Who Needs God’s Laws?

If you have been in the Israel Truth movement for some time you have probably met people who will ask you what good it is and what difference it makes. We should not have to defend our position to these people. They should be asking themselves why they are ignoring large quantities of prophecy and the laws of God in the Old Testament. People must learn that they cannot leave out parts of the Bible and only deal with the New Testament and snippets of the Old Testament.

One central doctrine of Israel Truth teaching is that we must keep the laws of the Old Testament. We are falsely accused by our critics that we preach justification by keeping laws. We believe in justification by the blood of Jesus Christ when He died on the cross and took our sins upon Himself. However, we recognize the importance of God’s laws from the Old Testament and how they must be obeyed by Christians and one day by all people in the Kingdom Age when Jesus Christ comes to reign on the earth. Why not learn to keep the laws now? Would it please Him if Christians would learn to be obedient?

I believe the two commandments from the Ten Commandments that are most rejected are the sixth and the seventh: “Thou shalt not kill” and “Thou shalt not commit adultery”. Babies are being put to death by the millions in North America by abortion and now killing of very old people is being debated. It is said that only those who give their consent will be put to death. However, in Europe it has been found that some of the very old choose death out of guilt for being a financial drain and causing their families so much time and energy to look after them. We must remember that it is up to the Lord to decide when a person should die. In the Bible, both the prophet Job and the prophet Elijah suffered from depression and wanted to die for what they were going through, but each one left the decision up to God. Two examples of people who killed themselves were Saul, who had an evil spirit, and Judas Iscariot. The Bible says Satan entered into him (Luke 22:3).

The commandment against adultery in the Bible is one that is almost universally rejected in North America. Adultery is not just “cheating on your spouse”. It involves any sexual intercourse outside of marriage. God’s laws require that people become married as virgins and remain married until one of them dies. This is so far from the thinking of the average person in North America that he or she will reject such a harsh law and substitute something easier. Television, the movies, and modern literature are saturated with depictions of people having sex who are not married to each other. This conduct is not acceptable to God and throughout the Bible there are warnings against such behaviour. Marriage does not heal this sin and people continually take the spirit of fornication into marriage with them. Then they wonder why their marriages fall apart. They need repentance and the cleansing power of the blood of Christ to restore them to a state of purity. They need the presence of the Holy Spirit for spiritual healing. Divorce and re-marriage is another activity that is accepted as normal in our society. God does not accept it as normal and Jesus said the law of divorce was given for the hardness of men’s hearts (Matthew 19:8). Our churches are full of people who have been divorced and re-married, even amongst the church leaders. Sometimes people cannot avoid divorce. What can a person do if his or her spouse demands a divorce or if an un-repentant spouse commits adultery? Then the innocent person has to accept the fact of divorce. We should never condemn the innocent victims of divorce. Re-marriage is not a cure for divorce. Most people take the same spiritual problems into their second marriages. They need the healing power of the Holy Spirit and repentance of any sins they may have committed. Even innocent victims may need to confess their bitterness, anger, and un-forgiveness to the Lord.

There is healing and restoration for those who have broken the laws of murder and adultery as well as for those who are victims of divorce. However, the prevention of those tragedies is up to the churches.

The churches must teach God’s laws.