The
Cross Abolished all Legalism of the Jewish Religious system along
with mans traditions associated with it.
Romans
13:8
"Owe
(defraud) no man any thing, but to love one
another: for he that loveth another hath fulfilled the law."
Just stop and think a moment. What was the crowning word concerning
the work of the cross or the Ten Commandments and Beatitudes? What
put Christ on the cross? His Love! It was His Love for the Sea lost
humanity that drove Him to the cross. And consequently Paul can say,
"that love is the fulfilling, consummation and ending of the
Law." I like the word consummation because it means to utterly
end a thing. In a marriage of two separate beings. When they make an
oath to come together as one being, they are in effect separated from their
indivdual past an are become bone of my bone and flesh of my flesh.
The Law of Moses had NO ability
to bring about this Love union, all it has power to do is condemn man as
unworthy before God in Christ Jesus. Christ
is the Light at the end of the tunnel through which the Prophets
could only see a far off. The one to whom all the covenants and
prophesies pointed toward, though concealed from view or even
understanding until the appointed time. This Paul goes on to
say that he doesn’t give us license to do the things that the Ten
Commandment and the Beatitudes forbids. No, but rather it’s under a
whole New Economy, now it’s Love and Grace in Truth rather than the
whole old dead system of Law under Moses' administration (a purely Jewish Dispensation) with its many
ceremonies, rituals, rites
and traditions. NOW Made worthless because they became a habit in mans
flesh, instead of spirit. Known as the traditions of the fathers and
because they are so, they make the word upon which they were based of
NO effect, totally useless and lawlessness. Why? Because as Paul
states the flesh, carnal and earthy in the world can not receive of
the Spirit. For Spirit speaks to spirit and is Spiritually known. And if
you truly love somebody you won’t want to do the following:
Romans
13:9
"For
this, Thou shalt not commit adultery, Thou shalt not kill, Thou shalt
not steal, Thou shalt not bear false witness. Thou shalt not Covet;
and if there be any other commandment, it is briefly comprehended in
this saying, namely, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself."
So
once we’ve experienced this Love and Grace in the Truth of Christ that
was epitomized at the cross, His resurrection and ascension we don’t
have to worry about keeping the Ten Commandments or Beatitudes, as
they become second nature for us. For they are impressed on our minds
and written in our heart in agreement with Jeremiah 31:33-34,
because of what the next passage states.
Romans
13:10
"Love
worketh no ill to his neighbour: therefore love is the fulfilling of
the law."
Do
you see how simple all that is? All right come back
quickly to Colossians and maybe this statement of Paul's will make a
little more sense. As Jesus died on that Roman cross, fulfilling all
the demands of the Ten Commandments, and the Law of Moses with its
ordinances and was capping them with love, now to settle the question
completely, what does He do with it? He crucifies them, He nails it
to His cross. How? Because as Saul of Tarsus found when he
encountered Him, he saw the personage of the Law in the Light that
shown all about him, as I have stated elsewhere. We know that the
Law as such was an inanimate thing. But Spiritually it certainly
wasn’t, and yet when He finished the work of the cross Paul could say
the Law had been nailed to the cross in the person of Christ Jesus,
and what does that mean? It’s dead. It no longer has any power over
the human race, because the cross settled it, it ended there and
then. I don’t know how anybody can over look that. When you
nail something to the cross and crucify it there, then it’s done! It’s
finished, just as the earthy flesh of the Son of man died, we can’t
continue to say, "Well I’m trying to do the best I can."
Remember Christ is the
embodiment of the Covenants and the whole system of Law and the
Prophets which simply means He held the authority and power of them
as (in) there completion. For He as Yehovah-God swore by no greater than
Himself in all of them whether stated or implied.
Don’t
misunderstand, for the unsaved world, the Ten Commandments are still
the criteria for behavior, we know that. But once you become a
believer the Law of Moses with its many ordinances mean nothing, the
whole system is dead, it’s crucified. You ask, "Does that mean
that I can do as I please?" No, Grace is not license. But
instead of having the heavy hand of Law and its ordinances, rites,
rituals and ceremonies of now religious traditions keeping us from
committing adultery or stealing, or using a different utensil for
every application, or how about what is eaten, they are all voided by
God. As
are also the religious holidays because these were all only a shadow
of the true Sacrifice of Passover, Tabernacle (our place of worship
the Alter, of the cross and the empty tomb), Feast of Weeks
(Pentecost-the Holy Spirit's indwelling of man for our being the
harvest), Unleaven Bread (body and flesh of Jesus), First Fruits (His
Ascension and our harvesting in His Salvation), Day of Atonement (our
at-one-ment in Christ the Godhead made visible, our Redemption)
through which we become the Holy Assembly (Church/Body/Family of God)
in our Dedication. Now we have the indwelling Holy Spirit, and the indwelling
Spirit will never tell a believer to break one of the Ten
Commandments or even a Beatitude which of course are part of our
whole social structure. We as New Covenant believers now have God's
royal Law written in our heart, inward parts and impressed on our
minds as stated in Romans 2:12-14, 15-16 and 1 John 3:19-21, so now
we have Jeremiah 31:33 in application actively working within and for
us when we submite as Romans 12:1-3 indicates as living sacrifices Holy God's.
In
other words the word now becomes the Word, which has taken on a Life
of its own.
Just
stop and think, What if everybody in a society constantly broke all
the Ten Commandments and Beatitudes? What would you have? We’d have
anarchy and lawlessness. You wouldn’t have a society, you would
have pandemonium, rioting and chaos. Well the Ten Commandments are
still the basic structure of human behavior but the difference for us
as believers we’re not under them as condemnation that if we’ve
broken one, we’ve broken them all. But rather we’re under Grace,
and the old Law that brought about condemnation has been crucified.
It has been set aside, and we are now free! Just as in death
of our flesh Christ has the victory over the forces of evil in that
flesh, that is how Paul could say that Jesus had spoiled principlates
and powers exposing them openly in triumph. This is the old cloth and
old dried wine skin both being now worthless and good for nothing.
Speaking of being free, let’s just back up a couple of pages to the
book of Galatians for one of my favorite verses. And this is all
because we’re not under the Law of Moses and the accompaning
ordinances. I trust that you all understand that Grace is that divine
benefit that was given out in the terms, mercy, charity and compassion, and
that of course is God’s prerogative.
Galatians
5:1a
"Stand
fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free,…"
The
Law didn’t give anybody liberty. The Law, as I’ve said so often,
was severe. Back when it was in full force, if someone broke even the
Ten Commandments or the strengent ordinances of the Law of Moses what
was the sentence? Death. But since that has now been set aside and
nailed to His cross, we now stand in liberty. Total freedom! Then the
apostle goes on to say -
Galatians
5:1b
"…and
be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage."
We’ve
been set free, and all the binding power of Satan has been severed,
along with all the binding power of the whole legal and religious
system including the ordinances of the Laws of Moses have been served
and broken. Neatly tied up in a scroll which has been rolled up and
placed on a shelf awaiting the day of the Lord. I mean, you’ve
been set totally free. Then why try to come back under those Laws
Commandments of ordinances and say, "Tie me up again!" That is exactly what people do by adhering to the traditions of the
forefathers who by the way are not their forefathers but are rather
Israel's. And by so doing they are in effect making light of this
Gospel and by so doing mock Christ and the Godhead Who hung on the cross. Enjoy the freedom
and the liberty that we have under the law of Love and Grace of God
in Truth. Because the cross and the empty tomb have become for us our alter of rememberance the place that those who practice the old system have No place or right to worship (1Corinthians 14:25, Philippians 3:3, Hebrews 9:26 and in chapter 10 of Hebrews).
Then looking at verse 2 he tells us that as soon as you
start doing things tied to legalism or its accompanying religion, the
traditions of men or anything you can do in the flesh, then Paul
makes this tremendous statement. Of course circumcision was the big
factor back in the Galatian Churches. It can be anything that you can
do in the flesh, I don’t care what it is. Just watch come the
holiday seasons of mans own making through the deception of the great
deceiver. Though they seem to honor God do they? NO! He has nothing
in them and NO part to do with them other than to judge those guilty
of a sever crime against Him. By there practice, the hidden purpose
of them. Misery (Satan) loves company and the devil is of all beings
most miserable.
Galatians
5:2
“I
Paul say unto you, that if ye be circumcised, Christ shall profit you
nothing.”
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