All things work together for good,"And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose." (Rom 8:28)
Moses, not God, created the 613 laws of the Torah,"And when Moses' father in law saw all that he did to the people, he said, What is this thing that thou doest to the people? why sittest thou thyself alone, and all the people stand by thee from morning unto even? And Moses said unto his father in law, Because the people come unto me to enquire of God: When they have a matter, they come unto me; and I judge between one and another, and I do make them know the statutes of God, and his laws. And Moses' father in law said unto him, The thing that thou doest is not good. Thou wilt surely wear away, both thou, and this people that is with thee: for this thing is too heavy for thee; thou art not able to perform it thyself alone. Hearken now unto my voice, I will give thee counsel, and God shall be with thee: Be thou for the people to God-ward, that thou mayest bring the causes unto God: And thou shalt teach them ordinances and laws, and shalt shew them the way wherein they must walk, and the work that they must do." (Ex 18:14-20) God gave us one law,"For all the law is fulfilled in one word, even in this; Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself." (Gal 5:14) And, because we do not understand the depth of His love, we create unnecessary laws that do not show our love for our neighbor. God hates our creating laws in His name, and He has told us this many times in the Bible,"Owe no man any thing, but to love one another: for he that loveth another hath fulfilled the law." (Rom 13:8) &"Ye have heard that it was said of them of old time, Thou shalt not kill; and whosoever shall kill shall be in danger of the judgment: But I say unto you, That whosoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment: and whosoever shall say to his brother, Raca, shall be in danger of the council: but whosoever shall say, Thou fool, shall be in danger of hell fire." (Matt 5:21-22) &"Saying The scribes and the Pharisees sit in Moses' seat...For they bind heavy burdens and grievous to be borne, and lay them on men's shoulders; but they themselves will not move them with one of their fingers." (Matt 23:2,4) &"Howbeit in vain do they worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men. For laying aside the commandment of God, ye hold the tradition of men, as the washing of pots and cups: and many other such like things ye do. And he said unto them, Full well ye reject the commandment of God, that ye may keep your own tradition." (Mk 7:7-9) God's way is love and truth,"Ye are of God, little children, and have overcome them: because greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world. They are of the world: therefore speak they of the world, and the world heareth them. We are of God: he that knoweth God heareth us; he that is not of God heareth not us. Hereby know we the spirit of truth, and the spirit of error. Beloved, let us love one another: for love is of God; and every one that loveth is born of God, and knoweth God. He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love." (1 Jn 4:4-8) and freedom,"Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage." (Gal 5:1) not force and laws, which are only meant to manipulate other people's behavior. He draws us with His love,"And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto me." (Jn 12:32) &"For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life." (Jn 3:16) and asks us to return it,"A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another." (Jn 13:34) to Him,"And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might." (Deut 6:5) and everyone else,"Beloved, let us love one another: for love is of God; and every one that loveth is born of God, and knoweth God." (1 Jn 4:7) &"Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God: therefore the world knoweth us not, because it knew him not." (1 Jn 3:1) When we do, there is no need for laws, "For the law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ." (Jn 1:17) &"Therefore all things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them: for this is the law and the prophets." (Matt 7:12)
Now, grace is God's gift to us,"For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast." (Eph 2:8-9) However, if I send you Bibles as a gift and you do not accept the delivery, you will be without them. So, grace is God's gift sent, and we must choose to accept it,"Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me." (Jn 14:6) or our sins will not be covered by His grace,"But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin." (1 Jn 1:7) &"And from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, and the first begotten of the dead, and the prince of the kings of the earth. Unto him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood," (Rev 1:5) It is our choice to receive God's gift by accepting Jesus' sacrifice,"That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved." (Rom 10:9) which allows His blood to cover our sins. This means we are no longer under the law but are saved by grace,"For sin shall not have dominion over you: for ye are not under the law, but under grace." (Rom 6:14) We cannot be saved by the law alone, for God is love, and we must be like Him to be in His presence. Therefore, we must love our neighbors as ourselves,"Therefore by the deeds of the law there shall no flesh be justified in his sight: for by the law is the knowledge of sin." (Rom 3:20) Because grace only comes from God through Jesus,"Who hath saved us, and called us with an holy calling, not according to our works, but according to his own purpose and grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began, But is now made manifest by the appearing of our Saviour Jesus Christ, who hath abolished death, and hath brought life and immortality to light through the gospel:" (2 Tim 1:9-10) He wants our hearts,"I the Lord search the heart, I try the reins, even to give every man according to his ways, and according to the fruit of his doings." (Jer 17:10) &"But the Lord said unto Samuel, Look not on his countenance, or on the height of his stature; because I have refused him: for the Lord seeth not as man seeth; for man looketh on the outward appearance, but the Lord looketh on the heart." (1 Sam 16:7) &"But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him." (Heb 11:6) &"But if from thence thou shalt seek the Lord thy God, thou shalt find him, if thou seek him with all thy heart and with all thy soul." (Deut 4:29) &"For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also." (Matt 6:21) &"Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God." (Matt 5:8) He wants us to love as He does,"A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another." (Jn 13:34) Only this will make us fit to live eternally as a member of His family,"Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved." (Acts 4:12) There can be only one way, for there is only one Creator,"In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth." (Gen 1:1) Everyone else is a pretender, not God,"I am the Lord, and there is none else, there is no God beside me: I girded thee, though thou hast not known me:" (Is 45:5) this is why Jesus told Nicodemus he would never see the kingdom of God if he is not born again,"Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God." (Jn 3:3)
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