Psalm 119: The Law of the Spirit of Life in Jesus the Messiah

[Ezra Allen]

For the past 42 months my favorite go to section of God’s Word has been Psalm 119. This Psalm is not only the longest Psalm but also the longest chapter in the Bible, divided into 22 sections with 8 verses each. The verses start with a single letter in the Hebrew alphabet that relates to the letters position in the alphabet.

Each one of the 176 verses in Psalm 119, without exception makes a reference to either God’s Law or a synonym of it, His Word, His promise, His decrees, His commands, His precepts, His testimonies, His statutes etc.

Throughout my studies of the Golden Psalm I have found supporting verses elsewhere throughout the Bible all of it comes together wrapped up in Jesus Christ the Messiah.

"Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them.
(Matthew 5:17 NIV)

The Book of John begins by saying this about Jesus:

John 1:1-2 NIV
(1) In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
(2) He was with God in the beginning.

Later in his first letter to the Corinthians Paul says Jesus is the commanded Passover Lamb of Exodus:

1 Corinthians 5:7-8 NIV (7) Get rid of the old yeast, so that you may be a new unleavened batch--as you really are. For Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed. (8) Therefore let us keep the Festival, not with the old bread leavened with malice and wickedness, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.

So then, the Law (and all it’s synonyms) describes and reveals the character and attributes of God, as revealed in Christ. It is about Him, inspired by Him, and to be interpreted correctly, must be interpreted by Him through the presence of His very own Holy Spirit within us. Without His Spirit, that perfect and Holy Law is weakened and interpreted in such a way that it can be kept by the strength and determination of men.

When I meditate on Psalm 119, my thoughts fly to Jesus, The Keeper of the Law. Any stray thought that I could possibly please God with my own efforts and without Jesus and the whole chapter becomes a mockery, and the peace and joy of the Lord disappears.

Jesus is my portion (v57), He is a Lamp unto my feet (v105), He is the unfailing love of God that comes to me (v41). With Jesus I can say “Oh! How I love your Law! (v97). I am able to agree with Paul when he says:

because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit who gives life has set you free from the law of sin and death.
(Romans 8:2 NIV)

Without Jesus I am left to face my legal punishment alone.

Psalms 119:1-8 NIV
Aleph (The Blessedness of those who walk God’s Word)
(1) Blessed are those whose ways are blameless, who walk according to the law of the LORD.
(2) Blessed are those who keep his statutes and seek him with all their heart--
(3) they do no wrong but follow his ways.
(4) You have laid down precepts that are to be fully obeyed.
(5) Oh, that my ways were steadfast in obeying your decrees!
(6) Then I would not be put to shame when I consider all your commands.
(7) I will praise you with an upright heart as I learn your righteous laws.
(8) I will obey your decrees; do not utterly forsake me.

In many of the Psalms you will run into phrases like, "Blessed is the one who fears the Lord," (Psalm 112:1) or "Blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the ungodly." (Psalm 1:1) In another Psalm it is said, "There is none righteous, no, not one." (Psalm 14:3) and (Psalm 53:3) so that upright man must in fact be he Christ.

But here in Psalm 119, it starts out straightaway with an affirmation of a house of the righteous. "Blessed are they, whose ways are blameless..."

How can both of these announcements be true:
1) All have turned aside, they have together become corrupt; there is no one who does good, not even one. (Psalm 14:3)
2) Blessed are they whose ways are blameless. Blessed are they who keep his statutes and seek him with all their heart. (Psalm 119:1)

What a difference and inconsistency.

When asked, "Who can be saved?", Jesus once said, "With man it is impossible, but with God all things are possible." (Matthew 19:25-26) And that is where we begin in this first verse of Psalm 119. We have God declaring (directly into the face of the incredible to resolve conflict) that there will be a generation of the righteous. This verse arises to mind: "He who knew no sin became sin so that we [who knew no righteousness] might become the righteousness of God in Christ Jesus." (2 Corinthians 5:21)

"They do nothing wrong, they walk in His ways." So now this Psalm has becomes even more absurd to the expected mind of man. I doubt that this group will even perceive themselves as righteous, except in fleeting flashes of encouragement, but rather will feel themselves as small and despised. God will be the judge of this righteousness, and I am convinced that it has more to do with believing in God until the end than in some outward display that will impress onlookers. Psalm 22:6 cries, "I am a worm and no man!" comes to mind. Or, "He was despised and rejected of men..." (Isaiah 53:3)

"You have laid down precepts to be fully obeyed." Jesus' declaration: "Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. I tell you the truth, until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen, will by any means disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished."

Total compliance requires everything we have and is impossible without the qualifying power of the Spirit of Christ in us. "Christ in you the hope of glory." (Colossians 1:27)

When perceived in this light, it is not surprising that this section of Psalm 119 ends with the words, "Do not utterly forsake me." When I read these words I think again of Psalm 22:1 (which Jesus recited in His dying gasp): "My God, My God why hast Thou forsaken me?"

He was forsaken for one eternally horrible instant, and yet because of His clean hands and pure heart, God was able to raise Him up out of the ashes transforming that absolute forsakenness into the fountain, by which, this company of the blessed shall make themselves clean and blameless.

 

[B-A-C]

This has some great scripture, but I still am failing to see how Psalms relates to this directly. In any case I agree with the following.

Matt 5:17; "Do not think that I came to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I did not come to abolish but to fulfill.
Matt 5:18; "For truly I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not the smallest letter or stroke shall pass from the Law until all is accomplished.
Matt 5:19; "Whoever then annuls one of the least of these commandments, and teaches others to do the same, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever keeps and teaches them, he shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven.
Matt 5:20; "For I say to you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven.

So on one hand, even if we annul the commandments and teach others to do the same, we can still make it to the "kingdom of heaven" (although we will be the least).
On the other hand unless we are more righteous than the Pharisees, we cannot enter heaven. At first it seems daunting that we would have to be more righteous than a priest
or Pharisee, but as we read about them, we find many of them weren't really very righteous.

So it seems the law didn't really go away after all. Just the penalty for it. And even that didn't really go away, someone else is paying the penalty for you.
If there was no law, why would he have to pay the penalty for us?

Some people call this the "golden rule", and yet Jesus called it the law of the prophets.

Matt 7:12; "In everything, therefore, treat people the same way you want them to treat you, for this is the Law and the Prophets.
Matt 7:13; "Enter through the narrow gate; for the gate is wide and the way is broad that leads to destruction, and there are many who enter through it.
Matt 7:14; "For the gate is small and the way is narrow that leads to life, and there are few who find it.

Luke 16:17; "But it is easier for heaven and earth to pass away than for one stroke of a letter of the Law to fail.

Rom 2:12; For all who have sinned without the Law will also perish without the Law, and all who have sinned under the Law will be judged by the Law;
Rom 2:13; for it is not the hearers of the Law who are just before God, but the doers of the Law will be justified.
Notice it says they will "perish" (die) without the law. I like the translation below a little better.

(NLT)
Rom 2:12; When the Gentiles sin, they will be destroyed, even though they never had God's written law. And the Jews, who do have God's law, will be judged by that law when they fail to obey it.
Rom 2:13; For merely listening to the law doesn't make us right with God. It is obeying the law that makes us right in His sight.

(NLT)
Rom 2:25 The Jewish ceremony of circumcision has value only if you obey God's law. But if you don't obey God's law, you are no better off than an uncircumcised Gentile.
Rom 2:26 And if the Gentiles obey God's law, won't God declare them to be His own people?
Rom 2:27 In fact, uncircumcised Gentiles who keep God's law will condemn you Jews who are circumcised and possess God's law but don't obey it.
Rom 2:28 For you are not a true Jew just because you were born of Jewish parents or because you have gone through the ceremony of circumcision.
Rom 2:29 No, a true Jew is one whose heart is right with God. And true circumcision is not merely obeying the letter of the law; rather, it is a change of heart produced by God's Spirit. And a person with a changed heart seeks praise from God, not from people.

The verses below seem to be a contradiction, but read a little closer.

Rom 3:28 So we are made right with God through faith and not by obeying the law.
Rom 3:29 After all, is God the God of the Jews only? Isn't He also the God of the Gentiles? Of course He is.
Rom 3:30 There is only one God, and He makes people right with Himself only by faith, whether they are Jews or Gentiles.
Rom 3:31 Well then, if we emphasize faith, does this mean that we can forget about the law? Of course not! In fact, only when we have faith do we truly fulfill the law.

Notice verse 31 above.

(KJV)
Rom 3:31 Do we then make void the law through faith? God forbid: yea, we establish the law.

This thought continues...

Rom 6:15 Well then, since God's grace has set us free from the law, does that mean we can go on sinning? Of course not!
Rom 6:16 Don't you realize that you become the slave of whatever you choose to obey? You can be a slave to sin, which leads to death, or you can choose to obey God, which leads to righteous living.
Rom 6:17 Thank God! Once you were slaves of sin, but now you wholeheartedly obey this teaching we have given you.
Rom 6:18 Now you are free from your slavery to sin, and you have become slaves to righteous living.
Rom 7:12; But still, the law itself is holy, and its commands are holy and right and good.
Rom 7:13; But how can that be? Did the law, which is good, cause my death? Of course not! Sin used what was good to bring about my condemnation to death. So we can see how terrible sin really is. It uses God's good commands for its own evil purposes.
Rom 7:14; So the trouble is not with the law, for it is spiritual and good. The trouble is with me, for I am all too human, a slave to sin.

(NASB)
Rom 8:2; For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and of death. .. .. .. .. (which is what I believe you named this thread from that verse)

But worded a little differently it means...

(NLT)
Rom 8:2; And because you belong to Him, the power of the life-giving Spirit has freed you from the power of sin that leads to death.
Because we now have the power to overcome sin and temptation.

Someone asked Jesus what he had to do in order to have eternal life. This was Jesus' answer.

Matt 19:16; Someone came to Jesus with this question: "Teacher, what must I do to have eternal life?"
Matt 19:17; "Why ask Me about what is good?" Jesus replied. "There is only One who is good. But to answer your question—if you want to receive eternal life, keep the commandments."

Even Christians are tempted (even Jesus was tempted for that matter).
Have you ever thought about WHY we are tempted? WHAT are we tempted to do? Seriously.. I would appreciate an answer to those questions.

 

[B-A-C]

Some of the problems when we talk about the law.. is that some people have a wholeist view of "the law".
Another problem is that people don't even agree on what the law is.

Is the law all of the 300 to 600 specific commands in the Old Testament?
Is it simply the 10 commandments?
Is it simply talking about the ceremonial laws such as circumcision, confession to priests and animal sacrifice?
Or is it simply talking about the penalty of the law?

I think all of the answers are partially correct, but none is 100% correct on it's own.

In other words...
I have to keep the whole law 100% or else I will die (i.e. burn in hell).
After all, doesn't the Bible say....

Jas 2:10; For whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles in one point, he has become guilty of all.

Well there's no way I can keep the whole law 100% of the time. So I might as well not keep any of it.

This is why we need Jesus!!!! Because we can't keep them 100%. So does that mean we shouldn't try to keep any of them at all? Of course not.
Many people say.. I'm a good person, I don't need Jesus. Well unless you are absolutely perfect, I mean PERFECT... not even 1 one hundredth of 1 percent of sin in your life.
You need Jesus. Personally I doubt anyone is a good person. Besides we can't be saved by works. (well maybe if I say enough Hail Mary's, and do enough indulgences,
and help enough old ladies across the street and give enough money to orphanages, then I can save myself) NO.. even if you did all those things, you couldn't save yourself.

You need Jesus. Jesus, Jesus, Jesus... he is the only answer. He is the only way to heaven.
But saying you believe in Jesus alone isn't enough to save you. Some good deeds, and actions, and yes even testing is required.
Good deeds can't save you. But believing in Jesus alone can't save you. Both are required.
There are several scriptures about people who believe in Jesus, yet Jesus says he doesn't know them. Every instance of this involves the actions that they do.
Also every time the New Testament talks about judgment, it doesn't ask what they believed. It says they are judged by their deeds.

 

[Ezra Allen]

Thank you BAC for bringing these scriptures into light. I must look deeply into them. A.W. Tozer was a man driven by a desire to know more of God. In fact he said to a long-time friend, “I want to love God more than anyone in my generation.” To some of us that may sound selfish and arrogant, but for Tozer it wasn’t. It simply came out of an honest desire to enrich his relationship with the Lord.

I have been listening to Psalm 119 in song on my ipod (the only album on it) in effort to hide it in my heart. I have been reading it multiple times during my readings of other books in my Bible. My bible study is usually my waking to my sleeping. A majority of my day is spent in reflection on what I am reading.

The training of meditation on scripture was very much a quantity of Psalm 119. It inspires the reader to put on the yoke of meditation, and experience for themselves the hidden mysteries that are gifted in a surrendered state of being.

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
(John 1:1 NIV)

Your word, LORD, is eternal; it stands firm in the heavens.
(Psalms 119:89 NIV)

At that time Jesus said, "I praise you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and learned, and revealed them to little children.
(Matthew 11:25 NIV)

Open my eyes that I may see wonderful things in your law.
(Psalms 119:18 NIV)

Isaiah 26:8-9 NIV Yes, LORD, walking in the way of your laws, we wait for you; your name and renown are the desire of our hearts. (9) My soul yearns for you in the night; in the morning my spirit longs for you. When your judgments come upon the earth, the people of the world learn righteousness.

Arise, cry out in the night, as the watches of the night begin; pour out your heart like water in the presence of the Lord. Lift up your hands to him for the lives of your children, who faint from hunger at every street corner.
(Lamentations 2:19 NIV)

My soul is consumed with longing for your laws at all times.
(Psalms 119:20 NIV)

Seven times a day I praise you for your righteous laws.
(Psalms 119:164 NIV)

You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you.
(John 15:3 NIV)

Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth.
(John 17:17 NIV)

Beth. How can a young person keep his life pure? By living according to your word.
(Psalms 119:9 NIV)

2 Peter 2:14-16 NIV With eyes full of adultery, they never stop sinning; they seduce the unstable; they are experts in greed--an accursed brood! (15) They have left the straight way and wandered off to follow the way of Balaam son of Bezer, who loved the wages of wickedness. (16) But he was rebuked for his wrongdoing by a donkey--an animal without speech--who spoke with a human voice and restrained the prophet's madness.

Turn my heart toward your statutes and not toward selfish gain.
(Psalms 119:36 NIV)

"Who then is the faithful and wise servant, whom the master has put in charge of the servants in his household to give them their food at the proper time?
(Matthew 24:45 NIV)

Give me understanding, so that I may keep your law and obey it with all my heart.
(Psalms 119:34 NIV)

When you walk, your steps will not be hampered; when you run, you will not stumble.
(Proverbs 4:12 NIV)

I run in the path of your commands, for you have set my heart free.
(Psalms 119:32 NIV)

for it is God who works in you to will and to act in order to fulfill his good purpose.
(Philippians 2:13 NIV)

Teach me, LORD, the way of your decrees, that I may follow it to the end.
(Psalms 119:33 NIV)

"I am the Lord's servant," Mary answered. "May your word to me be fulfilled." Then the angel left her.
(Luke 1:38 NIV)

Do good to your servant according to your word, LORD.
(Psalms 119:65 NIV)

No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it.
(Hebrews 12:11 NIV)

so that no one would be unsettled by these trials. For you know quite well that we are destined for them.
(1 Thessalonians 3:3 NIV)

Before I was afflicted I went astray, but now I obey your word.
(Psalms 119:67 NIV)

Then the LORD God formed a man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being.
(Genesis 2:7 NIV)

But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.
(Matthew 6:6 NIV)

"Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.
(Matthew 7:7-8 NIV)

Your hands made me and formed me; give me understanding to learn your commands.
(Psalms 119:73 NIV)

Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away.
(Matthew 24:35 NIV)

Your laws endure to this day, for all things serve you.
(Psalms 119:91 NIV)

My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.
(Psalms 73:26 NIV)

I seek you with all my heart; do not let me stray from your commands.
(Psalms 119:10 NIV)

I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you.
(Psalms 119:11 NIV)

 

[james1523]

We must keep in mind that the Psalms were written under Old Testament revelation. So when they talk about eye for eye tooth for tooth revenge or even hatred for enemies (Psalm 139:21-22), and God's blessing depending upon our own righteousness (Psalm 18:20), then we must call the Psalms for what they are - wrong.
In contrast, Christ teaches us to do not take revenge, and to love our enemies, and God does not bless us according to our own righteousness, but His righteousness.
Also Christ does not cause us to love the Law which He died to set His people free from, Christ calls us to love Him.

 

[Ezra Allen]

We must keep in mind that the Psalms were written under Old Testament revelation. So when they talk about eye for eye tooth for tooth revenge or even hatred for enemies (Psalm 139:21-22), and God's blessing depending upon our own righteousness (Psalm 18:20), then we must call the Psalms for what they are - wrong.
In contrast, Christ teaches us to do not take revenge, and to love our enemies, and God does not bless us according to our own righteousness, but His righteousness.
Also Christ does not cause us to love the Law which He died to set His people free from, Christ calls us to love Him.

I don’t think you mean to say Psalms I think what you are trying to say is Law. The Psalms are prayers of praise to God. Don’t read just one part of scripture. Make sure that the chapters and verses we use to break up God’s word does not distract from the whole meaning. It is easy to take things out of context. At the end of his prayer in 139 David asks God to show him the error of his ways.
See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.
(Psalms 139:24 NIV)

Before the verses you posted David sung
I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well.
(Psalms 139:14 NIV)
How precious to me are your thoughts, God! How vast is the sum of them!
(Psalms 139:17 NIV)
If only you, God, would slay the wicked! Away from me, you who are bloodthirsty!
(Psalms 139:19 NIV)

In a nut shell, David says to God that, “God’s ideas are precious because he created David.” David then says to God, “why don’t you slay my enemies.” David asks God, “don’t you hate those I hate?” The scripture never implies that God does indeed hate those whom David is speaking of. David knows this full well, that God may not hate these people. He then asks God, “to show him the way to understanding God’s Heart in the matter.

First let’s get the primary thing unblemished. God’s law is not dead, and we are not dead to the law of God. We are dead only to the punishment for failure to follow God's law in the fullest perfect way.

**waits for jaws to drop**

This is a misinterpretation of scripture. It happened back during the first churches and still happens to this very day. This idea does injustice to God’s Word. It slays the letter, and blunts the sword. Peter warns us to understand carefully what is written.
2 Peter 3:15-16 NIV Bear in mind that our Lord's patience means salvation, just as our dear brother Paul also wrote you with the wisdom that God gave him. (16) He writes the same way in all his letters, speaking in them of these matters. His letters contain some things that are hard to understand, which ignorant and unstable people distort, as they do the other Scriptures, to their own destruction.

A favored target verse of this idea is Romans 7:4 NIV So, my brothers and sisters, you also died to the law through the body of Christ, that you might belong to another, to him who was raised from the dead, in order that we might bear fruit for God.

From these statements taken alone one could easily conclude that God no longer requires a Christian to obey his laws. Regrettably adherent to this interpretation of this verse kills the profound truths that Paul writes of in this section of scripture. First examine and understand the values that Paul was clarifying in Romans 6 because they lay the necessary foundation for correctly comprehending the instruction in chapter 7. In Romans 6:3-7, Paul explains how we have been buried with Christ in baptism, that our "old man" has been crucified along with Him, and that we have consequently been freed from sin. Romans 6:3-7 NIV Or don't you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? (4) We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life. (5) For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we will certainly also be united with him in a resurrection like his. (6) For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body ruled by sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin-- (7) because anyone who has died has been set free from sin.

In the balance of chapter 6, Paul explains to us that we are now servants of righteousness and must put sin completely out of our lives. Freed from this bondage to sin, we can concentrate on producing godly fruit and grow spiritually. The chapter ends with the well-known reminder that Romans 6:23 NIV For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

In chapter 7, Paul further expands on this subject. He begins by stating that the law has "dominion" over a man only as long as he lives. Romans 7:1 NIV Do you not know, brothers and sisters--for I am speaking to those who know the law--that the law has authority over someone only as long as that person lives?
Some have interpreted this to mean that, now that we have died with Christ, the law is no longer binding on Christians; even some modern translations of the Bible render this verse to say just that. However, note how Paul uses this word "dominion" in other places.

In Romans 6:9, Paul speaks of Christ's immortality now that He has been resurrected, saying, "Death no longer has dominion over Him." Romans 6:9 NIV For we know that since Christ was raised from the dead, he cannot die again; death no longer has mastery over him.
During the period that Christ was a flesh-and-blood human being, He could die, and He did die on the cross. Now, however, death no longer has any power over Him, because He is an immortal Spirit Being.

In verse Romans 6:14, Paul uses the same word to define our connection with sin. "For sin shall not have dominion over you." Here he shows how our past sins have been forgiven, and we have access to Christ's atoning grace for forgiveness of future sins. Therefore, sin no longer has the power to condemn us to death.
The Greek word translated "dominion" is kurieuo, meaning "exercise lordship over." Paul uses this term in the context of having power over something. In Romans 6:9 and Romans 6:14, he states that death and sin no longer have power to harm us or to affect our lives.

Now a better understand comes to light of Paul's meaning in Romans 7:1. In this verse, Paul explains how the law has "power" over a human being only while he lives. He means the law has power to condemn us as a sinner and, consequently, condemn us to death only as long as we are alive. Once we have died, the penalty for sin has been paid, and the law has no more power to condemn us.

So we have become dead in the eyes of the law! At the time of our baptism, the old man of sin was put to death and buried in a watery grave (Romans 6:4). Because Jesus Christ died in our stead, and we have been buried with Him in baptism, the law regards us as having died. Therefore, the penalty for sin (Romans 6:23) has been paid, and the law no longer has power to condemn us to death for our sins.

In Romans 7:5, Paul explains how that before we were converted, our sinful natures brought us under the death penalty. He shows that the carnal, sinful mind is so hostile toward God (Romans 8:7) that knowledge of God's commandments actually stirs a desire in an unconverted person to commit even greater sins.

Finally, Paul concludes the matter in Romans 7:6. We have now been delivered from the power of the law. The law no longer has authority to condemn us to death because our old man of sin has died, and Christ has paid the penalty for sin in our stead. Now that God has given us His Holy Spirit, we now "serve in the newness of the Spirit and not in the oldness of the letter." In other words, we now keep not just the letter of the law, but we also keep God's laws in their full spiritual intent and purpose as Jesus Christ magnified them throughout His ministry.

So we should see that as far from being abolished, the laws of God are now even more necessary on Christians. Because of the atoning sacrifice of Christ, our sins have all been forgiven, and we now live transformed lives in which we keep God's laws of love through the indwelling power of the Holy Spirit.
For sure we have died in the eyes of the law, and our "life is hidden with Christ in God" (Colossians 3:3). As we grow in Christ and overcome the world, God's laws become written on our hearts and minds until we finally are resurrected and inherit God's Kingdom, where we will keep His laws of love perfectly for all eternity.

And another way to explain all of this, is if you mess up and sin, if you get a moment of weakness and give in to temptation then no problem don’t go a beating yourself up Jesus has your back you are forgiven just keep working at knowing God and doing what he wants. Matthew 22:36-39 NIV "Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?" (37) Jesus replied: "'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.' (38) This is the first and greatest commandment. (39) And the second is like it: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.' Matthew 28:19-20 NIV Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, (20) and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age."

There is another tangent to this "law/sin thingy" that I have been studying on, concerning followers of Christ, does the sin happen to the one who sins or the one who sees (perceives) the sin? Who places the stumbling block before whom?

 

[Ezra Allen]

We must keep in mind that the Psalms were written under Old Testament revelation. So when they talk about eye for eye tooth for tooth revenge or even hatred for enemies (Psalm 139:21-22), and God's blessing depending upon our own righteousness (Psalm 18:20), then we must call the Psalms for what they are - wrong.
In contrast, Christ teaches us to do not take revenge, and to love our enemies, and God does not bless us according to our own righteousness, but His righteousness.
Also Christ does not cause us to love the Law which He died to set His people free from, Christ calls us to love Him.

speaking to one another with psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit. Sing and make music from your heart to the Lord,
(Ephesians 5:19 NIV)

Let the message of Christ dwell among you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom through psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit, singing to God with gratitude in your hearts.
(Colossians 3:16 NIV)

All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness,
(2 Timothy 3:16 NIV)

 

[Ezra Allen]

I am going to jump ahead a few verses before I start on Beth. Psalm 119:164 (going from memory) Seven times a day I praise your name for your laws are right.
I was reading through my journal from last year a couple days ago when I came across something I had written down concerning this verse.

I had wondered where this seven times a day comes from?

Ancient Jewish tradition has 3 prayers a day the written code is full of so many loopholes and roundabouts that I quickly became confused and dizzy.

Muslims prayer 7 times a day, but however that practice is not what this is about. They pray towards a place on earth for a dead person of the world, following a strict set of rules.

I then went into investigative mod and spent 3 hours going through webcrawler pages when I stumbled across a post by a Christian mother on a motherhood webpage.
She had said “…… Seven times a day I have to feed my newborn…….” I did some quick math on my calculator (math never being one of my strong points) and realized all my sons had 4 hour tummy’s which summed to 7 times a day.

I gave you milk, not solid food, for you were not yet ready for it. Indeed, you are still not ready.
(1 Corinthians 3:2 NIV)

In fact, though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you the elementary truths of God's word all over again. You need milk, not solid food!
(Hebrews 5:12 NIV)

Anyone who lives on milk, being still an infant, is not acquainted with the teaching about righteousness.
(Hebrews 5:13 NIV)

Like newborn babies, crave pure spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow up in your salvation,
(1 Peter 2:2 NIV)



Anyone else have thoughts on this?

 

[james1523]

First let’s get the primary thing unblemished. God’s law is not dead, and we are not dead to the law of God. We are dead only to the punishment for failure to follow God's law in the fullest perfect way.

God's law is alive in the sense that it is still active. But God's law is a dead thing and cannot give life. Only Christ and the Spirit can give life. Gal 2:19 says we are dead to the law and alive to God.