The Law of the Lord

The Law of the Lord

by David Rose

“The law of the Lord is perfect, converting the soul.”

Psalm 19:7

Do you consider yourself to be a good person? Good enough to go to heaven? By who’s standard are you measuring? The good person believes he will go to heaven because he or she is nice and gentle hearted.

If you think you are a good person, chances are you give to charities and other good causes. You may even go to

church, be an elder, sing in the choir, work in a soup kitchen or teach Sunday school. But the real question is are you good by your standards or God’s.

Let’s take a look at God’s standards. The ninth commandment says; “thou shall not bear false witness (lie)” Have you ever told a lie? If you have, God says you are a liar. You say you’re not a liar. You only tell small ones. Let me ask you a question. If you kill someone what does that make you? How many times do you have to kill some one before you become a murderer? Once! So even if you tell one lie, God says you’re a liar.

There are no big lies and little lies, just as there are no big thieves and little thieves. No, size has nothing to do with it. If you steal $5.00 you’re just as much a thief as if you stole $30,000. If you tell any kind of lie you are a liar. Have you ever taken something that belonged to someone else without regard of its value? Then you are a thief. “Thou shalt not steal” Have you ever looked upon someone to lust? Jesus said, ‘you have heard that it was said of old, thou shall not commit adultery, but I say to you that whoever looks at a woman to lust after her has committed adultery already with her in his heart.’ The seventh commandment is “Thou shall not commit adultery”.

If you said yes to any of these, the Bible says you’re guilty of breaking all the commandments. For the word says“For whoever shall keep the whole law, and yet stumble in one point, he is guilty of all.” James 2:10

If you were to face God for your lying, stealing and adultery on judgment day would you be innocent or guilty? Also remember we have only looked at three of the Ten Commandments, we have another seven to go. If you have ever lied, stolen and lusted after someone in your heart, then you are a lying, thieving adulterer at heart and you have to face God on judgement day. The Bible says “For the wages of sin is death.” Romans 6:23

God warns us in His word that “...all souls are mine: as the soul of the father, so also the soul of the son is mine; the soul that sinneth, it shall die.” Ezekiel 18:4

So tell me good person, can your goodness get you to heaven? Can you still lie, steal and commit adultery and be a good person? “But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone.”Revelation 21:8

There are also those that think because they are spiritual or religious they will make it to heaven. There are those that treat their church like a God, they think their membership will save them. Many see nothing wrong with horoscopes, palm reading and fortune telling. They see nothing wrong with praying to saints or loved ones that have passed on. These same people see nothing wrong with reading books from people like Jeane Dixon, Edgar Cayce, John Edwards or Nostradomus. Many don’t see the harm in practices such as; Silva mind control, yoga, TM meditation, talking to spirit guides.

Many people see nothing wrong with going to hear psychics, mediums, palm readers or a tarot card reader. What many people don’t know is, if the message or miracles do not lead you back to God and His son Jesus Christ it is not from God.

“I am quite sure that the root of nine-tenths of all the heresies that have ever afflicted the Christian church, and are the cause of the weakness of so much popular Christianity, is none other than the failure adequately to recognize the universality, and gravity of transgression. If a word comes to you, calls itself God’s message, and does not start with man’s sin, nor put in the forefront of its utterances the way by which the dominion of that sin can be broken in your own heart, and the penalties of that sin in your present and future life can be swept away, it is condemned= “ipso facto” (in the very fact itself)- as not a gospel from God, or fit for men.” Alexander Maclaren

One sure-fire way of finding out if a message is from God or if the prophet is of God is he will turn people away from their “evil way and from the evil of their deeds.” (Jer. 23:21-22/23:30-32)

“I have not sent these prophets, yet they ran: I have not spoken to them, yet they prophesied. But if they had stood in my counsel, and had caused my people to hear my words, then they should have turned them from their evil way, and from the evil of their doings.” Jer. 23:21-22

“Therefore, behold, I am against the prophets, saith the Lord, that steal my words every one from his neighbour. Behold, I am against the prophets, saith the Lord, that use their tongues, and say, He saith. Behold, I am against them that prophesy false dreams, saith the Lord, and do tell them, and cause my people to err by their lies, and by their lightness; yet I sent them not, nor commanded them: therefore they shall not profit this people at all, saith the Lord.” Jer. 23:30-32

In Deuteronomy 13:1-5 the Lord tells us that if a prophet or dreamer of dreams does miracles, if he in any way tries to lead you away from God, to other gods, you are not to listen to him, “for the Lord your God is testing you to find out if you love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul.”

Just because a man or woman can tell you something about your-self does not make them a prophet of God, remember witches can do the same thing. A prophet according to scripture will turn people away from sin and towards Jesus.

“The prophet comes to set up that which is upset. His work is to call into line those who are out of line! He is unpopular because he opposes the popular in morality and spirituality. In a day of faceless politicians and voiceless preachers, there is not a more urgent national need than that we cry to God for a prophet! The function of the prophet, as Austin-Sparks once said, “has almost always been that of recovery.” Leonard Ravenhill

“The prophet is God’s detective seeking for a lost treasure. The degree of his effectiveness is determined by his measure of unpopularity. Compromise is not known to him.

He has no price tags.

He is totally “otherworldly.”

He is unquestionably controversial and unpardonably

hostile.

He marches to another drummer!

He breathes the rarefied air of inspiration.

He is a “seer” who comes to lead the blind.

He lives in the heights of God and comes into the

valley with a “thus saith the Lord.”

He shares some of the foreknowledge of God and

so is aware of impending judgment.

He lives in “splendid isolation.”

He is forthright and outright, but he claims no

birthright.

His message is “repent, be reconciled to God

or else...!”

His prophecies are parried.

His truth brings torment, but his voice is never void.

He is the villain of today and the hero of tomorrow.

He is excommunicated while alive and exalted

when dead!

He is dishonored with epithets when breathing

and honored with epitaphs when dead.

He is a schoolmaster to bring us to Christ, but

few “make the grade” in his class.

He is friendless while living and famous when dead.

He is against the establishment in ministry; then he

is established as a saint by posterity.

He eats daily the bread of affliction while he

ministers, but he feeds the Bread of Life to those

who listen.

He walks before men for days but has walked

before God for years.

He is a scourge to the nation before he is scourged

by the nation.

He announces, pronounces, and denounces!

He has a heart like a volcano and his words are

as fire.

He talks to men about God.

He carries the lamp of truth amongst heretics

while he is lampooned by men.

He faces God before he faces men, but he is

self-effacing.

He hides with God in the secret place, but he

has nothing to hide in the marketplace.

He is naturally sensitive but supernaturally spiritual.

He has passion, purpose and pugnacity.

He is ordained of God but disdained by men.”

Leonard Ravenhill

“If the church in the second half of this century is to recover from the injuries she suffered in the first half, there must appear a new type of preacher. The proper, ruler-of-the-synagogue type will never do. Neither will the priestly type of man who carries out his duties, takes his pay and asks no questions, nor the smooth-talking pastoral type who knows how to make the Christian religion acceptable to everyone. All these have been tried and found wanting. Another kind of religious leader must arise among us. He must be of the old prophet type, a man who has seen visions of God and has heard a voice from the Throne. When he comes (and I pray God there will be not one but many) he will stand in flat contradiction to everything our smirking, smooth civilization holds dear. He will contradict, denounce and protest in the name of God and will earn the hatred and opposition of a large segment of Christendom.” A. W. Tozer

“The message of repentance is the message that will mark and characterize the message of every real prophet of God as long as the world lasts.”

John G. Lake - Water Baptism

We have thrown out the law of God in our sermons to make every one comfortable and we know only preach grace. After all we don’t want to condemn people.

But the word tells us, Paul says that we use the law as our school master to bring us to Christ.

“Wherefore the law was out schoolmaster

to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified

by faith.” Gal. 3:24

If a man is never convinced he is a sinner worthy of God’s wrath, what motivation does he have in coming to Christ? I have heard many pastors say well every one knows they are sinners. So true! Their are many that do know that, but you will not find one that really believes he has sinned enough to burn in hell for it. That is were many miss it. A sinner will always declare his own goodness. This is why we need the power of the law, to drive us to Christ. This is also why many will come to Christ and then continue in a life of sin. They feel that if God would not punish them before they where “Christians” how could he possible be made at them now that they believe they are children of God? It is because as John Wesley so beautifully put it:

“I fear the preachers have been more studious

to please than to awaken, or there would have

been a deeper work.”

Many pastors preaching leave the impression that the disciples had little pocket new testaments. They had no new testament then, only the old testament and they preached out of that. So when Paul says:

“All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness:” 2 Tim. 3:16

He was speaking of the old testament. The new testament had not been written yet. Many forget that fact. You see the old testament and the new testament do not contradict one another they complement each other. The old testament had Gods laws on stone tablets the new testament has Gods laws on our hearts. So take head to not only new testament warnings but also the old.

God also warns in Deuteronomy 18:10-12

“There shall not be found among you anyone who makes his son or his daughter pass through the fire, or one who practices witchcraft, or a soothsayer, or one who interprets omens, or a sorcerer, or one who conjures spells, or a medium, or a spiritist, or one who calls up the dead (talks to or prays to the dead). For all who do these

things are an abomination to the Lord,...”

To talk to the dead weather they be saints, the virgin Mary or loved ones is called necromancy. Necromancy is forbidden in the Bible, it is an abomination to the Lord. The New Webster’s Expanded Dictionary says necromancy is “The revealing of future events through pretended communication with the dead; sorcery.” I can hear many of you now saying, “but these are in the old testament.” God has changed since the old testament. Since Jesus came, God is more loving and patient with us. Hebrews 13:8 says; “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.” Praying to anyone other than God the Father through Jesus Christ is strictly forbidden in the scriptures. (Also it should be noted: it is OK if you talk to Jesus and or the Holy Ghost. They are one in the trinity.) “I and my Father are one.” John 10:30

“For there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost: and these three are one.” 1 John 5:7
The word says: “For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus.” 1 Tim. 2:5

Mary is not a mediator and Paul is not a mediator. There is only one mediator (go between) between God and man. If you pray to anyone else you are wasting your time, and damning your soul. God is a jealous God. If you find a church that has their own revelation outside of the Bible, watch out! Many religious people take from many different religions. They see nothing wrong with taking a little bit of buddhism, zen, hinduism, Christianity and mixing them to suit their lifestyles. That is, they see nothing wrong until they run into the first commandment. “Thou shall have no other gods before me.” What part of the Ten Commandments do we not understand? Have you ever prayed to or bowed down to an image of a god or a saint? The second commandment says;

“Thou shall not make for yourself any graven image.” This also means that we should not make a god to suit ourselves, either with our hands or our mind.

You say “my God would never throw anyone in hell, he is too loving.” You’re right your god wouldn’t, he does not exist. He is a figment of your imagination, an ‘image’ which you have shaped to suit your lifestyle. You have committed idolatry. Instead of obeying the God written laws, you write your own.

You study all kinds of spiritual books, but you have little time for your Bible. You let other people interpret your Bible for you. Jesus said that if you really loved Him you would keep His words. (John 14:23)

David said in psalms 11 9:11 ; “Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee.” Have you taken the time to learn God’s word? Many of you still don’t see anything wrong with psychics. You believe it’s a gift from God. Well Paul ran into a psychics, in the book of Acts. She was a fortune teller.

“And it came to pass, as we went to prayer, a certain damsel possessed with a spirit of divination met us, which brought her masters much gain by soothsaying: The same followed Paul and us, and cried, saying, These men are the servants of the most high God, which show unto us the way of salvation. And this did she many days. But Paul, being grieved, turned and said to the spirit, I command thee in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her. And he came out the same hour.” Acts 16:16-18

What did Paul do? He cast out the devil, and she lost her fortune-telling ability. If you think being a white witch is better than a black witch, you are deceived. There is no good thief and bad thief and there is no good witch and bad witch. Have you ever used the Lord’s name in vain? If you have ever used the name of God to express frustration or anger you are a blasphemer.

The third commandment says: “Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord in vain.” No blasphemer will enter heaven. God’s name is Holy, you will give His name respect and reverence, or you will suffer God’s wrath as a blasphemer.

Have you broken any of God’s laws? “Thou shalt have no other gods before me. Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the LORD thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me; And showing mercy unto thousands of them that love me, and keep my commandments.

Thou shalt not take the name of the LORD thy God in vain; for the LORD will not hold him guiltless that

taketh his name in vain. Hoping for Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days shalt thou labour,

and do all thy work: 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: 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. Honour thy father and thy mother: that thy days may be long upon the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee. Thou shalt not kill. Thou shalt not commit adultery. Thou shalt not steal. Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbour. Thou shalt not covet thy neighbour’s house, thou shalt not covet thy neighbour’s wife, nor his manservant, nor his maidservant, nor his ox, nor his ass, nor any thing that is thy neighbour’s. Exodus 20:3:17

“He that keepeth the commandment keepeth

his own soul; but he that despiseth his

ways shall die.” Prov. 19:16

“And now, Israel, what doth the Lord thy God require of thee, but to fear the Lord thy God, to walk in all his ways, and to Love Him with all thy heart and with all thy soul To keep the com mandments of the Lord, and his statutes, which I command thee this day for thy good.”

Deut. 10:12, 13

“Fear God and keep his commandments; for this is the whole duty of man.” Eze. 12:13

“Jesus has spoken to you many times by His Spirit and told you that this world is not your home and that it is not all of life to live or all of death to die, but that after death comes the Judgment. He has shown you that you are a sinner, lost and undone, that the wrath of God hangs over you. If you die in your sins, it will be an awful thing to “fall into the hands of the living God” (Heb. 10:31). If you go on in your sins, you will be arrested by the Sheriff of Heaven and be bound hand and foot; you will be cast into “outer darkness,” where the inhabitants weep and wail and gnash their teeth (Matt. 8:12). The Lord has told you that the time will come when you will cry for mercy. Yet the mercy door will be closed, and God will not hear you. He will laugh and mock at your fears and calamity. He will say, “Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire,” a place “prepared for the devil and his angels” (Matt. 25:41)

Heaven was prepared for you, but if you are not pure in heart, the pearly gates will be closed against you. This world will be wrapped in flames; it will burn as pitch and tar, and the wicked will be swept off into

destruction.

In view of the terrible doom the text implies, make the preparation at once, You will have to die someday, and there is no repentance in the grave. As you go down in death, you will rise in the Judgment. Death is coming; That terrible eternity is before you! Before the sun rises or sets again, you may be cold in death, and your soul may be lost.”

Maria Woodwarth-Etter - Set your house in order