Ceremony, Communion and the Sabbath

Thought for Today
Mar. 10

SEVEN LIES THAT THE CHILDREN OF GOD BELIEVE, PART SIX

As I was in prayer early Sunday morning, February 13, 2000, the Lord put it in my heart to write about the seven lies that His people believe. I had no idea when I began to write what even the second lie would be, much less the third or fourth. I just knew they would come to me as I went along if it was indeed the Spirit of God that prompted me to begin writing. And they did. Here is the sixth in this series of seven principal lies that God's children now believe.

Wherever there exists a prejudice against the Old Testament Law of Moses, there also exists an ignorance of the fact that the Old Testament Law was from God, not from Moses. The Law of Moses was not a law from Moses. The laws of the Old Testament were God's laws-the same laws that Jesus now implants into the heart of the person whom he baptizes with the holy Ghost. When the holy Ghost enters into a person's heart, making him a member of God's family, it brings into that newly-cleansed heart the laws (the will) of God. Jeremiah prophesied that God would make this new covenant with His people. He wrote, "For this is the covenant I will make with the house of Israel in those days, saith the Lord. I will put my laws into their minds and write them in their hearts. . ." (Heb. 8:10).

When Moses' Law is made internal by the Spirit's entrance into our hearts, it becomes a spiritual law instead of the physical one that it was during the time of the Old Covenant. This is what makes the New Testament a better covenant, established upon better promises (Heb 8:6), with better sacrifices (Heb. 9:23), led by a better high priest (Heb. 8:6), and providing men with a far better hope (Heb. 7:19). Let me give you a few examples:

Circumcision is still the will of God for His children, just as it was in the Old Testament, but now it is a circumcision of the heart by the Spirit, not a fleshly cutting of the body (Rom. 2:28-29). Both men and women are to be circumcised now. Isn't that better than the old, physical circumcision?

Baptism also continues to be the will of God as it was under the Law, but now it is the baptism of the holy Spirit that He requires, not a symbolic baptism using earthly water. Isn't that better?

Sacrifices, too, are still commanded, but now the animals that we own can relax, for the sacrifices God requires are the sacrifices of praise and thanksgiving rising up to God out of clean, sanctified spirits (Heb. 13:15). Now, we can present our own bodies to God as living, not dead, sacrifices (Rom. 12:1). Isn't that better?

The ceremonies of Moses' Law were prophetic symbols of this "new and living way" of worship in spirit and in truth. Every one of those Old Testament symbols were from God, telling beforehand of the future work of His Son Christ Jesus and the new life he would give to men. Now, when the holy Ghost is given to people who repent, it delivers them from faith in rituals and ceremonies so that they may serve God in spirit and in truth. The author of Hebrews said it this way (9:13-14), "For if the blood of bulls and of goats, and the ashes of an heifer sprinkling the unclean [under the Old Covenant Law], sanctifieth to the purifying of the flesh, how much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without spot to God, PURGE YOUR CONSCIENCE FROM DEAD WORKS TO SERVE THE LIVING GOD."

Yes, the ceremonial, symbolic works of the Law became "dead works" when those works were implanted into the hearts of the saints. When the children of God became alive to the truth of Christ, the holy ceremonies God gave to Israel died. And this increase in the knowledge of God is the work of the holy Spirit. It makes the Law of God alive in us by making us alive to Him. Paul was dead in trespasses and sins until he was made alive by "the Law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus" (Rom. 7:8-9 ; 8:1). So were we.

It is still God's will for His people not to murder, or steal, or covet, or lie, just as the Law of Moses said. But those laws are no longer merely written on paper as a set of rules to obey; rather, the holy Ghost writes those laws-the same laws Moses gave to Israel-upon our hearts, giving us the power to keep God's commandments from the heart. "We are the [real circumcised nation]", Paul wrote, "who worship God in spirit and have no confidence in the flesh" (Phip. 3:3). They are not fully circumcised in heart who still participate in fleshly ceremonies, such as physical baptisms, carnal communion ceremonies, and other such rituals that employ the natural elements of earth in worship.

Finally, may I ask you please to consider the apostle John's definition of sin, written long after Jesus ascended to the Father. John wrote to the brethren, "Sin is transgression of the Law" (1Jn. 3:4). That sounds as if John believed the Law of Moses was relevant to the life of God's people, doesn't it? If, as many thousands teach now, the Old Testament Law is irrelevant to New Testament life, then what on earth was John thinking when he wrote that? And if the Law is irrelevant to faith in Christ Jesus, what was God talking about when He promised that He would write those laws on our hearts?

God was revealed to Israel through the Law written upon stone. How much better is He revealed by the baptism of His Spirit, when that Law is written on our hearts and becomes a part of our nature? Those who condemn the Law of Moses as useless are condemning themselves and are showing that they are ignorant of the God who gave that Law. The better any man comes to know God, the more valuable Moses' Law becomes to him. When God's children read the Law, they are reading about themselves, for they are reading about the very nature of God, the same nature that they now, through the holy Ghost, share with Him.

That the Old Testament Law is irrelevant is the Sixth Lie that God's children believe.

For more information, check our web site for tract #28: "Works".