The Law and does a Christian have to keep the Law

Galatians 4:3-5, “3 Even so we, when we were children, were in bondage under the elements of the world: 4 But when the fulness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law, 5 To redeem them that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons.”

A very short and concise statement of the purpose of the Law follows:

“Judaism was physical, external, and temporal; Christianity is spiritual, internal, and permanent. These externals were a form of bondage to the children.”

[Believer’s Bible Commentary]

As Martin Luther “repeated his prayers on the Lateran staircase, the words of the prophet Habakkuk came suddenly to his mind: ‘The just shall live by faith.’ Thereupon he ceased his prayers, returned to Wittenberg, and took this as the chief foundation of all his doctrine. Luther himself said of this text, ‘Before those words broke upon my mind I hated God and was angry with him because not content with frightening us sinners by the law and by the miseries of life, he still further increased our torture by the gospel. But when, by the Spirit of God, I understood those words – “The just shall live by faith!” “The just shall live by faith!” – then I felt born again like a new man; I entered through the open doors into the very Paradise of God. Habakkuk 2:4, “Behold, his soul which is lifted up is not upright in him: but the just shall live by his faith.”’

[https://bible.org/seriespage/41-just-shall-live-faith-habakkuk]

Habakkuk 2:4, “Behold, his soul which is lifted up is not upright in him: but the just shall live by his faith.”

This verse contains an antithesis. Lifted, puffed up, haughty applied to those in power at the time of Habakkuk. The just sought righteousness and to be obedience leading a holy life. Paul used “the just” in three of his epistles.

How are we justified? Romans 1:17, “For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith: as it is written, The just shall live by faith.”

How shall we live? Galatians 3:11, “But that no man is justified by the law in the sight of God, it is evident: for, The just shall live by faith.”

We stay in faith by not turning away from Christ. Hebrews 10:38, “Now the just shall live by faith: but if any man draw back, my soul shall have no pleasure in him.”

Matthew 5:17 Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil.

Jesus had not come to abolish the Law or the Prophets, but to fulfill them. Jesus insisted that not one jot or one tittle would pass from the law until it was completely fulfilled.

Galatians 4:6-7, “6 And because ye are sons, God hath sent forth the Spirit of his Son into your hearts, crying, Abba, Father. 7 Wherefore thou art no more a servant, but a son; and if a son, then an heir of God through Christ.”

I’m saved by grace and not under the Law, nevertheless, obedience should follow including the Ten Commandments. Further we are to “Love your enemies, do good to them which hate you.”

What was the first act of religion in the Bible? What are some religious acts today? 547-2 - 24-4

Genesis 3: 7 “And the eyes of them both were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together, and made themselves aprons.”

Genesis 3:10 “And he said, I heard thy voice in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked; and I hid myself”

Genesis 3:21 “Unto Adam also and to his wife did the Lord God make coats of skins, and clothed them.”

Having a relationship with Jesus is Jesus reaching down to man and religion is man's attempt to reach up to God. The first act of religion in the Bible was the desperate attempt by Adam and Eve to cover their sin of disobedience with fig leaves. In his concern for his creation, God sewed skins of animals for Adam and Eve to wear both to protect their bodies and to demonstrate that a blood sacrifice would be needed to redeem mankind. That blood sacrifice would be the seed of the woman thus starting the scarlet thread that is woven throughout the Bible culminating in the crucifixion of Jesus.

It seems today that many cannot accept the simple gospel of the Bible. “For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures:” 1 Corinthians 15:3-4 KJV I was reminded of this last Sunday as I attended church and was privileged to partake of Holy Communion.

Even Martin Luther was a victim of the fear that the Roman Catholic Church seems to generate in its members. Martin Luther seemed to be obsessed by the question, "How can a man find favor with God?" Habakkuk 2:4, "The just shall live by faith" started him on a path to the Reformation. Habakkuk 2:4 led Paul to write his trilogy of epistles. The Book of Romans tells us who the Just are; those who live by faith. I completed the book of Galatians some time ago and it was reassuring to know that we live by faith and not the legalism often promoted by churches, most notably the Catholic Church. I'm looking forward to taking Hebrews later this year thereby completing this trilogy. Romans 8:2. “For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death.”

What are some religious acts today? The Quran teaches that by dying while committing jihad one is immediately transported to Paradise. The Mormons believe that by good works they can become as gods someday rule their own planet.

I've been told that Catholics believe that they have been granted salvation through the death of Christ on the cross; however, it is not a forever thing. One must continue saying masses to keep their salvation and after death be purified in purgatory.