We advise you to take your time to read this article. Yes, read and share to friends and others. I, the Publisher of this Blog taught this very topic at the Foursquare Gospel Church, Ali Dada, (which is under Pastor/Pastor Mrs. Keku), at the Tuesday Bible Study in 2017. Jesus had to amend the law and the prophets in order to fulfill them. Read Matthew 5:17-48; 6; and 7:1-12. 'Ye have heard that it was said of them of old time, Thou shalt not...But I say...' Yes, it is what Jesus says that is now Command and the Gospel. No law, even the command of Tithe is relevant any more. I warn Pastors who are instilling fears in people by saying, 'Tithe is a command' and must be obeyed to desist from it before it is too late for them. Bishop Okonkwo of TREM, said, he cried like a baby the day he realised that Tithe is not meant for Christians to pay; and he had to write to all branches of his Church to stop Pastors from collecting tithes. Pastor Chris Oyakhilome also lent his voice to this when he said Christians should stop paying tithes. Yet their Churches are rich. Jesus has bought us, so we are not under any curse. The issue of Tithe has sent many believers back to the WORLD, and those pharisee-Pastors will also not go to heaven. Our blessing is JESUS NAME!
The Publisher,
Many thanks for this vision. I am getting blessed daily. God rewards you handsomely in Jesus name. Amen. Help us publish this article.
The gospel presents to us principles of life that are completely at variance with the law or the prophets and with what we know and used to believe. The gospel is not in any way akin to any man-made principles neither is it an improvements on the old testament law. It is a wholly new ways of life previously unknown to mankind. Jesus Christ clearly warns that we cannot mix the gospel with the law or the prophets. He says, no man puts a piece of new cloth into an old garment, else it would make a worst rent, neither do men put new wine into old bottles; else the bottles break (Matthew 9:16-17). New wine must be in new bottles meaning the gospel must remain undiluted else it will not serve its purpose.
The gospel represents the new cloth and the new wine while the old garment and old bottles represent the law or prophets. While the law or the prophets no matter how hard you try to keep them can only bring guilt and condemnation, the gospel if received and believed, bring about salvation, grant access to automatic righteousness, deliverance from this present wicked world and give assurance of eternal life with God and all that represent the newness of life in Christ. The gospel beautifies destiny and gives colour to the Christian's faith and to crown it all, the gospel is the ONLY accepted mean of making it right with God.
I pray that the Holy Spirit would grant us understanding so that we will not labour in vain in Jesus name. One of the major problems of modern Christians is their lack of knowledge of the truth. The Bible says, you shall know the truth and the truth shall make you free. (John 8:32) My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge (Hosea 4:6). It is clear from these verses of the Bible that God is not going to lower his standard because of our ignorance. We are commanded to study and come to the knowledge of the truth. I have seen believers who love God with all sense of sincerity but are suffering just on account of ignorance. Any attempt to compromise the gospel with either the old testament law or traditions will not yield any positive result. The gospel is the ONLY genuine answer to mankind's problems.
Hear what God says in Isaiah 55:8-9 "For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, says the Lord, as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts" No man-made principle be it moral, idea or tradition can compare well with the gospel. As the heavens are higher than the earth, so is the gospel higher than the law and all other principles and philosophies of life known to man. The law, though originated from God was never intended by God to bring salvation to mankind. The law was to teach and guide us before the arrival of the gospel as apostle Paul clearly puts it "But before faith came, we were kept under guard by law, being shut up to the faith that would afterward be revealed. Therefore the law was our headmaster to bring us to Christ so that we might be justified by faith. But now that faith has come, we are no longer under a headmaster"(Galatians 3:23-25).
Christ is the end of law for righteousness to every one who believes (Romans10:4). Therefore, why then the law? (Galatians 3:19) why are we so desperate to serve the law instead of embracing the gospel? It is unfortunate that many Christians today are claiming that they observe all things written in the Bible (including the law and traditions of men).
It is true that most of the things that we know and believe before the arrival of the gospel came directly either from the law or the prophets, morals or traditions of men. But none of these things is a match to the gospel. A few examples here will help us to understand and appreciate the gospel in relations to the law. In Matthew chapter 5, from verse 21 through 47, we see Christ the master analytically juxtaposing the law with the gospel and thereby exposing the weaknesses of the law. "You have heard that it was said by them of old time, you shall not kill, you shall not commit adultery, you shall love your neighbor, an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth among many others...." Please read Matthew 5:21-47. Christ shows us clearly the positions of the law side by side with the positions of the gospel on several interesting subjects. The purpose is to reveal to us the weaknesses of the law. One fundamental truth that the Holy Spirit revealed to me from that Bible verses is that the gospel if believed makes the law or prophets cheap and easy to observe. For example, the law says, love your neighbor and hate your enemy while the gospel says, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you and pray for those who persecute you. (Matthew 5:43-44).
If you are still praying down fire and brimstone against a brother that wronged you or persecuted you, you have not embraced the gospel yet. Have you ever been to some churches and listened to their prayer points? You will be amazed that many in the body of Christ are still operating under the law or prophets. Can you imagine, "Love me I love you, hate me I hate you old testament law still prevalent among self acclaimed Christians." This is totally unacceptable; we need revival in the body of Christ.
Some Pastors are not helping matter as they choose to generate prayer points that will appeal to their members instead of teaching them the truth. If you can keep just two principles of the gospel, that is, to love God and your brother as yourself, you have kept all the law or prophets. This buttresses my point that embracing the gospel makes the law or the prophets easy and cheap to keep. Another point worth of note is that the law or the prophets is not God's standard for us, that is to say, that even if you keep all the law or prophets which is not humanly possible, you would still not have met God standard. There is no way the law could have saved us.
What then is the gospel? Many preachers erroneously believe that the whole Bible is the gospel. This is not true. The Bible is like a universal set that contains all the subsets. It is broadly divided into two; the old testament and the new testament. Some preachers also teach that one must obey all the countless commands of the Bible, including the traditions of the Jews and other nations. These preachers are simply teaching what is not right and possible on account of their ignorance. No one can perfectly obey all that is written in the Bible. Some of the things written in the Bible are even against the principles upon which the gospel operates. For, example, the gospel urges us to love our enemies and pray for those that despitefully use us. You can not keep this command simultaneously with that of the law that says "An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth". We are to believe every thing written in the Bible as the absolute truth but we cannot perfectly obey and practice all things written in the Bible.
The gospel literally mean "good news" apostle Paul made this point clear in 1Corinthians 15:3-4 "For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to scriptures, and that he was buried and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures." From this scripture, it is clear that the central theme of the gospel is that Christ historically died for our sins. He was buried and raised from dead to give us hope of being raised to a new life and eternal life to come. The gospel is the good news of the historical event of Jesus' death for our sins and His resurrection for our hope. People of faith who call themselves after Christ should be driven to live the Christ-centered lives. The assurance of our faith is based on the objective knowledge of the gospel. Our knowledge must be based on the gospel. It is as plain as John stated in 1John 2:3 "And by this we know that we know Him (Christ) if we keep His commandments." It would be inconceivable to claim that we are walking with Christ and at the same time entangling ourselves with all the old testament law or prophets.
As I conclude, our focus must be the gospel and NOT the law or the prophets. If you embrace the gospel, you would have inadvertently kept all the law or the prophets but if you focus on the law or the prophets, you will not be able to keep the law or the prophets let alone the gospel which is the God's standard for us. God bless you all in Jesus name, Amen. We welcome constructive criticisms, corrections and contributions.
Pastor Raphael Idoko is one of the Pastors of the Living Saints In Christ Ministry. Our vision is to raise an army of disciples who will reach out to souls and resuscitate the dying love of Jesus Christ among brethren.
Pastor Raphael Idoko can be reached at:
Email: livingsaintsinchristministry@gmail.com
raph4wisdom@yahoo.com
Tel: 08026994148
Please accept my sincere apology for earlier usurpation by ascribing to myself Overseer.
I am only a Pastor, the Holy Spirit is the Overseer of Living Saints In Christ Ministry.
 |
| Pastor Raphael Idoko |
Many thanks for this vision. I am getting blessed daily. God rewards you handsomely in Jesus name. Amen. Help us publish this article.
The gospel presents to us principles of life that are completely at variance with the law or the prophets and with what we know and used to believe. The gospel is not in any way akin to any man-made principles neither is it an improvements on the old testament law. It is a wholly new ways of life previously unknown to mankind. Jesus Christ clearly warns that we cannot mix the gospel with the law or the prophets. He says, no man puts a piece of new cloth into an old garment, else it would make a worst rent, neither do men put new wine into old bottles; else the bottles break (Matthew 9:16-17). New wine must be in new bottles meaning the gospel must remain undiluted else it will not serve its purpose.
I pray that the Holy Spirit would grant us understanding so that we will not labour in vain in Jesus name. One of the major problems of modern Christians is their lack of knowledge of the truth. The Bible says, you shall know the truth and the truth shall make you free. (John 8:32) My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge (Hosea 4:6). It is clear from these verses of the Bible that God is not going to lower his standard because of our ignorance. We are commanded to study and come to the knowledge of the truth. I have seen believers who love God with all sense of sincerity but are suffering just on account of ignorance. Any attempt to compromise the gospel with either the old testament law or traditions will not yield any positive result. The gospel is the ONLY genuine answer to mankind's problems.
Hear what God says in Isaiah 55:8-9 "For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, says the Lord, as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts" No man-made principle be it moral, idea or tradition can compare well with the gospel. As the heavens are higher than the earth, so is the gospel higher than the law and all other principles and philosophies of life known to man. The law, though originated from God was never intended by God to bring salvation to mankind. The law was to teach and guide us before the arrival of the gospel as apostle Paul clearly puts it "But before faith came, we were kept under guard by law, being shut up to the faith that would afterward be revealed. Therefore the law was our headmaster to bring us to Christ so that we might be justified by faith. But now that faith has come, we are no longer under a headmaster"(Galatians 3:23-25).
Christ is the end of law for righteousness to every one who believes (Romans10:4). Therefore, why then the law? (Galatians 3:19) why are we so desperate to serve the law instead of embracing the gospel? It is unfortunate that many Christians today are claiming that they observe all things written in the Bible (including the law and traditions of men).
It is true that most of the things that we know and believe before the arrival of the gospel came directly either from the law or the prophets, morals or traditions of men. But none of these things is a match to the gospel. A few examples here will help us to understand and appreciate the gospel in relations to the law. In Matthew chapter 5, from verse 21 through 47, we see Christ the master analytically juxtaposing the law with the gospel and thereby exposing the weaknesses of the law. "You have heard that it was said by them of old time, you shall not kill, you shall not commit adultery, you shall love your neighbor, an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth among many others...." Please read Matthew 5:21-47. Christ shows us clearly the positions of the law side by side with the positions of the gospel on several interesting subjects. The purpose is to reveal to us the weaknesses of the law. One fundamental truth that the Holy Spirit revealed to me from that Bible verses is that the gospel if believed makes the law or prophets cheap and easy to observe. For example, the law says, love your neighbor and hate your enemy while the gospel says, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you and pray for those who persecute you. (Matthew 5:43-44).
If you are still praying down fire and brimstone against a brother that wronged you or persecuted you, you have not embraced the gospel yet. Have you ever been to some churches and listened to their prayer points? You will be amazed that many in the body of Christ are still operating under the law or prophets. Can you imagine, "Love me I love you, hate me I hate you old testament law still prevalent among self acclaimed Christians." This is totally unacceptable; we need revival in the body of Christ.
Some Pastors are not helping matter as they choose to generate prayer points that will appeal to their members instead of teaching them the truth. If you can keep just two principles of the gospel, that is, to love God and your brother as yourself, you have kept all the law or prophets. This buttresses my point that embracing the gospel makes the law or the prophets easy and cheap to keep. Another point worth of note is that the law or the prophets is not God's standard for us, that is to say, that even if you keep all the law or prophets which is not humanly possible, you would still not have met God standard. There is no way the law could have saved us.
What then is the gospel? Many preachers erroneously believe that the whole Bible is the gospel. This is not true. The Bible is like a universal set that contains all the subsets. It is broadly divided into two; the old testament and the new testament. Some preachers also teach that one must obey all the countless commands of the Bible, including the traditions of the Jews and other nations. These preachers are simply teaching what is not right and possible on account of their ignorance. No one can perfectly obey all that is written in the Bible. Some of the things written in the Bible are even against the principles upon which the gospel operates. For, example, the gospel urges us to love our enemies and pray for those that despitefully use us. You can not keep this command simultaneously with that of the law that says "An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth". We are to believe every thing written in the Bible as the absolute truth but we cannot perfectly obey and practice all things written in the Bible.
The gospel literally mean "good news" apostle Paul made this point clear in 1Corinthians 15:3-4 "For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to scriptures, and that he was buried and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures." From this scripture, it is clear that the central theme of the gospel is that Christ historically died for our sins. He was buried and raised from dead to give us hope of being raised to a new life and eternal life to come. The gospel is the good news of the historical event of Jesus' death for our sins and His resurrection for our hope. People of faith who call themselves after Christ should be driven to live the Christ-centered lives. The assurance of our faith is based on the objective knowledge of the gospel. Our knowledge must be based on the gospel. It is as plain as John stated in 1John 2:3 "And by this we know that we know Him (Christ) if we keep His commandments." It would be inconceivable to claim that we are walking with Christ and at the same time entangling ourselves with all the old testament law or prophets.
As I conclude, our focus must be the gospel and NOT the law or the prophets. If you embrace the gospel, you would have inadvertently kept all the law or the prophets but if you focus on the law or the prophets, you will not be able to keep the law or the prophets let alone the gospel which is the God's standard for us. God bless you all in Jesus name, Amen. We welcome constructive criticisms, corrections and contributions.
Pastor Raphael Idoko is one of the Pastors of the Living Saints In Christ Ministry. Our vision is to raise an army of disciples who will reach out to souls and resuscitate the dying love of Jesus Christ among brethren.
Pastor Raphael Idoko can be reached at:
Email: livingsaintsinchristministry@gmail.com
raph4wisdom@yahoo.com
Tel: 08026994148
Please accept my sincere apology for earlier usurpation by ascribing to myself Overseer.
I am only a Pastor, the Holy Spirit is the Overseer of Living Saints In Christ Ministry.
God is looking for men that will propagate the gospel. The real gospel in this season of lack of truth. Let us be his axe and let Him weld us
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