Don't Be Deceived by Chris Whitcomb - HTML preview

CHAPTER 7.

JESUS’S TIME ON EARTH TILL THE CROSS

 

God’s secret plan is captured in John 3:14 to 15. “And as Moses lifted the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up: that whosoever believeth in him should not perish but have eternal life. And in verse 16 “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son that whosoever believeth in him should not perish but have everlasting life. What was hidden in these scriptures was the resurrection of Jesus. Satan could have thought that if he uses the same lie he told Adam and Eve in the garden, that he can also use the same lie on Jesus. Satan firmly believed that if Jesus died on the cross, he has won the battle again like with all the people he killed and send to hell or to Hades or the grave.

The reference to the snake lifted by Moses was a preview of God’s plan to finally

beat Satan. In Numbers 21 the people of Israel spoke against God, and against Moses, and complained about them having to leave Egypt and must now die of hunger and thirst. God then send fiery serpents (satin’s) among the people, and they bit the people; and many people of Israel died. When the people repented, God instructed Moses to make a fiery serpent and set it upon a pole; and it came to pass, that every one that is bitten, when he looks at the snake on the pole, he will not die but will live. Much just like we must now look at the Son of man so that we might get eternal life.

The time Jesus spend on earth before the crucifixion is a very well-known story and we will not focus on the detail of this period except for a few important messages which Jesus clearly made during his time before the crucifixion. Not a lot of what Jesus did from his birth to Calvery is written in the Bible. Only that he worked in his father, Joseph carpentry shop, and he visited the synagogue on many occasions. The first real mentioning of Jesus’s time on earth before the crucifixion was when Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan River. It was also then when Jesus was filled with the Holy Spirit, when it came like a dove from heaven and a voice came and said, “Thou art my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.” This was the start of Jesus’s preaching of the gospel of the kingdom of God.

One of the more important words of Jesus was the answer to his disciples, when they asked him about the end of the world. This was captured in Mathews 24, but we will look at that in detail in the chapter about his return. The other item around the time of Jesus’s preaching was that around the law and the kingdom of God.

 

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What Jesus said about the law or commandments. Are we free from the law

and if so, what is meant by the Law?

 

One of the greatest issues to solve in the argument between the elect’s differences, and this is a very important deception point used by Satan to create confusion amongst the children of God. Not to allow them to unit, but to drive them apart. I was in many instances called everything related to been false, a false prophet and everything close to be the devil myself, when I stated that the different denominations and churches and types of other religious believes, are all the work of the devil. There should be only one body of Christ. We should all believe the same what the Bible teaches us, The reason why I prefer to use only the Bible as my reference source for this writing, and not the understanding of other authors viewpoints.

One of the biggest argument points is are we under the law or not? The very first

thing we should asked ourselves is, what do we understand as the law? Is it the “law” the ten commandments, or the law of Moses as it is sometimes referred to or is the law everything written in Exodus 20 from verse 1 to 17, does it include what is written after that in Exodus till the end of Exodus. Is what is recorded in the book of Leviticus part of the law or is it something else.

The book of Leviticus, on closer investigation, focusses on the offerings for the forgiveness of sin, directions to the behaviour of the priests, things clean and unclean, ritual requirements, the handling of leprosy, personal cleanliness, the day of Atonement, the law of holiness, marriage, general statutes, the sacred Callander, holy things and times, promises, warnings, vows and tithes, and feasts as per the sacred Callander. These “laws” sounds more like health and safety rules and regulations of our days, than Biblical laws we must keep for our salvation.

Under which law are we? and from what law are we set free? Do we understand what the difference is between a law and a commandment. Also, if we refer to a law or a commandment, what law or what commandment are we referring to?

There are three references people use to claim that we are not under the law anymore. The first is found in Romans 10:4 “For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone that believeth.” This refers to the law for righteousness. What law is this? The second verse is found in Galatians 3: 23 -25, “But before faith came, we were kept under the law, shut up unto the faith which should afterwards be revealed, Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith. But after that has come, we are no longer under a schoolmaster.” This states that we are no more under a school master, not under the law. The third verse is found in Ephesians 2:15 “having abolished in the flesh the enmity, even the law of commandments contained in ordinances; for to make in

 

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himself of twain one new man, so making peace:” Enmity means intense hostility to the law contained in ordinances? God’s laws are commandments not ordinances.

What is the difference between a Law and a Commandment or a covenant?

 

There are, except for laws, also two words used in the Bible in this regard namely a Covenant and a Commandment. The word covenant used as a noun is an agreement between parties; and used as a verb, agree by lease, dead or contract between parties. E.g. The landlord covenants to repair the property. A covenant of God and his people is an agreement in which God makes promises to his people and usually requires certain conduct from them. There are seven (7) covenants found in the Bible namely:

The Adamic covenant

The Noahic covenant

The Abrahamic covenant.

The Mosaic covenant.

The Davidic covenant.

The New covenant and

The everlasting covenant,

In a covenant there are four elements found namely promises, terms, blood and a seal. In two of them namely Adamic and Noahic redemption was revealed.

A Commandment is when someone believes that God has directed them to do something. It is then a commandment. A commandment is a divinely ordered. It is an instruction, an edict, an order, an injunction. It is the act or power of commanding. A commandment is an imperative instruction from God or one of his agents(prophets).

A Law is any instruction from God. That is a law is a commandment or a set of commandments as in the law of Moses. This is the sense we are using when we speak of the law of tithing, the law of the fast, and the law of chastity.

Another meaning of a law is and eternal truth, a description of the way things really are. Such laws are seen as ‘Thou art a God of truth and cannot lie” and “wickedness never was happiness”.

In Matthew 22:36-40, the Pharisees and Sadducees were gathered and one of them asked him “Master, which is the great commandment in the law?” Jesus then answered him be saying, “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thou soul and all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. (the first 49

5 of the ten commandments); And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thy self.(second 5 of the 10 commandments) On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.”

In Matthews 5 :17 Jesus spoke during the sermon on the Mount and said” Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfil them. What did Jesus meant by fulfil them? For truly I tell you, until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, nor the least stroke of a pen, will by no means disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished. Therefore, anyone who sets aside one of least of these commands and teaches others accordingly 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.

In Luke 16 :16 Jesus said the following “The Law and the Prophets were proclaimed until John. Since that time, the good news of the kingdom of God is being preached, and everyone is forcing their way into it. It is easier for heaven and earth to disappear than for the least stroke of a pen to drop out of the Law.

What part of the law changed after Jesus’s death?

 

To understand what Jesus meant by saying he came to fulfil the prophecies about the coming of the messiah can be easy, but what Jesus meant by saying he came to fulfil the law (make it easier to keep and to uphold), is not that clear and easy. What is not so easy to understand, is what he meant about the law. What law, what part of what law? To understand this portion, we will have to look at what happened about sinning and the forgiveness of sins before Jesus came.

While the law exposed sin, it also made forgiveness and reconciliation possible through the shedding of blood. This is and was the sacrificial system, instituted under Moses, established rituals for atonement where the blood of animals would cover over the sins of God’s people. At first glance, the Old Testament law, with its detailed codes and regulations, may seem a far cry from the grace -filled message of forgiveness we cherish today. Vest, within the Levitical system, we find God’s provision for atonement and mercy, allowing His people to return to a state of purity after transgression. The foundation of the Levitical law was a recognition of human frailty and a God- ordained pathway for restoring communion between God and man. While the law exposed sin, it also made forgiveness and reconciliation possible through the shedding of blood. One thing this reconciliation process did not restore, was the access to the tree of life who was still protected by the flaming sword.

 

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The sacrificial system, instituted under Moses, established rituals for atonement where the blood of animals would cover over the sins of God’s people. Sins were not merely overlooked, but dealt with through substitutionary animal’s deaths, foreshadowing Jesus’s ultimate sacrifice. On the Day of Atonement, the high priest entered the Most Holy Place and sprinkled blood on the mercy seat of the Ark of the Covenant, symbolizing the covering of sin and the remaining presence of God in the midst of His people, despite their failures.

The Levitical law reveals the holiness of God and the costliness of forgiveness while also testifying to His patience and an unwavering commitment to restore what was broken. Even bounded within rigid legal frameworks, threads of grace are interwoven, inviting us to look beyond the letters of the law to the heart of a forgiving God.

Isaiah speaks of a Suffering Servant (Jesus) who would bear the iniquities of many, pointing to a sacrificial means through which divine forgiveness would be made accessible to all. Isaiah 53:5 says “But he was pierced for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was on him, and by his wounds we are healed. This is a prophecy of Christ’s atoning work on the cross, where forgiveness was fully realised. The law exposed human sin; the prophets foretold God’s answer- a Redeemer who would become sin and pay the price for reconciliation, enacting forgiveness beyond the temporary sacrifices of the old covenant and reopen the access to the tree of life. (John 3:16)

Isaiah’s prophecies offer a glimpse into a future where forgiveness would be at the heart of a new covenant, foretelling the coming of a Messiah who would embody God’s ultimate forgiveness. Combined within Isaiah’s warnings judgement are profound promises of restoration, forgiveness and healing.

In closing God declares in Isaiah 1:18:” Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are as red as crimson, they shall be like wool.

What Jesus was referring to when he said he came to fulfil the law, he was referring to the changing towards a new covenant where his blood on the cross will replace all the futuristic requirements for blood to wipe out the sin of God’s people. That is the only thing which was changed in the law. Jesus took away the sacrificial system by fulfilling the role of the perfect sacrifice, including the roll of the priesthood, the high priest, the rituals and other associated activities of the sacrificial system. The Levitical law revealed the holiness of God and the costliness for forgiveness and testified to God’s patience to restore what was broken. Jesus came as the Suffering Servant by whose death forgiveness was fully realised. Jesus as the redeemer who became sin and pay the full price for reconciliation enacting forgiveness beyond the temporary sacrifices of the old covenant. So, people who claim we are not under the law, must rather say, we are not under the Levitical law or the sacrificial system anymore. The Law of God stands firm and that is the ten commandments. This includes number four. Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. This is the

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seventh day Saturday, as per God, not Sunday as per what the Roman Catholic Pope says.

 

What Paul wrote about the Law or related to the Law.

 

In Romans 6:20 Paul wrote “The Law was brought in so that the trespass might increase. But where sin increased, grace increased all the more, so that, just as sin reigned in death, so also grace might reign through righteousness to bring eternal life through Jesus Christ out Lord.

In Romans 7:7-8 Paul wrote “What shall we say, then? Is the law sinful? Certainly not! Nevertheless, I would not have known what sin was, had it not been for the law. For I would not have known what coveting really was, if the law not said, “you shall not covet,” But sin, seizing the opportunity, afforded by the commandment produced in me every kind of coveting, for apart from the law, sin was dead.

He carries on in verse 14-25, “We know that the law is spiritual, but I am unspiritual, (flesh) sold as slave to sin. ;(only half of the ten commandments are spiritual, the other half is the fleshly part, because we still are living in the flesh. We still operate in a fleshly world, and this is where Paul sometimes forgets that humans will only one day at the return of Jesus, turn into spiritual beings, not now). I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do, I do not do. But what I hate, I do. He carries on by saying “And if I do, what I don’t want to do, I agree that the law is good. As it is no longer I myself who do it, but it is sin, living in me. For I know that good itself does not dwell in me, that is, in my sinful nature. For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out. For I do not do, the good I want to do, but evil, I do not want to do,-this I but keep on doing. Now if I do what I do not want to do, it is no longer I who is doing it, but it is sin living in me that does it.

So, I find this law at work: Although I want to do good, evil is right there with me. For in my inner being I delight in God’s law; but I see another law at work in me, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within me. What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body that is subject to death? Thanks be to God, who delivers me through Jesus Christ our Lord!

So then, I myself in my mind am a slave to God’s law, but in my sinful nature a slave to the law of sin. That, Paul, is the reason why Jesus died on the cross and paid for all sins of all men on earth. God knew this in advance, that’s why at the cross, Jesus took away Satan’s weapon of accusing us of sinning all the time. In Revelation 12:10-11 the following is written:

 

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“And I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, Now has come salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of his Christ: for the accuser of our brethren is cast down, which accused them before our God day and night. And they overcome him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony; and they loved not their lives unto the death”

It is very clear in this description of Paul that what is meant by God’s law is reference to the first five commandments and the law of sin is the last five commandment which refers to the way we should life towards our neighbours.

Paul carries on explaining this in Romans 8:1 to 16. Summarised the different ways of life is as follows:

Life through the Spirit.

 

 There is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. (Sin has no

hold on us)

 Living through the Spirit will set you free from the law of sin and death.

 Living in the Spirit have their minds on accordance with what the Spirit desires.

(Keep God’s commandments and love Jesus)

 If you don’t live in the flesh but in the Spirit, then God lives in you.

 If you don’t have the Spirit then Christ is not in you.

 Your bodies are still subject to death because of sin.

 You have an obligation not to live in accordance with the flesh because then

you will die, but if you live in the Spirit you will live.

 The Spirit testify that you are God’s child.

Living in the Spirit relates to keeping God’s law which means you will do the following:

 You shall have no other gods before the God of heaven.  You shall not make yourself an image of anything in heaven or on earth

and you will not bow down to them.

 You shall not misuse the name of the Lord your God in vain.  You will remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. This day is the

seventh day.

 Honor your farther and your mother, so that you may live long in the land

the Lord your God is giving you.

Living in the flesh.

 

 The law of the flesh was powerless to do because it was weakened by the

flesh.

 

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 Jesus was sent to earth in a sinful flesh in order that the righteous

requirement of the law might be met.

 Those living in the flesh set their minds on what the flesh desires.

 The desires of living in the flesh are hostile to God.

 Living in the flesh does not submit to God’s law and can’t please God.

 If you live according to the flesh, you will die.

 The mind governs by the desires of the flesh results in death.

Living in the flesh relates to keeping the following commandments:

 You shall not murder.

 You shall not commit adultery.

 You shall not steal.

 You shall not give false testimony against your neighbour

 You shall not covet your neighbour’s house. Or his wife, or his male or

female servant, nor his ox or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbour.

In Romans 7 :25 the following is mentioned: “So then, I myself in my mind am a slave to God’s law, but in my sinful nature a slave to the law of sin.”

In general, sin is not obeying or keeping God’s commandments. This includes both the first five commandments as well as the second five. The above scripture indicates that we as humans are living in both these worlds because of our bodies still being in the flesh. This leads to a lot of confusion and misunderstanding and a lot of churches preaching doctrines around how they interpret these scriptures.

There are many other scriptures in the Bible to indicate the importance of keeping God’s commandments. Scriptures like the following:

Proverbs 2:1 “My son, if thou wilt receive my words, And hide my commandments with thee;”

Proverbs 3:1 “My son, forget not my law; But let thine heart keep my commandments:”

Proverbs 4:4 “He taught me also, and said unto me, Let thine heart retain my words: Keep my commandments and live.”

Psalms 1:2 “But his delight is in the law of the Lord; And in his law doth he meditates day and night.”

John 14:15.” If you 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 farther, and I will love him, and will manifest myself to him.”

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John 15:10.” If you keep my commandments, you shall abide in my love; even as I have kept my Father’s commandments and abide in his love.”

Matthew 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.

1 Corinthians 1:19.” Circumcision is nothing, and uncircumcision is nothing, but the keeping of the commandments of God.

1 John 2:3.” And hereby we do know that we know him, if we keep his commandments.”

1 John 2 :4” He that saith, I know him, and keepeth not his commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him.”

1 John 3:22 “And whatsoever we ask, we received of him, because we keep his commandments, and do those things that are pleasing in his sight.”

1 John 3:24. “and he that keepeth his commandments dwelleth in him, and he in him.”

1John 5:2. “By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God and keep his commandments.”

1 John 5:3.” For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments, and his commandments are not grievous.”

Revelations 12:17.” And the dragon was wroth with the woman and went to make war with the remnant of her seed, which keep the commandments of God, and have the testimony of Jesus Christ.”

Revelations 14:12.” Here is the patience of the saints: here are they that keep the commandments of God and have faith of Jesus.”

It is very clear that we as God’s children must keep His commandments and have faith in Jesus as our redeemer and saviour. I could not find any reference to the fact that we now don’t have to keep His commandments. There are also many references that we are not any more under the law, but what do we understand. Under which law are we not under anymore? Clearly it is not the Ten Commandments of God and to those who are preaching that it is a fact the following quote from scripture as in Revelation 22:18

“I warn everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this scroll: If anyone adds

anything to them, God will add to that person the plagues described in the scroll. And if anyone takes words away from this scroll of prophecy, God will take away from that person and share in the tree of life and in the Holy City, which are described in this scroll. Jesus also said. “It is easier for heaven and earth to disappear than for the least stroke of a pen to drop out of the Law.” 55

In closing the following example of how Satan confuses the elect follows:

When the Pharisee asked Jesus in Matthew 22:36-40 “Master, which is the great commandment in the law?” Jesus answered him by saying “Thou shalt love the lord the God with all thy heart, and soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it. Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself”

What is the meaning of this?

Commandment 1.

 I am the Lord God.

 You should have no other gods

Commandment 2.

 Don’t make any likeness of anything (including crosses in and on churches)

that is in heaven above (angels), or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in

the water under the earth. You shall not bow down thyself to them, (bow to

kings and queens and sporting events), nor serve them: for I the

 Lord thy God am a jealous God.

What is the result if we don’t honour this first two commandments of God:

 God will be visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the

third and fourth generation of them that hate me.

And to them that do keep this commandment of God:

 “and shewing mercy unto thousands of them that love me, and keep my

commandments”

Commandment 3.

 Thou should not take the name of the Lord God in vain; for the Lord will not

hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain,

Commandment 4.

 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: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor the daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates. For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the Lord blessed the sabbath and hallowed it.

 

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Something very strange to me is, those who say that the old law has been done away with, only wants to take this commandment out of the ten of the commandments. The rest must stay. If it is true that the old law was replaced by the new law? What new law? Jesus said, I did not come to even change a word or letter of it but came to fulfil it. What am I missing here?

Commandment 5.

Honour thy farther and thy mother: the reward for this is “that thy days may be long upon the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee.

I on many occasions wondered why this commandment forms part of the first 5 commandments, indicating how we should honour God and not part of the second 5 indicating how we should live with our neighbours. One morning sitting outside in the sun eating breakfast, I thought about it again, the answer came to me in this form.

In the first 4, God is telling us how to honour and serve Him, the creator and giver of all life. But the great giver of life through his wisdom new, that all new life on the newly restored earth and sea, will come through two of his creations. The farther and mother of all other following living things. The other givers of life, and that is why God wants us, maybe even all living things on earth like the plants, animals, birds, insects even plants, to honour their parents. What a wonderful God we have to serve, But do we?

Commandment 6. Thou shall not kill.

Commandment 7. Thou shall not commit adultery

Commandment 8. Thou shall not steel.

Commandment 9. Thou shall not bear false witness against thy neighbour

Commandment 10. Thou shall not covet thy neighbour’s house, nor his wife, nor his slave’s male and female, nor his ox, ass or anything that is thy neighbours.

 

What Paul said in Galatians 5 in verse 3 “for I testify again to every man that is circumcised that he is a debtor to do the whole law. Christ is become of no effect unto you, whosoever of you are justified by the law, ye are fallen from grace. For we through the Spirit wait for the hope of righteousness by faith. For in Jesus Christ neither circumcision availed anything, nor uncircumcision; but faith which worketh by love.

It is very clear when Paul is here refereeing to the law, he is talking about the last 5 or living by the flesh. He was most definitely not referring to one of the first 5.

 

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Paul carries on and even spread more confusion by the use of the word law in verse 14. Paul here says the following “For all the law (what law brother Paul?) is fulfilled in one word, even in this: Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.” Shocking brother, what about loving God first like Jesus said and likewise love thy neighbour. Do you now want to put the neighbour equal to God and even worse remove God from the law?

I don’t think so and surely hope not. I think this portion in the Bible was not correctly translated. What there should have been written is the following:

For part of the law, how to life with our neighbours is all of the law of God that we should live our lives on earth in the flesh, Jesus took away the sacrificial part of the old law by his final sacrifice on the cross, and now we don’t need a high priest to sacrifice an animal for the forgiveness of our sins. We now have a direct line open to our God and our High Priest in heaven.

THIS IS THE GOOD NEWS. THIS IS THE NEW COVENANT. AS IS WRITTEN IN REVELATIONS. BLESSED ARE THEY THAT DO HIS COMMANDMENTS, THAT THEY MAY HAVE RIGHT TO THE TREE OF LIFE, AND MAY ENTER IN THROUGH THE GATES INTO THE CITY.

.” Here is the patience of the saints: here are they that keep the

commandments of God and have faith of Jesus.”

 

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