Many Christians find creative ways of claiming that they don't
have to obey the inconvenient and numerous laws of God that are
laid down in the Old Testament.
This is all part of the great rationalization process which
believers go through so they can make themselves feel comfortable
and at ease with the personal version of God they create for
themselves.
In the following example, which are excerpts from an atheist
forum, a believer rationalizes the problem of obeying all of
God's law by employing an inventive "one size fits all
command" that allows the law to be ignored while pretending
that it's really being obeyed.
A skeptic wrote:
Thus, according to you(a Christian), the old testament laws are
no longer valid. Correct?
Christian writes:
Incorrect. I have not said that at any time. The law is quite
valid.
The point with being a Christian (as I see it) is not so much as
not following the laws of the Old Testament, but rather following
those same laws as they are written in our hearts.
Commentary:
As I see it, this is a large dose of double talk.
This is akin to saying,
"The point with being a citizen of a state is not so much
following the traffic laws written by the authorities, but rather
following those same traffic laws as they are written in our
hearts."
If the laws written in the heart are the same laws as
those written in the statutes of the Old Testament as this
believer asserts, and if they are indeed valid as this believer
also claims, then they should be obeyed.
There is no "rather" or "not so much" option
here.
You are either obeying the laws or you aren't.
Christian:
All 613 laws can be summed up in this, that we should love our
neighbor as ourself, and that we should love the Lord our God
(that is to say Yahweh our master and creator).
Commentary:
This rationalization lays the groundwork for ignoring the law.
The believer is implying that all the laws have been superseded
by two commandments.
All the laws have been "summed up" by two commandments.
This is like saying:
"If we love our neighbor and love the authorities, we don't
have to obey the traffic laws."
The rationalization being employed here is based on New
Testament scripture(Matt 22:34-40)(Mark 12:28-31).
Matt 22:36-40
Master, which is the great commandment in the law?
Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all
thy heart, and with all thy 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.
On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.
While Jesus may have said all the law is connected to loving God
and your neighbor, he also stated in Matt 5:18-20 that
every letter of the law was to be obeyed until heaven and earth
passed away.
Matt 5:18-20
For verily I(Jesus) say unto you, Till heaven and earth
pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law,
till all be fulfilled.
Whosoever therefore shall break one of these least commandments,
and shall teach men so, he shall be called the least in the
kingdom of heaven: but whosoever shall do and teach
them, the same shall be called great in the kingdom of
heaven.
For I say unto you, That except your righteousness shall exceed
the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, ye shall in no
case enter into the kingdom of heaven.
According to Jesus, the law was to be obeyed to the letter. There
is no license given to ignore any part of the law.
Christian:
There will be no envy, no murder, no stealing, there will be
peace in our lives and the lives we touch if we should follow
these two greatest commandments.
If everyone followed the commandment to love God, there would be
no need for any of the other commandments. It's really that
simple.
Commentary:
This is an excellent example of how believers will adopt a nice
sounding doctrine to suit their needs.
This doctrine is based on Paul's writing.
Rom 13:10
Love worketh no ill to his neighbour: therefore love is the
fulfilling of the law.
Sounds nice doesn't it? But it isn't that easy.
If a believer really thinks the Bible is the word of God and
wants to love God, they should not ignore the instructions he
gave to his followers long before Paul came along with his new
doctrine.
Deut 6:2,5,24-25
That thou mightest fear the LORD thy God, to keep all
his statutes and his commandments, which I command
thee, thou, and thy son, and thy son's son, all the days of thy
life; and that thy days may be prolonged.
And thou shalt love the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and
with all thy soul, and with all thy might.
And the LORD commanded us to do all these statutes,
to fear the LORD our God, for our good always, that he might
preserve us alive, as it is at this day.
And it shall be our righteousness, if we observe to do
all these commandments before the LORD our God, as he hath
commanded us.
There is nothing said by God about love fulfilling the
requirements of the law.
The text specifically states that his followers shall be
righteous if they keep all of God's statutes and commandments.
If you love God, you'll keep his laws. All of them.
The rationalization put forth by this believer, while sounding
reasonable and nice, is still a self serving concoction.
While being based on Paul's new doctrine that faith in a human
sacrifice replaced God's law, this is also a deceptive and false
teaching if the Old Testament Bible is to be taken seriously.
Many of God's laws have nothing to do with loving or being
nice to others.
For example, God's food laws are outlined in Lev 11.
Foods such as shellfish and pork are considered abomination by
God and are not to be eaten. If a person wants to serve God and
be holy, they will obey the food laws.
Lev 11:45
For I am the LORD that bringeth you up out of the land of Egypt,
to be your God: ye shall therefore be holy, for I am holy.
If Christians really want to demonstrate to God and to the world
that they love him then they should be following the food laws
instead of claiming that the food laws are "not needed"
as long as believers claim to love God.
Another example is the keeping of the Sabbath(Exo 31:15),
which is Saturday and not Sunday most Christians proclaim.
God was so serious about his followers keeping the Sabbath in
strict form and according to his instructions that God ordered a
man killed because the man violated the law when he gathered some
wood on the Sabbath holy day(Num 15:32-36).
Yet, so-called God fearing Christian athletes have no problem
working on Sunday(or any other day) while getting paid millions
of dollars for it.
Some Christian professional football players are also
"Reverends" and "Ministers" who have the
audacity to claim they are really doing God's will by working on
the holy day.
There is vitually no limit to the excuses many Christians will
come up with to justify their ignoring of laws that are too
burdensome for them to obey. They desire all the blessings of
this deity but want no part of the hard work required to earn
those blessings.
Christian:
In Deuteronomy 11:1 it says:
"Therefore thou shalt love the LORD thy God, and keep his
charge, and his statutes, and his judgments, and his
commandments, alway."
Until only recently, I believed this verse was saying that we
should do 5 things. This is really telling us something much
different. This is telling us that if we do love God, all of
these things will follow.
Commentary:
In other words, even though Deut 11:1 clearly states that
a believer is to love God and keep his laws, it doesn't really
mean what it says.
Since the Bible will ultimately mean whatever a believer wants it
to mean, any interpretation can be valid as long as the believer
thinks it is. Any scripture can be modified to conform with what
a believer wants it to mean.
For example:
Eccl 12:13
Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and
keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man.
This can be modified to read:
Eccl 12:13
Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and
keep a couple of his commandments: for this is the whole duty of
man. Keeping a couple of his commandments is the same thing as
keeping all of them.
Mental rewrites like this are easy to do and are practiced all
the time by believers.
The believer determines what the scripture "really"
means and then advertises that God agrees with them.
Christian:
In Deut 11:13 it says:
"And it shall come to pass, if ye shall hearken
diligently unto my commandments which I command you this day, to
love the LORD your God, and to serve him with all your heart and
with all your soul..",
Notice how there is only really one commandment that is mentioned
in this verse. To love the Lord your God... which is to serve Him
with all your heart and your soul.
Commentary:
If you diligently pay attention to God's commandments you will
obey all of them.
This believer wants to claim that they follow God and at the same
time they are allowed to ignore the stipulations of the law that
are too inconvenient to obey.
The "one size fits all" commandment to love the Lord
your God magically replaces the stipulations of the statutes.
As long as you think you love the Lord, all that detailed
"law stuff" simply follows along without the need for
any actual compliance to the instructions.
If obedience really followed along then Christians would actually
be observing the laws they routinely ignore, which include the
dietary restrictions and observing the strict Saturday Sabbath.
Christian:
You might be wondering about the ceremonies, the temple, the
priests etc., prescribed for a sin offering and trespass offering
and all of the other laws governing ceremonies of this nature.
Did Jesus do away with these things?
Absolutely, and there is a very good reason why these things are
no longer necessary, but are still valid.
Commentary:
It's wonderful how the Law of God is swept under the rug by
believers when expediency dictates.
According to this believer the law is still "valid" but
not necessary.
A character called Jesus "did away" with various
stipulations of the law.
God's Holy Word, which believers are often fond of declaring as
the moral absolute for all humanity, is gutted by this
rationalization and becomes an empty shell which has form but no
real substance.
Christian:
Jesus is our high priest, His very body is/was the tabernacle,
the temple from which the priests offer the sacrifices for the
forgiveness of their sins and trespasses.
The ceremonies have all been performed, the sacrifice has been
made, the perfect sacrifice which man was never able to make, God
has made, as he has promised throughout the Old Testament.
Commentary:
Here the Old Testament Word of God is tossed aside in favor of a
new doctrine as invented by the New Testament writer of the Book
of Hebrews.
This doctrine is seriously flawed if the Bible is to be taken
seriously.
In order to be a valid high priest in the eyes of God, one must
be a descendant of Aaron the Levite.
God promised Aaron and his offspring that the office of high
priest would belong to them exclusively.
Exo 40:13-15
And thou shalt put upon Aaron the holy garments, and anoint him,
and sanctify him; that he may minister unto me in the priest's
office.
And thou shalt bring his sons, and clothe them with coats:
And thou shalt anoint them, as thou didst anoint their father,
that they may minister unto me in the priest's office: for their
anointing shall surely be an everlasting priesthood
throughout their generations.
The office of high priest is male dominated and passes from
father to son.
The priesthood would belong to the Levites as an everlasting
ordinance as promised by God.
According to New Testament scripture, Jesus has no paternal
connection to the tribe of Levi because he had no biological
father. Jesus isn't qualified to be the high priest of anything.
Also contrary to the assertion of this believer, the Word of God
also states that the ceremonies performed by the Levitical
priests would not be ended by a Messiah.
In the era of the expected Messiah, God unconditionally promises
that the ceremonies will continue and will be performed by God's
priests, the Levites.
Jer 33:15-21
In those days, and at that time, will I cause the Branch of
righteousness to grow up unto David; and he shall execute
judgment and righteousness in the land.
In those days shall Judah be saved, and Jerusalem shall dwell
safely: and this is the name wherewith she shall be called, The
LORD our righteousness.
For thus saith the LORD; David shall never want a man to sit upon
the throne of the house of Israel;
Neither shall the priests the Levites want a man before
me to offer burnt offerings, and to kindle meat offerings, and to
do sacrifice continually.
And the word of the LORD came unto Jeremiah, saying,
Thus saith the LORD; If ye can break my covenant of the day, and
my covenant of the night, and that there should not be day and
night in their season;
Then may also my covenant be broken with David my servant, that
he should not have a son to reign upon his throne; and with the
Levites the priests, my ministers.
Jesus was not qualified to be a high priest, wasn't even a proper
sin sacrifice according to God's law, and didn't end anything
with regard to the need for the priesthood performed by the
Levites.
Once again, a believer has ignored what the Old Testament says
when it doesn't agree with their preferred doctrine.
A skeptic wrote:
And you worship that guy who said "I came not to change a
title or a iota of the law". Correct too?
Christian:
To be sure, he(Jesus) did not come to change the law.
The words you are talking about are in Matthew 5:17-18:
"Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the
prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil. For verily I
say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle
shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled."
The Law is perfect, and it is fulfilled in Christ Jesus.
Those who have accepted Christ and follow His teachings are no
longer under condemnation, the same law that condemned us is the
law that frees us, through the love of God shown in Jesus Christ.
Commentary:
To be sure, this is standard double talk.
According to this reasoning, the Law is perfect but doesn't
really have to be obeyed now that Jesus came along.
Naturally, the believer ignores Matt 5:19:
Whosoever therefore shall break one of these least commandments,
and shall teach men so, he shall be called the least in the
kingdom of heaven: but whosoever shall do and teach them, the
same shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven.
According to Jesus, whoever breaks one of the commandments and
teaches others to ignore the law will be called least in the
kingdom of heaven.
[As a side note, if Jesus really fulfilled the Law, then he would
have had to fulfill the requirements for a valid sin sacrifice
according to the Law. Jesus failed to do this as his
"sacrifice" failed to meet the basic criteria for a
proper sin sacrifice as outlined in the Law.]
Jesus was also alleged to have said:
Matt 7:21
Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into
the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my
Father which is in heaven.
What is the will of the Father regarding the Law?
The answer is spelled out clearly in the Old Testament.
Deut 4:2
Ye shall not add unto the word which I command you, neither
shall ye diminish ought from it, that ye may keep the
commandments of the LORD your God which I command you.
Many Christians don't want to do the hard work of obeying the law
so they diminish the law by claiming that belief in a
human sacrifice exempts them from it.
Christian:
If you obey the two greatest laws, you have fulfilled the Law of
God, the Will of God and the Word of God.
Commentary:
This is a large load of farmer's helper being shoveled here.
According to this concoction, you can ignore the specifics of
God's Law as long as you've convinced yourself you love your
neighbor and love God.
As long as you love the sheriff you can ignore the traffic laws.
Christian:
Accept the Word of Jesus Christ, and you will obey all of the
laws.
This is on the authority of the Word of God, the Holy Spirit
within.
Commentary:
This is a shallow and self serving rationalization.
This believer tells people that as long as they accept the Word
of Jesus Christ, they will be obeying the law.
However, the Word of Jesus is whatever the believer wants the
Word of Jesus to be.
The believer personally defines it, and then advertises it as
originating from the Holy Spirit.
The believer claims the Word has authority when the Word is
nothing more than the personal theological spin that this
believer has manufactured for themselves.
It's an airtight theological system at work here:
The Word has authority because it comes from the Holy Spirit
that operates through me.
Since I have the Holy Spirit, my interpretation and my version of
the Word has authority.
Welcome to the Twilight Zone.
Christian:
I choose to obey the whole of Gods Law, in that I love the Lord
with all of my heart and soul, and I find His Law a source of
freedom, health and happiness.
Commentary:
And this is the end product of self delusion and chronic
rationalizing.
Even though I ignore the traffic laws, I'm really obeying them
because I love the sheriff.
If this believer really chose to obey the whole of God's Law,
they would be observing the strict Saturday Sabbath, the food
laws, and all the other laws that God established.
If this believer really loved the Lord they would be following
his Word instead of pretending to obey it through concocted self
praising claims of "love" for the Lord.
Ironically, believers like this were addressed by God in the Old
Testament.
Psa 50:16-17
But unto the wicked God saith, What hast
thou to do to declare my statutes, or that thou shouldest take my
covenant in thy mouth?
Seeing thou hatest instruction, and casteth my words
behind thee.
People who pretend to obey God's laws, while casting them aside
and giving them nothing more than lip service, are defined as
wicked in the eyes of God.
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