Whose Law is it Anyway?

In the previous article, I wrote about what God requires from us as compared to Israel, concluding that the two were the same, insofar as we should love and fear God and obey His commandments (Deuteronomy 10:12-13). Most people would agree with that statement on the surface, but begin to disagree when I specify that God's commandments are the same for us today as they were for Israel. Today, I want to give an illustrative example of why I hold this view.

Sin Causes Death - So What's Sin?

In the previous article, I established that sin causes death. Therefore, we would do well to learn what God means by "sin!"

1 John 3:4
Whoever commits sin also commits lawlessness, and sin is lawlessness.

Sin is defined as lawlessness - living without regard for God's law. God gave His law to Israel in various parts of the books of Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy. The apostles read these books to learn what sin was, and, if you really want to know what God considers to be sin, then you also need to read them - they contain the law that John was writing about in the above verse. It's the only law of God that there has ever been. It's the same law that Jesus Christ knew and followed perfectly. Additionally, Christ said the following about that same law: