Whole Bible Christianity

Bruce S. Bertram, the guy with no influence or reputation from The Word of God Ministries and http://www.wholebible.com, talks some more about helps that God has given us in His Word for how to get the most out of His Word. We could talk about hermeneutics or interpretation. We could talk about translations. Or we could talk about practical guidelines for applying His Word given to us by the person who wrote the Book. God didn't leave us in the dark about how to figure out which parts of His Book apply to us and how they apply. We've picked twelve principles or guidelines from Him that help us apply His Word in daily living. This video is about the third guideline. One of the things we have to do is hold it still. Leave it like God gave it. The Bible warns us in a number of places not to add to His words, and not to take away from them. This is not as easy as it sounds. How many times have you heard of a law that you can't find in the Word? And how many times are you tempted to subtract something? How many times are you tempted to "give a command" that isn't in the Word? Like "stop drinking alcohol" or "cigarettes are unlawful?" There are lots of good rules to live by that don't show up in the Word, but that doesn't mean the same as stuffing words in God's mouth. For more information our books Whole Bible Christianity: Blessings Pressed Down and Overflowing, Nicolaitan: Lords of Hypocrisy and Whole Bible Prophecy: Horror and Hope are available on Amazon.

Bruce S. Bertram, the guy with no initials from The Word of God Ministries and http://www.wholebible.com scores again talking about the application of the Word to daily living. God gives us easy guidelines in His Word, and Bruce starts on numbers one and two of 12 in this video. Simply put, a whole Bible walk with God starts with reading and doing. Seems like it should be more complicated, but all we really need to do is read and heed. For more information our books Whole Bible Christianity: Blessings Pressed Down and Overflowing, Nicolaitan: Lords of Hypocrisy and Whole Bible Prophecy: Horror and Hope are available on Amazon.

Bruce S. Bertram, the guy from The Word of God Ministries and http://www.wholebible.com who doesn't have any initials after his name validating his message in the eyes of the world, wraps up the discussion of blessings from following the Law with three final thoughts. Following the Law helps prayer because God hears a righteous person. Some might argue that since Christ is the believer's righteousness (and He is) that we don't have to have any of our own. This is no the biblical case at all. God has taken away the obstacles to a relationship with Him in Christ, so that means we should be showing and copying that righteousness in our lives. We put on Christ as we practice each command. As we've discussed before, there are many concepts wrapped up in accepting and practicing His Law, not the least of which is humility. Just as He put on a human body and was tempted in all ways as we are, we put on His body through living out all of His Words. Accepting the Law as a lifestyle and discipleship method restores the integrity of the Word, and puts it back into a central place in daily living. Instead of picking nits, sitting in judgment on the living oracles, we embrace them and thereby validate His character and love. When we accept all of what God is and says, the blessings never stop flowing. For more information our books Whole Bible Christianity: Blessings Pressed Down and Overflowing, Nicolaitan: Lords of Hypocrisy and Whole Bible Prophecy: Horror and Hope are available on Amazon.

That nobody Bruce S. Bertram from The Word of God Ministries and http://www.wholebible.com is back again with more blessings from following the whole of His Word. This time we are buried under by the Love in the Law, Worship in the Law, and Sharpened Hearing from the Law. Jesus says that we love Him when we abide in His commands, and that His Words or commands are the same as the Father's. Of course. When we obey, we abide. When we abide we love. When we love the Father we give Him back just a little of the love He has given us. Worship is not, at its heart, about music or droning prayers or rolling around on the floor. Worship first and foremost is doing what He says. Anything short is just circus histrionics or lip service. When we abide in His Law we get to worship Him minute by minute in everything we do and say. Abiding in His marvelous discipleship system helps us practice and refine our hearing so that we hear His voice in other places (outside of the Word) accurately. His voice will resonate with us wherever we hear it because we've been conditioned by abiding in the written Word. For more information our books Whole Bible Christianity: Blessings Pressed Down and Overflowing, Nicolaitan: Lords of Hypocrisy and Whole Bible Prophecy: Horror and Hope are available on Amazon.

Bruce S. Bertram the nobody from The Word of God Ministries and http://www.wholebible.com furthers the glory of the Word of God by discussing even more blessings from following the Law. Of course, if you've been regularly viewing our videos or reading the draft of our book Whole Bible Christianity (on our website) then you know the Law is everything God speaks. Living the new covenant (the Law written on a heart of flesh by the Spirit in love) conveys all sorts of blessings pressed down, overflowing, and without measure. Jesus is in there, for one thing. Every tiny command that we discover and put into our daily living sheds abroad the love of God and shows His glory. His Word has Him in it. When we look into the perfect Law of liberty we see ourselves clearly, and the Spirit helps us conform our minds and bodies to the will of God. This is not always a comfortable process. It is needed, however, for love to flow and transform us from glory to glory. The law is the key to understanding God and His Word. The whole process involved starts with recognition of His kingship and requires submission. Submitting brings more understanding, and more blessing. We find out that resisting God is what causes all the suffering in the world, but accepting the whole of His living oracles is life and peace and health to our being. For more information our books Whole Bible Christianity: Blessings Pressed Down and Overflowing, Nicolaitan: Lords of Hypocrisy and Whole Bible Prophecy: Horror and Hope are available on Amazon.

Bruce S. Bertram, a nobody from The Word of God Ministries and http://www.wholebible.com, continues his discourse on the many blessings of the Law with it's Still a Tutor, and The Fruit of the Spirit. Just because we might be mature (and there is some question about that with many believers!) that does not mean the principles taught by the tutor go away. Nor does it mean that other people don't need a tutor. As we live His Law, the Spirit tutors us and through our example tutors other people as well. Many believe that the fruit of the Spirit and the Law are incompatible. But that is not the Bible's teaching. In truth, fruit and Spirit and Law are inseparable. When we receive Christ, we receive the Words of God. If we reject any part of His Words, do we really have the Christ? For more information our books Whole Bible Christianity: Blessings Pressed Down and Overflowing, Nicolaitan: Lords of Hypocrisy and Whole Bible Prophecy: Horror and Hope are available on Amazon.

Bruce S. Bertram from The Word of God Ministries and http://www.wholebible.com serves up another healthy helping of wonderful blessings coming from a whole Bible believer's observance of the Law - it Teaches Children, helps us Esteem God, and encourages us to Draw Near and Touch Him. God's traditions in the Law, in particular the feasts or holidays, helps us teach our children. It gives us and them some concrete things to hold onto, things simple enough that even a child can understand and participate. Once we get a handle on His living oracles in our own lives, we can easily demonstrate God's love and provision to our children. The helps knit us all together into one big happy family. Self-esteem is preached by the world; God esteem is preached by His Law. Practicing all of His Word allows us to show God how much we esteem Him, love Him, and want to implement every tiny little letter of His Law in every area of our lives. As we obey each command we touch our Lord and Master and Friend and He touches us. From this flows worship, thanksgiving, praise and testimony to His provision and blessed love. It is no big deal to incorporate all of God's requirements for holy living, because He doesn't ask very much of us. As our Father, of course, He's not going to leave us hanging after making us new creations. He shepherds us with tender loving care, making boundaries and warning us away from dangerous situations. Sit back and enjoy more of the radiance of His glory blessing us through our whole Bible living. For more information our books Whole Bible Christianity: Blessings Pressed Down and Overflowing, Nicolaitan: Lords of Hypocrisy and Whole Bible Prophecy: Horror and Hope are available on Amazon.

Bruce S. Bertram from The Word of God Ministries and http://www.wholebible.com continues describing the wonderful blessings granted by the grace in God's Law with a look at the blessings of Justice, Protection, and moving us. God's justice is mixed together with all the other benefits of a relationship with Him. His Law measures justice, and requires us to be just in our dealings with others. We cannot have grace without justice. God's Law protects believers not only in administering justice (ultimately) but also protects us from the opinions and philosophies of men. We can follow His Word with complete peace, knowing that tradition or plausible sounding arguments cannot move us away from the life in His living oracles. Following His wonderful laws moves us toward the Christ, because Christ is the goal of the law. We have some simple, concrete steps we can take to complement the renewing of our minds by the reading of His Word with a heart of flesh written with the Law by the Spirit. Believers can easily follow the laws, and work back and forth between the simple things like avoiding pork and shellfish to more intangible fruit of the Spirit. Keep going with us as we continue to examine all of the 24 blessings, and more, available to believers abiding in His loving Words. For more information our books Whole Bible Christianity: Blessings Pressed Down and Overflowing, Nicolaitan: Lords of Hypocrisy and Whole Bible Prophecy: Horror and Hope are available on Amazon.

Bruce S. Bertram from The Word of God Ministries and http://www.wholebible.com reveals yet more blessings from following the whole of God's Word, including the Law. Here we look at life abundant, that observance of the law marks His children as His, and that the Law is the best discipleship system ever devised. The Words of God are life. The more of His Words we take in and obey or abide in, the more life we have. Adam and Eve turned their backs on life by doing their own thing. Many people since have done the exact same thing. The Law (every Word God speaks) is life and health to our body and soul. There are many ways to mark something, and not just with ink or paint. Our behavior marks us more surely than any graphic. The mark of the Beast is simply an outward symbol of an inward condition, a sort of notary stamp on what has already been shown by selling out to the deceiver. Following God's Laws marks believers in a way that no pigment or dye could change. The best discipleship system ever devised comes straight from our Father and needs no improvement. It helps condition and train us to win the race; following His regimen guarantees success. For more information our books Whole Bible Christianity: Blessings Pressed Down and Overflowing, Nicolaitan: Lords of Hypocrisy and Whole Bible Prophecy: Horror and Hope are available on Amazon.

Bruce S. Bertram of The Word of God Ministries and http://www.wholebible.com delightedly presents the first of 24 blessings pressed down and overflowing from following the whole of God's Word, including the Law in all its glory. A school of thought handed down from the Greek philosophers has most western Christians afraid of the Law because it is too material. They prefer to "feel led" to do things rather than simply obeying the plain meaning of God's Word. Bruce agrees with Paul's teaching that we present our bodies as living sacrifices, and points out that believers do not need to wait to feel led because God is leading with His Word out of the blocks at the starting gun. Some of this "material or physical is bad" thinking snuck into the Church from '60's Jesus people following the false Christ of Godspell and Jesus Christ Superstar. But instead of being conformed to God's ways they simply Christianized pagan philosophy such as transcendental meditation. Instead of "ohm," now they just sing songs over and over and over and over. To maximize the fruit of the Spirit, we have to pursue changes with a whole effort. Inside and out. Heart, soul, mind and strength. God's Law is the perfect method of tying it all together. For more information our books Whole Bible Christianity: Blessings Pressed Down and Overflowing, Nicolaitan: Lords of Hypocrisy and Whole Bible Prophecy: Horror and Hope are available on Amazon.

If you don't like honest talk about the increase of suicide and some of the causes then you might want to skip this video. Contains some personal testimony and experience with the connections between divorce, homosexuality, and the silence surrounding them. Includes stories of a friend and a relative who both took their own lives. I don't think it is a coincidence that the rise in depression and suicides is in proportion to the rejection of God in society and God's Law in the church. But Christians are not allowed to say that divorce or homosexuality increase the chances of suicide (or are generally destructive period), or warn people who participate in such behavior of what is likely to happen to them. Our silence allows people to fall into tar pits of sin and we don't even mark the trail as hazardous. To be politically correct is to be practically useless. One survey says divorced people are three times more likely to die from suicide as married people (National Institute for Healthcare Research). Children of divorce are more at risk for depression and other behavior problems (such as homosexuality) because they often blame themselves for the breakup or they just don't have the stability that two parents (of opposite gender) bring. Homosexual men are six times more likely to attempt suicide than straight men (highest of any group). These facts people will dismiss as coincidence. We can't talk about it. We don't like the fact that there are connections between selfishness, divorce, homosexuality, depression and suicide. We don't want to be reminded that our choices have consequences, which is at the heart of our silence, and silencing others. We're not allowed to explore the potential causes in order to stop the self-slaughter. Many would rather the depressed person just off themselves and be permanently quiet. They are making too much noise. However, I for one am taking the duct tape off and speaking out. P.S. When I titled this video/article, I did not know there was a rock band in California somewhere that used this name. For more information our books Whole Bible Christianity: Blessings Pressed Down and Overflowing, Nicolaitan: Lords of Hypocrisy and Whole Bible Prophecy: Horror and Hope are available on Amazon.

Bruce S. Bertram from The Word of God Ministries and http://www.wholebible.com addresses the last two objections to whole Bible Christianity from the book of the same title. But certainly not the last two objections made to God's Law as a lifestyle and discipleship method in a believer's life. We're sure we'll hear a lot more. All the objections have one thing is common: hearts as hard as stone. Lifting Jesus up is generally misunderstood. Mostly what people mean by this statement is to glorify Him. That's not really the biblical definition however. To lift Him up is to crucify Him. To lift Him up in the sense of "glorify" it is better to simply do what He says. The fact that the Law is not restated (a third time) in the New Testament first of all would have no bearing on the legitimacy of following it. It's already been laid out fully twice. Second the Law is actually restated quite a few times, even in the New Testament. We could go on and on with people's objections to God's Word, but enough has been presented in these past videos that we can see the many ways people question what God says, and how to get the simple answers. The Great Commission of Matthew 28:19-20 was to make disciples and teach them all of His commands. We aren't to pick and choose which commands to teach by dividing them into false categories and sitting in judgment picking which ones are "moral." After Paul was introduced to His Messiah he helped show us the way while remaining a Jew and practicing the Law he was teaching. Of course we can do the Law, or a gracious and loving God would not have given it. The curse in the Law is death for ignoring it. It is not the Law itself. What was nailed to the cross were our violations of the Law; He died in our place bearing the sins of the world (John 1:29; 1 John 2:2). Trying to find merit in legalism then is a poor substitute for His Word, because works of law were not intended for salvation. We don't wait for God to punish, because we are too busy loving Him through obedience. In this we do not ask for pay. As humble servants we ask only that we can continue to serve Him. Judaizing is living like a Jew meaning traditions outside of God's Law. There's nothing Jewish about the Law; it is for all His people. Traditions of all sorts, not just Jewish, have blocked access to the easy yoke of His living oracles. We groan under the weight of man-made legal rulings that do more to rob us of life than aide us in finding it. The crucifixion made big changes, helping creation in many ways, but one thing it did not change was the unchangeable Law. Even shadows from it have more substance than all the concrete opinions of man. They help us discern what is good and not good, clean and unclean, holy and not holy. We walk in the freedom of Christ way past the salvation moment, lifting Him up and glorifying Him by abiding in steady obedience. We preach the "good news" of "God with us" with repentance and returning to His Word as His Kingdom gospel. He doesn't need to restate His Law for true believers to recognize that He wants us to live by it. The changeless God did not change His Word either arbitrarily or due to the crucifixion; He changed our hearts. For more information our books Whole Bible Christianity: Blessings Pressed Down and Overflowing, Nicolaitan: Lords of Hypocrisy and Whole Bible Prophecy: Horror and Hope are available on Amazon.

Bruce S. Bertram from The Word of God Ministries and http://www.wholebible.com scores another hit with his exposé of the baseless objections to the Law of "Freedom in Christ," "Salvation is Enough," and "Don't Hear Jesus." Freedom in Christ is a part Bible objection using freedom as a mask for disobedience. Salvation is only enough for those people who are stuck in the salvation moment and refuse to move forward as God directs. And many people don't hear Jesus in our teaching because, well, they don't hear. Only a believer can hear the Words of God as they should be heard. For more information our books Whole Bible Christianity: Blessings Pressed Down and Overflowing, Nicolaitan: Lords of Hypocrisy and Whole Bible Prophecy: Horror and Hope are available on Amazon.

Bruce S. Bertram from The Word of God Ministries and http://www.wholebible.com wants to know, "How many times have you heard that '"it's all good'" when asking about the issue of food in the Bible? A whole bunch, I'll bet. Trouble is, while it might sound good, and some of the Scriptures used at first look like they support the argument, not all the things we stick in our mouths are biblically okay to eat. Genesis 9:3, Acts 10 (Peter's vision) and 1 Timothy 4:1-5 are used all the time to give people permission to eat anything. But there are gaping holes in their reasoning. Watch and see how Bruce biblically removes the "it's all good" philosophy of men as a legitimate objection to whole Bible Christianity. For more information our books Whole Bible Christianity: Blessings Pressed Down and Overflowing, Nicolaitan: Lords of Hypocrisy and Whole Bible Prophecy: Horror and Hope are available on Amazon.

Bruce S. Bertram, a nobody from The Word of God Ministries and http://www.wholebible.com examines the next three objections to whole Bible Christianity, "It's Judaizing," "The Crucifixion Changed Everything," and "It's Shadows." As always, these part Bible objections are based on at the very least misunderstanding the text and perhaps even deliberately mistranslating. Judaizing is an English word we use to describe living like a Jew. A similar form is used by Paul in criticism of Peter's hypocrisy with the Galatians, but it is applied to Jewish traditions, not the Law itself. The crucifixion did indeed change everything. Everything, that is, except the unchangeable Word of God. Jesus paid the penalties for sin, He did not eliminate the Law with His death. Nowhere does the Bible teach that the crucifixion eliminated the Law. Shadows may be insubstantial, but that doesn't make them any less real. If you have the shadow, you have the reality too. And being faithful in little things is supposed to be an indicator of faithfulness in big things too. So just because the Law might be a shadow does not invalidate the Law either. For more information our books Whole Bible Christianity: Blessings Pressed Down and Overflowing, Nicolaitan: Lords of Hypocrisy and Whole Bible Prophecy: Horror and Hope are available on Amazon.

Bruce S. Bertram of The Word of God Ministries and http://www.wholebible.com explores another couple of objections to whole Bible Christianity. "We don't get punished" is heard quite a bit from people who wear His name but refuse His commands. It seems that in their minds if they are not getting hit with a stick then they must be doing okay. The other side of this coin is "we don't get paid enough." The people who use this argument (usually the same ones who are making all the other objections to following the whole of His living oracles) can't see any benefit to obedience. They are unwilling to obey His commands because, apparently, to them it is all about pay. Whole Bible Christianity is much different in that we see the love in the Law because His love is in our hearts. We do what He says because we want to, not because we have to or because we are paid. Paid or not, whole Bible Christians follow every command, law, statute, suggestion or whim. For more information our books Whole Bible Christianity: Blessings Pressed Down and Overflowing, Nicolaitan: Lords of Hypocrisy and Whole Bible Prophecy: Horror and Hope are available on Amazon.

Bruce S. Bertram from The Word of God Ministries and http://www.wholebible.com tackles the next couple objections to whole Bible Christianity, "Works of the Law Are Bad" and "We Are Not Under The Law." As with all other objections, these part Bible statements are more men's philosophy than biblical truth. Objections like these come from hearts of stone that almost completely misunderstand or deliberately misrepresent God's message to man. First off, "works of the law" is a mistranslation, which is admitted by many Bible translators. The actual term should be "works of law." "Works of the law" tries to limit works to the Law given by God and preached by Moses. But "works of law" is more general and accurate. This term simply describes any effort to earn salvation by following some rules. Second, of course we are not under the law. The Law has always been "under grace." His Law is supposed to be in our hearts by grace through faith, written on a new heart of flesh by the Holy Spirit. We never have been "under the law." We have always been under grace. For more information our books Whole Bible Christianity: Blessings Pressed Down and Overflowing, Nicolaitan: Lords of Hypocrisy and Whole Bible Prophecy: Horror and Hope are available on Amazon.

Bruce S. Bertram from The Word of God Ministries and http://www.wholebible.com continues the review of 20 objections to whole Bible Christianity from chapter seven of his book Whole Bible Christianity. In this video he looks at the two objections of "The Law was Nailed to the Cross," and "It's Legalism." As with all the objections, these two are also using only part of the Bible through a heart of stone. What was nailed to the cross was our transgressions, not the Law. We broke the Law, and death was the penalty. Jesus paid that penalty so we don't have to worry about whether we break the Law or not: we just follow it with every part of a heart of flesh. Legalism is not following the Law, it is a misuse of the Law to earn salvation merit. God's Law is holy, just, righteous, and good. There is nothing to fear from His Law. Just blessings to be gained by abiding in it. For more information our books Whole Bible Christianity: Blessings Pressed Down and Overflowing, Nicolaitan: Lords of Hypocrisy and Whole Bible Prophecy: Horror and Hope are available on Amazon.

Bruce S. Bertram from The Word of God Ministries and http://www.wholebible.com continues the discussion of objections to whole Bible Christianity with "Paul says it's okay (to ignore the Law)," "We can't do the Law," and "The Law is a curse." As usual, none of these objections are found in the Word, and all 20 that we cover in this series are pushed by hearts of stone. Paul wasn't a Christian. He accepted Jesus as the Messiah, but that is much different than "becoming a Christian" as we know them today. He was a model of a Law-following Jew. If you don't believe us, try reading the Bible. "We can't" is a familiar refrain from many so-called Christians. It is exactly opposite, though, of God's message. He says "you can" over and over. The problem isn't "can" or "can't" however. It is the heart, and a general unwillingness to do what God says. "The Law is a curse" is one of the worst sorts of teachings that has ever been based on part-Bible principles. No where does the Bible say the Law is a curse. The curse was given in the Garden, when the first parents followed their own understanding and died. Death is the curse, not the Law. The Law is life, light, and truth. So tune in and see how these and the other 20 objections to whole Bible Christianity disappear in the pure light of the source. Whoops. The link to the Mark Driscoll video footnoted in this video was at http://theresurgence.com/mark_driscol... but as of June 2015 it seems to be gone, along with the entire website. Probably because he quit his job as the senior pastor at Mars Hill church due to plagiarism and other not-good charges. Oh well, another false mega-teacher bites the dust!

Bruce S. Bertram from The Word of God Ministries and http://www.wholebible.com tackles objections to whole Bible Christianity. The first two objections are that when Jesus told His disciples to go and teach "all He commanded" it didn't include the Law. Second is that we are only supposed to follow the "moral" commands. The first objection is answered by pointing out that Jesus gave the Law in the first place. The second is discarded because the Bible never divides His Word into civil, ceremonial, or moral; the biblical command is not to sit in judgment on His Word, and all of God's Word is "moral." For more information our books Whole Bible Christianity: Blessings Pressed Down and Overflowing, Nicolaitan: Lords of Hypocrisy and Whole Bible Prophecy: Horror and Hope are available on Amazon.

Our books Whole Bible Christianity, Nicolaitan: Lords of Hypocrisy and Whole Bible Prophecy: Horror and Hope are now available on Amazon. Bruce S. Bertram of The Word of God Ministries and http://www.wholebible.com explains another part of whole Bible Christianity with a look at the order Melchizedek. Some Christians have proclaimed the end of a "nonhierarchical, nonritualistic, nonliturgical organism" which has been replaced by the church. But in two previous videos we looked at the biblical facts that the Temple was not destroyed, and animal sacrifices uses other than salvation. The Bible tells believers that we are to be priests, but what kind? Obviously not Levitical. The answer is that we are priests like our Master, after the order of Melchizedek.

Bruce S. Bertram of The Word of God Ministries and http://www.wholebible.com finishes out the series 'A Whole Bible' with a look at the differences between a part Bible view of Paul's letter to the Galatians and a whole Bible view. Frequently Paul's teachings are presented as if they stand alone apart from the rest of the Bible. It is also taught that Paul "became a Christian" when in fact he did no such thing. Accepted Jesus as his long-awaited Messiah maybe, but certainly didn't convert to what we know now as Christianity. The letter to the Galatians was simply to contrast merit (an attempt to earn something by work) and grace (salvation as a free gift). It was not to dismiss God's Law. God's Law is full of grace. It was not to say that works by themselves were bad. God expects us to "work out our salvation with fear and trembling." Paul's teachings fit right in with the whole message God has been preaching since Adam bit the big one. For more information, our books Whole Bible Christianity, Nicolaitan: Lords of Hypocrisy and Whole Bible Prophecy: Horror and Hope are now available on Amazon.

Bruce S. Bertram from The Word of God Ministries and http://www.wholebible.com shares a whole Bible opinion of Paul on opinions. Romans 14 is used quite a bit to try and paint God's Word as nothing more than opinion. But that's not what Paul was talking about. Care to guess what he really meant?

Our books Whole Bible Christianity, Nicolaitan: Lords of Hypocrisy and Whole Bible Prophecy: Horror and Hope are now available on Amazon. Bruce S. Bertram from The Word of God Ministries and http://www.wholebible.com takes some time to go through some of Paul's teachings and see if the current church view is biblical. Generally, it's not. Paul is frequently as a Christian when he wasn't. He said himself he was a model of a law-following Jew, and Christianity as we know it today didn't exist at the time. He knew His Messiah, which is a different matter entirely. He lived and taught the Law on a regular basis, referring to it often as a lifestyle and discipleship method. Paul's teachings in this video are presented in the context of the Bible. Stepmother relations were frowned on because they were against the Law. Passover instructions are direct from the OT and not to be confused with the spurious teaching of communion. Circumcision needs to be rightly understood, because along with removing a piece of flesh we are also to circumcise our hearts and ears.

Bruce S. Bertram of The Word of God Ministries and http://www.wholebible.com challenges you to look again at the Acts 15 Council to see whether they really got rid of the Law or not. Bruce says not. You might agree once you realize that the four laws on which the Council agreed were not only all "ceremonial" but they were also dietary. If they were eliminating the Law for Gentiles, why give out these four? It doesn't make sense according to the Bible. Instead, it is much more obvious that the Law was reinforced. The four laws were merely intended to help with table fellowship while both groups together learned the Law of Moses every Saturday at the synagogue. Bruce presents the evidence for his position in about nine minutes.