Law Keeper asked: Why would Jesus spend 33-years studying the Law then die if the Law was to become obsolete?

Answer,

First of all, God’s moral law will never become “obsolete” (Matthew 24:35). God’s moral law is provided every human being at conception as we are created in the spiritual image of God with certain communicable attributes of God; knowledge of God’s moral mandates is but one of these communicable attributes (Genesis 1:26-28).

Second, God’s moral law,

1) Acts a bulwark restraining narcissism/arbitrating free will by the conscience thereby curtailing human self-destruction which would thwart God’s eschatological plan and give victory to Satan.

2) Defines God’s righteous decrees through the conscience thereby allowing for justice, adjudication with due process in Holy Judgment (Rev 20:11-15).

Third, the Law of the Covenant, given specifically to Israel’s children, is NOTHING NEW or novel but is simply a reiteration, with some specificity, of the Law of Conscience infused within every human being from Adam forward (Romans 2:14-15).

Discussion,

As a Christian, I don’t walk through this life enslaved to letters in stone or scratched upon parchment (Romans 6:17-18)…I walk in “peace” with God by grace through faith in Jesus Christ (Romans 5:1) as the Holy Spirit is my Law (John 14:26) and He teaches me (1 John 2:27) and guides me daily in obedience (Galatians 5:16) as I am forgiven for sin by faith in Jesus my Lord whereas the Law of the Covenant only condemned me, cursed me, without recourse (Galatians 3:10; Romans 3:20). Don’t you understand the eternal difference and the relevance concerning your eternal destiny? Jesus gives LIFE – the Letter KILLS (2 Corinthians 3:6)!

Finally, Jesus did not require “STUDY”…Jesus wrote the Ten-Commandments on SINAI and the 613-Levitical Laws and Jesus authored the Law of Conscience, the basic moral law (Romans 2:14-15) that arbitrates the angels behavior, convicted Satan, convicted the Adamic and Noahic generations of sin and under girded their destruction by water save eight. This Law of Conscience has arbitrated the behavior of every generation of human kind beginning with Adam and continues in its relevance as an arbiter of free will to this very day and will extend that relevance into Eternity.

You serve a Law Covenant in self-righteousness that only condemns you but provides you nothing but death in Hell (Romans 3:20). Jesus is the only One who kept the Law in mandated perfection and offers you His righteousness by faith in Him as Lord…can’t you see this? Don’t you understand that the only righteousness qualifying you for eternal life…the only righteousness available to you in this life, is the righteousness that Jesus our Messiah earned for you by keeping the Law in mandated perfection (Matthew 5:17) and shedding His innocent blood as atonement for your sin; can’t you understand that you can only access that forgiveness of sin by faith in Jesus as Lord (John 3)?

Why do you insist on dying in Hell when a Path to eternal life awaits you by simply believing-trusting in Jesus Christ as your Lord with sincerity and receiving the Holy Spirit as Guarantor of covenant relationship with God the Father (John 3; Ephesians 1:13-14)?

James warned that faith without works is dead but what is the Holy Spirit actually telling us? James 2:26

Unless one FIRST establishes covenant relationship with God the Father by faith, alone, in Jesus, alone, their works of righteousness are equated to a filthy, bloody, menstrual cloth in God’s nose (Isaiah 64:6); fact is, God does not even entertain the petitions of those who are not His child by faith in Jesus as Lord (John 9:31).

One’s works of goodness, faithfulness, righteousness, SUBSEQUENT to having established covenant relationship by faith in Jesus as Lord and having received the indwelling Holy Spirit as Guarantor of that relationship are seen as validating, substantiating, one’s faith as true but NEVER can one’s works supplant the necessity for faith first, relationship first; in other words, IT IS NOT POSSIBLE IN YOUR FLESH TO WORK YOURSELF TO GOD AND “EARN” HIS FAVOR OR FORGIVENESS. If righteousness came through law-keeping, self-righteousness, Jesus Christ died needlessly.

God the Father has ordained ONE – WAY for you to find forgiveness of sin and life in eternity; that is, repentance – faith in Jesus Christ believing that Jesus is Lord and that He died to pay your sin-debt owed the Father and subsequently receive the indwelling Holy Spirit as Guarantor of that covenant relationship (Romans 10:9-10; Ephesians 1:13-14); from that point forward, you walk in obedience to the Holy Spirit who meticulously guides you in obedience to the Father’s will for your life via the daily process of sanctification i.e. preparation for eternal service in the New Jerusalem (Galatians 5:16). There is no other Way and there is no other Name given among men by which you can be saved from death in Hell (John 14:6; John 3; Acts 4:12).

Law Keeper says: “Jesus was a Jew and kept the Sabbath and the Law; therefore, we must do likewise.” Is this theologically accurate?

My life as a Christian is NOT consumed by what “I must do” today to please God because God the Father is pleased that I am HIS by faith in His Son, that His Spirit resides within me with intimacy…this is rest…NOT a “day” or a “law” or a “tradition” or doctrine of men who are presently awaiting judgment for their apostasy.
Jesus is God – Elohim who entered Time through the Tribe of Judah under the Law to redeem those under the Law (Galatians 4:4) and to destroy the works of the devil (1 John 3:8b) through selfless love, but those under the Law rejected Him, blasphemed Him, falsely accused Him, murdered Him and demanded that His blood be upon them and their children (Matthew 27:25); obviously, seeking righteousness through Law was a complete failure and Jacob’s children made this truism abundantly clear; we see by example that the Law does not provide peace, rest or relationship with God the Father (Galatians 2:16).

Jesus provided both the moral law of conscience (Romans 2:14-15) and a reiteration of that law etched in stone for Israel’s children known as the Law Covenant including 613-laws with ceremonial, civil, dietary, mandates specifically for Israel’s children. Jesus kept the moral laws in perfection, something mankind could never do, and shed His innocent blood at Golgotha to fulfill the sacrificial atoning mandates of Leviticus 17:11 so that by faith in His sacrifice for me, I could receive the imputation of HIS righteousness into and over my life, forever, and receive the beautiful Holy Spirit who walks me in Sabbath Peace and Rest through faith in Jesus every single day of my life (2 Corinthians 5:21; Ephesians 1:13-14; Romans 5:1; Hebrews 4).

Jesus is the fulfillment of all the Sabbath edict foreshadowed (Colossians 2:16; Romans 14; Hebrews 4) and in Jesus and ONLY in Jesus through the Holy Spirit is there “peace” and “rest” with God the Father (John 14:23). As a Christian, I don’t worship or serve rules etched in stone or days or festivals or traditions…I worship and serve the Living God, Jesus Christ, by faith and through His Spirit; the indwelling Holy Spirit is my Law Giver (Galatians 5:16) and Sanctification and in this there is intimacy with God that no day or rule could ever provide. You don’t understand this because you don’t belong to God but you belong to a false god of self-righteousness through a facade of obedience to a Law that only condemns you but provides you no rest, no peace, no joy, no hope (Galatians 3:10; James 2:10; Romans 8; 3:20). You worship yourself in pride and arrogance in self-righteousness and point an accusatory finger at those who don’t comply with your legalism.

Concerning your Sabbath Day,

The Sabbath edict was given exclusively to Israel as a sign between God and Israel beginning in Exodus 16 and at NO TIME, from Adam forward, has God commanded a Sabbath as observance for a Gentile lest same sought inclusion into Israel’s society under Covenant of Law. I belong to Jesus through the Holy Spirit and God the Father is mine by faith in Jesus as my Redeemer, My Lord; therefore, take your Sabbath legalistic nonsense and go away…I am NOT under your Law and your legalistic futility. Sabbatarianism is a spiritual illness of Jewish Roots, SDA Cult members, a works doctrine of self-righteousness and if you’re going to demand that others keep a Sabbath or any Law of the Covenant, first keep them yourself by example and demonstrate the “peace” and “rest” and “love” you’ve received through self-righteousness.

Must grace alone by faith alone in Jesus as Lord be supplemented by works of obedience to be saved from death in Hell?

If one suggests they are saved by grace having trusted in Jesus as Lord yet there is no evidence of a changed life or evidence of the fruit of the Spirit in their life (Galatians 5:22-23)…they are a liar and living in self-deception. Jesus said you would know them by their fruit (Matthew 7:15-20).

With that said, you cannot earn or supplement the grace of God with your works before or subsequent to salvation. Obedience to the indwelling Holy Spirit subsequent to salvation is a natural act or resultant of being born again by grace (unmerited favor unattainable by human effort) through faith (trust-belief) in Jesus as Lord.Your obedience to the Commands of Jesus that follow true salvation does NOT supplement faith or grace; obedience subsequent to salvation only validates, substantiates, the fact that true salvation has manifest in one’s life by faith, alone, in Jesus, alone, as Lord, alone.

The good works that follow salvation are not done to complete the salvation process but these works of obedience, righteousness, fruit of the Spirit, are a sign that the salvation process has resulted in covenant relationship with the Father by faith in the Son, Jesus Christ, and those works of obedience are ONLY possible by the Holy Spirit who indwells the believer as Guarantor of covenant relationship that was established by grace, alone, by faith, alone, in Jesus, alone (Galatians 5:16; Ephesians 1:13-14).

Self-righteousness is a sure path to death in Hell…

You cannot keep the Commandments, the Law of the Covenant or the Law of Conscience sufficiently to be saved by self-righteousness (Romans 3:20; James 2:10; Galatians 3:10)…it WON’T happen because you’re a sinner condemned by the Law to death in Hell (Romans 3:23; Galatians 3:10). If you trust in yourself, your facade of goodness and obedience to please the Father and thereby believe you are qualified to earn your own way into God’s grace, you will die with the “many” in Hell (Matthew 7:13-14).

Your only hope for life in eternity with God is by humbling yourself before Him as an unworthy sinner and asking forgiveness for your sin and confessing with your mouth and believing in your heart that Jesus Christ is Lord, Messiah, Savior, Redeemer, and that Jesus died for you to pay your sin-debt owed the Father (Romans 10:9-10; John 3)…a debt you could never pay by attempting to be “good enough” to please God.

Subsequent to confessing Jesus as your Lord, you’ll receive the indwelling Holy Spirit as the promise, seal, Guarantor, of covenant relationship with the Father (Ephesians 1:13-14) and from that point forward, the Holy Spirit will walk you in sanctification, daily, and you will be incrementally transformed into a vessel of obedience by which you can honor God (Galatians 5:16), but until you’ve admitted that you’re incapable of pleasing God in self-righteousness, you will continue to exist in futility, anger, hate, an odd mix of self-loathing (Isaiah 48:22; 57:21).
Honoring God by pursuing obedience is only relevant SUBSEQUENT to becoming His child by faith in Jesus; until you’ve established covenant relationship by faith in Jesus as Lord, your works of obedience, on your best day, are equated to a filthy, bloody, menstrual, cloth in God’s nose (Isaiah 64:6; Ephesians 2:8-9).

What is your only hope in this life and in the life to come? Trust completely in the sufficiency of Jesus Christ as the One who performed the work of redemption for you on a Roman Cross 2000-years ago and find peace with God the Father, forever (Romans 5:1).

Skeptic asked: “If Jesus could not save Himself, how can He save you?“

Jesus, God in flesh, could have rejected the Father’s will and permitted the Devil to have victory over your sinful soul and thereby allowed you to die in Hell without hope but Jesus, even though horrified by the Cross and spiritual separation from the Father, endured unconscionable beating and suffocation upon a Roman Cross in order that His innocent blood would be shed as atonement for your sin (Matthew 26:28; Leviticus 17:11; Hebrews 9:22). Jesus performed this sacrificial act out of selfless love for the Father and the Father’s will for you and your eternity.

Don’t disparage what God has done for you within the Realm of Time so that you can attain victory over the Devil as God is restoring peace and order to His Kingdom that was ravaged by the Devil’s rebellion. Don’t die as a subject of the Devil but die in body in victory in Jesus and live with God forever in that victory (John 3). Trust – believe in Jesus as your Lord and believe that Jesus died for you to pay your sin-debt owed the Father and live with God, forever, in peace (John 14:6; John 3; Romans 5:1).

Eternal security in Law v. Eternal security by Grace through Faith…

Response to a law keeper who denies eternal security for the one who trusts in Jesus as Lord…

Everyone of your Scriptures emanates from a dispensation of Law and works of the Law which had absolutely nothing to do with salvation. A man under the Law can repent till his dying breath and die in Hell lest his repentance was accompanied by faith in God with a heart that believes God is true, that He exists, and will forgive man’s sin through faith. Even though those in the Hebrew Scriptures could be justified before God through faith (Hebrews 11), their sin had not received the mandated blood atonement first pictured in Genesis 3:21, articulated in Leviticus 17:11, demonstrated by the blood sacrifices under the Law (Hebrews 10).

The Hebrew Scriptures denote a wholly different dispensation and working of the Holy Spirit; for example, in the Hebrew Scriptures, the Holy Spirit was only given to certain specified individuals as an anointing for a specific work or responsibility for God’s purposes and the Holy Spirit could be removed for disobedience (Psalm 51:11).

Fast forward to the New Covenant of grace through faith in Jesus as Lord where the Holy Spirit is given as Guarantor of Covenant Relationship with God the Father, forever (Ephesians 1:13-14). In the New Covenant, the one who is truly born again by faith in Jesus and has received the indwelling Holy Spirit as the Seal of that covenant will endure to the end…they are forever God’s property and He has set His seal upon them and nothing will ever snatch them out of God’s hands (John 10:28-30).

Finally, Christianity is NOT lawlessness but is a Covenant of obedience through the indwelling Holy Spirit that is far superior to the Covenant of Law that sought obedience through the weakness of sinful flesh (Romans 8; 2 Corinthians 3; Hebrews 8; Galatians 5:16;).

Do Christians “attack” the Ten Commandments as claimed by Jews and other Law Keepers?

Christians don’t “attack” the Ten-Commandments…it’s simply the fact that the Holy Spirit within them teaches that the Ten-Commandments were given to a specified, specific, people group for a specified, specific, covenant and that the Commandments are not to be worshiped nor is the Decalogue a path to righteousness (a right standing) with God (Galatians 2:16); the Holy Spirit teaches that only by faith in the One which the Commandments point, Jesus Christ, will righteousness (a right standing) with God manifest leading to eternal life through the forgiveness of sin via the imputation of Messiah righteousness (Romans 8; 2 Corinthians 5:21).

Those who seek righteousness with God through a facade of obedience to the Commandments, exemplified by the religion of Judaism and Christian cults, are existing in the lie of self-righteousness (Galatians 2:16) through Law (a works salvation) and they are therefore destined to the “second death” in Hell because only by faith in the One who kept the Law for us in perfection, Jesus Christ (Matthew 5:17), will a man or woman find righteousness (a right standing) with God, eternally, through the imputation of Jesus’ righteousness into our life by faith in Him as our Lord (2 Corinthians 5:21).

Jesus as our Lord, believing Jesus died to pay our sin-debt owed the Father, is the only “Way” to righteousness with the Father (John 14:6) and NO, Christianity is NOT lawlessness but Christianity is obedience to the indwelling Holy Spirit through sanctification; a Law infinitely superior to the Law of the Covenant. Christians do not strive after rules-regulations-edicts-letters in Stone of a bygone covenant that only condemned void atonement (Hebrews 8; 2 Corinthians 3).

If Jesus is God, why did He ascend to His God? John 20:17

Jesus ascended because He first descended into the Realm of Time to provide blood atonement for your sin thereby paving the Path to eternal life for the one who believes in Him as Messiah-Lord-Redeemer who died for them to pay their sin-debt (John 3:16); otherwise, you would be lost in hopelessness and the path to death in Hell would be without detour (Matthew 26:28; John 14:6; John 8:24; Acts 4:12). Jesus’ entrance into Time as Spirit in human flesh (John 4:24; Philippians 2:5-11) is now eternal through His resurrection and those who believe in Him as Lord will also receive a resurrected body fashioned after His resurrected body and this body will be used in service to Jesus Christ our Lord and King and God in the New Jerusalem, forever (1 Corinthians 15:20; Philippians 3:21).

Jesus is God, eternally…Jesus is the same yesterday, today, forever (Hebrews 13:8) and His entrance into Time “to destroy the works of the Devil” (1 John 3:8b) through the Crucifixion did not nullify His deity but verified it for the one who believes and receives the Holy Spirit as their Wisdom and Discernment (Ephesians 1:13-14; 1 John 2:27). Jesus ascended to the Father because Jesus and the Father have been ONE throughout eternity (John 17:5; John 10:30; John 14:8-10) and our resurrected Lord will the One you serve in the New Jerusalem IF you repent of your sin and sincerely believe in your heart that Jesus Christ is Lord who died for you (Romans 10:9-10).