Law:
Law: “ a rule of conduct prescribed” (MW 9th New Collegiate Dictionary). There is no social organization whether club, sport, entertainment, government, state, nation, gang, den of thieves, no existence, animate or inanimate without codes, regulations, protocol, laws, instructions written or unwritten to guide, and so with the kingdom of heaven. Why there? “So that we might always prosper and be kept alive” Dt 5:24, “that it may go well with you” 6:18 “enjoy a long life” 6:2. “so that it may go well with you and your children forever” 5:29. Since with God there is no coercion, no compulsion there is no demand in His command, only a burning desire, a plea, a “perfect” plea (Ps 19:7), “pure” plea (Pr 30:5) for our individual and collective non-paralleled best good. This is why the word translated command or commandments OT or NT can be equally translated instructions or prescriptions. The external Law was given to protect us from destroying ourselves while the plan of salvation was being implemented in temporal time. That’s why Paul said, “Christ is the end of the external (AIT) law” my contextual translation of Ro 10:4, and that, “the law was our school master (guardian) to lead [to being us unto (S)] Christ”. The LORD encourages us to keep His commandment/commandments/instructions over 850 times. With obey, obedience, obeyed greater than 250 times in scripture including 82 times in the NT. Examples of disobedience began in Genesis 3,4, with encouragement “to keep” and “do” seven times in the last 14 verses of Revelation 22. Prescriptions given for our best good from the LORD who is “the only law (instruction, prescription) giver” James 4:12. The law was attempted to be kept ‘because He says so’ under the covenant that we as followers of God unthinking and faultily made with God saying, “everything the LORD says we will do” Ex 19:8; Heb 8:8. Yes, ‘the spirit was/is willing but the flesh was/is weak’ Mt 26:41 KJV. The new covenant, the “new law of Christ” Gal 6:2, encompassing love of God and love of fellow man Mt 22:37-39, was actually the oldest law from the beginning Dt 6:5; 1 Jn 2:7-11; Gen 2:1-3, and is an allusion to the life, teachings, offered character change and the empowerment enabling and assuring the external do (Ex 19:8) by the blooming beauty of the internal be of other-centered selfless love Gal 5:22; 2 Pe 1:3-10. This was/is made possible by the human Christ through total submission/trust in His Father thus keeping our side of the old covenant Jn 5:19,30. Then that character was gifted by Christ to/in us Jn 14:10-11;17: 10, 22-23, so that we may rejoin the kingdom of heaven Col 1:27. David understood God’s plan in its prospective and retroactive aspects via the sanctuary service, and requested, “Create in me a clean heart O God, and renew a right spirit within me” (Ps 51:10) .
Lawlessness:
Lawlessness: “not regarding law”(S),“not restrained by law” (MW), “contrary to law” (The Interlinear Greek-English NT p.118). Sin is lawlessness (1Jn 3:4) and Lucifer (Satan, the Adversary ) is the man of lawlessness (2 Thes 2:3). Some interpret the name Satan to mean the ‘author of chaos’, and science, mathematics, sports, education, life (physical or moral) , anything and everything animate or inanimate is chaos without directions, rules, laws. 2 Peter 3:17 warns us “not to be carried away by the error (deception, delusion) of lawless men”. And God affirmed the Ephesian believers for not following the antinomianism (lawlessness) of the Nicolaitans Rev 2:6. If “anyone breaks [destroys, dismisses, unties (S)] what they think (“There is a way that seems right unto a man but the ends thereof are the ways of death” Pr 16:25) of as the least of His instructions they will be called least [emphatically excluded (MW)] in the kingdom of heaven” Mt 5:19,20. Why? Because every word of God is flawless Pr 30:5. We should not presume to add too or subtract from the meanings of His words Dt 4:2; 12:32; Pr 30:6; Rev 22:18.
Legalism:
Legalism is not in the keeping, doing, obeying, the following of instructions, or prescriptions. If that were true Eve as well as Adam and Cain and all friends of Christ (Lk 15:14) would be legalists. Also your child and dog, if they were to obey your communicated best judgement would be legalists. Nor is it legalism for an apple, a comet or your foot to fall to the ground. If so we could trumpet legalism, as well when God says, “Happy are they that do His commandments that they may have right to the tree of life” in Rev 22:14. Yes, we could be standing outside the City walls stammering about legalism! Christ say’s, “If you obey/keep my commandments, ye shall (“will” NIV) remain in my love” Jn 15:10. Legalism is in the why, the motivation, not in the keeping, doing, obeying. Do you follow the instructions because you feel you have too, to obtain favor, to avoid distress, to earn something desirable, or even ‘not do’ too ‘prove’ ones not a legalist? If so, that is legalism in yourself or in the one next to you but you need not continue in legalism. Attempting to do spiritual things on our own will end up as legalism since we will find ourselves inadequate due to our fallen races’ epigenetic’s to accomplish our desires and we’ll find our “righteousness (due to both motives and actions) is but filthy rags” (Php 3:6). Going through a school zone above the posted speed purposely is lawlessness; at posted speed complaining is legalism; driving a non-recommended, out of the way, different route may be ignorance or rebellion; driving at posted speed because it’s posted might be legalism or trust; driving at posted speed or under because of your love for children, is true obedience – obedience from the heart. Legalism may also be defined as ‘demanding external compliance of yourself or others, even when circumstances might truely negate it’s possibility or again ‘applying law without encompassing the circumstances with mercy and grace’. Judaism was not meant to have been a religion of legalism (Dt 6:5; 10:12; 30:2,6; Jos 22:5; 1 Sa 12:20) but was kept by many legalistically from wrong motives and from attempts to do it on their own.
Obedience:
Obedience has, is, and always will be the gold standard, whether that is permission to eat of all the trees except the one in the middle of the garden Ge 2:17, or “if you love me you will be keeping my commandments”Jn 14;15,23; 15:10; 1Jn 2:3; 5:3, or “Let the righteous still do right” Rev 22:11. The overcomer has always been the apple of God’s eye. As we call a precious daughter a princess, God called a nation “over-comers” (Israel) and we “the Israel of God” (Gal 6:16) are to overcome as Jesus, the Anointed One (meaning of ‘Christ’), “overcame and sat down by His Father” Rev 3:21. Overcome self-centeredness and thus harmful behaviors by following His prescriptions/instructions in His granted character power for our best good. We can’t find the capability nor the purity of motivation with in us. It has been properly said that we cannot obey our way into heaven (it is a gift), but we can disobey our way out of the option as first proven by Adam and Eve. Pure obedience comes as & with a complete surrender of the heart to the sovereignty of selfless love, a love available only from God through Christ as fruits [reproductive bodies (MW)] of the Holy Spirit Gal 5:22.
Righteousness:
Righteousness is defined in Hebrew (OT) as, “acting in accordance with God’s standard,” and in Greek (NT) as, “acting in accordance with God’s standard expressed in covenants,” and in MW 9th New Collegiate as “acting in accord with divine law”. “Your laws are righteous” Ps 119: 7,62, 65,106,138,160, Ro 1:32;7:12. We were/are being created to be like God – in His image Ge 1:27 – in true righteousness and holiness. Eph 4:24, and weare too “seek His righteousness” (Mt 6:33). Zephaniah 2:3 and 1Jn 3:7 tells us “he who does right is righteous” and 1 Pe 2:24 says, “…so that we may die to sin and live * righteousness” *(“for” NIG). But HOW hinges for us on WHO. Jeremiah 23:6 clues us in with, “He will be called the LORD our righteousness” repeated in 33:16. It is a righteousness that comes from God through faith Ro 3:22, Php 3:19, a submission to the sovereignty of selfless Love welcoming the fruits of the Spirit into our lives Gal 5:22. Romans 6:16 NIV tells us, “obedience which leads to [towards (S)] righteousness.” Yet it is not our obedience or righteousness, not a righteousness we obtained from keeping the law, which will always be from wrong motives and inadequately due to our sinful nature. It is the righteousness of Christ (His character) obtained, gifted through request and faith. Christ came not to abolish the law Mt 5:19 nor obedience to it, but to fulfill {measure up to, convert into reality, develop the full potential of (MW)] thus enable us, by we inviting His life, His character, within, giving us a second chance, through submission to Him, to keep the law of life [“The way of righteousness there in is life” Pr 12:28]— through faith in the faith of Jesus – and request His perfect life of obedience His mercy and love to now enable us by transforming us from within. Justification by our faith in the faith of Christ will be made manifest in our transformation of character, changed form the inside out Gal 5:22; 2 Pe 1; Mt 18:23-35; Ez 18:5-9,24-26. Those who may accept forgiveness yet reject the gift of transformation to Christ’s righteousness Mt 18: 21-35 are rejecting the attributes that fit them for heaven. The change at His coming is not in character or to His desired behavior but to immortality 1 Co 15:50-57; Rev 22:11.
Of law, lawlessness, legalism, obedience, righteousness — The unimaginable deep desire, & wisdom of the Father and the Son who through the Son engineered in love, mercy, grace and ultimate sacrifice a way for us to return into their kingdom, a kingdom of unity without uniformity making perpetual life possible by the unshackled universal freedom of selfless – other centered love. Christ forgiving and dwelling within in temporal time is the gospel Gal 2:20; Col 1:27, with its final gifted results realized at His second coming Jn 14:3; Acts 1:11; Rev 22: 7,12, 20.
LIFE EXCOGITATIONS 