The Point of the Parables

The point of each of those parables I made up, is to illustrate that just because we are no longer under the Law, does not mean that we won't live-up to the intent or principles inherent in the Law. It's just that we arrive there through a more effective means.

• Automatic set-up installs the same program on your computer as step-by-step set-up.
  

• Whether you take the New England Highway from Brisbane or the Pacific Highway, you can still arrive at exactly the same desired destination - Sydney.

• A husband who is in love does all the right things for his wife - just as if he was following some list of do's and dont's.

• Using a template can give you the same finished look as if you were a skilled HTML programmer.

For example, the Law said, "Bring all the tithes into the storehouse". Now some believers say that since we are no longer under the Law, we no longer need to pay tithes.

But when Moses commanded Israel saying, "Bring your tithes", that was really just an extension, or explanation, or application or just another way of saying, "Love God, and love your neighbour".

Because if they loved God, they would honour His house; they would keep His commandments; they would pay His priests; and they would consider the poor.

The intent or principle behind the Law was to show Israel how to apply the law of love to every area of their lives, including their finances.

So now that we are under the New Covenant instead of the Law, and under Christ's new commandment of "Love one another", we will still fulfill everything that was intended or foreshadowed in principle, by the Law - because we are walking in love. Love is the fulfilling of the Law.

Therefore if I love God and honour His house and love my neighbour as myself, I will support my local church, the ministers of the Gospel and the poor with my finances, as God has enabled me, just the same as if I were following a written law - and by doing so (by walking in love) I will, in effect, be keeping the commandment.

But by what strength or power did I keep it? By my own? By the power of the commandment itself? or by a new and living way? By a new and living way. By the power of Christ in me. It is no more I that does it, but Christ that liveth in me. Hallelujah!

When God introduced a New Covenant, He didn't drop or totally discard the standard inherent in the last Covenant. To do that would be to discard Himself - for God is love. He just gave us a more effective way of becoming capable of actually doing it, of actually being able to walk in love, from our very heart.

If you are driving down the road and you come to a sign that says, "Road Closed - Detour" - well the detour is going to take you to the same destination.

Or if a new road has been opened, replacing an old road, the new road is not going to take you to some different destination: it will take you to the same destination as the old road, only more effectively.

The Point of the Parables

The point of each of those parables I made up, is to illustrate that just because we are no longer under the Law, does not mean that we won't live-up to the intent or principles inherent in the Law. It's just that we arrive there through a more effective means.

• Automatic set-up installs the same program on your computer as step-by-step set-up.
  

• Whether you take the New England Highway from Brisbane or the Pacific Highway, you can still arrive at exactly the same desired destination - Sydney.

• A husband who is in love does all the right things for his wife - just as if he was following some list of do's and dont's.

• Using a template can give you the same finished look as if you were a skilled HTML programmer.

For example, the Law said, "Bring all the tithes into the storehouse". Now some believers say that since we are no longer under the Law, we no longer need to pay tithes.

But when Moses commanded Israel saying, "Bring your tithes", that was really just an extension, or explanation, or application or just another way of saying, "Love God, and love your neighbour".

Because if they loved God, they would honour His house; they would keep His commandments; they would pay His priests; and they would consider the poor.

The intent or principle behind the Law was to show Israel how to apply the law of love to every area of their lives, including their finances.

So now that we are under the New Covenant instead of the Law, and under Christ's new commandment of "Love one another", we will still fulfill everything that was intended or foreshadowed in principle, by the Law - because we are walking in love. Love is the fulfilling of the Law.

Therefore if I love God and honour His house and love my neighbour as myself, I will support my local church, the ministers of the Gospel and the poor with my finances, as God has enabled me, just the same as if I were following a written law - and by doing so (by walking in love) I will, in effect, be keeping the commandment.

But by what strength or power did I keep it? By my own? By the power of the commandment itself? or by a new and living way? By a new and living way. By the power of Christ in me. It is no more I that does it, but Christ that liveth in me. Hallelujah!

When God introduced a New Covenant, He didn't drop or totally discard the standard inherent in the last Covenant. To do that would be to discard Himself - for God is love. He just gave us a more effective way of becoming capable of actually doing it, of actually being able to walk in love, from our very heart.

If you are driving down the road and you come to a sign that says, "Road Closed - Detour" - well the detour is going to take you to the same destination.

Or if a new road has been opened, replacing an old road, the new road is not going to take you to some different destination: it will take you to the same destination as the old road, only more effectively.

The Parable of the Website Template

Here is a parable to illustrate the Gospel truth that being under grace doesn't mean we are allowed to live lawlessly - it means we are empowered to live right.

A certain person wanted to post a personal page on a free web hosting site. The free site gave him two options for creating and uploading his page:

1. He could use HTML to create his page, or
2. He could opt to use one of the site's free web-page templates - which required no knowledge of HTML [recommended for beginners]

At first, the person tried his hand at HTML. But he soon discovered that every little detail he desired for his web page required its own HTML "command". And if he got one command or code slightly wrong, the whole thing didn't look right, and it looked unacceptable.

He soon realized his inability, so he changed his mind and opted to use one of the easy-to-use templates instead. All the features he wanted on his web page were already built-in, including colour, font and style because the HTML codes or "commands" were automatically written into the template. No HTML knowledge or skill on his part was required. All he had to do was select and click "upload" - easy. The final result looked exactly how it would look if an expert made it using computer programming commands.

There were two methods: programming commands (HTML) or template (pre-programming). Both could achieve the same result in theory - however, only the last method was able to be used by an unskilled person.

Because of sin, all of us were unskilled at righteousness. But thank God, the Gospel has the same power in our lives as that template! When we were under the Law, we were unable to keep the Law, due to sin dwelling in our bodies - like a person who doesn't know the HTML commands. But now through the New Covenant, God has programmed our hearts to keep His laws, to walk in His ways, to fulfill the righteousness of the Law - causing us to achieve the same result, just like the man who opted for the website template. All we had to do was accept Christ (select and click "upload") - then we received His righteousness as a free gift, and we were empowered to walk in God's ways.

"...this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, saith the Lord; I will put my laws into their mind, and write them in their hearts..."

Through the New Covenant, through the power of the cross, and the blood, through the new birth, through Christ and through the indwelling Spirit - God has given us a brand new heart which bears His nature. God is love, and we are made partakers of the divine nature, therefore we are now able to walk in love. And love is the fulfilling of the Law. Therefore by a new and living way, the righteousness of the Law is fulfilled in us.

The Parable of the Website Template

Here is a parable to illustrate the Gospel truth that being under grace doesn't mean we are allowed to live lawlessly - it means we are empowered to live right.

A certain person wanted to post a personal page on a free web hosting site. The free site gave him two options for creating and uploading his page:

1. He could use HTML to create his page, or
2. He could opt to use one of the site's free web-page templates - which required no knowledge of HTML [recommended for beginners]

At first, the person tried his hand at HTML. But he soon discovered that every little detail he desired for his web page required its own HTML "command". And if he got one command or code slightly wrong, the whole thing didn't look right, and it looked unacceptable.

He soon realized his inability, so he changed his mind and opted to use one of the easy-to-use templates instead. All the features he wanted on his web page were already built-in, including colour, font and style because the HTML codes or "commands" were automatically written into the template. No HTML knowledge or skill on his part was required. All he had to do was select and click "upload" - easy. The final result looked exactly how it would look if an expert made it using computer programming commands.

There were two methods: programming commands (HTML) or template (pre-programming). Both could achieve the same result in theory - however, only the last method was able to be used by an unskilled person.

Because of sin, all of us were unskilled at righteousness. But thank God, the Gospel has the same power in our lives as that template! When we were under the Law, we were unable to keep the Law, due to sin dwelling in our bodies - like a person who doesn't know the HTML commands. But now through the New Covenant, God has programmed our hearts to keep His laws, to walk in His ways, to fulfill the righteousness of the Law - causing us to achieve the same result, just like the man who opted for the website template. All we had to do was accept Christ (select and click "upload") - then we received His righteousness as a free gift, and we were empowered to walk in God's ways.

"...this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, saith the Lord; I will put my laws into their mind, and write them in their hearts..."

Through the New Covenant, through the power of the cross, and the blood, through the new birth, through Christ and through the indwelling Spirit - God has given us a brand new heart which bears His nature. God is love, and we are made partakers of the divine nature, therefore we are now able to walk in love. And love is the fulfilling of the Law. Therefore by a new and living way, the righteousness of the Law is fulfilled in us.

The Parable of the Teenager in Love

Here is a parable which illustrates the Gospel truth that God's grace empowers us to live righteously, rather than excuses us to live lawlessly.

There was a certain teenager, and of course his parents wanted to teach him how to be a pleasant person to live with. So they wrote a list of chores for their son, including all the dos and don't dos. The list included such items as: take the garbage out, tidy your bedroom, wash the car, always shut the gate behind you etc.

But their son still lacked the necessary motivation to complete any task adequately, despite his parents reminding him again and again and again. His parents were almost in despair to know what else they could do.

But one day when their son came home from school, without even being told, he went straight into his bedroom and tidied it up; then he came out to the kitchen and took the garbage out to the bin; while he was out there he cleaned the car; and when he came back inside, he even made sure the gate was nicely closed behind him - and he hadn't even got himself anything to eat yet, hadn't even turned the TV on. His parents wondered what had gotten into him! After a short time the doorbell rang, and then his parents understood - there at the gate stood a beautiful girl from school.

When your heart falls in love, it's a different story! There is hardly any need for a list of chores once a person is in love - for his own heart tells him what needs to be done; and not only does it tell him what needs to be done - it also gives him the motivation to actually do it. The list of chores is replaced by one new principle, love.

In the same way, Christ replaced the Law of Moses with His grace, which teaches us the one, new, all-encompassing principle - love one another. Love doesn't do anything bad to anyone: therefore love is the fulfilling of the Law.

The New Covenant creates a new heart within us, a heart that has God's nature and God's Spirit dwelling inside, a heart of love. Therefore like the teenager in love, we automatically fulfill all righteousness - we fulfill our "chores" without even needing the list (the Law). When you fall in love, it's like the list gets written in your heart instead of on a piece of paper. When we were born again, God plunged us into love; in fact, He shed abroad His love in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us. It's natural to walk in love when you're in love - and love is the fulfilling of the Law.

We who believe in Christ are no longer under the list of dos and don'ts (the Old Covenant, the Law) but God has given us a new heart in which He inscribed His laws. Since Christ instituted a new commandment, "Love one another, as I have loved you", and God wrote it in our hearts, now we automatically do what the Law wanted us to do all along - that is, we walk in love. That is what the Law was aiming at all along - that we know how to walk in love. It's just that the Law couldn't empower us to walk in love - but God's grace does.

We fulfill the righteousness of the Law (like the list of chores, with its dos and don'ts), not because we are under the Law, but because it is only natural for us to walk in love now, since God poured out His love into our very heart by His Spirit the very moment we were born again and received God's grace.

"The Law came by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ."

The Parable of the Teenager in Love

Here is a parable which illustrates the Gospel truth that God's grace empowers us to live righteously, rather than excuses us to live lawlessly.

There was a certain teenager, and of course his parents wanted to teach him how to be a pleasant person to live with. So they wrote a list of chores for their son, including all the dos and don't dos. The list included such items as: take the garbage out, tidy your bedroom, wash the car, always shut the gate behind you etc.

But their son still lacked the necessary motivation to complete any task adequately, despite his parents reminding him again and again and again. His parents were almost in despair to know what else they could do.

But one day when their son came home from school, without even being told, he went straight into his bedroom and tidied it up; then he came out to the kitchen and took the garbage out to the bin; while he was out there he cleaned the car; and when he came back inside, he even made sure the gate was nicely closed behind him - and he hadn't even got himself anything to eat yet, hadn't even turned the TV on. His parents wondered what had gotten into him! After a short time the doorbell rang, and then his parents understood - there at the gate stood a beautiful girl from school.

When your heart falls in love, it's a different story! There is hardly any need for a list of chores once a person is in love - for his own heart tells him what needs to be done; and not only does it tell him what needs to be done - it also gives him the motivation to actually do it. The list of chores is replaced by one new principle, love.

In the same way, Christ replaced the Law of Moses with His grace, which teaches us the one, new, all-encompassing principle - love one another. Love doesn't do anything bad to anyone: therefore love is the fulfilling of the Law.

The New Covenant creates a new heart within us, a heart that has God's nature and God's Spirit dwelling inside, a heart of love. Therefore like the teenager in love, we automatically fulfill all righteousness - we fulfill our "chores" without even needing the list (the Law). When you fall in love, it's like the list gets written in your heart instead of on a piece of paper. When we were born again, God plunged us into love; in fact, He shed abroad His love in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us. It's natural to walk in love when you're in love - and love is the fulfilling of the Law.

We who believe in Christ are no longer under the list of dos and don'ts (the Old Covenant, the Law) but God has given us a new heart in which He inscribed His laws. Since Christ instituted a new commandment, "Love one another, as I have loved you", and God wrote it in our hearts, now we automatically do what the Law wanted us to do all along - that is, we walk in love. That is what the Law was aiming at all along - that we know how to walk in love. It's just that the Law couldn't empower us to walk in love - but God's grace does.

We fulfill the righteousness of the Law (like the list of chores, with its dos and don'ts), not because we are under the Law, but because it is only natural for us to walk in love now, since God poured out His love into our very heart by His Spirit the very moment we were born again and received God's grace.

"The Law came by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ."

Do Christians Keep the Standard of the Law?

There are two roads from Brisbane to Sydney: the Pacific Highway or the New England Highway. No matter which highway you take, the destination is still Sydney.

God gave Israel two covenants: the Old Covenant and the New Covenant. Both Covenants were designed with the same objective - to show us the way to righteousness; and the lifestyle under both Covenants can be summarized the same way - walking in love.

The Law covered many facets and topics in life, showing Israel practically what it means to walk in love - both toward God and toward one's fellow man.

The Gospel empowers believers to fulfill the righteousness of the Law, for God diffused His love-nature into our new hearts by the Holy Spirit when we were regenerated, enabling us to walk in love, which is the fulfilling of the intent or principles of the Law.

Therefore being in Christ has empowered us to walk in the lifestyle that was modelled for us by the Law.

If our vehicle isn't strong enough to take the first highway to Sydney, thankfully there is a newer, better highway we can take - but the destination is still the same.

In the same way, being free from the Law doesn't mean that God scrapped the original standard that He has for us: His standard for life is the only way of life that works. It just means He gave us a better and more powerful way to actually be able to live that lifestyle - which is the lifestyle of love.