12,14-15 it’s written, “Now Joshua the son of Nun, the servant of the Lord , died when he was one hundred and ten years old. And they buried him within the border of his inheritance at Timnath Heres, in the mountains of Ephraim, on the north side of Mount Gaash. When all that generation had been gathered to their fathers, another generation arose after them who did not know the Lord nor the work which He had done for Israel. Then the children of Israel did evil in the sight of the Lord , and served the Baals; and they forsook the Lord God of their fathers, who had brought them out of the land of Egypt; and they followed other gods from among the gods of the people who were all around them, and they bowed down to them; and they provoked the Lord to anger. And the anger of the Lord was hot against Israel. So He delivered them into the hands of plunderers who despoiled them; and He sold them into the hands of their enemies all around, so that they could no longer stand before their enemies. Wherever they went out, the hand of the Lord was against them for calamity, as the Lord had said, and as the Lord had sworn to them. And they were greatly distressed.” The reason the people of Israel did evil and caused the society to be in turmoil and have God as their enemy is because, the generation that came after the generation of Joshua did not know God, neither His works. Look at the society around you; the only reason it is full of hatred, murder, robbery, scandals, uncertainties, and etc., is because its inhabitants don’t know God. Every society who doesn’t know God pays the price for their ignorance, on the other hand, of a nation that fears God the bible says they are blessed. It’s written “Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord , The people He has chosen as His own inheritance.” Psalms 33:12. Knowing God is important and crucial for societal advancement and wellbeing. It matters if God is known in a society or not. Chapter 1 4 of 6 Chapter 3

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

The Gospel is to be Received by Faith​. It is written, For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, “The just shall live by faith.” As we saw before, sinners can be forgiven by God because of the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross. Such perfect sacrifice fulfilled the righteous requirements of the law of God. It means that Christ with His sacrifice provided all that is necessary for sinners to be saved, and God confirmed it by accepting Christ sacrifice. Lastly, The Gospel is to be Received by Faith It is written, For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, “The just shall live by faith.” As we saw before, sinners can be forgiven by God because of the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross. Such perfect sacrifice fulfilled the righteous requirements of the law of God. It means that Christ with His sacrifice provided all that is necessary for sinners to be saved, and God confirmed it by accepting Christ sacrifice; therefore, Christ said "it's finished" and God on the third day ressurected Him. However, since Christ died for all, does it mean that all are automatically saved and made righteous? The answer is: No! Jesus died for all, He wants to save all, but only those who believe in Him will be saved. Paul puts this way, "For to this end we both labor and suffer reproach, because we trust in the living God, who is the Savior of all men, especially of those who believe." 1 Timothy 4:10. Christ is the Savior of all because He died to save everybody, God so loved the world and desires all men to come to the knowledge of the truth (John 3:16; 1 Timothy 2:1-4); however, only those who repent of their sins, believe in Christ or acknowledge His sacrifice will be saved. Therefore, Paul said, "... especially of those who believe.". The point is that what Jesus did for every human being is not immediately applied on people's lives, but only if they receive The Gospel message by Faith. What is faith then? According to Strong's concordance, the word translated faith in Romans 1:17 is the Greek word, "Pistis (from the root word peithô , "persuade, be persuaded") which is properly defined as persuasion (be persuaded, come to trust); In another word, pistis ("faith") for the believer is "God's divine persuasion" – and therefore distinct from human belief (confidence), yet involving it. The Lord continuously births faith in the yielded believer so they can know what He prefers, i.e. the persuasion of His will (1 Jn 5:4). Strong's continues saying, Pitis is God's warranty that guarantees the fulfillment of the revelation He births within the receptive believer (cf. 1 Jn 5:4 with Heb 11:1)." God already desires you as well any human being on earth to be saved, remember, "[Jesus] is the Savior of all men," (1 Timothy 4:10) and, "God desires all men to be saved and come to the knowledge of the truth" (1 Timothy 2:3) for this reason He sent His Son Jesus Christ as we have seen in the paragraphs above to pay for the wages of your sins so you could be saved, or as John 3:16 says, "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life." What is the point? The point is that since God desires for you to be saved, He doesn't simply stops by making His will known, rather He is constantly and actively working in the heart of every men, including yours, to persuade them into believe, or to convict them of the truth, their need for salvation, and the efficacy of the sacrifice of Jesus to get them saved. This is Pistis, this is faith, and all begins with God. Because He loves you, He cared to send His Son, and cares to send His servants to preach this gospel message so you can be set free by the truth (John 8:32), believe on it and receive the power to be saved. As you were reading this article, God was working in you to open your eyes so you can see your nakedness, and once you see that all is true choose to be saved - taken from the kingdom of darkness and be translated to the kingdom of light (Colossians 1:13), loosed from the power of sin, flesh and the world, and delivered from the judgment to come. Do not ignore the conviction of God, do not delay in taking this step, "Therefore, as the Holy Spirit says: “Today, if you will hear His voice, Do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion, In the day of trial in the wilderness," Hebrews 3:7-8. Do not harden your heart. "For He says: “In an acceptable time I have heard you, And in the day of salvation I have helped you.” Behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation." II Corinthians 6:2. The Lord has been working in you as you heard His word, Romans 10:17 says, "So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God." You can see how broken the world is, how the gospel makes sense, and How God in His love sent the solution for humanity in Jesus. Upon this conviction, act, believe the gospel and be saved, because the gospel "is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also for the Greek." Romans 1:16. Act upon the word of God and be assured that God is able to make you a new creature. "that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. But what does it say? “The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart” (that is, the word of faith which we preach): For the Scripture says, “Whoever believes on Him will not be put to shame.” For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek, for the same Lord over all is rich to all who call upon Him. For “whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.” For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation." Romans 10:8-13. The day of salvation is today, in the light of all that was said call upon His name while there is time, because there is a day that God will judge all men according to His righteous commandments. Paul put this ways, "God, who made the world and everything in it, since He is Lord of heaven and earth, does not dwell in temples made with hands. Nor is He worshiped with men’s hands, as though He needed anything, since He gives to all life, breath, and all things. And He 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; for in Him we live and move and have our being, as also some of your own poets have said, ‘For we are also His offspring.’ Therefore, since we are the offspring of God, we ought not to think that the Divine Nature is like gold or silver or stone, something shaped by art and man’s devising. Truly, these times of ignorance God overlooked, but now commands all men everywhere to repent, because He has appointed a day on which He will judge the world in righteousness by the Man whom He has ordained. He has given assurance of this to all by raising Him from the dead." Acts 17:24-31. 6 of 6 Articles Chapter 1