Why it is impossible to keep the law
Jun 5, 2016 5:25:44 GMT
Post by Colossians on Jun 5, 2016 5:25:44 GMT
This material is for the teaching of the Body of Christ, however the author reserves copyright over it.
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WHY IT IS IMPOSSIBLE TO KEEP THE LAW
The traditional reason why we cannot keep the law
The traditional view on why it is impossible to keep the law is a view from pragmatics, namely, that any of the law’s precepts can be taken down to the ‘nth degree’ until eventually a transgression is found.
For example, “thou shalt not steal” could be taken down to the level of “thou shalt never think about anything except work while at work”.
The pragmatic view in a nutshell:
It is impossible to keep the law to the ‘nth degree’.
There are, however, more fundamental reasons why one cannot keep the law, reasons philosophical and logical.
The philosophical reason why we cannot keep the law
In science we learn that one cannot get more energy out of a system than is put into it.
Along the same lines, if I am under the jurisdiction of a system, it is implied that the system constrains me to that which I do not naturally attain to. (If we naturally attained to keeping the law, there would be no need for the law in the first place: the very presence of the law implies a deficiency on our side of things.)
The philosophical reason in a nutshell:
Any system we are under must be ‘greater’ than us and therefore that which renders us deficient in the points with which that system is concerned.
And so we read:
“the law is not made for a righteous man” 1 Ti 1:9
: in declaring ourselves under the law (in declaring the law to be over us) we necessarily declare ourselves potential law-breakers and by virtue of such contingency necessarily unacceptable to God.
This philosophical reason underpins the pragmatic reason given above, and complements the two logical reasons given below.
The two logical (catch-22) reasons why we cannot keep the law
1. The law commands us to love God with all our heart, mind, and soul.
Jesus tells us that he that is forgiven little, loves little, and he that is forgiven much, loves much (Luke 7:47).
We therefore understand that he who is not forgiven at all, does not love God at all.
This presents a conundrum: if one does not transgress the law, then one does not need forgiveness, and if one does not need forgiveness, then one will not love God, and if one does not love God, then one cannot keep the law which commands one to love God.
The first ‘catch-22’ in a nutshell:
In order to keep the law, one must transgress the law.
2. The law commands us to love God with all our heart, mind, and soul.
In order to see whether we are achieving this, however, we must focus on our performance (continually view how we are faring) and so take our eyes of love and devotion off the Lord: we must be preoccupied with ourselves and our adherence to standards. Being this way focussed, we are necessarily not loving God with all our heart, mind, and soul, but are like Martha who was too busy pottering in the kitchen to have time to sit at Jesus’ feet as Mary did (see Luke 10:38-42).
The second ‘catch-22’ in a nutshell:
In attempting to keep the law, one necessarily transgresses the law.
(This follows directly from the fact that Adam’s being commanded to not eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil was reciprocal to (alternately) being commanded to walk by faith. That is, because any commandment to walk by faith is in and of itself law and not faith, in attempting to keep such commandment one necessarily transgresses the very law one is attempting to keep. It is this conundrum which legalist cults such as the Seventh Day Adventists, and more importantly, the church at large, have not realised in their unauthorised attempts to merge the law with grace.)
Overall
It should be obvious that love cannot be legislated for (cannot be commanded). In fact, one’s being commanded to love usually results in resentment, not love.
No wonder then that the entire law (including the two greatest commandments which command us to love God and our neighbour) had to be nailed to the cross.
What replaced them?
Quite simply, marriage to Jesus Christ.
So then:
“ye … have become dead to the law by the Body of Christ; that ye should be married to another” Rom 7:4.
The result of this new Authority over us?
“If the Son shall therefore make you free, ye shall be free indeed” John 8:36.
Amen.
(See also our works: “The legal proof that Jesus Christ is God”, “The disannullment of the two greatest commandments”, “Understanding the entering of the law, at Romans 5:20”.)
______________________________________
WHY IT IS IMPOSSIBLE TO KEEP THE LAW
The traditional reason why we cannot keep the law
The traditional view on why it is impossible to keep the law is a view from pragmatics, namely, that any of the law’s precepts can be taken down to the ‘nth degree’ until eventually a transgression is found.
For example, “thou shalt not steal” could be taken down to the level of “thou shalt never think about anything except work while at work”.
The pragmatic view in a nutshell:
It is impossible to keep the law to the ‘nth degree’.
There are, however, more fundamental reasons why one cannot keep the law, reasons philosophical and logical.
The philosophical reason why we cannot keep the law
In science we learn that one cannot get more energy out of a system than is put into it.
Along the same lines, if I am under the jurisdiction of a system, it is implied that the system constrains me to that which I do not naturally attain to. (If we naturally attained to keeping the law, there would be no need for the law in the first place: the very presence of the law implies a deficiency on our side of things.)
The philosophical reason in a nutshell:
Any system we are under must be ‘greater’ than us and therefore that which renders us deficient in the points with which that system is concerned.
And so we read:
“the law is not made for a righteous man” 1 Ti 1:9
: in declaring ourselves under the law (in declaring the law to be over us) we necessarily declare ourselves potential law-breakers and by virtue of such contingency necessarily unacceptable to God.
This philosophical reason underpins the pragmatic reason given above, and complements the two logical reasons given below.
The two logical (catch-22) reasons why we cannot keep the law
1. The law commands us to love God with all our heart, mind, and soul.
Jesus tells us that he that is forgiven little, loves little, and he that is forgiven much, loves much (Luke 7:47).
We therefore understand that he who is not forgiven at all, does not love God at all.
This presents a conundrum: if one does not transgress the law, then one does not need forgiveness, and if one does not need forgiveness, then one will not love God, and if one does not love God, then one cannot keep the law which commands one to love God.
The first ‘catch-22’ in a nutshell:
In order to keep the law, one must transgress the law.
2. The law commands us to love God with all our heart, mind, and soul.
In order to see whether we are achieving this, however, we must focus on our performance (continually view how we are faring) and so take our eyes of love and devotion off the Lord: we must be preoccupied with ourselves and our adherence to standards. Being this way focussed, we are necessarily not loving God with all our heart, mind, and soul, but are like Martha who was too busy pottering in the kitchen to have time to sit at Jesus’ feet as Mary did (see Luke 10:38-42).
The second ‘catch-22’ in a nutshell:
In attempting to keep the law, one necessarily transgresses the law.
(This follows directly from the fact that Adam’s being commanded to not eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil was reciprocal to (alternately) being commanded to walk by faith. That is, because any commandment to walk by faith is in and of itself law and not faith, in attempting to keep such commandment one necessarily transgresses the very law one is attempting to keep. It is this conundrum which legalist cults such as the Seventh Day Adventists, and more importantly, the church at large, have not realised in their unauthorised attempts to merge the law with grace.)
Overall
It should be obvious that love cannot be legislated for (cannot be commanded). In fact, one’s being commanded to love usually results in resentment, not love.
No wonder then that the entire law (including the two greatest commandments which command us to love God and our neighbour) had to be nailed to the cross.
What replaced them?
Quite simply, marriage to Jesus Christ.
So then:
“ye … have become dead to the law by the Body of Christ; that ye should be married to another” Rom 7:4.
The result of this new Authority over us?
“If the Son shall therefore make you free, ye shall be free indeed” John 8:36.
Amen.
(See also our works: “The legal proof that Jesus Christ is God”, “The disannullment of the two greatest commandments”, “Understanding the entering of the law, at Romans 5:20”.)