Many gentiles in churches know the laws of God revealed in the Old Testament, but even so do not obey them. They feel safe ignoring the commandments because they have accepted the false doctrine of “unmerited favor.” With this false hope, they conclude that obedience is optional, something extra, since, for them, salvation is assured whether they obey or not. The truth, however, is that at the final judgment they will have a bitter surprise, for this idea is not taught by Jesus in the Gospels. We are saved by pleasing the Father and being sent to the Son, and the Father is pleased with the gentile who follows the same laws given to the nation set apart for His honor and glory. | “My mother and my brothers are those who hear the word of God [Old Testament] and do it.” (Luke 8:21)
Jesus never said, not even remotely, that to be saved we need to reject His Father’s Law. However, that is exactly what many leaders teach, directly or indirectly. They repeat this blasphemy that has been taught in seminaries continuously for generations, forming a chain of deception that began with men who appeared years after Christ’s ascension. This lie has led millions of souls away from the obedience that Jesus Himself lived and taught. The apostles and disciples, who learned the truth directly from the Master’s lips, faithfully obeyed all the laws God gave us in the Old Testament. Do not follow the majority, obey while you are alive. | “Here is the perseverance of the saints, those who keep the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus.” (Revelation 14:12)
In the days of Jesus, there was already a single valid plan of salvation for both Jews and gentiles, and that plan remains the same to this day. There has never been a different way for gentiles to obtain forgiveness and salvation. Salvation has always been, and still is, through Israel, the only nation chosen by God and confirmed with the eternal covenant of circumcision. The gentile who wishes to be saved by Christ must follow the same laws that the Father gave to Israel. The Father observes the faith and courage of this gentile, despite the many challenges. He pours out His love on him, unites him to Israel, and leads him to the Son for forgiveness and salvation. This is the plan of salvation that makes sense because it is true. | The gentile who joins himself to the Lord, to serve Him, thus becoming His servant… and who remains firm in My covenant, I will also bring to My holy mountain. (Isaiah 56:6-7)
The serpent does not need much strength to convince people to disobey God. It simply offers something that pleases the human heart, even if it is clearly false. It was so in Eden and has been so in many churches. Millions accept the false doctrine of “unmerited favor” because it offers heaven without obedience to the Father, something Jesus never taught in the four gospels. What Christ did was train His apostles in the way of life that leads to salvation, both for Jews and for gentiles. Like them, we must keep the commandment of the Sabbath, circumcision, forbidden meats, tzitzits, the beard, and all the other statutes of the Lord. Salvation is individual; obey while you are alive. | “The assembly shall have the same laws, which will apply both to you and to the gentile who lives among you; this is a perpetual decree.” (Numbers 15:15)
Most sermons in churches ignore obedience to the powerful Law of God, as if it were a secondary topic. However, faithful obedience is the heart of all Scripture and the foundation of the plan of salvation. Humanity turned away from God through disobedience, and only through sincere and complete obedience can we return to Him. The blood of the Lamb does not purify rebels, but those who strive to fulfill, without exception, all the commandments the Lord revealed in the Old Testament and through Jesus in the Gospels. All the apostles and disciples were faithful to God’s laws, and so must we be. Do not follow the majority, obey while you are alive. | “Here is the perseverance of the saints, those who keep the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus.” (Revelation 14:12)
If we live continually in a spirit of faith, humility, and obedience to everything the Father has commanded, there will be few times when we need to cry out for God’s intervention, because those who live this way naturally remain under the constant protection of the Most High. God daily guards His faithful children, because obedience keeps the soul aligned with His will. When we seek, without exception, to fulfill each of His powerful commandments revealed by the prophets and by Jesus, we avoid many evils before they even arise. Protection does not come from desperation, but from continuous faithfulness. Salvation is individual. Obey while you are still alive. | A thousand may fall at your side, and ten thousand at your right hand, but it will not come near you… The Most High is your dwelling place. (Psalm 91:7,9)
Many Christians accept disobedience because they heard that, in the early centuries, the primitive church stopped keeping commandments such as the Sabbath, the beard, circumcision, and the tzitzits, as if the historical error of flawed men could replace the eternal will of the Creator. What a destructive deception! Jesus obeyed everything, and the apostles and disciples who learned directly from Him obeyed everything. If others later rejected the Law, this only confirms how much the serpent works to lead humanity away from the narrow path. The standard never changed: we follow the Messiah, not the wayward. Salvation is individual. Obey while you are still alive. | “Anyone who goes too far and does not remain in the teachings of Christ does not have God. Whoever remains in the teachings of Christ has both the Father and the Son.” (2 John 9)
Some people do not like the word “religion” and claim that Jesus did not have one, but this is to deny the facts. Jesus was born, lived, and died as a Jew, preaching the true faith of Israel and revealing the Father, the God of Israel. What He did not do was found a new religion for the gentiles, with new doctrines and traditions, nor teach a salvation without obedience to His Father’s laws. He taught that it is the Father who leads us to the Son, but the Father does not lead rebels to the Son. He leads only those who follow the laws He gave to the chosen nation in an eternal covenant. God does not send to the Son those who consciously disobey His laws. This plan of salvation makes sense because it is the true one. | “My mother and my brothers are those who hear the word of God [Old Testament] and do it.” (Luke 8:21)
When we, gentiles, discover the hidden treasure in faithful obedience to God’s Law revealed in the Old Testament, we feel both joy and indignation. Joy for finally seeing the narrow path, and indignation for realizing that so many leaders hid this truth from us. But this is no surprise: as soon as Jesus returned to the Father, the devil began his plan to defame God’s powerful Law among the gentiles, spreading the lie that we do not need to obey what the Most High commanded. Since then, millions have been deceived, separated from the eternal covenant and prevented from being sent to the Lamb. Salvation is individual. Obey while you are still alive. | The gentile who joins himself to the Lord, to serve Him, thus becoming His servant… and who remains firm in My covenant, I will also bring to My holy mountain. (Isaiah 56:6-7)
The Bible is filled with God’s promises for those who obey Him. There is no promise for those who ignore His laws. However, if the doctrine of “unmerited favor” were true, then God’s promises would not be for those who seek to obey Him, but for those who do not deserve it: liars, slanderers, violent people, and all who do not strive to deserve God’s goodness and salvation in Christ. In reality, many gentiles in the church ignore God’s Law based on this false doctrine. What they do not realize is that they are being deceived by the serpent and tested by God, just as happened with Adam and Eve in Eden and with the Jews in the desert. Obey while you are alive. | God led you all the way in the wilderness to humble you and to test you, to know what was in your heart and whether you would obey His commandments or not. (Deuteronomy 8:2)
