SIN AND THE LAW
Most people think that knowledge of the law is over their heads. That is why they consult with lawyers when they get into legal trouble. Similarly, most religious people think that knowledge of the law and understanding of parables, mysteries, allegories, laws, ordinances, statutes, charges and precepts is way over their heads. And this is not surprising considering the fact that God has made knowing him very difficult.

The problem with going to religious leaders for understanding is that they only know about religious laws based on the literal words of the Bible. They know nothing about God’s spiritual laws that come from God’s spoken voice. Ignorant of the fact that there are two kinds of knowledge, they teach what they think they know and lead people astray with their ignorance.

Not knowing the difference between religious laws and spiritual laws is a serious handicap for religious people who want to avoid sin. They are clear in their understanding that sin is lawbreaking, but their religious teachers mislead them into the belief that the laws they must keep are religious laws found in the literal words of the Bible. Therefore, in a sincere effort to avoid sinning, religious people do their very best to avoid breaking the religious laws while breaking all of God’s spiritual laws.

The result of this ignorance about which laws are the standards for righteousness is that religious people receive praise from their coreligionists for their obedience to the literal Bible but are sinners in God’s eyes. This is a serious issue for people who want to be in good standing with God. Thinking that they are righteous in obeying the literal words of the Bible, they have stumbled over the law.

This situation will continue to be a problem until religious people stop listening to false prophets and STUDY to learn how to hear personally hear God’s spoken voice. As long as they put their trust in religious leaders they will remain ignorant of God’s spiritual laws. In other words, they need to study themselves to learn the truth. And they will be assisted in their learning if they can find a true prophet they can trust.

Given that God caused the Bible to be written in parables and dark sayings, it is prudent for religious people to make a serious effort to learn how to interpret them. After all, all scripture is God breathed and useful for training in righteousness. Anyone who fails to make such investigations implies to God and the world that they already have all the righteousness they need in their religious practices and beliefs and that they are exempted by God from his command to obey all of his laws. Such people are among those who bless themselves in their stubbornness in the belief that their religion keeps them safe. They forget, or ignore, that if they fail to observe one part of the law, God considers them guilty of disobeying all parts of the law.

Almost everyone knows that God has very high standards for obedience. Few understand or admit, however, that he has made obedience to literal laws written in the Bible is impossible. Anyone who has read Leviticus with serious intent to obey the laws written there understand that they are impossible to understand and obey. And yet, the world is full of Jews and Christians who are sincerely devoted to obeying God’s written word with the belief that they will find life there because the written word tells them what laws they should obey and how to obey them. A few of those Christians and Jews are convinced that they understand all of God’s laws and have persuaded others to listen to what they think about these deep things. So what we see is the blind religious leaders leading blind followers because they read and understand with their natural eyes and ears instead of listening to God’s spoken voice.

We might well wonder why God made understanding him and following him so difficult. Our logical human thinking says that God should make it easy for people to believe in him, trust him and follow him. And for most people it is relatively easy to read the Bible literally and make up a few rules for holy living that will, hopefully, earn eternal salvation. These are the rules are the essence of religion — but man’s religious ways are not God’s way.

God has a purpose in the way the Bible is written and it is up to us to acquire Godly knowledge, wisdom, understanding from the Symbols, Signs, Types, Copies, Shadows and Patterns found in it. But, understanding of these mysteries does not come without discipline and training in righteousness.

Those who engage in this kind of training show that they are true disciples. Those who do not endeavor to learn through serious study effectively say that they only want to know a little bit about God and that the little they do know is enough. They are content with the little that religion teaches them and have no interest in what God will teach New Covenant disciples.

This casual, lazy attitude barely satisfies God’s command to love him with all our heart, mind, soul and strength. To learn as much about God as is humanly possible demands the drive and discipline of a disciple — a learner. A casual, only-on-Sunday approach will yield nothing about God’s true nature and his ways.

So what does this review of discipline and study have to do with the law? It is just this: The law is not easy to comprehend; Understanding the law is very challenging because God is very complicated and hearing his spoken voice is difficult. That is why God warns us that the law is a stumbling block. But while understanding the law is challenging, so are the rewards for those who learn how to hear God’s voice.