The Difference Between the Old Testament and the New Testament Saints
Many people have wondered why the Old Testament Hebrews were often struck down with plagues and judgments of God while wondering through the wilderness near Mount Sinai.
The Old Testament people who rebelled against the Old Testament laws were destroyed in the wilderness of Sinai. They were destroyed because they were in the presence of God and were hardening themselves against God's teachings, which He gave to Moses. Their actions and words proved that their hearts were hardened against God and His ways.
The New Testament Completes the Old
The sacrificial laws, and the feast day laws, and the dietary laws, and other ceremonial laws were all fulfilled in Jesus Christ (Romans 10:4, Galatians 3:1-8). We Christians have no need to fulfill them since Christ did that for us, nailing all the ordinances, which were written against us, on the cross (Colossians 2:6-17).
But, God does expect us to obey Him in the Ten Commandments, which are repeated throughout the New Testament, including in the epistles from Romans to Revelation (as we follow the leading of the Holy Spirit). When we disobey Him, all we have to do is confess it to Abba Father God and repent. Asking Abba God to fulfill that unmet need is the next good thing to do.
We have the promise of God Jesus spoke of in Matthew 7:11. Jesus said: "[11] If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children, how much more shall your Father which is in heaven give good things to them that ask him?"
The danger is not believing God's Holy Word.
The danger is not believing God's Holy Word, and seeking after sinful pleasures (and idols) or self-righteous performance (or both). The Holy Spirit, using Paul and other New Testament writers, warned people who thought God's grace would allow them to continue in stubborn sin.
These unrighteous people, who may have been born-again Christians at one time, thought that living in sin and in rejection of God's Ten Commandments would be ignored by Jesus Christ, the Sovereign Judge of all (John 5:22-23, 2 Corinthians 5:10, Matthew 13:36-43).
In John 5:22-23, Jesus said: "[22] For the Father judgeth no man, but hath committed all judgment unto the Son: [23] That all men should honour the Son, even as they honour the Father. He that honoureth not the Son honoureth not the Father which hath sent him."
If we say that we love Jesus Christ and that He is our Lord and Savior, then we should obey what He says in the Holy Scripture. If we disobey Him and refuse to repent, but we still say we love Him, do we then actually love Him? Jesus addressed this question in Matthew 15:8-9.
In Matthew 15:8-9, Jesus said: "[8] This people draweth nigh unto me with their mouth, and honoureth me with their lips; but their heart is far from me. [9] But in vain they do worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men."
Is it wise to follow the teachings of men?
Is it wise to follow the teachings of men, such as those who teach that once you are saved through Jesus, you can "never" fall away (or that you can "never" lose your place in Heaven)? (Many of those people are well-meaning, but what does the Bible actually teach?) Is it wise to place your eternity into a system of belief that does not fit with the teachings of scripture?
Jesus constantly warned His own disciples and us about the reality of Hell, and that sin in a believer's life would prevent him or her from entering Heaven. He even said on several occasions statements such as those found in Matthew 18:34-35, in Matthew 6:14-15, and in Mark 9:47-48.
In Matthew 18, Jesus was telling His disciples and other people a parable about an unforgiving servant. This servant was forgiven all of his very large debt, but he was unwilling to forgive someone who owed him much less than what he had owed to his creditor. This unforgiving servant was delivered to the tormentors (demons) and placed in prison (or Hell, the Biblical abode of the unsaved deceased).
Matthew 18:34-35
"[34] And his lord was wroth, and delivered him to the tormentors, till he should pay all that was due unto him. [35] So likewise shall my heavenly Father do also unto you, if ye from your hearts forgive not every one his brother their trespasses."
Matthew 6:14-15
"[14] For if ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you: [15] But if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses."
Mark 9:47-48
"[47] And if thine eye offend thee, pluck it out: it is better for thee to enter into the kingdom of God with one eye, than having two eyes to be cast into hell fire: [48] Where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched."
By the guidance of the Holy Spirit, Paul wrote this admonition to the believers in Galatia:
[Galatians 5:19-25]
"[19.] Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these; Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, 20. Idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies, 21. Envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God.
22. But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, 23. Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law. 24. And they that are Christ's have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts. 25. If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit."
Conclusion
God, in His wisdom, cannot let a rebellious person (who despises God by way of despising His Word and His teachings) ever enter Heaven, unless that person confesses the sin which God is convicting him about, and repents (1 John 1:9 and 1:7).
Abba Father God desires for us all to have an intimate, close fellowship with Him and with the Second Person of the Trinity, Jesus Christ. There is no way to have intimate fellowship with God by way of self-righteous works, holding onto doubt, or holding onto sin. Only by confessing these things and by choosing to forsake them (by looking to God for the power) can a person be able to have intimate, deep fellowship with our loving Abba Father God (and His Son Jesus Christ).
➠ If you would like to know Abba God the Father and Jesus Christ (God the Son), and be saved from sin, click here to read more.
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