God’s great love for mankind is obvious to those who desire oneness with Him enough to study His Word, believe what they find therein and obey it. To those minutely few people (Mat. 7:13,13; 22:14), He has made clear what they must do in order to receive the blessings He has promised for both the present and the eternal future. His system works like someone entering a business where he knows no one, applies for a job and is hired simply because he needs a job and the business owner needs a worker. The owner promises to pay the person a certain sum of money for a certain amount of work. The person is told what he is required to do in order to receive the promised pay. The terms of employment–what, when, where and how–are made clear. The operational system is summarized thusly: good work–get paid/ poor work–get fired.

What has passed for so-called “salvation” relative to the work-pay situation over the past 1900+ years is: no work–get paid. God warns that the wages of disobedience is death. Modern churchman has changed the formula. In his version, the wages of sin is eternal life, IF one has completed the prescribed initiation ritual. Having been deceived by the Serpent, Adam and Eve believed that they could defy God and, as their new god had assured them, they would “… not surely die.” That same god has deceived their end-time descendants into believing the same thing (Rev. 12:9). Read Christ’s letter to the end-time (Laodicean) church in Revelation 3:14-18 to see how He addresses the modern church’s view of her work-pay scheme.

The God’s way versus man’s way conflict is summarized in one word: GOVERNANCE. Governance is the action component of government. The various facets of societal government are enforced by a system of laws by which those facets are enforced. In the spiritual realm, God’s method of governance (His Law) has been set to print and made available to those who agree to WORK for Him so as to EARN a place in His earthly kingdom following His Son’s return to earth. For those who reject the concept of Biblically-defined WORKS relative to receiving God’s promised blessing– including salvation–need to read Matthew 5:16; 16:7/ Acts 9:36/ 1 Timothy 2:10/ Titus 2:12/ James 2:10, 14,17,18.20,24,26 and Romans 2:6-11. In doing so, the reader will see that works and blessings go hand-in-hand. Leviticus 26 and Deuteronomy 28 make this as plain as possible.

God’s older Law of Love was written and preserved for thousands of years to serve as an instruction manual for the modern-day church (1 Cor. 10:11). The Apostle Paul reminds us that the New Testament Church was founded on the writings of the PROPHETS AND APOSTLES whom God governed with a strict hand, which made their work and words effective unto this day (Eph. 2:20).

God’s government is from the top down. Man has no say in either the design or the implementation of the system. There is no voting in God’s church. Church members do not choose their leader. Their only decision is whether or not to individually obey God’s chosen leader. As Jesus told the Laodiceans, the luke warm, no works, only believe churchianity practiced by so-called “sinners saved by grace” will not result in positive endings. As the Apostle James tells us, FAITH WITHOUT WORKS (OBEDIENCE) IS DEAD FAITH. Faith is a spiritual entity. Dead faith results in a spiritually DEAD BELIEVER. Remember the four foolish virgins of Matthew 25. Though dead, they believed themselves to be alive. In the end they were “fired” by the Bridegroom. Read Matthew 15:9 and 7:21-23. Unlike the social laws of many nations which feature government by the consent of the governed, God’s Law features government by Him. Period. His Law was created by and handed down by Him. He is also the One with whom Law-breakers must deal. Read The “Voices” of God. Key word–Voices.

While under the leadership of King David, our spiritual, and in many cases biological ancestors (the people of Israel) lived in the most prosperous, most powerful, most feared nation on earth. Israel’s exalted status carried over into the kingship of David’s son Solomon. However, Israel’s standing on the world stage began to fade when Solomon defied God by marrying hundreds of heathen women. As if that was not bad rebellious enough, he allowed his wives to bring their heathen gods and religions with them into the marriage. He then led the nation into the worship of and service to their gods. This brought the eventual downfall of the nation, ending in military defeat and enslavement in 722 B.C. Read Who and Where is Israel Today? Key word–Today.

Unlike man-created laws, God’s Law can be summarized in one word–LOVE. Why else would He have done what He did so that man could spend eternity with Him in paradise? Though the blessings He promises mankind are free, paid for by His Son’s death, HIS PEOPLE MUST QUALIFY TO RECEIVE THEM BY OBEYING HIS LAW OF LOVE. His great love for man prompted Him to make many wonderful promises to him. The greatest promise was that He would sacrifice His Son so that obedient people could receive the Holy Spirit, thereby empowering them to overcome Satan’s temptations, thereby enabling them to receive the promised blessings. Read Revelation 3:21 and First John 2:6. If I had given my child for man for someone’s salvation, I would be extremely demanding relative to receiving it.

God’s Law is the divine expression of true love. Let us be governed by the LORD and thereby receive all of the blessings He, by His own choice, made available to us. Leviticus 26:1-13 and Deuteronomy 1-14 perfectly describe God’s great love for those who believe and obey Him. However, the remainder of those chapters reveal His attitude and treatment of those who fail to obey Him. Their being in “the church” has no effect on the situation. What one sows, one reaps. Remember Romans 2:6-11). L.J.