The law is integral to life

Many false preachers are going around preaching a gospel of lawlessness. They claim that the death of Christ abolished the Law of God—the Ten Commandments. They argue that because we are saved by grace, we no longer need to keep the Law. This false gospel has resulted in great weakness within Christianity, chaos in the lives of believers, and disorder in the world. This begs the question: Can life exist without laws?

Law is Integral to Life

Law defines how something is intended to operate; you cannot do anything in life without it. To see how vital laws are to every function, we can look at even the most extreme examples: criminal organizations. Even they have laws, and a member's violation of those rules carries severe consequences. For example, in the United States, two infamous gangs—the Crips and the Bloods—use colors to signify their laws. The Crips wear blue and the Bloods wear red; wearing the wrong color in the wrong neighborhood can result in life-threatening trouble.

Laws are codes of conduct that describe how members of a group, organization, or nation should behave to ensure the success of a common endeavor. Even terrorist groups, like the Taliban, have laws, such as the mandate that men cannot shave.

Laws in Every Sphere

• Sports: How do you know when someone scores a goal? The law determines it. Players are ejected, suspended, or even banned when they transgress the rules of the game.

• The Workplace: Your job has laws. There is a specific time to clock in, a time for lunch, and a time to go home. There are dress codes and professional standards. Violating these "laws" leads to disciplinary action or termination.

• The Home: When people enter your home, they must abide by the rules you set. Even if you show them grace for many transgressions, if they continue to violate your peace, they will eventually be cast out. The laws of your home determine how you want it to be run.

• The State: The government sets speed limits to promote the safety and wellbeing of the community. If you continuously transgress traffic laws, your license will be suspended, or you may end up in jail.

Laws are meant to protect life and safeguard the wellbeing of the subject. To transgress them is to invite chaos. Even the Devil has laws, for he has a kingdom. Yet, false preachers continue to teach that God—the Creator of all—does not have a law or that His law has been done away with.

God’s Law is meant to protect and safeguard His creatures. To transgress it is to bring chaos and self-destruction into your own life. This Law is summarized in the Ten Commandments found in Exodus 20, which teach us how to love God and our neighbor:

Loving God (The First Four):

1. You shall have no other gods before Me.

2. You shall not make idols.

3. Do not take God’s name in vain.

4. Keep the Sabbath day (Saturday) holy.

Loving Our Neighbor (The Last Six): 5. Honor your father and mother. 6. You shall not murder. 7. You shall not commit adultery. 8. You shall not steal. 9. You shall not bear false witness. 10. You shall not covet.

The Law defines how we are to live in harmony. The chaos we see in the church, in society, and within our own hearts is the direct result of transgressing God’s holy Law. As the Bible says, "There is no peace to the wicked." Just as a criminal has no peace when he is running from the state, we cannot have peace while violating the laws of Heaven.

God, in His mercy, is willing to forgive our transgressions if we repent. However, His forgiveness does not remove the Law; rather, the Law of God is the "Law of Liberty" and the "Law of Life." Christ died to take away the punishment for our sins, but He also lives to transform us and put us back into harmony with God’s standards.

If you want internal peace and peace with your neighbors, pray for God to write His Law in your heart. The Law is not going anywhere; throughout eternity, it will still command us to love the Lord with all our hearts and our neighbors as ourselves. Obey the Lord, keep His Law, and flee from the teaching that it has been abolished.

May God bless you.

Live for Christ

When you ask someone, "What do you want to be in life?" many will answer, "I want to be successful," "I want to make money," or "I want to be a doctor, a nurse, an athlete, or a politician." Rarely do we find someone who says, "I want to live for Christ and be whatever He calls me to be." We seldom hear people say that because, from our youth up, we have been taught to live for ourselves rather than for the glory of God. For the majority of people, the glory of God is the last thing on their minds—if it is there at all.

Living for oneself will inevitably result in frustration and misery, but living for the glory of God brings true fulfillment and increasing joy. You are too "small" to bring lasting satisfaction to yourself. We are often too ignorant to know what will truly fulfill us; since we didn't create ourselves, we have no inherent idea of what will truly satisfy our souls. This is why the things we thought would satisfy us usually leave us feeling empty and miserable.

You may be beautiful now, and everyone may comment on your pictures, but soon you will grow old and wrinkled, and people may no longer seek them out. Consider the singer Madonna: back in the day, people clamored to see her revealing photos, but now, many make fun of her and say she is "too old to be dressing like this." The day is coming when the beauty you like to flaunt will fade away. What will fulfill you then?

If you live for Christ, you shall have an everlasting beauty found in His glory.

You might think you are "the man" because you have a good job, but all it takes is one sickness or a sudden firing to lose everything. You might think you are "the man" because you are in good physical shape, but a single illness can find you withering away.

Live for Christ; in Him, you are truly "the man"—the new man created in Christ Jesus. The Lord will keep you in perfect peace, will always provide for you, and will make you strong in spirit.

Tis the season! Should we celebrate Christmas?

 The Christmas season is here again, and a joyous mood is in the air. Everywhere you go, decorations are set up, lights are twinkling, and Christmas music is playing on the radio. Store owners are celebrating because, during this time, they receive a "gift" from customers spending money on all sorts of material things for their loved ones. In the workplace, there are gift exchanges, parties, and dinners. At night, you find people going to clubs, getting drunk, and acting recklessly—all while supposedly celebrating the birthday of Christ the Savior.

Christmas seems to be the one celebration involving "Christ" that both the secular world and churchgoers enjoy. On Christmas Day, the world and the church gather together. Christians and worldly people alike dress up and share pictures on social media. In Christmas, we find a union between pagans and Christians—a mixture of truth and error, light and darkness. But God asks in 2 Corinthians 6:14, "What fellowship does light have with darkness?"

The truth is that Jesus did come into the world, born of a woman, to bring salvation to the human race. The error is the date and the customs. Jesus was not born on December 25th; He was most likely born during the fall when the shepherds were still in the fields. Biblical evidence suggests a birth between September and October.

History shows that someone else was celebrated on December 25th: the pagan god Tammuz. By its very nature, December 25th was a pagan festival characterized by gift exchanges and drunkenness. The medieval Roman Catholic Church adopted many of these pagan festivities and gave them Christian names. The birth of Tammuz became the birthday of Christ, just as the pagan day of sun worship—Sunday—came to replace God’s holy seventh-day Sabbath.

Paganism and Christianity formed a union in falsehood, and many have been deceived into accepting the errors of the institutional church. Christmas has nothing to do with Jesus Christ, and the way it is celebrated clearly reveals its pagan roots. The world consistently neglects what God commanded while promoting what He did not.

So, should Christians celebrate Christmas? Should we have fellowship with darkness? The answer is no. Christmas is a pagan celebration masquerading as a Christian festival. God is calling His children out of darkness and into His glorious light. As children of God, we must put away the "unfruitful works of darkness" and stand for the truth.

Walking in the Light

While we can use this time of year to promote the Gospel, we should take no part in godless festivities. In the workplace, consider abstaining from the decorations, the social media spectacles, and the parties filled with alcohol.

Friends, let us as Christians read the Word of God and walk in the light of truth. The world hates Jesus and will never truly celebrate Him. We truly celebrate Jesus by turning away from sin and the love of worldly things. Let us ask God daily to separate us from the world and to stand boldly for His truth, no matter where we are. Celebrate Jesus by letting Him sanctify you with truth, for His Word is truth.