An Interesting Verse in Image.

Regarding one who searches more of His Law to Obey (Psalm 1:2).

In New Testament Context,  the Jew-Gentile or Male-female distinction applies as long as we are on earth & after becoming sons of God in the afterlife or post- the First Resurrection,   this distinction vanishes as Galatians Reveals.

Only a New Testament  Verse can cancel or Endorse an Old Testament Verse.

Examples:

(i)  Jew-Gentile Distinctions Exist on Earth (Acts 21:24 – 25, Acts 15)

(ii)  Male-Female Distinctions Exist on Earth (1 Corinthians 11, 1 Timothy 2:12)

(iii) When will these Earthly Distinctions Vanish?

Both  Jew-Gentile and Male-Female Distinctions Cease to Exist after we become “sons of God” (Galatians 3:26 – 29), Prophetically Spoken) as this is only “after the First Resurrection” (Luke 20:35 – 36).

Yes, Galatians 3:28 is Spoken Referring to the future “Promise Time” (Millennial Reign onward) as Galatians 3:29 (the next verse) points to this “Unreceived Promise of Abraham” toward any believer of faith (please read Hebrews 11:39 carefully).

Mixing up Verses with wrong Timelines creates confusion only.

Please note that ‘for each claim made’, there are ‘New Testament Verses’. Next,  it is easy to prove the above Claims from ‘First Christianity’ say via Justin Martyr or Irenaeous’ Writings or others further sealing the above Claims to be True which I have done in my Previous Posts for Edification.

Simple,  isn’t it?

(iv)  An Earthly Cancellation

Example: Sabbath-Observances  are not required for Gentiles believers (Colossians 2:16).

Another example: Gentile believers can choose whether to eat pork or not (some things are allowed ‘both ways,  or either way’,  Romans 14:3).

Conclusion

Our Obedience  vs Disobedience by free choice does not determine Salvation which is a Free Gift of God by His Mercy (Titus 3:5) but it determines our ‘Reward-Level’ in His Glorious Kingdom (Verse below):

“Whosoever therefore shall break one of these least commandments, and shall teach men so, he shall be called the least in the kingdom of heaven*: but whosoever shall do and teach them, the same shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven.” – Lord Jesus Christ (Matthew 5:19, KJV)

*Heavens (Plural in Original Koine Greek)

Please note that there is a ‘Kingdom of Heaven within you’ (Internal, Luke 17:21) and a ‘Kingdom of Heaven which is outside of you’ (External, Matthew 7:21).

Please note carefully that during Judgment pertaining to the First Resurrection upon His Glorious Return on His White Horse, “many” will be Denied Entrance into “His Kingdom of the Heavens” (Matthew 7:21, External) on account of “Lawlessness” (Matthew 7:23, Context of Consecutive Verse).

Therefore,  let us be diligent in Obeying His Commands according to New Testament Verses and Context Correctly as ‘Lack of Biblical Knowledge can lead to Destruction’ (Verse below,  Quoted In Principle):

“My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge. Because you have rejected knowledge, I also will reject you from being My priest. Since you have forgotten the law of your God, I also will forget your children.” (Hosea 4:6, NASB)

Please take note that when we hate a Verse, we hate its Author. For every disobedient person you quote, please note that someone has obeyed that Verse in First Christianity. Choose whom you may want to follow.

Here’s a Discussion (from Pages 56 – 58 of the Lost Orthodoxy Book) relating to Depth regarding these:

Is there a Difference of Inheritance in the Heavens?

Yes, even for the righteous there is a distinction of inheritance.

Before that, please consider a famous fallacy arising from NOT understanding the definition of ‘heaven’ in the following quote (often used to prove ‘soul sleep’):

“For if you have fallen in with some who are called Christians, but who do not admit this [truth], and venture to blaspheme the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob; who say there is no resurrection of the dead, and that their souls, when they die, are taken to heaven; do not imagine that they are Christians.” – Justin Martyr (Dialogue with Trypho, 80:9)

What did Justin mean when he says “… who say …their souls, when they die, are taken to heaven; do not imagine that they are Christians?

Doesn’t that plainly contradict Luke 16:19 – 31?

Not really. What Justin Martyr means as heaven is far more complex than ‘what we assume’ to be. Firstly, Luke 16:19 – 31 mentions of “Paradise” into which the “souls of the righteous go” and NOT heaven. Yes, “heaven” and “Paradise” are different as the Writings of Iraneous & even Papias reveal below (and Justin must be speaking from this ‘same knowledge too’):

Yes, this definition of ‘heaven(s)’ may be more complex than usually assumed, to quote:

‘A fragment from the early 2nd century of one of the lost volumes of Papias, a Christian bishop, expounds that “heaven” was separated into three distinct layers. He referred to the first as just “heaven”, the second as “paradise”, and the third as “the city”. Papias taught that “there is this distinction between the habitation of those who produce a hundredfold, and that of those who produce sixty-fold, and that of those who produce thirty-fold’ (Papias, Fagments 5:1)

Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heaven_in_Christianity

This explanation is further proven True as Lord Jesus Christ went to “Paradise” on the “same” Day He Died with His SOUL (Disproving the Soul Sleep Theory that His Soul Slept in the Grave for Three Days, Luke 23:43)  but after He Resurrected Gloriously, i.e. Three Days later, He Ascended to the Father in a RESURRECTED BODY into the “Heavens” eventually (John 20:17, Mark 16:19, Acts 1:2 – 3, Acts 1:9 – 11, Ephesians 4:9 – 10).

This means that when we die, as Christians, with ‘our soul we will enter Paradise’ immediately (as per Luke 16:19 – 31) and await the ‘redemption of the body’ (Romans 8:23) to enter ‘heaven’ later when He Returns during the First Resurrection (Revelation 20:4 – 6). Yes, a soul with spirit can live in the afterlife abodes or regions such as ‘Abraham’s Bosom’ or Paradise (Luke 16:19 – 31, Revelation 6:10) or be gathered in the New Jerusalem City for the Wedding (Galatians 4:26, Revelation 21:2, Revelation 19:7 – 9)  but to ‘live on earth again or to enter higher into the heavens’, we need to partake of the Resurrection First (Revelation 20:4 – 6, Hebrews 11:39 – 40, Hebrews 12:21 – 24).

Example:

“we are of good courage, I say, and prefer rather to be absent from the body and to be at home with the Lord.” – apostle Paul (2 Corinthians 5:8, NASB)

So, the phrases in Verse above may mean as follows:

‘absent from the body’ = Bodily Death = Soul with Spirit separates from the Body where the latter sleeps in the dust of the earth.

‘to be at home with the Lord’ = Soul with Spirit enters the abodes of the righteous

The ‘Unconscious’ Part of being ‘dead’ refers to the ‘body primarily’ and in the context of NOT knowing anything that is ‘done under the sun’ (earthly context – not speaking of afterlife unconsciousness in Ecclesiastes itself). Example of a good post explaining this, please consider:

https://carm.org/soul-sleep

Please note that the Twenty Four Elders may be in the Heavens (in the Throne Room of God Itself, Revelation 4:4, Revelation 4:10, Revelation 11:16, Revelation 19:4) because these may be the WORTHY SAINTS of the past who may already obtained their RESURRECTION in the BODY just ‘after’ Lord Jesus Christ (Matthew 27:52 – 53) who may be the ones that ‘sit on the thrones’ during the First Resurrection for Christians itself (Revelation 20:4 – 6).

Please note ‘carefully’ that we explained earlier  how St. Iraneous when speaking of the wicked must have meant the following (where most of our popular theological misunderstanding is due to viewing body, soul & spirit with no distinction or mixing these up causing contradictions in such exegesis).

Peace to you

Why is Obedience Important?

Obedience is the Action Part of Love (John 14:15 and John 15:14 – No Typo’s here, these are two relevant Verses)