A short while ago I was in an online conversation with another Christian   
   friend who has a page on Facebook. She mentioned to me how some of her   
   Christian friends view her as being legalistic, because she believes that   
   even though we accept Christ, we are still bound by the mandates of the   
   Mosaic Law, while on the other hand -- according to what she wrote to me --   
   her friends believe that we are no longer bound by the same.   
      
   While I amply discuss this subject in a number of my articles on the Endtime   
   Prophecy Net website, I felt that it would be good to share a brief   
   refresher course here concerning this pivotal issue regarding our Christian   
   faith.   
      
   As I told my friend, a number of decades ago, when I was under the strong   
   influence of a particular organization -- which I now view as a cult -- I   
   likewise fell under the "dead-to-the-law" delusion for a time.   
      
   However, in the years since that time, as I have delved deeper into the Word   
   of God on my own, being led by nothing but the Holy Spirit, and following my   
   longtime practice of comparing Scripture with Scripture, I have gained a new   
   perspective concerning this important issue.   
      
   Very briefly, my current understanding regarding the Grace vs Law issue is   
   this:   
      
   If we believe that the Bible does not contradict itself, and that God is not   
   the author of confusion, then we must conclude that when the Apostle Paul   
   writes that we are "dead to the Law" -- please see Romans 7:4 for example --   
   he does not actually mean that we will no longer be held accountable for any   
   actions that we may commit which are contrary to the Law -- particularly if   
   we haven't received Christ in our lives.   
      
   But the question is this: Which Law is Paul talking about? Is he talking   
   about the entire Mosaic Law?   
      
   A close examination of Paul's Epistles will reveal that he is not.   
      
   If we examine what Jesus taught us in the Gospels, as well as what Paul   
   wrote in his Epistles, we come to understand that what Paul was more than   
   likely saying is that we are in fact dead to the sacrificial laws, as well   
   as to the ceremonial laws, but not to the moral laws. This is in fact the   
   very same thing that Jesus taught. The Lord constantly exposed the Scribes   
   and the Pharisees because of their legalistic adherence to their ceremonial   
   traditions, while they ignored love, mercy and compassion. As we also know,   
   they also grew filthy rich through the merchandizing of sacrificial animals.   
      
   My friend wrote to me that her understanding is that the purpose of the   
   Mosaic Law is to reveal to us that we are sinners who are in need of a   
   Savior. She is absolutely correct. As the Apostle Paul tells us, the Law was   
   our schoolmaster which brought us to Christ. The Mosaic Law reveals to us   
   our hopeless, sinful condition, and points us to Jesus. As Paul tells us, it   
   is through the Law that we become aware of sin, as we see here:   
      
   "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."   
   Romans 7:7, KJV   
      
   So it is my current belief that the Moral Laws which Moses received from God   
   on Mount Horeb -- or Sinai -- are just as good, just as strong, just as much   
   in effect, and just as enforceable as they were thousands of years ago.   
      
   But insofar as the Sacrificial Laws are concerned, they are now moot and   
   void; because as we are told in the Epistle to the Hebrews, we have a new   
   High Priest, who has established a New Covenant with us, which is based upon   
   His own one-time Sacrifice on the Cross, and His Blood which was spilled for   
   the remission of our sins. Again, I discuss all of these points in   
   considerable detail in my articles.   
      
   I believe that the same holds true for the Ceremonial Laws as well, such as   
   observing certain holy days and feasts. They are moot and void, and we are   
   no longer bound by them. In fact, as I explain in my articles, the time   
   arrived when God simply became disgusted with the Jewish observance of so   
   many holy days and feast days, and their outward display of self-assigned   
   "holiness", while their hearts were -- and still remain -- very far from   
   Him. Observing such feasts without accepting Christ is simply hypocrisy, and   
   nothing less. God wants us to honor Him by accepting the Sacrifice of His   
   dear Son.   
      
   Even the Apostle Paul grew tired of dealing with this holier-than-thou   
   attitude of his fellow Jews who argued about which feast days had to be   
   observed. Those legalistic snakes and vipers even tried to pressure the new   
   Christian Disciples into doing the same. Thus Paul wrote in Romans 14:5:   
      
   "One man esteemeth one day above another: another esteemeth every day alike.   
   Let every man be fully persuaded in his own mind."   
   Romans 14:5, KJV   
      
   So again, there is still strength in the moral aspects of the Mosaic Law. As   
   Jesus said ". . . Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in   
   no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled." Matthew 5:18, KJV   
      
   Obviously, while a major part of God's Redemption Plan has already been   
   fulfilled with Christ's Death on the Cross -- and His subsequent   
   Resurrection -- all has not been fulfilled yet . . . unless, of course, you   
   currently believe that we are living on the New Earth with New Heavens.   
      
   So, while we are no longer under the Law -- insofar as our Salvation is   
   concerned, because animal sacrifices obviously cannot save us or cleanse us   
   from our sins -- but under Grace, nevertheless, it is my personal belief   
   that we will still be held accountable if we break the mandates of the Moral   
   Law, such as "Thou shalt not kill" . . . or do you "dead-to-the-law"   
   Christians believe that God will turn a blind eye if you kill someone, or   
   steal from them, or have an affair with someone else's wife, or engage in   
   homosexuality?   
      
   Can you now see that your "dead-to-the-law" interpretation is a bit flawed?   
      
   If what you currently believe is true -- that is, that we are dead to the   
   entire Mosaic Law -- then everyone would be in Heaven; but Jesus and the   
   Book of Revelation both make it rather clear that "wide is the gate, and   
   broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in   
   thereat". The Book of Revelation makes it quite clear that there are certain   
   people who will most definitely not be allowed to enter the Heavenly City,   
   such as murderers for example.   
      
   Let me leave you with the following verses:   
      
   "But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and   
   whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their   
   part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second   
   death."   
   Revelation 21:8, KJV   
      
   "For without are dogs, and sorcerers, and whoremongers, and murderers, and   
   idolaters, and whosoever loveth and maketh a lie."   
   Revelation 22:15, KJV   
      
   If we are not bound by the moral aspects of the Mosaic Law, then how do you   
   explain the previous verses???   
      
      
   Jeff Snyder, SysOp - Armageddon BBS  Visit us at endtimeprophecy.org port 23   
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