LAW VS. GRACE
by Chaplain Jimmie Warren
When you read your Bible, have you ever noticed that YESHUA never condemns anyone except the religious leaders of the time?
When they came to him and asked why he ate with tax collectors and whores, YESHUA told them "That the well do not need a doctor."(Matt.9:12 and Luke 5:31)
YESHUA was trying to tell them that those who did not know the word of God needed to hear God's plan to save the world. He preached, that if they would only believe what he was telling them, then they would be saved.
Now one young man came to ask YESHUA what else he needed to do to be saved. He had kept the law all his life and did not want to miss out on salvation, so he asked again what he must do to be saved. (Matt.19:16-20) YESHUA reply was shocking to the pharisees. He said, he who believes in me and the one who sent me shall be saved. (Romans 10:9)
Where is all the law stuff??
Yes, the New Testament does talk about keeping the Ten Commandments, but Jesus goes even farther saying that if you even look on a woman and lust, you have committed adultery. (Matt. 5:28)
The Jews of that time did not get it. Everything had to be by the book. They even killed their messiah YESHUA using their own Law of Moses.
A lot of churches today go by the letter of the law ,not by the spirit of the law.
Which one do you think God judges you by the Law or by the Spirit of the Law which is Grace which is a gift from our Father?
Look in the Bible yourself in Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John.
They all have the message of salvation for all there.
God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son so you and I could be saved. (John 3:16)
That's GRACE folks, not LAW.
YESHUA' death means nothing if we can save ourselves by keeping some written laws. YESHUA even tells the people that the law is a curse to man and that no man can keep the law, not even the priests in the temple.
Today some churches are still trying to get us back into bondage by keeping the old laws. They want us to keep special holy days, to eat or not eat certain foods, to wear what they deem fit, to drive the appropriate car, to wear our hair at just the right length, etc. Where does the Bible say, tell my people what to wear? Where does it say , lord it over my people until I get back?
Why do some ministers insist on preaching about giving money to this cause or that cause? The Bible clearly says what you receive freely, give freely, doesn't it? (Matt. 10:8)
Now, everyone knows, or should know, that it takes a certain amount of money to run a church, so everyone should give as God has blessed them to give.
Paul says, "we should give from our heart. God loves a generous heart, and it is true that you cannot out give God." (2 Cor. 9:7)
Come on people, where is your heart? If you think, "Do I have to give my hard-earned money to that church ," then you don't get it! God does not need your money. God loves a giving heart. Take someone like the little old woman who gave her last penny to help others.(Mark12:42-44)
Next time you give offerings or tithes to God ask yourself, "Am I giving this because I want to, or because I feel I want to out of love of the work?".
Our churches want us to give from the bottom of our pockets, but God wants your gift to come from the bottom of your heart.
If all people would give this way, God would bless them hundreds of times over. Our churches would be debt-free. Our country would be debt-free. If all, rich and poor alike, would pay 10 percent of what they make, then we would owe nothing.
The churches of today are always trying to out do the other churches down the street, so they plead for more money.
If every saint would help his fellow man, we could reach the world with the message of Christ/YESHUA MESSIAH.
Too many ministers want to build their own ministries to be world famous. Then they get so wrapped up in doing the work that they forget who they are working for. YESHUA is our boss,and if he wants you to do bigger things, HE will provide for your needs without pleading the money out of people who don't want to give it anyway. Remember this if God is behind you, then you will get the job done with all the money you need or not.
I don't understand all these churches preaching about old laws that YESHUA took to the cross with him. He did this so it wouldn't be hard to make it into God's kingdom. He said he did not come to do away with the law but to complete it. (Matt. 5:17)
YESHUA MESSIAH is the only man who could keep the law perfectly.
We need to stop here and think..."Why would the Son of God come here to hang on a tree and bleed to death, so we could live forever.? "Why would he make laws so hard to keep that if we even try, we fail. (Gal.3)read the whole chapter and ask yourself Is this our loving Father God?
Does any of this make sense, People wake up. Read what your Bible says about salvation yourself. YESHUA says over and over that he who believes in me shall be saved, not he who works his way up the ladder.(Eph.2:8-9).
Remember what Paul said in( I Cor.13:1-13.) "If you keep all these things and don't have love, you may not even be in the kingdom of God."
YESHUA said he gives two new commandments for his disciples.These are to love God with all your heart and to love your fellow man as you love yourself. (Matt.22:37-40) This is all the law we need to keep.
Don't let some pastor bring you back under the old testament laws. Read what Paul says in these books of the Bible:Ephesians, Galatians, and Colossians. These are three books of your own Bible that you need to read to be truly free in Christ.
I hope in some small way that the truth is here for all of you.
Get your Bibles out, wipe off the dust, and read how simple salvation really is for you and me. Amen
Pastor/Chaplain Jimmie Warren
