Devine law

By Robert W. Bibb

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Š 2013 Robert W. Bibb

Dedication This work is dedicated to the memory and work of Pope John XXIII and Pope John Paul II, both of whom are my contemporaries in their lives and canonization.

Additionally, I dedicate this work to my son David, who taught me what is contained in this booklet, and who so generously shares with others what The Holy Spirit shares with him.

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INTRODUCTION

My reason for writing this little book is to try to fill in some of the gaps that people sometime encounter when trying to understand the details of salvation or when trying to explain it to others.

St. Paul tells us this in the second letter to Timothy: "All scripture is inspired by God and is useful for teaching, for refutation, for correction, and for training in righteousness, so that one who belongs to God may be competent, equipped for every good work."

2 Timothy 3:16-17 Therefore, I will use scripture verses as needed, taken from The New American Bible, Saint Joseph Edition.

Before starting on the Law of God we would do well to consider God's objectives in creating. From the immense size and complexity of creation we can surmise that God is showing forth His Almighty Power, Unfathomable Intelligence, and Goodness beyond all measure. It would be useless to display such Power, Intelligence, and Goodness, unless there was someone to observe and appreciate it. Only a rational and material creature could fully witness and appreciate God's creation. Rational, in order to observe creation in an abstract or conceptual (spiritual) manner.

Material, in order to observe creation in a participatory way.

In other words to be able to sense creation through the five senses, and at the same time be able to say thank you. This explains why the display of Power and Intelligence, but what about Goodness? Now we are rounding out the picture of the

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special creatures God fashioned to observe, appreciate, and participate in His creation. Through Adam and Eve, mankind was created not only to observe His attributes, but also to share them in eternal Love. They were made like unto God Himself to be the progenitors of His immense and loving family. The love of parents can best be seen not so much when times are good, but when things have gone terribly wrong. Just so, the love of God for these children of His can best be seen in this quote from Genesis. Picture here the grief of our Heavenly Father when His children had brought the guarantee of death upon themselves. In this passage, Jacob, the father, is brought his son Joseph's tunic and is lead to believe that a wild beast had killed his son.

"He recognized it and exclaimed: 'My son's tunic! A wild beast has devoured him! Joseph has been torn to pieces!'

Then Jacob rent his clothes, put sackcloth on his loins, and mourned his son many days. Though his sons and daughters tried to console him, he refused all consolation, saying, 'No, I will go down mourning to my son in the nether world,' Thus did his father lament him."

Genesis 37:33-35 I truly believe this passage gives us a glimpse into the love and broken heartedness of our Heavenly Father at the demise of His son Adam, Eve, and all who were to come from them. It is crucial to understand these things about God before attempting to learn about His Law. *******

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 AMDG

DIVINE LAW / DIVINE LOVE

Divine Law is the governing parameters of each and every creation of God. It is the very will and energy of God that makes each created entity what it is and makes it act in the manner that it does. The Divine Law came simultaneously with, and is part of creation. Most of God's laws are not written down, but many of them have been "discovered" – the laws of nature for example.

The purpose of creation is to provide God with offspring like unto Himself; creatures of free will, made in God's own image and likeness. Free will is essential to a relationship of love. There are stories and songs of "love potions" that cause someone to fall totally in love with another. This kind of induced love is only a cheap imitation and will never be the equal of real love freely given. God is real Love and created mankind to be fully capable of functioning in that realm.

PART ONE THE LAW OF HERITAGE One of the laws pertaining to mankind that can be discovered is what I call the Law of Heritage. This is the law that establishes the relationship between each individual human being, God, and other humans – the family relationship. The Catholic Church teaches the doctrine of Original Sin. It is the consequence of this sin, committed by Adam, that each person is born with. It is because of this sin that a Savior is needed, even if a person (such as a new born baby) committed no sin. The fact of Original Sin and the

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need for a Savior is a doctrine shared by all Christians. What is less understood is that the Law of Heritage, which came before Original Sin, requires the consequence which puts us in such great need of a Savior. It is by the Law of Heritage that Adam received all of his attributes as a child of God. Eve, having been created from Adam to be his wife, received from Adam the same attributes that Adam had. It is by the Law of Heritage that each new member of the human race receives from their father all of the attributes of a child of God that their natural father possesses. If the person is a female, when she marries she forfeits the heritage from her father in favor of the heritage of her husband. This is why, in the normal course of family life, the father gives his daughter in marriage to her husband and the two are bound to each other. As Jesus says, "they become one flesh." In the case of Original Sin, both the father and the husband have the same heritage, therefore the female obviously experiences no difference of heritage because of her marriage. Original Sin remains her heritage in either case.

In the well ordered plan of God, the Law of Heritage insures that each new arrival to the human race has every benefit of being a child of God as their predecessors.

The entirety of Divide Law is perfect. Unlike laws composed by man, there will never be a need to add or subtract anything from the Divine Law. Into the well ordered plan of God came disorder when Adam and Eve joined in the rebellion of Satan. This rebellion of Adam and Eve is called Original Sin. This rebellious sin did not thwart God's intended purpose, it just put it on a more painful route. Adam and Eve not only lost many of their Godly attributes, but were also reduced to slavery. In Genesis 3:16-19 God lays out the conditions of their new slave status for Adam and Eve and all of their progeny. From this point on, by the Law of Heritage, all that

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a new arrival to the human race can receive is the heritage of a slave.

Just as the Law of Heritage transmitted blessings, it also transmits sin and guilt. This can be seen in Genesis 9:20-27.

Ham, the youngest son of Noah committed a serious sin, but the punishment is put on Canaan, the son of Ham, and his descendents. This is in perfect accordance with the Law of Heritage. In the 7th chapter of the book of Joshua there is also an episode that shows that a man named Achan committed a crime. Achan, his wife, children, and all of his live stock suffered the death penalty for the sin of Achan. It was the Law of Heritage in action and it was not strange, but expected by the people at the time.

The common knowledge of the Law of Heritage is completely evident in the following Old Testament Passage starting at chapter 24, verse 1, of 2 Samuel. Here, King David sinned against God by taking a census of his people.

Later, when King David saw over twenty thousand of his subjects being killed as the punishment for his sin, the passage continued with the following verse in complete understanding and acknowledgement of the Law of Heritage: "When David saw the angel who was striking the people, he said to the Lord: It is I who have sinned; it is I, the shepherd, who have done wrong. But these are sheep; what have they done? Punish me and my kindred."

2 Samuel 24: 17

The Law of Heritage explains why we all come into this world with Original Sin, the negative effect of our first parent's rebellion. The family that God wanted turned out instead to be spiritually defective and disabled slaves.

However, God is never at a loss when dealing with His creation. The prophet Jeremiah had this message from God regarding the Law of Heritage:

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"In those days they shall no longer say, 'The fathers ate unripe grapes, and the children's teeth are set on edge,' but through his own fault only shall anyone die: the teeth of him who eats the unripe grapes shall be set on edge."

"The days are coming, says the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah. It will not be like the covenant I made with their fathers the day I took them by the hand to lead them forth from the land of Egypt; for they broke my covenant and I had to show myself their master, says the Lord. But this is the covenant I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the Lord. I will place my law within them, and write it upon their hearts; I will be their God, and they shall be my people."

Jeremiah 31:29-33 At another time the prophet Ezekiel put it this way: "Thus the word of the Lord came to me" Son of man, what is the meaning of this proverb that you recite in the land of Israel: 'Fathers have eaten green grapes, thus their children's teeth are set on edge'?"

"As I live, says the Lord God: I swear that there shall no longer be anyone among you who will repeat this proverb in Israel. For all lives are mine; the life of the father is like the life of the son, both are mine; only the one who sins shall die."

Ezekiel 18:1-4 When Jeremiah and Ezekiel made these prophecies it sounded like complete nonsense to their listeners. The people could not imagine such a crazy sounding prediction ever coming to pass. It sounded as unreasonable to them as punishing a man's wife and children along with him for his crimes sounds to us. The reason for the difference in perception from Jeremiah's time until now is that the culture of the western world in which we live has had two millennia of Christian influence. Please note that nowhere do the

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prophets say that the Law of Heritage would be changed or eliminated, but only that it would not be remembered.

The entire Law of God is an expression of the very nature and character of God. As the Church teaches, God is the same yesterday, today, and tomorrow, God is unchanging or immutable. Since the Law of God is an expression of the unchanging God, the law of itself is also unchangeable.

Now, you may say for example, "There was a time when eating pork was against the Law of God, but it is no longer forbidden." And I would answer, "the prohibition against eating pork was a part of the covenant law given to the Israelites through Moses as God was rescuing them from Egypt." It did not apply to anyone but the covenant people it was given to. Here is the teaching St Paul gave Christians: "For through faith you are all children of God in Christ Jesus. For all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free person, there is not male and female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus."

Galatians 3: 26-28 What this means is that we do not enter into the family of God in any other way, but only through our unity with Jesus Christ.

References to "That day" in the Hebrew scriptures always means the day of Jesus' crucifixion. When Jeremiah said "In those days," he was referring to the time after the resurrection of Jesus, and that includes our time. Before considering "That Day," let us see how the Law of Heritage effected the Mother of Jesus.

The Law of Heritage allows that a female forfeits the heritage of her father in favor of the heritage of her husband.

This aspect of the Law of Heritage explains why the mother

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of Jesus did not have Original Sin. By a special marital arrangement in heaven, Mary was chosen from her very beginning to be the bride of the Holy Spirit so that her child would be the incarnate Son of God. Therefore, from the beginning of her existence she received the heritage of her Husband, the Holy Spirit, instead of her father, Joachim, in keeping with the Law of Heritage. *** Thus, we have the Immaculate Conception. *** When the angel Gabriel was sent to the thirteen year old virgin Mary, she was already the sinless bride of the Holy Spirit, and the plan for the salvation of all mankind literally lay waiting for her free will response. For God created all of us to be creatures of free will and He will never deny any of us our free will choice. That would be against His own will and nature.

The prophesies of Jeremiah and Ezekiel predict a time in the future when the people of God would not even remember the Law of Heritage. And so it came to pass. The vast majority of the children of God are unfamiliar with the concept of a man's family being held guilty for his crimes.

Note that the phrase "In those days" indicates the time after the resurrection of Jesus. So, it seems safe to assume that Jesus is responsible for the change. It is my opinion that Jesus was laying the groundwork for a different basis of relationship in the following passage from the Gospel of St. Matthew: "While he was still speaking to the crowds, his mother and his brothers appeared outside, wishing to speak with him. [Someone told him, 'Your mother and your brothers are standing outside, asking to speak with you.'] But he said in reply to the one who told him, "Who is my mother? Who are my brothers? And stretching out his hand toward his disciples, he said, 'Here are my mother and brothers. For

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whoever does the will of my heavenly Father is my brother, and sister, and mother."

Matthew 12:46-50 The Church has always regarded the following quote from the Gospel of St. John to pertain to everyone who is a disciple of Jesus. One can see that from the cross Jesus is establishing a radical new order of relationship, one that did not exist before.

"When Jesus saw his mother and the disciple there whom he loved, he said to his mother, 'Woman, behold, your son.' Then he said to the disciple, Behold, your mother.' And from that hour the disciple took her into his home."

John 19:26-27 The new relationship ordained by Jesus on the cross has a name and description known by Christians everywhere, "The Bride of Christ". It does not eliminate the Law of Heritage, but in fact uses it. The New Covenant in the blood of Christ is the bond between Jesus and His Church. The Church is the Bride of Christ. Each member of the Church is a part of the Bride of Christ. This is where the prophesies are fulfilled that speak of each person being responsible for their own sins. Baptism into the bride of Christ, the Church, is where the heritage of Adam is replaced by the heritage of Jesus. Whoever becomes a member of the Church forsakes the heritage of the natural order and receives instead the heritage of the Bride of Christ. Here is what Jesus said about marriage: "He said in reply, 'Have you not read that from the beginning the creator 'made them male and female' and said 'For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh'?

So they are no longer two, but one flesh. Therefore, what God has joined together, no human being must separate"

Matthew 19:4-6

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St. Paul went on to say to the Christians in Corinth: "Now you are Christ's body, and individually parts of it."

1Corinthians 12:27 As you can see, Jesus And His Bride are one. To be a member of His Church is to be one with Jesus. However, Jesus cannot be compelled to accept any individual. This will be covered in the next section. *** PART TWO THE LAW OF SIN AND DEATH Another aspect of Divine Law that plays a crucial function in Salvation History is what I call The Law of Sin and Death. It is more commonly known as the doctrine of Original Sin. This is the Law of God that gives us the explanation of how a man dying on a cross actually saves us.

However, let's contemplate the following two scripture verses as a starting point as we get into the study.

"The Jews again picked up rocks to stone him. Jesus answered them, 'I have shown you many good works from my father. For which of these are you trying to stone me?'

The Jews answered him, 'We are not stoning you for a good work but for blasphemy. You, a man, are making yourself God.' Jesus answered them, 'Is it not written in your law, 'I said, 'You are gods' '? If it calls them gods to whom the word of God came, and scripture cannot be set aside, can you say that the one the Father has consecrated and sent into the world blasphemes because I said, 'I am the Son of God'?"

John 10:31-35

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" The Lord God then took the man and settled him in the garden of Eden, to cultivate and care for it. The Lord God gave man this order: 'You are free to eat from any of the trees of the garden except the tree of knowledge of good and bad. From that tree you shall not eat; the moment you eat from it you are surely doomed to die.'"

Genesis 2:15-17 Notice in the quotation from the Gospel of John that Jesus implies that the scripture and the law are the same, and cannot be set aside. The Law of God, like God Himself, is perfect and never changes.

In the quote from Genesis, God tells Adam the law: "From that tree (the tree of knowledge of good and bad) you shall not eat;" and explains the consequences of eating from that tree, "the moment you eat from it you are surely doomed to die."

As you can see, there is an obvious reverse truth to The Law of Sin and Death. Like the two sides of a coin, on the one side is, "If you sin, you die," and on the other side is, "If you don't sin, you don't die." The somewhat obscure, but equally true Law of God, "If you don't sin, you don't die," is the crucial feature of our salvation. This side of the Law is what makes possible God's rescue of those being saved from our demise due to Original Sin. As explained in the Law of Heritage, Original Sin does not imply any complicity on our part to the sin of our first parents. It's not about what we have done, but who we are; descendents and heirs of Adam and Eve in their diminished and enslaved condition.

With the understanding of the reverse side of the Law of Sin and Death, consider these words of Jesus.

"Then he took the twelve aside and said to them, 'Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem and everything

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written by the prophets about the Son of Man will be fulfilled.

He will be handed over to the Gentiles and he will be mocked and insulted and spat upon; and after they have scourged him they will kill him, but on the third day he will rise."

Luke 18:31-33 "I am the good shepherd, and I know mine and mine know me, just as the Father knows me and I know the Father; and I will lay down my life for the sheep."

"This is why the Father loves me, because I lay down my life in order to take it up again."

John 10:14-15 & 17 In the above passages of scripture the rescue plan of God is laid bare. The implied Law of God, the reverse of "If you sin, you die," is being shrewdly brought into play. When this plan is fully implemented and comes to fruition, there will be grounds for the greatest law suit ever.

After the death of Jesus, He, in His spirit, came before the judgment throne of The Divine Father and ask for His life to be restored and recompense for the injustice of suffering death when He had not sinned. The case was settled in his favor and the recompense He received is declared in the following scripture verses.

"Then Jesus approached and said to them, 'All power in heaven and on earth has been given to me.'"

Matthew 28:18 To help make understandable the term "All power in heaven and on earth," I am offering this quote from Genesis as Joseph is given power by pharaoh – as a picture of Jesus receiving His recompense from the Father. Note how all encompassing

the power and authority is. Only the throne of Pharaoh is excluded, just as with Jesus only the throne of His Heavenly Father is excluded. Jesus reigns supreme, having been given all power in heaven and on earth.

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"You shall be in charge of my palace, and all my people shall dart at your command. Only in respect to the throne shall I outrank you.' 'Herewith,' Pharaoh told Joseph, 'I place you in charge of the whole land of Egypt.' With that Pharaoh took off his signet ring and put it on Joseph's finger. He had him dressed in robes of fine linen and put a gold chain about his neck. He then had him ride in the chariot of his vizier, and they shouted 'Abrek!'* before him."

(Abrek, is apparently a cry of homage, though the word's derivation and meaning are uncertain.)

"Thus was Joseph installed over the whole land of Egypt. 'I, Pharaoh, proclaim,' he told Joseph, 'that without your approval no one shall move hand or foot in all the land of Egypt.'"

Genesis 41:40-44 By the recompense that Jesus was awarded because of His wrongful death, He has all power in heaven and on earth.

That is the reason for this declaration in the Book of Acts: "There is no salvation through anyone else, nor is there any other name under heaven given to the human race by which we are to be saved."

Acts 4:12 I find the following verses from the Gospel of John to be comforting. Jesus, Who is both Judge and Bridegroom, expresses His openness and intimacy with those who truly love Him. "I am the good shepherd, and I know mine and mine know me, just as the Father knows me and I know the Father; and I will lay down my life for the sheep."

John 10:14-15 "Whoever has my commandments and observes them is the one who loves me. And whoever loves me will be loved by my Father, and I will love him and reveal myself to him."

John 14:21

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"You are my friends If you do what I command you. I no longer call you slaves, because a slave does not know what his master is doing. I have called you friends, because I have told you everything I have heard from my father."

John 15:14-15 Jesus, as it says in the Apostles Creed, "sits at the right hand of the Father." This is a way to express that Jesus, the just Judge, is sitting in judgment, deciding who is and who is not acceptable to Him. Jesus is fully aware of each persons life and heart in the greatest detail. For those He accepts it will be the greatest unimaginable joy. But, it will not go well for those to whom He says, "I never knew you."

In the introduction I spoke about the goodness and love of God. In closing let me frame the situation this way; through the sin of Adam and Eve the assurance of death became our legacy. However, because of His infinite goodness and love, Jesus, the innocent Second Person of the Blessed Trinity, endured a torturous death. He did not die in our place, but in order that we might be saved. In this study of the perfect Law of our loving God it must be concluded that the same Law by which we were condemned, held the means by which we can be saved; that is, restored to the family of our loving Heavenly Father. Together, the Law of Heritage and the Law of Sin and Death eternally proclaim the Goodness of God and the Family of Divine Love that will last forever.

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