Does walking by the Spirit in the New Covenant negate the Law in sanctification? Are the Spirit and the Law antithetical?

Short answer, no.

Long answer (What Law?),

There exists, apart from Sinai (written code), the “law of the Spirit of Life” (Romans 8:2; Romans 2:14-15; Romans 7:6), it is the Spiritual Law written upon our heart at conception that has been extant as an arbiter of free will subsequent the creation of the angels…

…that same Law judged Satan of covetousness (Isaiah 14; Ezekiel 28; John 16:11, Revelation 20:10)…

…and that same Spiritual Law was infused within the human genome on Day-6 (Genesis 1:26-28) and judged the Adamic/Noahic generations of defilement worthy of extinction save eight (Genesis 6).

That same Spiritual Law provided a foundation for the Code of Hammurabi and the Sinai Commandments (written code) given the children of Israel; this, due to concerns relevant to Israel’s compromise with paganism serving pagan gods.

That same Spiritual Law is used by the Holy Spirit in the New Covenant to sanctify the redeemed in Jesus as the Spirit produces fruits of righteousness through the redeemed conscience that glorify the Father and His Kingdom and validated, authenticate, saving faith (Galatians 5; Matthew 7:15-20)…

…and that same Spiritual Law will be used by Jesus to judge the disobedient and unbelieving in the Judgment of the Condemned (Revelation 20:11-15)…

…and that same Spiritual Law will be extant in the New Jerusalem as free will remains extant in Eternity by necessity.

You are correct that the Christian is not under Sinai’s law concerning righteousness (a right standing) with the Father as per New Covenant promise (Romans 6:14) but the Spiritual Law will forever play a role in our relationship with our fellowman here on Earth, in the resurrection and with our Creator throughout Eternity.

It is true that righteousness (a right standing) with the Father does not manifest through vain attempts to keep the Mosaic Law, Sinai, a written code (Galatians 2:16; Romans 3:20) but the law of the Spirit of Life will eternally be relevant as an arbiter of free will by necessity as free will is an essential attribute concerning intimacy and genuine, reciprocal, relationship with our Creator.

Causation for the Noahic Flood?

A brief explanation,

Free will is at the root of all evil and Elohim’s response to same. The causation or reasoning for our Creation in Time is in response to an unfathomable rebellion that manifest in the Kingdom of God involving a rebellious cherub angel and one-third of the angelic creation. Our Earth, Time, physics, genome, was created in direct response to this spiritual rebellion and the Earth as a temporary repository for that Kingdom War, a spiritual war (Ephesians 6) partially constrained by Time and physics as our Creator is actively restoring holiness to His Kingdom while simultaneously dealing with the rebellious cherub.

Our Creator’s “battle strategy” to deal with the rebellion is the Gospel of Messiah Jesus which was ordained “before Time began” (2 Timothy 1:8-10); in fact, the primary reason Jesus Christ entered Time was “to destroy the works of the Devil” (1 John 3:8b) and this Gospel was first pictured for us in Genesis 3:21 and the struggle between the Son and Satan first pictured in Genesis 3:15 and concluded with the words “It is finished” in John 19:30 at Golgotha.

Elohim’s original intent through Adam,

It was Elohim’s original eschatological plan to set-apart a people group from the Adamic/Noahic generations through whom He would introduce His Messiah, the Gospel through Golgotha but these two-generations became so very defiled through compromise with the demonic, intermarrying with the demonic influence, that Elohim would NOT proceed with His eschatological plan through these defiled people, their demonically corrupted genome, and chose rather to eradicate their presence from the face of the Earth (Genesis 6) as Elohim found righteousness in Noah (Genesis 6:8) sufficient to proceed forward with His eschatological plan to destroy the works of the devil through Messiah which would ultimately be introduced through Noah, Shem, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Judah.

Elohim relented to Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, from Noah via Shem to begin anew and Elohim’s attempt to dissuade paganism from influencing Jacob’s children and repeating the horror of the Adamic and Noahic generations is causation for Sinai, Torah Law, Ten-specific codified laws drawn from the Spiritual Law given specifically to Jacob’s children in stone.

Faith – Works – Perfection, James 2:22?

22 “So you see that Abraham’s faith and the things he did worked together. His faith was made perfect by what he did.”

For the record, Abraham was considered “righteous” by Elohim in Genesis 15:6 in response to Abraham believing, trusting, in Elohim by faith LONG before Abraham’s works entered into the equation in Genesis 26:5. Works of righteousness on our part manifesting SUBSEQUENT saving faith (noun) is a natural and expected progression of authentic, legitimate, saving faith, but works-righteousness-obedience can NEVER supplant the necessity for saving faith, FIRST (Ephesians 2:8-9).

Furthermore,

Saving faith is a “noun”…Jesus does not share His suffering and bloodshed for sin with anyone…it is by faith, alone, in Jesus, alone, that we are provided the opportunity to enter into covenant with the Father via the gifting, the imputation, of Jesus’ sinless perfection, the righteousness of Jesus over our life by grace through faith in exchange for our sin (Genesis 3:21; 2 Corinthians 5:21; Hebrews 8:12). Once covenant with the Father is established by faith (noun), the Holy Spirit enters our life and begins a good work within us and even during this daily process of sanctification, the work, the righteousness, is truly not our own but the Spirit working through us producing “fruit” that honors the Father and furthers His eschatological purposes in Time (Ephesians 1:13-14; Galatians 5). Yes, this “fruit” validates saving faith as legitimate, authentic, but works – fruit cannot supplant faith as the KEY to covenant.

Humanity is a vile and corrupted entity that is hopeless and worthy of Hell (Genesis 6) and our only Hope is the intercession of Jesus as Messiah in response to the Father’s compassion expressed through Messiah and the work of the Spirit in us and through us; otherwise, we’re ash in the dung heap. Until you fully comprehend your pathetic state and humble yourself in response, you will never enter the Kingdom. Humanity is nothing more than a vile, necessitated, byproduct of the Gospel, the Gospel ordained as a battle strategy employed by the Father to destroy the works of the Devil via Messiah; this, before Time began (2 Timothy 1:8-10; 1 John 3:8b).

Humanity is a well crafted – created pawn involved in a Spiritual War of unfathomable proportions and a relative “few” (Matthew 7:13-14) will graduate from this cosmic, spiritual, war to continue service to our Creator, our Warrior, our King, in the New Jerusalem subsequent the resurrection; this, as a result of faith that permitted the Holy Spirit to work the Father’s eschatological will through us in the Father’s struggle to restore order to His Kingdom and maintain volitional love with His precious angelic creation.

Our entire existence within the temporary Realm of Time boils down to this, we will choose to serve the Father by faith in Jesus Christ as our King or we will choose to serve the Devil and our eternal destiny hinges completely upon whom we “choose” to serve.

Sinai’s Commandments – the written code given Israel that has been relegated to the annals of theological history, why?

The Sinai Commandments worshiped by Israel’s children, Legalists, far too many Christian Churches, are not to be worshiped or venerated as a path to righteousness in the New Covenant as the Law of the Spirit of Life is relevant in the New Covenant (Romans 8:2; Romans 2:14-15) as Jesus and the Holy Spirit are the focus of covenant relationship with the Father and sanctification following salvation, not letters-laws, ordinances, days, diets.

Sinai was given solely to Israel and sojourners with them; this, in response to the paganism that inundated Israel’s tribes, paganism serving pagan gods relentlessly seeking Israel’s compromise, compromise that would have thwarted Elohim’s eschatological plan going forward concerning the Gospel, defeat of the Devil via Messiah at Golgotha (1 John 3:8b); this potential Israeli compromise with paganism would essentially become a repeat of the failures of the Adamic and Noahic generations, their compromise with the demonic resulting in the extinction of humanity save eight. This is why Sinai’s ten-commands, 1-4, concern Israel’s relationship with Yahweh and 5-10 concern Israel’s conduct relevant to their tribesmen; these specific commandments providing a bulwark to compromise with pagan gods – the demonic.

Why a written code etched in stone?

Sinai was given Israel’s children because the Holy Spirit was not working within the Tribes, within humanity, as He does in the New Covenant. For four-thousand years prior Pentecost (Acts 2), the Holy Spirit only indwelt certain anointed men and women in strategic positions of influence concerning Elohim’s eschatological objectives. Also, during this dispensation, the Holy Spirit could be removed from an anointed individual in response to disobedience, unfaithfulness (Psalms 51:11). Overwhelmingly, humanity was besieged by the demonic due the sin-nature and a personal, intimate, relationship with Elohim, though possible through faith, was rare and scripturally noteworthy.

In the New Covenant, the Spiritual Law (Romans 2:14-15) or “The Law of the Spirit of Life” (Romans 8:2) is made relevant via New Covenant promise (Jeremiah 31; Ezekiel 36; Hebrews 8; Ephesians 1:13-14). Subsequent Golgotha, Pentecost (John 19:30; Acts 2) faith, grace, the Holy Spirit have become Eternally relevant while Sinai is relegated to the annals of history; this, while the Spirit’s anointing via the Spiritual Law written upon our heart at conception and arbitrated by the Spirit during sanctification via the conscience is the methodology used by Elohim to govern behavior, provide behavioral modification, concerning His children and not codified laws etched in stone that are a codified fragment of the Spiritual Law; Sinai, that which is etched in stone, that which could never sanctify or make righteous due to the sin-nature absent the indwelling Holy Spirit (Romans 8:1-8; Romans 3:20; Galatians 2:16).

In conclusion,

In this current dispensation of Grace, the Christian serves in newness of the Spirit as the Holy Spirit is the promise of the Father via a New Covenant of Grace through Faith (Ephesians 1:13-14); Christians do NOT serve letters – Sinai (Romans 7:6).

It is the Holy Spirit who indwells the faithful in Jesus by New Covenant promise and the Spirit enlivens the spiritual law written upon our heart and employs the redeemed conscience to arbitrate that law as He methodically walks the Christian in daily sanctification carefully discerning every thought and intent of the heart urging the Christian toward righteousness while eschewing compromise with evil; this, an infinitely superior form of behavioral modification compared to the Law Covenant that demanded perfection from a sin-nature that could never comply; ultimately, resulting in condemnation and cursing (Romans 3:20; Galatians 3:10; James 2:10).

The New Covenant has replaced the Old Covenant and it is past time that the Christian understand this and rebuke the Jew, Israelite, Legalist, who seek our bondage to Sinai and the inadequacies of the Law Covenant (Hebrews 8:7).

A supposed child of Jacob asked the following: “Do you not find it strange that the people who know God’s law the best are less likely to believe in this new thing [the Gospel] than people who barely know it at all?”

Christian response,

That’s due to self-righteousness and pride on Israel’s part and due the Jewish Curse for rejecting their Messiah before Pilate (Romans 11; Matthew 27:25). Israel’s children falsely believe that their sanctification through Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, qualifies them as children of Yahweh by heritage when, from the beginning, Elohim has demonstrated to humanity that “faith” is the KEY to His heart and that He is not a respecter of persons.

The Gospel of Yeshua is NOT a “new thing” but was ordained “before Time began” (2 Timothy 1:8-10) as Elohim’s “battle strategy” “to destroy the works of the devil” via Messiah (1 John 3:8b; Genesis 3:15-21). Elohim originally desired to set-apart a people group for His eschatological plan from the Adamic-Noahic generations but they fell prey to demonic influence and had become so defiled that He eradicated all but eight and began anew with Noah (Genesis 6).

Abraham-Isaac-Jacob were His second-attempt to sanctify a people group through whom Elohim would chronicle His words and further His eschatological will, introduce His Messiah, and destroy the works of the Devil through the Gospel; in fact, this sanctification of Israel was reasoning for Sinai, the written code, to counter the pagan influence that inundated the Tribes; this, as a bulwark against a repeat of the failures of the Adamic and Noahic generations. Sinai was given specifically to Israel’s children and sojourners with them as Elohim desired to move forward eschatologically void Satan’s paganistic influence.

Messiah, Israel, the Great Commission,

Messiah came specifically to the lost sheep of Israel (Matthew 15:24) to proselytize them in His Gospel so that through Israel’s children, Yahweh would fulfill His eschatological promise to Abraham (Genesis 12:3b) via the Great Commission (Matthew 28); but tragically, Israel’s children clung to the Law and rejected faith; Israel’s children desired a political leader, a national king not a Spiritual Messiah; consequently, in obedience to Satan (John 8:44), they rejected and murdered their Messiah on a tree while insisting that His blood be upon them and their children; therefore, the Gentile Nations, by default, became Elohim’s messengers concerning the Great Commission and the Gentiles will remain His messengers until their fullness has entered the Kingdom (Romans 11:25); then, the tribulation era will be in full swing and a partial resurgence of Israel’s children be center stage during and subsequent the Tribulation with the initiation of Messiah’s Millennial Kingdom; Israel’s glory in this Millennial Age will NOT be for Israel’s benefit but for the Glory of Yeshua who endured continued rejection by this sanctified people group but attained victory by means of selfless, steadfast, love that overcame the Evil One at Golgotha.

Israel, under judgment but Hope endures,

The only Hope for Israel’s children to be named among the remnant that inherits eternal life is the HOPE of Yeshua as Messiah by faith (Isaiah 10:22; Romans 9:27; Romans 10; Galatians 2:16).

Faith without Works is Dead? (James 2:26) / Works without Faith are Dead? (Isaiah 64:6)

Saving Faith – Works – Fruits of Righteousness,

If you possess saving faith in Messiah, a faith that has initiated covenant with the Father, you will produce “fruit” via the indwelling Holy Spirit that are “works” the Father actually honors and this fruit validates the authenticity of your faith – BUT – you can never “work” sufficiently to “earn” the Father’s forgiveness; truth is, only by trusting-believing in Jesus who did the “work” of righteousness for you at Golgotha and receive His righteousness gifted-imputed into your life will you be declared “not guilty” by covenant promise (John 3; 2 Corinthians 5:21; Hebrews 8:12; Ephesians 1:13-14; Galatians 5; Ephesians 2:8-9; Galatians 2:16; Romans 7:6; Matthew 7:15-20).

Faith that does not produce fruit is dead faith…it is irrelevant, but no one “works” their way into the Kingdom (Galatians 2:16) as the Kingdom is open only to those who place their “faith,” trust, belief, in Jesus as Messiah who died for them as blood atonement for sin (John 14:6; Leviticus 17:11; John 3; 1 Peter 1:19).

Works – Self Righteousness masquerading as Saving Faith,

Religions e.g. Judaism, Islam, Catholicism, other Cults, Sects, pursue works i.e. Days – Diets – Traditions – the Mass – self-flagellation, tongues, water baptism, believing that their personal sacrifice engenders covenant relationship with their idea of a Deity when in truth, the Elohim of the Bible is not impressed with human works lest they’re performed through His Spirit, the Holy Spirit given to all who believe in His Son, Jesus Christ as Messiah (Ephesians 1:13-14).

Billions of well intention men and women will perish in Hell in self-righteousness as they deceptively believe they possess the ability to please their Deity or the Living God, Elohim, through self-righteous works of the flesh, laws, days and diets when in reality, Elohim interprets our works performed apart from His Spirit as filthy rags, a bloody menstrual cloth (Isaiah 64:6); therefore, these lost, deceived, dying in Hell, religionists strive and work and labor in futility and ultimately nihilism as their self-righteousness is absent saving faith (Hebrews 11:6).

A response to the Judaizers; Legalists; Hebrew Roots adherents who accuse the Christian of being “CHEATERS, LIARS, THIEVES” due to their refusal to worship Sinai and the written code…

The written code given Israel at Sinai is NOTHING but a fragment of the Spiritual Law (Romans 2:14-15) that has been extant as an arbiter of free will subsequent the creation of the angels. Sinai’s written code was given Israel as a bulwark against paganism that inundated the Tribes at that juncture in human history, paganism that sought Israel’s compromise; this, a concern of Elohim as Israel was commanded to be holy as He is Holy and their compromise with paganism and pagan gods would have once again thwarted Elohim’s eschatological plan concerning His Messiah and the Gospel of Grace through which Elohim would “destroy the works of the Devil” (1 John 3:8b).

Sinai is an incomplete fragment of the eternal Spiritual Law and was given to Israel for a specific dispensation and for eschatological purposes and those letters etched in stone are NOT to be worshiped as an Icon but understood relevant to their purpose in a pivotal time in human history as Elohim prepared to introduce His Messiah through Judah’s Tribe and defeat the Devil via His own selfless love demonstrated at Golgotha via Messiah with the words “It is finished” (John 19:30).

Christians do not worship stones or letters or mountains (Romans 6:14) but they serve the Living God through the indwelling Holy Spirit who produces “fruit” of righteousness through them (Galatians 5), fruit that pleases the Father via the Spiritual Law written upon their heart at conception and infused within the human genome on Day-6. Jesus tells you plainly that you will know them by their “fruit” (Matthew 7:15-20) as the written code only defines our sin but provides no atonement (Romans 3:20); righteousness (a right standing) with the Father is not manifest through Sinai or a written code but ONLY through faith in the Son, Jesus Christ (Galatians 2:16; John 3).

When one walks by the Spirit they honor all LAW; both, the Spiritual and the written code. If one desires to love and honor the Father they must trust in Jesus Christ as their Messiah, receive the indwelling Holy Spirit as promised by Covenant (Ephesians 1:13-14) and honor the Spirit through obedience to His will in their daily life…this is eternal covenant relationship and this is eternal peace (Romans 5:1).

Attempting to defend legalism; Judaism; Sabbath obsessions; Hebrew Roots fanaticism using Saul the Pharisee who became Paul the Apostle,

Saul/Paul was a Jew, a strict Pharisee (Philippians 3)…and he initially came to the Jews, his countrymen, to proselytize them in the Gospel (Romans 10) and yes, Paul met with the Jews on the Sabbath which was their custom (Acts 17:2) but when Paul met with the New Covenant Church, he met on the First-Day, Sunday (Acts 20:7-8; 1 Corinthians 16;1-2) ….to break bread, to share the Scriptures, to collect gifts – tithes for the poor as the First Day – Sunday is the Day the Holy Spirit ordained through His initiation of the New Covenant Church on Pentecost – Sunday (Acts 2).

My God is NOT concerned about days, diets, traditions, temples, heritage (Colossians 2:16; Romans 14), but my God is concerned about intimacy and love with His created beings and all that you find relevant in Torah and Judaism and Tradition was for a time, a dispensation, of necessity as these things pointed to the One who would come to destroy the works of the Devil (1 John 3:8b; John 5:39-44; Galatians 3:24-25)…but you would rather focus on the irrelevant, the dead works of the Law, waste your life in futile arguing over NOTHING of relevance rather than substance; that is, faith in Yeshua and life through the Holy Spirit via covenant with the Father (John 3).

Theological question was asked: “How is it possible for us to lose our faith completely?”

Concerning faith and the redeemed in Jesus,

If one “loses” their faith, that faith was not saving faith to begin with as the redeemed in Messiah will endure to the end and the Holy Spirit is the Guarantor of this promise (Ephesians 1:13-14). A true Christian’s life may not be the most honorable life lived to the glory of the Father but they never “lose their faith” as they belong to the Father by faith in the Son which is guaranteed by covenant via the indwelling Holy Spirit, forever.

Concerning faith and those living in the World apart from Jesus,

A man or woman living in the World and compromising with Satan loses the ability to hear the Spirit’s call upon their life, that sufficient “faith” that moves them toward life in Jesus; this, through repeated rejection of the Holy Spirit’s call and the dangers, deception, destruction, of “diminishing returns” which is the most proficient tool of deception utilized by the Devil; that is, human nature, when compromising with evil motivated by narcissism and hedonism, that compromise requires incrementally enhanced levels of self-defilement in order to achieve the same narcissistic pleasure as the previous compromise; this is the same phenomenon that under girds any addiction; hence, that sufficient faith given every human being in order that they might find life in Jesus is ultimately snuffed-out, silenced, and the conscience is seared; the one who has internalized a seared conscience through repeated compromise with evil will ultimately perish in Hell subsequent a life lived in nihilism and self-destructive behavior.

Satan’s tactic of “diminishing returns” in Scripture?

The Holy Spirit, working through the Apostle Paul and his Scribe, Tertius, pictures the demonic tactic of “diminishing returns” in Paul’s letter to the Church at Rome, Chapter 1:18-32.