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To what extent are we bound by the law? Is there a contradiction in the passages of the New Testament? Lord Jesus in Matthew 5:17-19 says “Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. For truly, I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot, will pass from the Law until all is accomplished. Therefore whoever relaxes one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever does them and teaches them will be called great in the kingdom of heaven.”
Jesus says he comes not to abolish the law but to fulfill it. We might infer that since Jesus does not intend to abolish the Law, the Law still exists. It may not be needed by Jesus since he has fulfilled the Law, so who does the Law exist for? Verse 19 makes it plain that exists for the rest of us...Those of us who disregard the least of the “commandments,” will be called least into the Kingdom of Heaven.
So why does Romans 7:6 say that we are “released from the Law”? Where is the consistency between that, and Matthew 5:17-19? Is Matthew 5:19 a key? There, Jesus seems to infer that when all is accomplished, there will no longer be any need for the Law. But a person’s relationship with God is an individual matter. Because of that, the Law cannot be swept away on a wholesale basis, but according to individual by individual.
Where does the “fulfillment” come in for each of us? When might each of us be “released from the Law”? Seems that both are achieved when we establish our faith in God. It is at that point that each of us is released from “the elementary Doctrine f Christ,” as mentioned in Hebrews 6:1. At that point, we go on from just drinking the milk of God to eating real food.
But what does faith in God entail? If we just say “Lord, Lord” without doing God’s Will, is our faith in God established? Jesus in Matthew 7:21 infers that it doesn’t, at least to the extent that we do not do God’s Will.
Is doing God’s Will not a matter of works? Our works mean nothing if it is not out of our faith in God. It seems that our works may be a function of our seeing the Light of God, but our faith in God isn’t established until those works are performed. Some have said that whatever works we engage in are God’s works. But regardless of who those works belong to, it is up to the individual who is endowed with the ability to perform those works, to do so in order to establish their faith in God. Each of us have been wonderfully made according to Psalms 139:14, and we have the capacity to learn, that we may be equipped to perform good works as inferred in 2 Timothy 3:16-17.
Romans 7 seems to infer that once our faith in God is established, through whatever means consistent with the Bible, the Law of God that the Hebrews were under is no longer necessary. But Romans 7 also serves as a reminder that the Law for each of us, to the extent that our faith may waiver due to temptation of sin, still exists to remind us that the Law has identified the sins which we may fall prey to. What then? We can ask for forgiveness. But would God grant us forgiveness if we just say, “God forgive me,” and then repeat the sin? Jesus tells us that we may forgive a person “seventy-seven times,” according to Matthew 18:22. Does that mean the same sin can be forgiven 77 times, or does it mean that 77 sins can be forgiven one time each? But the forgiveness that Jesus mentions applies to man. Do we know how many times God will forgive each of us for one sin? There seems to be no specific number in the Bible as there is in Matthew 18:22 that we can even start with. What may be more conceivable is that we each have a ledger that God examines before deciding whether we are worthy of Heaven, in which, taking everything into account, hopefully our credits exceed out debits, in matters of our faith in Hm.
Jesus says he comes not to abolish the law but to fulfill it. We might infer that since Jesus does not intend to abolish the Law, the Law still exists. It may not be needed by Jesus since he has fulfilled the Law, so who does the Law exist for? Verse 19 makes it plain that exists for the rest of us...Those of us who disregard the least of the “commandments,” will be called least into the Kingdom of Heaven.
So why does Romans 7:6 say that we are “released from the Law”? Where is the consistency between that, and Matthew 5:17-19? Is Matthew 5:19 a key? There, Jesus seems to infer that when all is accomplished, there will no longer be any need for the Law. But a person’s relationship with God is an individual matter. Because of that, the Law cannot be swept away on a wholesale basis, but according to individual by individual.
Where does the “fulfillment” come in for each of us? When might each of us be “released from the Law”? Seems that both are achieved when we establish our faith in God. It is at that point that each of us is released from “the elementary Doctrine f Christ,” as mentioned in Hebrews 6:1. At that point, we go on from just drinking the milk of God to eating real food.
But what does faith in God entail? If we just say “Lord, Lord” without doing God’s Will, is our faith in God established? Jesus in Matthew 7:21 infers that it doesn’t, at least to the extent that we do not do God’s Will.
Is doing God’s Will not a matter of works? Our works mean nothing if it is not out of our faith in God. It seems that our works may be a function of our seeing the Light of God, but our faith in God isn’t established until those works are performed. Some have said that whatever works we engage in are God’s works. But regardless of who those works belong to, it is up to the individual who is endowed with the ability to perform those works, to do so in order to establish their faith in God. Each of us have been wonderfully made according to Psalms 139:14, and we have the capacity to learn, that we may be equipped to perform good works as inferred in 2 Timothy 3:16-17.
Romans 7 seems to infer that once our faith in God is established, through whatever means consistent with the Bible, the Law of God that the Hebrews were under is no longer necessary. But Romans 7 also serves as a reminder that the Law for each of us, to the extent that our faith may waiver due to temptation of sin, still exists to remind us that the Law has identified the sins which we may fall prey to. What then? We can ask for forgiveness. But would God grant us forgiveness if we just say, “God forgive me,” and then repeat the sin? Jesus tells us that we may forgive a person “seventy-seven times,” according to Matthew 18:22. Does that mean the same sin can be forgiven 77 times, or does it mean that 77 sins can be forgiven one time each? But the forgiveness that Jesus mentions applies to man. Do we know how many times God will forgive each of us for one sin? There seems to be no specific number in the Bible as there is in Matthew 18:22 that we can even start with. What may be more conceivable is that we each have a ledger that God examines before deciding whether we are worthy of Heaven, in which, taking everything into account, hopefully our credits exceed out debits, in matters of our faith in Hm.
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