As stated in Part 1 of my series, I am heartbroken at the apostacy I see in some of the “churches” today. 2 Timothy 3:16-17, says:
16 All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: 17 That the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works.
Consequently, when a church denies the inerrancy of the Bible it is a serious matter and leads to all kinds of problems. Denying the truth of Genesis denies the historical fall of Adam. Other doctrinal issues include the denial of the facts of the experiences of the Prophet Jonah; it may explain away some of the miracles of both the Old and New Testament; and any of a number of other issues and lifestyle errors. The inerrancy of the Bible is an important doctrine and the denial or diluting of such could very well lead to a number of doctrinal and life errors.
So, let’s pick up where we left off previously by continuing in our discussion of the Law in light of Jesus’ saving grace. We will also see the downfall of our great United States of America also as we look further into the Word of God in future installments. We left off previously with the Ten Commandments set out by God.
You can hardly ignore the fact that the devil, through sin, has just about wrecked everything in this world. You cannot close your eyes to the fact that we are in a world living in active rebellion to God’s Word. Pick up your newspaper and you will see that our quality of life has taken a nosedive! In America, a nation founded on Christian principles, we have fallen so far from the founding principles that it is almost unrecognizable. I admit that conditions are bad on a global scale, but it breaks my heart to know that there is more crime reported in one year in Washington D.C., the capital of our great Christian nation, than there is in Moscow for the same period. The problem becomes more pronounced when you consider that this lawlessness has reached into the area of religion in general and affects millions of people who would probably never think of raping someone or killing. So, I ask, why have our churches minimized the authority of God’s moral Law?
How many people do you know in your church who are living together outside the bonds of marriage? How many times have you heard from the pulpit that such living arrangements are a sin in the eyes of our Lord? Do you realize that a large portion of shoplifters are professing Christians? How many individuals do you know that profess to be Christians feel that there is no sin in working on the Sabbath? How many professing Christians do you know that participate in the practice of making God’s last name dam?
While almost all denominations have officially gone on record as supporting the authority of the Law as set out by God, how many are actually teaching those same Laws? How many “churches” are teaching the relationship between the Ten Commandments and God’s grace to salvation? How many of your churches are teaching you to search out the Biblical facts by which we will finally be judged? Does God’s grace nullify the Ten Commandments? Is a Christian justified in breaking any of the Ten Commandments simply because he/she is under grace?
Most of you reading this will never stand before a judge and hear him pronounce a death sentence against you, but I trust that you have felt guilt and fear when God’s Word pierces your heart when you read Romans 6:23:
For the wages of sin is death …
We know also that Romans 3:23 tell us:
For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;
The word “all” might just as well be spelled John Doe or even Ladena Bough. You have been found guilty before the Law and no court of appeals can reverse the sentence. According to 1 John 3:4,
Whosoever committeth sin transgresseth also the law: for sin is the transgression of the law.
Whose Law did you break? Paul answers in Romans 7:7
What shall we say then? Is the law sin? God forbid. Nay, I had not known sin, but by the law: for I had not known lust, except the law had said, Thou shalt not covet.
The Ten Commandment law is the one that was broken, and it demands death for the transgressor. Can anyone atone for sins by obeying the Ten Commandments for the rest of his life? Romans 3:20 says:
Therefore by the deeds of the law there shall no flesh be justified in His sight: for by the law is the knowledge of sin.
The penalty for sin is death, and the l]Law cannot be satisfied except by shedding of blood. Luckily for us we find in Hebrews 9:22-28 the words:
… and without shedding of blood is no remission. … So Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many; and unto them that look for Him shall He appear the second time without sin unto salvation.
The penalty for sin is not ten years in prison or twenty years of hard labor. The sentence is death, and the Law will not be satisfied except by the shedding of blood. Consequently, the sinner must confess that he owes something that he cannot pay.
So, if the works of the Law cannot save a person, is it necessary to keep the Law? Paul asked the same question in Romans 6:1
What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound?
In other words, does grace give us a license to disobey the Law of God? His answer in Romans 6:2 is:
God forbid. How shall we, that are dead to sin, live any longer therein?
It is interesting that many Christians in this day and age have invented their own definitions that allow for lawbreaking. The Bible says sin is violating the Ten Commandments – the same Law which is often described as irrelevant and old-fashioned in so many churches today. As a matter of fact, I read an article today by a minister telling people that parts of the Bible are obsolete.
Do Not Be Deceived. Every one of the Ten Commandments is as needful today as they were when God wrote them. Nothing has ever happened to make them less binding than they were when God gave them. In fact, Jesus came to magnify the Law and to open up its spiritual application, making it more comprehensive than the Pharisees every imagined.
The Law was not made for the purpose of saving or justifying. It was made to show us our need of cleansing and to point us to the great cleanser – Jesus Christ. The Law is a mirror to show us what kind of person we really are.
Bear with me as we continue in my next installment! We must understand that the Old Testament is still as important as the New Testament, and nothing contained therein is nullified by the saving grace of our Lord, Jesus Christ.
