God's Laws and Why We Have Them

God's Laws – Obedience

Who sinned first?

Genesis 3:6 “And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat.”

Eve was the one deceived, but did she sin?

Romans 5:12 “Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned:” (Here we see that Adam was the origin of sin, but let's go on):

2 Corinthians 11:3 “But I fear, lest by any means, as the serpent beguiled Eve through his subtilty, so your minds should be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ.”

1 Timothy 2:13 “For Adam was first formed, then Eve. 14 And Adam was not deceived, but the woman being deceived was in the transgression.”

Is there a contradiction here?

Gen 2:15 “And the Lord God took the man, and put him into the garden of Eden to dress it and to keep it.”

What was Adam to do? (Dress and keep the Garden).

What was in the midst of the Garden? (The Tree of Life). Adam was to not only be the provider, but his job too was to keep head the religious affairs.

Revelation 2:7 “He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches; To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the tree of life, which is in the midst of the paradise of God.”

Hence, Adam's charge was to tend to the “Tree of Life”(Jesus). Adam's job was to be the spiritual leader of the home.

From the sequence events in Genesis:

• Adam was created (Gen 1:27)
• Man to have dominion over all living creatures (Gen 1:26)
• God needed a man to till the ground (Gen 2:5)
• Adam was created (2-7)
• God planted a Garden and placed Adam in it.(Gen 2:7)
• God placed the “Tree of Life” and the “Tree of Knowledge” in the midst of the Garden (Gen 2:9)
• Adam assigned to dress and keep the Garden (Gen 2:15)
• The “Original Commandment” made to Adam (Gen 2:17-18)
• Adam told of the penalty for disobedience (Gen 2:18)
• Eve created from the rib of Adam. “Eve” means “to live” and “woman” means “female human”, being the person responsible for creating (having a womb). Hence Eve's “job” was the bear and nurture children and was biologically created for the job.
• Adam and Eve “innocent” (Gen 2:25)
• The serpent deceived Eve (Gen 3:1)
• Eve was confused misquoting God's command. (Gen 3:3)
• Eve tempted by the serpent (Gen 3:5)
• Eve desired the wisdom (to be wise like God) and to have pleasure) (Gen (3:6)
• Eve sinned (Gen 3:6)
• Eve gave Adam to eat (Gen 3:6)
• The innocence of both was gone. They both had sinned. (Gen 3:7)
• Adam felt sin guilt. (Gen 3:10)
• Adam blamed Eve (Gen 3:12)
• Eve confessed her sin (Gen 3:13)
• Eve's punished meted out by God (she is to serve Adam) (Gen 3:16)
• Adam's punishment meted out by God because although he was responsible for obeying the Commandment he listened to Eve. His punishment was toil in doing his job. (Gen 3:17).

From this sequence of events we find that Adam's job was to tend to the things of God. Spiritual decisions were his. God gave one commandment and one only and the punishment if the command was broken! Eve never heard the command from God, but she received it from Adam. There was a communication problem on the part of Eve because she didn't listen well to Adam's instructions. As religious leader, Adam's job was the see that Eve obeyed the law. Eve desired wisdom and pleasure. Eve was the first to sin. Then she convinced Adam that it was okay and that God. (Eve assumed the role of spiritual leader which belonged to Adam). They both were guilty of sin because neither were no longer innocent. Adam feel guilt, but blamed Eve. He didn't accept responsibility although it was his job assigned by God. Eve confessed her sin. Adam didn't! Both were punished, but Adam was told he was wrong because he listed to Eve. Because he failed to do his job as religious leader his punishment was that the rest of his job will be in toil.

Eve sinned first, but Adam was responsible to ensure that she knew the law and obeyed. She allowed the serpent to to deceive her. Her sins were a desire for pleasure and prestige. Here we have other “unwritten laws” broken because they were only implied. They were subsets of the “Original Commandment”. Adam's sin was not fulfilling his role assigned to God. He didn't do his job as spiritual leader. He allowed Eve to be supreme to him. Adam was to have dominion over her. She failed to be subservient to her husband. However, we find that Eve repented of her sin, but Adam failed to. Both were punished for their disobedience.

Hence, we have Eve who sinned first, but it was Adam's responsibility to make sure that she obeyed God! It's as the “chicken and egg” story. Which came first? Eve sinned first, but Adam was held accountable!

Adam had responsibility for Eve's sin. Because of his slack attention to God's command he was held responsible for Eve's action. Adam's sin was one of omission. Eve's a sin of commission.

“Sins of omission” are failure to meet up to what God expects by not placing importance on God's will. Sins of commission are doing and thinking things God forbids. An example of a sin of commission is stealing. A sin of omission would be a failure to love God.

Eve was deceived, but was held accountable. It may be that she heard Adam wrongly or that she intentionally misquoted what Adam had said. One is an intentional sin and the other is not, but for both we're held accountable!

Leviticus 4:1 “Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 2 “Speak to the sons of Israel, saying, ‘If a person sins unintentionally in any of the things which the Lord has commanded not to be done, and commits any of them, 3 if the anointed priest sins so as to bring guilt on the people, then let him offer...”

We've always heard that “sin” is the willful transgression of God's laws. Not so! We can sin because we do it by accident. We are responsible for knowing God's will and doing it. (That's why the isolated pagan is still responsible for failure to worship God).

“Sin” then is:

Deuteronomy 9:7 “Remember and do not forget how you provoked the Lord your God to wrath in the wilderness. From the day you came out of the land of Egypt until you came to this place, you have been rebellious against the Lord.”

Sin is rebellion against the Lord. Rebellion from what? His will and commandments. His commandments are “concrete” his will is of the Spirit.

1 John 3:4 “Everyone who makes a practice of sinning also practices lawlessness; sin is lawlessness.”

Lawlessness is disobedience to the “Head of the Government”. Doing and ,we find later, thinking is failure to obey our Head; God.

Sin then in short is a failure to do the will of God either because we're not allowing the Spirit to work in our lives or because we know God's will, but do it anyway! (These two sins are sins of omission and commission).

We find that there were “Laws of God”, but there was one explicit law and it wasn't written down. That law was “do not eat of the tree”. I believe that law was broken by seeking pleasure and wisdom instead of obedience because the “Tree of Life” represented God's righteous and represented Christ. The “Tree of Life” was “The Word” so as a result the “sin” was placing self over Christ! They wanted to be like God!

Althoug a feeble excuse. Adam and Eve had one! God, you didn't write it down. We misunderstood or forgot. We're just mere humans. How were we to know? Let's take a look at why there is “The Law”:

Romans 5:12 “Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned: 13 (For until the law sin was in the world: but sin is not imputed when there is no law.”

Adam and Eve were partially correct. They knowingly were out of God's will, but they failed to understand the importance of it. There was a law, but only one. However, by not respecting God's will they broke many laws! Unwritten laws!

“Imputed” is a key word. There is no blame if there is no law. Hence, God saw the need to make laws because he's a just God. He can't “blame” nor subsequently forgive or punish unless it's clear what his rules are!

The Ten Commandments:

Exodus 19:5 “Now therefore, if ye will obey my voice indeed, and keep my covenant, then ye shall be a peculiar treasure unto me above all people: for all the earth is mine: 6a And ye shall be unto me a kingdom of priests, and an holy nation.” (Does this say that the covenant will save you? No! That's not why The Law was written down! I'm peculiar. To the world I'm “strange”.)

Hebrews 8:9 “Not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day when I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt; because they continued not in my covenant, and I regarded them not, saith the Lord.”

This Covenant is The Law of God or a National Covenant. It was similar to the Abrahamic Covenant, but had rigorous “conditions”. God's Law is The Decalogue or what's commonly called The Ten Commandments.

In abbreviated form here they are from Exodus 1:17:

1. No other Gods before (with) him.
2. No graven images (idols).
3. Do not take the Lord's name in vain (without respect)
4. Keep the Sabbath Day holy (Lord's Day)
5. Honor your father and mother (command with a promise)
6. Do not murder (sanctity of life)
7. Do not commit adultery (sanctity of marriage)
8. Do not steal.
9. Do not lie (Honor truth)
10. Do not covet (Sins of the heart: lust).

Some say that we no longer are bound by The Law. Is that true?

There are two sets of laws. This is The Law of God. The entire Pentetuch is The Lawof Moses. Commonly called Mosaic Laws. It consists of all that is written and added to in the book of the Hebrew called The Talmud. The Talmud consists of all the Mosaic Laws and oral commentary about them which has been written to further explain what Moses “meant”. The Hebrew Law (Talmud) is so precise that every action can be a sin. The Hebrews are as bound to their own law as they were slaves to the Egyptians!

Under the Covenant of Grace (aka The Dispensation of Grace) Are we still to obey The Law?

I submit that we are now with Christ under the Dispensation of Grace and that we always were. It was what man, including Moses did, that blinded mankind to true grace. We just couldn't leave well enough alone. We, in effect, enslaved ourselves by adding to God's Law. (mankind for some reason chooses slavery over freedom). The Christian's freedom is called “liberty”. We're no longer bound by The Law, but what law?

Matthew 5:17 “Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil.”

Hence, The Law is still effectual. Jesus came to supplement and complement The Law. Again, I ask, what law did he come to fulfill? It wasn't The Talmud or Mosaic Law. It was The Law of God!

We are told that as Christians we must obey God's commands:

John 14:15 ”If ye love me, keep my commandments.”

Therefore, we have liberty (freedom in Christ). We no longer keep The Law to gain favor and save our wretched souls from eternal punishment, but we keep God's Law out of love for Jesus!

What are those commandments of which Jesus tells us?

Matthew 22:36 “Master, which is the great commandment in the law? 37 Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. 38 This is the first and great commandment. 39 And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. 40 On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.”

These verses tell it all! “All the law” is summarized by these two commandments! (The First and Greatest Commandment and The Other Like Unto It)

Let's look at The Law of God again in this light:

LAWS OF JESUS (Greatest and One Like It)	LAWS OF GOD (Ten Commandments)
1. Love God (Greatest)	1. No other Gods before him.
1. Love God (Greatest)	2. No graven images.
1. Love God (Greatest)	3. Do not take the Lord's name in vain.
1. Love God (Greatest)	4. Keep the Sabbath Day holy
2, Love others (One like the Greatest)	5. Honor your father and mother.
2. Love others (One like the Greatest)	6. Do not murder.
2. Love others (One like the Greatest)	7. Do not commit adultery
2. Love others (One like the Greatest)	8. Do not steal.
2. Love others. (One like the Greatest)	9. Do not lie .
2. Love others (One like the Greatest)	10. Do not covet

We tom do these because we love God and others. That's God's Commands. Likewise, the assurance of our salvation is “our works”. We know that we're saved when we seek to please God! As a result of a desire to please God, who benefits?

Matthew 5:19 “Whosoever therefore shall break one of these least commandments, and shall teach men so, he shall be called the least in the kingdom of heaven: but whosoever shall do and teach them, the same shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven.”

The Law doesn't save us, but it shows that we're saved because it's a demonstration of the love of Jesus. That's fulfilling The Law. Also, not that there is no obligation to keep the Mosaic Law. If one reviews the Counsel of Jerusalem, the Jews were only asked to keep the laws which honor God. It didn't matter if they were circumcised or not or if they ate impure food! “Love” is the key to salvation! Obedience to God's Commandments are a demonstration of love and if the Christian is truly saved that person will obey:

Romans 13:8 Owe no man any thing, but to love one another: for he that loveth another hath fulfilled the law. 10 Love worketh no ill to his neighbour: therefore love is the fulfilling of the law.

Galatians 5:14 For all the law is fulfilled in one word, even in this; Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.