²⁰ And the Lord said to Aaron, “You shall have no inheritance in their land, neither shall you have any portion among them. I am your portion and your inheritance among the people of Israel.

²¹ “To the Levites I have given every tithe in Israel for an inheritance, in return for their service that they do, their service in the tent of meeting, ²² so that the people of Israel do not come near the tent of meeting, lest they bear sin and die. ²³ But the Levites shall do the service of the tent of meeting, and they shall bear their iniquity. It shall be a perpetual statute throughout your generations, and among the people of Israel they shall have no inheritance. (Numbers 18:20-23 ESV)

I have never really understood this before because I only compared this promise to things in the natural. I considered woods and mountains, streams and fields and always felt like the Levites were being left out. After all, God is spirit. What does it mean to be alive in the natural and have no land ownership, even if God is my “inheritance?” Isn’t he everyone’s inheritance? Ah, there is the key! He is everyone’s inheritance, but in a particular order. The Levites represent the first people of all creation who come into their full inheritance. Thus God calls them his “firstfruits.”

Remember from the last post in this series that God specifically chose the Levites to guard and protect the Testimony. The reason for setting a guard about the tabernacle and the arc of the testimony  was not to protect God’s things from men’s unclean hands. Rather, it was to protect unclean men from being consumed by God’s presence. At least three times God instructed the Levites to kill any person who attempted to break through to gaze upon the holy places within the tabernacle. This command uses natural consequences to illustrate spiritual realities. We first see this idea clearly illustrated when God prepared to reveal the Ten Commandments to Israel at Mount Sinai.

⁹ And the Lord said to Moses, “Behold, I am coming to you in a thick cloud, that the people may hear when I speak with you, and may also believe you forever.”

When Moses told the words of the people to the Lord, ¹⁰ the Lord said to Moses, “Go to the people and consecrate them today and tomorrow, and let them wash their garments ¹¹ and be ready for the third day. For on the third day the Lord will come down on Mount Sinai in the sight of all the people. ¹² And you shall set limits for the people all around, saying, ‘Take care not to go up into the mountain or touch the edge of it. Whoever touches the mountain shall be put to death. ¹³ No hand shall touch him, but he shall be stoned or shot;^[a] whether beast or man, he shall not live.’ When the trumpet sounds a long blast, they shall come up to the mountain.” ¹⁴ So Moses went down from the mountain to the people and consecrated the people; and they washed their garments. (Exodus 19:9-14)

God warned Moses to so instruct the people in order to put the “fear of God” into them. The stark reality was that if the Levites, or someone else, did not physically kill the person presumptuously attempting to peer at or into the presence of God, then God himself would destroy him. Moses then wrote,

¹⁶ On the morning of the third day there were thunders and lightnings and a thick cloud on the mountain and a very loud trumpet blast, so that all the people in the camp trembled.¹⁷ Then Moses brought the people out of the camp to meet God, and they took their stand at the foot of the mountain. ¹⁸ Now Mount Sinai was wrapped in smoke because the Lord had descended on it in fire. The smoke of it went up like the smoke of a kiln, and the whole mountain trembled greatly. ¹⁹ And as the sound of the trumpet grew louder and louder, Moses spoke, and God answered him in thunder. ²⁰ The Lord came down on Mount Sinai, to the top of the mountain. And the Lord called Moses to the top of the mountain, and Moses went up.

²¹ And the Lord said to Moses, “Go down and warn the people, lest they break through to the Lord to look and many of them perish. ²² Also let the priests who come near to the Lord consecrate themselves, lest the Lord break out against them.” ²³ And Moses said to the Lord, “The people cannot come up to Mount Sinai, for you yourself warned us, saying, ‘Set limits around the mountain and consecrate it.’” ²⁴ And the Lord said to him, “Go down, and come up bringing Aaron with you. But do not let the priests and the people break through to come up to the Lord, lest he break out against them.” ²⁵ So Moses went down to the people and told them.

The reality was that the people of Israel were not ready to behold God face to face as was Moses. Over a long period of time of dwelling outside the camp of his own people God had worked deep humility into Moses’ soul. Moses thus became a prophetic picture of the one who has “worked out his salvation in fear and trembling,” of the one who has saved his soul. The Book of Hebrews deals exclusively with the salvation of the soul (versus the salvation of the spirit by faith in Jesus Christ). The writer of that Book alludes specifically to the awesome event at Mount Sinai described by Moses, saying,

¹⁸ For you have not come to what may be touched, a blazing fire and darkness and gloom and a tempest ¹⁹ and the sound of a trumpet and a voice whose words made the hearers beg that no further messages be spoken to them. ²⁰ For they could not endure the order that was given, “If even a beast touches the mountain, it shall be stoned.” ²¹ Indeed, so terrifying was the sight that Moses said, “I tremble with fear.” ²² But you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to innumerable angels in festal gathering, ²³ and to the assembly^[a] of the firstborn who are enrolled in heaven, and to God, the judge of all, and to the spirits of the righteous made perfect,²⁴ and to Jesus, the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood that speaks a better word than the blood of Abel.

²⁵ See that you do not refuse him who is speaking. For if they did not escape when they refused him who warned them on earth, much less will we escape if we reject him who warns from heaven. ²⁶ At that time his voice shook the earth, but now he has promised,“Yet once more I will shake not only the earth but also the heavens.” ²⁷ This phrase, “Yet once more,” indicates the removal of things that are shaken—that is, things that have been made—in order that the things that cannot be shaken may remain. ²⁸ Therefore let us be grateful for receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, and thus let us offer to God acceptable worship, with reverence and awe, ²⁹ for our God is a consuming fire. (Hebrews 12:18-29)

This passage from Hebrews speaks to God’s overcomers, to “the assembly of the firstborn  who are enrolled in heaven.” This is the group which the Old Testament Levites typify. These are the ones who first come “to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem.” They are also the ones who teach and prepare others to come into the City of God, New Jerusalem, while at the same time they protect them from destruction by attempting to come in to the presence of God too soon. This also explains why the Levites had no natural inheritance. Their inheritance lies within the spiritual realm of heaven itself wherein they will dwell in the very presence of God. God used the tribe of Levi to illustrate the spiritual inheritance of a people who willingly submitted to and obeyed the God of the universe. Spiritual Levites inherit nothing less than New Jerusalem itself!

²² And I saw no temple in the city, for its temple is the Lord God the Almighty and the Lamb. ²³ And the city has no need of sun or moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, and its lamp is the Lamb. ²⁴ By its light will the nations walk, and the kings of the earth will bring their glory into it, ²⁵ and its gates will never be shut by day—and there will be no night there. ²⁶ They will bring into it the glory and the honor of the nations.²⁷ But nothing unclean will ever enter it, nor anyone who does what is detestable or false, but only those who are written in the Lamb’s book of life. (Revelation 21:22-27)

This inheritance, however, does not belong exclusively to prophetic Levi. He simply represents all of the first ones who come into oneness with God. Malachi prophesies Levi’s still future role:

“Behold, I send my messenger, and he will prepare the way before me. And the Lord whom you seek will suddenly come to his temple; and the messenger of the covenant in whom you delight, behold, he is coming, says the Lord of hosts. ² But who can endure the day of his coming, and who can stand when he appears? For he is like a refiner’s fire and like fullers’ soap. ³ He will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver, and he will purify the sons of Levi and refine them like gold and silver, and they will bring offerings in righteousness to the Lord.^[a] 4 Then the offering of Judah and Jerusalem will be pleasing to the Lord as in the days of old and as in former years.  (Malachi 3:1-4)

Once Levi has been fully purified, refined, and prepared by his LORD, he will prepare the rest of the world for also coming into Christ’s presence. For if it were not so the decree of utter destruction found in the final verse of the Old Testament would be fulfilled.

 ^[a] “For behold, the day is coming, burning like an oven, when all the arrogant and all evildoers will be stubble. The day that is coming shall set them ablaze, says the Lord of hosts, so that it will leave them neither root nor branch. ² But for you who fear my name,the sun of righteousness shall rise with healing in its wings. You shall go out leaping like calves from the stall. ³ And you shall tread down the wicked, for they will be ashes under the soles of your feet, on the day when I act, says the Lord of hosts.

⁴ “Remember the law of my servant Moses, the statutes and rules^[b] that I commanded him at Horeb for all Israel.

⁵ “Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the great and awesome day of theLord comes. ⁶ And he will turn the hearts of fathers to their children and the hearts of children to their fathers, lest I come and strike the land with a decree of utter destruction.” (Malachi 4)

Thus we see Christ’s Passover worked out in its fullness. The first Passover saved only the  firstborn of Israel. God then substituted the entire tribe of Levi for these firstborn and placed upon them the mantel of bringing all Israel into God’s presence. These Levites then foreshadowed the manchild of Revelation, the firstborn sons of God in the exact image of their Creator and Father. They will become the messengers who are fully empowered to bring the entire earth into the knowledge and obedience of God. For otherwise the LORD would, as most suspect, come and strike the land with a decree of utter destruction. How wonderful and how merciful is our God!

17 “Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. 18 For truly, I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot, will pass from the Law until all is accomplished. 19 Therefore whoever relaxes one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever does them and teaches them will be called great in the kingdom of heaven. 20 For I tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. (Matthew 5:17-20, ESV)

In my last post I argued that “one of the least of these commandments” meant the commandments which Jesus was about to proclaim and that he did not specifically mean all of the Old Testament laws.  I believe this interpretation is bolstered by Jesus’ last statements in this sermon when he said, “Everyone then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock.” (Mat. 7:24) In the last post I also showed that Jesus did in fact change the lex talionis, the law of an eye for eye, in this sermon. He taught that we should have mercy and love toward those who abuse us and that we should not think in terms of retaliation toward them.

Immediately after saying that he did not come to abolish the Law Jesus said “You have heard that it was said” five times relating to five specific Old Testament laws (or interpretations thereof) which the people had indeed heard before. Five is the Biblical number of grace (mercy, righteousness). Each time he said this he changed men’s understanding of the way a particular law was to be interpreted. Even though Jesus here interprets the Law in terms of God’s grace, he actually made the Law more difficult to obey, and he knew it. He said, “unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.” (Mat. 5:20) But, he did not even leave it there. A little later he said, “You therefore must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.” (Mat. 5:48)

These statements as well as all of the apostles’ writings prove that grace does not imply lawlessness or a lax standard of righteousness as many churches now teach. On the other hand, a careful reading of the sermon on the mount also disproves the Hebraic Roots movement’s push to compel people to obey “every jot and tittle” of God’s Law. Jesus did not say, “not an iota, not a dot, will pass from the Law until my people perfectly obey it.” He said that nothing will pass from the Law until it is fulfilled or accomplished. The question we now have to answer is “which laws were fulfilled by Christ and his work in us and, therefore, no longer need to be physically observed by us and which laws have not been?”

Since the New Testament writers and I have already written thousands of words concerning this last question, I will leave it at that and end here with Paul’s poignant response to those who would enslave us once again to every jot and tittle of Old Covenant law, “If I, brothers, still preach circumcision, why am I still being persecuted? In that case the offense of the cross has been removed. 12 I wish those who unsettle you would emasculate themselves!” (Galatians 5:11-12)

I tread here today with much fear and trepidation, for if I am wrong then I will surely be called “least” in the Kingdom of Heaven. Jesus said the following:

¹⁷ Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil.

¹⁸ For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled.

¹⁹ Whosoever therefore shall break one of these least commandments, and shall teach men so, he shall be called the least in the kingdom of heaven: but whosoever shall do and teach them, the same shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven.

²⁰ For I say unto you, That except your righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, ye shall in no case enter into the kingdom of heaven. (Matthew 5:17-20)

There are many today who claim that the bolded verses above prove that Christ’s life, work, crucifixion, and resurrection changed nothing concerning the Mosaic law (except perhaps the blood sacrifices). If we could take Christ’s words only at face value and only in the context of the first twenty verses of Matthew 5, and if we totally ignore all of Paul’s writings, the Book of Hebrews, and the rest of what Jesus says, then we could honestly come to that conclusion. But Matthew 5:1-20 does not comprise the entire New Testament, nor the whole Word of God. In order to understand Jesus’ words here, therefore, we must examine “these” other Scriptures.

When Jesus says, “Whosoever therefore shall break one of these least commandments,” what does “these” refer to? Does it refer to all of the Old Testament laws of Moses or does it refer to “these” commands which Jesus is about to expound? I believe that Jesus meant the commands he was about to teach for immediately after saying “these … commandments” Jesus himself begins to change some of the Mosaic laws.

Some will argue that he didn’t really change them, he just made their application more difficult and demanding. For example, under “these” new commands I become guilty of adultery even if I look at a woman with lust, which is much less of an action than if I actually have sex with her. Now I become liable to the judgment for murder if I become angry with a brother, again much less of an action than actually killing someone! And so I teach that we must not commit adultery and I also teach that we must not dress seductively, look lustfully upon seductively dressed women, and that we should not watch pornography. And I teach that we must not murder, that we must learn to overlook insults and not become angry with others, and that we must forgive others for their offenses to us. So, yes, I agree. Jesus did not actually change these laws; he deepened them and made them even more difficult to obey. But, in this next passage Jesus did in fact change the Old Testament law.

³⁸ “You have heard that it was said, ‘An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.’ ³⁹ But I say to you, Do not resist the one who is evil. But if anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also. ⁴⁰ And if anyone would sue you and take your tunic,^[h] let him have your cloak as well. ⁴¹ And if anyone forces you to go one mile, go with him two miles. ⁴² Give to the one who begs from you, and do not refuse the one who would borrow from you. (Matthew 5:38-42)

I believe that Jesus took this saying from the following passage:

¹⁹ If anyone injures his neighbor, as he has done it shall be done to him, ²⁰ fracture for fracture, eye for eye, tooth for tooth; whatever injury he has given a person shall be given to him. (Leviticus 24:19-20)

This passage from Leviticus says that if someone slaps you, then slap him back. In fact, if anyone injures you in any way, then this lex talionis mandates an equal injury be visited upon the first offending party. Jesus changed this law. He said, “Do not resist the one who is evil. But if anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also.” Judaistic Hebraic Roots teachers and followers, did you hear this? Jesus changed the Law! Jesus, the Christ, the Son of God, who said, “Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled.”

And yet what Jesus proclaimed in Matthew 5 teaches people already taught by the Holy Spirit nothing new. Joseph, husband of Mary, already knew this principle of law. Thus, when he thought that Mary had committed adultery and become pregnant the Scripture says, “And her husband Joseph, being a just man and unwilling to put her to shame, resolved to divorce her quietly.” (Matthew 1:19) Yet, the Law said

For most of my Christian life, now over 35 years, I have been called “legalistic” because I teach obedience to God and his laws. I have tried to “keep the commandment” according to my understanding. For all these years I have taught that God’s Law, the Old Testament law of Moses, is relevant and that we ought to obey it as Christians. But, I have also always made the distinction between the moral laws and the ceremonial laws. I did not write much before regarding the ceremonial laws because I knew of only a few Christians who taught that we ought to keep them and did not consider their teaching to be mainstream enough to deal with. In fact one of these, Rousas John Rushdoony, I respect very much, especially for his excellent treatise on the Law called “The Institutes of Biblical Law.”

Today, however, this has changed. Although the mainstream churches still tend toward lawlessness a new group of Bible teachers has emerged which now attempts to place Christians back under the Law. Yesterday I received a comment from a reader who identified quite a few of them. She said, “The Hebraic Roots movement with its high profile teachers, i.e., Bill Cloud, Jim Staley, Michael Rood, Brad Scott, 119 Ministries, etc. are poised to bring many that are disillusioned with the greasy grace of the new emergent churches who teach lawlessness to the other side of the pendulum under bondage to law keeping.” I am not familiar with everyone Emily mentions, but I have listened to the teachings of two ministries in this list and can verify her comment as dead-on accurate. But, in my attempts to expose these false ministries by teaching the truth I do not want anyone to think that I believe God’s Law to be irrelevant. The truth is quite the opposite. Therefore I will now provide this aspect of God’s truth, that God’s Law must be honored by his people.

{19} For though I am free from all men, I have made myself a servant to all, that I might win the more; {20} and to the Jews I became as a Jew, that I might win Jews; to those who are under the law, as under the law, that I might win those who are under the law; {21} to those who are without law, as without law (not being without law toward God, but under law toward Christ), that I might win those who are without law; {22} to the weak I became as weak, that I might win the weak. I have become all things to all men, that I might by all means save some. {23} Now this I do for the gospel’s sake, that I may be partaker of it with you. (1 Corinthians 9:19-23)

When men use the word “justice,” we often think in terms of the lex talionis, the civil law of retaliation and the Biblical doctrine of “an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.” This also is the way that most Christians view God’s Law and God’s justice. Jesus taught, however, that the real heart of God’s Law is justice and mercy. He knew that God’s justice never comes to people without being mixed with His mercy, according to the Scriptures, “Mercy and truth have met together; Righteousness and peace have kissed,” (Psalm 85:10) and “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you pay tithe of mint and anise and cummin, and have neglected the weightier matters of the law: justice and mercy and faith. These you ought to have done, without leaving the others undone.” (Mat. 23:23) Here Jesus calls “mercy” one of the “weightier” matters of the Law. In other words, mercy represents one key aspect of God’s Law. Ultimately this means that God will not deal with mankind according to the strict concept of the lex talionis, for if he did we would all be destroyed.

The Origin of the Law

God Himself declared the Law directly to Moses. The story of God’s declaration of the Law to man begins in Exodus 19 and continues throughout that book and the books of Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy. He declares the Ten Commandments in Exodus 20. Recent years have witnessed increasing attacks upon God’s Law. Some say that Satan actually declared the Law. Others say that the Law equates to the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. Still others say that the God of the Old Testament is the Father, who is harsh and unloving, and that the God of the New Testament is Jesus Christ, who is merciful and loving. These teach that Jesus “put away” the Law. All of these assertions are blasphemous heresies.

Jesus Christ Himself is the One who appeared to and gave Moses the Law on the mountain in Exodus 19. We know this from several Scriptures. First, God revealed Himself to Moses as “Yahweh” in Exodus 6:2-3. This was a new revelation of God to man for He had revealed Himself before only as “El Shaddai” to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob according to Exodus 6:3. Later, God revealed to Moses His future name, Yashua, in Exodus 15:2. This verse literally reads, Yahweh is my strength and my song, and He has become my Yashua; This is my God; and I will praise Him; My father’s God, and I will extol Him. This verse prophesies God’s incarnate name, Yashua, which is typically translated “salvation” in this verse. The name Yashua, however, is usually translated Joshua in the Old Testament and Jesus in the New Testament. Many of today’s teachers who want to put Christians back under the law seem to take great delight in pronouncing Jesus Yashua as if the “correct” pronunciation has some spiritual effect upon us. The point of Exodus 15:2, however, is that God (Yahweh) is Jesus (Yashua) our salvation.

The prophet Isaiah also prophetically proclaims the incarnation of God in Isaiah 12:2-3, which literally reads, Behold God is my Yashua, I will trust and not be afraid. For Yah Yahweh is my strength and song, and He has become my Yashua. Therefore you will joyously draw water from the springs of Yashua. Jesus alluded to this verse in John 7:37-38 which says, “On the last day, that great day of the feast [of Tabernacles], Jesus stood and cried out, saying, “If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink. {38} “He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.”

Jesus says that if any man thirsts for spiritual truth he should “draw water from the springs of Yashua.” The “Me” in John 7:37-38 is “Yashua” of Isaiah 12:3. Jesus thus reveals Himself here as the “salvation” prophesied in the Old Testament. He is God (Yahweh) who became Jesus (Yashua) in the flesh. He is Immanuel, God with us, God in the flesh. He is the One, therefore, who gave the Law to Moses. Johns speaks very clearly about this at the beginning of his gospel:

 {1} In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. {2} He was with God in the beginning. {3} Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. {4} In him was life, and that life was the light of men. … {14} The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth. … {17} For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. (John 1:1-4, 14, 17 NIV)

 Concerning His relationship to the Law, Jesus proclaimed,

 {17} “Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. {18} I tell you the truth, until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen, will by any means disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished. {19} Anyone who breaks one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever practices and teaches these commands will be called great in the kingdom of heaven. (Mat 5:17-19 NIV)

Has “everything” been “accomplished” yet? Jesus has not put all His enemies under His feet yet; nor has He given the Kingdom back to His Father according to 1 Corinthians 15:24-27. No, everything has not been accomplished. Not “the least stroke of a pen,” therefore, has disappeared from the Law. It remains relevant. This is exactly what Paul teaches his churches. And this is exactly where the confusion comes in. If we take Jesus’ last statement above,  ”Anyone who breaks one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever practices and teaches these commands will be called great in the kingdom of heaven” to mean that Christians ought to obey every jot and tittle of the Old Testament law, including sacrificing animals and wearing tassels on our clothing, then we have utterly misunderstood the Gospel. Why? Because then there is no Gospel, no New Covenant. We simply remain under the Old Covenant and its requirement to fully obey God’s Law in order to be justified before God.

If we interpret Jesus’ words without the the apostles’ explanations, then we should still be sacrificing animals in order to be accepted by God. But every Christian knows that we no longer must offer bloody sacrifices to God. The reason for this is that Christ’s death and resurrection brought about a change in the Law. The Law remains, but its forms and our relationship to it has changed. Now let us attempt to understand this change. (First begin by reading the three posts just prior to this one).

Paul told Timothy, ”I charge you in the presence of God … to keep the commandment unstained and free from reproach until the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ.” (1 Timothy 6:13-14) The question we face today is what “commandment” does Paul exhort Timothy to keep? Many today teach that Christians should keep all of the Old Testament commandments, at least the ones which do not command animal or food sacrifices. They would teach us that we must (or, “out of love for God”) obey every jot and tittle of the Law concerning Sabbath observance, which foods to eat, and what clothing to wear. Is this what Paul meant?

First, notice that the word “commandment” used by Paul in this passage is singular, not plural, as in “the ten commandments.” Just before charging Timothy he said, “Pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, steadfastness, gentleness. ¹² Fight the good fight of the faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called and about which you made the good confession in the presence of many witnesses.” (1 Timothy 6:11b-12) Yesterday we discussed the good confession which Timothy and Jesus both made. Today we consider the commandment Jesus desires us to keep. Whatever the commandment is I believe that it includes pursuing righteousness, godliness, faith, love, steadfastness, and gentleness.

When Jesus dwelt among us he said, “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another.” (John 13:34) James calls this “the royal law” in James 2:8 and says that if we keep this commandment, then we are doing well. If we fail to keep this law, however, he tells us that “the law,” meaning the Old Testament Law of Moses, convicts us as transgressors, for “whoever keeps the whole law but fails in one point has become accountable for all of it.” (James 2:10) Strangely, James then calls this new commandment “the law of liberty.” (James 2:12) How can this possibly be? If I fail to perfectly obey the law of liberty, then I become convicted by the Old Testament Law of Moses as a transgressor of that law? Is this really what James says? Is this why Martin Luther wanted to expunge the Book of James from the canon of Scripture, because it seems to contradict the rest of the teaching of the New Testament, and especially Paul’s doctrine? I believe the answers to these last three questions are yes, yes, and yes! But, Paul does provide the answer to this seeming contradiction.

Recall that Paul wrote the Book of Galatians specifically to tell new Christian converts that they did not need to become circumcised or submit to the manifold regulations of Old Testament law. He warned them that if they began to submit to those regulations then they would become accountable to all the Law. He said,

 Look: I, Paul, say to you that if you accept circumcision, Christ will be of no advantage to you. ³ I testify again to every man who accepts circumcision that he is obligated to keep the whole law. ⁴ You are severed from Christ, you who would be justified^[a] by the law; you have fallen away from grace. (Galatians 5:1-4)

Yet, Paul makes it clear through all of his writings that he highly honored the Law. He does not disparage it. In fact he even tells the Galatians that “the law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith.” (Gal. 3:24) Strong’s tells us that this Greek word translated “schoolmaster” here means “a servant whose office it was to take the children to school.” The Law is the servant and we are the children. The Law takes us to school in the sense that it teaches us right from wrong. It teaches us how to relate to God (the first five of the Ten Commandments) and to men (the second group of five of the Ten Commandments). The Word of God further tells us that these first five commands define what God means by the word “righteousness” and that the word “justice” sums up the second group of five. Paul takes this idea even further and says, “All the law is fulfilled in one word, even in this; Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself,” (Gal. 5:14) which, as we have seen above, is the new command Jesus gave us.

Clearly, then, Paul exhorts Timothy to keep this particular command. Just prior to telling him so he tells him how to do this. He says, “pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, steadfastness, gentleness.” When we pursue these Godly attributes then we become empowered to love others. Paul does not tell Timothy to “go and learn the Old Testament laws and do them.” Similarly, James does not tell his Christian hearers to submit to the Old Covenant laws. He simply tells them that if they fail to perfectly obey Christ’s new command, then the Mosaic laws will convict them as transgressors. This is the function of the Law, to convict us of sin. This is its function as a schoolmaster. It convicts us, we acknowledge our sin, we come to Christ for forgiveness of our sins.

No New Testament writer ever teaches us to submit ourselves to the specific Old Testament commands which demand outward signs of inward truth, signs like circumcision, tassels, garments, days of the week, weeks of the year, and natural food that we eat. Instead, each writer focuses upon spiritual reality within our hearts, spiritual reality which becomes part of our very being. Jesus taught of love, mercy, and perfection, even as God is perfect.  Paul spoke of righteousness, godliness, faith, love, steadfastness, and gentleness. James spoke of impartiality toward the rich and poor within our churches and of mercy, for “mercy triumphs over judgment.” (James 2:13)

This is “the perfect law,” “the law of liberty,” “the royal law,” the “new commandment” which Jesus and all his apostles taught. This law takes us well beyond the Old Testament Law, for that law made nothing perfect. Christ’s Law takes us to perfection itself, but it does not do this by putting us back under Moses’ law, nor by suggesting we ought to keep all the jots and tittles of that law in order to please him. Rather than demanding that we keep the Law which he gave fifteen hundred years before his birth, Jesus gives us his Spirit and says,

⁷ Nevertheless, I tell you the truth: it is to your advantage that I go away, for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you. But if I go, I will send him to you. ⁸ And when he comes, he will convict the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment:⁹ concerning sin, because they do not believe in me; ¹⁰ concerning righteousness,because I go to the Father, and you will see me no longer; ¹¹ concerning judgment, because the ruler of this world is judged.

¹² “I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. ¹³ When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth, for he will not speak on his own authority, but whatever he hears he will speak, and he will declare to you the things that are to come. ¹⁴ He will glorify me, for he will take what is mine and declare it to you.¹⁵ All that the Father has is mine; therefore I said that he will take what is mine and declare it to you. (John 16:7-15)

When Jesus made his good confession to Pilate he said, “You say that I am a king. To this end was I born, and for this cause came I into the world, that I should bear witness unto the truth. Every one that is of the truth hears my voice.” (John 18:37 KJ2000) When we come to Jesus, when we accept and acknowledge him as LORD and Savior, then we come to the truth. So long as we follow him, so long as we “obey the Gospel” (obey the good confession that Jesus is our King), then he will reveal his truth to us and we will walk in that truth he reveals to us. He does not put us back under Old Covenant Law. He declares a New Covenant, and so long as we walk in this New Covenant we walk toward that perfection he desires for us.

The song of the fourth ascent into the presence of God says,

To you I lift up my eyes,
O you who are enthroned in the heavens!

2 Behold, as the eyes of servants
look to the hand of their master,
as the eyes of a maidservant
to the hand of her mistress,
so our eyes look to the Lord our God,
till he has mercy upon us.

3 Have mercy upon us, O Lord, have mercy upon us,
for we have had more than enough of contempt.

4 Our soul has had more than enough
of the scorn of those who are at ease,
of the contempt of the proud. (Psalm 123, ESV)

Here sings one who sees himself as a servant of the Most High God, the One enthroned in the heavens. As an earthly servant hopes and expects to be fed with food, water, and shelter by his worldly master, this servant of a heavenly Master hopes for mercy. Why mercy? Why not gold, riches, and endless honor?

The apostle Matthew describes two occasions during which Jesus rebuked the Pharisees for their harsh and self-righteous judgments against Jesus and his disciples. First,

9 As Jesus passed on from there, he saw a man called Matthew sitting at the tax booth, and he said to him, “Follow me.” And he rose and followed him.

10 And as Jesus[b] reclined at table in the house, behold, many tax collectors and sinners came and were reclining with Jesus and his disciples. 11 And when the Pharisees saw this, they said to his disciples, “Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?” 12 But when he heard it, he said, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. 13 Go and learn what this means, ‘I desire mercy, and not sacrifice.’ For I came not to call the righteous, but sinners.” (Matthew 9:9-13, ESV)

Second,

At that time Jesus went through the grainfields on the Sabbath. His disciples were hungry, and they began to pluck heads of grain and to eat. 2 But when the Pharisees saw it, they said to him, “Look, your disciples are doing what is not lawful to do on the Sabbath.” 3 He said to them, “Have you not read what David did when he was hungry, and those who were with him: 4 how he entered the house of God and ate the bread of the Presence, which it was not lawful for him to eat nor for those who were with him, but only for the priests? 5 Or have you not read in the Law how on the Sabbath the priests in the temple profane the Sabbath and are guiltless? 6 I tell you, something greater than the temple is here. 7 And if you had known what this means, ‘I desire mercy, and not sacrifice,’ you would not have condemned the guiltless. 8 For the Son of Man is lord of the Sabbath.” (Matthew 12:1-8)

Prior to these accounts Matthew recounted Jesus’ first sermon wherein he said, “Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy.” (Matthew 5:7)

Those who are proud and self-righteous cannot show mercy to others. They are “too good” for them. Throughout history we see men in both secular and ecclesiastical power lord it over and abuse those who they believe to be beneath them. But, God will not allow it to be so with any who would ascend into his presence. Those who would be merciful must be as Jesus, “gentle and lowly in heart.” We must be meek as was Moses, the meekest man in all the earth. And if we are not meek, gentle, lowly in heart, and merciful, then we must mourn for our sins and hard hearts! If we expect to receive mercy from our Father, then let us extend mercy to our brothers with the wisdom God gives us.

The person who learns to extend mercy to others becomes, in fact, the man in whom there is no guile. He is no hypocrite. He has learned to rightly judge himself and knows that he himself requires God’s mercy as much or more than his neighbor needs his own mercy. Because he clearly sees this as he walks unto the fourth ascent he can say, “Our soul has had more than enough of the scorn of those who are at ease, of the contempt of the proud.” Those who go on to overcome with God constantly endure the contempt of those Christians who accuse them of legalism and self-righteousness and the taunts of the secular world who abhor their “prudishness” and moral resolve. Yes, our soul has had more than enough of this world’s scorn.

So, let us remember all the blessings of Jesus as we climb every higher toward’s God’s heavenly throne:

3 “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

4 “Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.

5 “Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.

6 “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.

7 “Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy.

8 “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.

9 “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons[a] of God.

10 “Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

11 “Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. 12 Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you. (Matthew 5:3-11)

Christians en mass simply do not understand that God requires us to be holy as he is holy. Hebrews says,

And make straight paths for your feet, lest that which is lame be turned out of the way; but let it rather be healed.  Follow peace with all men, and holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord: Looking diligently lest any man fail of the grace of God; lest any root of bitterness springing up trouble you, and thereby many be defiled;  Lest there be any fornicator, or profane person, as Esau, who for one morsel of meat sold his birthright. (Hebrews 12:13-16)

The prophet John wrote,

And now, little children, abide in him; that, when he shall appear, we may have confidence, and not be ashamed before him at his coming. If you know that he is righteous, you know that everyone that does righteousness is born of him. Behold, what manner of love the Father has bestowed upon us, that we should be called the children of God: therefore the world knows us not, because it knew him not. Beloved, now are we the children of God, and it does not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is. And every man that has this hope in him purifies himself, even as he is pure. (1 John 2:28-3:3)

The LORD’s own brother said,

Therefore, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger: For the anger of man works not the righteousness of God. Therefore put away all filthiness and extreme wickedness, and receive with meekness the engrafted word, which is able to save your souls. But be you doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves. For if any be a hearer of the word, and not a doer, he is like unto a man beholding his natural face in a mirror: For he beholds himself, and goes his way, and immediately forgets what manner of man he was. But whoever looks into the perfect law of liberty, and continues in it, he being not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the work, this man shall be blessed in his deed. If any man among you seems to be religious, and bridles not his tongue, but deceives his own heart, this man’s religion is vain. Pure religion and undefiled before God the Father is this, To visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction, and to keep himself unspotted from the world. (James 1:19-27)

For almost two thousand years the visible church turned the grace of God into a license to sin. Sometimes the church actually sold licenses to sin, which she called “indulgences.” Today, though, she does not sell her licenses; she gives them away. Thus she became as Israel of old whom God condemned as being worse than a harlot, for a harlot sells her pleasures for money, but God’s people (both in Old and New Testament times) give their pleasures, their indulgences, their licenses to sin, away for free.

Thus we accepted a false view of salvation, a “free” salvation which cost us nothing. Yet God never taught such a false doctrine. God only spoke of the gift of salvation with respect to Jesus’ atonement for our sins and our reconciliation with God. Jesus purchased our spiritual salvation by his own blood and gave it to us freely as a gift. But most of the Bible deals with the salvation of our soul and this salvation comes only at great cost. Paul said we must work out this salvation with “fear and trembling.” Do you fear that you may not hear that last trumpet? Do your insides tremble that you may not be called to “come up here” even if you do hear that last trumpet? If not, then you’re not working out your own salvation. The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom.

Martin Luther’s reformation of Catholic doctrine has been hailed for hundreds of years as a great thing, and certainly the Catholic church needed to be reformed. But Luther began a Protestant era which saw the doctrine of salvation by grace and faith alone obliterate almost all sound doctrine. In its wake Christians walk mindlessly into fleshpots of sin believing they “have grace” to indulge.

But James proclaims, “by works a man is justified, and not by faith only.” (James 2:24) This one statement turns almost all Christian dogma upon its head. Again James says, “For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also.” (James 2:26) Then he says, “You believe that there is one God; you do well: the demons also believe, and tremble.” (James 2:19) And, just to be sure you don’t miss his point, he states, “if you [Christians] … commit sin [you] are convicted of the law as transgressors.” (James 2:9)

“Oh my God!” you say. “Now we are no longer saved by grace through faith alone, and the Law still convicts us! What hope do any of us have?!”

Not much if you have not understood this series of teachings.

So, what does it mean for a man to be conformed to God’s image? In a word it means perfection. Jesus said, “Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect.” (Matthew 5:48) He did not speak in hyperbole here. He meant what he said. According to John when Jesus saved the woman caught in adultery he told her, “Go and sin no more.” If any of us sin no more, then we have come into perfection.

Man’s perfection, then, is the goal of creation. When a man has been fully made into God’s image, when he is conformed to the image of God’s Son, then, and only then, has his creation been completed. Then will be fulfilled the word of the prophet, “Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is.” (1 John 3:2) But John proceeds from here, saying, “And every man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself, even as he is pure.” (1 John 3:3)

The word translated “pure” in 1 John 3:3 is the Greek word hagnizo which means “to make clean.” This explains why so much of the focus of the Old Covenant dealt with the distinctions of clean versus unclean animals, clean versus unclean foods, and blood sacrifices which made men ceremonially clean so that they could approach God. All of these rules and regulations paint a picture of the ultimate state of God’s created man, being clean and pure before his Maker.

Why does God require a man to be holy? Isaiah says, “For thus saith the high and lofty One that inhabiteth eternity, whose name is Holy; I dwell in the high and holy place, with him also that is of a contrite and humble spirit, to revive the spirit of the humble, and to revive the heart of the contrite ones.” (Isaiah 57:15) God’s very name is “Holy.” He will accept no less from his creation whom he has made in his image.

But, how can a man ever attain this perfection of holiness? “It is impossible,” say most men. And this would be true if men and God were confined by the natural. In fact, it would be harder than pushing a camel through the eye of a needle. “But,” says Jesus, “With men it is impossible, but not with God: for with God all things are possible.” And this brings us back to God’s plan from the beginning.

As we saw earlier, God did not create man fully in his own perfected image in the beginning. He made him in such a way that he could be tempted by sin and even put the tempter in the garden with Adam. God purposed and planned that Adam would sin by eating of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. After he ate thereof God said that the man had now become like him, knowing good and evil. This completed the first necessary step in God’s plan following man’s initial creation. After this God began to work on preparing a “firstfruits” company of “sons” who would ultimately become the first ones made into his complete and perfect image. The Bible gives these people various names including the “remnant,” the “branch,” the “overcomers,” and the “144,000.” It turns out that the Bible itself was really written primarily for these particular “predestined” persons.

Most people believe God gave the Bible so that men would believe that Jesus is the Christ, make a confession of faith, and thereby be saved from eternal hell. No, Jesus’ death affects and saves all men. He was never concerned about keeping you or me out of hell. That is a done deal. Rather, Jesus was concerned about completing his creation. This is why John says, “But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name.”  (John 1:12 KJV) Most Christians teach that once you believe in Jesus you automatically become a son of God. Not so, says John. When you truly believe upon Jesus you receive the “power” only “to become” a son of God. God calls this power the Holy Spirit. Most of the Bible deals with man learning to submit to this power. Only when we submit to God in us, to the Holy Spirit within us, can we ever become conformed to God’s image. Thus the Holy God reveals to Isaiah that he dwells with the humble and contrite of spirit, with those who learn to submit to God’s plan of righteousness and justice.

Jesus revealed this from his very first sermon when he proclaimed from the mountainside,

³Blessed are the poor in spirit [to be poor in spirit means to realize that you do not presently walk in spiritual perfection and understanding; thus you patiently wait for the resurrection of your body and glorification of your flesh as you continue to trust in God]: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. ⁴Blessed are they that mourn [to mourn means to walk through life in sorrow for the failing and shortcomings of your flesh, to weep over your own carnality and inability to perfectly obey God]: for they shall be comforted. ⁵Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth. ⁶Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness [righteousness and justice form the foundation of God's throne which establishes the very essence of his rule and authority over all creation]: for they shall be filled. ⁷Blessed are the merciful [Jesus condemned the religious leaders of Israel because they condemned men under the harsh penalties of his law, but never understood that that law was to be implemented with mercy, for mercy and truth, that is righteousness and justice, establish the very foundation of his throne, his authority, his rule]: for they shall obtain mercy. ⁸Blessed are the pure in heart [this looks forward to the glorification of our bodies; only those who seek purity of heart shall ever see God and, as John says, they will be able to see him for then they will be like him]: for they shall see God. ⁹Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God. ¹⁰Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness’ sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. (Matthew 5:3-10)

Thus we see that all of God’s word deals with teaching men the principles of being conformed to God’s image. Hebrews 5:14 calls this “the teaching about righteousness.” Let us learn what that means.

God revealed himself to Moses in the Book of Exodus. In turn God required Moses to reveal Him to the Israelites. When Moses asked God who he should say has sent him, `God said to Moses, “I AM WHO I AM.” And he said, “Say this to the people of Israel, ‘I AM has sent me to you.’”‘ (Exodus 3:14, ESV) After this the Israelites considered the phrase “I AM” as revealing God himself. We may say, then, that “I AM” signifies the God of the Old Testament. We could also say that the Book of Exodus reveals God as “I AM” in the Old Testament.

On the other hand, John’s gospel is the Book of I AM in the New Testament. Here also, more than in any other place, John reveals Jesus as the God of the Old Testament, the very God of Creation we see in Genesis 1:1.  John’s first chapter begins with the following profound revelation:

 ^1 (A)In the beginning was ^(B)the Word, and the Word was ^(C)with God, and ^(D)the Word was God. ^2 [a]He was in the beginning with God. ^3 (E)All things came into being through Him, and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being. ^4 (F)In Him was life, and the life was ^(G)the Light of men. (John 1:1-4, NASB)

John reveals exactly who these first four verses speak about when he says in verse 17,  For ^(A)the Law was given through Moses; ^(B)grace and ^(C)truth ^[a]were realized through Jesus Christ.” I have spoken at length in these pages about the fact that “grace” and “truth” define the twin theme of all Scripture.  And I have shown that these two concepts are the two witnesses of Revelation 11. Synonyms which the Bible uses to define and describe them include “righteousness and justice,” “lovingkindness and faithfulness” and “mercy and law” among others. Remember, Jesus always upheld and taught obedience to God’s Law, but he chastised the Pharisees for failing to understand that God’s principle of mercy should always be used to interpret and execute that law. James describes this principle by saying, “mercy triumphs over judgment!”

For 2000 years most of Christianity has failed because it always emphasized one aspect of the two witnesses to the exclusion or destruction of the other. Thus the past saw many expressions of Christianity kill adherents to other religious expressions because those other segments did not adhere to their laws. They forgot mercy. Today the Church has largely gone in the other direction. Now it fails to judge sin at all and accepts all aberrant behavior under its mistaken idea of grace. Today’s Church is lawless, but full of grace. (Of course there still exist expressions of Christianity which would kill those with whom they disagree, either by word or guns) And so we see the two witnesses lying dead in the public square. But, both grace and truth came through Jesus Christ, not only one or the other.

To illustrate this, think of grace and truth as two rails of the same railroad track. The rails must run parallel to one another or the train will derail. If none or only one track exists the train cannot run at all. Thus are the two witnesses. The true prophetic voice teaches that both grace and truth, mercy and law, must co-exist in the Christian’s life or he will not walk according to the ways of his LORD. Today the Church calls that prophet legalistic because he teaches the holy standards of God’s way. In times past they called him a mystic because he urged us to have grace to seek God for ourselves. In all times the Church en mass silenced the prophetic voice of God’s two witnesses. Those who controlled the money and reigns of power destroyed the two witnesses, either by tortuous death or by excommunication, blacklisting, and shunning. So, today the two witnesses lie dead in the streets of mankind, just as John predicted in Revelation 11.

… to be continued.