We cannot separate God's love from His justice. They both go hand-in-hand, yet there are many out there who would claim that God is all love (and all love is God) and in being so could not do anything unpleasant and would not send anyone to hell.
Without Love, God would be a cold and unbending tyrannt who would punish at the slightest infraction of His perfect standard. However, without Justice, God would be no better than us... too permissive and too relaxed about sin, not caring too much what we do to others or Him- thus lessening His holiness.
Without a standard, anyone could do absoutely anything they want and get to heaven- cheapening Christs sacrifice... which is the greatest demonstration of love ever. However, we have been given the perfect standard to measure our walk by - it's called "the word of God"!
The fear of being judged by Him for what you have done when you come to stand before Him (Hebrews 9:27), is directly proportional to the word, the law or 10 commandments that He gave Moses (also see Romans 2:14-15).
Before they are "Saved", the unsaved who break the law (as we all have done) look for ways out of having to incur the penalty of His anger and wrath for breaking it. By joining a "Religion" that is based on "works" (i.e. based on something that "we" can do to help God appease us of our sins) in order to get to heaven (i.e. fallen religion) is one of those ways! "Denial" that God exists is but another.
The fallen religions of this world believe and agree that you shouldn't break God's laws... however if you should break them then use your time, money, follow certain rituals, prayers, etc. in order to make penances to whatever degree that "you and them" may deem necessary. Thus by "working" to give something back to God for breaking the law they believe that if you are sincere enough afterwards then you will be forgiven for it. Do you understand?
To believe that there is something that "we" can do to appease God for our sins is the lie that opposses the Gospel of Jesus Christ - by believing that "we" are good enough to neutralize the law by doing something that appeases it. However, the law cannot be appeased! The law is the law! Either keep it all intact or break one and you break them all! The bottom line is that we are all sinners in need of being put to death by very the law we think we can appease. Until we are crucified with Christ, thus until we have died to the law, we will continue to break God's laws over and over again, forever trying to pay God back for breaking them by something "we" do.
As long as a man is taught by fallen religion that there is a way out of paying the penalty for breaking God's commands by what "he" can do, then he has no need to want to stop what he's doing, not as long as he thinks that what he does is the way out.
Such a man strongly believes that his religious requirements and doings are what is paying for his sinning against; that is, breaking the commandments of God. What does he need Christ for? He's his own Christ, his own Savior! Christ and His finished work becomes a mere scapegoat or cop-out to this type of person who uses Him almost weekly to lay their sins upon for their own benefit as they make it a habit of breaking God's holy law.
There has been no death and life change in him, and until there is he will go on breaking the law again next month, next week, next day, next hour. The law is holy, He is not! He is trying to pay for something that Christ alone has already paid for. Therefore he lives under the curse of the law - the law which demands perfect obedience to it. The law is holy. Break it once and die without mercy... and, "Spiritually speaking" this has already occured to those who try and keep the law (but cannot) in order to please God.
The difference between False religion and True religion is that the person having True religion has come to the end of themselves and has been crucified with Christ (see Romans 2:20) and does not continue in their sinning ways, not if there is any fear of God in that person (and there is). Such a man has been given POWER to live the born again Christian life. Such a man understands that in him there is no good way to heaven, especially by trying to keep the law perfect. He cannot gain heaven or earn it on his own. All he'll gain is God's wrath if he does so.
Man hasn't the goodness nor righteousness required to save himself! The man who presumes to be "good" or even claims to be a "religious" person; but one who keeps on wilfully sinning after the Truth has been made known to him, by continually coveting his neighbors goods - continually taking the Lord's name in vain - continually worshipping pictures, statues and idols as if they are God - continually lying, stealing, cheating - etc., etc.) is going to be in for a mighty shock when he dies because he never came to the realization of who Christ is and what He's done to be saved. He remains in darkness!
Have you noticed how little there is of the FEAR OF GOD in todays world!?
So it's really not the law, or any moral law that keeps such people from doing what they do, but its the fear of their getting caught and punished that stops most people from getting caught or doing those things. Because their hearts are unchanged!
In these last days this "lawlessness" will only increase and even become condoned by those who are in power. Today it is the reason why people are hurting and killing each other. It is the reason why (for example) crimes are on the increase and people are executing children in our schools, murder, raping, etc., simply because there is little and no fear, thus no knowledge of God in them.
They have no fear of repurcussions of being punished once they've been caught - because they don't think they'll be caught - yet one way or the other, caught they will be, at the end, when they die and face the judgement for their sins. There will be no mercy, for they will be judged as they had judged others and their goods! They have never heard and certainly don't believe that, "It is given for man once to die and then the judgement" (Hebrews 9:27), or if they did they pay it no heed, proving once again that there is no fear of God in them.
They have no idea that there is going to be a judgement for what they do, therefore they lack love amd fear towards God who is holy and lives forever! He never gave man a conscience to hear Him nor His commands to break, but to keep! He gave man His commands to keep not to break. Instead by breaking them they do that which is continuosly evil in God's sight. (Hebrews 3:10-11)
How can anyone say that they love God, whom they can't see while insulting their brother, whom they can see? How can they say that they belong to God while they harbor so much hatred as to plan ways of getting even in their hearts against those who have personally hurt them?
The Gospel of the Kingdom assures us who have seen and heard Christ speak to our hearts (in the Spirit) that He has paid for all of our sins, and because He has He expects us to "hoe the line" (thanks to His Spirit which we receive) and "Go and sin no more"! Before, we did not have the power to honor Him, no matter how hard we (in and of our "flesh", our "selves") tried. But since receiving the Spirit of Truth we have been given the power to bring Him glory by keeping and doing of His words. That's where the "new heart" with the "new mind" comes in!
It is precisely because there is so little and no fear of God that people rob, kill, cheat and lie today. On the other hand the reason they don't coninually rob, kill, cheat and lie today is precisely because they may get caught and have to pay for their evil deeds. It ends up being "these things" rather than "God" that checks them from doing what they shouldn't be.
The true Christian goes and straightens out these differences, IF POSSIBLE, between himself and his brother, and then he continues on in the will of the Lord. Unlike his "brother", he doesn't want to die with these "sins" on his soul - sins not done against his brother, but against the commands of his God. Therefore, even if what his brother did against him was without remorse on their part, God already took care of it for the sorrowful Christian, because He knows the heart!
Once we chose to see the simple meaning of the law itself: Namely that we are all sinners shut up under the law and there is no way of gaining eternal life and escaping God's wrath through obeying the law (unless of course we keep it perfectly in thought, word, and deed from our birth. (And who has done that???) Enter Christ! He alone is worthy! So in order to be saved one must come to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ as they realize that in them is no good thing.
So it is obviously clear that those who trust in Christ alone no longer continue in sin, nor do they show themselves for what they are by continually doing the works that fallen religion says will appease the law. The law is done with those who have come to soley rely and depend upon Christ as their offering once and for all 2,000 years ago, never to be repeated. Just as the born again Christian is done with the using the law in order to appease God for their sins, they have become new and living creatures made alive through the Spirit and abiding in the word. The law did its job. With the holy light of the law shining upon their sin-sickened souls, they had great remorse and abhorred their sin and, turning to Christ they repented of them.
So, through the law we all receive the knowledge of sin. Upon our understanding the meaning of the law is when we come to see Jesus high and lifted up and lay hold of Him as our only way to be saved, both through His death as well as through His life. This right fear of God is what has brought us to see and receive Christ, the Grace of God through faith alone!
"I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me. I do not frustrate the grace of God: for if righteousness come by the law, then Christ is dead in vain." Galatians 2:20-21
And what about you, dear reader??? Just how "GOOD" are you??? What about you???
May God bless you in the saving knowledge of Jesus Christ!
Biff & Suzanne
