From this parable, it seems that Jesus is saying that helping others is the same as helping Him.
That's true.
However, if you don't help others you will be punished eternally. This appears to say that failing to perform certain actions will result in loss of salvation or not having it in the first place.
I can't imagine that denying the poor and hungry you pass on the street is going to earn you many blessings. But also keep in mind, Jesus said, "take this and eat, this is my body". So there we are back at faith again. And denying a person's faith is probably egads more detrimental than denying them a sandwich.
I certainly agree that it is impossible to keep the law, especially in your own heart.
Personally, I have the opposite problem. My heart is pretty well with it all.
1. Were violations of the law consider to be sins?
yes
2. Since the law stands for all time, is violation of the law considered sin now.
yes
Do we have to ask Christ for forgiveness if we eat unclean animals or collect firewood on the Sabbath?
I do, for certain things I might do on the sabbath. we actually do keep the seventh day sabbath here.. But we don't eat any unclean animals. Basically, they are simply unhealthy to eat.
I know it seems silly because I never see Christians worry about asking forgiveness when ordering a ham sandwich.
Well, to their detriment considering the nitrates and other reasons a person should not eat pork to begin with. Anyone who likes to eat animals that enjoy rolling around in and even eating their own feces should have their head examined in my opinion.
But, eating ham, though it may cause your physical health to suffer, will not cause your salvation to suffer, as far as I know anyway. I guess though that if you eat a lot of ham and get sick and then ask God to heal you you might have a bit of a problem there. So don't get angry at him if you love ham and don't get healed. Your love for ham, which outweighs your love for God's command not to eat it, will take precedence.
Pork literally makes me ill so not eating it isn't much of a problem for me. I used to love oysters though. I think they gave me worms to be perfectly honest and I am now trying very hard to get rid of them completely. They porbably also contributed quite a bit to my toxic burden. I have stopped eating them. Pork is another item that can carry lots of various parasites. It's interesting to note, i grew up eating pork now and then, my mom cooked it... when i stopped eating it as an adult my health improved a lot. After several years of not eating it, just a taste of a slice of ham at a restaurant would make me almost puke. The stuff is utterly obnoxious if you are not conditioned to the taste. I can handle a small slice of bacon now and then. My daughter, who did not grow up eating ham on a regular basis, refuses to touch it, she hates it, she can handle a small slice of bacon now and then too. Show her a hotdog and she will run away in fright.
