Recently, when asked “How is your soul?” by a talk show host, a governmental official replied that his soul was in good shape because, “I know Jesus Christ.” With those four words he declared to the world that he was saved, born again and rapture-ready. He had performed the prescribed rituals, taken Jesus as his Savior, been baptized and was “active in church.” What more was there to do? He and those in his particular cult (denomination) “know” that there is nothing else to do–the spiritual fix is in, the die is cast. Next stop: paradise. Moments before his death a former President of the United States was assured by a friend that they were both “going to heaven.” Why were they headed for paradise upon their respective demise? BECAUSE THEY BELIEVED SATAN who, as Jesus said in Revelation 12:9, “HAS DECEIVED THE WHOLE WORLD,” including the church world. His most prized successes are the hundreds of cults known individually and collectively as “the church.” Without exception, each one of his churches has as one of its foundational doctrines the “fact” that God “nailed the Law to the cross.” This is a “Biblical truth” everyone within Catholicism/Protestantism “knows” beyond a shadow of a doubt. There is not so much as a shadow of doubt that God declared His Law null and void. Everyone “knows” this.  But does the Lord know what all of those in professing Christendom “know?” Let’s do what those in the “know” refuse to do: LET’S ASK HIM, THEN BELIEVE AND ACT ON WHAT HE SAYS. Let us begin with His doing away with the Law. But first, a governmental lesson is in order.

Throughout history all nations that have ever existed have been governed by law. Those in positions of power controlled those nations by use of their respective laws, some for good, some for ill. God’s “nation” (His church) is no different in that He rules her through His Law–the Holy Bible.  As is the case with all nations, God rules His nation using His general, all-encompassing Law which, like all nations, consists of numerous specific laws. In God’s church these laws are called “commandments”–emphasis on the word “command.” In the New Testament alone there are some 1050 commands.

Knowing that religious man would do his best to destroy His Law, the Lord carved a summary of it in stone with His own finger. Knowing that false prophets would take hammer and chisel to it if they could get their hands on it, He has hidden it. Unable to attack God’s Law physically, those in the Counterfeit Church have waged spiritual war against it. In the eyes of professing Christendom, the church has been ultimately successful. The Counterfeit Church believes that they have destroyed the very instrument by which God rules His people and by which He will judge both churched and unchurched on Judgment Day (Jn. 12:48). In His Book of Truth the Lord speaks repeatedly about this most important of subjects. Let us study the Apostle John’s letter to the church to determine if the modern church is right about God’s eternal Law being “nailed to the cross.”

In 1 John 2:3-6 we find the Almighty speaking about His Law. Here John shows us how to “know” if we in fact do “know” Jesus Christ using the Law as the deciding factor. In another place Jesus spoke to this issue by equating obedience to the Law to being His friend. In John 15:13,14 He makes a startling statement to His hand-picked disciples, telling them that He would die for His friends ONLY. He then tells them that they would be His friends ONLY IF they “… DO WHATSOEVER I COMMAND YOU TO DO.” These 12 men, whom He would trust to spread His gospel throughout the world, would spend eternity with Him ONLY IF THEY OBEYED HIS COMMANDMENTS. One failed to do so.

In verse three John tells the church then and now that we know that we know Jesus Christ only IF WE KEEP HIS COMMANDMENTS. Otherwise, we don’t know Him at all, but are only deceiving ourselves. God brings this out again in James 1:22: “Be doers (obeyers) of the Word (Law) and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves.” For those who do not believe that God’s Law consists of the entire Bible, let us hear the Words of Jesus Christ Himself: “Man must live by EVERY WORD OF GOD” (Mat. 4:4). By tying this command to 1 John 3:3 we erase all doubt as to what God is referring to when He uses such terms as the Law, the Word, the Scriptures, the commandments, etc. THEY ARE ALL ONE IN THE SAME–THE HOLY BIBLE.

In verse four John delivers another Sword (Word/Law) thrust by calling those who know the Law but refuse to do (obey) it “liars” who do not have God’s Truth in them. All liars, Jesus said, will burn in the Lake of Fire (Rev. 21:8). Verse five tells us that we know we are IN HIM (converted–belong to Him) only if we KEEP (OBEY) HIS WORD. Verse six clears away all doubt concerning the Law: IF WE CALL OURSELVES BY HIS NAME WE MUST LIVE AS JESUS LIVED. JESUS OBEYED GOD’S LAW. He had to in order to qualify to be His Messiah. L.J.