The question then becomes, " Why should I try to keep a law
that was not only not meant for me, but a law that even those that it
was meant for could not keep." I would be doing something both
unnecessary and impossible.
This
logic is circular and is far below you, Terry. Reread Luke 1:6 and
Deuteronomy 30:11-14 again. Do you see how these two passages do not
contradict each other yet they call you a liar? Checked out both.
They were instructions for people under the law,(Jewish folk) They
could be considered righteous even after breaking the law by offering a
sin sacrifice. Paul says, "All have sinned". I take that to include
every one. The only reason that God has to see me as righteous is that
a sin sacrifice has been made for me.
I can see why you, being Jewish, might try to keep some of the
traditions in order to keep peace in the family, but to keep them
because you feel that they are necessary for salvation makes no sense
to me.
I do not keep them in order to keep peace in the
family. I do it out of love and respect for my God and Messiah who
said, "If you love me keep my commandments." I am unable to separate
the commandments like fishermen catch and release fish. If God the
Father said something in the Older Testament Scriptures and Messiah
said something in the Newer Testament, I believe they came out of the
same mouth. It is good to know that though you are hung up on
keeping the law, you are hung up for an honorable reason.
Those laws were not there in the beginning, and they are not
here now.
What part of "perpetual commandment" and
"commandment throughout your generations" do you not understand? Do you
need me to list them for you or can I trust in the accuracy of your
concordance? A covenant can be renewed just as a contract can be
rewritten. When that happens, the old version is void. If you get a
mortgage at twelve percent for thirty years, and five years later, get
a better one for six percent, you do not go on paying twelve percent.
You go by the terms in the new agreement.
They were here for a time, to show you that you cannot
possibly keep them and to show that without a Savior you are totally
lost.
I must insist that you stop contradicting
Scripture. Please read Luke 1:6 and Deuteronomy 30:11-14 once again.
However, I will agree with your last phrase ,"without a Savior you are totally lost.
See the above.
You cannot save yourself. That is what Jesus found so
frustrating about most Pharisees. They were SELF righteous and needed
no Savior.
Save myself? You are comparing
colors and tastes. Where do you get the idea the Pharisees were self
righteous and needed no Messiah? From a bunch of places in the NT
They could do it by keeping the law.
You
don't seem to understand that in the Jewish mindset, one did not NEED
to keep the Teachings of Moses as a substitution for a Savior. They are
God's chosen People. WHY do they need to do anything when it's
guaranteed anyway? If there is anything you understand from our
dialogues, please know that it is impossible for the Chosen People to
misinterpret Scripture to read that they MUST keep Torah as a
substitute for a suffering Messiah. God chose this stiff necked
bunch to show that He could do very much with very little. We look and
see a great God, not a great tribe.
People who believed this did not just stumble into sin. Some
of them wallowed in it, and got so far off course as to end up
sacrificing their own children to idols. The law said "don't worship
another god, and the law said don't murder, but people under the law
did both on many occasions, so it is certainly no guarantee that living
under a bunch of rules will do anything except show you how sorry a
bunch of people can be.
SO WHAT!! SO WHAT!!! Your inability and your
unwillingness to submit to God's rules does not make His Just Teachings
less significant. However, be assured that when the books are opened
during the Great White Throne Judgment, your deeds since the
recognition of Messiah will be compared to Torah. How do you think you
will fare? I pray you do better than I will. I will stand there
clothed with the righteousness of Jesus Christ!
Even King David, who loved the law, committed adultery and
murder, so where is the benefit? Why cling to something that is no
longer useful? Why not adopt the two commandments that Jesus gave
every believer?
Are you so much
greater than David? He was a man after God's own heart. If only you
[and I] were HALF the man he was. Again, you have fallen prey to that
judgmental attitude so prevalent in Christianity. By concentrating on
David's weaknesses, you artificially elevate your dreary walk with
Messiah. Instead, may I suggest you compare the time you spend walking
the high road with David's so you can see just how far you need to go
to reach the dangling ends of his shoelaces? David was an even worse
husband than Abraham, and a far worse father. I would put myself up
against him in those two areas any time, any where. When it comes to
shooting a sling, he probably has me hands down.
I know this is the raving of a madman to both you and Jeff, but I am
trying to understand why Jesus is not enough for you as He is for me.
What am I missing? How in the world can I get you to see what I see as
a great truth?
Why do you think
that? Yeshua is all I need to gain entrance into the Kingdom of Heaven.
What you are missing and what you are unable to see is that out of LOVE
and ADORATION for the God of Avraham, Isaac, and Jacob is the only
reason I keep the commandments. Interesting concept, isn't It. The
reason Slade LIVES is because Messiah loved him first and died for him.
In response, the Newer Testament tells me, "If you love me, keep my
commandments." This, in my opinion, includes them all. Messiah's
culmination of the commandments into two is a completely misunderstood
concept to you. In a future email, I will attempt to explain it to you.
I must prayerfully request the Holy Spirit to open your heart to what I
write. Great idea. We will pray for each other.
I am not trying to win an argument with either of you. I am simply
concerned that you cannot seem to comprehend something so basic.
Thank you for your concern, Terry. Likewise, we
are concerned for you because you cannot seem to grasp something so
basic.
Terry
slade
