In part 1 of Romans, we learned that the “gospel” is not about the birth, life, death and resurrection of Jesus. The “gospel” is everlasting and has existed from the beginning of time. It is the “good news” God gave to every created individual He brought into existence. That “good news” was, if you live in obedience to the Ten Commandments, you will live forever.
The Ten Commandments are the foundation of God’s government. No individual can live under God’s government who does not live in obedience to the Ten Commandments. Those who live the perfect, sinless and commandment keeping life have the privilege of living eternally. That is “good news”.
As we continue in our study of Paul’s letter to the Romans, we will find that this concept of obedience is the primary thrust of Paul. Not only in his letter to the Romans, but in all his letters. He was commanded by Jesus to teach the gospel. He would never stop being obedient to Jesus. Have you? Are we as determined to live in obedience as Paul was? Jesus has commanded every person who takes the name of “Christian” to “proclaim the gospel to everyone”. Mark 16:15. Without obedience, no one will enter the kingdom of God.
Again, going back to our study on Romans, part 1, Paul understood the differences between the four basic laws of the Jews. We will continue making those distinctions available in this study. Paul was trying to get across to the Gentiles that they were just as saved keeping the Ten Commandments as the Jews were. That joining the church and keeping all the religious rites, ceremonies, traditions and services had nothing to do with eternal life. Going to church had nothing to do with belonging to God. While the Jews sat back in their self-righteous church judging the gentiles, God was judging the Jews and their church.
Romans 2:1 to Romans 3:31
Therefore, you have no excuse—every one of you who judges. For when you pass judgment on another person, you condemn yourself, since you, the judge, practice the very same things.
Obviously, if a person is judging, that person is using a standard to do the judging. For Christians, that standard is the Ten Commandments. Therefore, instead of passing judgment on others, we need to be very careful that we ourselves are living in obedience to the Ten Commandments. On the other hand, if we are using church or worldly dogma as our standard of judgment, then we are not Christians.
Now we know that God’s judgment against those who act like this is based on truth.
As much as the religious organizations of today try to change God and make the Jesus of the New Testament different from the God of the Old Testament, God’s truth never changes. The Ten Commandments are the same in the Old Testament as they are in the New Testament. Jesus is very plain on that. He stated, “Do not think that I came to destroy the Law or the Prophets. I didn’t come to destroy them”. No, He did not! He came to live them. He came to fulfill them in His life as we are to fulfill them in our lives. He set the example of how we are to fulfill them. He taught the Ten Commandments for our eternal life. Matthew 19:17. God’s truth for our eternal life has never changed since Adam. God’s judgment is “based on truth”. Is yours?
So when you, a mere man, pass judgment on those who practice these things and then do them yourself, do you think you will escape God’s judgment?
The Christian world today narrows that down to doing the exact same things that they judge against. But the Bible is very plain, “For whoever keeps the whole Law but fails in one point is guilty of breaking all of it”. James 2:10. It is our sinful nature to put others down in order to make ourselves look better. We love comparing ourselves with others we think are worse than us. But it is all sin. Paul tells us not to compare ourselves among ourselves.
Or are you unaware of his rich kindness, forbearance, and patience, that it is God’s kindness that is leading you to repent?
How quickly we forget that all of us are sinners. All of us deserve nothing but death. Only by “His rich kindness, forbearance, and patience” (grace) that we are not struck down. Therefore, none of us has anything to boast about. It is the kindness of God that leads us to repentance. We are to follow the example of Jesus and show the same to others. Our mission is not to compare ourselves with others, but to compare ourselves with Jesus and lead others to repentance through kindness, forbearance and love.
But because of your stubborn and unrepentant heart you are reserving wrath for yourself on the day of wrath, when God’s righteous judgment will be revealed.
I pray to God that those sitting in, and supporting, religious organizations will get out so they will be able to see how stubborn and unrepentant their hearts are. It is religious members who are so deserving of God’s wrath. But they don’t see it. Like the Jews of Christ’s day, they think their beliefs qualify them for Heaven. They don’t!
“Again, the command is given: ‘Cry aloud, spare not, lift up thy voice like a trumpet, and show My people their transgression, and the house of Jacob (churches and religious organizations) their sins.’ It is not the wicked world, but those whom the Lord designates as ‘my people,’ that are to be reproved for their transgressions. He declares further: ‘Yet they seek Me daily, and delight to know My ways, as a nation (religious organizations) that did righteousness, and forsook not the ordinance of their God.’ Isaiah 58:1, 2. Here is brought to view a class who think themselves righteous and appear to manifest great interest in the service of God (church and religious organizations); but the stern and solemn rebuke of the Searcher of hearts proves them to be trampling upon the divine precepts.” GC 452.
For he will repay everyone according to what that person has done: eternal life to those who strive for glory, honor, and immortality by patiently doing good; but wrath and fury for those who in their selfish pride refuse to believe the truth and practice wickedness instead.
It is hard to fathom that going to or belonging to a religious organization is wickedness. However, we must change our perceptions or be destroyed. Jesus did not, nor does He, command us or require us to “go to church”. Religious organizations were invented by the devil to destroy our souls. We are invited to go to Jesus and Jesus only. Matthew 11:28. We are to lay down our lives at the feet of Jesus, not religious organizations. We are to “strive for glory, honor, and immortality by patiently doing good”, not belonging to religious organizations. No eternal good is being done in church. Unless people are standing up and confessing, weeping and repenting, church is destroying souls. We must get out of our churches and strive to live the perfect, sinless and commandment keeping life.
There will be suffering and anguish for every human being who practices doing evil, for Jews first and for Greeks as well.
God gave the Jews the awesome privilege of sharing the Ten Commandments with the world. They had the glory and honor of living the perfect, sinless and Commandment keeping life before the world. But instead, they turned practical Christianity into a religious organization and then it became their god. They made religious organization their salvation. Religious organization satisfied their ego. Confessing, repenting and turning away from sin was not welcome.
But there will be glory, honor, and peace for everyone who practices doing good, initially for Jews but also for Greeks as well, because God does not show partiality.
If you think going to church is giving you points with God, “God does not show partiality”. Get out of your religious organization, go home and open your Bible and learn how to live the perfect, sinless and commandment keeping life. Start practicing “doing good” and forget church. There is no salvation “good” in church. NONE!
The devil does lots of “good”, but none of it will get him or you into heaven. The Catholic Church does a lot of “good”, but none of it will get any of its members into heaven. Jesus said that only God is good. The only good that will get you into Heaven is the good that comes from God. The only good that has come from God is His character, the Ten Commandments. Those who live His Ten Commandments have His “good”. There is not one word about “church” in the Ten Commandments. Keeping the Sabbath holy has nothing to do with going to church. In fact, going to church in today’s world is breaking the Sabbath. If you want to keep the Sabbath holy, stay home and live the perfect, sinless and Commandment keeping life.
For all who have sinned apart from the Law will also perish apart from the Law, and all who have sinned under the Law will be judged by the Law.
God is the God of the whole earth. Everyone, whether they know it or not, is under the Ten Commandments. God will judge the whole world by the Ten Commandments. Therefore, it doesn’t matter if you belong to a religious organization and break the law, or don’t go to church and break the law, all will be judged by the Law. Therefore, get out from under your religious organization and look into the Law of God and change your life.
This is what was intimated when Christ taught that the, “servant who knew what his master wanted but didn’t prepare himself or do what was wanted will receive a severe beating. But the servant who did things that deserved a beating without knowing it will receive a light beating. Much will be required from everyone to whom much has been given. But even more will be demanded from the one to whom much has been entrusted.” Luke 12:47, 48. Paul is simply restating what Christ and the Old Testament taught.
For it is not merely those who hear the Law who are righteous in God’s sight. No, it is those who follow the Law, who will be justified.
And that is the fallacy of church. Church members go to church listening to some fool talk about the law, but it will do them no good. Unless they get out of their religious organizations and begin following the Law of God in their hearts, they have no justification. And keep in mind, there is a difference between being justified and sanctified.
For the most part, Paul talks about justification because the Jews thought you had to belong to their religious organization to “start” the process of salvation: justification. Paul is letting his readers know that it isn’t about belonging to any church, organization or through any ritual, ceremony or tradition that we are “justified”. We are justified by having faith in the “Lamb of God”: Jesus Christ. No different from the Old Testament. Through the symbol of the lamb being sacrificed on the altar, the repentant sinner was to look forward in faith to the “Lamb of God”. In the New Testament we look back upon that same “Lamb of God” on the cross. Whether it was Adam in the Old Testament or us in the New Testament, our justification begins with faith in the “Lamb of God” to take away our past sins.
For whenever gentiles, who do not possess the Law, do instinctively what the Law requires, they are a law to themselves, even though they do not have the Law.
Again, Paul is emphasizing that the gentiles who did not have, or “possess” the actual written Ten Commandments, but instinctively did what the Ten Commandments required, they had the law in their hearts.
They show that what the Law requires is written in their hearts, a fact to which their own consciences testify, and their thoughts will either accuse or excuse them on that day when God, through Jesus the Messiah, will judge people’s secrets according to my gospel.
Therefore, in the judgment, they will be able to stand before God and their consciences will be able to “excuse them” since they lived by the Law that they did not know about. It was in their hearts. They were susceptible to the workings of the Holy Spirit in their lives and lived up to all the law they knew. It’s about those “secrets” of the heart that will trip you up. Putting on a show, going to church, while the heart is breaking the law, won’t get you into heaven. Why you do what you are doing will carry more weight with God than what you are doing. Therefore, why are you going to church? To please God? It doesn’t, so why go?
Now if you call yourself a Jew, and rely on the Law, and boast about God, and know his will, and approve of what is best because you have been instructed in the Law; . . .
And there you have it. Going to your religious organization, claiming you are a member of God’s household or claiming to be a part of the “remnant” because you know the law, isn’t going to do you any good. Going to church on the Sabbath will not save you any more than it saved the Jews who were destroyed.
. . . and if you are convinced that you are a guide for the blind, a light to those in darkness, an instructor of ignorant people, and a teacher of infants because you have the full content of knowledge and truth in the Law— . . .
Do you proudly sit in your religious organization convinced you are a guide and “savior” to those around you because you have a knowledge of the Sabbath? Do you arrogantly think of yourself as “saved” because you sit in church on the Sabbath? Are you standing up front thinking you are a “guide for the blind”? Do you pay your tithes to the church because you think you are getting “brownie points”? Won’t do you any good.
–as you teach others, do you fail to teach yourself? As you preach against stealing, do you steal? As you forbid adultery, do you commit adultery? As you abhor idols, do you rob temples?
Are you sitting in church stealing joy from family, friends and coworkers? Do you look lustfully at other women? Do you abhor other religious organizations while robbing them of the joy and Christian experience they may actually bring their members, which you do not have? Many claim to be “Christian” because they are living longer by eating a certain way. That has nothing to do with Christianity. You can’t eat your way into heaven. Eating healthfully isn’t going to give you eternal life. Only obedience to the Ten Commandments will give you eternal life. And the last time I checked, there was nothing in the Ten Commandments about going to church or eating certain foods.
As you boast about the Law, do you dishonor God by breaking the Law?
Most who go to religious organizations are dishonoring God by breaking the law. Their minds are not set on what they must do to get eternal life. No, their minds are set on their religious organizations. How to look good to church members. How to put on a show of “Christianity” while living for the world. “When the professed people of God are uniting with the world, living as they live, and joining with them in forbidden pleasures; when the luxury of the world becomes the luxury of the church; when the marriage bells are chiming, and all are looking forward to many years of worldly prosperity—then, suddenly as the lightning flashes from the heavens, will come the end of their bright visions and delusive hopes.” GC 338. I think the year 2020 showed us how quickly our prosperity can change.
As it is written, “God’s name is being blasphemed among the gentiles because of you.”
And so it is. When the world, or other church members, see you living no differently than they are living, you blaspheme God’s name. It isn’t what you think you know, it isn’t what you “believe” that will count in the judgment, it is what you do from your heart.
For circumcision is valuable if you observe the Law, but if you break the Law, your having been circumcised has no more value than if you were uncircumcised.
Circumcision was their “baptism” into the religious organization. You became a “Jew” by being circumcised. A Jew thought a person had access to Heaven by being a Jew. Without belonging to “my” religious organization, you have no right to heaven. Paul debunks that thinking. Belonging to any or no religious organization will not get you into or keep you out of heaven. Belonging to Jesus is the only requirement for Heaven. Living in obedience to Jesus. Belonging to a religious organization may have value, but only if you are living the perfect, sinless and commandment keeping life. Other than that, there is no value in belonging to any church, denomination or religious organization.
So if a man who is uncircumcised keeps the requirements of the Law, his uncircumcision will be regarded as circumcision, won’t it?
Yes, if a man who does not belong to a church, denomination or religious organization keeps the requirements of the Law, the Ten Commandments, his non-membership will be regarded as membership, “won’t it”? Of course. So why waste your time in a religious organization? Get out and live in obedience to the Ten Commandments.
The man who is uncircumcised physically but who keeps the Law will condemn you who break the Law, even though you have the written Law and circumcision.
The man who is not a member of a church, denomination or religious organization but keeps the Ten Commandments will condemn you who are members of a church, denomination or religious organizations but do not obey the Ten Commandments; even if you have them hanging on your church wall, talk about them and are baptized into a church that meets on the Sabbath.
For a person is not a Jew because of his appearance, nor is circumcision something just external and physical.
That’s right! No one is a Christian because of his appearance, the cross hanging around his neck, the music he listens to, the Bible he carries, the church he goes to or the day he goes to church on. Being a Christian isn’t just something external and physical.
No, a person is a Jew inwardly, and circumcision is a matter of the heart, brought about by the Spirit, not by a written law. That person’s praise will come from God, not from people.
Therefore, a person is a Christian when the Law, the Ten Commandments, are in the heart by the Spirit of God. That person’s praise will come from God and not from the church. The “written law” hanging on the wall or door frame will not make you a Christian. Even being able to recite them from memory will do nothing for your eternal life. But if they are in the heart, lived and applied to everyday life, then God will praise you.
Then what advantage has the Jew? Or what is the value of circumcision?
The concept is simple. Was there any advantage to being a Jew? Yes! Not for salvation, but because being a Jew brought many advantages in health and lifestyle. You grew up with good health principles. You didn’t participate in pagan rites and rituals that demoralized the mind and the body. Because of the health principles, you lived longer and had less sicknesses and diseases. So, yes, there were many advantages to being a Jew. But none that had anything to do with eternal life. Today, with all our avenues of educational reach, church is no longer “needed”. The information that was almost wholly to be found in “church” during the first 1900 years of Christianity, can now be found on your cellphone.
Much in every way. To begin with, the Jews were entrusted with the oracles of God.
The oracles of God were those instructions that made the Jewish lifestyle the envy of the world. They were healthy and lived long. Mentally and physically, through obedience to the health laws, they surpassed the pagans in every way. Therefore, a person raised as a Jew was very fortunate and had many advantages over the pagans. A Jew also had the opportunity of learning the requirements for eternal life: the keeping of the Ten Commandments.
What if some were unfaithful? Does their faithlessness nullify the faithfulness of God?
However, just because the nation of the Jews had misused the information God gave them, that did not in anyway disqualify the information as being “good” for mankind.
By no means! Let God be true though every one were a liar, as it is written, “That you may be justified in your words, and prevail when you are judged.”
The information God gave the Israelites was of the highest caliber for the human race. If the world had kept the health laws, what a magnificent species of humanity we would have become. If the Ten Commandments had been kept, what a different world we would now be living in.
But if our unrighteousness serves to show the righteousness of God, what shall we say? That God is unrighteous to inflict wrath on us? (I speak in a human way.)
Just because the Jews chose to turn away from God’s plan of salvation and set up their own “church”, did that make God “unrighteous” to inflict His wrath on them? To punish them for their wrongdoing? Of course not!
By no means! For then how could God judge the world?
It is because God’s truth is unchangeable that God had to inflict wrath on the Law breakers. They broke His law. Punishment was necessary. That would prove to the world that God could, and would, judge the world by that Law. There are consequences for breaking God’s law.
But if through my lie God’s truth abounds to his glory, why am I still being condemned as a sinner?
It was because of the lies that were being taught by the church that the truth of God was magnified. It is because we are condemned as sinners that God’s law stands justified as righteous. It doesn’t matter what you do or say, everything will, in the end, make God’s truth abound to His glory.
And why not do evil that good may come?—as some people slanderously charge us with saying. Their condemnation is just.
Most churches, religious organizations and denominations actually do believe that. They teach that we are “saved by grace” and that “God loves sinners” and therefore, we are not accountable for the evil that we do. In fact, many claim that it is our evil behavior that brings out God’s grace all the more and therefore, we should do more evil. “Their condemnation is just”.
What then? Are we Jews any better off? No, not at all. For we have already charged that all, both Jews and Greeks, are under sin,
As far as salvation is concerned, no! All have sinned and no matter what church, denomination or religious organization you belong to, it will not save you. The following verses are “quotes” given by Paul from the Old Testament. They do not pertain to righteous people but to wicked people: those going to church and thinking they were “saved” but were sinning and were not righteous. The “none is righteous” pertains only to those who refuse to stop sinning and live the Ten Commandment life perfectly. Go back to the Old Testament and check out the context for each of the texts given below!
· as it is written: “None is righteous, no, not one; (of the wicked)
· no one understands; no one seeks for God. (of the wicked)
· All have turned aside; together they have become worthless; no one does good, not even one.” (of the wicked)
· “Their throat is an open grave; they use their tongues to deceive.” “The venom of asps is under their lips.” (of the wicked)
· “Their mouth is full of curses and bitterness.” (of the wicked)
· “Their feet are swift to shed blood; in their paths are ruin and misery, and the way of peace they have not known.” (of the wicked)
· “There is no fear of God before their eyes.” (of the wicked)
Those belonging to the church organization, and living wickedly, had “no fear of God before their eyes”. We who live the righteous, perfect and sinless life do have the fear of God before our eyes. We know the “way of peace” while the wicked do not. Therefore,
Now we know that whatever the law says it speaks to those who are under the law, so that every mouth may be stopped, and the whole world may be held accountable to God.
The whole world is under the Law of the Ten Commandments. However, some do not know that. Yet, through the workings of the Spirit of God, every person who comes into this world has an understanding of right and wrong. Therefore, every mouth may be stopped and have no excuse for sinning. However, more specifically, those who claim to have the Law (under the Law) of God, will be far more accountable to God than those who do not know the Law.
For by works of the law no human being will be justified in his sight, since through the law comes knowledge of sin.
We must be very careful here. Paul is talking about being “justified”. There is a huge difference between justification and sanctification. The Ten Commandments cannot “JUSTIFY” anyone. The Ten Commandments can only bring us SANCTIFICATION and eternal life. But that can only happen when we are first justified. The Ten Commandments gives us the knowledge of what sin is so we can stop sinning. Just as a mirror cannot clean your face, but it can show you how dirty it is so you can clean your face. Therefore, since all have sinned, we must first be justified. How does that happen.
The Jews looked to their church membership, services, rituals, traditions and ceremonies for “justification”. According to the church, you were justified by belonging to the church. At that point, you could then keep the Ten Commandments to get your eternal life.
However, that was never God’s righteousness. The righteousness of God’s justification was for the repentant sinner to recognize that since he had already sinned, he deserved nothing but death. Therefore, no WORK on earth could JUSTIFY your PAST sins. That is why we need a Savior who can take our past sins upon Himself and justify us in the eyes of the Father. His taking our sins and justifying us didn’t save us, but it opened the door for our salvation.
But now the righteousness of God has been manifested apart from the law, although the Law and the Prophets bear witness to it— . . .
Paul is still talking about justification. Righteousness is the Ten Commandments: the character of God. When we broke them and sinned, we no longer had the righteousness of God. Therefore, we needed a “righteousness” apart from the Ten Commandments, which we broke, to repair the breach between God and us by taking away our sin. The Ten Commandments can’t take away your past sins.
. . . the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe. For there is no distinction:
That Righteousness was Jesus Christ. He lived the righteous, commandment keeping life in order to show us how it is to be done. He could repair the breach. He could take past sins from us, if we believed in Him, and give us the righteousness of God to make up for our unrighteousness. However, it is only for those “who believe”. To believe is to have faith in Christ to repair the breach. It means living in obedience to what Jesus taught. Then, we are to lived the “sanctifying action of the Spirit to be obedient to Jesus”. 1 Peter 1:2. It was because of our selfish, prideful lives that we broke the Ten Commandments. Believing in Jesus means we lay down our selfish, prideful lives and live humbly in obedience to the Ten Commandments, just as Jesus commanded. When we believe, we then live in obedience to every Word of God. Romans 1:5.
Belonging to a church will not get you into heaven. Going through rites, rituals, ceremonies, services and traditions cannot JUSTIFY us. None of that can repair the breach. Your works will do nothing to take the place of your reward, death, for breaking the Ten Commandments. Only Jesus can do that. Why?
. . . for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, . . .
Since churches, denominations and religious organizations are all man-made, they are all in the same boat: sinners. No sinner can justify you before God.
. . . and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith. This was to show God’s righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had passed over former sins.
There it is. So very simple. God’s “gift” of grace opened the way for our justification. It can’t “save” us eternally, but it can justify us. The “redemption” of Christ is our “propitiation” (The act of gaining or regaining the favor or goodwill of someone. Webster’s Dictionary) by His blood. Only the death of the Creator could pay the penalty for our breach. Instead of wiping us out of the universe, God, “in His divine forbearance” through the redemption of Christ, “passed over former (past) sins”. But that is only justification. To get to heaven, we now must walk as Jesus walked: perfect, sinless and commandment keeping. That is our sanctification, bringing our sinful characters back into harmony with God’s sinless, perfect and commandment keeping character. That is why Paul was so adamant that it was “the will of God, your sanctification”. 1 Thessalonians 4:3. Justification is on God. Sanctification and your eternal life is on you. As Paul said in Philippians 2:12, “Work out YOUR salvation”.
It was to show his righteousness at the present time, so that he might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.
Justification shows the righteousness of God toward us. Sanctification shows our righteousness towards God. We cannot justify ourselves from our past sins. We deserve nothing but death. Jesus shows His love and justice to us by being so very gracious in providing us grace – probation. But His justification can only happen if we have faith in Jesus to be our “Lamb of God” who pays the penalty for our sins. Going to church, belonging to a denomination or religious organization, going through rituals and ceremonies will do nothing for your eternal life. Therefore, you cannot boast about belonging to a church, denomination or religious organization. You cannot boast about being baptized or circumcised. You cannot boast about eating this or not eating that, knowing this or knowing that.
Then what becomes of our boasting? It is excluded. By what kind of law? By a law of works? No, but by the law of faith.
No amount of your works can repair the breach for justification. No amount of your works can restore your standing with God. No amount of your works can justify you before God. Your works are what broke the Ten Commandments and condemned you to eternal death. All you deserve is death. Only faith in Jesus can put within you the desire to change your sinful nature and come back into atonement with the righteous character of God. The example in the Old Testament for this is found in Zechariah. “Now Joshua was wearing filthy clothes (your works and sins) as he stood in the presence of the angel. So the angel continued to tell those who were standing in his presence, ‘Remove his filthy clothes (justification by removing our past sins).’ And he told Joshua, ‘Look how I’ve removed your iniquity. Now I’m clothing you with fine garments (the Character of Jesus as God sees us).’” Zechariah 3:3, 4.
For we hold that one is justified by faith apart from works of the law.
Once you have broken the Ten Commandments, no amount of “keeping” them will make up for past sins. Every sin must meet its penalty: death. Once the Law has been broken, keeping them will do you no good for JUSTIFICATION: past sins. A human illustration would be committing murder. Once you have committed murder you have broken the civil laws and are a murderer. It doesn’t matter if you keep all the civil laws perfectly after that, you are still a murderer and must endure the punishment for committing that murder and breaking the civil law. Once you have finished your prison sentence and paid your debt to society, then you are considered “rehabilitated” and “at-one-ment” with the law of society and can return to society by continuing to keep the law. In our case, death is our punishment. But Jesus, the Judge, commuted our sentence of death if we show our faith in His atonement for our death.
Or is God the God of Jews only? Is he not the God of Gentiles also? Yes, of Gentiles also, . . .
In the religious world of the Jew, to be JUSTIFIED, you had to become a Jew. You had to belong to the nation of Israel. You had to show your JUSTIFICATION by circumcision. Much as our religious world today expects you to be baptized into a church in order to show you have been justified and ready for eternal life.
. . . since God is one—who will justify the circumcised by faith and the uncircumcised through faith.
The only thing that counts for our justification is faith in Jesus. That faith leads us, as Paul stated, to obedience to the Ten Commandments. You see, it was selfishness that caused us to sin in the first place. Something has to be more powerful than our filthy garments of selfishness. Something has to take our attention off of ourselves. The only power in the universe strong enough to do that is love. We must love Jesus so much we would rather die than commit a sin. Those are the only people Jesus can trust to take to Heaven. Therefore, we must have faith in Jesus that His sacrifice was sufficient for our past sins – justification. Then, we must love Him so much for His sacrifice, and the new garment He has wrapped us in, that we get involved with our sanctification process by keeping the Ten Commandments to develop His character of righteousness in us. At Justification His outer garment of righteousness will surround us, but we must develop His character of righteousness within us to match His outer garment of righteousness to be saved.
Do we then overthrow the law by this faith? By no means! On the contrary, we uphold the law.
Yes we do! We can never do away with the Law. It shows what is righteous. We broke it. We deserve death. Jesus showed His love for us in taking the death penalty for us. Therefore, we are to show our love to Him by believing, having faith, that He did take our penalty. Then in love to Him, we begin to “work out” our salvation with fear and trembling so we can regain the character of righteousness that we lost in disobedience. Our work is to keep the Ten Commandments perfectly as Jesus did. Philippians 2:12.
This concept of the law was revealed by God in 1888 in a book called, “The Great Controversy”. Today it is neglected by the very church which claims to be following God’s law and keeping His Sabbath. The denomination has totally abandoned it. It is all about “church” now. I want to share a quote with you from that book.
“The law reveals to man his sins, but it provides no remedy. While it promises life to the obedient, it declares that death is the portion of the transgressor. The gospel of Christ alone can free him from the condemnation or the defilement of sin. He must exercise repentance toward God, whose law has been transgressed, and faith in Christ, his atoning sacrifice. Thus he obtains “remission of sins that are past,” and becomes a partaker of the divine nature. He is a child of God, having received the spirit of adoption, whereby he cries, ‘Abba, Father!’ (This is the outer garment that God now sees.)
“Is he now free to transgress God’s law? Says Paul: ‘Do we then make void the law through faith? God forbid; yea, we establish the law.’ ‘How shall we, that are dead to sin, live any longer therein?’ And John declares, ‘This is the love of God, that we keep His commandments; and His commandments are not grievous.’ [Romans 3:31; 6:2; 1 John 5:3.] In the new birth the heart is brought into harmony with God, as it is brought into accord with his law. When this mighty change has taken place in the sinner, he has passed from death unto life, from sin unto holiness, from transgression and rebellion to obedience and loyalty. The old life of alienation from God has ended; the new life of reconciliation, of faith and love, has begun. Then ‘the righteousness of the law’ will ‘be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.’ [Romans 8:4.] And the language of the soul will be, ‘O how love I thy law! it is my meditation all the day.’ [Psalm 119:97.]
“‘The law of the Lord is perfect, converting the soul.’ [Psalm 19:7.] Without the law, men have no just conception of the purity and holiness of God, or of their own guilt and uncleanness. They have no true conviction of sin, and feel no need of repentance. Not seeing their lost condition as violators of God’s law, they do not realize their need of the atoning blood of Christ. The hope of salvation is accepted without a radical change of heart or reformation of life. Thus superficial conversions abound, and multitudes are joined to the church who have never been united to Christ.” GC88 467-468.
Those last two sentences are the condition of our churches today. Even those who go to church on the Sabbath. Instead of changing the life, they go to church. They have the hope of salvation without the “radical change of heart”. Folks, get out of your church. Turn off all religious media. Go to your Bibles, get on your knees and repent, turn from your sins and reform your life.
In 2008 the housing market collapsed. This was due to the fact that millions of people were lied to. They were told that they could own a home by simply stating (believing) they had a job. Or, they could state what ever they wanted as an income. Therefore, illegal immigrants, poor people and others who could not afford a home, bought homes under false pretenses. Then they went out and bought more homes to “flip” or rent. This started what was called the “housing bubble”. But no one saw it coming.
In 2005, one man did something that no other person did, he looked. He looked at the portfolios of the mortgages the banks and financial institutions held and determined that they were bogus and would collapse in 2008. He was so sure of himself, and his truth, he went to banks and did something that had never been done before, he bet against the mortgages. Everyone laughed at him. They made fun of him. He was ridiculed and scorned.
There is a “Christian bubble” at this time. Everyone wants to call themselves “Christian”. Everyone can join the club just by “stating” they “believe”. Then, anyone brave enough can go out and teach others the lie. And the bubble keeps on expanding. But there is a day coming when Jesus is going to stick His pin into that bubble. I have done something, it seems, no one else has done: I’ve looked. I pray that you listen and take to heart what God has been showing me.