Does God Love Everyone, "Unconditionally"?

[Francis Drake]

?

 

[EmSw]

Abraham lived 400 odd years before the law was given.
When this verse talks about Abraham obeying the law, it was talking him following after the directions that God gave him.

Wasn't the law of Moses a set of directions for the children of Israel? Why is it different for Abraham to keep God's law, statutes, commandments, and charges, than it was for the children of Israel?

jimmyjimmy is making a valid point that law keeping is a risky business. If you fail on one point, you utterly fail in all, and end up maimed for life and blind as a bat!. That's what Jesus commanded.

Do you think David, Moses, Samuel, Isaiah, Ezekiel, and Jeremiah ended up maimed for life and blind as a bat?

But to put it in context, Jesus was making the point solely for those fools who believed that righteousness could come by being good, ie.law keeping.
Matt5 makes it clear that if they wanted to prove their self righteousness, then they would have to do a better job than all the scribes and Pharisees Lawyers etc. put together!

Have you not read about Zacharias and Elisabeth?

Luke 1
5 There was in the days of Herod, the king of Judea, a certain priest named Zacharias, of the division of Abijah. His wife was of the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elizabeth.
6 And they were both righteous before God, walking in all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord blameless.

Do you not see what verse 6 says? Who is the fool of whom you speak?

Pastors who major in teaching this stuff always ignore the unpallatable bits. ie. If you fail, then you have to pluck your eyes out and chop your hands off.

Lets get this straight, Jesus was not commanding us to follow laws, but demonstrating the utter and total futility of following laws for righteousness.

What is a commandment? Is it just a demonstration? Not once did Jesus say it's a total futility to follow His commandments. Who made this stuff up?

If you don't keep His commandments, then John says you don't even know Jesus, and the truth is not in you.

 

[Francis Drake]

Wasn't the law of Moses a set of directions for the children of Israel?

Definitely not.

Why is it different for Abraham to keep God's law, statutes, commandments, and charges, than it was for the children of Israel?

As I said, the Law as not given till 430 years after Abraham.
Scripture warns us against aiming for righteousness by keeping the law. Such attempts are pure lf righteousness and make the death of Jesus void.-
Gal3v1You foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you? Before your very eyes Jesus Christ was clearly portrayed as crucified. 2I would like to learn just one thing from you: Did you receive the Spirit by the works of the law, or by believing what you heard? 3Are you so foolish? After beginning by means of the Spirit, are you now trying to finish by means of the flesh? 4Have you experienced so much in vain—if it really was in vain? 5So again I ask, does God give you his Spirit and work miracles among you by the works of the law, or by your believing what you heard? 6So also Abraham “believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness.”
That's pretty clear is it not.

Do you think David, Moses, Samuel, Isaiah, Ezekiel, and Jeremiah ended up maimed for life and blind as a bat?

That's not what I said.
David, Moses Isaiah, etc. never gained one jot of righteousness from following the law. Like Abraham before them, they all get the Righteousness of God by simply believing.
Trying to score points of righteousness via law keeping, just as Jesus says in Matt5, also gets severe bodily punishment for failure.
Thus anyone who claims righteousness via the law is either deluded, or a total liar. If he was rightly applying what Jesus taught he would certainly end up blind and armless. To be otherwise, is obviously claiming total self perfection, something only God can do.

Have you not read about Zacharias and Elisabeth?

Luke 1
5 There was in the days of Herod, the king of Judea, a certain priest named Zacharias, of the division of Abijah. His wife was of the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elizabeth.
6 And they were both righteous before God, walking in all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord blameless.

Do you not see what verse 6 says? Who is the fool of whom you speak?

It says they were righteous before God. It does not say that righteousness came from Good law keeping.
It was because of God's freely imputed righteousness, that they desired to walk according to the Laws of Moses.

What is a commandment? Is it just a demonstration? Not once did Jesus say it's a total futility to follow His commandments. Who made this stuff up?

If you don't keep His commandments, then John says you don't even know Jesus, and the truth is not in you.

When Jesus talked about the Law, he referred "the law of Moses."
When he spoke of obeying his commandments, he was referring to the instructions he was giving his disciples.