Acts 15
19 “It is my judgment, therefore, that we should not make it difficult for the Gentiles who are turning to God. 20 Instead we should write to them, telling them to abstain from food polluted by idols, from sexual immorality, from the meat of strangled animals and from blood. 21 For the law of Moses has been preached in every city from the earliest times and is read in the synagogues on every Sabbath.”
The bolded part merely means that the scriptures were read on the Sabbath. Not that I am to specifically follow the Hebrew Sabbath.
I don't have to follow those laws specifically and no man who has ever walked this earth has ever followed those laws to perfection. The Law is much deeper than the statues Hebrews were to follow.
Matthew 7:12
“All things, therefore, that YOU want men to do to YOU, YOU also must likewise do to them; this, in fact, is what the Law and the Prophets mean.
Quoting: SLAYER!!Sorry, I should have asked why did James (Ya'aqob) quote the bold part? My answer is to show that the gentiles knew "of" the law already. There was no reason to go and tell the gentiles "what to do," because they already knew what to do.
My argument is that because we do not preach the Law and Prophets, the "gentiles" today do not know what to do. They do whatever they want.
Judges 21:25
In those days Israel had no king; all the people did whatever seemed right in their own eyes.
That phrase is repeated over and over and over in Judges, and everytime it is repeated, the Israelites were taken into captivity or had an army upon them. That is the mentality of most churches of this day, and we are about to suffer the same fate as they did.
Deuteronomy 6 is all you "need" (love YHWH with all your heart, soul, mind)....but you should "want" more than the bare necessity.
Mt. 5
19
Therefore anyone who sets aside one of the least of these commands and teaches others accordingly will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever practices and teaches these commands will be called great in the kingdom of heaven. 20 For I tell you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the Pharisees and the teachers of the law, you will certainly not enter the kingdom of heaven.
People who not only reject the law, but tell others not to follow it still make it to the Kingdom! How merciful and gracious is that!!!
However, you should not just settle for being the least in the kingdom. Sanctification is the gradual returning to YHWH, by following his Word and Commands. You should want to be the greatest, not the least.
If you're happy with being the least, then that's fine; but at the same time, you shouldn't criticize others for trying to follow the Law or say that it has been "done away with."
I don't think you have on this thread specifically, but from what I see, that is the mentality you portray.
