We uphold the law?

20 May 2021

Series: Shabbat sermons

We uphold the law?

In Rom 3:31, we read, “Do we, then, nullify the law by this faith? Not at all! Rather, we uphold the law.”

In Matt 5:17, we read, “Don’t misunderstand why I have come. I did not come to abolish the law of Moses or the writings of the prophets. No, I came to accomplish their purpose.”

Why do you, as a Christian, believe the law of Moses ended at the cross?

If the law of Moses ended at the cross, we would have to rewrite most of the Bible. Rom 3:31, Matt 5:17-19, and the entire book of Acts would have to be removed. Why? Because Rom 3:31, Matt 5:17-19, and the book of Acts say, the law of Moses still applies to believers today. How? In the book of Acts, Paul is accused of teaching the law of Moses does not apply to believers in Jesus. Every time they accused him of this, he proved them wrong. Every time he assured them he believed in and obeyed the law of Moses, and assured them he taught Jew and Gentile alike to follow the Mosaic law. When Stephen was stoned to death, they accused him of the same. But he proved them wrong; he told them he obeyed and taught others to obey by the law of Moses.

If the law of Moses ended at the cross, we would have to remove Matthew 5:17-19. In Matthew 5:17-19, He says He has not come to abolish the law of Moses; He has come to show us how to obey by it. He goes on to say; I tell you the truth until heaven and earth disappear, not even the smallest detail of God’s law will disappear until its purpose is achieved.” And in verse 19, He says everyone who teaches against the law of Moses will be called least in the Kingdom of heaven, but everyone who teaches others to obey Moses will be called great.

If the law of Moses ended at the cross, the Apostles deceived everyone when they said Gentiles who had just gotten saved should go to the synagogue and learn how to obey Moses. Why would Apostles like Paul, Peter, John, James tell them to learn how to obey Moses if the law of Moses ended at the cross?

If the law of Moses ended at the cross, Cornelius, a Gentile, was greatly deceived by Peter. In the book of Acts, the Bible says that Cornelius had lived most of his life in obedience to the Mosaic law. When Peter arrives at the house of Cornelius, he never tells him how the law of Moses ended at the cross, and we had now entered into grace and the church age. Instead, we read how Peter encourages Cornelius to continue to obey the law with his newfound faith in Jesus as the Messiah.

If the law of Moses ended at the cross, then I assume you also believe everyone who tries to obey the law will make Christ of no effect? To say it another way, if you believe the law of Moses ended at the cross, I assume you also believe everyone who claims faith in Jesus but obeys the law of Moses will be eternally lost in hell. If this is true, then Paul himself ended up in hell when he died because the Bible clearly says he obeyed the law until his death. If this is true, then Peter, James, John, and every Christian who had ever lived from the time of Christ and until the year 400 Ad ended up in hell when they died. Why? As a historical fact, the New Testament did not exist until the year 400 AD. So the only Bible the early Christians, had and lived by was the Old Testament. From church history, we know that until Emperor Constantine made it illegal for Christians to obey Moses, in the year 400 Ad, Gentile and Jewish believers in Christ lived as Jews in total obedience to the Mosaic law. They kept the Shabbats, they ate only kosher food, and they even got circumcised. So if what you are saying is accurate, and the law of Moses ended at the cross, then Emperor Constantine was the first one who made it possible for people to be saved since he made it illegal for Christians to obey the law.

What does the Bible say about the Antichrist? The Bible, in the New Testament, says the Antichrist is the man of lawlessness. He will make it illegal to obey the law of God, the law of Moses. Emperor Constantine made it illegal to obey the law of Moses, so according to the Bible, that makes him an Antichrist. So if you believe the law of Moses ended at the cross, and you believe everyone who tries to obey the law makes Christ of no effect, you are a follower of the Antichrist.

If the Antichrist is correct, and the law of Moses ended at the cross, then we can not trust the God of the Bible anymore. Why? Because the Bible says, our God never changes. He is the same yesterday, today, and forever. The Bible says He can never lie and never change His mind. He is the God who said the law of Moses applies forever as long as there is a heaven and earth. Heaven and the earth are still in existence, so if He has suddenly changed His mind about the law of Moses, how do we know He will not suddenly change His mind about salvation in the cross? The truth is if the Antichrist is correct, and the law of Moses ended at the cross, we can not know for sure we are saved because one day God might change His mind and come up with an entirely new way of salvation.

The Antichrist is the father of lies, so he is never correct and can not be trusted.

On the other hand, the Bible can be trusted, and as we have seen today, the Bible says the law of Moses still applies to you. If you are a believer in Christ, you have to show your faith in repentance from lawlessness to law, from sin to righteousness, from breaking the law of Moses to start obeying it again. Then and only then will you have saving faith (James 2).

As a Christian, why did you believe the law of Moses ended at the cross? Because the Antichrist had deceived you. Now you know he lied to you. Why did he deceive you into believing this lie? In the book of Ezekiel and Exodus, we read how the true people of Yehovah carry a mark on their forehead and their right hand. The mark of Yehovah is your obedience to the law of Moses. The opposite of this mark is the mark of the beast that will be introduced sometimes in the future. We do not know what the mark of the beast will be, but we do know it will require you to reject the law of Moses. Why did the Antichrist deceive you? So that you would be ready to receive his mark on your forehead or right hand.

Do not take the mark of the beast, repent from lawlessness and come back to Moses with a strong faith in the cross.

[wpedon id=”383″]