Stunning! The Christian and the Law

For me, THE most impacting thing I have read outside the pages of sacred Scripture has been these words from Martin Luther, found in his intro to Galatians. When I first read them I was stunned...and still am to this very day!:

"The greatest knowledge and the highest wisdom of Christians is not to know the law and to be ignorant of works, and of the whole active righteousness, especially when the conscience is wrestling with God. Contrary, among those who are not of God's people, the greatest wisdom is to know and to urge the law and the active righteousness. But it is a strange thing and unknown to the world to teach Christians to be ignorant of the law and to live before God as if there were no law; notwithstanding, except you be ignorant of the law and be assuredly persuaded in his heart there is now no law, nor wrath of God, but only grace and mercy for Christ's sake, you cannot be saved; for by the law comes the knowledge of sin. Conversely, works and the keeping of the law is strictly required in the world, as if there were no promise, or grace."

This has been coupled by the NT teaching that a Christian lives by faith...not by law-keeping! As Paul declares in Galatians:

But if, in our endeavor to be justified in Christ, we too were found to be sinners, is Christ then a servant of sin? Certainly not! For if I rebuild what I tore down, I prove myself to be a transgressor. For through the law I died to the law, so that I might live to God. I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. I do not nullify the grace of God, for if righteousness were through the law, then Christ died for no purpose. (Gal. 2.17-21)

So, I came across this most interesting web page and was very suprised by what I was reading...perhaps you tooo may never have thought of the New Testament in these terms...and in this broad of a scope! You gotta check out the links.

There are 1,050 commands in the New Testament for Christians to obey. Due to
repetitions we can classify them under about 800 headings. They cover every phase of
man's life in his relationship to God and his fellowmen, now and hereafter.

(got this from this post)

Here it is broken down by category.

The author says:

"Its funny that despite these hundreds and hundreds of instructions, so many modern preachers seem to think that there is something wrong with practical preaching that tells people how to live. There is no doubt in my mind that God has given us all these instructions for a reason. I believe that preaching that helps us understand exactly how we are to obey these instructions is the sort that will be of most help to us. Now of course any preaching that focusses only on the practical application is no use to us either, as we must understand the gospel that gives rise to these many commands. Too often Evangelical preaching is lopsided focussing either on how to live our lives OR on an a cut-down version of the gospel. Why cant we preach the WHOLE message of the New Testament?"

So you, Christian, remember that Christ died for Christians too! When you do not do what you should, or shouldn't...or with a self-glorifying motive...remember that you are saved...completely, freely and forever...by Another's doing and dying. Remember Jesus is your wisdom from God, righteousness and sanctification and redemption! (1Cor. 1.30,31)

Remember the entire "GOOD NEWS" as foretold by Ezekiel:

I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you shall be clean from all your uncleannesses, and from all your idols I will cleanse you. (Because of the cross of Jesus) And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes and be careful to obey my rules. (Because of the resurrection of Jesus)!

(Ezekiel 11:16-25, Ezekiel 36:22-28, Jeremiah 32:36-41)

This will motivate you to actually live in ways you could never muster up by "pulling yourself up by your bootstraps"...or by looking within and "navel gazing"! This will promote true good works, rather than hinder them, as so many misunderstand...

THIS IS WHAT LIES BENEATH LIVING BY GRACE ALONE, THROUGH FAITH ALONE IN JESUS CHRIST ALONE! THIS IS THE "OBEDIENCE OF FAITH" THAT THE GOSPEL DECLARES IN ROMANS 1.5 & 16.26)

do we need the doing, dying and rising of Jesus or what!...from start to finish!