Fellowship Hall

(THE LAW) of The O.T. (Old Covenant): Is it needed for today's times because we now live under grace, the N.T. (New Covenant) or Not? James, chapter 4 is where we will be reading, but let's start in the OT with a few scriptures that will tie in with James, Chapter 4. The CAPITALS that I will be using will represent WORDS or PHRASES of IMPORTANCE to remember. OT- Psalms 66:18- "If I regard INIQUITY IN MY HEART the LORD Will NOT Hear Me:" (WHY?) NT- 2Timothy 4:4- "And they shall TURN AWAY their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables." (Fables- a short story conveying a moral or a parable,a simple story used to illustrate a moral or spiritual lesson), as told by Jesus in the Gospels. If I regard immoral or grossly unfair behavior IN MY HEART, the LORD WILL NOT HEAR ME. In other words: If I know that I'm going to do something immoral against God's Word, and think "all I have to do is to ask FOR FORGIVENESS" think again, God WILL NOT HEAR YOU. NOTE: When one ASKS FOR FORGIVENESS, one Must Be Willing to TURN AWAY from THAT SIN (to do it No More). NT- John 8:11  "She said, no man, Lord. And Jesus said to her, neither do I condemn thee: GO AND SIN NO MORE." N.T. John 5:14  "Afterward Jesus findeth him in the temple and said unto him, behold, thou art made whole: SIN NO MORE, lest a worse thing come upon thee." (Be ye separate and set apart from the WORLD. Ye are in the WORLD but not of the WORLD).  N.T. 2 Corinthians 6:17 "Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you," JAMES 4:4  "Ye adulterers and adulteresses, know ye not that the friendship OF THE WORLD (or with the World) is enmity with God? Whosoever therefore WILL(wants to) be a friend of the WORLD is (makes himself) an enemy of God." O.T. GENESIS.6:5 "And God saw the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the THOUGHTS of his HEART was only evil continually." (Example) THOUGHTS like, "God made me this way and with these feelings, and all I need to do is ASK FOR FORGIVENESS, for the same SIN AGAIN and AGAIN and he will FORGIVE me, KNOWING THAT SIN, in which he is COMMITTING AGAIN and AGAIN is presumptuous (Meditated Sin). James 4:3 " Ye ask, AND RECEIVE NOT, because YE ASK AMISS, that ye may consume it UPON YOUR LUSTS." James 4:5 Do ye think that the Scripture saith in vain, the spirit that dwelleth in us lusteth to envy? N.T. Galatians 5:17 "For the FLESH LUSTETH against the Spirit, and the SPIRIT against the Flesh"O.T. Zachariah 1:3 "Therefore say unto them, thus saith the LORD of hosts; TURN YE UNTO ME, saith the LORD of hosts, and I WILL TURN UNTO YOU, saith the LORD of hosts." JAMES 4:6 "But he giveth more grace, wherefore he saith, God RESISTETH the proud, but giveth grace unto the HUMBLE." O.T. 2 Chronicles "IF my people which are called by my name, shall HUMBLE themselves, AND pray, AND seek my face, AND TURN FROM their wicked ways; THEN WILL I HEAR from heaven, and will FORGIVE their SIN, AND will heal their land." *NOTE: TO TURN AWAY FROM SIN, is to DRAW NIGH to God. JAMES 4:8 "DRAW NIGH to God, AND he WILL DRAW NIGH to you. Cleanse your hands ye sinners; and purify (make perfect) your HEARTS, ye double minded." N.T.- Hebrews 7:19" For THE LAW made no man PERFECT, but the bringing in of a BETTER HOPE DID; by which we DRAW NIGH UNTO GOD." JAMES 4:11 "Speak no evil of one another, brethren. He that speaketh evil of his brother, and judges his brother, speaketh evil of THE LAW, and judgeth THE LAW: but if thou JUDGETH THE LAW, thou ARE NOT A DOER OF THE LAW, but a JUDGE." JAMES 4:16 "Now ye rejoice (boast) in your boastings (arrogance) ALL such rejoicing is EVIL." JAMES 4:17 "Therefore to him that KNOWETH TO DO GOOD, and DOETH IT NOT, To him IT is SIN."  NOTE: we must obey THE LAW of Christ Jesus FULFILLED. N.T. Luke 12:47 "And that servant, which knew not his lord's will, and PREPARED NOT himself, neither DID according TO HIS WILL, shall be beaten with many stripes." N.T. 2 Peter 2:21 "For it had been better for them NOT to have KNOWN the WAY OF RIGHTEOUSNESS, than, they, HAVING KNOWN it, To TURN AWAY FROM the HOLY COMMANDMENT DELIVERED unto them." O.T. Hosea 4:6- "My people ARE DESTROYED for LACK OF KNOWLEDGE: because thou hast REJECTED KNOWLEDGE, I WILL ALSO REJECT THEE, that thou shalt be NO PRIEST TO ME: seeing thou HAST FORGOTTEN THE LAW OF THY GOD, I WILL ALSO FORGET thy children. "NOTE: We not only take the chance of separating OURSELVES FROM GOD, but OUR CHILDREN as well. (EXAMPLE) From the age of 20 years and up, the Generations of Israel WERE DESTROYED because of DISOBEDIENCE AND SIN, after being DELIVERED FROM the Enemy, that held them in BONDAGE, and could NOT Enter into the PROMISED LAND, with the exception of Joshua and Caleb. NOTE: If we say that THE LAW OF THE O.T., which was fulfilled by Jesus' Sacrifice, is of NO USE ANYMORE, then you say Jesus IS OF no use. You judge THE LAW and DON'T FOLLOW THE LAW in the O.T. (Old Covenat) Which is THE LAW of REDEMPTION of the N.T. (The New Covenant). *THE LAW of SIN in the O.T. was for us to ACKNOWLEDGE that we have SINNED, and THE FULFILLMENT of THE LAW, Jesus, was to RECONCILE us BACK TO GOD. NOT to DISMISS IT. If there was NO LAW of SIN, O.T., then there would be NO NEED for JESUS, N.T.. So if you read JUST the N.T. then you better throw more than half of it away, BECAUSE if you really READ IT the only way you're going to UNDERSTAND IT is to KNOW the O.T.. WHY do you think the N.T. REFERENCES BACK to the O.T. so much? The ANSWER IS......Because you CAN'T HAVE ONE WITHOUT THE OTHER, BOTH APPLY!! Just in JAMES, CHAPTER 4, ALONE, there are 9 OT REFERENCES that I found. JAMES 4:3, Job 27:9, James 4: 5, Genesis 6:5  James 4:8, 2 Choronicles 15:2, Zachariah 1:3, Malachi 3:7, Job 17:9, Isaiah 1:16, Jeremiah 4:14 and, finally, James 4:9, Job 22:29. So you see, you CAN'T have ONE WITHOUT the OTHER. GOD BLESS YOU. And I hope God, through me, has given you some FOOD for THOUGHT, For His Word says: Psalm 34:8  "O taste and see that the Lord is good: blessed is the man that trusteth in him."