No Praising God In Death.

Psa 115:17  The dead praise not the LORD, neither any that go down into silence. 

The Rich Man and Lazarus

By J. N. Andrews

CONTINUED…

Sheol, the invisible place or state of the dead, is IN THE EARTH BENEATH.

Though it is rendered grave thirty-one times, it is not the word usually so rendered in the Old Testament; for it embraces the interior of the earth as the region of the dead and the place of every grave. Eze. 32:18-32.

All the passages which speak of the location of sheol, or hades, represent it as beneath. It is always in the interior of the earth; sometimes it is in the nether parts of the earth. Num. 16:30, 33; Ps. 141:7; Isa. 5:14; 14:9-20; Eze. 31:15-18; 32:18-32.

Referring to the fire now burning, in the heart of the earth, which shall at the last day swallow up the earth in its fiery gulf, Moses represents the Almighty as saying, "For the fire is kindled in mine anger, and shall burn unto the lowest sheol, and shall consume the earth with her increase, and set on fire the foundations of the mountains." Deut. 32:22.

Jonah went down into sheol when, in the belly of the whale, he descended into the depths of the mighty waters, where none but dead men had ever been. Jonah 2:2. Korah and his company went into sheol alive; that is, the earth swallowed them up while yet alive. Num. 16. 

The righteous do not praise God in sheol. Thus David testifies: "In death there is no remembrance of thee; in sheol who shall give thee thanks?" Ps. 6:5.

And Hezekiah, when delivered from death in answer to prayer, expresses the same great truth: "I said in the cutting off of my days, I shall go to the gates of sheol; I am deprived of the residue of my years. * * * * Behold, for peace I had great bitterness; but thou hast in love to my SOUL delivered it from the pit of corruption; for thou hast cast all my sins behind thy back. For sheol cannot praise thee, death cannot celebrate thee; they that go down into the pit cannot hope for thy truth. The living, the living, he shall praise thee, as I do this day; the father to the children shall make known thy truth." Isa. 38:10-19; Ps. 115:17; 146:1-4. 

The wicked in sheol are silent in death. Thus David prays: "Let the wicked be ashamed, and let them be silent in sheol." Ps. 31:17. See also 1 Sam. 2:9; Ps. 115:17, last clause. 

Sheol is a place of silence, secrecy, sleep, rest, darkness, corruption, and worms. "So man lieth down, and riseth not: till the heavens be no more, they shall not awake, not be raised out of their sleep. O that thou wouldest hide me in sheol, that thou wouldest keep me secret, until thy wrath be past, that thou wouldest appoint me a set time, and remember me! If a man die, shall he live again? All the days of my appointed time will I wait, till my change come. Thou shalt call, and I will answer thee; thou wilt have a desire to the work of thine hands." Job 14:12-15.

"If I wait, sheol is mine house; I have made my bed in the darkness. I have said to corruption, Thou art my father; to the worm, Thou art my mother, and my sister. And where is now my hope? As for my hope, who shall see it? They shall go down to the bars of sheol, when our rest together is in the dust." Job 17:13-16; 4:11-19; Ps. 88:10-12. 

There is no knowledge in sheol. Thus writes the wise man, the Spirit of inspiration bearing testimony through him: "Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy might; for there is no work, no device, nor knowledge, nor wisdom, in sheol, whither thou goest." Eccl. 9:4-6, 10. 

Such are the great facts concerning sheol, or hades, as revealed to us in the books of "Moses and the prophets." Yet we have the following cases in these same writings in which the dead in sheol, in the nether parts of the earth, converse together, and are comforted or taunted by each other, or in which they weep bitterly, refusing comfort.

The case of the king of Babylon is a noted instance of this. When he is overthrown, and goes down to sheol, the DEAD (for sheol has no others in its dark abode) are stirred up to meet him. The kings that had been conquered and destroyed by the king of Babylon in the days of his prosperity now rise up from their thrones in that dark abode, and mock him with feigned obeisance as in life they had rendered real homage. Now they taunt him, saying, "Art thou also become weak as we? Art thou become like unto us?" Those that see him shall narrowly look upon him, saying, "Is this the man that made the earth to tremble, that did shake kingdoms?" Isa. 14:9-20. 

Pharaoh and his army, slaughtered in battle with the king of Babylon, are set forth in the same manner. The slain upon the field of battle being buried indiscriminately, and friend and foe cast down together into pits, into the "nether parts of the earth," into sheol, "the strong among the mighty shall speak to him out of the midst of sheol." And this sheol, in the nether parts of the earth, full of the dead, is contrasted with "the land of the living." These slaughtered soldiers went down to sheol with their weapons of war, and their swords they "laid under their heads." Pharaoh, lying among them, and seeing the multitude of his enemies that were slain, is "comforted" at the sight. See this remarkable prophecy, Eze. 32:17-32; 31:15-18. 

Perhaps the case of Rachel is even more remarkable than these. Long ages after her decease and entrance into sheol, a dreadful slaughter of her posterity takes place. Upon this, Rachel breaks forth into lamentation and bitter weeping, and refuses to be comforted, because her children are not. Then the Lord says to her, "Refrain thy voice from weeping, and thine eyes from tears; for thy work shall be rewarded, saith the Lord." Jer. 31:15-17; Matt. 2:17, 18; Gen. 35:18-20. 

That Rachel did literally weep and shed bitter tears at the murder of her children nearly two thousand years after her entrance into sheol, no one will assert. Nor will it be maintained that the slaughtered Egyptians and Chaldeans lying in sheol with their swords under their heads were able to converse together in the nether parts of the earth; and that one was literally "comforted," or the other literally "ashamed." Equally difficult is it to believe that the kings who had been overthrown by the king of Babylon were literally seated on thrones in sheol, deep in the earth, and that when he was cast down to sheol they arose from their thrones and mocked him, declaring that he was now become weak as they. Please compare the following texts on the king of Babylon: Jer. 51:39, 57; Dan. 5:1-4, 30; Isa. 14:4-30. 

Taking our leave of "Moses and the prophets," whose testimony on this subject has the direct endorsement of our Lord, let us return to the case of Dives ((Note: Dives means Rich in Latin)) and Lazarus. Luke 16:19-31. Lazarus lived in the deepest poverty; too helpless to walk, or even to stand, he was laid at the rich man's gate; he had no other food than the crumbs, perhaps grudgingly bestowed, from the table of the rich man; and no other nurses than the dog which licked his sores. In process of time, death comes to his relief; but his burial is not mentioned, though that of the rich man, who died soon after, is distinctly named. It is likely that the dead beggar, covered with sores, was disposed of with as little trouble as possible; in the sight of man, he had the burial of a dog; but this poor man, forsaken of all earthly friends, and apparently unnoticed of Heaven, had, unseen to mortal eye, such a burial as the wealth of the whole world could not command. The angels of God took part as his bearers to that quiet resting place from which, by-and-by, when hades gives up the righteous dead, at the sound of the last trumpet, they shall take him up through the air, to meet his triumphant Redeemer. Till that time, we leave him asleep in Jesus, resting in hope, with Abraham the father of the faithful, and all the ancient worthies who have not yet received their promises. Heb. 11:8-16, 39, 40. 

The rich man lived in luxury, faring sumptuously every day. To the eye of all beholders, his lot was envied, and that of the beggar to be despised. But he dies, also and of him it is recorded that he was buried. All that wealth could purchase, all that pride could exhibit of earthly pomp and grandeur, were, no doubt, displayed at his funeral. But there were no angels of God to participate in it. He had lived for himself, neglecting the great preparation for the future. He goes down to hades a lost man, there to wait until the resurrection to damnation. As the Douay Bible reads, "He was buried in hell," i.e., in hades, or sheol. There he lifted up his eyes, being in torment, and seeth Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom. Then, as though calling to mind the littleness of the favors he had bestowed on Lazarus, he asks a favor at the hands of the despised beggar - the smallest indeed that he could ask - that Lazarus should dip the tip of this finger in water to cool his tongue. This being denied, he asks that Lazarus may be sent to warn his brethren. And this also was refused, because they had Moses and the prophets, whose testimony was sufficient. 

This scene transpires in hades, or sheol, which, as we have seen, is in the nether parts of the earth. The place is one of darkness and silence, where there is neither wisdom nor knowledge. It is the place of the dead, and those who are therein are called "the congregation the dead." Prov. 21:16. In the utter darkness of hades, how can men see each other? "In the land of forgetfulness," how can they remember the events of their past lives? In a place where there is no knowledge, how could Dives know Abraham, whom he had never seen? Where there is no work, nor device, how could he devise a plan to warn his wicked brethren? And in hades, where there is no wisdom, how could Abraham give such wise answers? In hades, where the wicked are silent in death, how could Dives converse? As the righteous cannot praise God in hades, and do not even remember his name, how does it happen that they can so well understand and converse on everything else? 

We answer these questions precisely as we do those which arise from the testimony of "Moses and the prophets," to which we are in this parable referred.

When Rachel, long dead, is represented as shedding tears and lamenting the murder of her children; when the mighty dead converse with Pharaoh in hades, and he is "comforted" with what he sees in the nether parts of the earth; and when the king of Babylon is mocked by dead kings who rise up from their thrones in hades and taunt him with his overthrow; when we read all this of that place where all is darkness, silence, secrecy, and death -a place within the earth itself, and when we consider that this parable relates to this very place, and cites us to these very testimonies for information on the subject, it becomes evident that one common answer pertains to all these questions. 

The dead are personified, ii* and made to speak and act in reference to the facts of their respective cases as though they were alive. Why should not the Spirit of God do this when it has seen fit to personify every kind of inanimate thing? Thus the blood of Abel cries to God. Gen. 4. And thus in Job, the depth and the sea are made to speak, and even destruction and death are represented as saying that they have heard the fame of wisdom with their ears. Job 28:14-22. The stone by the sanctuary heard all the words of Israel. Josh. 24. The trees, held an election and made speeches. Judges 9. The thistle proposes a matrimonial alliance, with the cedar. 2 Kings 14; 2 Chron. 25. All the trees sing out at the presence of God. 1 Chron. 16. The stone cries out of the wall, and the beam answers it. Hab. 2. The hire of the laborers, kept back by fraud, cries to God. James 5. Dead Abel yet speaketh. Heb. 11. The souls under the altar, slain for their testimony, and who do not live till the first resurrection, cry to God for vengeance. Rev. 6:9, 10. And, finally, death and hades are both personified -the one riding a pale horse, the other following, and both cutting down mankind. And this personification is still further carried out, when both, as though living enemies, are at last cast into the fire of gehenna. Rev. 6:8; 20:14; 1 Cor. 15; Hosea 13:14. 

The apostle Paul has given us the key to all this, when he says of God that he "quickeneth the dead, and calleth those things which be not as though they were." Rom. 4:17. And our Lord, in that remarkable discussion with the Sadducees, in which he proved the resurrection of the dead by the fact that God spoke of dead Abraham as though he were alive, gives us this same key, thus: "For all live unto him." Luke 20:38. Abraham, though dead, is spoken of as alive, because in the purpose of God he is to live again. 

this parable our Lord illustrates several great truths. 1. The folly and vanity of riches. 2. The worth of true piety, though attended by the deepest poverty. 3. The importance of that great lesson inculcated in the previous parable, to make friends of the mammon of unrighteousness. Luke 16:9; 1 Tim. 6:17-19. The rich man had neglected this, wasting all on himself, though wretched, suffering Lazarus lay at his gate. The folly of this criminal neglect is shown in that part of this parable in which the rich man in his distress, as if remembering the past, is represented as asking of Lazarus the water that could be brought on the tip of his finger, and even this is denied. 4. The certainty of future recompense, and the great contrast that it will make with the present state of things. 5. kind. 6. But to make this text teach that the righteous dead are now recompensed, would be to array a parable against our Lord's plain statement that the recompense of the righteous is at the resurrection of the just. Luke 14:14. 7. Or, to make the passage teach that the wicked dead are now in the lake of fire, is to make one of the Saviour's parables conflict in its teaching with his own grand description of the final Judgement, in which the wicked enter the everlasting fire at the dreadful mandate, "Depart from me, ye cursed." Matt. 25:41; Rev. 20:11-15. 

To be concluded…

Hades, Sheol, and the Grave.

The Rich Man and Lazarus

By J. N. Andrews

CONTINUED…

The account of the rich man stands at the conclusion of a discourse made up of parables.

Thus Luke 15 presents us with the parable of the lost sheep, the ten pieces of silver, and the prodigal son. The sixteenth chapter is made up of two parables; the unjust steward and the rich man and Lazarus. It is true that the account of the rich man and Lazarus is not called a parable by the sacred penman; but the fact is the same with respect to the two cases which precede this; and the three are introduced in the same manner: "A certain man had two sons;" "There was a certain rich man which had a steward;" "There was a certain rich man which was clothed in purple and fine linen." 

It is generally admitted that a parable cannot be made the foundation of any doctrine, or be used to disprove doctrines established by plain and literal testimony. But the doctrine of the present punishment of the wicked dead rests upon a single parable, and that parable the case of a single individual. 

The proper interpretation of any portion of the Sacred Record will show that it is in divine harmony with the general tenor and plain facts of the whole book. 

Three of the dead are here introduced - Abraham, Lazarus, and the rich man - and ALL are represented as in hades. "In hell [Greek, hades] he lifted up his eyes, being in torments, and seeth Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom." Luke 16:23.

Hades is the place of all the dead, the righteous as well as the wicked.

Thus, at the resurrection of the just, they shout victory over death and hades, from whose power they are then delivered. "O Death, where is thy sting? O Grave [Greek, hades], where is thy victory?" 1 Cor. 15:55.

The wicked dead are in hades; for at the resurrection to damnation, hades delivers them up. Rev. 20:13.

The resurrection of Christ did not leave his soul in hades; i.e., he then came forth from the place of the dead. Hades, therefore, is the common receptacle of the dead.

Those who are in hades are not alive, but dead.

"DEATH and HADES delivered up the DEAD which were in them." Rev. 20:13.

Even the language of Abraham implies that all the party were then dead. To Dives, he says, "Thou in thy lifetime [now passed] receivedst thy good things; but now he is comforted, and thou art tormented." Classing himself with dead Lazarus, he adds: "Between US and you there is a great gulf fixed."

The rich man then begs that Lazarus may be sent to his brethren, declaring that if one went unto them from the dead, they would repent. And Abraham, denying his request, said that they would not be persuaded, though one rose from the dead."

This scene transpires in hades, the place of the dead; and those who act in it are three dead persons. 

A clue to the proper interpretation of this parable is found in verses 29 and 31: "They have Moses and the prophets; let them hear them. . . . If they hear not Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded, though one rose from the dead."

This language directs the living to Moses and the prophets for instruction concerning man's condition in hades. In their testimony will be found adequate warning to the living wicked, and facts of great importance bearing upon the proper interpretation of this peculiar passage. 

The Old Testament was written in Hebrew, and the New Testament in Greek. Here an important fact is to be noticed: The Old Testament uses the word sheol to designate the place which in the New Testament is called hades.

Thus the sixteenth Psalm, written in Hebrew, says, "Thou wilt not leave my soul in sheol." Verse 10. The New Testament, quoting this text, and expressing the words in Greek, says, "Thou wilt not leave my soul in hades." Acts 2:27.

The Hebrew term sheol, as used in the Old Testament, is, therefore, the same in meaning with the Greek word hades as used in the New. In other words, the hades of Christ and the apostles is the sheol of Moses and the prophets.

It is well here to observe that the Hebrew word sheol is used in the Old Testament sixty-five times. It is rendered grave thirty-one times. Gen. 37:35; 42:38; 44:29, 31; 1 Sam. 2:6; 1 Kings 2:6, 9; Job 7:9; 14:13; 17:13; 21:13; 24:19; Ps. 6:5; 30:3; 31:17; 49:14, 15; 88:3; 89:48; 141:7; Prov. 1:12; 30:16; Eccl.9:10; Cant. 8:6; Isa. 14:11; 38:10, 18; Eze. 31:15; Hosea 13:14.

It is rendered pit three times, as follows: Num. 16:30, 33; Job 17:16.

It is also rendered hell in thirty-one instances, as follows: Deut. 32:22; 2 Sam. 22:6; Job 11:8; 26:6; Ps. 9:17; 16:10; 18:5; 55:15; 86:13; 116:3; 139:8; Prov. 5:5; 7:27; 9:18; 15:11, 24; 23:14; 27:20; Isa. 5:14; 14:9, 15; 28:15, 18; 57:9; Eze. 31:16, 17; 32:21, 27; Amos 9:2; Jonah 2:2; Hab. 2:5. 

Hades, the New-Testament term for the sheol of the Old Testament, is used eleven times, and in ten of these it is rendered hell: Matt. 11:23; 16:18; Luke 10:15; 16:23; Acts 2:27, 31; Rev. 1:18; 6:8; 20:13, 14.

It is once rendered grave: 1 Cor. 15:55. 

Moses and the prophets were indeed divinely inspired on every point concerning which they wrote; but on the point respecting which we seek light, they have the special endorsement of our Lord. We may therefore confide in their teachings concerning hades, or sheol, assured that the great facts revealed through them by the Spirit of God, will be found in divine harmony with the teachings of Christ and the apostles. 

The texts quoted above, relating to hades, or sheol, reveal to us many important facts. We learn that sheol is the common receptacle of the dead, whether they are righteous or wicked. Thus Jacob expressed his faith in what should be his state in death when he said, "I will go down into sheol unto my son mourning." Gen. 37:35; 42:38; 44:29, 31. Korah and his company went down into sheol. i * Num. 16:30, 33. Joab went down into sheol. 1 Kings 2:6, 9. Job was to be hid in sheol, and wait there till the resurrection. Job 14:13; 17:13. All the wicked go into sheol. Ps. 9:17; 31:17; 49:14. All mankind go there. Ps. 89:48; Eccl. 9:10. 

Sheol, or hades, receives the whole man at death. Jacob expected to go down with his gray hairs to sheol. Gen. 42:38. Korah, Dathan, and Abiram, went into sheol bodily. Num. 16:30, 33. The soul of the Saviour left sheol at his resurrection. Ps. 16:10; Acts 2:27, 31. The psalmist, being restored from dangerous sickness, testified that his soul was saved from going into sheol. Thus he says, "O Lord, my God, I cried unto thee, and thou hast healed me. O Lord, thou hast brought up my soul from the grave [Hebrew, sheol]: thou hast kept me alive, that I should not go down into the pit." Ps. 30:2, 3; see also 86:13; Prov. 23:14. He also shows that all men must die, and that no man can deliver his soul from sheol. Ps. 89:48. 

The sorrows of hell, three times mentioned by the psalmist, are, as shown by the connection, the pangs which precede or lead to death. 2 Sam. 22:5-7; Ps. 18:4-6; 116:1-9. They are, in each case, experienced by the righteous. The cruelty of sheol is there power with which it swallows up all mankind. Cant. 8:6; Ps. 89:48. 

Those who go down to sheol must remain there till their resurrection. At the coming of Christ all the righteous are delivered from sheol. All the living wicked men are then "turned into sheol," and for one thousand years sheol holds all wicked men in its dread embrace. Then death and sheol, or hades, deliver up the wicked dead, and the judgment is executed upon them in the lake of fire. Compare Job 7:9, 10; 14:12-14; 17:13; 19:25-27; Rev. 20:4-6; 1 Cor. 15:51-55; Ps. 9:17; Rev. 20:11-15. 

To be continued…. PLEASE read all verses--- study!

The Rich Man and Lazarus

The Rich Man and Lazarus

By J. N. Andrews

ARE the wicked dead now being punished? This is a question of awful solemnity, and should not be treated as a matter of speculation and idle curiosity. For the greater part of mankind live in neglect of the great duties of religion, if not in open contempt of its most solemn commands. Such has ever been the fact with our fallen race. This vast throng of sinful men for long ages have been pouring through the gates of death, and its dark portals hide them from our further view. What is the condition of this innumerable multitude of impenitent dead? Where are they? and what now is their real state?

To this question two answers are returned: 1. They are now suffering the torments of the damned. This is the answer of the so-called orthodox creeds. 2. They are now sleeping in the dust of the earth, awaiting the resurrection to damnation. This answer is believed by many candid Bible students to be the harmonious teaching of the Scriptures on this subject. Which of these two answers is the true and proper one?

There is no statement in the Bible relating to the wicked dead in general, where they are in any way represented as in a state or place of torment. Nor is there any instance in the Bible where men are threatened that they shall, if wicked, enter an abode of misery at death. Even the warning of Jesus, in Matt. 10:28, which is thought to contain the strongest proof of the soul's immortality that can be found in all the Bible, says not one word concerning the suffering of the soul in hades, the place of the dead, but relates wholly to what shall be inflicted upon "both soul and body in gehenna" (the Greek word here rendered hell), the place of punishment for the resurrected wicked. 

There being no general statement in the Bible representing the wicked dead as now in torment, and no instance in which the living wicked are threatened with consignment to the furnace of fire till after the Judgment, we now search out the particular cases which may be thought to teach such a fact. There are just two of these cases which may be cited to prove that some of the wicked dead are now in torment; and from these, if at all, the torment of the wicked dead in general must be deduced. These cases are the Sodomites; "set forth for an example, suffering the vengeance of eternal fire;" Jude 7; and the rich man lifting up his eyes in torment; Luke 16:19-31. These are the only cases that can be cited from the Scriptures in proof that the wicked dead are now undergoing the punishment of their sins.

The case of the Sodomites first claims our attention. The text reads thus: "Even as Sodom and Gomorrah, and the cities about them in like manner, giving themselves over to fornication, and going after strange flesh, are set forth for an example, suffering the vengeance of eternal fire." Jude 7.

The present tense is used throughout the verse. It occurs twice in speaking of the sin of Sodom, and twice with reference to its punishment. This text does not teach that the men of Sodom are now engaged in the sinful acts referred to; why should it be understood to teach that they are now receiving their retribution? Does the apostle mean to say that the Sodomites are now in the flames of eternal fire? The clause, "suffering the vengeance of eternal fire," is modified by the words, "set forth for an example," which immediately precede it. In fact, the real meaning of the apostle in what he says of the sufferings of the Sodomites can only be determined by giving this phrase, "set forth for an example," its proper bearing. To be "set for an example," to wicked men, "suffering the vengeance of eternal fire," one of two things must be true: 1. They must now be in a state of suffering in plain view of the inhabitants of the earth; or, 2. They must be somewhere in the Scriptures set forth in the very act of suffering the vengeance of fire from heaven. If the first of these views be correct, then the Sodomites are indeed now in torment. But that view is not correct; for the very place where Sodom was burned is now covered by the Dead Sea. 

That the second view is correct, is manifest from Gen. 19:24-28: "Then the Lord rained upon Sodom and upon Gomorrah brimstone and fire from the Lord out of heaven; and he overthrew those cities, and all the plain, and all the inhabitants of the cities, and that which grew upon the ground. But his [Lot's] wife looked back from behind him, and she became a pillar of salt. And Abraham got up early in the morning to the place where he stood before the Lord. And he looked toward Sodom and Gomorrah, and toward all the land of the plain, and beheld, and, lo, the smoke of the country went up as the smoke of a furnace."

Here the Sodomites are set forth for an example in the very act of suffering the vengeance of eternal fire. Are they to this day in that fire?

Peter bears testimony, and it is the more valuable in this case because the chapter containing it is almost an exact parallel to the epistle of Jude. Thus he says: "Turning the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah INTO ASHES condemned them with an overthrow, making them an example unto those that after should live ungodly." 2 Pet. 2:6. Peter thus shows that the fire did its proper office upon the men of Sodom, and that they were not in his day alive in its flames. Their case is an example of what God will do to all the wicked after the resurrection to damnation, when fire shall descend out of heaven upon them, and the whole earth become a lake of fire. Rev. 20; 2 Pet. 3; Mal. 4. 

The testimony of Jeremiah, which represents the punishment of Sodom as comparatively brief, must complete this evidence: "For the punishment of the iniquity of the daughter of my people is greater than the punishment of the sin of Sodom, that was overthrown

as in a moment, and no hands stayed on her." Lam. 4:6. 

The language of Jude concerning the Sodomites has, therefore, no relation to their condition in death, and cannot be made to furnish evidence that the wicked dead are now in a state of torment. There remains, therefore, the case of a single individual - the rich man - out of which to deduce the doctrine that the wicked dead are now in the lake of fire. This is certainly a fact worthy of note. 

TO BE CONTINUED….

The Royal Law- Study Concluded. Which Laws Do You Keep?

This will conclude the study on the Royal Law- The Ten Moral Laws, God's Ten Commandments.


Truly this study has been very enlightening. Too many people would love to alter God's law- either make it void, or change it to suit their desired idea of truly following God. How many actually take the time to study in depth the truth? How many deem it important …


Rev 22:14  Blessed are they that do his commandments, that they may have right to the tree of life, and may enter in through the gates into the city. 


Jesus KEPT all of His Father's Law-


Joh 15:10 … I have kept my Father's commandments, and abide in his love. 


What would have happened if Jesus hadn't kept His Father's commandments? He would NOT have abided in the LOVE of God.


Jesus NEVER made it a point to explain in great depth that the Father's commandments were not good. Could Jesus keep something that wasn't righteous? Yes, He could, but He DID NOT.


People take this-


Joh 15:10  If ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love; even as I have kept my Father's commandments, and abide in his love. 


-to mean that if we keep Jesus' commandments we don't have to keep the Father's, yet Jesus' commands all magnify the Father's commands that He kept perfectly while doing away with the corrupt traditions surrounding them.  


SURELY if Jesus wanted to prove that we don't have to follow God's commandments He would have led by example, right? He would have broken them all and explicitly made it known. If He were no long going to keep the Sabbath He would have made it a point to blatantly disregard it to the point He would have said outrightly- there is NO longer a Sabbath to keep.  Instead, Jesus kept the Sabbath and reminded people of this--


Mar 2:27  And he said unto them, The sabbath was made for man, and not man for the sabbath: 
Mar 2:28  Therefore the Son of man is Lord also of the sabbath.


Why would Jesus say He was the Lord of something that no longer existed? Truly where is the logic, if you want to look at it that way?  To say I'm the Lord of something would mean that something existed.


Jesus would NOT have left people in the dark concerning the Sabbath if He were going to abolish it, do away with it forever. Jesus would have made it a very huge point to do NOTHING that was expected of one keeping the Sabbath.


Yes, Jesus healed on the Sabbath and made it a point to tell those who wanted to claim He was disobeying the Sabbath law, that they would help on the Sabbath and His helping was no different than theirs.


Jesus was accused of breaking the Sabbath again when His disciples took some corn from the stalks they were walking through to eat it because they were hungry.  And Jesus told His accusers this--


Mar 2:23  And it came to pass, that he went through the corn fields on the sabbath day; and his disciples began, as they went, to pluck the ears of corn. 
Mar 2:24  And the Pharisees said unto him, Behold, why do they on the sabbath day that which is not lawful? 
Mar 2:25  And he said unto them, Have ye never read what David did, when he had need, and was an hungred, he, and they that were with him? 
Mar 2:26  How he went into the house of God in the days of Abiathar the high priest, and did eat the shewbread, which is not lawful to eat but for the priests, and gave also to them which were with him? 
Mar 2:27  And he said unto them, The sabbath was made for man, and not man for the sabbath: 
Mar 2:28  Therefore the Son of man is Lord also of the sabbath


That the Sabbath was to be kept wasn't a question here at all- it was HOW it was to be kept that came into question. Jesus did NOT say to the Pharisees that the Sabbath is finished.   The Pharisees would have loved to accuse Jesus of breaking the Sabbath by His NOT recognizing it as being different from any other day of the week, yet they couldn't.  This is the Sabbath commandment…


Exo 20:9  Six days shalt thou labour, and do all thy work: 
Exo 20:10  But the seventh day is the sabbath of the LORD thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates: 
Exo 20:11  For in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the LORD blessed the sabbath day, and hallowed it. 


Neither Jesus, nor His disciples engaged in any secular work at all on the Sabbath or you can be sure the Pharisees would have been all over them for working for pay on those days. If Jesus intended that the REST aspect of the Sabbath was going to be done away with and the day was going to be like any other, Jesus would have been accused of a lot more than healing and such.


Jesus went into the synagogue on the Sabbath as was His custom…


Luk 4:15  And he taught in their synagogues, being glorified of all. 
Luk 4:16  And he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up: and, as his custom was, he went into the synagogue on the sabbath day, and stood up for to read. 


 A Sabbath action.. Kept by Jesus so that is was His custom.


Just as Jesus told people that if they looked at a woman to lust after her, they were committing adultery already- Jesus was MAGNIFYING, Jesus was FULFILLING the commandments properly and teaching people the proper way to keep the truth of God's Commandments. He wasn't telling people that they should NOT keep the Sabbath any more… He would have had to be very clear if that were to be because His disciples and His apostles most certainly continued to keep the Sabbath even after they stopped offering sacrifices in the temples and such. When they brought circumcision into question God showed them plainly what was to be done and didn't leave it to question and the Bible records the whole matter with some Apostles wanting circumcision to be enforced and others not wanting it enforced on Gentiles.
 
People we NEED to read our Bibles, we NEED to study them in-depth. We CAN'T simple take one verse of the Bible, or even several and ignore the multitudes of other verses contrary to them. 

Jesus KEPT the commandments  ALL of them perfectly, even when He was accused of NOT keeping them. He KEPT THEM PERFECTLY, He did NOT break them, destroy them, do away with them, exchange them for another set of commandments. His own commandments expounded upon God's not erased them! The loving and honoring God encompassed the first four commandments, while the loving of our neighbor encompassed the last six of the commandments. NONE were erased, NONE were deemed no longer revelations of God's love… Jesus COULD NOT have kept any commandment that was NOT OF THE LOVE OF GOD! So why do people want to say He did away with them? WHY?


Anyway, I've droned on and on…. Please if you have ANY doubts as to whether the Ten Commandments are still in effect…revealing the love God…convicting of the sinfulness of sin… READ this study and then read it again! Don't be afraid to STUDY deeply. It's very easy to want to make up our own religion as we go along, but our Savior never told us to do that, not once.

May God bless us all as we finish this study, opening our understanding ONLY to His truth!




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The Perpetuity of the Royal Law
Or, The Ten Commandments Not Abolished. Advent and Sabbath Tract, No. 4.
By J. N. ANDREWS
Continued….
The remainder of chapter 7 exhibits the powerful struggle of Paul, as an awakened sinner, to keep the law of God. He is constrained to call the law holy, and the commandment holy and just and good; and he testifies that it is by the commandment that sin becomes exceeding sinful. He adds that the law is spiritual, but that he is carnal, sold under sin. His language depicts in the most striking manner the power of the carnal mind.


Notwithstanding he approved the holiness and excellence of the law of God, he was earned, sold under sin, and unable to render acceptable obedience to its precepts. The other law of sin in his members baffled all his efforts to keep the law of God. In despair he flies to Christ for refuge and help. He obtains forgiveness of his past transgression of the law of God, through faith in the great propitiation for sin; he is delivered from the carnal mind - that other law of sin in the members - and grace is given him, that he may hereafter render acceptable obedience to the law of God. Rom.8:1-4. 


The guilt of transgression, and the just condemnation of the law, are now gone; Paul is under grace; the law of God is now placed in his heart; and he manifests his love to God by keeping his commandments. The first part of Romans 8, presents this happy change. This narration of the Apostle's experience strikingly illustrates the word of David: "The law of the Lord is perfect, converting the soul." Several important truths are clearly brought to view by this portion of scripture. 


1. The law of God has not been abolished; for here is direct testimony that it existed in its full strength, several years after the crucifixion. 


2. The law here referred to is the decalogue; for Paul quotes its tenth precept. Nor can this be evaded by saying that Paul quoted from the law of Christ. (1.) The words purport to come from "the law:" an expression never used with reference to the words of Christ. (2.) The words in verse 7 are a literal quotation from the decalogue; but as Christ never used the expression, they are not a quotation from his words. (3.) There is direct proof in verses 22 and 25 that Paul quotes from "the law of God." 


3. The law of God is his standard of holy principles; if these were abolished, sin could not be known. 


4. The law of God began Paul's experience. If that were abolished, there could be no Christian experience, for there could be no knowledge of sin, the Apostle being judge. Rom.3:20; 4:15; 7:7.
 
5. "Sin by the commandment" becomes exceeding sinful." Verse 13. The reference to the law and the commandment, in this chapter cannot be mistaken. No one will attempt to deny that Paul refers directly to the decalogue, using the tenth commandment as a representative of all the rest. The sin forbidden by each of the commandments, becomes "exceeding sinful" when viewed in their holy light. How great, then, must be the guilt of those who openly desecrate the fourth commandment, after they have once been enlightened respecting it by the word of God! 


Finally, the great design of the gospel is to deliver fallen man from the just condemnation of the law of God, and to place him where he may fulfill the righteousness of the law. "The Law reveals and makes us know What duties to our God we owe; But 'tis the Gospel must reveal Where lies our strength to do his will." 


"Whosoever committeth sin transgresseth also the law; for sin is the transgression of the law. And ye know that he was manifested to take away our sins; and in him is no sin. Whosoever abideth in him sinneth not: whosoever sinneth hath not seen him, neither known him. Little children, let no man deceive you: he that doeth righteousness is righteous, even as he is righteous. He that committeth sin is of the devil." 1John3:4-8. 


This text is worthy of careful examination. Let us notice some important truths here presented. 
1. The New Testament definition of sin is here given: "Sin is the transgression of the law." Every sinner is a transgressor of the law of God. 
2. John establishes the fact that this is the original law of God, by the statement that Christ was "manifested to take away our sins;" (transgressions of the law;) thus showing that it was a law which existed, and was transgressed prior to the first advent. 
3. In Christ there was no sin; no transgression of the law. This ought forever to silence those who affirm that Christ broke the fourth commandment. 
4. "Ye know that he was manifested to take away our sins." Those who think that Christ was manifested to take away the law of his Father, would do well to consider this verse. He was manifested to take away (not the law of God, but) sin, the transgression of law. If Christ was manifested to take away the law, it follows that to remove our transgression, he took away the law which he had transgressed: thus showing that he had a greater dislike to the law of his Father than he had to sin, the transgression of that law! But how did Christ take away sins? "He appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself." Heb.9:26. He shed his own blood as a propitiation for the sins of men: thus honoring the law of God, and opening to guilty man a way of escape.
5. "Whosoever abideth in him sinneth not;" that is, whosoever abideth in Christ, doth not transgress the law. This is a truth of the deepest importance to those who think that the law is made void by faith, or done away by the gospel. Not a few who understandingly break the fourth commandment, quiet their consciences with the thought that Christ is their Saviour. Let such remember that none abide in Christ, who understandingly transgress the law of God. In this matter of vital importance, the Apostle utters a solemn warning: "Let no man deceive you: he that doeth righteousness is righteous, even as he is righteous. He that committeth sin (transgresseth the law of God) is of the devil; "All thy commandments" says the Psalmist, "are righteousness." Ps.119:172. Every violation of the law is sin. Those who understandingly transgress the law of God, to use the severe language of the beloved disciple, are "of the devil." To break any one of the commandments of God constitutes a man a sinner, and exposes him to the penalty of the law - Rom.6:23; Eze.18:4,20; Rev.20:14,15. 
"My little children, these things write I unto you that ye sin not. And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. And he is the propitiation for our sins; and not for ours only but for the sins of the whole world." 1John2:1,2. We have already listened to John's definition of sin, and have learned that it is the "transgression of the law." Many affirm that this is the law of Christ. In the text before us we have the means of deciding this point. John begins by exhorting those to whom he writes, not to sin; that is, not to transgress the law. He adds, "If any man sin, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous." Then it is God the Father whose law is broken, and with whom an advocate is needed, by the sinner. There is one Law-giver, whose holy law has been broken by all mankind; and there is one Mediator between that Law-giver and the transgressor. James4:12; Rom.3:19,23; 1Tim.2:5,6. The one Law-giver is God the Father; the one Mediator is our Lord Jesus Christ. If Christ were the Law-giver, then our mediator must be between Christ and us. But instead of this, God the Father is the being whose law has been transgressed, and Jesus is the great High Priest between that broken law and its guilty transgressors. And this fact is confirmed by the next sentence: "He is the propitiation of our sins; and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world." Then Jesus stands between the Law-giver and the sinner, not only as an advocate, mediator and High Priest, but also as the propitiation for the sins of men. In other words, he is the great Sacrifice offered for man's transgression of the law of God. 


How deeply interesting is the thought that in the temple of God in heaven, where the ark containing the law of God abides, we have a great High Priest, who has once offered himself for our transgression of that free pardon of all our transgressions. Rev.11:19; Heb.8:1-3. 


To the professed people of God who still violate his law, we would address a word of exhortation and entreaty. "As though God did beseech you by us, we pray you in Christ's stead be ye reconciled to God." The carnal mind is enmity against God, and is not subject to his law. Pray that God may deliver you from it. Would you possess that charity or perfect love, so fully described in 1Cor.13, which is the fulfilling of the law? Then heed the words of the apostle John: "This is the love of God that we keep his commandments; and his commandments are not grievous." 1John5:3. 


The fourth commandment has long been trodden down, but under the latest message of mercy to men, the people of God are seen keeping all his commandments and the faith or testimony of Jesus Christ. Rev.14:9-12. Will you not be of this number? The dragon is yet to make war upon this remnant of the church; but he shall not prevail. Rev.12:17. The last testimony respecting the commandment-keepers is given by the Son of God in Rev.22:14. "Blessed are they that do his commandments, that they may have right to the tree of life, and may enter in through the gates into the city." This is the fruition of our blessed hope, shortly to be realized. 


Concluded.

The Perpetuity of the Royal Law

Or, The Ten Commandments Not Abolished. Advent and Sabbath Tract, No. 4.

By J. N. ANDREWS

It is evident, therefore, that the death of our Saviour sustains the same relation to the law of God, that the death of the victim in the ancient typical system sustained to that law. The design of either was not that man should have liberty to violate the law of God, but that man who had violated that law, might have the offer of pardon.

The typical system could not, indeed, take away sin; but it pointed out the fact that without the shedding of blood there could be no remission of sins, and clearly pointed forward to the great Sacrifice which should be offered for the sin of the world. 

If it were possible for God to give men an adequate idea of the immutability of his sacred law, he has given it in the spectacle of his Son dying upon the cross for us. Those who think that the death of the Son of God abolished the very law which made that death necessary, are requested to consider the following points:-

1. If the law that condemned man could have been abolished, it would not have been necessary that the blood of Christ should be shed, that atonement might be made for its transgressors. But the Son of God died because the law which man had broken could not be taken back.

2. But if the death of Christ destroyed the law which condemned men, then they are delivered from its just sentence, whether they repent or not: in other words, Universalism is true. 

3. But this view makes the law of God, and the Son of God, both fall beneath the same blow, and without honoring God, or leading man to repentance: it destroys both the cherished objects of Jehovah's affection: subjecting the Son of God to a shameful death, and overturning the moral government of the great Law-giver.

4. But the conditional offer of pardon made to man through the gospel of the Son of God, plainly evinces that the law of God still exists, and that men can only be delivered from it, on condition of repentance toward God, and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ.

 

Hence the law of the Most High is not abolished by the death of the Son of God. His death indeed permits mercy to enter and offer pardon to guilty man; but the law of God abides all the while; and when the work of mercy is accomplished, our great High Priest will leave the tabernacle of God, no more to plead for sinful man, and the penalty of the law, the second death, will be awarded to its transgressors. 

It is clearly established, therefore, that the death of the Son of God did not blot out the law of God the Father. On the contrary, his death is that fact which, above all others, testifies to its immutability.

But we cannot employ so strong language on this point as that which Paul has used in summing up this very argument. He says: "Do we then make void the law through faith? God forbid: yea, we establish the law." Rom.3:31.

Having shown conclusively that the law of God was neither abolished by the teaching nor by the death of the Son of God, we will now examine the third question:-

TO BE CONTINUED….

What shall we say then? Is the law sin? God forbid

The Perpetuity of the Royal Law

Or, The Ten Commandments Not Abolished. Advent and Sabbath Tract, No. 4.

By J. N. ANDREWS

Continued….

We shall now present the plain and explicit testimony of the apostles relative to the perpetuity of the law of God, and thus allow them to speak on this subject in their own behalf. The limits of this tract will not admit an extended notice of objections. For this part of the subject the reader is referred to larger works published at Review Office. The word of God is not yea and nay; therefore the plain statements of our Lord and his apostles must forever vindicate the immutability of the divine law. 

"If ye fulfill the royal law according to the scripture, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself, ye do well: but if ye have respect to persons, ye commit sin, and are convinced of the law as transgressors. For whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all. For he that said, Do not commit adultery, said also, Do not kill. Now if thou commit no adultery, yet if thou kill, thou art become a transgressor of the law. So speak ye, and so do, as they that shall be judged by the law of liberty." James 2:8-12. 

Several important facts are clearly set forth in this quotation. That the royal law to which James refers is the original law, is certain from the fact that he quotes it from the Scripture, the Old Testament. This is further evident from the fact that James in citing two of the ten commandments, presents them on their original authority; that is, as spoken by God in person. Or if we adopt the marginal reading of verse 11, he expressly acknowledges the authority of that law which contains the sixth and seventh commandments. That law is not abolished: on the contrary, it still stands ready to convince of sin every one who dares to violate it. Verse 9. While those who fulfill it, instead of falling from grace, are said to do well. 

"For whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all." This verse furnished a perfect parallel to Matt.5:19. "Whosoever therefore shall break one of these least commandments, and teach men so, he shall be called the least in the kingdom of heaven," ["shall be in no esteem in the reign of heaven." Campbell's Translation.] Each of these texts distinctly announce the doctrine that the willful violation of a single precept of the law of God, is sufficient to exclude the transgressor from the kingdom of God. But it may be denied that this language of James refers to the ten commandments. Those who attempt to maintain such a position would do well to read the next verse, in which he brings the whole force of his argument to bear upon the ten commandments. He that violates one of these precepts is guilty of all. Let those consider this who lightly esteem the fourth commandment. Even were it the least precept in the Decalogue, those who willfully violate it, and teach men so, shall be of no esteem in the reign of heaven. 

The "ALL" here referred to, means one of two things. 1. It means only those precepts which James has quoted, which makes "the whole law" to consist of the three precepts here cited, and leaves us at liberty to violate the first, second, third, fourth, fifth, eighth, ninth and tenth commandments, and also the first of the two great precepts from which James quotes - and those who think this tenable ground must occupy it at their own peril; or 2. The "ALL" to which James refers, includes the ten precepts from which he quotes; and he that violates one, has transgressed them all. By this law of liberty, or royal law, men will be judged in the day of God. 

"Honor thy father and mother, (which is the first commandment with promise,) that it may be well with thee, and thou mayest live long on the earth." Eph.6:2,3. There is an important argument contained in this text, which has been generally overlooked. Paul would enforce upon children their duty to their parents. For this purpose he appeals to the fifth commandment for authority. Some have attempted to evade this argument by saying that Paul quoted this precept from the new law which Christ established, by quoting a part of the commandments to take the place of the original code as given by the voice of God at Sinai. To answer the assertion from which this inference is drawn, we present the fact that there is no intimation in the New Testament that Christ, by quoting a part of the ten commandments, established a new law in the place of the original code. But those who insist on the idea that Christ by quoting a part of the ten commandments established a new code, would do well to ask themselves the question, why Christ never quoted one of the first four commandments. This imaginary new law is no great improvement on the original, when the fact appears that the first four commandments are not quoted by Christ, and consequently on its advocates' own showing, do not form a part of this law.

But there is direct evidence that Paul quotes from the Decalogue. By a word of comment inserted in the parenthesis, he identifies this as the first commandment with promise. It is a fact that though Christ has quoted this commandment, he has never appended any promise to it whatever; much less has he added the one here quoted by Paul. It is also a fact that this commandment does stand in the Decalogue, not only as its first commandment with promise, but with the very promise in question annexed! Hence it is a fact that Paul quotes from the Decalogue, and this too for the purpose of enforcing one of the clearest duties in the word of God: thus distinctly acknowledging the fifth commandment as the fountain head of all authority on this subject. With this important fact before us, we can judge whether those do not wrest the words of Paul, who represent him as teaching the abolition of all the ten commandments. Paul tells the Ephesians that he had kept back nothing that was profitable to them. Acts.20:20. If therefore the moral law had been abolished, Paul must have revealed this important fact to them. What then must the Ephesians have thought when Paul wrote them four years later, appealing to the Decalogue, and not to his apostolic authority, to enforce the duty of children to their parents? Paul was never guilty of such inconsistency; it belongs only to those who teach the abolition of the ten commandments.

"Do we then make void the law through faith? God forbid: yea, we establish the law." Rom.3:31. This text has been already quoted as concluding Paul's argument on redemption through the death of Christ. We quote it again to give Paul an opportunity to speak explicitly on the question before us. No one of the apostles has treated so largely upon the doctrine of justification by faith as the apostle Paul. But lest any should conclude from the earnest manner in which he insists upon this doctrine that he believed the law of God abolished, he asks this very question that he may answer it in the most definite manner. His answer should put to the blush those teachers who represent Paul as setting aside, or teaching the abolition of the moral law. "God forbid," says the Apostle, "yea, we establish the law." Nor can an exception be taken to the form of the Apostle's question; for the same word that is rendered "make void" in this verse, is in 2Cor.3:13; Eph.2:15; 2Tim.1:10, rendered "abolished." Paul has therefore rendered a definite answer to the question under consideration. And the strong language he uses in denying that he taught the abolition of that sacred law, should forever silence those who lay such an accusation against him. 

Paul well understood the fact, that, though men now have the offer of pardon through the blood of Christ, the time will arrive when this work of mercy will be finished, and the just penalty of the law of God be inflicted upon all who are then in their sins. Knowing the terror of the Lord, he labored night and day to persuade men to become reconciled unto God, and thus escape the penalty of the law - the second death. Paul affirms that he did not teach the abolition of the law. Who dare affirm that he did? Yes, said he, we establish the law. Who dare deny it? 

"What shall we say then? Is the law sin? God forbid. Nay, I had not known sin, but by the law: for I had not known lust, except the law had said, "Thou shalt not covet." Rom.7:7. The conversion of Paul took place some years after the crucifixion of Christ; so that what he says relative to the law of God has direct bearing upon this subject. The experience of the Apostle, as here narrated by himself, is a proper example of sound conversion to God. The law of God struck the first blow in Paul's religious experience; and thus it is with all others. The tenth commandment of the decalogue convinced Paul that he was a sinner; and he testifies that had it not been for that precept of the law, he had not known himself a sinner: thus exemplifying his own statement that "by the law is the knowledge of sin," showing that the law is God's great standard of right.

To be continued….

The Royal Law Pt 5

The Perpetuity of the Royal Law

Or, The Ten Commandments Not Abolished. Advent and Sabbath Tract, No. 4.

By J. N. ANDREWS

Continued….

Having shown conclusively that the law of God was neither abolished by the teaching nor by the death of the Son of God, we will now examine the third question:-

3. Was the law of God abolished by the apostles? 

It may seem to some individuals that this last question is propounded in a singular form. But if the law of God was not abolished by the teaching nor yet by the death of the Son of God, it follows that if abolished at all, it must have been by the apostles. Many have asserted that the apostles re-enacted nine of the ten commandments, to take the place of the ten which ceased at Christ's death: but as we have shown that the Son of God offered himself up as the great Propitiation for the transgression of the law, and not as the means of its abolition, it follows that the ten commandments must be abolished by the apostles, before they could re-enact one of them. It is no more absurd to speak of the apostles' abolishing the ten commandments than it is to speak of their re-enacting nine of them. And if it seem absurd to any individual to believe that the apostles abolished the ten commandments and then re-enacted nine of them, we ask them to consider whether the doctrine which represents the infinite Law-giver as doing this very thing, is not a still greater absurdity? 

If the apostles abolished the law of God, who gave them authority? The Son of God indeed commissioned them to teach all things whatsoever he had commanded them; but we have seen, in all his teaching to them, that he maintained the immutability of his Father's law, so that from their divine Master they never received such a commission. If they taught as he taught, we shall find them setting forth the perpetuity and immutability of the law of God. And that they did speak the same doctrine which their Lord had taught them, we have divine assurance. John14:26. If the apostles abolished the law, they must have done it in the very epistles in which, according to some of our opponents, they re-enacted nine of the commandments for the gospel dispensation. These epistles were written not far from A. D. 60; so that if the law of God was abolished by the apostles, it was abolished about thirty years after the crucifixion.

We have presented the question in this form, that attention might be called to the folly of those teachers who represent the apostles as legislating upon the law of God. A single testimony from the apostle James ought to make those blush for shame who represent the apostles as abolishing the law of God, or as reenacting a part of it, to take the place of the original code. "There is one Lawgiver who is able to save and to destroy." James 4:12. From the preceding verse it is certain that James thus designates Him who gave the law in person at the first; that law, the authority of which he so distinctly recognizes in chapter 1:25; 2:8-12. According to James, there is but one such being in the universe; namely, the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only wise God. It is therefore the height of absurdity to represent the apostles as amending, abolishing, or re-enacting the law of God. The twelve apostles never yet attempted to dethrone the one Law-giver, or to usurp any of his prerogatives. 

To be continued…..