The rationalization for keeping the law is so that one does not sin; sin being defined by the advocates of the law as the result of transgressing the law.
There are several things wrong with this belief.
Not all transgressions of the law resulted in a charge of sin. Jesus pointed out examples, and He is the ultimate authority on the subject. When it came to the Sabbath, He worked, and declared good works lawful; not “lawless” and thus not a sin, even though the Sabbath law was transgressed by anyone who did “any” work.
By working on the Sabbath; transgressing the Sabbath commandment “as is” those who insist the law be kept, especially the Sabbath, exposed themselves, unwittingly, that they held the law in higher esteem than they do God. They made the law; even the Sabbath, as greater than God; another god besides (along side of) God.
Adventists, for example, go so far as to assign the attributes of God to that law, claiming it to be “moral” as well as “eternal,” “unchanging,” and most egregious of all, “a transcript of God’s character.”
To “sin” against the law is to sin against God. To obey the law is to obey God, where once again, equivocation between God and the law is established. They become nearly indistinguishable.
Another flaw of this argument has to do with how God judges, and He does not judge according to the law and whether someone keeps it or not. God judges “righteous” judgment, according to the heart. God knows that those with the “deceitful and desperately wicked hearts; those who have hearts of stone and evil hearts of unbelief, will act accordingly, right down to even their thoughts and imaginations, reflecting the evil that resides within. They will transgress the law as a result, leading to their just condemnation spelled out in the law. The law provides the last nail in the evil person’s coffin. At issue here is how evil minded people think, where they are influenced by a deceptive “heart.” They shift the problem from themselves regarding what they are by nature, to sin being just a problem of behavior and behavior modification so that, if you don’t transgress the law, your problem is solved without ever addressing the heart that is sinful, regardless, and condemned, regardless. For a person with an evil heart only produces evil works in the sight of God. An evil person is incapable of doing anything truly good, seeing as the motive behind anything and everything they do is an evil heart that seeks its own advantage in everything they do.
The law condemns sin in all of its forms and manifestations. If you have an evil heart, you are evil. You are sin, personified. Keeping the law does not alter an evil heart. Keeping the law while having an evil heart is a futile endeavor. You will transgress in ways you cannot imagine, being deceived by your own wicked, evil heart.
People with wicked, evil hearts believe “wholeheartedly” that simply keeping the law solves their sin problem, while at the same time being in total denial over the other side of this coin, that is where people with a good heart; the “new heart” God provides to those who believe the Gospel, placing all their faith and hope in God for their salvation; now can only produce good fruits in the sight of God, due to the influence of that good heart where one’s motive is not about the self and self, but with God and pleasing Him; not disappointing the God who saved them from their sins.
Their sins are not remembered; there being no remembrance of sins in the New Covenant and those who are a part of it.
Those with the evil hearts of unbelief are quick to point out that Christians do sin, still trying to judge sin and others according to the law that true Christians are dead to, not under, freed from and redeemed from.
Christians will occasionally succumb to the pulls of the flesh while still in the flesh, the difference being, again, the heart; the same heart whereby God judges. Their sins; missing the mark when it comes to the glory of God, are the result of spiritual immaturity; a failure to follow through all the time with the fruits of the Spirit; a failure to do good. Contrast this with those who have evil hearts where they can do no good, being evil. All they can do is either do evil, or refrain from doing evil, which is not doing good.
Those with the deceitful and wicked hearts are incapable of any spiritual discernment. As such, all that is left to them is based in the physical and a physical religion they embrace in the hope of acquiring eternal life on their own terms. Keep the law; don’t sin, and God owes you – is obligated to save you because you don’t sin, for the most part, and when you do, you simply seek forgiveness, then it’s back to business as usual, until the next time you sin while keeping the law...
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It is important that you understand; Everything on this blog is based on the current understanding of each author. Never take anyone's word for it, always prove it for yourself, it is your responsibility. You cannot ride someone else's coattail into the Kingdom. ; )
Acts 17:11
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