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What happens when you mix law and grace? Why did William Branham teach that Jesus came to "magnify" the law? (related video: [[Fallen From Grace]]) | |||
=What did William Branham teach?= | |||
William Branham taught that: | William Branham taught that: | ||
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:''God ever says anything, He can never change it. He always magnifies it, not change it. The law was magnified, not changed. Magnified! "'Whosoever commits adultery shall be guilty of death,' but whosoever," now magnified, "looketh upon a woman to lust after her!" He never changed the commandment. He magnified it.'' | :''God ever says anything, He can never change it. He always magnifies it, not change it. The law was magnified, not changed. Magnified! "'Whosoever commits adultery shall be guilty of death,' but whosoever," now magnified, "looketh upon a woman to lust after her!" He never changed the commandment. He magnified it.'' | ||
William Branham | William Branham used this concept of the magnification of the law, among other things, '''to bring Old Testament law into the church'''. But the question is - '''Does the Bible support this?''' | ||
=What does the Bible say?= | |||
Jesus NEVER states that he came to magnify the law. | |||
==Isaiah 42:21== | |||
There is only one verse in the Bible that refers to the law being magnified and it is not a reference to the ministry of Jesus: | |||
:''The LORD is well pleased for his righteousness’ sake; He will magnify the law, and make it honourable. But this is a people robbed and spoiled; they are all of them snared in holes...<ref>The Holy Bible: King James Version, Electronic Edition of the 1900 Authorized Version. (Bellingham, WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc., 2009), Is 42:21–22.''</ref> | :''The LORD is well pleased for his righteousness’ sake; He will magnify the law, and make it honourable. But this is a people robbed and spoiled; they are all of them snared in holes...<ref>The Holy Bible: King James Version, Electronic Edition of the 1900 Authorized Version. (Bellingham, WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc., 2009), Is 42:21–22.''</ref> | ||
Here is the same verse from a few other translations: | |||
:''Yahveh desired his servant’s vindication to make his law grand and glorious; but this is a people plundered and despoiled; they are all trapped in holes...<ref>Joseph Blenkinsopp, Isaiah 40–55: A New Translation with Introduction and Commentary, vol. 19A, Anchor Yale Bible (New Haven; London: Yale University Press, 2008), 216.</ref> | |||
:''The LORD was pleased, for his righteousness’ sake, to magnify his law and make it glorious. But this is a people plundered and looted; they are all of them trapped in holes and hidden in prisons...<ref>The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton: Standard Bible Society, 2001), Is 42:21–22.</ref> | |||
:''The LORD is a God who is eager to save, so he exalted his laws and teachings, and he wanted his people to honour them. But now his people have been plundered; they are locked up in dungeons and hidden away in prisons. They were robbed and plundered, with no one to come to their rescue.<ref>American Bible Society, The Holy Bible: The Good News Translation, 2nd ed. (New York: American Bible Society, 1992), Is 42:21–22.</ref> | |||
It is obvious from these translations, that this passage has nothing to do with the coming of the Messiah. There is no prophesied magnification of the law. | |||
===What does magnify mean?=== | ===What does magnify mean?=== | ||
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But what does the word magnify mean in the context of Isaiah 42:21? | But what does the word magnify mean in the context of Isaiah 42:21? | ||
==Matthew 5:17== | |||
: | What Jesus said was: | ||
:'' | :''Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil.'' (Mt 5:17) | ||
: | |||
Here are couple of other translations of Matt 5:17 in more up to date English: | Here are couple of other translations of Matt 5:17 in more up to date English: | ||
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:''“Don’t misunderstand why I have come. I did not come to abolish the law of Moses or the writings of the prophets. No, I came to accomplish their purpose.'' (NLT) | :''“Don’t misunderstand why I have come. I did not come to abolish the law of Moses or the writings of the prophets. No, I came to accomplish their purpose.'' (NLT) | ||
===What does fulfill mean?=== | |||
Does it mean to magnify? | |||
:πληρόω: to give the true or complete meaning to something—‘to give the true meaning to, to provide the real significance of.’ οὐκ ἦλθον καταλῦσαι ἀλλὰ πληρῶσαι ‘I did not come to destroy but to give true meaning to’ (Mt 5:17) | |||
Paul stated that Jesus came ''"having wiped out the handwriting of requirements that was against us, which was contrary to us. And He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross..."'' (Col 2:14) | Paul stated that Jesus came ''"having wiped out the handwriting of requirements that was against us, which was contrary to us. And He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross..."'' (Col 2:14) | ||
What does this mean? What is the handwriting of requirements that Paul is talking about | What does this mean? What is the handwriting of requirements that Paul is talking about? | ||
'''He is talking about the law.''' Jesus came to fulfill all of the requirements of the law '''on our behalf''' so that the way to God is now opened! | '''He is talking about the law.''' Jesus came to fulfill all of the requirements of the law '''on our behalf''' so that the way to God is now opened! | ||
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Could this be true? | Could this be true? | ||
==What does Paul say about the Law?== | |||
Jesus did not sweep the the law under the carpet. He did not do away with it. | Jesus did not sweep the the law under the carpet. He did not do away with it. | ||
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Did you know that the ten commandments were received by Israel on the day of Pentecost. It was forty days after the Jewish passover when Moses went up on Mt. Sinai and received the Law. On that day they received the Law, three thousand people died (Ex 32:28). But what happened on the day that the church was born, the day of Penecost? Three thousand people came to life (Acts 2:41). The law produced death in 3,000 people on its first day, grace produced life in 3,000 people on the day the church was born! | Did you know that the ten commandments were received by Israel on the day of Pentecost. It was forty days after the Jewish passover when Moses went up on Mt. Sinai and received the Law. On that day they received the Law, three thousand people died (Ex 32:28). But what happened on the day that the church was born, the day of Penecost? Three thousand people came to life (Acts 2:41). The law produced death in 3,000 people on its first day, grace produced life in 3,000 people on the day the church was born! | ||
==So we don't have to pay attention to the law anymore?== | |||
Did Jesus go to Calvary and die to bring back the law to its pristine standard, a standard that ensured that no man could keep the law? | Did Jesus go to Calvary and die to bring back the law to its pristine standard, a standard that ensured that no man could keep the law? | ||
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If he was wanting you to obey what He said here, churches would be filled with blind amputees! | If he was wanting you to obey what He said here, churches would be filled with blind amputees! | ||
The reason for His unbelievably high standard is to drive home the point that man cannot depend on himself | The reason for His unbelievably high standard is to drive home the point that man cannot depend on himself... he cannot meet the standard of the law. He desperately needs a savior. | ||
If you try to keep the law you will fail. | If you try to keep the law you will fail. So why then does William Branham's message bring with it a set of rules and regulations that we are required to keep? | ||
Do you know that the apostles specifically talked about the laws that us Gentiles were required to keep? | Do you know that the apostles specifically talked about the laws that us Gentiles were required to keep? | ||
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So what gives William Branham the right to change the requirements laid down by the Apostles? | So what gives William Branham the right to change the requirements laid down by the Apostles? | ||
==Can we mix law and grace?== | |||
The law demands perfections but does not lift a finger to help. Grace on the other hand imparts perfection and does everything for man through Jesus Christ. | The law demands perfections but does not lift a finger to help. Grace on the other hand imparts perfection and does everything for man through Jesus Christ. | ||
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If you try to mix grace and the law as the Galatian church did, Paul said that you have fallen away from grace. Paul said you are either entirely under the law or you are under grace. They can't be mixed. | If you try to mix grace and the law as the Galatian church did, Paul said that you have fallen away from grace. Paul said you are either entirely under the law or you are under grace. They can't be mixed. | ||
==So how are Christians supposed to behave?== | |||
Paul stated: | Paul stated: | ||
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:''If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but I do not have love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. And if I have '''prophecy''', and know '''all mysteries''' and all knowledge, and if I have all '''faith''' so that I can remove mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. If I give away everything I own, and if I give over my body in order to boast, but do not have love, I receive no benefit. (1 Co 13:1–3 NET) | :''If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but I do not have love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. And if I have '''prophecy''', and know '''all mysteries''' and all knowledge, and if I have all '''faith''' so that I can remove mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. If I give away everything I own, and if I give over my body in order to boast, but do not have love, I receive no benefit. (1 Co 13:1–3 NET) | ||
==Is this relevant in any other way to William Branham's minsitry?== | |||
We receive a question which asked: ''So, if the law is indeed magnified, would it not be logical to also assume the part of the prophets being done away with is not the case, that instead, the role of the prophet might be magnified as well? | We receive a question which asked: ''So, if the law is indeed magnified, would it not be logical to also assume the part of the prophets being done away with is not the case, that instead, the role of the prophet might be magnified as well? | ||
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Based on William Branham's criteria, what does the occurrence of a single failure of a vision like [[The Municipal Bridge Vision|the Municipal Bridge Prophecy]] require us to do with his prophetic ministry? | Based on William Branham's criteria, what does the occurrence of a single failure of a vision like [[The Municipal Bridge Vision|the Municipal Bridge Prophecy]] require us to do with his prophetic ministry? | ||
=References= | |||
*Louw, J. P., & Nida, E. A. 1996. Greek-English lexicon of the New Testament: Based on semantic domains, 2nd edition. Vol. 1 (404), United Bible Societies: New York | |||
*Prince, Joseph, Unmerited Favor, 2011 | |||
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