Christian Rules and Laws

Many people believe that the only law that a Christian has is "Teacher, which is the great commandment in the law?" Jesus said to him, "'You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.' This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like it: 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself.' On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets." (Matthew 22:36-40, EMTV).

They believe that God looks at the heart and that their heart is certainly good because of their trust into Jesus.

They belong to a church that has various laws and regulations. Nothing really wrong with those as long as people don't keep them thinking that in obeying these rules they are automatically right with God.

But God does have laws and rules for Christians. The Lord Jesus and also His 12 Apostles gave over 1,000 rules for Christians. We don't obey this to get to heave; we obey these because we are Christians and are submitted to God.

Every kingdom/nation has laws. The Kingdom of God is no different. We might as well start obeying here. God's laws are an easy yoke (Matthew 11:30) and are meant for our safety and the peaceful life among all people. To obey with the right attitude shows our submission to God as our King.

I have posted a pdf file of New Testament Laws, so read and tell me what you think.

Cheers

Sunday School Notes Updated

I have updated the Sunday School Notes. The link is here.

Success or How to be Successful this Year

Many articles and seminars are created every year. They all promise steps to success. Does the Bible have anything to say about being successful?

BLESSED is the man who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor stands in the path of sinners, nor sits in the seat of the scornful; But his delight is in the law of the LORD, and in His law he meditates day and night. He shall be like a tree Planted by the rivers of water, that brings forth its fruit in its season, whose leaf also shall not wither; and whatever he does shall prosper. The ungodly are not so, But are like the chaff which the wind drives away. Therefore the ungodly shall not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous. For the LORD knows the way of the righteous, but the way of the ungodly shall perish. (Psalms 1:1-6, NKJV)

What is success? The main meaning has to do with reaching a goal.

Success can be for good things as health or lose weight. It can also be used for evil things as theft or manipulation (Psalm 37:7).

Being successful in light of eternity and in God's eyes depends on our goals. For the Christian the goals should be to glorify God and bear good fruit for Him. Some of this fruit is mentioned in Galatians 5:22-23).

Some steps for reaching these goals are:

1. Have as your friends and the people you hang around with are not ungodly, scornful sinners (Psalm 1:1). In 1 Kings 12:10 King Rehoboam sought advice how and what to answer the question from the people about taxes. The older men gave advice to lower the burden they must carry (lower their taxes) while the young men replied that they should increase them. There was a civil war resulting in the division of Israel into Israel and Judah. One can only know who is an ungodly sinner by knowing the rules that the Lord Jesus gave. Scornful people are those who mock God and His ways of living.


2. Bible study. This is not just reading the Bible every day but thinking about what each word means and how it applies. Read the Bible, look up words through their Strong's number, think about each word in its context emphasizing it as you think about it, and then apply it to your life. The Blue Letter Bible cite can help you in your study.


3. Prayer. Every day take 5 minutes to pray thanking God for the good things He has done, asking for the needs of others, and asking for wisdom for whatever decisions you need to make that day.


4. Forgive. We must forgive others the wrongs they have done. Forgiving someone does not mean that they will never be punished but is placing that person in God's hands to hopefully repent or else punish, and His punishment is always just right. The Lord Jesus was praying that His Father would forgive Jesus's enemies while Jesus was suffering on the cross (Luke 23:34).


5. Show, live, talk, think the ways of God. Our thoughts, desires, words, and deeds to all should be of the Fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22-23).

Sacrifices in the Millennium

A question was asked of Dr. Tony Garland regarding the need for sacrifices in the Millennium. Below is a chart of the differences between the Sacrifices that Moses was told to do and the sacrifices in the Millennium. The main thrust of the question if Jesus was the "accepted sacrifice", why is there a need for sacrifices in the Millennium? See Ezekiel 43 and 45.

First Temple (Solomon)	Second Temple (Ezra/Nehemiah)	Third Temple (Restoration)
No Gentiles	No Shekinah Glory	Gentiles and Shekinah Glory
Distinctive Shape	Distinctive Shape	New Shape and Dimensions

 

Mosaic Sacrifice (Exodus 29:1-37)	Millennial Sacrifice (Ezekiel 43:18-27)
Altar anointed	No anointed
Bullock sin offering for 7 days	Only on the first day
No goat offering	Goat offerings the last six days
Blood applied to horns of altar only	Applied on horns, corners, and lower molding
Burnt Offering: Ram offering every day	Bullock and Ram every day
Ram offered for priest's consecration	None
Ark of the Covenant	None (Jeremiah 3:16)
Only High Priest enters Holy of Holies	All priests may enter (Ezekiel 44:15-16)
Specific marriage rules for the High Priest only	The rules apply to all the priests (Ezekiel 44:22)
The first of Nisan was not a special day	Is a special day (Ezekiel 45:18)
In the Ezekiel 45:19 a male goat & outside camp	A bullock & inside camp
Passover with head of family doing ritual	Prince performs ritual (Ezekiel 45:21-24)
Passover lasted one day	Seven days
Passover animal is unblemished lamb	Bullock
Number of sacrifices different	See Numbers 28:16-24
Amount of meal offering is different
Number of offerings in the Feast of Tabernacles (Numbers 29:12-34)	See Ezekiel 45:25)
Feast of Tabernacles lasted 8 days(Numbers 29:35-38)	7 days
Sabbath Offerings: 2 lambs and 1 ram(Numbers 28:9) The meal offering is different, too.	6 lambs and 1 ram (Ezekiel 46:4-5)
New Moon Offering: 2 bulls, 1 rams, 7 lambs	1 bull, 1 ram, 6 lambs (Ezekiel 46:6-7)
Daily Offering: 2 lambs twice a day(Numbers 28:3-4)	1 lamb each morning and none in the evening(Ezekiel 46:13-15)
Daily Meal Offering 1/10th ephah flour, 1/4th oil(Exodus 29:40 & Numbers 28:5)	1/6th ephah fine flour and 1/3rd hin of oil(Ezekiel 46:13-15)
Feast of Tabernacles required only for Jews	Required for Jew and Gentile(Zechariah 14:16-21)
Only those of Levi could be priests	Both Jews and Gentiles (Isaiah 66:18-21)

 

Again the full link is Sacrifices in the Millennial Kingdom.

Jews Returning to Israel

God promised Israel that if they rebelled, He would scatter them over the face of the earth (Deuteronomy 28:64-68, Nehemiah 1:8). This is called the Dispersion/Diaspora.

God promised Israel that at the end of this age, He would restore them to the land which He promised to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob (Ezekiel 37:21, Jeremiah 23:3)

More and more Jews are coming to Israel daily. The year 2014 shows the greatest number of Jews returning to Israel since it was reborn as a country.

Aliya up 32% over 2013 - France, Ukraine lead the pack.

The Importance of Correct Bible Interpretation

There are many methods of interpretation. The bottom line is this--can and does God speak so that any normal person will understand it? With the allegorical method, for instant, you would need a fistful of doctorates to interpret. Why would God speak in a hidden understanding? Even with prophetic passages the best interpretation is to take the words in their plain, normal sense. We don't understand the meaning? So? The time will come when prophesy is being fulfilled that the people will understand. See 1 Peter 1:12.

Here is a good article on Bible Interpretation by Cooper P Abrams III--Principles of the Literal Bible Interpretation.

What Do We Practice?

Galatians 5:19-23 EMTV Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are: adultery, fornication, immorality, lewdness, (20) idolatry, sorcery, hatred, contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, dissensions, factions, (21) envies, murders, drinking bouts, revelries, and the like; which I tell you beforehand, just as I also told you in time past, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. (22) But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, (23) gentleness, self-control--against such things there is no law.

Though somewhat discredited now, Malcolm Gladwell wrote a book, Outliers (The Story of Success), that suggested if someone practiced 10,000 hours one would be an expert. Whether that is true or not, it is known that practice does make for better success. A physician who only does 12 surgeries a year is not going to be as successful (generally speaking) as one who does 250. The more practice, the better we can do something. Many examples could be suggested.

Now one who practices sin for many years (every human born (Romans 3:23) excepting the Lord Jesus) will be very skilled at it. Someone who lies is a liar, and practicing lying could make one famous. Same could be said for any in the about list from Galatians 5:19-23. We have all met people who had practiced immorality, hatred, selfish ambitions, murder and so on. The Bible states that the punishment for sin is death, and God will punish (Isaiah 13:11).

What would life be like if we practiced the traits found in verses 22-23 (Galatians 5:22-23)? We would be practicing God approved and society approved traits. What would the world be like if we practiced these?

This can be applied to all people but we are not good. After being born again as a real Christian, then we are given the rule, the law, to have the Fruits of the Spirit. These can distinguish true from false. No Christian is perfect in these, but these traits need to be seen and growing. This can be done by reading and study the Bible, prayer, and God's help.