This is my understanding from the Bible of the GOD of creation as commonly recognized:

1.) The first duty man has to GOD is to glorify, love, honor, serve and obey Him (all within His grace) and enjoy Him for eternity.

2.) To glorify, love honor serve and obey Him, one must do so in all of their thoughts words and deeds with all of their heart, soul and mind.

3.) In so doing, man must also love his fellow man in the same way he loves himself, and that way is in conformity to GOD’s revealed Biblical commands for his behavior in thought word and deed moment by moment of his life.

4.) To accomplish these objectives, man must read and study GOD’s word daily. Man, primarily, must associate in and through the church with other men who share the first three objectives, and he is to be pastored by someone who has been well trained in the Scriptures, and approved by the elders and congregation as a pastor.

5.) Man along with his pastor and fellow believers (elect of GOD) must ascribe to the following acknowledgment that a .) The Bible is divinely inspired by the ultimate Author, The Omnipotent, Omnipresent, Omniscient GOD of all Creation Who is the Beginning and End, b.) Is true, c.) without error, d.) a guide and standard for man’s conduct in life. (Note: The Ten Commandments is a summary for that conduct, and there is a shorter summary in Christ’s words to love GOD and your neighbor as yourself – see pt.s 1 -3).

6.) It is the duty of GOD’s pastors to follow points 1 – 3, so that he can unhypocritically and effectively point people to GOD, His Son Jesus Christ, the salvific completed work on the cross of Christ and His shed blood without which we would not be healed of our sin, and to administer the sacraments of baptism and the LORD’s Supper; the law, and the application of the law in the life of the individual

Point number six is a sticky wicket so to speak. There is a great deal of disagreement about GOD’s law, its application, and what of it should be preached. In this writer’s opinion, the ceremonial and sacrificial laws were fulfilled in Christ, and therefore abrogated (no longer applicable). The moral law in all ways is as relevant today as in the beginning. St. Paul said he would not have known sin were it not for the law. Christ came and died for our sins to save us from them. Sin is a failure to conform to the law of GOD. Therefore, it is highly unlikely to be saved from sin if you do not know what the law of GOD is.

Lastly, the civil law is a bit of a stickey wicket as well. This writer would say that the principles of the civil law prevail today, but the specifics may not. In no way can the civil law violate the moral law without being unacceptable to the believing Christian if he is asked to obey it – St. Peter said we ought to obey GOD rather than man. A more subtle and insidious consideration is what if the civil law compels a believer to finance a violation of the moral law through taxes. Jesus resolved that when he told His disciples to pay the tax – render unto Caesar what is Caesar’s. St. Paul in Romans 13 gives the power of force to the state, and at the same time gives the state a mandate to be the rewarder of good and the punisher of evil.

The bottom line is that the church (sacred) and the state (secular) are two distinct entities living side by side. The church has been given the power of persuasion, and the state has been given the power of force. If the church violates the laws of the state, they will be subject to punishment under that law. If the state violates the law of GOD, at some point, they will be subject to GOD and believers should speak out in that case. Eternity settles all scores.

Pensiamento Peligroso