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Perpetuity of the Law: Spurgeon

Kokavkrystallos

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I. The Perpetuity of the Law

For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle, shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled. —Matthew 5:18

It has been said that he who understands the two covenants is a theologian; and this is, no doubt, true. I may also say that the man who knows the relative positions of the Law and of the gospel has the keys of the situation in the matter of doctrine. The relationship of the Law to myself, and how it condemns me: the relationship of the gospel to myself, and how if I be a believer it justifies me—these are two points which every Christian man should clearly understand. He should not “see men as trees, walking” (Mar 8:24) in this department, or else he may cause himself great sorrow and fall into errors which will be grievous to his heart and injurious to his life. To form a mingle-mangle of Law and gospel is to teach that which is neither Law nor gospel, but the opposite of both. May the Spirit of God be our teacher and the Word of God be our lesson book, and then we shall not err.

Very great mistakes have been made about the Law. Not long ago there were those about us who affirmed that the Law is utterly abrogated and abolished, and they openly taught that believers were not bound to make the Moral Law the rule of their lives. What would have been sin in other men they counted to be no sin in themselves. From such antinomianism as that may God deliver us! We are not under the Law as the method of salvation, but we delight to see the Law in the hand of Christ, and desire to obey the Lord in all things. Others have been met with who have taught that Jesus mitigated and softened down the Law; and they have in effect said that the perfect Law of God was too hard for imperfect beings, and therefore God has given us a milder and easier rule. These tread dangerously upon the verge of terrible error, although we believe that they are little aware of it. Alas, we have met with authors who have gone much further than this, and have railed at the Law. Oh, the hard words that I have sometimes read against the holy Law of God! How very unlike to those which the apostle used when he said, “The law is holy, and the commandment holy, and just, and good” (Rom 7:12). How different from the reverent spirit which made him say, “I delight in the law of God after the inward man” (Rom 7:22). You know how David loved the Law of God and sang its praises all through the longest of the Psalms. The heart of every real Christian is most reverent towards the Law of the Lord. It is perfect; nay, it is perfection itself. We believe that we shall never have reached perfection till we are perfectly conformed to it. A sanctification which stops short of perfect conformity to the Law cannot truthfully be called perfect sanctification, for every want of exact conformity to the perfect Law is sin. May the Spirit of God help us while, in imitation of our Lord Jesus, we endeavor to magnify the Law.

I gather from our text two things upon which I shall speak at this time. The first is that the Law of God is perpetual: “Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law.” The meaning is that even in the least point it must abide till all be fulfilled. Secondly, we perceive that the Law must be fulfilled: Not “one jot or one tittle shall…pass from the law, till all be fulfilled.” He Who came to bring in the gospel dispensation here asserts that He has not come to destroy the Law, but to fulfill it.

1. The Law of God Must Be Perpetual.

There is no abrogation of it, nor amendment of it. It is not to be toned down or adjusted to our fallen condition; but every one of the Lord’s righteous judgments abideth forever. I would urge three reasons which will establish this teaching.

In the first place our Lord Jesus declares that He did not come to abolish it. His words are most express: “Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfill” (Mat 5:17). And Paul tells us with regard to the gospel, “Do we then make void the law through faith? God forbid: yea, we establish the law” (Rom 3:31). The gospel is the means of the firm establishment and vindication of the Law of God.

Jesus did not come to change the Law, but He came to explain it.....

[That last line is so important; and He also came to magnify the law, making it's true meaning so much deeper that it affects the very thought life. We have so many antinomians today it's not funny, and it's not funny if there were even one, because it's from these folks you get the lines like "We all make mistakes, We're going to sin, we can't help it, etc" Well, the Bible tells me I CAN HELP IT!
1 John 2:1-4,
My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not. And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous:
And he is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world.
And hereby we do know that we know him, if we keep his commandments.
He that saith, I know him, and keepeth not his commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him.]
 

Soyeong

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To form a mingle-mangle of Law and gospel is to teach that which is neither Law nor gospel, but the opposite of both.

In Matthew 4:15-23, Jesus began his ministry with the Gospel message to repent for the Kingdom of God is at hand, which was a light to the Gentiles, and God's law is how his audience knew what sin is (Romans 3:20), so repenting from our disobedience to it a central part of the Gospel of the Kingdom. In Romans 15:18-19, Paul's Gospel involved bringing Gentiles to obedience in word and in deed, so he also taught Gospel of the Kingdom/Grace based on God's law.

Acts 14:21-22 When they had preached the gospel to that city and had made many disciples, they returned to Lystra and to Iconium and to Antioch, 22 strengthening the souls of the disciples, encouraging them to continue in the faith, and saying that through many tribulations we must enter the kingdom of God.

Acts 20:24-25 But I do not account my life of any value nor as precious to myself, if only I may finish my course and the ministry that I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify to the gospel of the grace of God. 25 And now, behold, I know that none of you among whom I have gone about proclaiming the kingdom will see my face again.

Acts 28:23 When they had appointed a day for him, they came to him at his lodging in greater numbers. From morning till evening he expounded to them, testifying to the kingdom of God and trying to convince them about Jesus both from the Law of Moses and from the Prophets.

So God's law can't be separated from the Gospel of the Kingdom/Grace.
 
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fhansen

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I. The Perpetuity of the Law

For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle, shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled. —Matthew 5:18

It has been said that he who understands the two covenants is a theologian; and this is, no doubt, true. I may also say that the man who knows the relative positions of the Law and of the gospel has the keys of the situation in the matter of doctrine. The relationship of the Law to myself, and how it condemns me: the relationship of the gospel to myself, and how if I be a believer it justifies me—these are two points which every Christian man should clearly understand. He should not “see men as trees, walking” (Mar 8:24) in this department, or else he may cause himself great sorrow and fall into errors which will be grievous to his heart and injurious to his life. To form a mingle-mangle of Law and gospel is to teach that which is neither Law nor gospel, but the opposite of both. May the Spirit of God be our teacher and the Word of God be our lesson book, and then we shall not err.

Very great mistakes have been made about the Law. Not long ago there were those about us who affirmed that the Law is utterly abrogated and abolished, and they openly taught that believers were not bound to make the Moral Law the rule of their lives. What would have been sin in other men they counted to be no sin in themselves. From such antinomianism as that may God deliver us! We are not under the Law as the method of salvation, but we delight to see the Law in the hand of Christ, and desire to obey the Lord in all things. Others have been met with who have taught that Jesus mitigated and softened down the Law; and they have in effect said that the perfect Law of God was too hard for imperfect beings, and therefore God has given us a milder and easier rule. These tread dangerously upon the verge of terrible error, although we believe that they are little aware of it. Alas, we have met with authors who have gone much further than this, and have railed at the Law. Oh, the hard words that I have sometimes read against the holy Law of God! How very unlike to those which the apostle used when he said, “The law is holy, and the commandment holy, and just, and good” (Rom 7:12). How different from the reverent spirit which made him say, “I delight in the law of God after the inward man” (Rom 7:22). You know how David loved the Law of God and sang its praises all through the longest of the Psalms. The heart of every real Christian is most reverent towards the Law of the Lord. It is perfect; nay, it is perfection itself. We believe that we shall never have reached perfection till we are perfectly conformed to it. A sanctification which stops short of perfect conformity to the Law cannot truthfully be called perfect sanctification, for every want of exact conformity to the perfect Law is sin. May the Spirit of God help us while, in imitation of our Lord Jesus, we endeavor to magnify the Law.

I gather from our text two things upon which I shall speak at this time. The first is that the Law of God is perpetual: “Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law.” The meaning is that even in the least point it must abide till all be fulfilled. Secondly, we perceive that the Law must be fulfilled: Not “one jot or one tittle shall…pass from the law, till all be fulfilled.” He Who came to bring in the gospel dispensation here asserts that He has not come to destroy the Law, but to fulfill it.


1. The Law of God Must Be Perpetual.

There is no abrogation of it, nor amendment of it. It is not to be toned down or adjusted to our fallen condition; but every one of the Lord’s righteous judgments abideth forever. I would urge three reasons which will establish this teaching.

In the first place our Lord Jesus declares that He did not come to abolish it. His words are most express: “Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfill” (Mat 5:17). And Paul tells us with regard to the gospel, “Do we then make void the law through faith? God forbid: yea, we establish the law” (Rom 3:31). The gospel is the means of the firm establishment and vindication of the Law of God.

Jesus did not come to change the Law, but He came to explain it.....

[That last line is so important; and He also came to magnify the law, making it's true meaning so much deeper that it affects the very thought life. We have so many antinomians today it's not funny, and it's not funny if there were even one, because it's from these folks you get the lines like "We all make mistakes, We're going to sin, we can't help it, etc" Well, the Bible tells me I CAN HELP IT!
1 John 2:1-4,
My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not. And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous:
And he is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world.
And hereby we do know that we know him, if we keep his commandments.
He that saith, I know him, and keepeth not his commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him.]
This is nonsense. Here Spurgeon denounces antinomianism with one hand while supporting it with the other for all practical purposes, ignoring all Scripture that blares out: no holiness=no salvation.
 
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Kokavkrystallos

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This is nonsense. Here Spurgeon denounces antinomianism with one hand while supporting it with the other for all practical purposes, ignoring all Scripture that blares out: no holiness=no salvation.


Where does he denounce it? I don't see anything he wrote that is against holiness, unless this line here "We believe that we shall never have reached perfection till we are perfectly conformed to it. "

But right after that he says, "A sanctification which stops short of perfect conformity to the Law cannot truthfully be called perfect sanctification, for every want of exact conformity to the perfect Law is sin. May the Spirit of God help us while, in imitation of our Lord Jesus, we endeavor to magnify the Law."
 
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Dan Perez

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In Matthew 4:15-23, Jesus began his ministry with the Gospel message to repent for the Kingdom of God is at hand, which was a light to the Gentiles, and God's law is how his audience knew what sin is (Romans 3:20), so repenting from our disobedience to it a central part of the Gospel of the Kingdom. In Romans 15:18-19, Paul's Gospel involved bringing Gentiles to obedience in word and in deed, so he also taught Gospel of the Kingdom/Grace based on God's law.

Acts 14:21-22 When they had preached the gospel to that city and had made many disciples, they returned to Lystra and to Iconium and to Antioch, 22 strengthening the souls of the disciples, encouraging them to continue in the faith, and saying that through many tribulations we must enter the kingdom of God.

Acts 20:24-25 But I do not account my life of any value nor as precious to myself, if only I may finish my course and the ministry that I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify to the gospel of the grace of God. 25 And now, behold, I know that none of you among whom I have gone about proclaiming the kingdom will see my face again.

Acts 28:23 When they had appointed a day for him, they came to him at his lodging in greater numbers. From morning till evening he expounded to them, testifying to the kingdom of God and trying to convince them about Jesus both from the Law of Moses and from the Prophets.

So God's law can't be separated from the Gospel of the Kingdom/Grace.
And Acts 28:25 -- 27 says that Israel was not HEALED and was set aside !!

And Acts 28:28 becomes a new message as Paul wrote in Eph 3:2-6 that the message of GREACE of God to be sent to GENTILES .

The first OLD COVENANT was set aside as written in Heb 8:7 and verse 8 , Israel will be given a NEW COVENANT .

dan p
 
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Soyeong

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And Acts 28:25 -- 27 says that Israel was not HEALED and was set aside !!

And Acts 28:28 becomes a new message as Paul wrote in Eph 3:2-6 that the message of GREACE of God to be sent to GENTILES .

The first OLD COVENANT was set aside as written in Heb 8:7 and verse 8 , Israel will be given a NEW COVENANT .

dan p
The New Covenant involves God putting the Law of Moses in our minds and writing it on our hearts, which is in accordance with the Gospel of the Kingdom that both Jesus and Paul taught.
 
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Dan Perez

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The New Covenant involves God putting the Law of Moses in our minds and writing it on our hearts, which is in accordance with the Gospel of the Kingdom that both Jesus and Paul taught.
And where is your reply taken from , maybe EZE 36: 26 !!

I see that Judah and Israel are still 2 sticks and have YET to be reunited and to me the NEW COVENANT is not in

operation at all , and EZE 37 : 15-22 is the answer as Israel and Judah are NOT one Nation at this time .

dan p
 
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Soyeong

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And where is your reply taken from , maybe EZE 36: 26 !!

I see that Judah and Israel are still 2 sticks and have YET to be reunited and to me the NEW COVENANT is not in

operation at all , and EZE 37 : 15-22 is the answer as Israel and Judah are NOT one Nation at this time .

dan p
The New Covenant still involves walking in God’s way either way.
 
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Dan Perez

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The New Covenant involves God putting the Law of Moses in our minds and writing it on our hearts, which is in accordance with the Gospel of the Kingdom that both Jesus and Paul taught.
And we are talking about the OLD COVEVENT being being replaced by NEW CVENANT , suppled , just give a verse in EZK

and Heb 8: 7-8 says why the OLD COVENANT was done AWAY WITH !!

dan p
 
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Soyeong

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And we are talking about the OLD COVEVENT being being replaced by NEW CVENANT , suppled , just give a verse in EZK

and Heb 8: 7-8 says why the OLD COVENANT was done AWAY WITH !!

dan p
The Mosaic Covenant is eternal (Exodus 31:14-17, Leviticus 24:8), so the only way that it can be done away with by the New Covenant is if the New Covenant is inclusive of everything in the Mosaic Covenant plus more, which is what it means to make something obsolete (Hebrews 8:13). So the New Covenant still involves following the Mosaic Law (Hebrews 8:10) plus it is based on better premises and has a superior mediator (Hebrews 8:6). The fault that God found with the Mosaic Covenant was not with His law, be with the people for not continuing in their covenant (Hebrews 8:7-9), so the solution to the problem was not to do away with God's law, but to do away with what was hindering us from obeying it. This is why the New Covenant involves God sending His Son to free us from sin so we might be free to obey God's law at fulfill its righteous requirement (Romans 8:3-4), God taking away our hearts of stone, giving us hearts of flesh, and sending His Spirit to lead us to obey the Mosaic Law (Ezekiel 36:26-27), and God putting the Mosaic Law in our minds and writing it on our hearts so that we will obey it (Jeremiah 31:33). In Deuteronomy 30, it prophesies about a time when the Israelites will return from exile, God will circumcise their hearts, and they will return to obedience to the Mosaic Law, which is the basis for the New Covenant, and which Ezekiel and Jeremiah are also speaking in regard to, so the New Covenant is all about Israel returning to obedience to the Mosaic Law.
 
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Dan Perez

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The New Covenant involves God putting the Law of Moses in our minds and writing it on our hearts, which is in accordance with the Gospel of the Kingdom that both Jesus and Paul taught.
And is that verse found , that Paul taught the NEW COVENANT as I have never seen the verse ?

And how is any one saved under the NEW COVENANT ??

dan p
 
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Soyeong

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And is that verse found , that Paul taught the NEW COVENANT as I have never seen the verse ?

And how is any one saved under the NEW COVENANT ??

dan p
In Psalms 119:29-30, he wanted to put false ways far from him, for God to be gracious to him by teaching him to obey His law, and he chose the way of faith by setting it before him, so this has always been the one and only way of salvation by grace through faith alone regardless of which covenant someone is under.
 
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Kokavkrystallos

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And is that verse found , that Paul taught the NEW COVENANT as I have never seen the verse ?

And how is any one saved under the NEW COVENANT ??

dan p
I've been sharing this recently on how someone truly comes into salvation.
It's the way "accepting Christ" is presented most of the time, that is Biblically & doctrinally unsound. "Accept Jesus into your heart."
We probably took that for granted that's how you get saved, but it's NOT in the Bible!
In fact "accepting Jesus in your heart" and saying some form of sinners prayer has consigned a lot of people to hell. Why? Because they are taught that's all they gotta do, and even if they prayed that last year or 10 or 20 years ago and were sincere, God hears that prayer and they'll go to heaven, even if they live like a devil.
No, no, no! The entire Bible is very clear those who are saved will be born again, be new creatures in Christ, will repent and turn from their sins, will not live in sin, but if they do sin, to confess their sin and be forgiven, to continue in the Word, to continue in the faith, to be a peculiar people, to do righteousness as He is righteous, to overcome, to endure to the end.
On the flip side in the parable of the Sower, those who receive seed on stony ground believe for awhile but in time of temptation or persecution they fall away. Likewise, John writes that those who went out from us were not of us, and had they been of us, they would no doubt have continued with us. No doubt!
I know Ephesians says Christ dwell in your hearts by faith. That's written to the church of Ephesus, to people already saved.
Revelation 3:20 is often used in evangelism to say Jesus is knocking at the door of your heart, so you need to invite Him in, and accept Him in your heart.
That is like so cringeworthy when I hear it, as it is so out of context! Revelation 3:20, "behold I stand at the door and knock," is addressed to a church, to Laodicea, who thought they had everything, didn't need nothing, and had become lukewarm, which was useless and sickening, and in the process had shut Jesus out of the church! Says NOTHING about your heart, or the door of your heart, at all!
The Bible does NOT teach Accept Christ as your personal Saviour, or to "make Jesus your Saviour."
You don't make Jesus anything! He makes YOU born again, and makes YOU a new Creature in Christ. It is Jesus who accepts you when you confess you are a sinner and believe the gospel, believing on His name, and confessing Him, believing in your heart God raised Him from the dead, for Romans 10:10 does mention the heart, that with the heart man believeth unto righteousness.
That believing is not a one time thing, but an ongoing trusting by faith, with actions, fruits, works, following as the evidence that you have truly believed that Jesus Christ died for your sins, was buried, and rose again the third day, and is in heaven as our advocate.
That's another passage that gets used out of context, Romans 10:8 & 9. Sometimes preachers won't even go into 10. They zoom in on verse 9,
"That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved."
And they'll tell you that's it, you do that, say one prayer and you're saved and no matter what, you're going to heaven. And there's no conviction of sin, no move of the Spirit on the heart, and people buy into this and walk away right back on the wide road to hell, but thinking they are saved!
"If ye love me, obey my commandments," Jesus said.
Praise His Holy name, Yeshua, HalleluYah! Amen.

Jesus chooses us, and only a couple times are we told to choose:
Deuteronomy 30:19-20
I call heaven and earth to record this day against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing: therefore choose life, that both thou and thy seed may live:
That thou mayest love the LORD thy God, and that thou mayest obey his voice, and that thou mayest cleave unto him: for he is thy life, and the length of thy days..."

Joshua 24:15,
And if it seem evil unto you to serve the LORD, choose you this day whom ye will serve; whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the flood, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell: but as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD."

Now consider John 15:16,
"Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you, and ordained you, that ye should go and bring forth fruit, and that your fruit should remain: that whatsoever ye shall ask of the Father in my name, he may give it you."

Now lest you think that was only for the disciples, look at Ephesians 1:3-6,

"Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ:
According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love:
Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will,
To the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he hath made us accepted in the beloved."

It's very clear here that we are chosen by God, before the foundation of the world, predestined to be adopted by the good pleasure of HIS will, by Jesus Christ unto Himself (Another passage coupled with 2 Corinthians 6:18 showing Jesus and the Father are One: "And will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty."),
And finally in Ephesians we see God "hath made us accepted in the beloved. "

This is like I been saying recently, that Jesus accepted me, I did not accept Him. He called, He chose, He predestined, He elected, and when the time came and the gospel was revealed to me as the only way of salvation, I responded to that grace and mercy revealed unto me. I received as John 1:12-13 says, but note here also, it's ultimately the will of God at play:

"But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name:
Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God."
 
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Jo555

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Matthew 22:
37 Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’[c] 38 This is the first and greatest commandment. 39 And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’[d] 40 All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”

The law is not abolished, but fulfilled in Christ where by grace through faith we bear his fruits, greatest being love. The heart of the law is the Holy Spirit.

We don't follow the law to try and fulfill its demands because that takes self-effort and does not affect the heart. We may not physically murder, but if we hate we have murdered. If we lust we have committed adultery, etc. This is an impossible standard to attain on our own. Matthew 5:17+. We are not saying you break the law, only that it is fulfilled in Christ. Jesus healed on the Sabbath and was condemned by the law keepers, but Jesus made it plain that the law was not meant to prevent good. He was the heart of the law in the flesh.

Were they still not killing once the law was given to them? Yes, and on God's word because ultimately murder is a condition of the heart. To hate another is to murder them at heart.

And what of David and his companions, who were born after the law was given, eating the consecrated bread in the house of God, something unlawful? Matthew 12.

I like to use this example. So your neighbor has a yard with a pool. He also has a sign in the fence that says, "Do not trespass." You see the sign, but you also see his young, beloved daughter drowning in the pool.

Do you believe he meant that sign to stop you from doing good and saving his daughter?

He meant it to prevent ill intended people to cause harm, not to prevent good.

So yes, Jesus teaches that He did not come to abolish the law, but to fulfill it, which is by crucifying our old nature to the cross and giving us new birth by which his Spirit dwells and fulfills the law through his love.

We often make a big deal of the law, but the law, or shall we say the law devoid of the Spirit is actually a piece of cake compared to the actual standard, the heart of God; to be pure of heart as God is. It is impossible of our own through self-effort. We enter into that through Christ, by grace through faith and as a result, our lives bear good fruit and works.

Our lives will manifest holy living as, by the Spirit we deny our old nature so that his Spirit will flow through us and bear his fruits and good works.

To deny the flesh by the Spirit is to have faith that what God has for us is far better than what the flesh does; to believe in the promises of God, and to love Him with all, and neighbor as self.

As we grow in faith and love, we will mature in it, and the blood of Jesus has us covered through it all.

Hebrews11:39+
Hebrews 12
1 John 4:16-19
Ephesians 3:14-20
 
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Jo555

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Matthew 22:
37 Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’[c] 38 This is the first and greatest commandment. 39 And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’[d] 40 All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”

The law is not abolished, but fulfilled in Christ where by grace through faith we bear his fruits, greatest being love. The heart of the law is the Holy Spirit.

We don't follow the law to try and fulfill its demands because that takes self-effort and does not affect the heart. We may not physically murder, but if we hate we have murdered. If we lust we have committed adultery, etc. This is an impossible standard to attain on our own. Matthew 5:17+. We are not saying you break the law, only that it is fulfilled in Christ. Jesus healed on the Sabbath and was condemned by the law keepers, but Jesus made it plain that the law was not meant to prevent good. He was the heart of the law in the flesh.

Were they still not killing once the law was given to them? Yes, and on God's word because ultimately murder is a condition of the heart. To hate another is to murder them at heart.

And what of David and his companions, who were born after the law was given, eating the consecrated bread in the house of God, something unlawful? Matthew 12.

I like to use this example. So your neighbor has a yard with a pool. He also has a sign in the fence that says, "Do not trespass." You see the sign, but you also see his young, beloved daughter drowning in the pool.

Do you believe he meant that sign to stop you from doing good and saving his daughter?

He meant it to prevent ill intended people to cause harm, not to prevent good.

So yes, Jesus teaches that He did not come to abolish the law, but to fulfill it, which is by crucifying our old nature to the cross and giving us new birth by which his Spirit dwells and fulfills the law through his love.

We often make a big deal of the law, but the law, or shall we say the law devoid of the Spirit is actually a piece of cake compared to the actual standard, the heart of God; to be pure of heart as God is. It is impossible of our own through self-effort. We enter into that through Christ, by grace through faith and as a result, our lives bear good fruit and works.

Our lives will manifest holy living as, by the Spirit we deny our old nature so that his Spirit will flow through us and bear his fruits and good works.

To deny the flesh by the Spirit is to have faith that what God has for us is far better than what the flesh does; to believe in the promises of God, and to love Him with all, and neighbor as self.

As we grow in faith and love, we will mature in it, and the blood of Jesus has us covered through it all.

Hebrews11:39+
Hebrews 12
1 John 4:16-19
Ephesians 3:14-20
Additionally, it is not the law that is disregarded, but the old covenant that is set aside as we enter in through Christ; the old way of self-effort that could not change the heart.

We now enter into the new covenant, fulfilled in Christ, by grace through faith.

It's not an excuse to continue in sin, but in understanding that we enter in our new life by grace through faith in Christ and begin our journey of being transformed into his image, from glory to glory, from start to finish by faith.
 
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Soyeong

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Matthew 22:
37 Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’[c] 38 This is the first and greatest commandment. 39 And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’[d] 40 All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”

The law is not abolished, but fulfilled in Christ where by grace through faith we bear his fruits, greatest being love. The heart of the law is the Holy Spirit.
Everything that God has commanded is either in regard to how to love Him or our neighbor, which is why Jesus said that those are the greatest two commandments and that all of the other commandments hang on them, so the position that we should obey the greatest two commandments is also the position that we should obey the commandments that hang on them.

"To fulfill the law" means "to cause God's will (as made known in the law) to be obeyed as it should be" (NAS Greek Lexicon: pleroo), so Jesus fulfilled the law by graciously teaching us how to correctly obey it.

We don't follow the law to try and fulfill its demands because that takes self-effort and does not affect the heart. We may not physically murder, but if we hate we have murdered. If we lust we have committed adultery, etc. This is an impossible standard to attain on our own. Matthew 5:17+. We are not saying you break the law, only that it is fulfilled in Christ.
Something that takes self-effort does not involve relying on anyone else, so it is contradictory to think that it takes self-effort to rely on God's instructions. In Exodus 20:6, God wanted His people to love Him and obey His commandments, so obedience to God's instructions has always been a matter of the heart, otherwise God would not have disdained it when His people honored Him with their lips while their heart was far from Him (Isaiah 29:13).

God's law commands against hating our brother (Leviticus 19:17) and if we correctly understand what is being commanded against the 7th and 10th Commandments against adultery and coveting in our hearts, then we won't lust after a married woman in our heart. In Matthew 7:23, Jesus did not end the Sermon on the Mouth by saying that he was just kidding and that it is impossible to do what he said, but rather he said that everyone then who hearsi and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock.

Jesus healed on the Sabbath and was condemned by the law keepers, but Jesus made it plain that the law was not meant to prevent good. He was the heart of the law in the flesh.
A numbers of God's laws appear to conflict with each other, such as when God commanded to rest on the Sabbath while also commanding priests to make offerings on the Sabbath (Numbers 28:9-10), however, it was not the case that priests were forced to sin by disobeying one of the two commands no matter what they chose to do, but that the lesser command was never intended to be understood as preventing the greater command from being obeyed. This is why Jesus said in Matthew 12:5-7 that priests who did their duties on the Sabbath were held innocent, why David wand his men were held innocent, and why he defended his disciples as being innocent. This is also why it is lawful to circumcise a baby on the 8th day if it happens to fall on the Sabbath, why it is lawful to get an ox out of a ditch on the Sabbath, and why it is lawful for Jesus to heal on the Sabbath. No command was intended to be understood as preventing us from obeying the greatest two commandments.

Additionally, it is not the law that is disregarded, but the old covenant that is set aside as we enter in through Christ; the old way of self-effort that could not change the heart.

We now enter into the new covenant, fulfilled in Christ, by grace through faith.

It's not an excuse to continue in sin, but in understanding that we enter in our new life by grace through faith in Christ and begin our journey of being transformed into his image, from glory to glory, from start to finish by faith.
The New Covenant still involves following God's law (Jeremiah 31:33). In Psalms 119:29-30, he wanted to put false ways far from him, for God to be gracious to him by teaching him to obey His law, and he chose the way of faith by setting it before him, so this has always been the one and only way of salvation by grace through faith.
 
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Jo555

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Everything that God has commanded is either in regard to how to love Him or our neighbor, which is why Jesus said that those are the greatest two commandments and that all of the other commandments hang on them, so the position that we should obey the greatest two commandments is also the position that we should obey the commandments that hang on them.
What Jesus was saying was that if you love God with all, and neighbor as self, you fulfill all laws for every law reflects his heart.

Romans 13:
8 Let no debt remain outstanding, except the continuing debt to love one another, for whoever loves others has fulfilled the law. 9 The commandments, “You shall not commit adultery,” “You shall not murder,” “You shall not steal,” “You shall not covet,”[a] and whatever other command there may be, are summed up in this one command: “Love your neighbor as yourself.”[b] 10 Love does no harm to a neighbor. Therefore love is the fulfillment of the law.
"To fulfill the law" means "to cause God's will (as made known in the law) to be obeyed as it should be" (NAS Greek Lexicon: pleroo), so Jesus fulfilled the law by graciously teaching us how to correctly obey it.
Isaiah 53
Romans 5:
9 Since we have now been justified by his blood, how much more shall we be saved from God’s wrath through him! 10 For if, while we were God’s enemies, we were reconciled to him through the death of his Son, how much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved through his life! 11 Not only is this so, but we also boast in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation.

------------------------
Jesus fulfilled the law by love and fulfilling the requirements of the law by paying for our sins. Because of his great love for us we now have his Spirit, the heart of his commandments, and as we are in the Spirit we flow in his love and fulfill his commandments.

If we walk in his love, we are obedient for their is no sin in his love.

For some reason you mention grace and love and people seem to freak out as if you are saying it is a free pass to sin. No one that I know of here is saying that, but I've only been here about 6 months or so. I have yet to come across it.

We are just saying that God gave us his righteousness by way of his Spirit and if one lives by the Spirit the love of God is manifest in them and they flow in God's love, and there is no sin in God's love. His love is obedience.



Something that takes self-effort does not involve relying on anyone else, so it is contradictory to think that it takes self-effort to rely on God's instructions.
Did I say that? If I did, let me elaborate and give an everyday example most can relate to. You want that cake, but you are on a diet. The more you try and resist the temptation the more your flesh desires the cake. You say no, I will not have the cake, but the more you fight it the more the desire for the cake grows. You eat cake.

What you need is to love something more than food, especially cake.

We can try and follow the commandments by the flesh, which will just make matters worse, or we can remain in Christ and be empowered by his Spirit in love. By the Spirit we put to death the misdeeds of the flesh.

In Exodus 20:6, God wanted His people to love Him and obey His commandments, so obedience to God's instructions has always been a matter of the heart, otherwise God would not have disdained it when His people honored Him with their lips while their heart was far from Him (Isaiah 29:13).
Agree. The heart of the matter is always the matter if the heart.

God's law commands against hating our brother (Leviticus 19:17) and if we correctly understand what is being commanded against the 7th and 10th Commandments against adultery and coveting in our hearts, then we won't lust after a married woman in our heart. In Matthew 7:23, Jesus did not end the Sermon on the Mouth by saying that he was just kidding and that it is impossible to do what he said, but rather he said that everyone then who hearsi and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock.
And in the old testament we are also told if we keep his commands we will live. How'd that go?

Jesus told us many things that are impossible of our own. The difference is that Jesus, by his death, came to empower us by his Spirit to do it.

If we could do it of our own, why did He have to come and die for our sins, then give us new life?

That's like saying, you suffered and died for nothing Jesus. I don't need your help because I got this.

The horror at just the thought.

A numbers of God's laws appear to conflict with each other, such as when God commanded to rest on the Sabbath while also commanding priests to make offerings on the Sabbath (Numbers 28:9-10), however, it was not the case that priests were forced to sin by disobeying one of the two commands no matter what they chose to do, but that the lesser command was never intended to be understood as preventing the greater command from being obeyed. This is why Jesus said in Matthew 12:5-7 that priests who did their duties on the Sabbath were held innocent, why David wand his men were held innocent, and why he defended his disciples as being innocent. This is also why it is lawful to circumcise a baby on the 8th day if it happens to fall on the Sabbath, why it is lawful to get an ox out of a ditch on the Sabbath, and why it is lawful for Jesus to heal on the Sabbath. No command was intended to be understood as preventing us from obeying the greatest two commandments.
The law was never meant to prevent good. If you walk in the love of God by his Spirit, the law is complete in you.

The New Covenant still involves following God's law (Jeremiah 31:33). In Psalms 119:29-30, he wanted to put false ways far from him, for God to be gracious to him by teaching him to obey His law, and he chose the way of faith by setting it before him, so this has always been the one and only way of salvation by grace through faith.
The new covenant is by grace through faith of which one is declared righteous because of Jesus sacrifice. The just shall live by faith. The law is just a shadow of God's heart. It was brought in after the promise to show us our sin and condemn it in the flesh, and to keep us until Christ came to fulfill the requirements if the law and give his Spirit to all who believe.
 
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Jo555

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What Jesus was saying was that if you love God with all, and neighbor as self, you fulfill all laws for every law reflects his heart.

Romans 13:
8 Let no debt remain outstanding, except the continuing debt to love one another, for whoever loves others has fulfilled the law. 9 The commandments, “You shall not commit adultery,” “You shall not murder,” “You shall not steal,” “You shall not covet,”[a] and whatever other command there may be, are summed up in this one command: “Love your neighbor as yourself.”[b] 10 Love does no harm to a neighbor. Therefore love is the fulfillment of the law.

Isaiah 53
Romans 5:
9 Since we have now been justified by his blood, how much more shall we be saved from God’s wrath through him! 10 For if, while we were God’s enemies, we were reconciled to him through the death of his Son, how much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved through his life! 11 Not only is this so, but we also boast in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation.

------------------------
Jesus fulfilled the law by love and fulfilling the requirements of the law by paying for our sins. Because of his great love for us we now have his Spirit, the heart of his commandments, and as we are in the Spirit we flow in his love and fulfill his commandments.

If we walk in his love, we are obedient for their is no sin in his love.

For some reason you mention grace and love and people seem to freak out as if you are saying it is a free pass to sin. No one that I know of here is saying that, but I've only been here about 6 months or so. I have yet to come across it.

We are just saying that God gave us his righteousness by way of his Spirit and if one lives by the Spirit the love of God is manifest in them and they flow in God's love, and there is no sin in God's love. His love is obedience.




Did I say that? If I did, let me elaborate and give an everyday example most can relate to. You want that cake, but you are on a diet. The more you try and resist the temptation the more your flesh desires the cake. You say no, I will not have the cake, but the more you fight it the more the desire for the cake grows. You eat cake.

What you need is to love something more than food, especially cake.

We can try and follow the commandments by the flesh, which will just make matters worse, or we can remain in Christ and be empowered by his Spirit in love. By the Spirit we put to death the misdeeds of the flesh.


Agree. The heart of the matter is always the matter if the heart.


And in the old testament we are also told if we keep his commands we will live. How'd that go?

Jesus told us many things that are impossible of our own. The difference is that Jesus, by his death, came to empower us by his Spirit to do it.

If we could do it of our own, why did He have to come and die for our sins, then give us new life?

That's like saying, you suffered and died for nothing Jesus. I don't need your help because I got this.

The horror at just the thought.


The law was never meant to prevent good. If you walk in the love of God by his Spirit, the law is complete in you.


The new covenant is by grace through faith of which one is declared righteous because of Jesus sacrifice. The just shall live by faith. The law is just a shadow of God's heart. It was brought in after the promise to show us our sin and condemn it in the flesh, and to keep us until Christ came to fulfill the requirements if the law and give his Spirit to all who believe.
And I apologize if. I came across somewhat off. I'm just so tired of mentioning God's love and people coming in constantly to drill in obey, obey, obey.

Dear Lord, can you not see the love of God poured out in scripture and feel it in your heart?

If all God can offer me is demand that I have to obey Him then I'll go shopping elsewhere, but this is not the God I know. I know a God who overwhelms me with his love.

Do you want your children to obey you because you demand it, or because they love you?

I remember a time when I mostly stayed in the NT and then God told me he wanted to take me through the old. I was amazed at how much love I saw in it ... An ardent lover who had pity on a people whom no one loved, and even despised. They were kicking in their own blood and He brought them to life and he made them beautiful and his bride to be, but they betrayed his love as they went after other lovers. Nonetheless, He's crazy in love and intent on winning their hearts.

How patient He was with his people when He led them out if Egypt with many signs and wonders, and they griped and complained and made gods of gold to worship. And on, and on.

It's amazing He hadn't destroyed us all.

I don't know this God that just demands my obedience. Of course we are to obey, but empowered by his love. His love is the driving force in our lives.

I'm not going to live in the minor story of sin and the law. I'm going to live in the greatest love story ever told where man needs the life and love of God so that we can be like Him as children embodied by his Spirit. That is what Jesus died to give me and i can't go back because I've tasted of his love and I know that is what it is about.
 
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Soyeong

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What Jesus was saying was that if you love God with all, and neighbor as self, you fulfill all laws for every law reflects his heart.

Romans 13:
8 Let no debt remain outstanding, except the continuing debt to love one another, for whoever loves others has fulfilled the law. 9 The commandments, “You shall not commit adultery,” “You shall not murder,” “You shall not steal,” “You shall not covet,”[a] and whatever other command there may be, are summed up in this one command: “Love your neighbor as yourself.”[b] 10 Love does no harm to a neighbor. Therefore love is the fulfillment of the law.
If we love God and our neighbor, then we won’t commit murder, idolatry, adultery, theft, rape, favoritism, kidnapping, and so forth for the rest of God’s laws, so love fulfills the law because it is showing a core understanding of what everything in it is about how to do. The greatest two commandments are much easier said than done, so thankfully God gave us the rest of His laws to flesh out what it looks like to correctly obey them. Someone who was correctly living in obedience to the greatest two commandments would be indistinguishable from someone who was correctly living in obedience to the rest of God’s commandments because they would both be following the same example that Jesus set for us to follow.

Isaiah 53
Romans 5:
9 Since we have now been justified by his blood, how much more shall we be saved from God’s wrath through him! 10 For if, while we were God’s enemies, we were reconciled to him through the death of his Son, how much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved through his life! 11 Not only is this so, but we also boast in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation.

------------------------
Jesus fulfilled the law by love and fulfilling the requirements of the law by paying for our sins. Because of his great love for us we now have his Spirit, the heart of his commandments, and as we are in the Spirit we flow in his love and fulfill his commandments.
We should seek to understand what Jesus meant by saying that he came to fulfill the law in a way that his audience would have understood it rather than connect it with an event that hadn’t happened yet that Jesus made no allusion to. After Jesus said in Matthew 5:17-20 that he came to fulfill the law, he then proceeded immediately proceeded to fulfill it throughout the rest of the chapter by teaching how to correctly obey it. According to Galatians 5:14, anyone who has ever loved their neighbor has fulfilled the entire law, so again it refers to correctly obeying it, moreover, it refers to something that countless people have done rather than something unique that only Jesus did.

If we walk in his love, we are obedient for there is no sin in his love.

For some reason you mention grace and love and people seem to freak out as if you are saying it is a free pass to sin. No one that I know of here is saying that, but I've only been here about 6 months or so. I have yet to come across it.
My problem is not with you speaking about grace and love, but with you doing so in a way the deemphasizes the importance of being a doer of God’s law rather than a way that emphasizes it. For example, you said the we don’t obey the law to try to fulfill its demands.

We are just saying that God gave us his righteousness by way of his Spirit and if one lives by the Spirit the love of God is manifest in them and they flow in God's love, and there is no sin in God's love. His love is obedience.
Jesus set a a perfect example for us to follow of how to walk in obedience to God’s law, so that is what it looks like to have the righteousness of God and to walk in the Spirit.

Did I say that? If I did, let me elaborate and give an everyday example most can relate to. You want that cake, but you are on a diet. The more you try and resist the temptation the more your flesh desires the cake. You say no, I will not have the cake, but the more you fight it the more the desire for the cake grows. You eat cake.

What you need is to love something more than food, especially cake.

We can try and follow the commandments by the flesh, which will just make matters worse, or we can remain in Christ and be empowered by his Spirit in love. By the Spirit we put to death the misdeeds of the flesh.
You did say that we don't follow the law to try and fulfill its demands because that takes self-effort. What you are describing is accordance with Paul’s struggle with the law of sin, not a problem with the Law of God.

And in the old testament we are also told if we keep his commands we will live. How'd that go?
Jesus also affirmed in the NT that the way to inherit eternal life is by obeying the greatest two commandments (Luke 10:25-28). It’s going good.

Jesus told us many things that are impossible of our own. The difference is that Jesus, by his death, came to empower us by his Spirit to do it.

If we could do it of our own, why did He have to come and die for our sins, then give us new life?

That's like saying, you suffered and died for nothing Jesus. I don't need your help because I got this.

The horror at just the thought.
God’s law was never given as something to be obeyed on our own. In Titus 2:14, Jesus gave himself to redeem us for all lawlessness and to purify for himself a people of his own possession who are zealous for doing good works, so the way to believe in what he spent his ministry teaching by word and by example is by becoming zealous for doing good works in obedience to God’s law (Acts 21:20).

The new covenant is by grace through faith of which one is declared righteous because of Jesus sacrifice. The just shall live by faith. The law is just a shadow of God's heart. It was brought in after the promise to show us our sin and condemn it in the flesh, and to keep us until Christ came to fulfill the requirements if the law and give his Spirit to all who believe.
The Mosaic Covenant is also grace through faith and the only to become righteous that us testifies about in the Law and the Prophets is through faith in Christ for all who believe (Romans 3:21-22). The context of Habakkuk 2:4 contrasts the righteous who are living by faith with those who are not living in obedience to God’s law. In Isaiah 51:7, the righteous are those on whose heart is God’s law, and in 1 John 3:4-7, everyone who is a doer of righteous works in obedience to God’s law is righteous even as they are righteous, so the righteous living by faith does not refer to a manner of living that is not in obedience to it. God’s law leads us to Christ because it is His instructions for how to have an intimate relationship with him.

And I apologize if. I came across somewhat off. I'm just so tired of mentioning God's love and people coming in constantly to drill in obey, obey, obey.

Dear Lord, can you not see the love of God poured out in scripture and feel it in your heart?

If all God can offer me is demand that I have to obey Him then I'll go shopping elsewhere, but this is not the God I know. I know a God who overwhelms me with his love.

Do you want your children to obey you because you demand it, or because they love you?

I remember a time when I mostly stayed in the NT and then God told me he wanted to take me through the old. I was amazed at how much love I saw in it ... An ardent lover who had pity on a people whom no one loved, and even despised. They were kicking in their own blood and He brought them to life and he made them beautiful and his bride to be, but they betrayed his love as they went after other lovers. Nonetheless, He's crazy in love and intent on winning their hearts.

How patient He was with his people when He led them out if Egypt with many signs and wonders, and they griped and complained and made gods of gold to worship. And on, and on.

It's amazing He hadn't destroyed us all.

I don't know this God that just demands my obedience. Of course we are to obey, but empowered by his love. His love is the driving force in our lives.

I'm not going to live in the minor story of sin and the law. I'm going to live in the greatest love story ever told where man needs the life and love of God so that we can be like Him as children embodied by his Spirit. That is what Jesus died to give me and i can't go back because I've tasted of his love and I know that is what it is about.
No problem, sorry if I’ve misunderstood you.

The point of God’s law is to teach us how to know Him by being in His likeness through experiencing being a doer of His character traits, which are the fruits of the Spirit and why the Spirit has the role of leading us to obey God’s law (Ezekiel 36:26-27). Likewise, the way to love God is by being a doer of His character traits, such as the way to love justice is by being a doer of justice in obedience to God’s instructions. In other words, the goal of everything that God has instructed is to teach us how to love different aspects of His character, which is why the Bible repeatedly says that the way to love God is by obeying His commandments. It is good that you are focused on love and see God displaying it throughout the Bible, but the problem is that you see that as being an alternative to being focused on the story of sin and the law instead of being in complete accordance with it. We can’t focus on needing the life and love of God so that we can be like Him as Children embodied by the Spirit instead of focusing on obeying God’s instructions for how to do that.
 
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If we love God and our neighbor, then we won’t commit murder, idolatry, adultery, theft, rape, favoritism, kidnapping, and so forth for the rest of God’s laws, so love fulfills the law because it is showing a core understanding of what everything in it is about how to do. The greatest two commandments are much easier said than done, so thankfully God gave us the rest of His laws to flesh out what it looks like to correctly obey them. Someone who was correctly living in obedience to the greatest two commandments would be indistinguishable from someone who was correctly living in obedience to the rest of God’s commandments because they would both be following the same example that Jesus set for us to follow.


We should seek to understand what Jesus meant by saying that he came to fulfill the law in a way that his audience would have understood it rather than connect it with an event that hadn’t happened yet that Jesus made no allusion to. After Jesus said in Matthew 5:17-20 that he came to fulfill the law, he then proceeded immediately proceeded to fulfill it throughout the rest of the chapter by teaching how to correctly obey it. According to Galatians 5:14, anyone who has ever loved their neighbor has fulfilled the entire law, so again it refers to correctly obeying it, moreover, it refers to something that countless people have done rather than something unique that only Jesus did.


My problem is not with you speaking about grace and love, but with you doing so in a way the deemphasizes the importance of being a doer of God’s law rather than a way that emphasizes it. For example, you said the we don’t obey the law to try to fulfill its demands.


Jesus set a a perfect example for us to follow of how to walk in obedience to God’s law, so that is what it looks like to have the righteousness of God and to walk in the Spirit.


You did say that we don't follow the law to try and fulfill its demands because that takes self-effort. What you are describing is accordance with Paul’s struggle with the law of sin, not a problem with the Law of God.


Jesus also affirmed in the NT that the way to inherit eternal life is by obeying the greatest two commandments (Luke 10:25-28). It’s going good.


God’s law was never given as something to be obeyed on our own. In Titus 2:14, Jesus gave himself to redeem us for all lawlessness and to purify for himself a people of his own possession who are zealous for doing good works, so the way to believe in what he spent his ministry teaching by word and by example is by becoming zealous for doing good works in obedience to God’s law (Acts 21:20).


The Mosaic Covenant is also grace through faith and the only to become righteous that us testifies about in the Law and the Prophets is through faith in Christ for all who believe (Romans 3:21-22). The context of Habakkuk 2:4 contrasts the righteous who are living by faith with those who are not living in obedience to God’s law. In Isaiah 51:7, the righteous are those on whose heart is God’s law, and in 1 John 3:4-7, everyone who is a doer of righteous works in obedience to God’s law is righteous even as they are righteous, so the righteous living by faith does not refer to a manner of living that is not in obedience to it. God’s law leads us to Christ because it is His instructions for how to have an intimate relationship with him.


No problem, sorry if I’ve misunderstood you.

The point of God’s law is to teach us how to know Him by being in His likeness through experiencing being a doer of His character traits, which are the fruits of the Spirit and why the Spirit has the role of leading us to obey God’s law (Ezekiel 36:26-27). Likewise, the way to love God is by being a doer of His character traits, such as the way to love justice is by being a doer of justice in obedience to God’s instructions. In other words, the goal of everything that God has instructed is to teach us how to love different aspects of His character, which is why the Bible repeatedly says that the way to love God is by obeying His commandments. It is good that you are focused on love and see God displaying it throughout the Bible, but the problem is that you see that as being an alternative to being focused on the story of sin and the law instead of being in complete accordance with it. We can’t focus on needing the life and love of God so that we can be like Him as Children embodied by the Spirit instead of focusing on obeying God’s instructions for how to do that.
Romans 13:
8 Let no debt remain outstanding, except the continuing debt to love one another, for whoever loves others has fulfilled the law. 9 The commandments, “You shall not commit adultery,” “You shall not murder,” “You shall not steal,” “You shall not covet,”[a] and whatever other command there may be, are summed up in this one command: “Love your neighbor as yourself.”[b] 10 Love does no harm to a neighbor. Therefore love is the fulfillment of the law.

How much plainer can it be. I already gave my input and I like the view up here. I'm not coming down. That's all I have to say on that topic.
 
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