Ok. Whom do you believe? II?

Question

Jesus tells us in Matthew 5: 17-20 that the law is still in effect until heaven and earth pass. He also states that unless our righteousness should exceede that of the scribes and pharisees (lawmakers and priests), then we shall in no case enter in to the kingdom of heaven.

Paul on the other hand says that we are no longer under the law. And that all we need do is believe in Jesus' name and we shall be saved. This is in direct opposition to what our Savioiur Jesus said in Matt 5 16-20, as well as Matt 7: 21-23.

In whom will you trust the fate of your soul?

Answer 1

One very important point............when Jesus was here on earth, we were still under the law per se. AFTER He died and rose again, we are under Grace, beautiful precious Grace. He took all our sins and nailed them to the cross. Our sins were on His shoulders, that's why all we have to do now is believe in Him to be saved. That is not a contradiction.

Answer 2

Do not think that I have
come to abolish the Law or the
Prophets, I have not come to
abolish them but to fulfill them.
I tell you the truth, until
heaven and earth disappear,
not the smalles letter, not the
least stroke of a pen, will by any
means disappear from the Law
until everthing is accomplished.
Anyone who breaks one of the least of these commandments
and teaches others to
do the same will be called
least in the kingdom of heaven,
but whoever practices and
teaches these commands will be
called great in the kingdom of
heaven. For I tell you that unless
your righteousness surpasses
that of the Pharisees and
the teachers of the law, you will
certainly not enter the kingdom
of heaven.

Answer 3

Let's look at the whole story a minute. Grace doesn't do away with the law. The law tells you that you have sinned. Obviously, if you transgress one of the laws, you have sinned, but how do you keep from falling without grace. What Paul is trying to tell us is this: before grace was the law, right?
> People were bound by law, Right?
> There were more laws then the Ten Commandments, Right?
> Well, all these Laws are very hard to follow without the leadership of God's Holy Spirit, Right?
Paul asked this Question in Romans 6: 15"What then? shall we sin, because we are not under the law, but under grace? God forbid."
"God forbid" is a strong statement, isn't it? Jesus basically said the same thing when he said that he came to fulfill the law. The will of God is for all to receive of the Holy Spirit. Remember this"Not by might, nor by power, but by my spirit, saith the LORD of hosts." Zechariah 4:6b
It's by God's spirit that we should live and have our being. That's where God's grace comes in, He helps us not to transgress the law. Freedom from the law does not mean that you don't do the law, what comes from God will not lead you into transgressing the laws of God.

Answer 4

Ok, the bible doesn't tell anyone anything except what it really is. And the bible is simply a book of events as written\viewed by the different people who actually MADE it into the bible....since there were several more disciples who don't happen to have their own book in that larger volume. Why? Because some man somewhere along the way decided to pick and choose whose written "diaries" of how they perceived events during certain times should and should NOT be in this larger volume. And the King James version of the bible was written STRICTLY & SOLELY to help the new King name of James (go figure!) rule his kingdom!!

So people need to accept the bible for what it is...it is NOT a book written on how to live their lives, it's simply a book of history pretty much. At least as perceived through the eyes of the various people who's written views actually did make it into the bible.

Face it, christianity didn't even EXIST for years after Jesus was dead and Jesus was a Jew as was everyone who lived during his time. A disciple named Philip decided he wanted to be in charge of his own church (it's that power thing again, it's always power & money) so he started christianity but not until Jesus was long dead!

So the question really isn't who's book in that bible should you believe, but why believe it at all? Every single "modern" day religion originated from Judaism & why are there so many different forms and views everyone calls "christian"? Should they not all be exactly the same?

People brain washing people. Believe in God and believe in Jesus, do not believe in a book called the bible that has so many different points of view on the same issue because these are simply human observances.

Answer 5

I would trust you fate and soul to your own ability to do right and be moral. The bible is a story. It was written by man. Not by God himself. Not by Jesus. By man. If it were the true story of what happened and not slanted toward the view of the particular author it would be more complete and it would not have taken so long to write. They call it the "good book" because it is a good book. But nonetheless, it is a story, based on historical fact, I'll give you that. But so are books like the Davinci Code, or The Expected One. Those are works of fiction that are based on some factual events. People believe that the Bible is fact because in it says so. There were other religions prior to Christianity, How do we know it wasn't just an extreme change of regime?

Answer 6

The truth is in the law itself, The Ten
Commandments. The laws handed down by God himself.
The Pharisees were the Priests of Egypt, and the scribes were writers
of law handed down by both Kings and Pharaohs. Some of these laws
conflicted with The Ten Commandments.
To believe in someone is to follow in
their footsteps, trying to do as he would do. Since God gave us all free will, I must trust in myself.

Answer 7

You are missing one little point: In speaking of the Law Jesus said it would not pass away "until all is accomplished".(Matthew 5:18) After He paid the debt for sin on the cross He said "it is finished".(John 19:30) The Greek word is really much stronger though, and could be rendered " It is completely completed", or "It is fully fulfilled"
Jesus bore the full penalty for transgressed law on the cross, and His perfect obedience secured all the blessings due for obedience to the law.
It was not only Paul, but the full counsel of the apostles and elders who agreed with this doctrine. (See Acts 15).
I will entrust my soul to the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ, as proclaimed by His apostles.
Paul, speaking to Peter in Galatians says:
"WE are Jews by birth, and not sinners from among the Gentiles; nevertheless knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the Law, but through faith in Christ Jesus, even we have believed in Christ Jesus, that we may be justified by faith in Christ, AND NOT BY WORKS OF LAW; since by the works of Law SHALL NO FLESH BE JUSTIFIED."
Galatians 2:15,16)

Answer 8

I dont see any any controversy here, Paul is saying to believe in Jesus in order to be saved. As u wrote:"

He also states that unless our righteousness should exceede that of the scribes and pharisees (lawmakers and priests), then we shall in no case enter in to the kingdom of heaven."

Did u exceed that?

Answer 9

The Old Covenant law in the old testament Bible, consisted of the 10 commandments and the whole slew of rules and regulations that were given to the Israelites to set them apart from other people.

In the New Testament, Jesus brought the New Covenant, which is the New Law that he pronounced and was to be placed in every one's heart: Love God with all your might, and love your neighbor as yourself. These are the only TWO great commandments spoken by Jesus himself while he was on this earth.

The law that Jesus was referring to was the two-fold law that he pronounced, which he said he came to fulfill. By offering himself as a living sacrifice on the cross and spilling his blood for all humankind, he covered all sins, past, present and future. And by accepting Christ, one is covered by his grace alone, we are no longer under law but under grace.

It is a simple concept, and if Christians practice this principle of loving God and loving their fellowmen as themselves, this would be a much better world to live in.

Answer 10

I have been given the robe of Christ's righteousness since the Holy Spirit has imputed God's righteousness to me as a result of my faith. As it says in the book of Romans, "The just shall live by faith."