Thank you David for taking the time to respond to my post.

 

You ask:

 

Gal 3:10 For as many as are of the works of the law are under the curse: for it is written, Cursed is every one that continueth not in all things which are written in the book of the law to do them.

 

Is verse 10 saying that anyone who attempts to keep the law is cursed?

 

Yes, that is what I believe it is saying. And I believe that when we look at the example that Paul uses to illustrate his point we can see that he is saying this as well. His example is that of fleshly circumcision. according to the Law all males must be physically circumcised in order to be right with God. But Paul defends Christians who had not become circumcised and says that it is no longer necessary because the whole of the Law is now already fulfilled in us who are in Christ Jesus just as if we have already kept every single precept of it perfectly and sat down with Christ at the Father's right hand and rested from all works of righteousness. Therefore in no way am I saying that the Law is bad or is not to be fulfilled for I have fulfilled already as far as God is concerned because in Christ I am as righteous as Jesus. There is no need for me to finish what is already finished. We enter into this relationship by faith and must remain there by the same faith that got us there to begin with and not allow anyone to compromise our confidence in this bold faith firm unto the end. If we hold fast this confidence then we shall be saved but if we turn loose of our confidence in this by going back to the works of the Law, including be circumcised, then we have put away faith in God's promise and have made shipwreck of faith and have made the Crucifixion of Christ of none effect and God must judge us according to the whole of the Law again.

 

You then ask me this question:

 

Do you realize you are telling people not to keep the law!

 

YES, I do! For I am telling them what Paul also says that they are already credited with having kept the Law if they are in Christ.

 

At the beginning of your post you wrote this:

 

Greetings Barry,

You wrote: “Abraham heard from God that 'You are righteous'”. I don’t know of any passage that says that but I could be wrong. You also wrote: “Abraham was righteous and KNEW he was righteous.” If that was true it was a momentary knowledge because shortly after this Abraham lost faith that God would carry through on His promise and took things into his own hands and went into unto Hagar to product his own heir.

 

I was actually quoting word for word from Pastor Joseph Prince on TV in those words but I believe them and he was getting that from Galatians 3 where it says that God preached the gospel to Abraham and Abraham believed the gospel and it was counted unto him for righteousness. It then goes on to say that we also become righteous the same way by believing the gospel.

 

Do you realize you are telling people not to keep the law! You are saying those who are making an effort NOT to steal, cheat, lie or kill are lost and “have just left grace and are back under the Law” and the ones who make no effort to obey the commandments are the ones saved. Wow! This is what Paul says about that.

Rom 3:31 Do we then overthrow the law by this faith? By no means! On the contrary, we uphold (histemi) the law.

Strong’s #2476 ~ histemi -KJV - stand 116, set 11, establish 5, stand still 4, stand by 3, misc. 17, vr stand 2; total 158. Definition: to cause or make to stand, to place, to make firm, fix, establish; to cause a person or a thing to keep his or its place; to uphold or sustain the authority or force of anything.

Paul is telling us that we have already kept the Law therefore he is not suggesting that the Law be not kept any more than I am suggesting that. But rather that God holds us as if we have already kept it all perfectly and given us that credit. For me to push that gift away and say, "No, Lord, I won't accept that gift, for I will do it myself" is to reject His gift and be back under the curse.

Do you believe the doctrine of once saved a person can’t sin or lose their salvation no matter what evil they do?

 

No, I do not believe in OSAS but not for the reasons that many others give. In fact I believe that it is you who are in danger according to Paul's doctrine. The example that best illustrates the situation is that of Rehab the harlot and the covenant made between her and the Hebrew spies. She was told to tie the scarlet chord in the window a type of the blood of our Lord and that anyone who stayed with her in that house would be spared when the killing came. But if anyone should leave that sanctuary and go out from that house and be killed it was their own fault and their blood was on their own head. Likewise we are told that in Christ we pass from death to life but if we leave off our confidence in the promise of Christ to justify the ungodly, then we are just like one who left the safety of Rehab's house and if we die outside of Christ we are lost even if we at one time were in that house, it won't help us now that we are out of it upon death. Many like to quote Jesus saying how no man can snatch someone out of His hand. I agree but He never says someone cannot leave of their own will because they hear bad teaching that says His sacrifice is not enough and they go back to trying to keep the law. To do that is to make the cross of Christ of none effect.

 

So, to wrap this up, when a person accepts what Jesus has done for them, and commits their life to Him they are keeping the commandments of God. However, this to me includes a whole life commitment not giving lip service to or mental ascent to the gospel. Many Pharisees "believed" in Jesus but they would not confess Him before men for they did not want to be put out of the synagogue. Likewise today many claim to believe in Jesus but they also do not confess Him as in trust their lives to Him and therefore are no more saved than those Pharisees were. If you trust Jesus you will follow Him and nothing else will come between you and Him and then He will send His Holy Spirit to you and lead you into all truth. You will know the truth and the truth will set you free. It is our faith in God's promises that God gives us righteousness for not our attemtps to keep the law.