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Why Justification is by Faith Alone

RobertPate

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God's law was never given as a means of earning our salvation as a wage even if someone managed to have perfect obedience to it, but that doesn't mean that we don't need to obey it for the purposes for which it was given. In Ephesians 2:10, we are new creations in Christ to do good works, so while we do not earn our salvation as a wage by our works, doing good works is nevertheless intrinsically part of the concept of being saved from not doing good works.

The content of a gift can itself be the experience of doing something, such as giving someone the opportunity to drive a Ferrari for an hour, where them doing the work of driving it does not detract from the fact that the opportunity to drive it was completely given to them as a gift. In a similar manner, the content of God's give of eternal life is the experience of knowing Him and Jesus (John 17:3) and the gift of God's law is His instructions for how to have that experience. In Exodus 33:13, Moses wanted God to be gracious to him by teaching him His way that he might know Him and Israel too, and in Matthew 7:23, Jesus said that he would tell those who are workers of lawlessness to depart from him because he never knew them, so knowing God and Jesus is the goal of the law, which is eternal life (Romans 10:2-4).
You are mixing Old Covenant law and religion with New Covenant Gospel and faith. They don't mix. Under the New Covenant Christians are not led by laws or religion, they are led by the Holy Spirit. Paul gives several warnings to those that are led by laws, rules and religion. Paul refers to the law as a ministration of death, 2 Corinthians 3:7-15. You still have the vail covering your face so that you cannot understand the Gospel and justification by faith.
 
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Guojing

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While Paul denied in Romans 4:4-5 that we can earn our justification as a wage, he also said in Romans 2:13 that only doers of the law will be justified, so there must be a reason that our justification requires us to choose to be doers of the law other than in order to earn it as wage, such as faith insofar as Romans 3:31 says that our faith does not abolish God's law, but rather our faith upholds it. This is the way that it has always been, so diving things before and after Paul like that is wrongly dividing the word of truth.

In Romans 2, Paul was addressing those Jews who believe that being part of Israel alone is enough to be justified.

He is not referring to us in the Body of Christ.
 
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Soyeong

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You are mixing Old Covenant law and religion with New Covenant Gospel and faith. They don't mix. Under the New Covenant Christians are not led by laws or religion, they are led by the Holy Spirit. Paul gives several warnings to those that are led by laws, rules and religion. Paul refers to the law as a ministration of death, 2 Corinthians 3:7-15. You still have the vail covering your face so that you cannot understand the Gospel and justification by faith.

I have only been speaking about how we should live under the New Covenant Gospel and faith. In Jeremiah 31:33, the New Covenant involves God putting the Torah in our minds and writing it on our hearts, so you are rejecting the New Covenant Gospel and faith. Likewise, in Ezekiel 36:26-27, in regard to the New Covenant, the Spirit has the role of leading us to obey God's law, so you also reject the leading of the Spirit.

Paul spoke about multiple different categories of law other than the Law of God, such as works of the law and the law of sin, and while he spoke against works of the law and the law of sin, he was a servant of God, so he never spoke against obeying the Law of God. The bottom line is that we must obey God rather than man, so even if It were true that Paul was an enemy of God who had been speaking against obeying His law, then we should still obey God rather than Paul.

In Deuteronomy 30:15-20, obedience to God's law brings life and a blessing while disobedience brings death and a curse, so choose life! So the fact that it is a ministry of death for those who refuse to submit to it is not a very good reason for you to choose death instead of life. The vail was preventing people from seeing that the goal of everything in Scripture is to testify about how to know Jesus, but it is a vail that works both ways by preventing you from seeing the same thing.
 
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RobertPate

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I have only been speaking about how we should live under the New Covenant Gospel and faith. In Jeremiah 31:33, the New Covenant involves God putting the Torah in our minds and writing it on our hearts, so you are rejecting the New Covenant Gospel and faith. Likewise, in Ezekiel 36:26-27, in regard to the New Covenant, the Spirit has the role of leading us to obey God's law, so you also reject the leading of the Spirit.

Paul spoke about multiple different categories of law other than the Law of God, such as works of the law and the law of sin, and while he spoke against works of the law and the law of sin, he was a servant of God, so he never spoke against obeying the Law of God. The bottom line is that we must obey God rather than man, so even if It were true that Paul was an enemy of God who had been speaking against obeying His law, then we should still obey God rather than Paul.

In Deuteronomy 30:15-20, obedience to God's law brings life and a blessing while disobedience brings death and a curse, so choose life! So the fact that it is a ministry of death for those who refuse to submit to it is not a very good reason for you to choose death instead of life. The vail was preventing people from seeing that the goal of everything in Scripture is to testify about how to know Jesus, but it is a vail that works both ways by preventing you from seeing the same thing.
Paul said, "The just shall live by faith" Romans 1:17. The reason that the just shall live by faith is because...."Christ is the end of the law for righteousness" Romans 10:4. All that the law demands has been fulfilled by Jesus Christ. Jesus is the end and the fulfillment of the law, Matthew 5:18. Having fulfilled the law he abolished it, Ephesians 2:15 also Colossians 2:14.

To continue in the law, which is a ministration of death, 2 Corinthians 3:7, is a denial of the Gospel and justification by faith and provokes God's wrath, Paul said, "For they which are of the law be heirs, faith is made void, and the promise made of none effect: Because THE LAW WORKS WRATH: for where there is no law, there is no transgression" Romans 4:14-15.

Where there is no law there is no sin. Where there is law there is judgement and condemnation. This is why Paul said to the Galatians that wanted to practice the law, "Tell me that you desire to be under the law, do you not hear the law? Galatians 4:21. Do you want to be condemned? Why do you want to be under the law knowing that you are going to be condemned by the law?

Again, Paul warns the Galatians, "For as many as are of the works of the law are under the curse: for it is written, Cursed is everyone that does not do everything that is written in the book of the law" Galatians 3:10. There are about 2,000 commandments in the book of the law. You would have to be Jesus Christ to do everything that is written in the book of the law.

Righteousness is by faith, not by rules, laws or religion, "But to him that does no works, but believes on him that justifies the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness" Romans 4:5. Yet, you continue to follow after the law that judges and condemns. I have given you enough light to light a city, but you still remain in darkness and refuse to come to the light, John 3:19-21.




 
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Soyeong

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Paul said, "The just shall live by faith"


Romans 1:17 is quoting Habakkuk 2:4, which is part of the OT, so why do you interpret saying that the just shall live by faith as being contrary to what God commanded in the OT? In Isaiah 51:7, the righteous are those on whose heart is God's law, so the righteous living by faith does not refer to a manner of living that is not in obedience to it. The way to have faith in God to guide us in how to rightly live is by obeying His instructions, yet you want to have faith instead of obeying His instructions, as if you don't think that God should be trusted to guide us in how to rightly live, which is the opposite of faith.

Romans 1:17. The reason that the just shall live by faith is because...."Christ is the end of the law for righteousness" Romans 10:4. All that the law demands has been fulfilled by Jesus Christ. [/quote]

Romans 10:4 Christ is the goal of the Law, which leads to righteousness for all who have faith in God.

Jesus is the end and the fulfillment of the law, Matthew 5:18.

Having fulfilled the law he abolished it,

In Matthew 5:17-19, Jesus did not say that he came to fulfill and then abolish the law, but rather he say that he came not to abolish the law, but to fulfill it, but you reject what he said.

Ephesians 2:15 also Colossians 2:14.

Neither of those verses refer to the Law of God and that will never change not matter how many times you cite them.

To continue in the law, which is a ministration of death, 2 Corinthians 3:7, is a denial of the Gospel and justification by faith and provokes God's wrath, Paul said, "For they which are of the law be heirs, faith is made void, and the promise made of none effect: Because THE LAW WORKS WRATH: for where there is no law, there is no transgression" Romans 4:14-15.


There is not a single example in the Bible where obedience to God's law brought wrath to those who submitted to it, but there are many examples where it brought wrath to those who refused to submit to it, so the fact that God's law works wrath for those who refuse to submit to it is not a very good reason for you to refuse to submit to it.

Where there is no law there is no sin. Where there is law there is judgement and condemnation. This is why Paul said to the Galatians that wanted to practice the law, "Tell me that you desire to be under the law, do you not hear the law? Galatians 4:21. Do you want to be condemned? Why do you want to be under the law knowing that you are going to be condemned by the law?

Why does it make sense to you to think that God will condemn people for obeying what He commanded, while those who refuse to do obey what He has commanded will escape condemnation? Do you think that God wants to be obeyed or not?

Again, Paul warns the Galatians, "For as many as are of the works of the law are under the curse: for it is written, Cursed is everyone that does not do everything that is written in the book of the law" Galatians 3:10. There are about 2,000 commandments in the book of the law. You would have to be Jesus Christ to do everything that is written in the book of the law.

Galatians 3:10 leaves two options:

1.) Avoid being cursed by continuing to do everything in God's law.

2.) Be cursed by not continuing to do everything in God's law.

There is no third option of avoiding being cursed by refusing to do everything in God's law. You are advocating being cursed by not continuing to do everything in God's law when you should be advocating being blessed by continuing to do everything in it. Nowhere does the Bible say that you would have to be Jesus Christ to continue to do everything the law, but rather it says that God's law is not too difficult for us to obey (Deuteronomy 30:11-14).

Righteousness is by faith, not by rules, laws or religion, "But to him that does no works, but believes on him that justifies the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness" Romans 4:5. Yet, you continue to follow after the law that judges and condemns.

In Romans 2:13, Paul said only doers of the law will be justified, yet you refuse to be a doer of the law. God did not give His law to condemn His children, but rather He gave it as a gift for our own good in order to teach us how to live blessed lives (Deuteronomy 6:24, 10:12-13).

I have given you enough light to light a city, but you still remain in darkness and refuse to come to the light, John 3:19-21.

Proverbs 6:23 For the commandment is a lamp and the teaching a light, and the reproofs of discipline are the way of life,

You have not shown me any light, but rather you reject the light and prefer darkness. In John 3:19-21, it speaks the wicked actions that are against God's law.
 
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AbbaLove

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God's law was never given as a means of earning our salvation as a wage even if someone managed to have perfect obedience to it, but that doesn't mean that we don't need to obey it for the purposes for which it was given.
Do you believe Yeshua/Jesus is referring to both the Ten Commandments as well as the 613 Jewish religious laws/commands or just the Ten Commandments?

Matthew 5:18-20 (NASB95)
18 For truly I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not the smallest letter or stroke shall pass from the Law until all is accomplished. (10 Commandments)
19 Whoever then annuls one of the least of these commandments, and teaches others to do the same, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever keeps and teaches them, he shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven.
20 “For I say to you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven.​

Have you ever considered verse 19 that whoever annuls the least of these commands may still enter the kingdom of heaven? Verse 20 implies that the scribes and Pharisess (no matter how religious) weren't righteous enuf to be counted as least in the kingdom of heaven. That gives one pause to consider that "religious behaviour" may actually be an enemy of "righteous behaviour".
 
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Soyeong

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Do you believe Yeshua/Jesus is referring to both the Ten Commandments as well as the 613 Jewish religious laws/commands or just the Ten Commandments?

Matthew 5:18-20 (NASB95)
18 For truly I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not the smallest letter or stroke shall pass from the Law until all is accomplished. (10 Commandments)
19 Whoever then annuls one of the least of these commandments, and teaches others to do the same, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever keeps and teaches them, he shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven.
20 “For I say to you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven.​

The 10 Commandments are included as part of the 613 commandments. In Matthew 5:17-19, Yeshua used the phrase "Law and the Prophets" which is straightforwardly refers to everything in the Law and the Prophets, which contains 613 commandments, though they expound upon the 5 principles of the 10 commandments.

Have you ever considered verse 19 that whoever annuls the least of these commands may still enter the kingdom of heaven? Verse 20 implies that the scribes and Pharisess (no matter how religious) weren't righteous enuf to be counted as least in the kingdom of heaven. That gives one pause to consider that "religious behaviour" may actually be an enemy of "righteous behaviour".

I think that what Matthew 7:21-23 says about entering the Kingdom of Heaven helps to correctly understand what Matthew 5:17-19 says about it:

21 “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. 22 On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’ 23 And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.’

The Father has straightforwardly made His will known through what He has commanded in His law (Psalms 40:8). Furthermore, those who do not do the will of the Father are equated with those who are workers of lawlessness. So it is possible for people to be doing good works in accordance with God's law while still being counted as being as workers of lawlessness who will not enter the Kingdom of Heaven because they were missing the whole goal of God's law, which is the experience of knowing Christ through expressing aspects of his nature.

For example, in Matthew 23:23, Jesus said that tithing was something that they ought to be doing while not neglecting weightier matters of the law of justice, mercy, and faithfulness, which are aspects of Gods's nature that are the way to know Christ. In Philippians 3:8, Paul was in the same boat, where he had been obeying God's law, but without having a focus on knowing Christ, so he had been missing the whole goal of the law and counted it all as rubbish.

Jesus never identified "religious behavior" as being a problem that he had with the Pharisees and never said anything about it being the enemy of "righteous behavior".
 
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rwb

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Matthew 22:36-40 (KJV) Master, which is the great commandment in the law? Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.

Since Christ came to fulfill all of the Law, He further indicates that we too fulfill the Law when we love the Lord thy God with whole heart, soul and mind, and love our neighbor as ourselves. If we do these two, we have kept the commandments of law and prophets. And it is only possible through the power of the Holy Spirit in us. The good works ordained for those saved by grace through faith originate through the gift of saving faith and not ourselves.

Ephesians 2:8-10 (KJV) For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.
 
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AbbaLove

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Jesus never identified "religious behavior" as being a problem that he had with the Pharisees and never said anything about it being the enemy of "righteous behavior".
What Bible are you reading that gives you the impression that the teachers of the Law (scribes) and the Pharisees were more interested in righteousness and mercy than wanting instead for others to see how religious they were.

Following are the very words (in red) of Yeshua/Jesus. Do you actually expect me to believe that the following isn't a representative translation ... even if you would rather believe it's not an accurate description ?

5 “Everything they do is done for people to see: They make their phylacteries wide and the tassels on their garments long; 6 they love the place of honor at banquets and the most important seats in the synagogues; 7 they love to be greeted with respect in the marketplaces and to be called ‘Rabbi’ by others.

Pharisees put religious ritual for others to see before righteousness and mercy.

Seven Woes on the Teachers of the Law and the Pharisees
13 “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You shut the door of the kingdom of heaven in people’s faces. You yourselves do not enter, nor will you let those enter who are trying to.

15 “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You travel over land and sea to win a single convert, and when you have succeeded, you make them twice as much a child of hell as you are.

16 “Woe to you, blind guides! You say, ‘If anyone swears by the temple, it means nothing; but anyone who swears by the gold of the temple is bound by that oath.’ 17 You blind fools! Which is greater: the gold, or the temple that makes the gold sacred. 18 You also say, ‘If anyone swears by the altar, it means nothing; but anyone who swears by the gift on the altar is bound by that oath.’ 19 You blind men! Which is greater: the gift, or the altar that makes the gift sacred? 20 Therefore, anyone who swears by the altar swears by it and by everything on it. 21 And anyone who swears by the temple swears by it and by the one who dwells in it. 22 And anyone who swears by heaven swears by God’s throne and by the one who sits on it.

23 “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You give a tenth of your spices—mint, dill and cumin. But you have neglected the more important matters of the law—justice, mercy and faithfulness. You should have practiced the latter, without neglecting the former. 24 You blind guides! You strain out a gnat but swallow a camel.

25 “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You clean the outside of the cup and dish, but inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence. 26 Blind Pharisee! First clean the inside of the cup and dish, and then the outside also will be clean. (righteous)

27 “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You are like whitewashed tombs, which look beautiful on the outside but on the inside are full of the bones of the dead and everything unclean. 28 In the same way, on the outside you appear to people as righteous but on the inside you are full of hypocrisy and wickedness.

29 “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You build tombs for the prophets and decorate the graves of the righteous. 30 And you say, ‘If we had lived in the days of our ancestors, we would not have taken part with them in shedding the blood of the prophets.’ 31 So you testify against yourselves that you are the descendants of those who murdered the prophets. 32 Go ahead, then, and complete what your ancestors started!

Do you understand verse 32 ... what the Pharisees saw fitting to see completed?

The Parable of the Pharisee and the Tax Collector
9 To some who were confident of their own righteousness and looked down on everyone else, Jesus told this parable: 10 “Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. 11 The Pharisee stood by himself and prayed: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other people—robbers, evildoers, adulterers—or even like this tax collector. 12 I fast twice a week and give a tenth of all I get.’

13 “But the tax collector stood at a distance. He would not even look up to heaven, but beat his breast and said, ‘God, have mercy on me, a sinner.’ 14 “I tell you that this man, rather than the other, went home justified before God. For all those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.”

YES, the above is proof enough that the vast majority of the teachers of the Law (scribes), and the vast majority of the Pharisees were more interested in religious observances, rituals, attire, prohibitions, etc, etc, than they were about righteousness and mercy ...

... the teachers of religious law and the Pharisees brought a woman who had been caught in the act of adultery. They put her in front of the crowd ...

... a priest was going down on that road, and when he saw him, he passed by on the other side. Likewise a Levite also, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. But a Samaritan, who was on a journey, came upon him; and when he saw him, he felt compassion, and came to him and bandaged up his wounds, pouring oil and wine on them; and he put him on his own beast, and brought him to an inn and took care of him.
What BIBLE are you reading that gives you the impression that the teachers of the Law (scribes) and the Pharisees were less interested in their religious behaviour (for show) than righteousness and mercy.
 
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Soyeong

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What Bible are you reading that gives you the impression that the teachers of the Law (scribes) and the Pharisees were more interested in righteousness and mercy than wanting instead for others to see how religious they were.

Following are the very words (in red) of Yeshua/Jesus. Do you actually expect me to believe that the following isn't a representative translation ... even if you would rather believe it's not an accurate description ?

5 “Everything they do is done for people to see: They make their phylacteries wide and the tassels on their garments long; 6 they love the place of honor at banquets and the most important seats in the synagogues; 7 they love to be greeted with respect in the marketplaces and to be called ‘Rabbi’ by others.

Pharisees put religious ritual for others to see before righteousness and mercy.

Seven Woes on the Teachers of the Law and the Pharisees
13 “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You shut the door of the kingdom of heaven in people’s faces. You yourselves do not enter, nor will you let those enter who are trying to.

15 “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You travel over land and sea to win a single convert, and when you have succeeded, you make them twice as much a child of hell as you are.

16 “Woe to you, blind guides! You say, ‘If anyone swears by the temple, it means nothing; but anyone who swears by the gold of the temple is bound by that oath.’ 17 You blind fools! Which is greater: the gold, or the temple that makes the gold sacred. 18 You also say, ‘If anyone swears by the altar, it means nothing; but anyone who swears by the gift on the altar is bound by that oath.’ 19 You blind men! Which is greater: the gift, or the altar that makes the gift sacred? 20 Therefore, anyone who swears by the altar swears by it and by everything on it. 21 And anyone who swears by the temple swears by it and by the one who dwells in it. 22 And anyone who swears by heaven swears by God’s throne and by the one who sits on it.

23 “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You give a tenth of your spices—mint, dill and cumin. But you have neglected the more important matters of the law—justice, mercy and faithfulness. You should have practiced the latter, without neglecting the former. 24 You blind guides! You strain out a gnat but swallow a camel.

25 “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You clean the outside of the cup and dish, but inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence. 26 Blind Pharisee! First clean the inside of the cup and dish, and then the outside also will be clean. (righteous)

27 “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You are like whitewashed tombs, which look beautiful on the outside but on the inside are full of the bones of the dead and everything unclean. 28 In the same way, on the outside you appear to people as righteous but on the inside you are full of hypocrisy and wickedness.

29 “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You build tombs for the prophets and decorate the graves of the righteous. 30 And you say, ‘If we had lived in the days of our ancestors, we would not have taken part with them in shedding the blood of the prophets.’ 31 So you testify against yourselves that you are the descendants of those who murdered the prophets. 32 Go ahead, then, and complete what your ancestors started!

Do you understand verse 32 ... what the Pharisees saw fitting to see completed?

The Parable of the Pharisee and the Tax Collector
9 To some who were confident of their own righteousness and looked down on everyone else, Jesus told this parable: 10 “Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. 11 The Pharisee stood by himself and prayed: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other people—robbers, evildoers, adulterers—or even like this tax collector. 12 I fast twice a week and give a tenth of all I get.’

13 “But the tax collector stood at a distance. He would not even look up to heaven, but beat his breast and said, ‘God, have mercy on me, a sinner.’ 14 “I tell you that this man, rather than the other, went home justified before God. For all those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.”

YES, the above is proof enough that the vast majority of the teachers of the Law (scribes), and the vast majority of the Pharisees were more interested in religious observances, rituals, attire, prohibitions, etc, etc, than they were about righteousness and mercy ...

... the teachers of religious law and the Pharisees brought a woman who had been caught in the act of adultery. They put her in front of the crowd ...

... a priest was going down on that road, and when he saw him, he passed by on the other side. Likewise a Levite also, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. But a Samaritan, who was on a journey, came upon him; and when he saw him, he felt compassion, and came to him and bandaged up his wounds, pouring oil and wine on them; and he put him on his own beast, and brought him to an inn and took care of him.
What BIBLE are you reading that gives you the impression that the teachers of the Law (scribes) and the Pharisees were less interested in their religious behaviour (for show) than righteousness and mercy.

Jesus set a perfect example of how to practice the religion of Judaism by living in sinless obedience to the Torah, so he was much more religious and zealous for the Torah than the Pharisees were, and while he criticized the Pharisees that he was speaking to mainly for their pride and hypocrisy, not once did he criticize them for being religious or for obeying the Torah. In Matthew 23:23, Jesus was calling the Pharisees to a fuller obedience to the Torah in a manner that was in accordance with its weightier matters and free from hypocrisy. Judaism teaches to have righteous behavior, so doing that is being religious, and it teaches against prideful and hypocritical behavior, so doing that is not being religious, which means that you are incorrectly identifying the problem that Jesus had with the Pharisees, and are incorrectly understanding what it means to be religious.

The Pharisees also criticized other Pharisees for their hypocrisy, so Jesus was by no means the only one to do that. In regard to the debate between the House of Hillel and Shammai, Jesus was virtually in complete agreement with the House of Hillel, so Jesus was by no means opposed to the behavior of all or even the majority of Pharisees. Hillel was the grandfather of Gamaliel, who was Paul’s rabbi (Acts 22:3). In Matthew 23:2-4, Jesus said that the Pharisees sit in the Seat of Moses, so do whatever they tell you, but do not do as they do, so he recognized their authority and instructed his followers to act accordingly, but warned against their hypocrisy. Paul never stopped identifying as a Pharisee (Acts 23:6), which is a Torah observant sect of Judaism, so most of the NT was writ by a Pharisee, and he instructed us to be imitators of him as he is an imitator of Christ, so we are instructed to be imitators of a Pharisee.
 
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Soyeong

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Matthew 22:36-40 (KJV) Master, which is the great commandment in the law? Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.

Since Christ came to fulfill all of the Law, He further indicates that we too fulfill the Law when we love the Lord thy God with whole heart, soul and mind, and love our neighbor as ourselves. If we do these two, we have kept the commandments of law and prophets. And it is only possible through the power of the Holy Spirit in us. The good works ordained for those saved by grace through faith originate through the gift of saving faith and not ourselves.

Ephesians 2:8-10 (KJV) For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.

Saying that all of the law hangs on the greatest two commandments is saying that they are all connected, or in other words, all of the commandments are examples of how to correctly obey the greatest two. So the way to live God and our neighbor is by doing things like keeping the Sabbath holy and refrain for idolatry, adultery, murder, theft, kidnapping, rape, favoritism, and so forth. I am not sure if you are meaning this, but saying that if we keep the greatest two then we have kept the commandments of Law and the Prophets does not mean that by doing something to love our neighbor like helping the poor, we are counted as obeying other commandments like honoring our parents.
 
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rwb

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Saying that all of the law hangs on the greatest two commandments is saying that they are all connected, or in other words, all of the commandments are examples of how to correctly obey the greatest two. So the way to live God and our neighbor is by doing things like keeping the Sabbath holy and refrain for idolatry, adultery, murder, theft, kidnapping, rape, favoritism, and so forth. I am not sure if you are meaning this, but saying that if we keep the greatest two then we have kept the commandments of Law and the Prophets does not mean that by doing something to love our neighbor like helping the poor, we are counted as obeying other commandments like honoring our parents.

I didn't say that all the law in commandments hangs on these two. I quoted Scripture where Christ said this. "Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets."

I believe Christ is saying that when we love God as He has defined and love our neighbors as ourselves obedience to the will of the Lord will naturally follow. Not by obedience to the Old Covenant Law, but out of love from our heart we begat greater love. Love that comes as a fruit of the Spirit by grace through faith. Through faith all things are possible, but without faith we cannot please God.

Galatians 5:22 (KJV) But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith,

You seem to have it backwards. We don't love God and our neighbor by obedience to the Old Covenant Law. Rather love out of a pure heart through faith is the end of the commandment. The law is not made for a righteous man, but for the lawless and disobedient, ungodly sinners who are unholy and profane murderers, whoremongers, liars and anything else that is contrary to sound doctrine.

1 Timothy 1:5-11 (KJV) Now the end of the commandment is charity out of a pure heart, and of a good conscience, and of faith unfeigned: From which some having swerved have turned aside unto vain jangling; Desiring to be teachers of the law; understanding neither what they say, nor whereof they affirm. But we know that the law is good, if a man use it lawfully; Knowing this, that the law is not made for a righteous man, but for the lawless and disobedient, for the ungodly and for sinners, for unholy and profane, for murderers of fathers and murderers of mothers, for manslayers, For whoremongers, for them that defile themselves with mankind, for menstealers, for liars, for perjured persons, and if there be any other thing that is contrary to sound doctrine; According to the glorious gospel of the blessed God, which was committed to my trust.
 
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Soyeong

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I didn't say that all the law in commandments hangs on these two. I quoted Scripture where Christ said this. "Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets."

I believe Christ is saying that when we love God as He has defined and love our neighbors as ourselves obedience to the will of the Lord will naturally follow. Not by obedience to the Old Covenant Law, but out of love from our heart we begat greater love.

I was referring to the Bible saying that all the commandments hang on the greatest two. In Matthew 22:36-40, Jesus was asked about which commandment was the greatest in regard to the Mosaic Law and he responded with two of the commandments of the Mosaic Law (Leviticus 19:18, Deuteronomy 6:4-7), so there is no room to interpret his response as referring to obeying something other than the Mosaic Law. Everything commanded in the Mosaic Law is either in regard how to love God or how to love our neighbor, which is why Jesus said that those are the greatest two commandments and everything else hangs on them. In Exodus 20:6, God wanted His people love him and obey His commandments, so obedience to the Mosaic Law has always been out of a place of love.

Love that comes as a fruit of the Spirit by grace through faith. Through faith all things are possible, but without faith we cannot please God.

Galatians 5:22 (KJV) But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith,

In Galatians 5:19-23, everything listed as works of the flesh that are against the Spirit are also against the Mosaic Law, while all of the fruits of the Spirit are aspects of God's nature that are in accordance with it. In Romans 8:4-7, those who walk in the Spirit are contrasted with those who have minds set on the flesh who refuse to submit to the Mosaic Law. In Ezekiel 36:26-27, the Spirit has the role of leading us to obey the Mosaic Law, in John 16:13, the Spirit has the role of leading in truth, and in Psalms 119:142, the Mosaic Law is truth. In John 16:8, the Spirit has the role of convicting us of sin, and in Romans 3:20, the Mosaic Law was given to give us knowledge of what sin is. In Romans 2:25-29, the way to recognize that a Gentile has a circumcised heart is by observing their obedience to the Mosaic Law, which is the same way to tell for a Jew (Deuteronomy 10:12-16, 30:6), and circumcision of the heart is a matter of the Spirit, which is in contrast with Acts 7:51-53, where those who have uncircumcised hearts resist the Spirit and do not obey the Mosaic Law.

You seem to have it backwards. We don't love God and our neighbor by obedience to the Old Covenant Law. Rather love out of a pure heart through faith is the end of the commandment.

The Mosaic Law was specifically commanded for the purpose of teaching us how to love God and our neighbor, which is why there are many verses in both the OT and the NT that connect our love for God with our obedience to His commandments. In Romans 3:31, Paul said that our faith does not abolish the Mosaic Law, but rather our faith upholds it.

The law is not made for a righteous man, but for the lawless and disobedient, ungodly sinners who are unholy and profane murderers, whoremongers, liars and anything else that is contrary to sound doctrine.

1 Timothy 1:5-11 (KJV) Now the end of the commandment is charity out of a pure heart, and of a good conscience, and of faith unfeigned: From which some having swerved have turned aside unto vain jangling; Desiring to be teachers of the law; understanding neither what they say, nor whereof they affirm. But we know that the law is good, if a man use it lawfully; Knowing this, that the law is not made for a righteous man, but for the lawless and disobedient, for the ungodly and for sinners, for unholy and profane, for murderers of fathers and murderers of mothers, for manslayers, For whoremongers, for them that defile themselves with mankind, for menstealers, for liars, for perjured persons, and if there be any other thing that is contrary to sound doctrine; According to the glorious gospel of the blessed God, which was committed to my trust.

Those who say that the Mosaic Law is not made for a righteous person in order to justify doing what is unrighteous in disobedience to it thereby become someone that it is for. In Isaiah 51:7, the righteous are those on whose heart is the Mosaic Law, so righteous people live righteously in obedience to it while unrighteous people live unrighteous in disobedience. It doesn't even make sense on the surface level to interpret that passage as saying that living righteously is only for the unrighteous and not for the righteous, especially when it says that the law is good if man uses it properly. In 2 Timothy 3:16, everything spoke by God is profitable to teaching, reproof, correction, and training in righteousness that the man of God made be complete, thoroughly equipped to do every good work, which contradicts what you are trying to abuse 1 Timothy 1:5-11.
 
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rwb

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I was referring to the Bible saying that all the commandments hang on the greatest two. In Matthew 22:36-40, Jesus was asked about which commandment was the greatest in regard to the Mosaic Law and he responded with two of the commandments of the Mosaic Law (Leviticus 19:18, Deuteronomy 6:4-7), so there is no room to interpret his response as referring to obeying something other than the Mosaic Law. Everything commanded in the Mosaic Law is either in regard how to love God or how to love our neighbor, which is why Jesus said that those are the greatest two commandments and everything else hangs on them. In Exodus 20:6, God wanted His people love him and obey His commandments, so obedience to the Mosaic Law has always been out of a place of love.

This is true.

In Romans 2:25-29, the way to recognize that a Gentile has a circumcised heart is by observing their obedience to the Mosaic Law, which is the same way to tell for a Jew (Deuteronomy 10:12-16, 30:6), and circumcision of the heart is a matter of the Spirit, which is in contrast with Acts 7:51-53, where those who have uncircumcised hearts resist the Spirit and do not obey the Mosaic Law.

Gentile believers are not living according to the Law of Moses. We are living according to grace and truth that comes by Jesus Christ. Gentiles have never had to convert to Judaism to be saved.

John 1:17 (KJV) For the law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ.

Romans 3:19-28 (KJV) Now we know that what things soever the law saith, it saith to them who are under the law: that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world may become guilty before God. Therefore by the deeds of the law there shall no flesh be justified in his sight: for by the law is the knowledge of sin. But now the righteousness of God without the law is manifested, being witnessed by the law and the prophets; Even the righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe: for there is no difference: For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God; Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus: Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God; To declare, I say, at this time his righteousness: that he might be just, and the justifier of him which believeth in Jesus. Where is boasting then? It is excluded. By what law? of works? Nay: but by the law of faith. Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith without the deeds of the law.

Romans 13:8-9 (KJV) Owe no man any thing, but to love one another: for he that loveth another hath fulfilled the law. For this, Thou shalt not commit adultery, Thou shalt not kill, Thou shalt not steal, Thou shalt not bear false witness, Thou shalt not covet; and if there be any other commandment, it is briefly comprehended in this saying, namely, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.

The Mosaic Law was specifically commanded for the purpose of teaching us how to love God and our neighbor, which is why there are many verses in both the OT and the NT that connect our love for God with our obedience to His commandments. In Romans 3:31, Paul said that our faith does not abolish the Mosaic Law, but rather our faith upholds it.

But what law does our faith uphold? Not the Old Covenant Mosaic Law, but the Law of faith that comes by grace.

Romans 3:27-30 (KJV) Where is boasting then? It is excluded. By what law? of works? Nay: but by the law of faith. Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith without the deeds of the law. Is he the God of the Jews only? is he not also of the Gentiles? Yes, of the Gentiles also: Seeing it is one God, which shall justify the circumcision by faith, and uncircumcision through faith.

Both by faith, and through faith IOW faith is the instrumental cause of justification before God. The Jews keeping the Law by faith, believing the Law and Prophets that speak of the Messiah/Savior Who was to come. Gentiles through faith, believing the Gospel in the same way Abraham did and became the father of the faithful.

Galatians 3:8-10 (KJV) And the scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the heathen through faith, preached before the gospel unto Abraham, saying, In thee shall all nations be blessed. So then they which be of faith are blessed with faithful Abraham. For as many as are of the works of the law are under the curse: for it is written, Cursed is every one that continueth not in all things which are written in the book of the law to do them.

Those who say that the Mosaic Law is not made for a righteous person in order to justify doing what is unrighteous in disobedience to it thereby become someone that it is for.

It's not "those who say that the Mosaic Law is not made for a righteous person". It is the Scriptures that say this.

In Isaiah 51:7, the righteous are those on whose heart is the Mosaic Law, so righteous people live righteously in obedience to it while unrighteous people live unrighteous in disobedience. It doesn't even make sense on the surface level to interpret that passage as saying that living righteously is only for the unrighteous and not for the righteous, especially when it says that the law is good if man uses it properly. In 2 Timothy 3:16, everything spoke by God is profitable to teaching, reproof, correction, and training in righteousness that the man of God made be complete, thoroughly equipped to do every good work, which contradicts what you are trying to abuse 1 Timothy 1:5-11.

Why do you keep trying to force the Old Covenant Mosaic Law into the New Covenant in Christ? Christ came to fulfill the requirements of the Old Law. He did this by His cross, resurrection, and ascension. The Old is abolished in Christ.

Hebrews 9:8-14 (KJV) The Holy Ghost this signifying, that the way into the holiest of all was not yet made manifest, while as the first tabernacle was yet standing: Which was a figure for the time then present, in which were offered both gifts and sacrifices, that could not make him that did the service perfect, as pertaining to the conscience; Which stood only in meats and drinks, and divers washings, and carnal ordinances, imposed on them until the time of reformation. But Christ being come an high priest of good things to come, by a greater and more perfect tabernacle, not made with hands, that is to say, not of this building; Neither by the blood of goats and calves, but by his own blood he entered in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for us. For if the blood of bulls and of goats, and the ashes of an heifer sprinkling the unclean, sanctifieth to the purifying of the flesh: How much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?

Hebrews 10:1-6 (KJV) For the law having a shadow of good things to come, and not the very image of the things, can never with those sacrifices which they offered year by year continually make the comers thereunto perfect. For then would they not have ceased to be offered? because that the worshippers once purged should have had no more conscience of sins. But in those sacrifices there is a remembrance again made of sins every year. For it is not possible that the blood of bulls and of goats should take away sins. Wherefore when he cometh into the world, he saith, Sacrifice and offering thou wouldest not, but a body hast thou prepared me: In burnt offerings and sacrifices for sin thou hast had no pleasure.
 
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Soyeong

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Gentile believers are not living according to the Law of Moses. We are living according to grace and truth that comes by Jesus Christ. Gentiles have never had to convert to Judaism to be saved.

John 1:17 (KJV) For the law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ.

Gentiles are required to repent from their sins in accordance with the Gospel message and the Law of Moses was given to give us knowledge of what sin is (Romans 3:20).

There is no "but" in the Greek in John 1:17, rather 1:16 says grace upon grace, so it is using a parallel statement to talk about one example of grace and truth being added on top of other. In Psalms 119:29, David wanted God to be gracious to him by teaching him to obey the Mosaic Law, and in Psalms 119:142, the Mosaic Law is truth, which is the same grace and truth came through Jesus. Jesus spent his ministry teaching how to practice Judaism by living in sinless obedience to the Mosaic Law, so Gentiles can look at what he taught to practice and decide whether or not to follow him, but Gentiles can't follow him by refusing to follow what he taught. Our salvation is from sin (Matthew 1:21) and sin is the transgression of the Mosaic Law (1 John 3:4), so Jesus leading us to live in obedience to it is intrinsically the content of the gift of him saving us from not living in obedience to it, and it is contradictory for someone think that they they need salvation from sin while also thinking that they don't need to obey the Mosaic Law.

Romans 3:19-28 (KJV)
Now we know that what things soever the law saith, it saith to them who are under the law: that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world may become guilty before God. Therefore by the deeds of the law there shall no flesh be justified in his sight: for by the law is the knowledge of sin. But now the righteousness of God without the law is manifested, being witnessed by the law and the prophets; Even the righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe: for there is no difference: For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God; Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus: Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God; To declare, I say, at this time his righteousness: that he might be just, and the justifier of him which believeth in Jesus. Where is boasting then? It is excluded. By what law? of works? Nay: but by the law of faith. Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith without the deeds of the law.


In Psalms 119:29-30, David wanted to put false ways far from him, for God to be gracious to him by teaching him to obey the Mosaic Law, and he chose the way of faithfulness, so this has always been the one and only way of salvation by grace through faith that is testified about in the Law and the Prophets. In Genesis 6:8-9, Noah found grace in the eyes of God, he was a righteous man, and he walked with God, so God was gracious to him by teaching him to obey His law, and he was righteous because he obeyed through faith, which is in the same manner as Abraham (Genesis 15:6) and everyone else.

In Romans 3:27, Paul contrasted a law of works with a law of faith, so works of the law are of works, while he said in Romans 3:31 that our faith does not abolish our need to obey the Mosaic Law, but rather our faith upholds it, so it is of faith.

Romans 13:8-9 (KJV)
Owe no man any thing, but to love one another: for he that loveth another hath fulfilled the law. For this, Thou shalt not commit adultery, Thou shalt not kill, Thou shalt not steal, Thou shalt not bear false witness, Thou shalt not covet; and if there be any other commandment, it is briefly comprehended in this saying, namely, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.

Love fulfills the Mosaic Law because everything in it is an example of what it means to correctly love God and our neighbor, which is why they all hang on the greatest two commandments, so they are all connected. For example, if someone's understand of loving our neighbor is not inclusive of the command to help the poor, then they would have an incomplete understanding of what is means to love our neighbor, and the same is true of God's other laws.

But what law does our faith uphold? Not the Old Covenant Mosaic Law, but the Law of faith that comes by grace.

In Exodus 33:13, Moses wanted God to be gracious to him by teaching him His way that he might know Him, in 1 Kings 2:1-3, God taught how to walk in His way through the Mosaic Law, and in John 17:3, knowing God and Jesus is eternal life, which is again the one and only way of salvation by grace through faith. There are many verses that connect our faith in God with our obedience to His law, such as in Matthew 23:23, Jesus said that faith is one of the weightier matters of the Mosaic Law. In James 2:18, he would show his faith by his works. In Revelation 14:12, those who kept faith in Jesus are the same as those who kept God's commandments. In Hebrews 3:18-19, disobedience to the Mosaic Law is equated with unbelief. In Numbers 5:6, disobedience to the Mosaic Law is described as breaking faith, so it is the law of faith that comes by grace.

Romans 3:27-30 (KJV)
Where is boasting then? It is excluded. By what law? of works? Nay: but by the law of faith. Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith without the deeds of the law. Is he the God of the Jews only? is he not also of the Gentiles? Yes, of the Gentiles also: Seeing it is one God, which shall justify the circumcision by faith, and uncircumcision through faith.

Both by faith, and through faith IOW faith is the instrumental cause of justification before God. The Jews keeping the Law by faith, believing the Law and Prophets that speak of the Messiah/Savior Who was to come. Gentiles through faith, believing the Gospel in the same way Abraham did and became the father of the faithful.

Galatians 3:8-10 (KJV) And the scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the heathen through faith, preached before the gospel unto Abraham, saying, In thee shall all nations be blessed. So then they which be of faith are blessed with faithful Abraham. For as many as are of the works of the law are under the curse: for it is written, Cursed is every one that continueth not in all things which are written in the book of the law to do them.

In Matthew 4:15-23, Jesus began his ministry with the Gospel message to repent for the Kingdom of God is at hand, which was a light to the Gentiles, and the Mosaic Law was how his audience knew what sin is, so repenting from our disobedience to it is an integral part of the Gospel message, which he prophesied would be proclaimed to all nations (Matthew 24:12-14), and which was the Gospel that was made known in advance to Abraham in accordance with the promise (Genesis 12:1-5). In Mosaic Law his how the children of Abraham knw how to live blessed lives by walking in God's way (Psalms 119:1-3), so the way to fulfill the promise of being a blessing to the nations is by teaching the nations to repent and obey it in accordance with the Gospel.

In Galatians 3:10-12, the Book of the Law curses those who do not rely on it, so those who instead rely on works of the law thereby come under the curse for not relying on the Book of the Law. Furthermore, Paul associated a quote from Habakkuk 2:4 saying that the righteous shall live by faith with a quote from Leviticus 18:5, where the one who obeys the Mosaic Law will attain life by it, so the righteous living by faith does not refer to a manner of living that is not in obedience to it. God is trustworthy, therefore His law is also trustworthy (Psalms 19:7), so to obediently rely on the Mosaic Law that God has instructed is to rely on God.

It's not "those who say that the Mosaic Law is not made for a righteous person". It is the Scriptures that say this.

While I agree that it says that the Mosaic Law is not made for a righteous person, you are the one who is trying to use that to justify doing what is unrighteous in disobedience to it, and are thereby becoming someone that it is for according to that verse. Instructions for how to live righteously are not made for those who are already living righteously, but rather they are needed to teach those who are not living righteously. It is absurd to think that once a unrighteous person becomes righteous that they are now free to go back to living unrighteously and then become an unrighteous person that the law is for again.

Why do you keep trying to force the Old Covenant Mosaic Law into the New Covenant in Christ? Christ came to fulfill the requirements of the Old Law. He did this by His cross, resurrection, and ascension. The Old is abolished in Christ.

In Jeremiah 31:33, the New Covenant involves God putting the Mosaic Law in our minds and writing it on our hearts, so that is the law of the New Covenant, which Christ spent his ministry fulfilling by teaching us how to walk in obedience to it by word and by example. Furthermore, in 1 John 2:6, those who are in Christ are obligated to walk in the same way he walked. In Matthew 5:17-19, Jesus said that he came not to abolish the Mosaic Law, but to fulfill it, so he did not abolish it. In Titus 2:14, Jesus gave himself to redeem us from all lawlessness and to purify for himself a people of his own possession who are zealous for doing good works, so becoming zealous for doing good works in obedience to the Mosaic Law is the way to believe in what Jesus accomplished through the cross, while returning to the lawlessness that he gave himself to redeem us from is the way to reject what he accomplished through the cross.

Hebrews 9:8-14 (KJV)
The Holy Ghost this signifying, that the way into the holiest of all was not yet made manifest, while as the first tabernacle was yet standing: Which was a figure for the time then present, in which were offered both gifts and sacrifices, that could not make him that did the service perfect, as pertaining to the conscience; Which stood only in meats and drinks, and divers washings, and carnal ordinances, imposed on them until the time of reformation. But Christ being come an high priest of good things to come, by a greater and more perfect tabernacle, not made with hands, that is to say, not of this building; Neither by the blood of goats and calves, but by his own blood he entered in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for us. For if the blood of bulls and of goats, and the ashes of an heifer sprinkling the unclean, sanctifieth to the purifying of the flesh: How much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?


In Deuteronomy 30:15-20, obedience to the Mosaic Law brings life and a blessing while disobedience brings death and a curse, so choose life! Dead works are those that lead to death and curse, not those that lead to life and a blessing.

Hebrews 10:1-6 (KJV)
For the law having a shadow of good things to come, and not the very image of the things, can never with those sacrifices which they offered year by year continually make the comers thereunto perfect. For then would they not have ceased to be offered? because that the worshippers once purged should have had no more conscience of sins. But in those sacrifices there is a remembrance again made of sins every year. For it is not possible that the blood of bulls and of goats should take away sins. Wherefore when he cometh into the world, he saith, Sacrifice and offering thou wouldest not, but a body hast thou prepared me: In burnt offerings and sacrifices for sin thou hast had no pleasure.

The foreshadows testify about what is to come and we should live in a way that testifies about what is to come by obeying them rather than a way that denies the truth of what is to come.
 
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In Jeremiah 31:33, the New Covenant involves God putting the Mosaic Law in our minds and writing it on our hearts, so that is the law of the New Covenant, which Christ spent his ministry fulfilling by teaching us how to walk in obedience to it by word and by example. Furthermore, in 1 John 2:6, those who are in Christ are obligated to walk in the same way he walked. In Matthew 5:17-19, Jesus said that he came not to abolish the Mosaic Law, but to fulfill it, so he did not abolish it. In Titus 2:14, Jesus gave himself to redeem us from all lawlessness and to purify for himself a people of his own possession who are zealous for doing good works, so becoming zealous for doing good works in obedience to the Mosaic Law is the way to believe in what Jesus accomplished through the cross, while returning to the lawlessness that he gave himself to redeem us from is the way to reject what he accomplished through the cross.

If we are to walk in obedience to the Mosaic Law why is Christ the mediator of a better covenant, saying if the first had been faultless then there would have been no reason for the second? Why would Christ teach us to walk in the Old Covenant Law that could not eternally save after He died to bring us a New and Better Covenant that promises eternal life through His Spirit to all who believe?

Hebrews 8:6-13 (KJV) But now hath he obtained a more excellent ministry, by how much also he is the mediator of a better covenant, which was established upon better promises. For if that first covenant had been faultless, then should no place have been sought for the second. For finding fault with them, he saith, Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah: Not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day when I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt; because they continued not in my covenant, and I regarded them not, saith the Lord. For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, saith the Lord; I will put my laws into their mind, and write them in their hearts: and I will be to them a God, and they shall be to me a people: And they shall not teach every man his neighbour, and every man his brother, saying, Know the Lord: for all shall know me, from the least to the greatest. For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins and their iniquities will I remember no more. In that he saith, A new covenant, he hath made the first old. Now that which decayeth and waxeth old is ready to vanish away.

Hebrews 9:16-17 (KJV) For where a testament is, there must also of necessity be the death of the testator. For a testament is of force after men are dead: otherwise it is of no strength at all while the testator liveth.
 
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Soyeong

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If we are to walk in obedience to the Mosaic Law why is Christ the mediator of a better covenant, saying if the first had been faultless then there would have been no reason for the second? Why would Christ teach us to walk in the Old Covenant Law that could not eternally save after He died to bring us a New and Better Covenant that promises eternal life through His Spirit to all who believe?

Hebrews 8:6-13 (KJV) But now hath he obtained a more excellent ministry, by how much also he is the mediator of a better covenant, which was established upon better promises. For if that first covenant had been faultless, then should no place have been sought for the second. For finding fault with them, he saith, Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah: Not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day when I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt; because they continued not in my covenant, and I regarded them not, saith the Lord. For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, saith the Lord; I will put my laws into their mind, and write them in their hearts: and I will be to them a God, and they shall be to me a people: And they shall not teach every man his neighbour, and every man his brother, saying, Know the Lord: for all shall know me, from the least to the greatest. For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins and their iniquities will I remember no more. In that he saith, A new covenant, he hath made the first old. Now that which decayeth and waxeth old is ready to vanish away.

Hebrews 9:16-17 (KJV) For where a testament is, there must also of necessity be the death of the testator. For a testament is of force after men are dead: otherwise it is of no strength at all while the testator liveth.

In Deuteronomy 30:1-8, it prophesies about a time when the Israelites would return from exile, God would circumcise their hearts, and they would return to obedience to the Mosaic Law. In Ezekiel 36:26-27 and Jeremiah 31:33, they are speaking in regard to the New Covenant and are describing God circumcising our hearts by saying that he would take away our hearts of stone, give us hearts of flesh, and sense His Spirit to lead us to obey the Mosaic Law, and where he would put the Mosaic Law in our minds and write it on on our hearts. Again, in Romans 2:25, the way to recognize that a Gentile has a circumcised heart is by observing their obedience to the Mosaic Law and circumcision of the heart is a matter of the Spirit, which is in contrast with Acts 7:51-53, where those with uncircumcised hearts resist the Spirit and do not obey the Mosaic Law. So the New Covenant is all about the Israelites returning to obedience to the Mosaic Law.

While Hebrews 8:6-13 speaks about the New Covenant having a better mediator and being based on superior promise, it says nothing about following a better law, but rather rather Hebrews 8:10 quotes Jeremiah 31:33 in saying that it still involves following the Mosaic Law. The fault that God found was not on His end of the covenant with His law, but rather it says that it was with the people for not continuing in their covenant, so the solution to the problem was not to do away with God's eternal life, but to do away with what was hindering us from continuing to obey it. This is why it involves God taking away our hearts of stone, giving us hearts of flesh, and sending His Spirit to obey it, as well as sending His Son to free us from sin so that we might be free to meet its righteous requirement (Romans 8:3-4). So while the Mosaic Covenant has become obsolete, God's eternal law did not becoming obsolete along with it.

Jesus did not establish the New Covenant until the end of his ministry, which means that everything that he taught up until that point was in regard to how to live under the Mosaic Covenant in obedience to the Mosaic Law, and he did not establish the New Covenant for the purpose of undermining anything that he spent his ministry teaching, but rather the New Covenant still involves following the Mosaic Law (Jeremiah 31:33).

In Exodus 33:13, Moses wanted God to be gracious to him by teaching him His way that he might know Him, and Israel too, in 1 Kings 2:1-3, God taught how to walk in His way through the Mosaic Law, and in John 17:3 eternal life is knowing God and Jesus, so eternal salvation was available under the Mosaic Covenant by the same means as the New Covenant. Likewise, in Matthew 19:17, Jesus said that the way to enter eternal life is by obeying God's commandments, and in Luke 10:25-28, obedience to the greatest two commandments is the way to inherit eternal life, so he did not teach that it could not eternally save. Again, in Psalms 119:29-30, this has always been the one and only way of salvation by grace through faith.
 
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AbbaLove

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I have only been speaking about how we should live under the New Covenant Gospel and faith. In Jeremiah 31:33, the New Covenant involves God putting the Torah in our minds and writing it on our hearts, so you are rejecting the New Covenant Gospel and faith. Likewise, in Ezekiel 36:26-27, in regard to the New Covenant, the Spirit has the role of leading us to obey God's law, so you also reject the leading of the Spirit.
In the verses you reference in Jeremiah and Ezekiel those are not about the present "New Covenant" of the Gentile Age to which you refer that is nearing its end.

Instead those verses are actually about the coming of the New Jerusalem with Yīsrāʾēl again grafted into the cultivated olive tree after the end of the Gentile Age. This New Covenant With GOD is on the doorstep of the present Nation Of Israel.

Micah 4:4 (TLV)
But each man will sit under his vine and under his fig tree,
with no one causing terror, for the mouth of Adonai-Tzva’ot has spoken.

2 Peter 3:13 (TLV)
But in keeping with His promise, we look for new heavens and a new earth,
where righteousness dwells.
The Mystery Of Israel The Fig Tree
www.factsaboutisrael.uk/israel-fig-tree/

2+Peter+3-13+A+New+Heaven+And+A+New+Earth+blue.jpg
 
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Soyeong

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In the verses you reference in Jeremiah and Ezekiel those are not about the present "New Covenant" of the Gentile Age to which you refer that is nearing its end.

Instead those verses are actually about the coming of the New Jerusalem with Yīsrāʾēl again grafted into the cultivated olive tree after the end of the Gentile Age. This New Covenant With GOD is on the doorstep of the present Nation Of Israel.

Micah 4:4 (TLV)
But each man will sit under his vine and under his fig tree,
with no one causing terror, for the mouth of Adonai-Tzva’ot has spoken.

2 Peter 3:13 (TLV)
But in keeping with His promise, we look for new heavens and a new earth,
where righteousness dwells.
The Mystery Of Israel The Fig Tree
www.factsaboutisrael.uk/israel-fig-tree/

2+Peter+3-13+A+New+Heaven+And+A+New+Earth+blue.jpg

I don't see a basis for your claim that those references in Ezekiel and Jeremiah are referring to the New Jerusalem, but it doesn't make a different in regard to our discussion either way because the Spirit still has the same role. Jesus spent his ministry teaching his followers how to obey the Mosaic Law by word and by example and the covenant that he established was not established for the purpose of undermining anything that he spent his ministry teaching. Gentiles can look at the law that Jesus taught and decide whether to follow him or not, but Gentiles can't follow him by refusing to follow what he taught.
 
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rwb

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I don't see a basis for your claim that those references in Ezekiel and Jeremiah are referring to the New Jerusalem, but it doesn't make a different in regard to our discussion either way because the Spirit still has the same role. Jesus spent his ministry teaching his followers how to obey the Mosaic Law by word and by example and the covenant that he established was not established for the purpose of undermining anything that he spent his ministry teaching. Gentiles can look at the law that Jesus taught and decide whether to follow him or not, but Gentiles can't follow him by refusing to follow what he taught.

Jesus did not teach the Gentiles! None of His apostles/disciples instructed Gentiles to choose whether or not they wanted to obey the Mosaic Law. Why would they? Since obeying the Mosaic Law was not given to give eternal life to those who obeyed it. It was not obedience to the Law that saved the Old Covenant people who believed, it was and always has been salvation by grace through faith alone that saves.
 
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