Looking into the Perfect Law

[Christsfreeservant]

Video Talk

James 1:22-25 ESV

“But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks intently at his natural face in a mirror. For he looks at himself and goes away and at once forgets what he was like. But the one who looks into the perfect law, the law of liberty, and perseveres, being no hearer who forgets but a doer who acts, he will be blessed in his doing.”​

Not everything written in the Scriptures applies to us followers of Jesus Christ specifically, for some of it is Old Covenant teaching, and some of it was specific instructions to a group of people at a particular time in history under their specific circumstances. But even there we can still learn from these Scriptures, for all Scripture is profitable for doctrine, reproof, instruction and training in righteousness (2 Timothy 3:16-17).

But we must be careful that we don’t write off Scriptures which do apply to us, for what Jesus taught was mostly all New Covenant teaching, if not all, and what the apostles taught to the church was New Covenant teaching, and God’s moral laws were never done away with. What was taught in the Old Testament regarding his moral laws was repeated for us in the New Testament, under the New Covenant.

And just because we are under the New Covenant, and we are not under the Old Covenant, it doesn’t mean we are lawless. For Jesus Christ “gave himself for us to redeem us from all lawlessness and to purify for himself a people for his own possession who are zealous for good works” (Titus 2:14). And if we do not obey him, then when we stand before him one day he is going to say, “I never knew you. Depart from me you workers of lawlessness” (Matthew 7:21-23).

So, we as followers of Jesus Christ, who profess his name, must absolutely obey our Lord and to do what we are told we must do under the New Covenant. And if the New Covenant teaching repeats for us what is taught under the Old Covenant, then we still have to obey it. For we are not to be those who just listen to the word of the Lord, but we are to do what the word teaches us under the New Covenant. And it definitely teaches us we must die to sin and live to God and to his righteousness.

So we are not to be like those who hear the word, and the word convicts them of things in their lives, and they see themselves as God sees them, and they know what they must do to fix it, to make it right, but then they just walk away and they willfully forget what was shown to them by the Lord. But it isn’t that they don’t know. They do know. They just choose to not bring it to remembrance, and then they just claim ignorance.

Instead, we are to be those who obey our Lord in doing what he says to do, and who look into the perfect law, the law of liberty, which is the gospel of our salvation. For Jesus died that we might die with him to sin and live to him and to his righteousness (1 Peter 2:24). And he put sin to death in us who believe in him so that we will no longer live as slaves to sin but as slaves to God and to his righteousness (Romans 6:1-23). And we have the hope of eternal life with God.

[Matt 7:21-23; Matt 24:9-14; Lu 9:23-26; Rom 1:18-32; Rom 2:6-8; Rom 6:1-23; Rom 8:1-14,24; Rom 12:1-2; Rom 13:11; 1 Co 6:9-10,19-20; 2 Co 5:10,15,21; 1 Co 1:18; 1 Co 15:1-2; 2 Tim 1:8-9; Heb 9:28; 1 Pet 1:5; Gal 5:16-21; Gal 6:7-8; Eph 2:8-10; Eph 4:17-32; Eph 5:3-6; Col 1:21-23; Col 3:5-17; 1 Pet 2:24; Tit 2:11-14; 1 Jn 1:5-9; 1 Jn 2:3-6,24-25; 1 Jn 3:4-10; Heb 3:6,14-15; Heb 10:23-31; Heb 12:1-2; Rev 21:8,27; Rev 22:14-15]

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[fhansen]

I appreciate a teaching I'm familiar with,
"At the evening of life we shall be judged on our love."

I really think that sums up the new covenant, very concisely, and properly understood- with that love, which fulfills the law, coming from God, alone, as its Source.

 

[Christsfreeservant]

I appreciate a teaching I'm familiar with,
"At the evening of life we shall be judged on our love."

I really think that sums up the new covenant, very concisely, and properly understood- with that love, which fulfills the law, coming from God, alone, as its Source.

Are you speaking of God judging us based on our love for him and for our fellow humans, which is evident in the things that we do or don't do?

 

[fhansen]

Are you speaking of God judging us based on our love for him and for our fellow humans, which is evident in the things that we do or don't do?

Yes

 

[Christsfreeservant]

Yes

Okay, thank you. Glory to God!

 

[totallylovedbygod]

amen

 

[Christsfreeservant]

amen

Glory to God!

 

[GDL]

Short and sweet thread. Agreement is good, especially when it comes to anything Law, which is normally a very disagreeable subject.

 

[Christsfreeservant]

Short and sweet thread. Agreement is good, especially when it comes to anything Law, which is normally a very disagreeable subject.

GDL, thank you. Glory to God! Yes, the subject of Law is a difficult subject, and there is much confusion and misunderstanding over it, too, which is how it ends up being a disagreeable subject. To be honest, I in my flesh like to avoid that subject because it is confusing, but as I go along in my walk of faith I am gaining better understanding of the subject and how to present it and so I am a little more comfortable with the subject.

 

[GDL]

GDL, thank you. Glory to God! Yes, the subject of Law is a difficult subject, and there is much confusion and misunderstanding over it, too, which is how it ends up being a disagreeable subject. To be honest, I in my flesh like to avoid that subject because it is confusing, but as I go along in my walk of faith I am gaining better understanding of the subject and how to present it and so I am a little more comfortable with the subject.

We can most definitely view such understanding and comfort as His gift. I've often thought of His Law as being what it is - His righteous character put forth as our standard - Jesus being the embodiment of this. To understand His Law is in part to understand and know Him and how He interacts with us for our good. As I said, a gift. And with all the evident confusion (in me and in virtually everyone I've read) we have with this topic, a gift IMO that He doesn't just give liberally.

Do a quick search on "friend(s)" of God - friend(s) of Jesus Christ. It's a qualified phrase. Observe the qualifications or the characteristics of those who are His friends.

 

[Christsfreeservant]

We can most definitely view such understanding and comfort as His gift. I've often thought of His Law as being what it is - His righteous character put forth as our standard - Jesus being the embodiment of this. To understand His Law is in part to understand and know Him and how He interacts with us for our good. As I said, a gift. And with all the evident confusion (in me and in virtually everyone I've read) we have with this topic, a gift IMO that He doesn't just give liberally.

Do a quick search on "friend(s)" of God - friend(s) of Jesus Christ. It's a qualified phrase. Observe the qualifications or the characteristics of those who are His friends.

GDL, thank you. I am just now seeing this response. I think I may have clicked on it earlier when I did not have time to read it , and then I forgot about it. Sorry. Yes, I have researched "friends" before because so many people are trying to say that Jesus was a friend of sinners and he hung out with them and that he was best buddies with those who are living in sin and who are not repentant. And the Scriptures do not teach that. That is a misquote, but it is one that people like to use to say that God is okay with them continuing in deliberate and habitual sin. Jesus did reach out to sinners and he did eat with them but with the intent to share the gospel with them and to lead them to salvation from sin. Too many people are altering the character of God/Christ to make him more acceptable to human flesh, and this is being done much in movies and TV series.

 

[fhansen]

In Mark 2:17 Jesus remarked, ““Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners, to repentance.”

Healing is not just about forgiveness, but about overcoming the illness, itself: sin- getting at the root of the disease that separates man from God, man from fellow man, man from himself. That's the purpose of grace. And in truth everyone's sick with this disease to one extent or another. We just have to come to admit to our need of the physician.

 

[Christsfreeservant]

In Mark 2:17 Jesus remarked, ““Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners, to repentance.”

Healing is not just about forgiveness, but about overcoming the illness, itself: sin- getting at the root of the disease that separates man from God, man from fellow man, man from himself. That's the purpose of grace. And in truth everyone's sick with this disease to one extent or another. We just have to come to admit to our need of the physician.

I think that in the Mark passage, when Jesus said he did not come to call the righteous, that Jesus was referring to the "self-righteous" who were hypocritical liars who were sinning in secret but who were putting on a show of righteousness for an audience and who were condemning those who they called "sinners" because they saw those people as beneath them. They did not see themselves as sinners, and that was the problem. For they were indeed sinning greatly against the Lord, and Jesus called them out on it many times, but in their pride they would not listen to him. So Jesus' whole point here, I believe, was to shame the Pharisees for their hypocrisy and to show them that those they were calling "sinners" were actually the reachable ones, because they recognized they were sinners in need of a Savior, and so these were the ones Jesus was calling to repentance, because they were the ones humble enough to bow the knee to Jesus and to turn from their sins and to follow Jesus in obedience.

And yes, spiritual healing (salvation) is not just about forgiveness, but it is about being delivered from our slavery to sin so that we can now be slaves of God and of his righteousness. For Jesus died on that cross so that we might die with him to sin and live to him and to his righteousness (see all the noted Scripture verses in the OP). The purpose of grace is to turn us from our sins so that we will now walk in righteousness and in obedience to our Lord and to his commands. For God's grace, which is bringing us salvation, instructs us to say "NO" to ungodliness and fleshly passions and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives while we wait for our Lord's return (Titus 2:11-14; cf. Ephesians 4:17-24). But those of us who have been healed are no longer sick, for we have been healed. Yes, we all have the propensity to sin, and yes we are all capable of sin, and we might sin at some point, but we are not all walking in sin and refusing to walk in obedience to our Lord. And that is what separates the truly righteous in the eyes of God from those who are truly still sinners in practice (again, see all noted Scriptures in the OP).

 

[fhansen]

I think that in the Mark passage, when Jesus said he did not come to call the righteous, that Jesus was referring to the "self-righteous" who were hypocritical liars who were sinning in secret but who were putting on a show of righteousness for an audience and who were condemning those who they called "sinners" because they saw those people as beneath them. They did not see themselves as sinners, and that was the problem. For they were indeed sinning greatly against the Lord, and Jesus called them out on it many times, but in their pride they would not listen to him. So Jesus' whole point here, I believe, was to shame the Pharisees for their hypocrisy and to show them that those they were calling "sinners" were actually the reachable ones, because they recognized they were sinners in need of a Savior, and so these were the ones Jesus was calling to repentance, because they were the ones humble enough to bow the knee to Jesus and to turn from their sins and to follow Jesus in obedience.

And yes, spiritual healing (salvation) is not just about forgiveness, but it is about being delivered from our slavery to sin so that we can now be slaves of God and of his righteousness. For Jesus died on that cross so that we might die with him to sin and live to him and to his righteousness (see all the noted Scripture verses in the OP). The purpose of grace is to turn us from our sins so that we will now walk in righteousness and in obedience to our Lord and to his commands. For God's grace, which is bringing us salvation, instructs us to say "NO" to ungodliness and fleshly passions and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives while we wait for our Lord's return (Titus 2:11-14; cf. Ephesians 4:17-24). But those of us who have been healed are no longer sick, for we have been healed. Yes, we all have the propensity to sin, and yes we are all capable of sin, and we might sin at some point, but we are not all walking in sin and refusing to walk in obedience to our Lord. And that is what separates the truly righteous in the eyes of God from those who are truly still sinners in practice (again, see all noted Scriptures in the OP).

All good points. I'd only submit that the healing is also a process; we can prefer our sickness, we can return to it. There's still a struggle between good and evil, to persevere, until the day we physically die.

 

[Christsfreeservant]

All good points. I'd only submit that the healing is also a process; we can prefer our sickness, we can return to it. There's still a struggle between good and evil, to persevere, until the day we physically die.

Yes, we are in process, and yes, we can return to it, but the danger there is that we may not return to the Lord and thus heaven will not be our eternal destiny. And yes, there will always be a struggle between good and evil, but if by "struggle" is meant regularly giving in to sin, then that also will not result in eternal life with God. For if we walk in sin, making sin our practice, we will not enter the kingdom of heaven. But if righteousness and walks of obedience to our Lord are what we practice, then we have the hope of eternal life. But yes, we do need to persevere until the day we physically die or until the day Jesus returns to take us to be with him for eternity.