Why Would You Go Back To the Law?

There is a choice

We keep doing it, over and over again, without ever realizing it. It’s so subtle. Yes, as Bob Dylan said, “The enemy is subtle, how be it we are deceived? When the truth is in our hearts, and  we still won’t believe? Shine Your Light, Shine Your Light On Me!(Precious Angel) We keep returning to the law,  which cannot save.

Now do you think that the Jews are any different from any religious system of works?They were chosen because they were the only nation that believed in the one true God. All of the other nations followed pagan gods. This is why God had to preserve them as His people and made covenant with them. He alone gave them all of these laws. And this is what bound them to Himself. He had to preserve them as His own to bring the messiah through them. God will not take back His covenant, nor deny Himself.

The Jews were blinded by hundreds of laws. Don’t you remember? They were handed down from God Himself . Were they given just to amuse Himself? Absolutely not. They all had a purpose. Here’s an example of one of the hundreds. The two goats. Only one was to be used on the Day of Atonement. The scapegoat, was released after the sins of the nation of Israel had been placed upon its head. It is of course where we get the term, “scapegoat,”  It is also the reason that you will see so many demonically inspired uses in the artwork today. I’m amazed after it had been pointed out to me. A picture of sin. An innocent animal left to die. Hmm, interesting picture.

Now all of those laws. So many and a lot just didn’t make much sense. They all were types and foreshadows of messiah. Yet, when Paul spoke he clearly reminded the Jews that if they chose to go back to the law, they would have be judged by the law and if they violated one, they violated the whole of the law. He said that “the laws had  to been given,  to point us to our need of a savior!.

Indeed, we had no desire to sin until the law was given!” Oh, I love that! Just look at Adam and Eve in the garden. Oh, better yet. Look at a little child and their innocence…until you tell them they can’t touch something. That’s when that rebellion rears it’s ugly head. Now remember how the Pharisees chastised Jesus for healing a  man on the Sabbath? How preposterous was that? He IS the sabbath! He had to ask them if it was easier to forgive the man or heal him? Then he told him to pick up his mat and walk? He was always rocking the proverbial boat of the religious leaders, but yet He was the leader and they were so blinded with religious pride, couldn’t see Him. I thought it humorous and sad.

“The law of sin and death is in the flesh.” We are born into sin but thanks be to Jesus Christ who has set us free from the law of  sin and the grave! Now, when we look at all of the man-made doctrines it is a subtle way of taking us back to the law, once again. Trying to earn our way. We must do as Paul told the Bereans to do. Question everything by scripture. My pastor taught me to do this in my church and one day I had to even do this with him once. I have great respect for him, yet the Lord commands us to line everything up with His word.

When I was in the Lutheran church I started to question the spiritual leaders. I realized that Martin Luther had split from the Catholic church because he discovered they had not been teaching from scripture the fundamentals, “that we are saved by grace not by works.” Of course there was the Reformation and many people realized that only the leadership  had a bibles, and Martin Luther found one, hidden away and saw these truths which began the split. We know that one “comes to faith by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God.” So that changed the whole course of history, but then the Lutheran’s also erred. They also became legalistic. No different from the Pharisees of old. I wanted to know God. I didn’t care about any man’s religion. I could see as a young girl who Christ never stood in the midst of crowds and stated, “now look guys I want you to be Baptists, you to be Catholics and you to be Jews.” And Jesus was a Jew for good reason. Born into the nation of Israel. God didn’t make a mistake. I wanted to understand this convenant.

Another thing that I noticed as a young girl was that the only time Jesus seemed to have a problem was when he was confronted by those religious guys.He really didn’t spend very much time inside the temple. Here I was seeing the same thing with religious people. And when I went with my girlfriend to see Jesus Christ Superstar, something powerful happened watching that crucifixion scene. I noticed that the doctrines in my church became more ritualistic and I started to question them as a young girl. I saw things in my bible that weren’t being taught.  Perhaps because these leaders didn’t understand. I saw Nicodemus go to Jesus and ask him how he could enter the kingdom of heaven. I heard Jesus tell him plainly, “unless a man be born again, he cannot enter the kingdom of God.” I wondered at this and many other things that were spoken. I wondered what made our religion, “right,” and everyone else s wrong.

Then, something happened to me. A spiritual experience. It was so noticable that a pastor called me in to speak to me about it. He wanted to know. But how could he explain it? They all went to seminary, but were never taught that to be ‘born again,’ is an experience that the Lord was telling Nicodemus must happen to each person if they are to enter the kingdom of God. We must become like a child before this experience takes place. It is not a religion and we cannot keep the laws. We must simply have faith and know that He is the savior who has fulfilled the laws. We must know we are a sinner and cannot keep any laws as Paul says and if those laws weren’t given, we would have no reason to sin.

Now it wasn’t until Roman Emperor Constantine came on the scene, and became a Christian that Catholicism began.He became born again. He was so zealous, that he wanted the whole of Rome to become Christian, however they had all been pagans up to this point.As most people understand, you cannot force conversions. Especially since these pagans, were anti-Semitic and the Christians, for the most part, were still mostly Jewish. So, to make it more palatable, he allowed the mix of the pagan practices. The Goddess Astarte, for example was worshipped. She was the goddess of fertility. And instead of celebrating Passover, which the Romans, would not do, they used eggs and bunnies, etc. as and celebrated Easter or Resurrection Sunday.

Sunday, was taken from the Sun God( yes, even our calendars have pagan roots), and although Jesus did not celebrate His own birthday anywhere in scripture, He did celebrate the Festival of Lights, Chanukah and it was on this day that he spoke to the religious leaders when he stated, “I am the light of the world!” Claiming to be the center candle of the menorah, gives this whole new meaning when we understand this from His perspective.

Without offending anyone, as Paul has stated, “everything is acceptable, but everything is now acceptable in the Lord, since we have freedom in the Spirit, however, everything is not beneficial.” Yes, in my house, I do both. I celebrate Resurrection Sunday, yet I also celebrate the Passover, since I know that the Lord Is the Passover. I know that He did not celebrate Easter and place a basket of eggs and chocolate bunnies around his house. Although its okay. Let me tell you, if you’ve ever been to a seder, you will wonder why the Jews do not see Jesus as the messiah. I recommend every believer do this. The Lord told us that it is meant for all of us to celebrate throughout every generation They are not called the Jewish Feasts, but the Feasts of the Lord. And they are meant for believers more than anyone else and in them is a mystery;the timetable of God, unlocked only by those with the Spirit of God.

What the Lord told us to do is this: “Learn of Me Not any religious doctrine, not any man-made institution. It was in the name of every religion that He was crucified. The word religion itself means, a return to bondage. I want freedom. Freedom in Christ. Freedom from the law to know Him.But now I know, I am part of this covenant. I am no longer judged by the law and there is nothing greater than this. I want everyone to know this freedom.

He is the beginning and  the end of everything. The Alpha and Omega.