How could there be morality without the Ten Commandments seeing as God rewards the good and punishes the sinful?

Man's reasoning cannot comprehend having morality without striving to be godly by human effort (arm of flesh) and without the threat of punishment for sins. But man's ways and thoughts are not God's. The key to understanding is in Isaiah 55:8-

8 “For My thoughts are not your thoughts,

Nor are your ways My ways,” says the Lord.”

Some “men of God" single out this verse from the whole of Isaiah 55, ignore the verses before and after it and totally distort its context. But when you take the text out of its context, you are left with a con. Many of us have heard this verse taught in the context of:

“God is not sinful, unrighteous and wicked and shady like you worthless sinners that are so lacking in morality. His ways are not your ways and His thoughts are not your thoughts so go and change your ways to be like God.”

The first sentence in this (mis)interpretation is basically stating the obvious: no churchgoer needs to be reminded about the godliness/righteousness of God. He is God. This horrid and antichrist interpretation in italics above is no different from the lie that Satan conned Eve into believing in Eden- that man can be godly through human effort (arm of flesh) at doing something. See Isaiah 55:8 in its context. The key to understanding its truth is in verse 7:

“6 Seek the Lord while He may be found,

Call upon Him while He is near.

7 Let the wicked forsake his way,

And the unrighteous man his thoughts;

Let him return to the Lord,

And He will have mercy on him;

And to our God,

For He will abundantly pardon.

8 “For My thoughts are not your thoughts,

Nor are your ways My ways,” says the Lord.

9 “For as the heavens are higher than the earth,

So are My ways higher than your ways,

And My thoughts than your thoughts.”

There is so much more to this chapter. By God's grace, we can address it in another post.

The Lord's way is to “have mercy.” Understand that mercy is for the undeserving. We obtain mercy when we are freed from the punishment that we truly deserve. His way is to “abundantly pardon.” But man's ways and thoughts are:

“You need to depend on your arm of flesh (human effort) at obeying the law in order to be free from the sins that hold you captive and to be morally upright/perfect/godly (be like God) so that God can pardon you and have mercy on you. When you mess things up, you have to grovel and suffer first and maybe God will reluctantly pardon and then you will not perish but have everlasting life.”

Here's God's Way which He Himself provided for man to live a morally upright life, free of fear and sinful deeds that lead to death, including death's symptoms of earthly ills: Romans 5:16-17-

"And the result of God’s gracious gift is very different from the result of that one man’s sin. For Adam’s sin led to condemnation, but God’s free gift leads to our being made right with God, even though we are guilty of many sins. 17 For the sin of this one man, Adam, caused death to rule over many. But even greater is God’s wonderful grace and His gift of righteousness, for all who receive it will live in triumph over sin and death through this one Man, Jesus Christ."

But human logic cannot comprehend that God sees believers in Christ as righteous, even though we are guilty of many sins. Human logic cannot comprehend that morality does not proceed from trying to do good deeds and the threat of punishment for sinful deeds- trying to be godly (be like God) through human effort aka arm of flesh as Adam and Eve attempted to do. Human reasoning cannot comprehend the message of the cross:

“For the message of the cross is foolishness [absurd and illogical] to those who are perishing and spiritually dead [because they reject it], but to us who are being saved [by God’s grace] it is [the manifestation of] the power of God.” 1 Corinthians 1:18.

The message of the cross is salvation from sin and death by God's Grace. Beloved of God, Grace is a Person. His name is Jesus Christ. Titus 2:11 says of Him:

"God’s marvelous grace has manifested in person, bringing salvation for everyone."

Verse 14 of the same Titus 2 says: "He gave His life to free us from every kind of sin, to cleanse us, and to make us His very own people, totally committed to doing good deeds."

Human logic cannot comprehend the words of Grace- Christ Himself- in John 3 which show us how we are saved from sin and death:

“14 And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up, 15 that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life. 16 For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. 17 For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved. 18 He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God."

Recall the time when snakes were biting the Israelites to death and God told Moses to make a bronze serpent?

Christ Himself is saying here that for us, He is a type of the bronze serpent-

"And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up,..."

- that we are saved from sin and death and get to "not perish but have everlasting life" the same way the Israelites were saved from the serpent's sting and its deathly effects. Also consider 1 Corinthians 15:56-57:

"56 The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin [by which it brings death] is the law; 57 but thanks be to God, who gives us the victory [as conquerors] through our Lord Jesus Christ."

The bronze serpent is a type of Christ. He came in the form of sinful man, having no sting of sin (like the bronze serpent) yet becoming sin for us and bearing God's fiery judgment for our sake. 1 Corinthians 5:21 says of God concerning Him-

“For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.”

The snake sting is a picture of the sin nature that all mankind inherited from Adam:

“By one man's disobedience many were made sinners, so also by one Man's obedience many will be made righteous.” Romans 5:19.

Depending on the vagaries of Time and Chance as well as Satan's sifting, anyone with this sting of death aka sin nature (the sinner) will produce acts of sin. That covers all of mankind by default. It does not matter how good one thinks he is or can be. Just ask pre-denial Peter who knew 100% that he could never deny our Saviour Jesus. Satan came a-sifting and he fell flat on his face...three times...the first time to an unarmed servant girl, not even a Roman soldier. There is nothing like "I can never do that" in the essay of the life of any man born of Adam. The reason why many think that they are or can be bastions of morality is because God has kept the vagaries of Time and Chance from crushing them and has not allowed them to be tempted beyond what they can bear. See this in 1 Corinthians 10:12-13-

12"So beware if you think it could never happen to you, lest your pride becomes your downfall. 13 We all experience times of testing, which is normal for every human being. But God will be faithful to you. He will screen and filter the severity, nature, and timing of every test or trial you face so that you can bear it. And each test is an opportunity to trust Him more, for along with every trial God has provided for you a way of escape that will bring you out of it victoriously."

The arm of flesh (human effort at obedience) is the same in everybody. It will fail. But many are being deceived to trust in it to make them morally upright (be like God) just as Satan deceived Peter and Eve into believing.

Human logic cannot comprehend that we are saved from the serpent's sting of death (sin nature inherited from Adam) and its symptoms that lead to death (acts of sin/immorality in all its ramifications that lead to death) by being still and UTTERLY looking to Christ for salvation the same way that the Israelites that were bitten by snakes did the bronze serpent that Moses lifted up. No dependence on even an iota of human effort. All Christ of whom it is written in Titus 2:14-

"He gave His life to free us from every kind of sin, to cleanse us, and to make us His very own people, totally committed to doing good deeds."

The wages of sin is death. The same kind of death that Adam died after he sinned and passed on his sin nature (serpent's sting) to all of his descendants:

“By one man's disobedience many were made sinners, so also by one Man's obedience many will be made righteous.” Romans 5:19.

Recall Adam was alive on earth physically for just under a thousand years- as one day in God's sight. But the life that he lived after his disobedience was far from Edenic. God told Him:

“17 and of the tree of knowledge of good and evil, thou dost not eat of it, for in the day of thine eating of it -- dying thou dost die.'”

The death that is the wages of sin is a process that begins with earthly ills such as working so hard and having very little to show for one's efforts, silly mistakes, depression, sickness, etc. These characteristics are not godly. In a bid to be perfect aka godly (free of the ungodly characteristics of acts of sin and the death that follows,) many churchgoers are following after the same example of Adam and Eve: trying to be morally upright/godly (be like God) by human effort at doing something. See the forbidden fruit as a picture of the law that many are trying to keep in order to be godly (be like God) in Romans 7:8-12 (MSG)-

"The law code started out as an excellent piece of work. What happened, though, was that sin found a way to pervert the command into a temptation, making a piece of “forbidden fruit” out of it. The law code, instead of being used to guide me, was used to seduce me..."

The tree of the knowledge of good and evil is a picture of the law which kills and gives the same knowledge. As he did with Eve, Satan, through his ministers behind some pulpits, is still seducing people with the law, perverting the law into a temptation and making a piece of the forbidden fruit out of it. The aspiration to godliness that he sowed in Eve (the same desire to be morally upright and perfect like God is being sown in the hearts of many churchgoers today) was not a bad thing when you look at it with human logic like Eve did; afterall, what is bad in desiring and trying to be godly? In fact, God wants us to be godly!

The danger here is that many in the church are trying to be godly today but are doing so after the example of Adam and Eve- by human strength aka the arm of flesh. Just as Eve was seduced to eat of the tree in order to be like God aka be godly by human striving at doing something, many in the church are being deceived into believing that they can be righteous/godly (be like God) by keeping the Ten Commandments, doing good things and doing their best to shun evil in order to "not perish but have everlasting life." Notice no more Christ saving as He says He does in John 3:16 here. Wonderful as these things are, doing them in order to be morally upright and perfect (godly like God) can’t help anybody. See what Romans 3:19-20 says about this-

"19 Obviously, the law applies to those to whom it was given, for its purpose is to keep people from having excuses, and to show that the entire world is guilty before God. 20 For no one can ever be made right with God by doing what the law commands. The law simply shows us how sinful we are."

Just like the tree of the knowledge of good and evil which gives the same knowledge as the law, the law kills and exposes the the nakedness (utter lack of righteousness) of those who try to keep it in order to be godly aka be like God. See this reference to “nakedness as having no righteousness" in Christ's counsel to the church in Laodicea in Revelation 3-

“18 I counsel you to buy from Me gold that has been heated red hot and refined by fire so that you may become truly rich; and white clothes [representing righteousness] to clothe yourself so that the shame of your nakedness will not be seen; and healing salve to put on your eyes so that you may see.”

Doing what the law commands in order to be godly like God or made right with God has this adverse effect: being cut off from Jesus Christ Who is the Tree of Life. See Galatians 5:4-

“For if you are trying to make yourselves right with God by keeping the law you have been cut off from Christ! You have fallen away from God's grace.”

Smack where Satan wants everyone to be. His strategy to kill and destroy has not changed since Eden. Recall Adam and Eve were made in God's likeness: Genesis 1:27-

“So God created human beings in His own likeness.

He created them to be like Himself.

He created them as male and female.”

They were already like God. We who believe in Jesus have an even better covenant- children of God made godly aka be like God through the suffering of Christ. Isaiah prophesied of Christ's suffering for us in Isaiah 53. See the result of His decease which He accomplished at Jerusalem in Isaiah 53:11-

"After He has suffered, He will see the light of life. And He will be satisfied. My godly servant will make many people godly because of what He will accomplish. He will be punished for their sins."

Because of His sacrifice of His own Son for us, this how God sees all who believe in Jesus Christ:

“And there is still much more to say of His unfailing love for us! For through the blood of Jesus we have heard the powerful declaration, “You are now righteous in My sight.” And because of the sacrifice of Jesus, you will never experience the wrath of God."

As he did with Eve, Satan, through his ministers behind some pulpits, subtly tries to steal the word that Christ has made us righteous like God and tries to get churchgoers working to attain godliness/God's level of morality by obeying the law which gives the knowledge of good and evil like a certain tree. The unrighteous get to bear the wages of their sin since they reject God's gift of righteousness to us in Christ our Advocate and Bearer of sins.

Some churchgoers who claim to be under Grace try to compartmentalize the law into moral law/oral law/ceremonial law and say that we who believe are still subject to some of these compartments of the law. What a horrid antichrist teaching! The law is a whole and just like the tree of the knowledge of good and evil (a picture of the law which many are eating of in a bid to be godly/be like God - see Romans 7:8-12 The Message) which has many parts, eating of any part of the law (the letter) kills, whether moral, oral, ceremonial or the one with which man privately judges himself in his heart (see Romans 2:12-15)

The more one tries to be godly (be like God) by human effort at obedience (dependence on even an iota law-keeping in order to “not perish but have everlasting life”) as Adam and Eve attempted to do, the more sin strengthens its grip over the life of that one,

“For sin shall not have dominion over you for you are not under law but under Grace.” Romans 6:14.

Romans 7 also shows us that the law that we who believe are dead to includes the Ten Commandments; Paul used the 10th Commandment (You shall not covet) as an example in this chapter. In Christ, we are not under law but under Grace. Beloved of God, Grace is a Person. His name is Jesus Christ. Titus 2:11 says of Him:

"God’s marvelous grace has manifested in person, bringing salvation for everyone."

Verse 14 of the same Titus 2 says: "He gave His life to free us from every kind of sin, to cleanse us, and to make us His very own people, totally committed to doing good deeds."

We who believe see by Grace that of ourselves, our will-power to live right is utterly useless and that there is no good whatsoever in us as was Paul's experience in Romans 7:18-

“For I know that nothing good lives within the flesh of my fallen humanity. The longings to do what is right are within me, but will-power is not enough to accomplish it."

God's word says human effort (the arm of flesh) will fail, is powerless and cannot. But Pride in the arm of flesh (human effort at obedience) that will fail says:

"No, I can. God must be wrong. I still have some good in me. I can keep the law and resist temptation to commit sin by my will-power. Faith without works is dead so I must and I can do works to prove that I have faith. Since I can do it, others must too. They are just lazy and love to sin.”

God's mercy - the skeleton that keeps many self-righteous churchgoers who think they can be "moral" from crumpling into the useless and helpless heap of flesh that man is of himself - is why such churchgoers and even pastors can condemn and threaten people that they have classified as "core sinners" with hell fire, all without considering that these poor sheep are struggling to overcome their sins and are failing because the arm of flesh will fail.

To think that all sinners enjoy their sins and don't want to give them up is akin to thinking that Peter enjoyed denying Jesus and could not wait for another opportunity to deny Jesus. Or that Judas felt no prick in his conscience and couldn't wait to spend the 30 pieces of silver on goodies. What do we think is the major cause of depression and suicide even among unbelievers? It is guilt for sins, fear, anxiety, hopelessness and sorrow in the heart for sins aka not measuring up to particular standards - no different from what happened to Judas who was full of remorse for his sin.

What the lost sheep need is not more Law that kills to keep them in check regarding the issue of sins but super(hyper)-abounding Grace: Jesus Christ the Good Shepherd who saves from sins, cleanses us, transforms us and makes us able to produce good works (Titus 2:14.) This is God's way of saving us from immorality and punishment. And even the filthiest of sinners who believes never remains the same. See Romans 5:16-17-

"And the result of God’s gracious gift is very different from the result of that one man’s sin. For Adam’s sin led to condemnation, but God’s free gift leads to our being made right with God, even though we are guilty of many sins. 17 For the sin of this one man, Adam, caused death to rule over many. But even greater is God’s wonderful grace and His gift of righteousness, for all who receive it will live in triumph over sin and death through this one Man, Jesus Christ."

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