Confused

kamiller1972 said:

That's really beautiful! Thank you so much for your feedback! It has been helping me so much! Especially today when it has been much needed!

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I need you to know that grace and truth is not an invention of the New Testament. Grace and truth existed both in the Old Testament and the New Testament because it is only through grace that one can be saved. In the OT the method to obtain this grace is different to the NT but its all grace. Romans and Galatians are not good books to read when you are just starting the bible. Romans particular can be confusing at times. Start with the Gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke, John). Remember however, that you must not neglect the OT because as the bible says, All scripture is given by inspiration of God and is profitable for doctrine, reproof, correction and instruction in righteousness. And furthermore, when that scripture was written, "All Scripture" was only the Old Testament because the NT was not compiled yet.

kamiller1972 said:

That's really beautiful! Thank you so much for your feedback! It has been helping me so much! Especially today when it has been much needed!

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When we study the Bible, it is important to note who is speaking and who they are speaking to. For instance, the speaker might be Jewish, under the law and speaking to others who are under the law? Or, maybe the speaker is a born again believer speaking to either other born again believers or those who have not received Christ yet? While all scripture is written for us, not all of it is written to us.

BTW: Some people take a stance against Christians that would puzzle me if I did not know what the Word has to say about them. It is best to simply pray for them and not give their rants another thought.

Wells Marsh said in post 19:

John 1:17 For the law was given through Moses, but grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.

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Amen.

On Jesus' cross, for both Jews and Gentiles (Jn. 11:51-52), of all times, the letter of the Old Covenant Mosaic law (the OCML) was disannulled (Heb. 7:18-19), abolished (Eph. 2:15-16, Col. 2:14-17, 2 Cor. 3:6-18), rendered obsolete (Heb. 8:13, Gal. 3:2-25, 4:21-5:8), taken away and replaced (Heb. 10:9) by the better hope (Heb. 7:19), the better covenant (Heb. 7:22, 8:6-12), the second covenant (Heb. 8:7, 10:9), of Jesus' New Covenant law (Gal. 6:2, Jn. 1:17, Mt. 26:28, Heb. 12:24, 9:15), so that the law was changed (Heb. 7:12). All believers, both Jews and Gentles, of all times, are delivered from the letter of the OCML and shouldn't keep it (Rom. 7:6, 2 Cor. 3:6-18, Gal. 2:11-21) or have any desire to keep it (Gal. 4:21-5:8, 3:2-25). Believers keep the spirit of the OCML (Rom. 7:6) by loving others (Gal. 5:14, Rom. 13:8-10), by doing to others as they would have others do to them (Mt. 7:12).

The New Covenant is a new law (Heb. 7:12,18-19, 10:1-23), consisting of Jesus' New Testament commandments (Jn. 14:15), such as those he gave in the Sermon on the Mount (Mt. 5:19-7:29) and in the epistles of Paul the apostle (1 Cor. 14:37). These commandments exceed in righteousness the abolished letter of the OCML (Mt. 5:20-48), so that there's no reason why any believer should ever want to go back under the letter of the OCML (Gal. 3:2-5:26). It was just a temporary schoolmaster (Gal. 3:24-25), a temporary shadow (Col. 2:16-17), which God set up because of sins long after he had set up the original promise of the Abrahamic Covenant and long before he brought that promise to fulfillment in Jesus' New Covenant (Gal. 3:16-29, Mt. 26:28). The letter of the OCML has been made obsolete by the New Covenant (the NC) (Heb. 8:13). For example, the letter of the OCML required an Aaronic priesthood (Ex. 30:30), whereas the NC replaced the Aaronic priesthood with the Melchisedechian priesthood (Heb. 7:11-28). And the letter of the OCML required animal sacrifices (e.g. Lev. 23:19), whereas the NC replaced those with the one-time sacrifice of Jesus (Heb. 10).

The letter of the OCML is the Hagar to the NC's Sarah (Gal. 4:22-25), so that those people, whether Jews or Gentiles, who try to keep the letter of the OCML are like Ishmael, while those people, whether Jews or Gentiles, who keep the NC are like Isaac (Gal. 4:22-31). The letter of the OCML (including the letter of the ten commandments), written and engraven in stones (2 Cor. 3:7, Deut. 4:13, 27:8), was the ministration of death and condemnation (2 Cor. 3:7,9; e.g. Lev. 20:10, Ex. 31:14, Num. 15:32-36; contrast the NC's Jn. 8:4-11, Mt. 12:1-8) which has been done away (2 Cor. 3:11), abolished (2 Cor. 3:13b), yet it's still able to spiritually blind some people as with a veil from beholding Jesus (2 Cor. 3:14-16), whereas the NC is the ministration of the spirit and righteousness (2 Cor. 3:6,8,9b) which remains (2 Cor. 3:11b) and which permits believers to remove the veil and to behold Jesus (2 Cor. 3:16-18, Mk. 15:38, Heb. 7:18-19, Eph. 2:15-18, Col. 2:14-17).

But a mistaken spirit of Pharisaism is still able to deceive even some believers into thinking that they must still keep the letter of the OCML in order to be saved (Acts 15:1,5), or in order to become perfect (Gal. 3:2-5:26). This is a false, cursed gospel (Gal. 1:6-9), for if any believers are keeping any part of the letter of the OCML, thinking they must do so in order to be saved, or in order to become perfect, then they have fallen from grace (Gal. 5:2-8).