Category Archives: Law of God

Law of God, Love & Grace, Uncategorized

Christ is the end of the law for righteousness

“For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes.” Romans 10:4 NASB

If you have been brought up in a church wherein, the law was either a focus or a side doctrinal focus; please open your mind to get a new perspective on Paul. If you have understood the relationship to the moral law, as primarily keeping the Decalogue — the ten commandments, as the sole standard of righteous living, whereby we receive salvation from our sins in Christ, you may have a little bit more to fathom about the Gospel. 1

It is not a moral law or list of rules that make something right or wrong. Take civil laws for example. These requirements are established to cause people to behave in such a way that they line up with guiding principles designed by elected leaders of a city or village in which people seek to reside harmoniously — a system of law and order which was deemed necessary for the people before prescribed.

It is not a moral law or list of rules that make something right or wrong.

Laws are usually written with some ongoing situation regarded as unwelcome or harmful and needing to be dealt with and overcome. Judicial guidance is a necessary deterrent to overcome a real-life problem, legislated to guide or enforce the conduct of those too immature in their thinking and behaviour. Laws prohibiting, for example, hate literature, sexual assault, or loud noise-making after 11 pm have underlying existential reasons behind each statute.2

Such laws are made to protect the immature from him/herself or to protect society from the actions of the naive. The degree of immaturity is directly proportional to the number and specificity of laws that are required. You wouldn’t ask a reasonable 17-year-old youth to hold your hand while crossing the street because the maturity of a teenager supersedes that of a 5-year-old child.

For Christians in Christ, being in the new paradigm under the New Covenant (NC) does not mean that because you are no longer viewed by God as being under the old covenant law, that it is now acceptable to kill, steal and commit adultery! Think about this question: If you believed that all the Ten Commandment laws—had come to an end, and you were living a Spirit-led life, would you start doing the things prohibited in the Decalogue? 3 (see Romans 2:29; 8:1-4; Jeremiah 31:31-34; Romans 7:6; Hebrews 8:8) We might, however, expect some compromised behaviour from a very immature Christian.

The Jews were a very immature people coming out of slavery in Egypt. Read the old testament account of the Exodus, the book of Judges etc. to see reasons as to why they needed laws before Christ would come to this earth (see Galatians 3:19 NLT). The issue in the NC church becomes problematic when a church group doctrinally defines righteousness as obedience to this law originally prescribed for the Jews. 4

I do agree that the ten commandments were mandated in the Old Covenant (OC) only before Christ’s atoning sacrifice established the NC. His death provided propitiation for our sins — in other words, he died in our place to ransom us from the condemnation of the OC law (1 John 2:2, 4:10; Romans 3:25; Matthew 26:28; Luke 22:20; 1 Corinthians 11:25; Hebrews 12:24). In Christ, we shift our viewpoint of righteousness into the new life which He offers us so freely. (Hebrews 2:17)

Paul’s New Testament references contrast law and righteousness as being completely antithetical and now unrelated to each other. (Romans 3:21; 4:13–14; 9:30, 31; 10:3, 4 NASB). In Romans 3:29-31 he also stated that the Gentiles, as well as the Jews, are only justified as righteous “by faith” in contrast to the “works of the law”. With this, he denied the old connection that had indeed identified the Jews as law keepers, whereby they sought to attain righteousness by the works of the OC law before Christ’s time according to that agreement — that covenant period which was entirely based on obedience to the laws stipulated by Yahweh, through Moses at Mt. Sinai — laws that were meant to lead men to the need of Christ’s own imputed righteousness by faith (Galatians 3:24; 2 Corinthians 5:21).

And this law of the OC is not to be confused with meritorious human efforts. Paul would answer the question of Romans 3: 31 in the next chapter concerning Abraham’s acceptance with God as stated in the law and the prophets (compare Romans 4:1-2, 13, 22; Genesis 15:6). 5 

All the above verses indicate that the righteousness of God comes via faith alone, unrelated now with the law — it is a much higher righteousness beyond the righteousness of the law. In Christ, we are referred to as Christians similarly having the faith of Abraham based on our union with God by faith in Jesus Christ (Galatians 3:7-9).

The apostle Paul warned that you become separated from Christ, when you who are seeking to be justified by law — termed as fallen from grace (Galatians 5:4 NASB) Why is this? Think of yourself in this way. You are now “found in Him, not having a righteousness of my own derived from the Law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which comes from God on the basis of faith”. (Philippians 3:9; Galatians 2:21 NASB).

I also recommend reading The New Covenant Manifesto of God’s Love.

1 The following book is recommended to help guide you into a fuller comprehension of the transition out of the Old Covenant thinking, to the New Covenant freedom available to us, as offered in Christ. Many of the concepts in this book have proved helpful to my own comprehension on this subject. See Dale Ratzlaff, Sabbath in Christ (Publisher, LAM Publications, LLC, Arizona)

2 Judicial Learning Center

3 Dale Ratzlaff, Sabbath in Christ (Publisher, LAM Publications, LLC, Arizona)

4 “Righteousness is obedience to the law.” Ellen G. White, The Advent Review and Sabbath Herald, 1890-11-04

5 see N.T. Wright, The Letter to the Romans

Grace, Jesus in Life, Law of God, The Final Judgment, Uncategorized, Your Identity in Christ

Good works do not result in salvation

Our good works do not result in salvation, nor do bad works result in being lost.

If good works do not result in our salvation, are they important? Moreover, if our bad actions do not cause us to be lost, then are evil deeds a non-issue? The key phrase “result in” means that the outcome of our works, do not determine our status with the Lord. However, behaviour, good or bad, can indicate our sincerity or a distancing in our relationship with Him.

It is not about the importance of or the purpose of our good deeds. It is about the method of salvation of which our good deeds are not the cause. They are the result.

What causes us to experience the joy of salvation if not our good deeds? Romans 3:20 states: “By the deeds of the law there shall no flesh be justified in his sight.” Jesus alone saves us, and we are kept and accounted righteous by the faith expressed in our accepting Him and further abiding in a relationship with Him via the Holy Spirit. “There is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.” (Acts 4:12). Our focal attention must not be on our goodness or our misdeeds.To seek for or experience salvation, we are to focus on Jesus. By beholding Him, we will become changed into His image and our joy shall be suffonsified.

Every time we look at ourselves or our agenda alone, we will be unsuccessful. It is easy to be discouraged when we see our sinfulness and give up, or be proud of our excellent works and become proud. It is a dead-end street, either way, these delusions work to our misery. Only look to Jesus and know that you are secure. The bad thief on the cross looked to Jesus and said “Lord remember me in your coming kingdom” recognising Jesus as the Messiah. How did Jesus reply? “Today I tell you—you will be with me in paradise!”

Paul was radical about the subject of salvation by faith in Christ alone. He was not against good works – after all, he was one of the best-behaved persons in town. Writing Philippians 3, he disabuses his readers with some balancing humour: “If anybody has reason to boast of good works, I have matched or exceeded his record!” Summing it up, he counted his past life as loss – in fact, he viewed his behavioural perfectionism as crap — when compared to the glorious, merciful, faultless righteousness of Christ. Judged by the letter of the law as a good man, with an exemplary moral outward life, he had abstained from recognisable sin. Paul, reviewing his life, now honest, saw himself as God saw him — a man trying hard to be justified by works. He came to his senses and confessed that his need alone was Christ.

Our salvation finds union and security in our acceptance of Jesus — of His sacrifice for us – and our ongoing relationship with Him. It is not dependent on behaviour — salvation is much more than behaviour. Good works are not bargaining chips for eternal life. Jesus said, “I am the resurrection and the life”. Actions alone do not determine one’s eternal destiny — whereas our open-hearted, unashamed and honest relationship with Jesus as your Saviour does.

Good deeds will show up in your life, but they will never cause your salvation. God does not judge by the outward actions, but by the heart from which flow all the issues of life (see 1 Samuel 16:7; Proverbs 4:23).

Law of God, Temptation, Witchcraft & Spiritualism

Macbeth: Dealing with your own sinful nature

“We know that the law is spiritual; but I am unspiritual, sold as a slave to sin. I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do. And if I do what I do not want to do, I agree that the law is good.” (Romans 7:14-16 NIV)

The Apostle Paul faced the same struggle as all Christians do. We still struggle daily with an inherently evil nature, even though we are born again of the Spirt. He viewed the law with high esteem. For that reason, he made every effort to clarify the tension between the holy law and the sin when temptation comes our way.

The law comes from God, has his character, and tells his will for his people. As the majesty of the law fills Paul’s mind, along with it comes the vision of his character as a man and his daily standing for or against God’s law. Paul wants to make the point that sin does not damage the law established on God’s own loving character, will and mercy. Like Paul, every believer must clarify his ongoing relationship with the universal laws of God.

In Shakespeare’s Macbeth, the great warrior is tempted by voices he hears through witches that he sees on the battleground—the Bard’s metaphor for our own inner voices of temptation—then by his wife to use his victorious influence at war to vault his growing popularity to usurp King Duncan whom he serves. This is a classic case of a man being tempted within his mind, to break the 9th commandment “do not covet”. 1

Paul tells us the trouble is not with the law but with me because I am sold into slavery, with sin as my master. The law has a capacity for reminding us of what we once were, and of how captivating that old life can still appear in our mind’s eye. The law also warns us of our ongoing need to daily focus on Christ for inner victory over temptation. By introducing his personal dilemma, Paul invites us to consider how well we understand our behavior: “For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do” (vs. 15). As long as believers live in this world as men and women of flesh and blood, they will face a constant tension—the conflict between their sinful nature and their new spiritual life.

Paul wrote to the Galatians, “The old sinful nature loves to do evil, which is just opposite from what the Holy Spirit wants. And the Spirit gives us desires that are opposite from what the sinful nature desires. These two forces are constantly fighting each other, and your choices are never free from this conflict” (Galatians 5:17).

Macbeth’s covetous temptation on the battlefield led him to eventually murder his beloved king, lose his mind as he became increasingly paranoid in his self-loathing fearfulness of others, and became a scheming tyrant that no one could trust. In the end, it cost him not just his life, but the life of his wife, and his most trusted friends. What can we learn from the apostle Paul as we deal with our old sinful desires?

1) Knowledge of the law is not the answer (7:9).
2) Self-determination (to want to do what is right) doesn’t succeed (7:15).
3) Becoming a Christian does not stamp out all sin and temptation from a person’s life (7:22–25).

Being born again starts in a moment of faith, but becoming like Christ takes a lifetime. Paul compares Christian growth to a strenuous race or fight (1 Corinthians 9:24–27; 2 Timothy 4:7). As we live in the Spirit of Christ, we become conformed to His character of love which is the basis of the law (Romans 8:29). Only in this way can “the righteous requirements of the law…be fully met in us, who do not live according to the flesh but according to the Spirit” (Romans 8:4)

1 Macbeth Official Movie Review