Are all of God's Laws "done away" with? What is done away? What has been replaced? What is the Old Covenant? What is abolished? Let's examine the scriptures!
One of the most important, yet rarely taught, verses concerning this subject is the direct words of Jesus Christ in Matthew 5.
Matt. 5:17 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.
Understanding Matthew 5:17-18
There are 3 statements in these verses:
1. "Think not that I am come to destroy the law or the prophets..."
He did not come to delete the Old Testament. We should still read and learn from the Old Testament. The New Testament quotes the Old Testament at least 263 times! So the people who say that we should not consider the Old Testament, do not know what they are talking about. In no way/shape/form did Jesus delete the books of the Old Testament. He only replaced the Old Covenant contract / ceremonial ordinances.
He did not come to remove/destroy all law. He did not come to make us a lawless people. Jer. 31:33, Hebrews 8:10, 10:16 says He would write His law in our hearts. So, very clearly there remains some law. The only question should be which laws. To say all law is done away or that there is no law at all, is a great deception and totally non-biblical. Jesus very clearly taught the 10 Commandments which are moral laws which still remain.
2. I am not come to destroy, but to fulfill.
He came to fulfill. Not destroy. That's a big difference. Yet millions of people are teaching that Jesus destroyed all law. Fulfill means to bring to fullness. (To bring it to its full meaning and purpose) That's entirely opposite from doing away with.
3. "For verily (truly) I say unto you, Till Heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass (perish/go away) from the law, till all be fulfilled".
This speaks of the end of this current universe (heaven) and this current Earth. This therefore also speaks of the coming New Heavens (universe) and new Earth. Not until then is all (everything) fulfilled!
The Sabbath and some of the other Holy Days foreshadow the coming 1,000 years, White Throne Judgment and New Heavens and New Earth. They are not completely fulfilled until all of that occurs.
Yet, we know that some law was done away, such as circumcision and animal sacrifices. That's extremely clear in the New Testament. So, we must also understand what law is not done away and what law is not done away. Yet, you may say, but Matthew 5:18 just said, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled? We must understand what He meant by "law". Therefore we must keep reading the entire chapter of Matthew 5. When we do that, it becomes very clear that "the Law" that He said would not be done away until the New heavens and New Earth is the ten commandments. He was not talking about the old covenant ritual ceremonial laws. If we were to believe that He was speaking about animal sacrifices and circumcision, that would be in direct conflict with the rest of the New Testament. So, let's keep reading in Matthew 5 and we will discover that it was definitely the Ten Commandments He was speaking of.
Matt. 5:19 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.
:21 Ye have heard that it was said by them of old time, Thou shalt not kill (6th commandment); and whosoever shall kill shall be in danger of the judgment:
:22 But I say unto you, That whosoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment: and whosoever shall say to his brother, Raca, shall be in danger of the council: but whosoever shall say, Thou fool, shall be in danger of hell fire.
Matt. 5:27 Ye have heard that it was said by them of old time, Thou shalt not commit adultery (7th commandment):
:28 But I say unto you, That whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart.
Matt. 5:33 Again, ye have heard that it hath been said by them of old time, Thou shalt not forswear thyself, but shalt perform unto the Lord thine oaths:
:34 But I say unto you, Swear not at all; neither by heaven; for it is God's throne (3rd Commandment):
Did you read the above scriptures in your personal paperback/hardback bible today or just only on this website?
If only online, I encourage you to please open your bible and read these verses both on our website and in your bible. There is power in reading the real bible. Also, did you pray before beginning to read about this specific subject today? If not, I encourage you to take the time now to pray for understanding of truth.
The Old Covenant was done away with and replaced with the New Covenant. A covenant is not a law. A covenant is a legal agreement, a contract between two parties, God and man, which includes laws and regulates how those laws are to be carried out and list it's rewards/blessings of keeping the covenant and consequences of breaking the covenant. God does not want us to be a lawless nation/people. Without law there is confusion and chaos. Law is Good. Law is Holy. But we need to follow law in the Spirit in which it is meant to be. Under the old Covenant the law was written in stone and had to followed by the letter, which we repeatedly broke and had to sacrifice another animal again. Under the New Covenant, The Law of the Ten Commandments has not been done away but rather still exist but is now written in our hearts and we are to follow the spiritual principal of the Law first and foremost. Under the New Covenant, we receive forgiveness of sins through the Precious Blood of Jesus Christ, the Eternal Passover Lamb of God. The Old Covenant and its laws were the milk to teach us how to live Holy and Righteously. The law of ordinances was our school master. But we did not attain eternal life nor righteousness under the law of ordinances. We still sinned often. The law of ordinances condemns us. We learned lessons but were still unable to attain Righteousness just through the temporary ceremonial laws.
Let's take a look at some of the temporary milk (schoolmaster) law of ordinances and look at the spiritual principal/purpose of each one and how Jesus completely fulfilled them.
Circumcision:
Spiritual Principal/Purpose: To consecrate the Israelite male to God.
Jesus Complete Fulfillment: After Jesus was baptized, crucified, resurrected and ascended back into Heaven, He sent us the Promise of the Holy Ghost. Through the Holy Spirit dwelling in us, we are no longer Gentile nor lost. And we are consecrated to God via the Blood of Jesus and by the Holy Spirit. We are now circumcised in the Heart under the New Covenant, not in the flesh nor in the letter of the law. The original purpose of circumcision is now fulfilled in the Spirit of the Law that we are now a Holy People unto God.
Circumcision is done away because it has been so totally fulfilled. But also it's been replaced because circumcision was a physical ritual ceremonial law. Now, we live under the spiritual law.
Romans 2:29 But he is a Jew, which is one inwardly; and circumcision is that of the heart, in the spirit, and not in the letter; whose praise is not of men, but of God.
Galatians 3:28 There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus.
Please also read the chapter of Galatians 5.
Click here to see more proof that circumcision is done away.
Blood/animal sacrifice:
Spiritual Principal/Purpose: There must be a payment/consequence for sin (Romans 6:23) and a way to receive forgiveness of sins. Someone/something must die. There must be a penalty paid.
Jesus Complete Fulfillment: Christ became our Passover Lamb for us. He paid the price for our sins. His Blood atoned for our sins. We are forgiven. He died for us. But we must accept and embrace that Sacrifice and live by the rest of the Covenant.
If you kill a lamb or goat for Passover, you are saying that the Blood of Jesus was not sufficient for you!
1 Cor. 5:7 Purge out therefore the old leaven, that ye may be a new lump, as ye are unleavened. For even Christ our passover is sacrificed for us:
Romans 6:10 Romans 8:3; 2 Cor.5:21; Hebrews 9:13-28; Heb. 10:4; 1 Peter 3:18
Stoning
Spiritual Principal/Purpose: To punish the sinner.
Jesus Complete Fulfillment: Jesus is now the Judge and He is the One who will both Judge and Punish, not the street mob.
John 8:1-11 Some law is done away because it has been so totally fulfilled. It is very clear that circumcision and stoning is done away!
Tzitzit/Tassels
Spiritual Principal/Purpose: Numbers 15:38 blue and white Tassels were worn to remind the ancient Hebrews to keep the 10 Commandments.
Jesus Complete Fulfillment: We no longer need tassels! Jesus reminded us and reminds us to keep the 10 Commandments. He is the Word of God. His Holy Spirit abiding/dwelling in us reminds us to keep the entire Word of God. The Holy Ghost reminds us, brings all things into remembrance, reminds us to keep the commandments. John 14:26, Luke 22:19, 1 Cor.11:24-25, Exo. 20:8.
Unclean Meats
Spiritual Principal/Purpose: The main reason for laws concerning clean and unclean food is the same as for other laws concerning clean and unclean. To preserve the sanctity of Israel as God's Holy People. (see Lev.11:44) Uncleanness typified sin & defilement.
Jesus Complete Fulfillment: Jesus became the Passover Lamb sacrificed for our sins. Animals no longer represent/typify sin, because the old covenant of animal sacrifice was replaced by Christ, our High Priest, who did what no other priest could do. Therefore animals no longer need to represent the clean and unclean because physical animals are not part of the New Covenant. Jesus cleansed all meats. It's not that which goes into the mouth that defiles a man; but that which cometh out of the mouth, this defiles a man. I refrained from eating pork, shrimp, etc. for around 24 years until God opened my eyes to the fact that He did cleanse all meats and that these meats will be Provision in the Great Tribulation. Please click here to read the article which explains this in detail.
The old schoolmaster laws/ordinances of stoning, wearing tassels, circumcision, unclean meats and sacrificing of animals are all done away because they are were all replaced with Jesus Christ as the eternal Passover Lamb. Those ordinances are no longer needed.
Matt. 5:19 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.
Matt. 5:21 Ye have heard that it was said by them of old time, Thou shalt not kill (6th commandment); and whosoever shall kill shall be in danger of the judgment:
:22 But I say unto you, That whosoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment: and whosoever shall say to his brother, Raca, shall be in danger of the council: but whosoever shall say, Thou fool, shall be in danger of hell fire.
Matt. 22:36 Master, which is the great commandment in the law?
:37 Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.
:38 This is the first and great commandment.
:39 And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.
:40 On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.
Mark 10:17 And when he was gone forth into the way, there came one running, and kneeled to him, and asked him, Good Master, what shall I do that I may inherit eternal life?
:18 And Jesus said unto him, Why callest thou me good? there is none good but one, that is, God.
:19 Thou knowest the commandments, Do not commit adultery, Do not kill, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Defraud not, Honour thy father and mother.
:20 And he answered and said unto him, Master, all these have I observed from my youth.
:21 Then Jesus beholding him loved him, and said unto him, One thing thou lackest: go thy way, sell whatsoever thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come, take up the cross, and follow me.
:22 And he was sad at that saying, and went away grieved: for he had great possessions.
A person can keep the letter of the law of the commandments and not be keeping the spirit of the law of the commandments which is to Love God first and to also love one another as thy self.
The Weekly Sabbath:
Spiritual Principal/Purpose: To remember God as Creator, that He created all things and to give man a physical rest on a weekly basis on the same day God rested. And to give man an appointed day of Worship.
Jesus Partial Fulfillment: Jesus is the Creator (See Jesus is LORD article). He rested the Seventh Day. He went into the synagogue on the Sabbath day.
He gives us rest from the letter of the law and from our sins. He is our Peace. He is our Comfort. We enter into rest through Him but we are also still appointed the same day of rest to remember, to commemorate what God started at creation and to take the physical rest that our bodies need and to have a set ordained time to worship. We worship every day but we are still appointed a set time for worship as well. This is The Fourth Commandment. None of the Commandments were destroyed or abolished. To fulfill does not mean to do less but rather more. "Thou shalt not kill" is now also "thou shalt not hate". "Thou shalt not commit adultery" is now also "thou shalt not look upon a woman to lust after her".
"Remember the Sabbath Day to Keep it Holy, Six days shalt thou labour and do all thy work But the Seventh Day is The Sabbath of the LORD thy God..." is not "do not keep the 7th Day as a Sabbath", but rather that we should continue to keep and remember this day but start doing so in even more of a spiritual sense. That is, we should make sure we go to church and actually worship on this day (Lev. 23:3, Hebrews 10:24-26), but it doesn't have to be in a physical temple, it can be in a house church or in a basement or in a barn. But we are not to neglect having church with other people (Hebrews 10). And we should take the time to rest on this day. The spiritual aspects of the Sabbath is Worship and Rest. But we should not be legalistic about it to the point of going hungry, leaving our car in the ditch, leaving our friends at the airport with no one to pick them up, etc. It is acceptable to buy a can of soda from the vending machine on the Sabbath because the reason that we don't buy or sell on the Sabbath is because we don't want to force labor on someone else on the Day of Rest. But with a vending machine, we are not forcing any human labor to occur on the Sabbath, so the Spirit of the Law is not broken. A police officer, firefighter or a doctor that is called in on an Emergency on the Sabbath is not breaking the Spirit of the Law because the Main Principal of the Commandments is to love another and to take care of one another, not to hurt one another. To refuse to go to help someone on the Sabbath is to break the Commandments!
Matt. 12:1 At that time Jesus went on the sabbath day through the corn; and his disciples were an hungred, and began to pluck the ears of corn, and to eat.
:2 But when the Pharisees saw it, they said unto him, Behold, thy disciples do that which is not lawful to do upon the sabbath day.
:3 But he said unto them, Have ye not read what David did, when he was an hungred, and they that were with him;
:4 How he entered into the house of God, and did eat the shewbread, which was not lawful for him to eat, neither for them which were with him, but only for the priests?
:5 Or have ye not read in the law, how that on the sabbath days the priests in the temple profane the sabbath, and are blameless?
:6 But I say unto you, That in this place is one greater than the temple.
:7 But if ye had known what this meaneth, I will have mercy, and not sacrifice, ye would not have condemned the guiltless.
:8 For the Son of man is Lord even of the sabbath day.
:9 And when he was departed thence, he went into their synagogue:
:10 And, behold, there was a man which had his hand withered. And they asked him, saying, Is it lawful to heal on the sabbath days? that they might accuse him.
:11 And he said unto them, What man shall there be among you, that shall have one sheep, and if it fall into a pit on the sabbath day, will he not lay hold on it, and lift it out?
:12 How much then is a man better than a sheep? Wherefore it is lawful to do well on the sabbath days.
:13 Then saith he to the man, Stretch forth thine hand. And he stretched it forth; and it was restored whole, like as the other.
But we are not only to keep the Spirit of the Law but we are also to worship Him in Truth.
John 4:23 But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in Spirit and in Truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship him.
:24 God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in Spirit and in Truth.
The facts show that the Sabbath was always the 7th Day, Saturday, not Sunday. The bible gives absolutely no instruction to change the Sabbath from the 7th Day to the 1st day of the week. Just because the disciples met on the first day of the week in Acts 20:7 and collected offerings on the 1st day of the week in 1 Cor.16:2 does not mean that the Sabbath was switched to a different day. They also met on the Sabbath in Acts 13:14, 42, 44; Acts 17:2, Acts 18:4.
They also met daily in Acts 2:46,47 Acts 3:2, Acts 5:42.
To attend Sun-day services rather than the 7th Day Sabbath is wrong and it is a sin. It is under a deception that the day was changed by God. It was not changed by God, it was changed by men (the catholic church, as a compromise with paganism), who did not have the authority to do so. That is recorded history. Look it up. There is nothing wrong with going to church on Sunday or worshipping on Sunday just as it would not be wrong to do so on Wednesday or Thursday or any other day of the week, as long as you are also observing the true Sabbath day on Saturday and as long as you are not attending in a Babylonian Church (traditional denominations) when you are attending on Sundays. It is wrong to reject the true Sabbath Day and stay under a deception and continue to accept and teach the traditions of men over the Commandments of God. (Matthew 15:9). We must Worship Him in Spirit and in Truth. (John 4:23-24).
Hebrews shows that there still remains a observance of the Sabbath on the 7th Day:
Hebrews 4:1 Let us therefore fear, lest, a promise being left us of entering into his rest (G2663, reposing down, rest.) any of you should seem to come short of it.
:2 For unto us was the gospel preached, as well as unto them: but the word preached did not profit them, not being mixed with faith in them that heard it.
:3 For we which have believed do enter into rest, as he said, As I have sworn in my wrath, if they shall enter into my rest: although the works were finished from the foundation of the world. (You don't have to work, you too can rest on the 7th day as God himself also did. But don't think that your works, that is your keeping of the Sabbath, is going to earn you Salvation, you must also enter in Spiritually and depend of the Blood of Jesus which also was pre-ordained before the foundation of the Earth.)
:4 For he spake in a certain place of the seventh day on this wise, And God did rest (G2664 to settle down, that is, literally to colonize, or figuratively to desist: - cease, give rest) the seventh day from all his works.
:5 And in this place again, If they shall enter into my rest.
:6 Seeing therefore it remaineth that some must enter therein, and they to whom it was first preached entered not in because of unbelief: (they refused to rest on the seventh day and they refused to rest in the assurance that they could trust in God and rely on Him)
:7 Again, he limiteth a certain day, saying in David, To day, after so long a time; as it is said, To day if ye will hear his voice, harden not your hearts.
:8 For if Jesus had given them rest, then would he not afterward have spoken of another day.
(Some people try to say that this should be translated Joshua. But that is not true! They did enter into rest under Joshua! Read Joshua 1:13, 21:44, 22:4. Jesus did not speak to them of another day of the week for them to rest. He clarified the upgrade in the law concerning adultery, hate, swearing and that it's not what enters the mouth that defiles the man (the cleansing of the unclean meats) but He did not speak of changing the day of the week. He did not come to change the day of worship and rest. But He did come to give us rest from our own legalism. But it's not legalism to go to church on the Sabbath, it's remembrance and worship.)
:9 There remaineth therefore a rest (G4520 sabbatismos: A keeping/observance of the Sabbath. From a derivative of G4521; the Sabbath (that is, Shabbath), or day of weekly repose from secular avocations (also the observance or institution itself);) to the people of God. (remaineth is the opposite of change)
:10 For he that is entered into his rest (G2663), he also hath ceased from his own works, as God did from his. (How did God cease from His?)
:11 Let us labour therefore to enter into that rest, lest any man fall after the same example of unbelief.
Let us not fall short of either side of this edification. This is both spiritual (forehead) and in action (hand). Exo. 13:9, Deut. 6:8, 11:18. Let's not be just a hearer of the word but also a doer of the word. James 2:17-26. The Sabbath and the Holy Days present a picture of God's Plans. The Sabbath also pictures the 7000 years of mankind with the Millennium being the 7th Day or the 7th Thousandth year. Observing the Sabbath on the 7th Day of the week helps us to understand Prophecy and God's over all creation plan and our future destiny.
Jesus has not yet completely fulfilled the Sabbath Day and Holy Days:
The Sabbath and Holy Days picture the First Resurrection, first 1,000 years reign of Christ on Earth, the 2nd Resurrection, the short season, the Great White Throne Judgment and the Coming Paradise of the New heavens and new Earth. Therefore these Sabbaths are not yet completely fulfilled. They remain till Heaven and earth pass.
The Holy Days
Spiritual Principal/Purpose: To Remember/Commemorate historical events as well as to picture/foreshadow future events.
To teach us God's Plans.
Jesus Partial Fulfillment: Jesus is the Passover Lamb, the removal of our leaven, the first begotten, the first fruits, The Soon coming King, the atonement for our sins and our eternal tree of Life. These days are not done away with, but rather just made more perfect when kept in the Spirit of the Law. The disciples and apostles continued to keep the Holy Days well after the ascension of Jesus Christ. And there is prophecy of us keeping them after Jesus Returns. The Sabbath and Holy Days picture the First Resurrection, first 1,000 years reign of Christ on Earth, the 2nd Resurrection, the short season, the Great White Throne Judgment and the Coming Paradise of the New heavens and new Earth. Therefore these Sabbaths are not yet completely fulfilled. They remain till Heaven and earth pass.
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1 Cor.5:8 Therefore let us keep the feast, not with old leaven, neither with the leaven of malice and wickedness; but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.
Acts 12:3 And because he saw it pleased the Jews, he proceeded further to take Peter also. (Then were the days of unleavened bread.) Acts 2:1 And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place. Acts 20:16 For Paul had determined to sail by Ephesus, because he would not spend the time in Asia: for he hasted, if it were possible for him, to be at Jerusalem the day of Pentecost. 1 Cor. 16:8 But I will tarry at Ephesus until Pentecost. |
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:2 For I will gather all nations against Jerusalem to battle; and the city shall be taken, and the houses rifled, and the women ravished; and half of the city shall go forth into captivity, and the residue of the people shall not be cut off from the city. :3 Then shall the LORD go forth, and fight against those nations, as when he fought in the day of battle. :4 And his feet shall stand in that day upon the mount of Olives, which is before Jerusalem on the east, and the mount of Olives shall cleave in the midst thereof toward the east and toward the west, and there shall be a very great valley; and half of the mountain shall remove toward the north, and half of it toward the south. :5 And ye shall flee to the valley of the mountains; for the valley of the mountains shall reach unto Azal: yea, ye shall flee, like as ye fled from before the earthquake in the days of Uzziah king of Judah: and the LORD my God shall come, and all the saints with thee. :6 And it shall come to pass in that day, that the light shall not be clear, nor dark: :7 But it shall be one day which shall be known to the LORD, not day, nor night: but it shall come to pass, that at evening time it shall be light. :8 And it shall be in that day, that living waters shall go out from Jerusalem; half of them toward the former sea, and half of them toward the hinder sea: in summer and in winter shall it be. :9 And the LORD shall be king over all the earth: in that day shall there be one LORD, and his name one. :10 All the land shall be turned as a plain from Geba to Rimmon south of Jerusalem: and it shall be lifted up, and inhabited in her place, from Benjamin's gate unto the place of the first gate, unto the corner gate, and from the tower of Hananeel unto the king's winepresses. :11 And men shall dwell in it, and there shall be no more utter destruction; but Jerusalem shall be safely inhabited. :12 And this shall be the plague wherewith the LORD will smite all the people that have fought against Jerusalem; Their flesh shall consume away while they stand upon their feet, and their eyes shall consume away in their holes, and their tongue shall consume away in their mouth. :13 And it shall come to pass in that day, that a great tumult from the LORD shall be among them; and they shall lay hold every one on the hand of his neighbour, and his hand shall rise up against the hand of his neighbour. :14 And Judah also shall fight at Jerusalem; and the wealth of all the heathen round about shall be gathered together, gold, and silver, and apparel, in great abundance. :15 And so shall be the plague of the horse, of the mule, of the camel, and of the ass, and of all the beasts that shall be in these tents, as this plague. :16 And it shall come to pass, that every one that is left of all the nations which came against Jerusalem shall even go up from year to year to worship the King, the LORD of hosts, and to keep the feast of tabernacles. :17 And it shall be, that whoso will not come up of all the families of the earth unto Jerusalem to worship the King, the LORD of hosts, even upon them shall be no rain. :18 And if the family of Egypt go not up, and come not, that have no rain; there shall be the plague, wherewith the LORD will smite the heathen that come not up to keep the feast of tabernacles. :19 This shall be the punishment of Egypt, and the punishment of all nations that come not up to keep the feast of tabernacles. :20 In that day shall there be upon the bells of the horses, holiness unto the LORD; and the pots in the LORD's house shall be like the bowls before the altar. :21 Yea, every pot in Jerusalem and in Judah shall be holiness unto the LORD of hosts: and all they that sacrifice shall come and take of them, and seethe therein: and in that day there shall be no more the Canaanite in the house of the LORD of hosts. Isa. 66:23 And it shall come to pass, that from one new moon to another, and from one sabbath to another, shall all flesh come to worship before me, saith the LORD. |
Tithing
Spiritual Principal/Purpose: To support the Levite (ministers), the House of God, the work of the House of God, the widow, fatherless and the needy. That the Levite could focus on the work of the Kingdom and not go hungry.
Jesus Partial Fulfillment: Jesus was the First Begotten and the First Fruits!
The Father gave His Very Best, in the Spirit of Love! Christ gave of His Own Flesh.
Yet Tithing is still needed today to provide for the financial needs of the church and of the poor and needy.
The sacrifice of Jesus on the cross/tree/stake did nothing to remove all financial needs of human beings and of the church.
Christ made it very clear that we are to think of others and to help those in need and that we are to do one and not neglect the other in reference to tithing (Matt.23:23). Love and giving is the spiritual principal of tithing. With what measure that we give, we shall be given to. We should give and not grudgingly. In the Spirit of the Law, you can now give to any individual or group in need. It is not required to be given only to the Levite. Under the letter of the law, if you had 10 apples and you also had 10 mouths to feed and this was the only food you had to feed your family, you must still give away one of the 10 apples. One of the members of your family would have to either go hungry or else take a bite from each of the other apples. In the Spirit of the Law, the purpose of tithing is to support the Levite, the widow, the fatherless and the poor & needy. Well, if this is the only food you have to feed your large family, then you are considered to be the one in need! Therefore in the Spirit of the Law, you are not required to give that apple away to someone else outside the household. Charity starts at home. Provide for your family. Do not neglect the needs of your own family. But this is not license for a poor family to never tithe/give alms. I've seen many poor people give to other poor people, give to charity, share half of what's on their plate, share half their money, etc. Many poor people know more about sharing and giving then do most middle income and high income people. So it's not the poor that I need to preach to. The spiritual principal of planting a seed is a real spiritual principal which works and produces fruit for both parties. Tithing was not done away with or destroyed but rather was made perfect in that it is now to be done in the Spirit of the Law. The New Covenant is not license to neglect the ministers, pastors, evangelist, the House of God, the widow, the fatherless and the poor & needy. 10% should still be the rule of thumb to generally go by as the Spirit of the Law did not lessen the laws but rather adds to the laws. Ten percent really isn't very much at all. If my check is $200.00, ten percent is only one twenty dollar bill. Surely, I can spare a twenty dollar bill to help the work of the Kingdom or to help those who are less fortunate than myself. We do not need to pay tithes on our gross income. We pay tithes only on our net income, only on our increase, including money and on food that we raise in the garden. In everything that we do, financially and otherwise, we always give the first, the best and ten percent to The Almighty. It is a great Spiritual principal to live by! Many people who actively teach against tithing claim that they still give to God but just according to any amount that they decide upon. That would be great if everyone gave generously and selflessly, but the reality is that the great majority of people, even among the best of Christians, will not give 10% or more if they do not believe that it is necessary. The majority of people who actively preach against tithes, would still be against tithes if "Tithe" meant only 5%! Without a standard guideline/law for everyone to go by, the financial state of the poor & needy and of the work of the Church will not be met by the people, therefore forcing the true ministers of God to sacrifice greatly (and far beyond what God requires) for the sake of the work.
Click here to read more about tithes.
Matt. 19:17 And he said unto him, Why callest thou me good? there is none good but one, that is, God: but if thou wilt enter into life, keep the commandments.
John 14:15 If ye love me, keep my commandments.
John 14:21 He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me: and he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him, and will manifest myself to him.
Romans 3:31 Do we then make void the law through faith? God forbid: yea, we establish the law.
Acts 24:14 But this I confess unto thee, that after the way which they call heresy, so worship I the God of my fathers, believing all things which are written in the law and in the prophets:
It is interesting that the same people who say "the law is done away with" are the same ones who say "thou shalt not commit adultery", "homosexuality is a sin", "do not lie, steal or cheat", "give your tithes to God", "do not do drugs, do not smoke", "do not curse", etc. etc. etc. Seems to me, that they do have laws. It's just that they want to pick which laws they recognize. I'm sure the only laws on this website that people disagree with is that we are to keep the Holy Days and Sabbaths of the LORD (and perhaps you might disagree with tithing). Does not every nation have days of celebration? Does not the U.S. have the 4th of July to show respect and honor to the founders of this nation? How much more should we celebrate and show honor/praise to the Greatest King and Kingdom?
You have no problem keeping the pagan celebration days that were instituted in the Roman and Babylon empires. Why do you resist the Holy Days of the Kingdom of God? Why do you not want to give up your customs and traditions of x-mas and easter that was handed down to you by tradition? Why do you not want to submit to a great authority? Every knee will bow and every tongue will confess. But now is the time to submit to the authority of God. How does He have authority without instructions? He does have instructions/laws and He does want us to obey. We have the same problem today as Paul and Jesus and Moses and Noah did! People want to celebrate Baal instead of the true Eternal God. Who is your God? What are His laws? How do you show Him respect and Honor? Do you not obey Him? Of course you do, but let's do so in the Spirit of the Law. Here's a fictional example of a child who still keeps the letter of the law:
The family housed burned down. They later discovered that they had left the stove on and their 11 year old son had seen that the stove had been left on. When his dad asked him "Hey Charlie, why didn't you turn the stove off, if you had noticed it!" And Charlie responded "you told me to never touch the stove".
Two Laws: Difference between The Law of God and the Law of Moses
Difference between the old covenant ordinance laws and the Law of God
Exodus 31:18 Who wrote the 2 tables of stone (ten commandments)?
Deuteronomy 31:9 Who wrote this law? (old covenant)
Read Deuteronomy 4:36; 5:22
Who spoke the 10 Commandments to all the assembly?
Again, who wrote them?
Moses was not the mediator of the Ten Commandments, God spoke them directly to the people.
Then the temporary ceremonial laws, ordinances, were added because of transgressions (people's sins). Galatians 3:19
Moses was the mediator of the sacrificial laws of the old covenant. God gave them to Moses to deliver to the people. Moses acted as the mediator between God and man with the old ritual and ceremonial laws including the unclean meats and circumcision.
Deuteronomy 4:13-14
Notice God "commanded you to perform, even ten commandments" and
"the Lord commanded me at that time to teach you statutes and judgments".
Notice again in 2 Kings 21:8 "I commanded them" and "Moses commanded them".
Daniel 9:11 "thy law" and "the law of Moses"
Notice within the 10 Commandments, in Exo. 20:6, God calls the 10 Commandments "My commandments".
In Exodus 25:16, Where did God command Moses to place the Testimony/Ten Commandments that God would give?
Circle One: in the Side of the Ark or Into the Ark
In Deuteronomy 31:24-26, Where was the Law of Moses placed? in the Side of the Ark or Into the Ark
Does God still expect us to sacrifice animals today? Hebrews 10:8-12 Yes or No
Does God still expect us to not kill, not steal, not commit adultery? Yes or No
James 2:10-11 If you break one commandment, do you break them all? Yes or No
Is there such a thing as sin currently right now in our modern era? Yes or No
1 John 3:4 What is Sin?
If no law exist, then sin does not exist.
If sin exist, then some law also still exist. Not the old covenant ritual ceremonial laws. But nevertheless, some law still exist.
Recommended Related Articles:
Spirit of the Law versus Letter of the Law
The Law versus the Blood of Jesus Christ
Why John used the term "the Jews' Feast"
5 Holy Days in the End Time Prophetic Timeline
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