JESUS IS THE REALITY
Col 2:16 Therefore let no one pass judgment on you in questions of food and drink, or with regard to a festival or a new moon or a Sabbath. ESV
Col 2:17 All such things are only a shadow of things in the future; the reality is Christ.
Good News Bible
Col 2:16 Therefore let no one pass judgment on you in questions of food and drink, or with regard to a festival or a new moon or a Sabbath. ESV
Col 2:17 All such things are only a shadow of things in the future; the reality is Christ.
Good News Bible
The New Covenant:
The old covenant law of Moses was an agreement that was made between God and the Israelites. God generated this contract between Himself and those that were alive during the time that He freed the Israelites from the Egyptian slavery. This is important because the law of Moses had no consequence whatsoever on the promise that God had already given to Abraham over 4oo years earlier, and we will see why this is significant later on. The old covenant was instituted when God brought them to Mount Sinai (Horeb). This agreement consisted of 613 laws not just the ten commandments. In this covenant God told the Israelites if they obeyed all of these laws that they would have the blessing of the law, and if they did not obey all the laws that they would endure the curse of the law. In Deuteronomy chapter 28 there are 14 verses that deal with the blessing and 54 verses that concern the curse of the law. As we know from biblical history the Israelites continuously violated the laws of the old covenant and their disobedience brought upon them the curse of the law. This is what the majority of the Old Testament teaches; the people would break the law of Moses, and then God would allow them to reap the curse of the law and this happened over and over again. The curse of the law brought some of the most horrific pain and suffering ever borne by a people. The curse of the law brought drought, famine, slavery, and death. If this old covenant was still in effect today, and if we tried to obey all 613 commandments to have fellowship and acceptance with God we would suffer the same consequences of the curse of the law that the Israelites endured because we would not adequately do any better at upholding all the laws of the old covenant than the Israelites did since humanity has the sinner's heart which is against the will of God. There are many still trying to teach Christians to live under the precepts of the old covenant law, and this is teaching Christians to live under the curse of the old covenant law of Moses.
Deu 5:1 And Moses summoned all Israel and said to them, "Hear, O Israel, the statutes and the rules that I speak in your hearing today, and you shall learn them and be careful to do them. Deu 5:2 The LORD our God made a covenant with us in Horeb. Deu 5:3 Not with our fathers did the LORD make this covenant, but with us, who are all of us here alive today. ESV
Deu 27:26 " 'God's curse on anyone who does not obey all of God's laws and teachings.' "And all the people will answer, 'Amen!' ESV
Deu 28:1 "And if you faithfully obey the voice of the LORD your God, being careful to do all his commandments that I command you today, the LORD your God will set you high above all the nations of the earth. Deu 28:2 And all these blessings shall come upon you and overtake you, if you obey the voice of the LORD your God. ESV
Deu 28:15 "But if you will not obey the voice of the LORD your God or be careful to do all his commandments and his statutes that I command you today, then all these curses shall come upon you and overtake you. ESV
Gal 3:10 For all who rely on works of the law are under a curse; for it is written, "Cursed be everyone who does not abide by all things written in the Book of the Law, and do them." ESV
By the time that God came in the incarnation of Jesus, the religious leaders such as the Pharisees had twisted the old covenant law of Moses into an institution of self righteousness and decadence. The religious authorities had completely maligned the old covenant law for personal power and they used it to lead the people away from God with their warped lifestyles and teaching. I do not mean to sound so harsh but that is what all of the false teaching found on this website is about. Teaching the literal observance of the old covenant law is instructing Christians to stray from what God wants for us. The false teachers affirm that if we follow their wise instruction of observing the part of the old covenant law that they want us to, then we will have God at our disposal for what we want. This version of teaching is instructing that if you fail in your attempt of doing the works of the law to be perfect before God, then you can only use Jesus as a means to obtain rightness until you are able to behave well enough on your own to get back to being righteous. This reduces Jesus from King of kings and Lord of lords to an end that justifies the means; if righteousness comes by observing the old covenant, then the sacrificial gift of Jesus' death was pointless. This manner of teaching is calling God ignorant, because If we can be righteous by our own behavior by observing the old covenant law of Moses, God the Father was foolish for sending God the Son to die for a useless purpose. If they realize it or not, they are advising Christians to observe the old covenant law of Moses to be accepted by God; however, this does not bring the blessing of the law; instead this advice brings the dreadful curse of the law on the observer. No one is able to keep all 613 commandments because humanity has the sin nature that is in rebellion against God. Trying to put Christians in bondage to the law is a yoke God doesn't want us to have (Acts 15). The Apostles were shown that God was giving the Gospel to the gentiles apart from the law. Those trying to keep law eventually try to demonstrate that they are justified before God apart from the work of Christ.
Mar 7:6 And he said to them, "Well did Isaiah prophesy of you hypocrites, as it is written, "'This people honors me with their lips, but their heart is far from me; Mar 7:7 in vain do they worship me, teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.' Mar 7:8 You leave the commandment of God and hold to the tradition of men." ESV
Mat 23:4 They tie up heavy burdens, hard to bear, and lay them on people's shoulders, but they themselves are not willing to move them with their finger. ESV
Mat 23:15 Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you travel across sea and land to make a single proselyte, and when he becomes a proselyte, you make him twice as much a child of hell as yourselves. ESV
Act 20:28 Pay careful attention to yourselves and to all the flock, in which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to care for the church of God, which he obtained with his own blood. Act 20:29 I know that after my departure fierce wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock; Act 20:30 and from among your own selves will arise men speaking twisted things, to draw away the disciples after them. ESV
Act 20:33 I coveted no one's silver or gold or apparel. Act 20:34 You yourselves know that these hands ministered to my necessities and to those who were with me. Act 20:35 In all things I have shown you that by working hard in this way we must help the weak and remember the words of the Lord Jesus, how he himself said, 'It is more blessed to give than to receive.'" ESV
Gal 2:21 I do not nullify the grace of God, for if righteousness were through the law, then Christ died for no purpose. ESV
The reason God brought the old covenant law of Moses into being was to show the Israelites that they were sinners and that they needed God to be their savior and redeemer. It was to teach them that when they sinned that they should turn to God for redemption, but the Israelites did not turn to God for forgiveness; they only worsened in their rebellion against God until He allowed the curse of the law to overtake them. The law of Moses being added to humans increased humanity's rebellion against God because of the sin nature of humanity. When people heard what God said, in the law of Moses, they instinctively revolted against Him because they had unregenerate hearts or a heart for sin. They were held captive to sin and in bondage to the kingdom of darkness; this caused humanity to have hostility toward God. God's way of dealing with sin under the law of Moses was to allow destruction to overtake the people through the curse of the law, and this most certainly ceased their ability to be at enmity with Him. The law of Moses was for the purpose of revealing to humanity that they were sinners. The old covenant was without power to produce righteous life because to have blessing and life from the law was dependent on humanity's effort of perfectly observing every ordinance within the old covenant, and humanity is unable to do that because they have hearts that are at war with God and sin desirous. The law of Moses was added for a time to detain everything under sin until Jesus came to establish God's New Covenant of the Kingdom of God in which He delivers us sinners into His Kingdom of Light from the darkness of satan.
Rom 3:20 For by works of the law no human being will be justified in his sight, since through the law comes knowledge of sin. Rom 3:21 But now the righteousness of God has been manifested apart from the law, although the Law and the Prophets bear witness to it--ESV
Rom 4:4 Now to the one who works, his wages are not counted as a gift but as his due. Rom 4:5 And to the one who does not work but believes in him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is counted as righteousness, ESV
Rom 4:14 For if it is the adherents of the law who are to be the heirs, faith is null and the promise is void. Rom 4:15 For the law brings wrath, but where there is no law there is no transgression. ESV
Rom 5:13 for sin indeed was in the world before the law was given, but sin is not counted where there is no law. ESV
Rom 5:20 Now the law came in to increase the trespass, but where sin increased, grace abounded all the more, Rom 5:21 so that, as sin reigned in death, grace also might reign through righteousness leading to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. ESV
Rom 7:7 What then shall we say? That the law is sin? By no means! Yet if it had not been for the law, I would not have known sin. For I would not have known what it is to covet if the law had not said, "You shall not covet." Rom 7:8 But sin, seizing an opportunity through the commandment, produced in me all kinds of covetousness. For apart from the law, sin lies dead. Rom 7:9 I was once alive apart from the law, but when the commandment came, sin came alive and I died. Rom 7:10 The very commandment that promised life proved to be death to me. Rom 7:11 For sin, seizing an opportunity through the commandment, deceived me and through it killed me. Rom 7:12 So the law is holy, and the commandment is holy and righteous and good. Rom 7:13Did that which is good, then, bring death to me? By no means! It was sin, producing death in me through what is good, in order that sin might be shown to be sin, and through the commandment might become sinful beyond measure. ESV
Gal 3:10 For all who rely on works of the law are under a curse; for it is written, "Cursed be everyone who does not abide by all things written in the Book of the Law, and do them." Gal 3:11 Now it is evident that no one is justified before God by the law, for "The righteous shall live by faith." Gal 3:12 But the law is not of faith, rather "The one who does them shall live by them." ESV
Gal 3:19 Why then the law? It was added because of transgressions, until the offspring should come to whom the promise had been made, and it was put in place through angels by an intermediary. ESV
Gal 3:22 But the Scripture imprisoned everything under sin, so that the promise by faith in Jesus Christ might be given to those who believe. Gal 3:23 Now before faith came,we were held captive under the law, imprisoned until the coming faith would be revealed. Gal 3:24 So then, the law was our guardian until Christ came, in order that we might be justified by faith. Gal 3:25 But now that faith has come, we are no longer under a guardian, ESV
The old covenant law of Moses was given as the ministry (servant) of death and condemnation. The law of Moses was to prove to humanity that they were condemned to death because they were sinners. A sinner does not become a sinner when they commit sinful actions; a sinner commits sinful deeds because that is who they are, or that is their very nature. The sin of Adam caused all of his descendants, which we all are, to be born as sinners. No one needs to be taught how to commit sin; doing sinful work comes naturally to humanity or we can do bad all by ourselves. No one that has been born was born by their own choice, because they are all the creation and manifestation from God. However, they are also all the children of Adam, and this carries the inheritance of sin that Adam has bequeathed to them. God instituted the law through Moses for a period of time to clearly show humanity that they were all sinners in order that He may show mercy on all. What Jesus' righteousness has accomplished for us causes us to no longer be the children of sinful Adam; we are adopted as God's children as He brings us into the new birth as we are made a new creation in Him.
Rom 3:23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, Rom 3:24 and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, ESV
Rom 11:32 For God has consigned all to disobedience, that he may have mercy on all. ESV
Gal 3:22 But the Scripture imprisoned everything under sin, so that the promise by faith in Jesus Christ might be given to those who believe. ESV
Rom 5:12 Therefore, just as sin came into the world through one man, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all sinned-- ESV
Rom 5:17 For if, because of one man's trespass, death reigned through that one man, much more will those who receive the abundance of grace and the free gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man Jesus Christ. ESV
Rom 5:19 For as by the one man's disobedience the many were made sinners, so by the one man's obedience the many will be made righteous. ESV
1Co 15:21 For as by a man came death, by a man has come also the resurrection of the dead. 1Co 15:22 For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive. ESV
1Co 15:55 "O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?" 1Co 15:56 The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. 1Co 15:57 But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. ESV
2Co 3:6 who has made us competent to be ministers of a new covenant, not of the letter but of the Spirit. For the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life. 2Co 3:7 Now if the ministry of death, carved in letters on stone, came with such glory that the Israelites could not gaze at Moses' face because of its glory, which was being brought to an end, 2Co 3:8 will not the ministry of the Spirit have even more glory? 2Co 3:9 For if there was glory in the ministry of condemnation, the ministry of righteousness must far exceed it in glory. 2Co 3:10 Indeed, in this case, what once had glory has come to have no glory at all, because of the glory that surpasses it. 2Co 3:11 For if what was being brought to an end came with glory, much more will what is permanent have glory. ESV
Christians are not to observe the old covenant law of Moses because we are given a much better New Covenant in Christ. The law had its glory, but it was done away with now that a more glorious Covenant has come. As shown, the old covenant was the ministry of death and condemnation, and at the proper time God brought His original plan of redemption for humanity into being. This original plan is what we refer to today as the New Testament or New Covenant of Jesus Christ, and this is seen beginning when God made the promise concerning the Seed (Jesus) of the woman in Genesis. God told the serpent (satan) that his head would bruise the heel of the Seed (Jesus) of the woman, and the Seed of the woman would bruise the head of the serpent. This meant that God the Son was coming according to the will of God the Father to destroy satan and his work. After many years God gave the promise of the New Covenant to Abraham and his Seed (Jesus), that through him all the nations of the earth would be blessed. The law that came through Moses 430 years afterward had no consequence on the promise that God made to Abraham and his Seed (Jesus). As shown earlier, the old covenant was made only with those who were alive at the time the law was given. Abraham died in faith, never seeing the promise of the New Covenant being revealed during his lifetime, so the promise of the New Covenant came to be realized in his Seed (Jesus). When Jesus came and instituted the New Covenant of the Kingdom of God through the sacrifice of himself for us, Jesus completed the old covenant law of Moses by fulfilling that which was written of shadows of Himself. Since Jesus instituted the New Covenant there is no need for the temporary old covenant that was instituted through Moses to be observed by Christians. As shown, no one can stand acceptable before God through the old covenant law, because God has let that old covenant pass away for the better promises of the Eternal New Covenant that has come through the better sacrifice of His Son!
Gen 3:14 The LORD God said to the serpent, "Because you have done this, cursed are you above all livestock and above all beasts of the field; on your belly you shall go, and dust you shall eat all the days of your life. Gen 3:15 I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring; he shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel." ESV
Gen 12:1 Now the LORD said to Abram, "Go from your country and your kindred and your father's house to the land that I will show you. Gen 12:2 And I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. Gen 12:3 I will bless those who bless you, and him who dishonors you I will curse, and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed." ESV
Gal 3:16 Now the promises were made to Abraham and to his offspring. It does not say, "And to offsprings," referring to many, but referring to one, "And to your offspring," who is Christ. Gal 3:17 This is what I mean: the law, which came 430 years afterward, does not annul a covenant previously ratified by God, so as to make the promise void. ESV
Heb 11:8 By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to a place that he was to receive as an inheritance. And he went out, not knowing where he was going. ESV
Heb 11:13 These all died in faith, not having received the things promised, but having seen them and greeted them from afar, and having acknowledged that they were strangers and exiles on the earth. ESV
Joh 8:56 Your father Abraham rejoiced that he would see my day. He saw it and was glad." Joh 8:57 So the Jews said to him, "You are not yet fifty years old, and have you seen Abraham?" Joh 8:58 Jesus said to them, "Truly, truly, I say to you,before Abraham was, I am." Joh 8:59 So they picked up stones to throw at him, but Jesus hid himself and went out of the temple. ESV
Luk 24:44 Then he said to them, "These are my words that I spoke to you while I was still with you, that everything written about me in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms must be fulfilled." Luk 24:45 Then he opened their minds to understand the Scriptures, Luk 24:46 and said to them, "Thus it is written, that the Christ should suffer and on the third day rise from the dead, Luk 24:47 and that repentance and forgiveness of sins should be proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem. ESV
Col 2:16 Therefore let no one pass judgment on you in questions of food and drink, or with regard to a festival or a new moon or a Sabbath. Col 2:17 These are a shadow of the things to come, but the substance belongs to Christ. ESV
Heb 8:5 They serve a copy and shadow of the heavenly things. For when Moses was about to erect the tent, he was instructed by God, saying, "See that you make everything according to the pattern that was shown you on the mountain." Heb 8:6 But as it is, Christ has obtained a ministry that is as much more excellent than the old as the covenant he mediates is better, since it is enacted on better promises. ESV
Heb 9:22 Indeed, under the law almost everything is purified with blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sins. Heb 9:23 Thus it was necessary for the copies of the heavenly things to be purified with these rites, but the heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices than these. Heb 9:24 For Christ has entered, not into holy places made with hands, which are copies of the true things, but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God on our behalf. ESV
Heb 10:1 For since the law has but a shadow of the good things to come instead of the true form of these realities, it can never, by the same sacrifices that are continually offered every year, make perfect those who draw near. ESV
Heb 10:5 Consequently, when Christ came into the world, he said, "Sacrifices and offerings you have not desired, but a body have you prepared for me; Heb 10:6 in burnt offerings and sin offerings you have taken no pleasure. Heb 10:7 Then I said, 'Behold, I have come to do your will, O God, as it is written of me in the scroll of the book.'" ESV
Luk 22:19 And he took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and gave it to them, saying, "This is my body, which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me." Luk 22:20 And likewise the cup after they had eaten, saying, "This cup that is poured out for you is the new covenant in my blood. ESV
Rom 8:2 For the law of the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death. Rom 8:3 For God has done what the law, weakened by the flesh, could not do. By sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin, he condemned sin in the flesh, Rom 8:4 in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not according to the flesh but according to the Spirit. ESV
Rom 10:3 For, being ignorant of the righteousness of God, and seeking to establish their own, they did not submit to God's righteousness. Rom 10:4 For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes. ESV
2Co 3:6 who has made us competent to be ministers of a new covenant, not of the letter but of the Spirit. For the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life. 2Co 3:7 Now if the ministry of death, carved in letters on stone, came with such glory that the Israelites could not gaze at Moses' face because of its glory,which was being brought to an end, 2Co 3:8 will not the ministry of the Spirit have even more glory? 2Co 3:9 For if there was glory in the ministry of condemnation, the ministry of righteousness must far exceed it in glory. 2Co 3:10 Indeed, in this case, what once had glory has come to have no glory at all, because of the glory that surpasses it. 2Co 3:11 For if what was being brought to an end came with glory, much more will what is permanent have glory. ESV
Gal 3:10 For all who rely on works of the law are under a curse; for it is written, "Cursed be everyone who does not abide by all things written in the Book of the Law, and do them." Gal 3:11 Now it is evident that no one is justified before God by the law, for "The righteous shall live by faith." Gal 3:12 But the law is not of faith, rather "The one who does them shall live by them." Gal 3:13 Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us--for it is written, "Cursed is everyone who is hanged on a tree"-- Gal 3:14 so that in Christ Jesus the blessing of Abraham might come to the Gentiles, so that we might receive the promised Spirit through faith. ESV
Eph 2:15 by abolishing the law of commandments expressed in ordinances, that he might create in himself one new man in place of the two, so making peace, Eph 2:16 and might reconcile us both to God in one body through the cross, thereby killing the hostility. ESV
Col 2:14 by canceling the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands. This he set aside, nailing it to the cross. ESV
Heb 8:6 But as it is, Christ has obtained a ministry that is as much more excellent than the old as the covenant he mediates is better, since it is enacted on better promises. Heb 8:7 For if that first covenant had been faultless, there would have been no occasion to look for a second. Heb 8:8 For he finds fault with them when he says: "Behold, the days are coming, declares the Lord, when I will establish a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah, Heb 8:9 not like the covenant that I made with their fathers on the day when I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt. For they did not continue in my covenant, and so I showed no concern for them, declares the Lord. Heb 8:10 For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, declares the Lord: I will put my laws into their minds, and write them on their hearts, and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. Heb 8:11 And they shall not teach, each one his neighbor and each one his brother, saying, 'Know the Lord,' for they shall all know me, from the least of them to the greatest. Heb 8:12 For I will be merciful toward their iniquities, and I will remember their sins no more." Heb 8:13 In speaking of a new covenant, he makes the first one obsolete. And what is becoming obsolete and growing old is ready to vanish away. ESV
The New Covenant of the Kingdom of God was established between God and the Seed of Abraham. The reason this is important is because the old covenant law of Moses was instituted with sinful humans, and they never would have been able to uphold this contract because their hearts were in rebellion toward God. The Promise (New Covenant) is realized in Abraham's Seed (Christ). God, in His mercy and grace for us, made sure the New Covenant would be founded in a manner that ensured it would never be violated. God the Father sent God the Son, not sinful men as under the law of Moses, to establish this contract to bring about our salvation. This New Covenant was an agreement that was made between God the Father and God the Son for our everlasting benefit. No one is able to add to or make void this eternal contract. Under the law of Moses the people had to swear that they would perform all that God had commanded under the old covenant, and they could never live up to their promise because they were sinners. However, the sinless Son came and performed the Father's will to perfection in order to redeem us from the curse of the law of Moses. The Father promised that because the Son redeemed us with His own blood, that God would forgive and cleanse us from all our sin, and He would make us to be His temple and make His habitation within us. Under the old covenant the people swore that they would do the works of the law of Moses in order to have fellowship with God and they never could fulfill this oath because of their sin nature. God said "I will" do the things necessary to cause sinful people to become His children and a people willing to perform His desire, and He accomplished all of this through Jesus Christ's coming to complete the old covenant and the sacrifice of Himself to establish the eternal New Covenant of the Kingdom of God. The New Covenant is God telling us that He will perform the essential work in our hearts in order that we trust in Him. God gave us a new heart which enables us to love and He will place the faith in us to trust that what He has accomplished through Jesus is more than enough to give us acceptance in Him. This is all I want to know. Do we possess the Spirit of God through the faith that comes to us from Christ, or is it by doing the works of the law?
Gal 3:5 Does he who supplies the Spirit to you and works miracles among you do so by works of the law, or by hearing with faith-- Gal 3:6 just as Abraham "believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness"? Gal 3:7 Know then that it is those of faith who are the sons of Abraham. ESV
Gal 3:13 Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us--for it is written, "Cursed is everyone who is hanged on a tree"-- Gal 3:14 so that in Christ Jesus the blessing of Abraham might come to the Gentiles, so that we might receive the promised Spirit through faith. Gal 3:15 To give a human example, brothers: even with a man-made covenant, no one annuls it or adds to it once it has been ratified. Gal 3:16 Now the promises were made to Abraham and to his offspring. It does not say, "And to offsprings," referring to many, but referring to one, "And to your offspring," who is Christ. Gal 3:17 This is what I mean: the law, which came 430 years afterward, does not annul a covenant previously ratified by God, so as to make the promise void. Gal 3:18 For if the inheritance comes by the law, it no longer comes by promise; but God gave it to Abraham by a promise. Gal 3:29 And if you are Christ's, then you are Abraham's offspring, heirs according to promise. ESV
Heb 8:6 But as it is, Christ has obtained a ministry that is as much more excellent than the old as the covenant he mediates is better, since it is enacted on better promises. Heb 8:7 For if that first covenant had been faultless, there would have been no occasion to look for a second. Heb 8:8 For he finds fault with them when he says: "Behold, the days are coming, declares the Lord, when I will establish a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah, Heb 8:9 not like the covenant that I made with their fathers on the day when I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt. For they did not continue in my covenant, and so I showed no concern for them, declares the Lord. Heb 8:10 For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, declares the Lord: I will put my laws into their minds, and write them on their hearts, andI will be their God, and they shall be my people. Heb 8:11 And they shall not teach, each one his neighbor and each one his brother, saying, 'Know the Lord,' for they shall all know me, from the least of them to the greatest. Heb 8:12 For I will be merciful toward their iniquities, and I will remember their sins no more." Heb 8:13 In speaking of a new covenant, he makes the first one obsolete. And what is becoming obsolete and growing old is ready to vanish away. ESV
Rom 12:3 For by the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think with sober judgment, each according to the measure of faith that God has assigned. ESV
The old covenant law of Moses was an agreement that was made between God and the Israelites. God generated this contract between Himself and those that were alive during the time that He freed the Israelites from the Egyptian slavery. This is important because the law of Moses had no consequence whatsoever on the promise that God had already given to Abraham over 4oo years earlier, and we will see why this is significant later on. The old covenant was instituted when God brought them to Mount Sinai (Horeb). This agreement consisted of 613 laws not just the ten commandments. In this covenant God told the Israelites if they obeyed all of these laws that they would have the blessing of the law, and if they did not obey all the laws that they would endure the curse of the law. In Deuteronomy chapter 28 there are 14 verses that deal with the blessing and 54 verses that concern the curse of the law. As we know from biblical history the Israelites continuously violated the laws of the old covenant and their disobedience brought upon them the curse of the law. This is what the majority of the Old Testament teaches; the people would break the law of Moses, and then God would allow them to reap the curse of the law and this happened over and over again. The curse of the law brought some of the most horrific pain and suffering ever borne by a people. The curse of the law brought drought, famine, slavery, and death. If this old covenant was still in effect today, and if we tried to obey all 613 commandments to have fellowship and acceptance with God we would suffer the same consequences of the curse of the law that the Israelites endured because we would not adequately do any better at upholding all the laws of the old covenant than the Israelites did since humanity has the sinner's heart which is against the will of God. There are many still trying to teach Christians to live under the precepts of the old covenant law, and this is teaching Christians to live under the curse of the old covenant law of Moses.
Deu 5:1 And Moses summoned all Israel and said to them, "Hear, O Israel, the statutes and the rules that I speak in your hearing today, and you shall learn them and be careful to do them. Deu 5:2 The LORD our God made a covenant with us in Horeb. Deu 5:3 Not with our fathers did the LORD make this covenant, but with us, who are all of us here alive today. ESV
Deu 27:26 " 'God's curse on anyone who does not obey all of God's laws and teachings.' "And all the people will answer, 'Amen!' ESV
Deu 28:1 "And if you faithfully obey the voice of the LORD your God, being careful to do all his commandments that I command you today, the LORD your God will set you high above all the nations of the earth. Deu 28:2 And all these blessings shall come upon you and overtake you, if you obey the voice of the LORD your God. ESV
Deu 28:15 "But if you will not obey the voice of the LORD your God or be careful to do all his commandments and his statutes that I command you today, then all these curses shall come upon you and overtake you. ESV
Gal 3:10 For all who rely on works of the law are under a curse; for it is written, "Cursed be everyone who does not abide by all things written in the Book of the Law, and do them." ESV
By the time that God came in the incarnation of Jesus, the religious leaders such as the Pharisees had twisted the old covenant law of Moses into an institution of self righteousness and decadence. The religious authorities had completely maligned the old covenant law for personal power and they used it to lead the people away from God with their warped lifestyles and teaching. I do not mean to sound so harsh but that is what all of the false teaching found on this website is about. Teaching the literal observance of the old covenant law is instructing Christians to stray from what God wants for us. The false teachers affirm that if we follow their wise instruction of observing the part of the old covenant law that they want us to, then we will have God at our disposal for what we want. This version of teaching is instructing that if you fail in your attempt of doing the works of the law to be perfect before God, then you can only use Jesus as a means to obtain rightness until you are able to behave well enough on your own to get back to being righteous. This reduces Jesus from King of kings and Lord of lords to an end that justifies the means; if righteousness comes by observing the old covenant, then the sacrificial gift of Jesus' death was pointless. This manner of teaching is calling God ignorant, because If we can be righteous by our own behavior by observing the old covenant law of Moses, God the Father was foolish for sending God the Son to die for a useless purpose. If they realize it or not, they are advising Christians to observe the old covenant law of Moses to be accepted by God; however, this does not bring the blessing of the law; instead this advice brings the dreadful curse of the law on the observer. No one is able to keep all 613 commandments because humanity has the sin nature that is in rebellion against God. Trying to put Christians in bondage to the law is a yoke God doesn't want us to have (Acts 15). The Apostles were shown that God was giving the Gospel to the gentiles apart from the law. Those trying to keep law eventually try to demonstrate that they are justified before God apart from the work of Christ.
Mar 7:6 And he said to them, "Well did Isaiah prophesy of you hypocrites, as it is written, "'This people honors me with their lips, but their heart is far from me; Mar 7:7 in vain do they worship me, teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.' Mar 7:8 You leave the commandment of God and hold to the tradition of men." ESV
Mat 23:4 They tie up heavy burdens, hard to bear, and lay them on people's shoulders, but they themselves are not willing to move them with their finger. ESV
Mat 23:15 Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you travel across sea and land to make a single proselyte, and when he becomes a proselyte, you make him twice as much a child of hell as yourselves. ESV
Act 20:28 Pay careful attention to yourselves and to all the flock, in which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to care for the church of God, which he obtained with his own blood. Act 20:29 I know that after my departure fierce wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock; Act 20:30 and from among your own selves will arise men speaking twisted things, to draw away the disciples after them. ESV
Act 20:33 I coveted no one's silver or gold or apparel. Act 20:34 You yourselves know that these hands ministered to my necessities and to those who were with me. Act 20:35 In all things I have shown you that by working hard in this way we must help the weak and remember the words of the Lord Jesus, how he himself said, 'It is more blessed to give than to receive.'" ESV
Gal 2:21 I do not nullify the grace of God, for if righteousness were through the law, then Christ died for no purpose. ESV
The reason God brought the old covenant law of Moses into being was to show the Israelites that they were sinners and that they needed God to be their savior and redeemer. It was to teach them that when they sinned that they should turn to God for redemption, but the Israelites did not turn to God for forgiveness; they only worsened in their rebellion against God until He allowed the curse of the law to overtake them. The law of Moses being added to humans increased humanity's rebellion against God because of the sin nature of humanity. When people heard what God said, in the law of Moses, they instinctively revolted against Him because they had unregenerate hearts or a heart for sin. They were held captive to sin and in bondage to the kingdom of darkness; this caused humanity to have hostility toward God. God's way of dealing with sin under the law of Moses was to allow destruction to overtake the people through the curse of the law, and this most certainly ceased their ability to be at enmity with Him. The law of Moses was for the purpose of revealing to humanity that they were sinners. The old covenant was without power to produce righteous life because to have blessing and life from the law was dependent on humanity's effort of perfectly observing every ordinance within the old covenant, and humanity is unable to do that because they have hearts that are at war with God and sin desirous. The law of Moses was added for a time to detain everything under sin until Jesus came to establish God's New Covenant of the Kingdom of God in which He delivers us sinners into His Kingdom of Light from the darkness of satan.
Rom 3:20 For by works of the law no human being will be justified in his sight, since through the law comes knowledge of sin. Rom 3:21 But now the righteousness of God has been manifested apart from the law, although the Law and the Prophets bear witness to it--ESV
Rom 4:4 Now to the one who works, his wages are not counted as a gift but as his due. Rom 4:5 And to the one who does not work but believes in him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is counted as righteousness, ESV
Rom 4:14 For if it is the adherents of the law who are to be the heirs, faith is null and the promise is void. Rom 4:15 For the law brings wrath, but where there is no law there is no transgression. ESV
Rom 5:13 for sin indeed was in the world before the law was given, but sin is not counted where there is no law. ESV
Rom 5:20 Now the law came in to increase the trespass, but where sin increased, grace abounded all the more, Rom 5:21 so that, as sin reigned in death, grace also might reign through righteousness leading to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. ESV
Rom 7:7 What then shall we say? That the law is sin? By no means! Yet if it had not been for the law, I would not have known sin. For I would not have known what it is to covet if the law had not said, "You shall not covet." Rom 7:8 But sin, seizing an opportunity through the commandment, produced in me all kinds of covetousness. For apart from the law, sin lies dead. Rom 7:9 I was once alive apart from the law, but when the commandment came, sin came alive and I died. Rom 7:10 The very commandment that promised life proved to be death to me. Rom 7:11 For sin, seizing an opportunity through the commandment, deceived me and through it killed me. Rom 7:12 So the law is holy, and the commandment is holy and righteous and good. Rom 7:13Did that which is good, then, bring death to me? By no means! It was sin, producing death in me through what is good, in order that sin might be shown to be sin, and through the commandment might become sinful beyond measure. ESV
Gal 3:10 For all who rely on works of the law are under a curse; for it is written, "Cursed be everyone who does not abide by all things written in the Book of the Law, and do them." Gal 3:11 Now it is evident that no one is justified before God by the law, for "The righteous shall live by faith." Gal 3:12 But the law is not of faith, rather "The one who does them shall live by them." ESV
Gal 3:19 Why then the law? It was added because of transgressions, until the offspring should come to whom the promise had been made, and it was put in place through angels by an intermediary. ESV
Gal 3:22 But the Scripture imprisoned everything under sin, so that the promise by faith in Jesus Christ might be given to those who believe. Gal 3:23 Now before faith came,we were held captive under the law, imprisoned until the coming faith would be revealed. Gal 3:24 So then, the law was our guardian until Christ came, in order that we might be justified by faith. Gal 3:25 But now that faith has come, we are no longer under a guardian, ESV
The old covenant law of Moses was given as the ministry (servant) of death and condemnation. The law of Moses was to prove to humanity that they were condemned to death because they were sinners. A sinner does not become a sinner when they commit sinful actions; a sinner commits sinful deeds because that is who they are, or that is their very nature. The sin of Adam caused all of his descendants, which we all are, to be born as sinners. No one needs to be taught how to commit sin; doing sinful work comes naturally to humanity or we can do bad all by ourselves. No one that has been born was born by their own choice, because they are all the creation and manifestation from God. However, they are also all the children of Adam, and this carries the inheritance of sin that Adam has bequeathed to them. God instituted the law through Moses for a period of time to clearly show humanity that they were all sinners in order that He may show mercy on all. What Jesus' righteousness has accomplished for us causes us to no longer be the children of sinful Adam; we are adopted as God's children as He brings us into the new birth as we are made a new creation in Him.
Rom 3:23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, Rom 3:24 and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, ESV
Rom 11:32 For God has consigned all to disobedience, that he may have mercy on all. ESV
Gal 3:22 But the Scripture imprisoned everything under sin, so that the promise by faith in Jesus Christ might be given to those who believe. ESV
Rom 5:12 Therefore, just as sin came into the world through one man, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all sinned-- ESV
Rom 5:17 For if, because of one man's trespass, death reigned through that one man, much more will those who receive the abundance of grace and the free gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man Jesus Christ. ESV
Rom 5:19 For as by the one man's disobedience the many were made sinners, so by the one man's obedience the many will be made righteous. ESV
1Co 15:21 For as by a man came death, by a man has come also the resurrection of the dead. 1Co 15:22 For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive. ESV
1Co 15:55 "O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?" 1Co 15:56 The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. 1Co 15:57 But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. ESV
2Co 3:6 who has made us competent to be ministers of a new covenant, not of the letter but of the Spirit. For the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life. 2Co 3:7 Now if the ministry of death, carved in letters on stone, came with such glory that the Israelites could not gaze at Moses' face because of its glory, which was being brought to an end, 2Co 3:8 will not the ministry of the Spirit have even more glory? 2Co 3:9 For if there was glory in the ministry of condemnation, the ministry of righteousness must far exceed it in glory. 2Co 3:10 Indeed, in this case, what once had glory has come to have no glory at all, because of the glory that surpasses it. 2Co 3:11 For if what was being brought to an end came with glory, much more will what is permanent have glory. ESV
Christians are not to observe the old covenant law of Moses because we are given a much better New Covenant in Christ. The law had its glory, but it was done away with now that a more glorious Covenant has come. As shown, the old covenant was the ministry of death and condemnation, and at the proper time God brought His original plan of redemption for humanity into being. This original plan is what we refer to today as the New Testament or New Covenant of Jesus Christ, and this is seen beginning when God made the promise concerning the Seed (Jesus) of the woman in Genesis. God told the serpent (satan) that his head would bruise the heel of the Seed (Jesus) of the woman, and the Seed of the woman would bruise the head of the serpent. This meant that God the Son was coming according to the will of God the Father to destroy satan and his work. After many years God gave the promise of the New Covenant to Abraham and his Seed (Jesus), that through him all the nations of the earth would be blessed. The law that came through Moses 430 years afterward had no consequence on the promise that God made to Abraham and his Seed (Jesus). As shown earlier, the old covenant was made only with those who were alive at the time the law was given. Abraham died in faith, never seeing the promise of the New Covenant being revealed during his lifetime, so the promise of the New Covenant came to be realized in his Seed (Jesus). When Jesus came and instituted the New Covenant of the Kingdom of God through the sacrifice of himself for us, Jesus completed the old covenant law of Moses by fulfilling that which was written of shadows of Himself. Since Jesus instituted the New Covenant there is no need for the temporary old covenant that was instituted through Moses to be observed by Christians. As shown, no one can stand acceptable before God through the old covenant law, because God has let that old covenant pass away for the better promises of the Eternal New Covenant that has come through the better sacrifice of His Son!
Gen 3:14 The LORD God said to the serpent, "Because you have done this, cursed are you above all livestock and above all beasts of the field; on your belly you shall go, and dust you shall eat all the days of your life. Gen 3:15 I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring; he shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel." ESV
Gen 12:1 Now the LORD said to Abram, "Go from your country and your kindred and your father's house to the land that I will show you. Gen 12:2 And I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. Gen 12:3 I will bless those who bless you, and him who dishonors you I will curse, and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed." ESV
Gal 3:16 Now the promises were made to Abraham and to his offspring. It does not say, "And to offsprings," referring to many, but referring to one, "And to your offspring," who is Christ. Gal 3:17 This is what I mean: the law, which came 430 years afterward, does not annul a covenant previously ratified by God, so as to make the promise void. ESV
Heb 11:8 By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to a place that he was to receive as an inheritance. And he went out, not knowing where he was going. ESV
Heb 11:13 These all died in faith, not having received the things promised, but having seen them and greeted them from afar, and having acknowledged that they were strangers and exiles on the earth. ESV
Joh 8:56 Your father Abraham rejoiced that he would see my day. He saw it and was glad." Joh 8:57 So the Jews said to him, "You are not yet fifty years old, and have you seen Abraham?" Joh 8:58 Jesus said to them, "Truly, truly, I say to you,before Abraham was, I am." Joh 8:59 So they picked up stones to throw at him, but Jesus hid himself and went out of the temple. ESV
Luk 24:44 Then he said to them, "These are my words that I spoke to you while I was still with you, that everything written about me in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms must be fulfilled." Luk 24:45 Then he opened their minds to understand the Scriptures, Luk 24:46 and said to them, "Thus it is written, that the Christ should suffer and on the third day rise from the dead, Luk 24:47 and that repentance and forgiveness of sins should be proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem. ESV
Col 2:16 Therefore let no one pass judgment on you in questions of food and drink, or with regard to a festival or a new moon or a Sabbath. Col 2:17 These are a shadow of the things to come, but the substance belongs to Christ. ESV
Heb 8:5 They serve a copy and shadow of the heavenly things. For when Moses was about to erect the tent, he was instructed by God, saying, "See that you make everything according to the pattern that was shown you on the mountain." Heb 8:6 But as it is, Christ has obtained a ministry that is as much more excellent than the old as the covenant he mediates is better, since it is enacted on better promises. ESV
Heb 9:22 Indeed, under the law almost everything is purified with blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sins. Heb 9:23 Thus it was necessary for the copies of the heavenly things to be purified with these rites, but the heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices than these. Heb 9:24 For Christ has entered, not into holy places made with hands, which are copies of the true things, but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God on our behalf. ESV
Heb 10:1 For since the law has but a shadow of the good things to come instead of the true form of these realities, it can never, by the same sacrifices that are continually offered every year, make perfect those who draw near. ESV
Heb 10:5 Consequently, when Christ came into the world, he said, "Sacrifices and offerings you have not desired, but a body have you prepared for me; Heb 10:6 in burnt offerings and sin offerings you have taken no pleasure. Heb 10:7 Then I said, 'Behold, I have come to do your will, O God, as it is written of me in the scroll of the book.'" ESV
Luk 22:19 And he took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and gave it to them, saying, "This is my body, which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me." Luk 22:20 And likewise the cup after they had eaten, saying, "This cup that is poured out for you is the new covenant in my blood. ESV
Rom 8:2 For the law of the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death. Rom 8:3 For God has done what the law, weakened by the flesh, could not do. By sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin, he condemned sin in the flesh, Rom 8:4 in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not according to the flesh but according to the Spirit. ESV
Rom 10:3 For, being ignorant of the righteousness of God, and seeking to establish their own, they did not submit to God's righteousness. Rom 10:4 For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes. ESV
2Co 3:6 who has made us competent to be ministers of a new covenant, not of the letter but of the Spirit. For the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life. 2Co 3:7 Now if the ministry of death, carved in letters on stone, came with such glory that the Israelites could not gaze at Moses' face because of its glory,which was being brought to an end, 2Co 3:8 will not the ministry of the Spirit have even more glory? 2Co 3:9 For if there was glory in the ministry of condemnation, the ministry of righteousness must far exceed it in glory. 2Co 3:10 Indeed, in this case, what once had glory has come to have no glory at all, because of the glory that surpasses it. 2Co 3:11 For if what was being brought to an end came with glory, much more will what is permanent have glory. ESV
Gal 3:10 For all who rely on works of the law are under a curse; for it is written, "Cursed be everyone who does not abide by all things written in the Book of the Law, and do them." Gal 3:11 Now it is evident that no one is justified before God by the law, for "The righteous shall live by faith." Gal 3:12 But the law is not of faith, rather "The one who does them shall live by them." Gal 3:13 Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us--for it is written, "Cursed is everyone who is hanged on a tree"-- Gal 3:14 so that in Christ Jesus the blessing of Abraham might come to the Gentiles, so that we might receive the promised Spirit through faith. ESV
Eph 2:15 by abolishing the law of commandments expressed in ordinances, that he might create in himself one new man in place of the two, so making peace, Eph 2:16 and might reconcile us both to God in one body through the cross, thereby killing the hostility. ESV
Col 2:14 by canceling the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands. This he set aside, nailing it to the cross. ESV
Heb 8:6 But as it is, Christ has obtained a ministry that is as much more excellent than the old as the covenant he mediates is better, since it is enacted on better promises. Heb 8:7 For if that first covenant had been faultless, there would have been no occasion to look for a second. Heb 8:8 For he finds fault with them when he says: "Behold, the days are coming, declares the Lord, when I will establish a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah, Heb 8:9 not like the covenant that I made with their fathers on the day when I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt. For they did not continue in my covenant, and so I showed no concern for them, declares the Lord. Heb 8:10 For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, declares the Lord: I will put my laws into their minds, and write them on their hearts, and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. Heb 8:11 And they shall not teach, each one his neighbor and each one his brother, saying, 'Know the Lord,' for they shall all know me, from the least of them to the greatest. Heb 8:12 For I will be merciful toward their iniquities, and I will remember their sins no more." Heb 8:13 In speaking of a new covenant, he makes the first one obsolete. And what is becoming obsolete and growing old is ready to vanish away. ESV
The New Covenant of the Kingdom of God was established between God and the Seed of Abraham. The reason this is important is because the old covenant law of Moses was instituted with sinful humans, and they never would have been able to uphold this contract because their hearts were in rebellion toward God. The Promise (New Covenant) is realized in Abraham's Seed (Christ). God, in His mercy and grace for us, made sure the New Covenant would be founded in a manner that ensured it would never be violated. God the Father sent God the Son, not sinful men as under the law of Moses, to establish this contract to bring about our salvation. This New Covenant was an agreement that was made between God the Father and God the Son for our everlasting benefit. No one is able to add to or make void this eternal contract. Under the law of Moses the people had to swear that they would perform all that God had commanded under the old covenant, and they could never live up to their promise because they were sinners. However, the sinless Son came and performed the Father's will to perfection in order to redeem us from the curse of the law of Moses. The Father promised that because the Son redeemed us with His own blood, that God would forgive and cleanse us from all our sin, and He would make us to be His temple and make His habitation within us. Under the old covenant the people swore that they would do the works of the law of Moses in order to have fellowship with God and they never could fulfill this oath because of their sin nature. God said "I will" do the things necessary to cause sinful people to become His children and a people willing to perform His desire, and He accomplished all of this through Jesus Christ's coming to complete the old covenant and the sacrifice of Himself to establish the eternal New Covenant of the Kingdom of God. The New Covenant is God telling us that He will perform the essential work in our hearts in order that we trust in Him. God gave us a new heart which enables us to love and He will place the faith in us to trust that what He has accomplished through Jesus is more than enough to give us acceptance in Him. This is all I want to know. Do we possess the Spirit of God through the faith that comes to us from Christ, or is it by doing the works of the law?
Gal 3:5 Does he who supplies the Spirit to you and works miracles among you do so by works of the law, or by hearing with faith-- Gal 3:6 just as Abraham "believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness"? Gal 3:7 Know then that it is those of faith who are the sons of Abraham. ESV
Gal 3:13 Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us--for it is written, "Cursed is everyone who is hanged on a tree"-- Gal 3:14 so that in Christ Jesus the blessing of Abraham might come to the Gentiles, so that we might receive the promised Spirit through faith. Gal 3:15 To give a human example, brothers: even with a man-made covenant, no one annuls it or adds to it once it has been ratified. Gal 3:16 Now the promises were made to Abraham and to his offspring. It does not say, "And to offsprings," referring to many, but referring to one, "And to your offspring," who is Christ. Gal 3:17 This is what I mean: the law, which came 430 years afterward, does not annul a covenant previously ratified by God, so as to make the promise void. Gal 3:18 For if the inheritance comes by the law, it no longer comes by promise; but God gave it to Abraham by a promise. Gal 3:29 And if you are Christ's, then you are Abraham's offspring, heirs according to promise. ESV
Heb 8:6 But as it is, Christ has obtained a ministry that is as much more excellent than the old as the covenant he mediates is better, since it is enacted on better promises. Heb 8:7 For if that first covenant had been faultless, there would have been no occasion to look for a second. Heb 8:8 For he finds fault with them when he says: "Behold, the days are coming, declares the Lord, when I will establish a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah, Heb 8:9 not like the covenant that I made with their fathers on the day when I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt. For they did not continue in my covenant, and so I showed no concern for them, declares the Lord. Heb 8:10 For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, declares the Lord: I will put my laws into their minds, and write them on their hearts, andI will be their God, and they shall be my people. Heb 8:11 And they shall not teach, each one his neighbor and each one his brother, saying, 'Know the Lord,' for they shall all know me, from the least of them to the greatest. Heb 8:12 For I will be merciful toward their iniquities, and I will remember their sins no more." Heb 8:13 In speaking of a new covenant, he makes the first one obsolete. And what is becoming obsolete and growing old is ready to vanish away. ESV
Rom 12:3 For by the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think with sober judgment, each according to the measure of faith that God has assigned. ESV
