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Mixing Law and Grace: Difference between revisions
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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 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?= | =What did William Branham teach?= | ||
William Branham taught that: | William Branham taught that if you obey the law this means you are not under the law: | ||
:''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.'' | :'''''What does Paul mean by freedom and liberty in Christ? What way is freedom from law?''' | ||
:''Well, you’re not bound by law. Say, for instance, here’s the same thing; I’ll explain in the natural way, quickly. For instance, out here it says, go down the street, thirty miles an hour is all the faster you can go. All right now. Now if I go down the street forty miles an hour, I’m condemned by the law. But if I go down the street just thirty miles an hour, I’m not under the law. See? That’s freedom in Christ (see?), the same thing. You’re not bound by the law as long… '''If I don’t steal, lie, smoke, commit adultery, any of those things there, I’m not bound by no law.''' See? I’m free from the law; I’m in Christ.<ref>William Branham, 64-0830M - Questions And Answers #3, para. 229-230</ref> | |||
This makes no sense. He is stating that obedience to the law means you are free from the law. But is this what scripture teaches? | |||
He also taught in 1963 that Jesus came to magnify the law: | |||
:''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.''<ref>63-0728, Christ Is The Mystery Of God Revealed</ref> | |||
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?''' | 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?''' | ||
= | =Did Jesus come to magnify the law?= | ||
Jesus NEVER states that he came to magnify the law. | Jesus NEVER states that he came to magnify the law. | ||
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:''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> | :''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. | 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. However, in William Branham's mind and in that of most message believers it means to make larger and, therefore, harder to meet. | ||
==Matthew 5:17== | ==Matthew 5:17== | ||
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:''To be sure, sin was in the world before the law was given, but sin is not charged against anyone’s account where there is no law.'' (Ro 5:13) | :''To be sure, sin was in the world before the law was given, but sin is not charged against anyone’s account where there is no law.'' (Ro 5:13) | ||
Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law (and not from the curse of sin) because where there is no law there is no sin. Even the | Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law (and not from the curse of sin) because where there is no law there is no sin. Even the ten commandments are referred to as producing death. | ||
:''But if the ministry that produced death — carved in letters on stone tablets — came with glory, so that the Israelites could not keep their eyes fixed on the face of Moses because of the glory of his face (a glory which was made ineffective), | :''But if the ministry that produced death — carved in letters on stone tablets — came with glory, so that the Israelites could not keep their eyes fixed on the face of Moses because of the glory of his face (a glory which was made ineffective), how much more glorious will the ministry of the Spirit be?'' (2 Co 3:7–8 NET) | ||
Paul called the ten commandments the ministry that produced death. | Paul called the ten commandments the ministry that produced death. | ||
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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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:''It is my judgment, therefore, that '''we should not make it difficult for the Gentiles''' who are turning to God. Instead we should write to them, telling them to abstain from food polluted by idols, from sexual immorality, from the meat of strangled animals and from blood. (Ac 15:19–20) | :''It is my judgment, therefore, that '''we should not make it difficult for the Gentiles''' who are turning to God. Instead we should write to them, telling them to abstain from food polluted by idols, from sexual immorality, from the meat of strangled animals and from blood. (Ac 15:19–20) | ||
:'''''It seemed good to the Holy Spirit''' and to us not to burden you with anything beyond the following requirements: | :'''''It seemed good to the Holy Spirit''' and to us not to burden you with anything beyond the following requirements: You are to abstain from food sacrificed to idols, from blood, from the meat of strangled animals and from sexual immorality. You will do well to avoid these things. (Ac 15:28–29) | ||
:'''''As for the Gentile believers''', we have written to them our decision that they should abstain from food sacrificed to idols, from blood, from the meat of strangled animals and from sexual immorality.” (Ac 21:25) | :'''''As for the Gentile believers''', we have written to them our decision that they should abstain from food sacrificed to idols, from blood, from the meat of strangled animals and from sexual immorality.” (Ac 21:25) | ||
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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 | The law demands perfection but does not lift a finger to help. Grace on the other hand imparts perfection and does everything for man through Jesus Christ. | ||
Paul said: | Paul said: | ||
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:''You who are trying to be justified by the law have been alienated from Christ; you have fallen away from grace.'' (Ga 5:4) | :''You who are trying to be justified by the law have been alienated from Christ; you have fallen away from grace.'' (Ga 5:4) | ||
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? | ==The Old Covenant is Obsolete!!== | ||
The Bible is a book organized around two covenants: one between God and ancient Israel and one between God and you! Focus on the second one. The covenant between God and Israel is obsolete. Read it for historical context and inspiration. | |||
Wait a minute. You just called part of the Bible obsolete! Actually, it wasn’t me. One of the authors of our Bible calls part of our Bible obsolete. | |||
If you had an overwhelming amount of debt that you wanted to rid yourself of, one option would be to declare bankruptcy. In that case, your obligation would not be fulfilled, just removed. But if someone came along and paid off your debt, the obligation would be fulfilled and the burden of fulfilling that obligation would be removed as well. Jesus fulfilled—as in ended—the necessity of the Jewish law. Just as you don’t abolish a home by completing its construction, just as you don’t abolish a flight plan by landing a plane, just as you don’t abolish a homework assignment by completing the assignment, Jesus did not abolish the law when he fulfilled it. But in fulfilling it, he made it . . . obsolete.<ref>Stanley, Andy. Irresistible (p. 103). Zondervan. Kindle Edition. </ref> | |||
Paul says in Romans 7:6: | |||
:''But now we are released from the law, having died to that which held us captive, so that we serve in the new way of the Spirit and not in the '''old''' way of the written code.<ref>The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2016), Ro 7:6.</ref> | |||
The Greek word that Paul uses that we translate as "ole is παλαιότης which refers to something in the state of being superseded or obsolete,<ref>William Arndt, Frederick W. Danker, and Walter Bauer, A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2000), 751.</ref> | |||
This statement of the old covenant being made obsolete is made clear in the book of Hebrews: | |||
:''In speaking of a new covenant, he makes the first one obsolete. And what is becoming obsolete and growing old is ready to vanish away.<ref>The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2016), Heb 8:13.</ref> | |||
To be clear, obsolete doesn’t mean bad. Obsolete means something new and better has come along. Cassette tapes are obsolete, but they’re not bad. Back in the day, cassette tapes were cutting-edge technology. Cassette tapes were the first technology to create the possibility for portable personalized music, until CDs came along, and now CDs are fast becoming obsolete. Not because they’re bad. Because something better has come along. Each of those technologies played a critical role in the evolution of music storage and portability. They were necessary steps to get where we are today. The same is true of God’s covenant with the nation of Israel. Sequential.<ref>Stanley, Andy. Irresistible (p. 154). Zondervan.</ref> | |||
N. T. Wright summarized it perfectly when he wrote: | |||
:''The Torah [law of Moses at Sinai] is given for a specific period of time, and is then set aside—not because it was a bad thing now happily abolished, but because it was a good thing whose purpose had now been accomplished.''<ref>N.T. Wright, ''The Climax of the Covenant'' (Minneapolis:Fortress, 1991), p. 181.</ref> | |||
To love the way Jesus called us to love requires a complete break with the inspired but retired, beautiful but obsolete, old covenant. As long as we continue mixing old with new, we will never be free to love as we have been called to love. Until we dispense with the old and embrace the new, our love will be leverage. And love that is leverage is no love at all.<ref>Stanley, Andy. Irresistible (p. 245). Zondervan.</ref> | |||
=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 ministry?= | |||
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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This question appears to be based on an incorrect understanding of the Biblical teachings of the law in the New Testament. We are no longer under the law but under grace. | This question appears to be based on an incorrect understanding of the Biblical teachings of the law in the New Testament. We are no longer under the law but under grace. | ||
:The Law and the Prophets were '''until''' John; '''since then''', the good news of the kingdom of God has been proclaimed, and everyone is strongly urged to enter it. (Lk 16:16 HCSB) | :''The Law and the Prophets were '''until''' John; '''since then''', the good news of the kingdom of God has been proclaimed, and everyone is strongly urged to enter it. (Lk 16:16 HCSB) | ||
Jesus said, | Jesus said, | ||
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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? | ||
=Quotes of William Branham= | |||
''But then, God can speak through His servant in gifts. Do you believe that? Then what He would say in a way what I've been testifying about of those things, that's God's Word, secondarily. And if God should tell you a certain thing to do, you go do it. '''If you fail to do it, then it'd be just like you failed to do in His Word here.''' <ref>William Branham, 53-0605 - The Beginning Of Jesus' Fame, para. 25</ref> | |||
''He said, "If you come back at all, God hasn't spoke to me." Uh-huh? See? There was a prophet, there was a sign; there was His voice. '''And, to fail to obey it, brought judgment.''' '''The Holy Ghost is our prophet today. Fail to hear His Voice?''' He's identified in the Scripture, that He would say these things. Jesus Christ, the form of the Holy Ghost!<ref>William Branham, 64-0321E - The Voice Of The Sign, para. 203-204</ref> | |||
''They might say, "Well, I do this. I dance in the spirit. I, I speak in tongues. I, I prophesy. I preach the Gospel." But fail to let your hair grow out, fail on one thing, and see what happens, the Spirit will leave you right there. That's what's happened to our churches, failed. 248 "In vain, worshiping Me. Oh, it's a beautiful worship. But in vain do they worship Me, teaching for doctrine the commandments of man."<ref>William Branham, 64-1212 - The Harvest Time, para. 247-248</ref> | |||
''If you fail, come back to this tape again. I don't know how much longer I'll be with you. Remember, this is the Truth, of THUS SAITH THE LORD. It's the Truth. '''It's the Scripture'''.<ref>William Branham, 63-0728 - Christ Is The Mystery Of God Revealed, para. 210</ref> | |||
''So, as long as I’m in Christ, I’m free from the law. See? I’m above the law because I’m in His grace. He’s put that confidence in me, that I won’t do anything that’s wrong, or He wouldn’t have give me that grace. That’s what He does to you the same way. We’re in His grace.<ref>William Branham, 64-0417 - Then Jesus Came And Called, para. 15</ref> | |||
'''''What does Paul mean by freedom and liberty in Christ? What way is freedom from law?''' | |||
:''Well, you’re not bound by law. Say, for instance, here’s the same thing; I’ll explain in the natural way, quickly. For instance, out here it says, go down the street, thirty miles an hour is all the faster you can go. All right now. Now if I go down the street forty miles an hour, I’m condemned by the law. But if I go down the street just thirty miles an hour, I’m not under the law. See? That’s freedom in Christ (see?), the same thing. You’re not bound by the law as long… '''If I don’t steal, lie, smoke, commit adultery, any of those things there, I’m not bound by no law.''' See? I’m free from the law; I’m in Christ.<ref>William Branham, 64-0830M - Questions And Answers #3, para. 229-230</ref> | |||
=References= | =References= | ||
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*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 | *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 | *Prince, Joseph, Unmerited Favor, 2011 | ||
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