Which Laws Do We Keep?

[Chris]

http://www.gracethrufaith.com/ask-a-bible-teacher/which-laws-do -we-keep

Which Laws Do We Keep?
Ask a Bible Teacher

Q. I'm confused about the law and which laws apply to us as Christians. In an answer to a previously asked question about the status of the law you answered that every detail of the law remains in force but that His death protects believers from the consequences of violating it.

I understand Jesus said he didn't come to abolish the law but to fulfill it, but was he talking about all 613 laws or just the ten commandments or what? If all laws are still in force then am I sinning when I eat bacon or anything else that is not Kosher (Leviticus 11)? And why didn't Acts 15 include that gentiles are to follow all 613 laws

I'm just really confused because I was taught that the majority of these old laws are no longer valid but wasn't told why or when they stopped. Let me clarify that I am not trying to follow the law to attain righteousness or salvation but for an unbroken fellowship with God. Can you help me understand this matter? Are we still to follow all 613 laws and if not which ones went away and when?

A. One name for the Old Testament in Biblical times was "The Law and The Prophets" so when Jesus said He didn't come to abolish them but fulfill them, He meant that He wasn't making the Old Testament obsolete. In Mark 7:14-19 Jesus declared all foods clean, in effect canceling the so-called Kosher restrictions.

In Acts 15, the Jewish leadership of the Church released Gentile believers from responsibility under the Law except to abstain from eating food dedicated to idols, meat that hadn't been butchered properly, drinking blood, and sexual immorality. This was done primarily to prevent putting Gentiles under the same sort of bondage that the Jews had placed themselves under. (Acts 15:10)

But through out the New Testament, Paul and others taught a standard of behavior that if obeyed would keep all believers in behavioral compliance with the 10 commandments as well as the "new" commandment Jesus gave us to love each other. In summary then, the Law hasn't been abolished, but today we're admonished to behave according to its standards as a demonstration of our gratitude for being saved, rather than in a misguided attempt to earn a righteousness of our own.

Of course, as Jesus said in Matt. 5-6 man's real problem doesn't lie in his ability to exhibit proper behavior but in his inability to maintain proper thoughts and attitudes. In other words, most of us don't have a problem not murdering others. It's our anger that condemns us, and that's why we need a savior.

 

[DonO]

Act 15:22 Then pleased it the apostles and elders, with the whole church, to send chosen men of their own company to Antioch with Paul and Barnabas; [namely], Judas surnamed Barsabas, and Silas, chief men among the brethren:
Act 15:23 And they wrote [letters] by them after this manner; The apostles and elders and brethren [send] greeting unto the brethren which are of the Gentiles in Antioch and Syria and Cilicia:
Act 15:24 Forasmuch as we have heard, that certain which went out from us have troubled you with words, subverting your souls, saying, [Ye must] be circumcised, and keep the law: to whom we gave no [such] commandment:
Act 15:25 It seemed good unto us, being assembled with one accord, to send chosen men unto you with our beloved Barnabas and Paul,
Act 15:26 Men that have hazarded their lives for the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Act 15:27 We have sent therefore Judas and Silas, who shall also tell [you] the same things by mouth.
Act 15:28 For it seemed good to the Holy Ghost, and to us, to lay upon you no greater burden than these necessary things;
Act 15:29 That ye abstain from meats offered to idols, and from blood, and from things strangled, and from fornication: from which if ye keep yourselves, ye shall do well. Fare ye well.
Act 15:30 So when they were dismissed, they came to Antioch: and when they had gathered the multitude together, they delivered the epistle:
Act 15:31 [Which] when they had read, they rejoiced for the consolation

Something else to think about that shows us what we need to do as far as keeping the commandments.

Mat 22:34 But when the Pharisees had heard that he had put the Sadducees to silence, they were gathered together.
Mat 22:35 Then one of them, [which was] a lawyer, asked [him a question], tempting him, and saying,
Mat 22:36 Master, which [is] the great commandment in the law? ]
Mat 22:37 Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.
Mat 22:38 This is the first and great commandment.
Mat 22:39 And the second [is] like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.
Mat 22:40 On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.

If we can do these things I think we will please our Heavenly Father.

 

[Caretaker]

1 John 3:

3: And this is his commandment, That we should believe on the name of his Son Jesus Christ, and love one another, as he gave us commandment.
24: And he that keepeth his commandments dwelleth in him, and he in him. And hereby we know that he abideth in us, by the Spirit which he hath given us.

 

[Sing4Him]

behave according to its standards

IMO this above comment says it correctly.

We are not under the law as believers.

It is our standard and the Holy Spirit convicts us now.

Galatians speaks most about the law for believers.
When we read Acts, whom was the passage being spoken to?

First, the principle of law was given to unregenerate mankind--the First Adam and his descendants. It pertains to 'accountability' toward God and governing earthly authorities.
Romans 3:19 Now we know that whatever the law says, it says to those who are under the law, that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world may become guilty before God.
Romans 4:15 because the law brings about wrath; for where there is no law there is no transgression.
Romans 5:13 for before the law was given, sin was in the world. But sin is not taken into account when there is no law.
Romans 13:1,4 Everyone must submit himself to the governing authorities...for he is God's servant, an agent of wrath to bring punishment on the wrongdoer.
1 Timothy 1:8-10 But we know that the law is good if one uses it lawfully, knowing this: that the law is not made for a righteous person, but for the lawless and insubordinate, for the ungodly and for sinners, for the unholy and profane, for murderers of fathers and murderers of mothers, for manslayers, for fornicators, for sodomites, for kidnappers, for liars, for perjurers, and if there is any other thing that is contrary to sound doctrine...

The principle of law was neither given to bring us into right relationship with God nor empower us to live a life pleasing to God. Law has to do with Adam, sin, and death, not righteousness and life. Law does not impart Life. The Mosaic law was not meant to replace the principles of promise, grace, and faith, but was brought in alongside.
Acts 13:39 "and by Him [Jesus] everyone who believes is justified from all things from which you could not be justified by the law of Moses.
Romans 3:21 But now the righteousness of God apart from the law is revealed, being witnessed by the Law and the Prophets,
Romans 3:28 For we maintain that a man is justified by faith apart from observing the law.
Romans 3:31 Do we, then, nullify the law by this faith? Not at all! Rather, we uphold the law.
Romans 8:3 For what the Law was powerless to do in that it was weakened by the sinful nature, God did by sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful man to be a sin offering. And so He condemned sin in sinful man,
Romans 9:31 but Israel, who pursue a law of righteousness, has not attained it.
Galatians 2:16 know that a man is not justified by observing the law, but by faith in Jesus Christ. So we, too, have put our faith in Christ Jesus that we may be justified by faith in Christ and not by observing the law, because by observing the law no one will be justified.
Galatians 2:21 "I do not set aside the grace of God; for if righteousness comes through the law, then Christ died in vain."
Galatians 3:11-13 Clearly no one is justified before God by the law , because, "The righteous will live by faith." The law is not based on faith; on the contrary, "The man who does these things will live by them." Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law...
Galatians 3:17 What I mean is this: The law, introduced 430 years later, does not set aside the covenant previously established by God and thus do away with the promise.
Galatians 3:21 Is the law, therefore, opposed to the promises of God? Absolutely not! For if a law had been given that could impart life, then righteousness would certainly have come by the law.
Galatians 5:4 You who are trying to be justified by law have been alienated from Christ; you have fallen away from grace.
Hebrews 7:19 (for the law made nothing perfect), and a better hope is introduced, by which we draw near to God.

Key to understanding the Christian life is seeing that law increases our awareness of our lost condition and our propensity (nature) to sin inherited from the First Adam. Law exacerbates bondage and most often leads to hypocrisy.
Romans 3:20 Therefore no one will be declared righteous in his sight by observing the law; rather, through the law we become conscious of sin.
Romans 5:20 The law was added so that the trespass might increase. But where sin increased, grace increased all the more,
Romans 7:7 What shall we say then? Is the law sin? Certainly not! On the contrary, I would not have known sin except through the law. For I would not have known covetousness unless the law had said, "You shall not covet."
Romans 11:32 For God bound all men over to disobedience so that he may have mercy on them all.
Galatians 3:19 What purpose then does the law serve? It was added because of transgressions, till the Seed should come to whom the promise was made; and it was appointed through angels by the hand of a mediator.
Galatians 3:23,24 Before this faith came, we were held prisoners by the law, locked up until faith should be revealed. So the law was put in charge to lead us to Christ that we might be justified by faith.

Rather that being subdued, our sin nature is energized and gains power over us when we are law oriented. Contrary to widespread religious tenet, successful law-keeping either before or after regeneration is not God's intention for the new-creation Christian.
Romans 5:20 The law was added so that the trespass might increase. But where sin increased, grace increased all the more,
Romans 6:14 For sin shall not have dominion over you, for you are not under law but under grace.
Romans 7:5 For when we were controlled by the sinful nature, the sinful passions aroused by the law were at work in our bodies, so that we bore fruit for death.
Romans 7:8,9 But sin, seizing the opportunity afforded by the commandment, produced in me every kind of covetous desire. For apart from law, sin is dead. Once I was alive apart from law; but when the commandment came, sin sprang to life and I died.
Romans 8:7 Because the carnal mind is enmity against God; for it is not subject to the law of God, nor indeed can be.
1 Corinthians 15:56 The sting of death is sin, and the strength of sin is the law.

The bottom-line result of law as a "rule of life" [for either Jew, Christian, or other] is SIN and HYPOCRISY. This truth is supported by over six thousand years of recorded religious history.
Romans 2:17-23 Now you, if you call yourself a Jew [or Christian]; if you rely on the law and brag about your relationship to God; if you know his will and approve of what is superior because you are instructed by the law; if you are convinced that you are a guide for the blind, a light for those who are in the dark, an instructor of the foolish, a teacher of infants, because you have in the law the embodiment of knowledge and truth -- you, then, who teach others, do you not teach yourself? You who preach against stealing, do you steal? You who say that people should not commit adultery, do you commit adultery? You who abhor idols, do you rob temples?

Law primarily addresses the First Adam and his descendents. The new-creation Christian's death with Christ separates him/her from their relationship to the First Adam and the realm of the principle of law.
Romans 7:4 Therefore, my brethren, you also have become dead (separated) to the law through the body of Christ, that you may be married to another, even to Him who was raised from the dead, that we should bear fruit to God.
Romans 7:6 But now we have been delivered from the law, having died to what we were held by, so that we should serve in the newness of the Spirit and not in the oldness of the letter.
Romans 8:2 because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of life set me free from the law of sin and death.
Romans 10:4 For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes.
Galatians 2:19 For through the law I died to the law so that I might live for God.
Galatians 3:13 Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us, for it is written: "Cursed is everyone who is hung on a tree."
Galatians 3:25 Now that faith has come, we are no longer under the supervision of the law.
Galatians 4:5 to redeem those under law, that we might receive the full rights of sons.
Ephesians 2:15 by abolishing in His flesh the law with its commandments and regulations. His purpose was to create in himself one new man out of the two, thus making peace,
1 Timothy 1:9,10 We also know that law is made not for the righteous but for lawbreakers and rebels, the ungodly and sinful, the unholy and irreligious; for those who kill their fathers or mothers, for murderers, for adulterers and perverts, for slave traders and liars and perjurers--and for whatever else is contrary to the sound doctrine that conforms to the glorious gospel of the blessed God, which He entrusted to me [Paul].

From the beginning and up to the present day, a candid reading of Paul's Gospel of Grace, together with time amongst legalists, turns upside-down the erroneous notion that law as a "rule of life" produces moral integrity.

http://www.withchrist.org/law.htm

 

[thetruth]

Act 15:22 Then pleased it the apostles and elders, with the whole church, to send chosen men of their own company to Antioch with Paul and Barnabas; [namely], Judas surnamed Barsabas, and Silas, chief men among the brethren:
Act 15:23 And they wrote [letters] by them after this manner; The apostles and elders and brethren [send] greeting unto the brethren which are of the Gentiles in Antioch and Syria and Cilicia:
Act 15:24 Forasmuch as we have heard, that certain which went out from us have troubled you with words, subverting your souls, saying, [Ye must] be circumcised, and keep the law: to whom we gave no [such] commandment:
Act 15:25 It seemed good unto us, being assembled with one accord, to send chosen men unto you with our beloved Barnabas and Paul,
Act 15:26 Men that have hazarded their lives for the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Act 15:27 We have sent therefore Judas and Silas, who shall also tell [you] the same things by mouth.
Act 15:28 For it seemed good to the Holy Ghost, and to us, to lay upon you no greater burden than these necessary things;
Act 15:29 That ye abstain from meats offered to idols, and from blood, and from things strangled, and from fornication: from which if ye keep yourselves, ye shall do well. Fare ye well.
Act 15:30 So when they were dismissed, they came to Antioch: and when they had gathered the multitude together, they delivered the epistle:
Act 15:31 [Which] when they had read, they rejoiced for the consolation

Something else to think about that shows us what we need to do as far as keeping the commandments.

Mat 22:34 But when the Pharisees had heard that he had put the Sadducees to silence, they were gathered together.
Mat 22:35 Then one of them, [which was] a lawyer, asked [him a question], tempting him, and saying,
Mat 22:36 Master, which [is] the great commandment in the law? ]
Mat 22:37 Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.
Mat 22:38 This is the first and great commandment.
Mat 22:39 And the second [is] like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.
Mat 22:40 On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.

If we can do these things I think we will please our Heavenly Father.

THIS IS WONDEFULL I FEEL THE SAME WAY!