Message 3 - By Jerry
D. Green
The Old Law and the New
Introduction
Carnal reasoning would
tell anyone, if you don’t want to be a sinner simply make a list of all
the things that are sin and don’t do them. A wonderful idea, except for
one thing, it won’t work. God gave the nation of Israel ten such laws and they
could never keep them (Acts 15:10); neither did they want to hear God speaking
to them. Instead they opted to hear a man (Moses), who gave them hundreds of
laws (six hundred and thirteen, according to someone’s count) complete with
stiff penalties for the violation of any, and all; and they couldn’t keep those
either (Acts 15:10). Law (with its many laws) didn’t work for
them, and law (with its many laws) won’t work for us either. The problem for
them and for us, was and is that all men (after the fall) excepting Jesus, were
born with a nature polluted by sin (which is in fact, the nature of the devil). What could man possibly
do about his predicament? Absolutely nothing! It was, and continues to be,
completely beyond the possibility of any person to ever save him or herself. It
was only because of a totally just and all wise God, who loved us with His
unfathomable (agape) love (John 15:12-13; Romans 5:8) that we could ever be saved from our lost and
hopeless condition; which is exactly what He did.
Man’s sin problem couldn’t be fixed, so God
prepared a way to “…make (us) free…”
from sin; complete with the
remission of all committed sins “that are past;” sins committed by our “…old man…,” the committer of sins; John 8:30-36; Romans 3:25.
He would crucify and bury the “…old man…” of sin (“…with Christ…”; Romans 6:6), (along with the obliteration of the law of
Moses; Colossians 2:14; Romans
7:1-4), and replace our “…old man…” with a “…new (resurrected) man…;”
a man with a sinless heart
and nature. “Lie not one to another,
seeing that ye have put off the old man with his deeds; And have put on
the new man, which is renewed in knowledge after the image of him that
created him (i.e.,
Christ;” Colossians
3:9-10), All these things He did for us, in union
with Christ (Romans 6:6). The apostle Peter
says it this way, “Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious
promises: that by these ye
(you; which includes
all mankind; would) …be (made) partakers of the DIVINE NATURE (“…the Spirit of Christ…”; Romans 8:9),
having
escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust” (by the grace of God, which is by, and through, and in the true
gospel of Christ; II Peter 1:4). Hopefully this
message will give understanding of God’s great remedy for man’s heart problem,
which is sin. These are some of the more important things God did for us
IN Christ. There is so much more of the “good news,” (“the gospel;” the
“unsearchable riches of Christ”); but you can be saved and made free from your
sin problem today. By repenting of your sin (and sins), and believing this small portion of the
gospel of Christ. Putting your faith in Him, and believing these few, but
powerful scriptures, can remedy the sin
problem in your life. Please hear, receive, believe, and submit
yourself to Christ, and His Gospel, today. God’s remedy for sin is the “Gospel of Christ;” but it
must be The TRUE, Gospel of Christ. JDG
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The Old Law and the New
To begin this message,
let’s first consider the question, what is law? Basically, law is a rule, a commandment,
a precept, a statute, or whatever, that states something to be done, and/or
something not to be done. Laws of this world (laws of man) deal with every
aspect of life. They can be given orally, such as, “children do not play in the
street,” or, they can be written laws requiring untold volumes to record.
Obedience to these laws is usually brought about by some kind of punishment as
the consequence of breaking them. If you are caught playing in the street, the
consequences can be anything from a spanking, to no T.V. for a week, etc. If
you take another’s life, the consequences can be anything from execution to
spending all or part of your remaining years in confinement. Disobeying other
laws can be punishable by paying fines, and/or jail sentences, or any number of
other things.
In the beginning there
was only one law; “But
of the tree of the KNOWLEDGE of GOOD and EVIL,
thou shalt not eat…” (This tree was, and is, the tree of “…the law of sin and death…”; Genesis 2:17; Romans 8:2-3). The consequences of eating the fruit of this
tree was this; “…in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely DIE.” Man lived happily in
the garden where God had made him, wanting and needing nothing. He also enjoyed
perfect fellowship with God until the day a sinister being, “…that old serpent, the Devil, and Satan…,”
came to Eve and began
to talk and reason with her (Genesis 3). According to the scriptures Adam had been
made in the image and likeness of God, and God had crowned him with His glory an
honor (His Spirit; Psalm 8:4-5); and Eve had been made from him. They were both made to
perfection, for God is perfect; and perfection cannot be improved upon. Yet
this sinister being, “…that OLD SERPENT which is the Devil and Satan…,” came and began to
question and reason with Eve. “…Has God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the
garden? (Yes,) …we may eat of the fruit of
the trees of the garden
(including the tree of
life): But
of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden (the
tree of knowledge of good and evil) God hath said (to us), Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye
touch it, lest ye DIE. (But,)…the SERPENT said unto the woman, Ye shall
NOT surely DIE:
(But) …God doth know that in the day
ye eat thereof, …your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing
good and evil.”
For someone made in
the image and likeness of God, and crowned with His glory and honor, this
doesn’t seem like much of an enticement; but when Eve saw that it was “…good for food…, …pleasant
to the eyes…,” and a tree “…desired to make one wise…,” she was persuaded. Surely with this new knowledge
of good and evil (law)
they would be much more able to please God. So Eve partook of the fruit of the
tree, and then, she persuaded her husband Adam, who also partook, and in this,
transgressed (SINNED). Thus, “…SIN entered into the world and DEATH by
SIN” (Romans 5:12); just as God had said it would. For “…SIN… IS…the sting of death; “…and… LAW… IS…
the strength of sin”
(I Corinthians
15:55-57). With the entrance of
sin, there could be no more perfection and no more fellowship with God; and now
the sentence of death was upon them. And because of sin, brought in by
their disobedience, the earth was cursed and the serpent who had beguiled them.
The one single thing that allowed this catastrophe to transpire was that Adam
and Eve believed Satan rather than God.
Now, a question that
must be dealt with in this message: What caused Adam and Eve to partake of the
forbidden fruit? At this point, neither Adam nor Eve were yet subjects of, and
to, sin. So what was it, other than their unbelief, that caused them to disobey
God and partake of the forbidden fruit? It had to have been, what I will call,
the human nature. Our human nature is something every human
being, especially the children of God, should be aware of and understand the
danger of yielding ourselves to. After the serpent
(the dragon; the Devil; Satan; Revelation 20:2) had planted his words
in the mind of Eve (Genesis
3:4-5), the scriptures tell
us this: “And when the woman saw
that the tree was
(1) good for food, and that it was (2) pleasant to the eyes, and (3) a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit
thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat” (Genesis
3:6). Thus, the apostle Paul warns us, “…I
fear, lest by any means, as the serpent beguiled (deceived; wholly seduced) Eve through his *subtilty (craftiness; *see
pronunciation note below), so
(or, in like manner) your minds… (would also) be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ” (II Corinthians 11:3). These are the same three
categories of temptations that Satan
(the serpent) tempted Jesus with in the
wilderness; in Matthew ([1]Matt 4:3-4; [2]
Matt 4:8-9; [3] Matt 4:6-7; and in Luke
[1] Luke 4:2-4; [2] Luke 4:5-8; [3]
Luke 4:9-13). Fortunately for us, Jesus always answered correctly. He
answered Satan with the written word of God, which for Him at the time, was Deuteronomy ([1] Deut 8:3;
[2] Deut 6:16;
[3] Deut 6:13). And again, the apostle John deals with these same three categories of temptations, or trials.
In First
John, he speaks of these, (1)
the lust of the flesh, (2) the
lust of the eyes, and, (3) the pride of life, telling us
they are in and of the world; and
forcefully warns the children of God to beware of them. “Love NOT the world,
neither the things that are IN the world. If any man love the world, the
love of the Father is NOT in him. For ALL that is IN the world, (1) the lust of the flesh, and (2) the lust of the eyes,
and (3) the pride of life, is NOT of the Father, but
is OF the world. And the world passeth away,
and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever” (I John 2:15-17). I would point out that it was pride that first brought the downfall
of Satan (Isaiah 14:12-17; Ezekiel
28:14-17). Even though we are
indeed the born again children of God, sons of God, new creatures in Christ,
new creations in Him; we should always be on guard, lest we also be deceived
and overtaken by the lust of the flesh.
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*Subtilty is the OLD English spelling; Subtlety is the NEW. Both spellings are pronounced the same;
but, the b is silent (not
sounded) in the pronunciation of both spellings.
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Immediately after the
fall of man, God devised a plan of redemption, salvation, and reconciliation. A
promised seed of the woman (Jesus, the Christ; the Son of God) would bruise the
head of the serpent (Satan); although the serpent would bruise His heel (Genesis 3:15). It was actually the bruising of His heel (in crucifixion)
that brought about the devil’s demise (Hebrews
2:14). In the mind of God,
“…the
Lamb (‘…of God…’ was) slain from the foundation of the WORLD” (immediately after the fall of man; John 1:29; Revelation 13:8; fallen Adam and Eve were “…the foundation of the world…”), NOT before man came on the scene, or before
the earth was created (Hebrews 1:10). The New Testament word for earth, is Strong’s #1093. In the Old Testament, Psalm 102:25, the word earth
is Strong’s #776. To the
contrary, WORLD
(with few exceptions in both the Hebrew, and the Greek), is a completely
different word. Nonetheless, God intervened with the promise of
redemption, immediately after the fall of man; after sin entered
(Romans 5:12). Fallen Adam and Eve were “…the foundation of the (fallen) WORLD.” The Greek word,
translated world in Revelation 13:8, 17:8, is Strong’s #2889
in Strong’s Greek Dictionary, and is the same Greek word which was translated adorning
in I Peter 3:3. Fallen mankind, which is the WORLD, is predominantly the outward adornment of the earth. Notice in particular that
the Greek word, Strong’s #1093,
which was translated earth in Hebrews
1:10, is speaking
specifically about the planet itself; and is an entirely different word from the
one translated world.
For hundreds of years
after their refusing to hear the voice of God from Mount Horeb, God dealt with the natural seed of Abraham
through the law of Moses; until
“…the
seed… (Jesus Christ, would) …come, unto whom the
promise was made” (Galatians
3:19). From Adam to Moses
there was no law, although sin was in the world, and the lineage of the
promised “…seed…” of the woman continued. God made covenants
with various individuals, including Abraham, the father of faith, and his sons;
but there was no law until Moses. The blood line of the promised seed continued
from Abraham, through Isaac and Jacob, who’s name was changed to Israel (Genesis 32:28). He was the father of the children of Israel who became a
great nation of people. I’m sure most readers know the story of how the
Israelites were sustained in Egypt in a time of great drought, but eventually
ended up in servitude for a total of 430 years; after which time, God, by the
hand of Moses delivered them out of the hand of Pharaoh (Egypt) through many
signs, wonders, and miracles (Joshua 24:5-7; Exodus 12:7, 12:12-14, 12:40-41;
Luke
22:19-20).
Having delivered
Israel out of Egypt, God proceeded to deal with them. He spoke ten (l0) simple commandments to
them. To those who would hear His voice, and keep His covenant (which
He had made with their father Abraham [the rite of circumcision of the flesh]),
those things which He spoke were more properly, ten (10) simple statements
of what His people (His peculiar [special] treasure) would be; and what they
would and would not do. They would do those things (the thou shalts), and they would not do those things (the thou shalt
nots) which He had spoken to them (Exodus 20; Deuteronomy 5),
and “…He (God), after He had spoken His ten (10) commandments, added no more…” (Deuteronomy
5:22). God never intended
for there to be a written law with all of its precepts, mandates, ordinances,
etc.; but the people had NO HEART to hear and obey God’s voice. They said, let
Moses speak to us, we will hear him (Exodus
20:19-20; Deuteronomy
5:29).
It grieved God’s heart
that the people were thus minded. “Oh that there were such a HEART IN them,
that they would fear me and keep all my commandments…, that it might be well
with them and with their children always…” (Deuteronomy
5:29). But God gave
them the desire of their hearts, and all of the laws, precepts, ordinances,
etc. of Moses were “…added,
because of (their) transgressions…” (the making and worshiping of the golden calf, Galatians 3:19). Regrettably, this law did not and could not bring or give life
but only made “…all
the world… (all of fallen mankind) …guilty before God” (Romans
3:19-22). Therefore, by the law shall no one “…be justified in His
sight: for by the law is the knowledge of sin” (verse 20). “But now (since Calvary) the righteousness (or justice)
of
God without the law is manifested, being witnessed by the law and the prophets (verse 21). Even the righteousness (or justice)
of
God, which is by
(and through faith, in
the) faith (the true gospel) of Jesus Christ unto all
and upon all them that (can and will) believe…” (IT; verse 22; and Romans 1:16-17).
Little by little, God,
by his holy prophets, revealed truth about the covenant which was to come. Jeremiah
31:31-34 says this, “…I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel,
and with the house of Judah: …I will put MY LAW in their inward parts, and
write it in their hearts; and (I) will be their God, and they
shall be my people. And they shall teach no more every man his neighbour, and
every man his brother, saying, Know the LORD: for they shall all know me, from
the least of them unto the greatest…, saith the LORD: for I will forgive their
iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more.” Paul quotes from these verses in Hebrews 8:8-12, 10:16-17. This new law would not to be written
on “…tables (tablets) of stone…,” or on parchment, or paper; but on the “…fleshY (soft and tender, as opposed to fleshLY: hard; stony) tables of the heart” (Ezekiel
11:19). This was a completely
new concept. This new law would not be written on the tables of the old heart (the fleshLY
heart; from which stems “…fleshLY lust…,” I
Peter 2:11; and “…fleshLY
wisdom…,” II Corinthians 1:12; from a “…fleshLY mind…;” Colossians
2:18). But by our faith in, and through, the true
gospel of Christ, we receive “…a new heart…,” “…a new spirit…” (Ezekiel
36:26-27), a new, “…divine nature…” (II
Peter 1:4), all of which
constitute “…the
Spirit of Christ…”
(Romans 8:8-10); which is the grace
of God to mankind. Of the OLD heart, spirit, nature, man, law, and life,
the apostle Paul says this, “I am crucified
with Christ: nevertheless I (and we) live; yet (it’s) not I (not us that live)
but (it’s) Christ (the NEW heart, spirit, nature, man, law, and life,
that) liveth IN me (and in us): and the life which I (we) now live in the flesh (this physical body) I (and we) live by the faith (this good news; which is the gospel) of the Son of God, who
loved… (us), and gave Himself for… (us)” (Galatians
2:20). Sin has no
more “…dominion
over…” those who believe the TRUE gospel of Jesus
Christ, for we “…are NOT under… (a written, oral, or implied religious) law (of Moses, or of anyone else,) but (as true gospel believers, we are) under grace” (the law of a new heart, spirit, nature, man, law,
and life; Romans 6:14-15). “For the (new) law of the Spirit of LIFE in Christ Jesus hath made me
FREE from the (old) law of sin and death” (whether it’s a written, oral, or implied law,
or fallen, sin polluted flesh;
Romans 8:2).
Many today teach, and
profess to believe, that Jesus came to earth to show man the way; when in fact,
He is the way. They see the “sermon on the mount” as the ultimate
instruction on how to live a life pleasing to God. If I can just live my life
to the letter of this teaching, God will surely be pleased with me. Does this
sound like the thinking of Eve? Something most Christian people do not realize
is that Jesus did not come to minister to the church, but to those under the
old covenant (the ten commandment law of God). “…Jesus Christ was a
minister of the circumcision (the Jew) for the truth of God, to
confirm the promises made unto the fathers…” (Romans
15:8). For “…the law was our
schoolmaster to bring us (Jews, Paul speaking) unto Christ that we (Jews) might be justified by
faith” (in
the gospel of Christ) “…even as they” (the Gentiles, are
justified by faith in the gospel of
Christ; Galatians 3:22-24; Acts 15:5-11). The Sermon on the Mount and other teachings
of Jesus merely took all the loop holes out of a law which the Jews had never
been able to “…bear…” (i.e., keep; Acts
15:10-11; Romans
8:3). The Jew had not
committed murder, but he had hated his brother. He had not stolen, but he had
coveted. He had refrained from fornication, but he had lusted in his heart.
Jesus said, “If I had not come and
spoken unto THEM, THEY (who had diligently
tried to keep the Law of God, and, of Moses) had not had sin (would not have been held accountable), but now they have no cloak (no covering) for their sin” (John 15:22). This was the case of Paul, when he was yet Saul of Tarsus,
who says concerning the law of both God and Moses, “…I was blameless…” (Philippians 3:4-7). Neither does the blood of Jesus cover sin, but
it “…taketh away the sin of the world” (John
1:29). Jesus made it clear
in the very beginning of His ministry (Matthew
5:l7) that He had NOT “…come to destroy the law or the prophets:
…but to FULFILL”
(them). He taught of life
and freedom from sin, which was to come at His being “…lifted up…” (crucified; John
3:14, 8:30, 12:32-33).
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*Please Note! There
was no Greek word for should* used in the original manuscripts of the
King James Version of the New Testament. Should*, which expresses
obligation, duty, and/or probability, is always added by the King James
translators, to some other word; likewise, were the words, shall,
might and things added (In Strong’s
Greek dictionary, the definition given for these word numbers [should, shall,
might, and things] is always the definition of the word,
to which should, shall, might, and things were
added.). Please keep this in mind as you read the following paragraph
and notice how much more positive the scriptures are without these added words.
The same is true wherever you find these words in the New Testament.
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So then, we “…are become dead to the (old) law by the (sacrificed) body of Christ; that… (we; *) be married to another, even to… (Jesus) who is raised from the dead, that we… (*)
bring
forth fruit unto God”
(Romans 7:4).
“…We
are delivered from the
(old) law,
…being dead wherein we were held; that we (*) SERVE in NEWness of spirit (the NEW law of the Spirit of LIFE), and NOT in the OLDness of the letter” (the old written law of sin and death,
Romans 7:6; 8:2).
By, in, and through our
Lord, Jesus, the Christ, God has performed that which He had promised through
His servants the prophets. By the shed blood and broken (torn; battered;
mangled) flesh (not broken bones) of the body of Jesus, the Christ, the
promised Messiah; God has established the new covenant. He has made provision
for us to have that new heart and new spirit with all the fruit
thereof; which He had promised by the prophets. And, the love (agape;
charity) of God is the foremost fruit of that spirit (I Corinthians 13; Galatians 5:22); for the AGAPE “…LOVE (of God) IS the fulfilling of the (old [Ten Commandment]) law” of God (Romans 13:10). The only way fallen man will ever be able
to fulfill the old law of God (not the law of Moses which was,
and is, done away in Christ) is to first be partaker of the new law of God
(the law of LOVE; the LOVE of GOD). Remember that the old law, whether it be
God’s, or Moses’, or anyone else’s religious laws, precepts, ordinances, principles,
or whatever you choose to call laws, operate through the intellect, or natural
mind. The new law (the new LIFE, the [new] mind or Spirit of Christ, the
[new] divine nature) operates through, and constitutes the new heart. DO NOT be
persuaded by those who would turn you away from faith in “…the (pure, true, unadulterated) gospel of (Jesus, the) Christ…,” which “…is the power of God unto salvation…” to all who believe it; and have you partake
of “…the
tree of the KNOWLEDGE of good and evil…” (law). Religious law, of any and every kind, is just as lethal
to a person today as it was to Adam and Eve in the garden.
I trust that you have
already partaken of our “…tree of life…,” which God has prepared for us today; it is
the body and blood of Jesus, the Christ (NOT the sacraments, or anything of a
physical nature; John 6:54-56), of which, we are made partakers through
belief of the truth [the true gospel of Christ] that makes a person free
FROM sin; II Thessalonians 2:13; Hebrews 4:2; Acts 15:7; John
8:30-36). If not, I urge you
to do so today. Simply humble yourself before Him, Jesus, the Christ, in godly
sorrow for what you are, a sinner (there’s no need to
name your committed sins one by one, unless you are so convicted by the
Holy Ghost to do so; Luke 18:13-14), and believe the gospel (Mark 1:14-15). Do not look to a tree of laws, precepts, ordinances and
principles which can never give life (Galatians
3:21; Hebrews 9:10), but look to Jesus who IS the life, and, the life
giver. I have never understood why Adam made such a wrong choice. Please
don’t make the same mistake he did, for our “…tree of life…,” Jesus Christ, and the gospel (the good
news) of that which He did for all mankind at Calvary, is for “…whosoever (that) will…” partake (Revelation 2:7; 22:2; 22:14; 22:17;
John
1:12).
JDG Message 3 - The
Old Law and the New
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