Here is the problem: even though the content of our "set of moral principles" might be the same if we look to the 10 commandments or if we listen to the "voice" of the indwelling Spirit, it would, I believe, be a monumental blunder to consult the Law when we have been clearly told that the Spirit has been given to us to essentially "replace" the Law:
But now we have been released from the Law, having died to that by which we were bound, so that we serve in newness of the Spirit and not in oldness of the letter.
Surely it is a problem if we take it upon ourselves to ignore what Paul is saying here.
I have argued earlier that Paul believes the Law is actually an amplifier for sin - it actually makes the Jew more sinful, not less. And not because it merely reveals sin - if we take Paul seriously, we have to acknowledge that he believes the Law actually energizes the sinful impulses living within us. To wit:
Romans 7:
But sin, taking an opportunity through the commandment, produced in me coveting of every kind;
1 Corinthians 15
The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the Law; 57 but thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ
I realize this is an astonishing claim, but if we take Paul seriously, and stop distorting his wording, I think we are driven to this stark conclusion: God has used the Law, including the 10, to concentrate sin in the nation o of Israel so that sin can finally be focused down on a single individual - Jesus - and condemned on the cross.
If so, the Law has played its part - and a dark one at that - and can be set aside.
Paul is inconsistent. That is why it is a mistake to take his writings out of the audience context. The Gospels also, written by Jews of a Jew preaching to Jews in Jewish environment.
In Acts, Paul seems to have told the Jews to continue keeping the Law. He required Timothy be circumcised (16:3) and he had made a vow while in Corinth (18:18). When he is before the Sanhedrin, Paul claims he has continued to keep the law (23:1).
And yet to Galatians concerning Gentiles he writes:
Galatians 3:2-26 TPT
So answer me this: Did the Holy Spirit come to you as a reward for keeping Jewish laws? No, you received him as a gift because you believed in the Messiah. Your new life began when the Holy Spirit gave you a new birth. Why then would you so foolishly turn from living in the Spirit by trying to finish by your own works? Have you endured so many trials and persecutions for nothing? Let me ask you again:
What does the lavish supply of the Holy Spirit in your life and the miracles of God’s tremendous power have to do with you keeping religious laws?
Galatians 5
18 But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law.
22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. 24 Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.
25 Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit. 26 Let us not become conceited, provoking and envying each other.
And
Romans 8
8 Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, 2
because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit who gives life has set you free from the law of sin and death. 3 For what the law was powerless to do because it was weakened by the flesh, God did by sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh to be a sin offering. And so he condemned sin in the flesh, 4 in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fully met in us, who do not live according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.
No wonder there has been debate since the resurrection.
I value your posts here, Expos4ever. Always clear.
BTW, message me about the Expos and what you think of the Blue Jays.