WHY I WORSHIP GOD'S LAW
God's Law as a Functional Substitute for God

Vine & Fig Tree publications emphasize Biblical Law. God's Law is the standard by which world governments are criticised, and it charts a path for each of us that leads to recovery and wholeness.

America began as a Christian nation, a "City upon a Hill" (Matthew 5:13-16), and the practical reliance upon the Bible in everyday life made America the most admired nation on earth.

America is no longer a Christian Republic, it is a Secular Empire. The United States exports more weapons than Bibles. The U.S. engages in the "quartering of troops" in over 130 nations. The United States has formed "entangling alliances" with dictatorships and pagan nations which have turned around to threaten each one of us. During the 20th century thousands of people were "legally" murdered each and every day by people working for these governments. Hundreds of millions more will be liquidated in the 21st century if present trends continue.

Who will help bring about Micah's Vine & Fig Tree world? Who will inspire the next generation to replace violence and lawlessness with service and order? Certainly not the 40% of America's public school graduates who are "functionally illiterate." And even among the remaining millions who are literate enough to function in a secular empire, few are Biblically literate enough to foster a spiritual renewal and make America again a City upon a Hill.

We need a generation of Christians who have
a deep reverence for the Bible as the Word of God.

By "deep" I do not mean "mystical" or emotional. I mean a profoundly practical living relationship with the Word of God which produces dynamic, effective, concrete answers and solutions to the problems and questions that a secular empire barely acknowledges. Answers to conflicts between labor and management, parents and children, bureaucrats and citizens. A workable blueprint for a Christian civilization that begins at home, school, business, and extends across the globe.

This deep reverence for the Bible as the Word of God means a practical knowledge of the Bible as the Law of God.

We must learn how to worship God's Law.

This concept, called "Theonomy," ("God's Law") has many opponents. Their opposition to Biblical Law is actually opposition to God Himself. And if they are offended at the concept of obligation to obey God's Law, they will really be upset at the idea of worshiping God's Law. But as a son of Abraham, the true Christian worships God's Law.

Abraham the Patriarch was a man of God. The personal relationship between a Godly man and the Lord is manifested most clearly in his relationship to God's Law:

Genesis 18:19
For I know him, that he will command his children and his household after him, and they shall keep the way of the LORD, to do justice and judgment; that the LORD may bring upon Abraham that which he hath spoken of him.

Genesis 22:18
And in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed; because thou hast obeyed my voice.

Genesis 26:5
Because that Abraham obeyed my voice, and kept my charge, my commandments, my statutes, and my laws.

The Psalmist further exemplified this attitude. Over and over again the Psalmist exclaims that he loves the Law and even says that he worships the Law.

But some are quite uncomfortable with the pro-nomian attitude of "the man after God's own heart," and wonder if it is legitimate for Christians in the New Covenant to take a similar attitude, one which some liberals have called "bibliolatry."

Of course, in spite of their inspired exclamations, the Patriarchs of the Old Covenant did not have the Holy Spirit to empower them to obedience, that the righteousness of the Law would be fulfilled in their lives.[1] But despite their failure, their goal should be our goal.

New Covenant Continuity

One of the great promises of the Prophets (as we shall see in future issues) is the promise that the Law would be written on the hearts of the New Covenant members. This manner of speaking (writing on the heart) indicates the devotion and conformity to God's Law. Note that the very statutes of the Law are included:

A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you an heart of flesh. And I will put my spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes, and ye shall keep my judgments, and do them. (Ezekiel 36:27)

This is my covenant with them, saith the LORD; My spirit that is upon thee, and my words which I have put in thy mouth, shall not depart out of thy mouth, nor out of the mouth of thy seed, nor out of the mouth of thy seed's seed, saith the LORD, from henceforth and for ever. (Isaiah 59:21)

And David My Servant shall be King over them; and they shall have one shepherd: they shall also walk in my judgments, and observe my statutes, and do them. (Ezekiel 37:24)

Finally, the most famous promise, quoted by the writer to the Hebrews, in Jeremiah 31:31-34:

But this will be the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel; After those days, saith the LORD, I will put my law in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people.

Clearly, the Law of God was not something that the Prophets believed would be discarded in the New Covenant like used sandpaper. Jesus clearly says He came to fulfill these Godly expectations (Matthew 5:17-20).

If the Bible is the Word of God, then we should worship the Bible.

The word "Scripture" (Greek: γραφη) means "something written." What is written is the Word of God.

I worship the Word of God.

God gave to humanity His Word in written form.

Jesus is the Word of God incarnate (from the Latin, caro, flesh); the Bible is the Word of God inscriptured (Latin scrīptūra, writing).
I worship the Word of God.
I worship the incarnate Word; I worship the inscriptured Word.

I do not have direct sensory access to the flesh of the incarnate Word.
I do not have direct sensory access to the "autographa" of the inscriptured Word.

The "powers that be" conspired to put the incarnate Word to death.
Governments have always attempted to erase all copies of the inscriptured Word.

Nevertheless, both the incarnate Word and the inscriptured Word are still living.

I worship the Word of God.

This link shows how the New Testament Scriptures speak of the Old Testament Scriptures.

Princeton Theologian B.B. Warfield observes that the Scriptures treat the Scriptures "as if they were God":

Galatians. 3:8, "The Scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the heathen through faith, preached before the gospel unto Abraham, saying, In thee shall all the nations be blessed" (Gen. xii. 1-3);

Romans 9:17, "The Scripture saith unto Pharaoh, Even for this same purpose have I raised thee up" (Ex. ix. 16).

It was not, however, the Scripture (which did not exist at the time) that, foreseeing God's purposes of grace in the future, spoke these precious words to Abraham, but God Himself in His own person: it was not the not-yet-existent Scripture that made this announcement to Pharaoh, but God Himself through the mouth of His prophet Moses.

In other passages, God is spoken of as if He were the Scriptures:

Matthew 19:4, 5, "And he answered and said, Have ye not read that He which made them from the beginning made them male and female, and said, For this cause shall a man leave his father and mother, and shall cleave to his wife, and the twain shall become one flesh?" (Gen. ii. 24);

Hebrews 3:7, "Wherefore, even as the Holy Ghost saith, To-day if ye shall hear his voice," etc. (Ps. xcv. 7);

Acts 4:24, 25, "Thou art God, who by the mouth of thy servant David hast said, Why do the heathen rage and the people imagine vain things" (Ps. ii. 1);

Acts 13:34, 35, "He that raised him up from the dead, now no more to return to corruption, . . . hath spoken in this wise, I will give you the holy and sure blessings of David" (Isa. lv. 3); "because He saith also in another [Psalm], Thou wilt not give thy holy one to see corruption" (Ps. xvi. 10);

Hebrews 1:6, "And when He again bringeth in the first born into the world, He saith, And let all the angels of God worship him" (Deut. xxxii. 43); "and of the angels He saith, Who maketh his angels wings, and his ministers a flame of fire" (Ps. civ. 4); "but of the Son, He saith, Thy throne, O God, is for ever and ever," etc., (Ps. xlv. 7) and, "Thou, Lord, in the beginning," etc. (Ps. cii. 26).

It is not God, however, in whose mouth these sayings are placed in the text of the Old Testament: they are the words of others, recorded in the text of Scripture as spoken to or of God.

We must learn how to worship God's Word.

Many Christians downplay the Scriptures. They say they would rather have a "relationship" with Jesus. They only want to worship "the name of Jesus."

But the Scripture says that God "has magnified Thy Word  above  all Thy Name" (Psalm 138:2).

It turns out most church-goers don't like the Bible because it has lots of commands, while their own version of Jesus is much nicer.

God's "Name" is in a sense a Word for God. A divine Word. An authoritative Word.

God as Covenant Lord

There are many people who say they believe in "God," but if by "God" they mean
     a Creator - the One Who brought them into being - and
     a Sustainer - the One Who makes their heart keep beating - and
     a Redeemer - the One Who sacrificed His own Son to make us holy -
then they show an absolutely remarkable lack of interest in this Being.
"Ignorance is bliss," they say, and their relationship to God is one of uninterrupted bliss.
They do not know what this God desires, nor do they care to find out. If they know or suspect what their Creator created them to do, they would rather watch Sex and the City.

In our day, a knowledge of God's Law for His creatures is not the most sought-after commodity.

John Frame's important book on The Doctrine of the Knowledge of God gives many valuable insights into the concept of God as Covenant Lord. In a section on "The Biblical Concept of Lordship" Frame notes that

Divine transcendence in Scripture seems to center on the concepts of control and authority.

Control is evident in that the covenant is brought about by God's sovereign power. God brings His covenant servants into existence (Isaiah 41:4;[2] 43:10-13;[3] 44:6;[4] 48:12[5]) and exercises total control over them (Exodus 3:8,14[6] [cf. Exodus 33:18;[7] 34:6[8]]).

As Lord, He sovereignly delivers them[9] from bondage and directs the whole natural environment (cf. the plagues in Egypt) to accomplish His purposes for them.

Authority is God's right to be obeyed, and since God has both control and authority, He embodies both might and right. Over and over, the covenant Lord stresses how His servants must obey His commands (Exodus 3:13-18;[10] 20:2;[11] Leviticus 18:2-5,30;[12] 19:37;[13] Deuteronomy 6:4-9.[14])

To say that God's authority is absolute means that His commands may not be questioned (Job 40:11-14;[15] Romans 4:18-20;[16] 9:20;[17] Hebrews 11:4,7,8,17[18]), that divine authority transcends all other loyalties (Exodus 20:3;[19] Deuteronomy 6:4-9;[20] Matthew 8:19-22;[21] 10:34-38;[22] Philippians 3:8[23]) and that this authority extends to all areas of human life (Exodus; Leviticus; Numbers; Deuteronomy; Romans 14:23;[24] 1 Corinthians 10:31;[25] 2 Corinthians 10:5;[26] Colossians 3:17,23[27]).

God's Law as Object of Worship

Later in his book, Frame discusses "The Covenant Law." He rightly notes that "The present section is somewhat redundant because we have already discussed the knowledge of God's authority, and there is no important difference between knowing God's authority and knowing God's Law."

This is a critical statement. Frame is saying we cannot know God without knowing Him as Law, and thus we cannot know God without knowing His Law. If this is the case, God's Law deserves the same devotion that is due to God Himself. Is it really the case that there is no important difference between knowing God's authority and knowing God's Law? Frame continues:

"Indeed, in an important sense, the Word of God (and hence the Law, a form of the Word) is divine. God's speech has divine attributes

  • Genesis 18:14 Is any thing too hard for the LORD? At the time appointed I will return unto Thee, according to the time of life, and Sarah shall have a son.
  • Psalm 19:7-9 The Law of the LORD is perfect, converting the soul: the Testimony of the LORD is sure, making wise the simple. {8} The Statutes of the LORD are right, rejoicing the heart: the Commandment of the LORD is pure, enlightening the eyes. {9} The Fear of the LORD is clean, enduring for ever: the Judgments of the LORD are true and righteous altogether.
  • Psalm 119:7 I will praise Thee with uprightness of heart, when I shall have learned Thy righteous Judgments.
  • Psalm 119:86 All Thy Commandments are faithful:
  • Psalm 119:89 For ever, O LORD, Thy Word is settled in heaven.
  • Psalm 119:129 Thy Testimonies are wonderful: therefore doth my soul keep them.
  • Psalm 119:137 Righteous art Thou, O LORD, and upright are Thy Judgments.
  • Psalm 119:140 Thy Word is very pure: therefore thy servant loveth it.
  • Psalm 119:142 Thy righteousness is an everlasting righteousness, and Thy Law is the Truth.
  • Psalm 119:160 Thy Word is true from the beginning: and every one of thy righteous Judgments endureth for ever.
  • Isaiah 55:11 So shall My Word be that goeth forth out of My Mouth: it shall not return unto Me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it.
  • Luke 1:37 For with God nothing shall be impossible.
  • John 17:17 Sanctify them through Thy Truth: Thy Word is Truth.

functions as an object of worship

  • Psalm 9:2 I will be glad and rejoice in Thee: I will sing praise to Thy Name, O Thou most High.
  • Psalm 34:3 O magnify the LORD with me, and let us exalt His Name together.
  • Psalm 56:4 In God I will praise His Word, in God I have put my trust; I will not fear what flesh can do unto me.
  • Psalm 56:10 In God will I praise His Word: in the LORD will I praise His Word.
  • Psalm 68:4 Sing unto God, sing praises to His Name: extol him that rideth upon the heavens by His Name JAH, and rejoice before Him.
  • Psalm 119:120 My flesh trembleth for fear of Thee; and I am afraid of Thy Judgments.
  • Psalm 119:161-162 SCHIN. Princes have persecuted me without a cause: but my heart standeth in awe of Thy Word. {162} I rejoice at Thy Word, as one that findeth great spoil.
  • Psalm 138:2 I will worship toward Thy holy temple, and praise Thy Name for Thy lovingkindness and for Thy Truth: for Thou hast magnified Thy Word above all Thy Name.
  • Isaiah 66:5 Hear the Word of the LORD, ye that tremble at His Word; Your brethren that hated you, that cast you out for My Name's sake, said, Let the LORD be glorified: but He shall appear to your joy, and they shall be ashamed.

and is called divine

  • John 1:1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
  • Romans 10:6-8 But the righteousness which is of faith speaketh on this wise, Say not in thine heart, Who shall ascend into heaven? (that is, to bring Christ down from above:) {7} Or, Who shall descend into the deep? (that is, to bring up Christ again from the dead.) {8} But what saith it? The Word is nigh thee, even in thy mouth, and in thy heart: that is, the Word of faith, which we preach;
  • Deuteronomy 30:11-14 For this Commandment which I command thee this day, it is not hidden from thee, neither is it far off. {12} It is not in heaven, that thou shouldest say, Who shall go up for us to heaven, and bring it unto us, that we may hear it, and do it? {13} Neither is it beyond the sea, that thou shouldest say, Who shall go over the sea for us, and bring it unto us, that we may hear it, and do it? {14} But the word is very nigh unto thee, in thy mouth, and in thy heart, that thou mayest do it.

Thus we cannot know God without knowing His Word, and we cannot know the Word without knowing God.

There has been some discussion recently of the fact that torah in the Old Testament is often, at least, better translated "instruction" than "law." Some take this fact as justification for relaxing the traditional emphasis in Reformed theology on the normativity of God's commands, the requirement of absolute obedience. In reply we may note the following. (1) Whatever we may say about torah, we must also do justice to that great redundant collection of other "norm-terms" in Scripture: "statutes," "commandments," "testimonies," and so on (see, e.g., Ps. 119). (2) Deuteronomy 4:1-14,[28] 6:1-9,[29] 8:1-9,[30] and many other passages make it clear that God's Word (even understood as "instruction") demands absolute obedience. In the New Testament, see Matthew 4:4[31] John 14:15,21,[32] Romans 4:16-25,[33] I Corinthians 14:37f.,[34] and elsewhere.

God's Word is normative instruction.

The verses cited by Frame are critical, and like so many verses which are critical to a proper understanding of the Bible, don't seem to get all the "pulpit-play" they should. You will want to meditate on each of them to allow the Spirit to engraft them to your heart.

Note also that the fact that "Torah" can be translated "instruction" does not dilute the binding authority of that Word. In fact, as Rushdoony has shown, the word "Torah" can also be translated "way" or "path" which conveys the concept of "guide" as does "instruction." But the fact that the early church called themselves followers of "the Way" (Acts 9:2;[35] 19:9,23;[36] 22:4;[37] 24:14,22[38]) even as Jesus called Himself "the Way" (John 14:6[39]) brings us back to torah. Thus, living as we do in the age of the completed canon of Scripture, we may say that the Torah is Jesus. Frame concludes:

To know God's authority, control, and presence, involves knowledge of His Law, His world, and ourselves. This triad deserves some analysis. To know God is to know His Law. God Himself necessarily acts as Law to all being other than Himself. To be Lord is to be the Giver and Ultimate Enforcer of Ultimate Law. Thus Scripture speaks of God's nature as Word, as Name, as Light. To obey the Law is to obey God Himself. God's Law, therefore, is divine -- divine in authority, power, eternality, and ultimacy. We cannot know God without knowing Him as Law. God's Law, then, is God Himself.

When man attempts to be as God (Gen. 3:5[40]) he thereby attempts to be as Law. But humanistic law is tyranny. Since God is Love (I John 4:8[41]) the Law is Love (Rom. 13:9-10[42]), and is not burdensome (I John 5:3[43]), but rather, is gracious (Ps. 119:29[44]).

Continue to "How to Worship God's Law."

NOTES

(1) Romans 8:1-4 There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. {2} For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death. {3} For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh: {4} That the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. 
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(2) Isaiah 41:4 Who hath wrought and done it, calling the generations from the beginning? I the LORD, the first, and with the last; I am he. 
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(3) Isaiah 43:10-13 Ye are my witnesses, saith the LORD, and my servant whom I have chosen: that ye may know and believe me, and understand that I am he: before me there was no God formed, neither shall there be after me. {11} I, even I, am the LORD; and beside me there is no saviour. {12} I have declared, and have saved, and I have showed, when there was no strange god among you: therefore ye are my witnesses, saith the LORD, that I am God. {13} Yea, before the day was I am he; and there is none that can deliver out of my hand: I will work, and who shall let it? 
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(4) Isaiah 44:6 Thus saith the LORD the King of Israel, and his redeemer the LORD of hosts; I am the first, and I am the last; and beside me there is no God. 
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(5) Isaiah 48:12-13 Hearken unto me, O Jacob and Israel, my called; I am he; I am the first, I also am the last. {13} Mine hand also hath laid the foundation of the earth, and my right hand hath spanned the heavens: when I call unto them, they stand up together. 
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(6) Exodus 3:8,14 And I am come down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians, and to bring them up out of that land unto a good land and a large, unto a land flowing with milk and honey; unto the place of the Canaanites, and the Hittites, and the Amorites, and the Perizzites, and the Hivites, and the Jebusites. {14} And God said unto Moses, I AM THAT I AM: and he said, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, I AM hath sent me unto you. 
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(7) Exodus 33:18 And he said, I beseech thee, show me thy glory. 
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(8) Exodus 34:6 And the LORD passed by before him, and proclaimed, The LORD, The LORD God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abundant in goodness and truth, 
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(9) Exodus 20:2 I am the LORD thy God, which have brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. 
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(10) Exodus 3:13-18 And Moses said unto God, Behold, when I come unto the children of Israel, and shall say unto them, The God of your fathers hath sent me unto you; and they shall say to me, What is his name? what shall I say unto them? {14} And God said unto Moses, I AM THAT I AM: and he said, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, I AM hath sent me unto you. {15} And God said moreover unto Moses, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, The LORD God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, hath sent me unto you: this is my name for ever, and this is my memorial unto all generations. {16} Go, and gather the elders of Israel together, and say unto them, The LORD God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, of Isaac, and of Jacob, appeared unto me, saying, I have surely visited you, and seen that which is done to you in Egypt: {17} And I have said, I will bring you up out of the affliction of Egypt unto the land of the Canaanites, and the Hittites, and the Amorites, and the Perizzites, and the Hivites, and the Jebusites, unto a land flowing with milk and honey. {18} And they shall hearken to thy voice: and thou shalt come, thou and the elders of Israel, unto the king of Egypt, and ye shall say unto him, The LORD God of the Hebrews hath met with us: and now let us go, we beseech thee, three days' journey into the wilderness, that we may sacrifice to the LORD our God. 
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(11) Exodus 20:2 I am the LORD thy God, which have brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. 
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(12) Leviticus 18:2-5 Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, I am the LORD your God. {3} After the doings of the land of Egypt, wherein ye dwelt, shall ye not do: and after the doings of the land of Canaan, whither I bring you, shall ye not do: neither shall ye walk in their ordinances. {4} Ye shall do my judgments, and keep mine ordinances, to walk therein: I am the LORD your God. {5} Ye shall therefore keep my statutes, and my judgments: which if a man do, he shall live in them: I am the LORD. Leviticus 18:30 Therefore shall ye keep mine ordinance, that ye commit not any one of these abominable customs, which were committed before you, and that ye defile not yourselves therein: I am the LORD your God. 
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(13) Leviticus 19:37 Therefore shall ye observe all my statutes, and all my judgments, and do them: I am the LORD. 
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(14) Deuteronomy 6:4-9 Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God is one LORD: {5} And thou shalt love the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might. {6} And these words, which I command thee this day, shall be in thine heart: {7} And thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up. {8} And thou shalt bind them for a sign upon thine hand, and they shall be as frontlets between thine eyes. {9} And thou shalt write them upon the posts of thy house, and on thy gates. 
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(15) Job 40:11-14 Cast abroad the rage of thy wrath: and behold every one that is proud, and abase him. {12} Look on every one that is proud, and bring him low; and tread down the wicked in their place. {13} Hide them in the dust together; and bind their faces in secret. {14} Then will I also confess unto thee that thine own right hand can save thee. 
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(16) Romans 4:18-20 Who against hope believed in hope, that he might become the father of many nations, according to that which was spoken, So shall thy seed be. {19} And being not weak in faith, he considered not his own body now dead, when he was about an hundred years old, neither yet the deadness of Sarah's womb: {20} He staggered not at the promise of God through unbelief; but was strong in faith, giving glory to God; 
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(17) Romans 9:20 Nay but, O man, who art thou that repliest against God? Shall the thing formed say to him that formed it, Why hast thou made me thus? 
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(18) Hebrews 11:4 By faith Abel offered unto God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain, by which he obtained witness that he was righteous, God testifying of his gifts: and by it he being dead yet speaketh.
Hebrews 11:7-8 By faith Noah, being warned of God of things not seen as yet, moved with fear, prepared an ark to the saving of his house; by the which he condemned the world, and became heir of the righteousness which is by faith. {8} By faith Abraham, when he was called to go out into a place which he should after receive for an inheritance, obeyed; and he went out, not knowing whither he went.
Hebrews 11:17 By faith Abraham, when he was tried, offered up Isaac: and he that had received the promises offered up his only begotten son. 
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(19) Exodus 20:3 Thou shalt have no other gods before me. 
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(20) Deuteronomy 6:1-9 is reprinted at the end of this essay. ("Supplemental Texts") 
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(21) Matthew 8:19-22 And a certain scribe came, and said unto him, Master, I will follow thee whithersoever thou goest. {20} And Jesus saith unto him, The foxes have holes, and the birds of the air have nests; but the Son of man hath not where to lay his head. {21} And another of his disciples said unto him, Lord, suffer me first to go and bury my father. {22} But Jesus said unto him, Follow me; and let the dead bury their dead. 
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(22) Matthew 10:34-38 Think not that I am come to send peace on earth: I came not to send peace, but a sword. {35} For I am come to set a man at variance against his father, and the daughter against her mother, and the daughter in law against her mother in law. {36} And a man's foes shall be they of his own household. {37} He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me: and he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. {38} And he that taketh not his cross, and followeth after me, is not worthy of me. 
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(23) Philippians 3:8 Yea doubtless, and I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord: for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and do count them but dung, that I may win Christ, 
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(24) Romans 14:23 And he that doubteth is damned if he eat, because he eateth not of faith: for whatsoever is not of faith is sin. 
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(25) 1 Corinthians 10:31 Whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God. 
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(26) 2 Corinthians 10:5 Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ; 
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(27) Colossians 3:17 And whatsoever ye do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God and the Father by him.
Colossians 3:23 And whatsoever ye do, do it heartily, as to the Lord, and not unto men; 
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(28) Deuteronomy 4:1-14 "Now, O Israel, listen to the statutes and the judgments which I teach you to observe, that you may live, and go in and possess the land which the LORD God of your fathers is giving you. [2] You shall not add to the word which I command you, nor take from it, that you may keep the commandments of the LORD your God which I command you. [3] Your eyes have seen what the LORD did at Baal Peor; for the LORD your God has destroyed from among you all the men who followed Baal of Peor. [4] But you who held fast to the LORD your God are alive today, every one of you. [5] Surely I have taught you statutes and judgments, just as the LORD my God commanded me, that you should act according to them in the land which you go to possess. [6] Therefore be careful to observe them; for this is your wisdom and your understanding in the sight of the peoples who will hear all these statutes, and say, 'Surely this great nation is a wise and understanding people.' [7] For what great nation is there that has God so near to it, as the LORD our God is to us, for whatever reason we may call upon Him? [8] And what great nation is there that has such statutes and righteous judgments as are in all this law which I set before you this day? [9] Only take heed to yourself, and diligently keep yourself, lest you forget the things your eyes have seen, and lest they depart from your heart all the days of your life. And teach them to your children and your grandchildren, [10] especially concerning the day you stood before the LORD your God in Horeb, when the LORD said to me, 'Gather the people to Me, and I will let them hear My words, that they may learn to fear Me all the days they live on the earth, and that they may teach their children.' [11] Then you came near and stood at the foot of the mountain, and the mountain burned with fire to the midst of heaven, with darkness, cloud, and thick darkness. [12] And the LORD spoke to you out of the midst of the fire. You heard the sound of the words, but saw no form; you only heard a voice. [13] So He declared to you His covenant which He commanded you to perform, the Ten Commandments; and He wrote them on two tablets of stone. [14] And the LORD commanded me at that time to teach you statutes and judgments, that you might observe them in the land which you cross over to possess. 
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(29) Deuteronomy 6:1-9 "Now this is the commandment, and these are the statutes and judgments which the LORD your God has commanded to teach you, that you may observe them in the land which you are crossing over to possess, [2] that you may fear the LORD your God, to keep all His statutes and His commandments which I command you, you and your son and your grandson, all the days of your life, and that your days may be prolonged. [3] Therefore hear, O Israel, and be careful to observe it, that it may be well with you, and that you may multiply greatly as the LORD God of your fathers has promised you; 'a land flowing with milk and honey.' [4] Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one! [5] You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength. [6] And these words which I command you today shall be in your heart. [7] You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, when you walk by the way, when you lie down, and when you rise up. [8] You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. [9] You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates. 
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(30) Deuteronomy 8:1-9 "Every commandment which I command you today you must be careful to observe, that you may live and multiply, and go in and possess the land of which the LORD swore to your fathers. [2] And you shall remember that the LORD your God led you all the way these forty years in the wilderness, to humble you and test you, to know what was in your heart, whether you would keep His commandments or not. [3] So He humbled you, allowed you to hunger, and fed you with manna which you did not know nor did your fathers know, that He might make you know that man shall not live by bread alone; but man lives by every word that proceeds from the mouth of the LORD. [4] Your garments did not wear out on you, nor did your foot swell these forty years. [5] You should know in your heart that as a man chastens his son, so the LORD your God chastens you. [6] Therefore you shall keep the commandments of the LORD your God, to walk in His ways and to fear Him. [7] For the LORD your God is bringing you into a good land, a land of brooks of water, of fountains and springs, that flow out of valleys and hills; [8] a land of wheat and barley, of vines and fig trees and pomegranates, a land of olive oil and honey; [9] a land in which you will eat bread without scarcity, in which you will lack nothing; a land whose stones are iron and out of whose hills you can dig copper. 
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(31) Matthew 4:4 But he answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God. 
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(32) John 14:15 If ye love me, keep my commandments. John 14:21 He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me: and he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him, and will manifest myself to him. 
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(33) Romans 4:16-25 Therefore it is of faith, that it might be by grace; to the end the promise might be sure to all the seed; not to that only which is of the law, but to that also which is of the faith of Abraham; who is the father of us all, {17} (As it is written, I have made thee a father of many nations,) before him whom he believed, even God, who quickeneth the dead, and calleth those things which be not as though they were. {18} Who against hope believed in hope, that he might become the father of many nations, according to that which was spoken, So shall thy seed be. {19} And being not weak in faith, he considered not his own body now dead, when he was about an hundred years old, neither yet the deadness of Sarah's womb: {20} He staggered not at the promise of God through unbelief; but was strong in faith, giving glory to God; {21} And being fully persuaded that, what he had promised, he was able also to perform. {22} And therefore it was imputed to him for righteousness. {23} Now it was not written for his sake alone, that it was imputed to him; {24} But for us also, to whom it shall be imputed, if we believe on him that raised up Jesus our Lord from the dead; {25} Who was delivered for our offences, and was raised again for our justification. 
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(34) 1 Corinthians 14:37-38 If any man think himself to be a prophet, or spiritual, let him acknowledge that the things that I write unto you are the commandments of the Lord. {38} But if any man be ignorant, let him be ignorant. 
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(35) Acts 9:2 And desired of him letters to Damascus to the synagogues, that if he found any of this way, whether they were men or women, he might bring them bound unto Jerusalem. 
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(36) Acts 19:9 But when divers were hardened, and believed not, but spake evil of that way before the multitude, he departed from them, and separated the disciples, disputing daily in the school of one Tyrannus. Acts 19:23 And the same time there arose no small stir about that way. 
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(37) Acts 22:4 And I persecuted this way unto the death, binding and delivering into prisons both men and women. 
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(38) Acts 24:14 But this I confess unto thee, that after the way which they call heresy, so worship I the God of my fathers, believing all things which are written in the law and in the prophets:

Acts 24:22 And when Felix heard these things, having more perfect knowledge of that way, he deferred them, and said, When Lysias the chief captain shall come down, I will know the uttermost of your matter. 
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(39) John 14:6 Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me. 
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(40) Genesis 3:5 For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil. 
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(41) 1 John 4:8 He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love. 
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(42) Romans 13:9-10 For this, Thou shalt not commit adultery, Thou shalt not kill, Thou shalt not steal, Thou shalt not bear false witness, Thou shalt not covet; and if there be any other commandment, it is briefly comprehended in this saying, namely, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. {10} Love worketh no ill to his neighbour: therefore love is the fulfilling of the law. 
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(43) 1 John 5:3 For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments: and his commandments are not grievous. 
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(44) Psalms 119:29 Remove from me the way of lying: and grant me thy law graciously. 
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I appreciate your comments. Write me at Kevin4VFT@vftonline.org.

The Christmas Conspiracy

Virtue

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Paradigm Shift

Theocracy

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