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Hope_of_Glory
I cannot agree to “believe in the rabbis.” I grant that many of them lived in ancient days before Messiah and could have wisdom to share, but I will only study their words as I would any other man. I will “test the spirits” and see if what is taught is in line with the proclaimed word of YHWH. By the way, I had an email from you in reference to the AGOM ministry a few months ago after I shared that I could not keep Sabbath because my job. Well, as you said, Yah made a way and I have experienced great joy in living the gift of this day of resting and six days of work dedicated to YHWH!
Blessings,
Upward
Dancingforyounomore,
From what has Christ set us free?
You are right, we must not forget the difference made by the Spirit and the salvation/new life we now share in our transforming faith. However, I invite you to look at “freedom I Christ” through my perspective:
I have walked in the Spirit and the justification of faith for many years and felt that Christ’s work was freeing us from the condemnation and curse of the “law.” However, I still struggled with personal bondage to sin, perfectionism, peer pressure and other issues where I was not experiencing freedom in my life.
I may remind you of Romans 6:17-22 especially and of all of Romans 6-8 that teach,
Ro 6:17 But thanks be to God that, though you used to be slaves to sin, you wholeheartedly obeyed the form of teaching to which you were entrusted.
Ro 6:18 You have been set free from sin and have become slaves to righteousness.
Ro 6:19 I put this in human terms because you are weak in your natural selves. Just as you used to offer the parts of your body in slavery to impurity and to ever-increasing wickedness, so now offer them in slavery to righteousness leading to holiness.
Ro 6:20 When you were slaves to sin, you were free from the control of righteousness.
Ro 6:21 What benefit did you reap at that time from the things you are now ashamed of? Those things result in death!
Ro 6:22 But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves to God, the benefit you reap leads to holiness, and the result is eternal life.
Ro 6:23 For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. (NIV)
Christ, therefore brought us freedom from sin! Sin is transgression of what God calls us to do. Slavery to righteousness will only mean living within what God calls “right” in His word. I have finally seen this in the last two months, since I have begun to use ALL of scriptures not to justify myself, not for salvation, not to judge my brethren but to replace the error in my ways with the training in Righteousness that the Spirit of God leads through HIS word.
2 Ti 3:16 All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, 17 so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work. (NIV)
As Don pointed out in his posting, the only scripture they had at this point was the Old Testament. When I did not study what God calls right then I was at the mercy of what man calls right. I had my own personal legalism – my conscience was programmed by the culture of this world. I used to stand in judgment on myself even when Romans 8:1 clearly says that we are not under condemnation any more. I didn’t understand how Romans 8:2-11 describes the work of God is that I should “live in accordance with the Spirit (and) have their (my) minds set on what the Spirit desires” (Romans 8:5). It is in ALL the scriptures – and with most detail in the Torah – first five books of the bible – that we have descriptions of how the Spirit generally desires people to live. In this way, I am having great freedom in my life as the Spirit now brings me into submission to His desires and I practice my faith by doing what the Spirit leads as described in HIS WORD. This is the “slavery to righteousness leading to holiness” I quoted above in Ro 6:18.
This is not adding bondage of works onto bondage of sin – this is practicing the life for which I was created. This is not just following regulations, but is submitting to live the instructions that my creator planned to heal the wounds of this world and replace the bondage of sin in my life.
I will offer you a small example of this. I have had many struggles around eating. I would often eat when I was tired, discouraged or just for enjoyment. My brother admonished me lately about how often I would eat until I was overfull and complain about how badly I would feel. However, the scriptures say, Dt 8:10 When you have eaten and are satisfied, praise the LORD your God for the good land he has given you.” (NIV) My creator knew that good things (like food and easy living) could distract me from depending in submission to Him. This verse has brought me great freedom. I can now and praise YHWH and live so that I am not ruled by urges to graze and munch and nibble my way to unhealthiness and rebellion.
In this way, the Torah (law of spirit) of God can bring us freedom from the “Law of sin and death” (customs and traditions of men – Oral Law of Pharisees or standards of cultural Christian morality). This last point I gained from Matthew Nolan’s teaching on Galatians. I would recommend that you check the jctown radio schedule and listen to the “Galatians” teaching!
Blessings to you!
Upward
P.S. I can only guess that your user name is referencing Mt 11:17/Luke 7:32 “we played a flute for you and you did not dance” as an analogy for the teachers of the law who “rejected God’s purpose for themselves” (Lk 7:30). Remember, just because the “teachers of the law” so often miss the point doesn’t mean there is anything wrong with Yah’s instructions for living in a life that has been submitted to Messiah. My last encouragement for you is:
Jer 31:4 I will build you up again and you will be rebuilt, O Virgin Israel. Again you will take up your tambourines and go out to dance with the joyful. (NIV)
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