The post was too long so had to post in two separate posts.
Part 1
"But when the fullness of the time was come, God sent forth also his Son, having been born of a woman, having been
born under the Law." (
Galatians 4:4)
First I want to thank you for using scripture. It allows us to go through these scriptures and break down what is really being said.
I already agreed Jesus was born under the law- He could not be our Savior or
example to follow if He was not born "under the law" Just like we are born under "the law" and if in Christ -we would not worship other gods. vain His holy name, break His holy Sabbath day, covet or break the least of these. Jesus taught not to break the least of these
Mat 5:19-30, so why do people think they can, who proclaim to be Christ followers is always surprising to me.
Obedience to the commandments of the Law was a covenant, a legally binding contract that God made
only with the Jewish people. (
Exodus 19:5-6) That was what “set them apart” from the nations of the world. That if they obeyed
all the commandments of the Law (not some, not a few, but all), then they would be blessed. If they broke even one commandment, then they were guilty of the whole law, and they would be cursed. (Deuteronomy 28, 31:28-32:43)
There are two different agreements/covenants. The Ten Commandments is a
separate covenant where God
alone wrote and spoke the Ten Commandment and after He wrote and spoke them
no more was added. Only the Ten Commandments was placed
inside the ark of the covenant Exo 40:20 under His mercy seat and the earthy temple always pointed to the Heavenly Temple Heb 8:1-5 where the ark of the covenant is
Rev 11:19 as it is what all man will be judged by
James 2:10-12 Mat 5:19-30 Ecc 12:13-14 Rev 22:14. Can't have a fair judgement if there is no law to judge by. God didn't leave it up to man to write His holy and righteous law- He did alone.
Deut 4:13 So He (God) declared to you
His covenant which He commanded you to perform,
the Ten Commandments; and
He wrote them on two tablets of stone.
Exo 34:28 So he was there with the Lord forty days and forty nights; he neither ate bread nor drank water. And He (God)
wrote on the tablets the words of the covenant, the Ten Commandments.
Deut 5:22 “These words the Lord spoke to all your assembly, in the mountain from the midst of the fire, the cloud, and the thick darkness, with a loud voice;
and He added no more. And He wrote them on two tablets of stone and gave them to me.
The law of Moses
handwritten by Moses was a separate covenant- placed
outside the ark of the Covenant, in a book on paper.
Deut 31:26 and yes they were cursed for breaking what was inside the ark- the Ten Commandments
The reason this covenant of law keeping was only made with the Jewish people was because the Jewish people were chosen by God.
Agreed. God hasn't changed - His covenant is still with Israel Heb 8:10 which is just a name God gave to identify His people. It's no longer "literal" Israel, but spiritual Israel.
Romans 9:6-7 grafted in through faith
Gal 3:26-28 the way it always has been even in the OT- as shown in the story of Ruth- Your people are my people; your God is my God. It has always been
through faith. What do God's faithful people do throughout scripture- read
Rev 14:12
And the reason God chose Israel was not, as some seem to believe, to save Israel. The purpose for which God chose Israel was that through this people God would bring to pass His Plan of Salvation, a plan formed before the foundation of the world, a plan that would be for all people, for the Jews first, but also for the Gentiles. That was the purpose for which God chose Israel, not to be saved, but to be an instrument of God's salvation.
And the Law was given to Israel for one purpose ... to sanctify them (set them apart from the nations of the world) and to make them holy. It was not obedience to the commandments that made Jews holy. By that standard, no one is holy, because no one can or ever could obey all the commandments. If judged by the Law, everyone is a law-breaker. That was not what made Jews holy. What made Jews holy under the
Only Christ can make one holy and God's law is a reflection of God's character- which is
holy Rom 7:12,
righteous Psa 119:172 perfect Psa 19:7 and
truth Psa 119:105. So best not to kid ourselves that we can profane God's law and that is doing righteous.
John 3:7 Little children
, let no one deceive you. He who practices righteousness is righteous, just as He is righteous.
1 Peter 1:15 but as He who called you
is holy, you also be holy in all
your conduct, 16 because it is written, “Be holy, for I am holy.”
Old Covenant was
the blood of the bulls and goats, (
Leviticus 17:11) the offerings that were made
for sin. That was what cleansed the people of their sins, the blood was what “purified” them, that was what made them “holy,” not their obedience to the Law.
Yes, you touched on something very important. The law that defines sin when broken cannot be the same law that
was added because of sin. So obviously we are dealing with two different laws.
The Ten Commandments is the law that defines sin, God perfect, holy and righteous law that He personally wrote and spoke Exo 32:16 Exo 31:18
1 John 3:4 Whoever commits sin also commits lawlessness,
and sin is lawlessness.
Romans 7:7 What shall we say then?
Is the law sin? Certainly not! On the contrary,
I would not have known sin except through the law. For I would not have known covetousness unless the law had said, “You shall not covet.” only found in the Ten Commandments
Breaking one is like breaking them all- James said
only contrasting and quoting again from the Ten Commandments
James 2:10-12
Animal sacrifices were added because the transgression of God's law 1 John 3:4 the Ten Commandments. Rom 7:7 In the NC instead of bringing an animal sacrifice for sin, Jesus took the penalty of sin and became our Sacrificial Lamb 1 Cor 5:7 and made an end to animal sacrifice Heb 10:1-22 but not an end to what sin is (breaking God's law) and if we continue in sin there remains no more sacrifice Heb 10:26-30. but it we confess
and forsake Pro 28:13 we can receive mercy, grace and His sanctification.
No wonder Jesus taught and lived by the Ten Commandments warning us not to break or teach others to break the least of these as it is
sin and
one would be in fear of Judgement Mat 5:19-30
Go back and actually look at what the blessings were for obedience to the Law. They were all material blessings: “And the Lord shall make thee plenteous in goods, in the fruit of thy body, and in the fruit of thy cattle, and in the fruit of thy ground, in the land which the Lord sware unto thy fathers to give thee.” Read
Deuteronomy 28:1-14. Obedience to the commandments promised material blessings.
Wow- do you really believe the blessing Jesus gives for our obedience as "just material only" and not understand how it is
honoring God. Yes, he blesses those who obey Him but it’s more spiritual blessings than anything. While God promises our needs will be taken care its the spiritual blessings that mean more than anything. Seriously who wants to be cursed by God. Seems like a weird thing to use as an argument against obeying God.
Nowhere was “spending holy time with God” ever promised as a blessing for keeping the law, certainly nowhere did any of the Sabbath commandments make such a promise.
Many who do not keep the Sabbath commandment sadly misunderstand the blessing it is to spend time with God on
His holy day- putting aside all worldly things and just focusing on Him for a full day on the day
He set aside blessed, sanctified and made holy to
bless Isa 56:1-7 and
sanctify us
Eze 20:12 made for man Mark 2:27 because man can't sanctify themselves, we need God
Another thus saith the Lord on His Sabbath that Jesus told us to live by
Mat 4:4
Isaiah 58:13 “If you turn away your foot
from the Sabbath,
From doing your pleasure on My holy day,
And call
the Sabbath a delight,
The holy day of the Lord honorable,
And shall honor Him, not doing your own ways,
Nor finding your own pleasure,
Nor speaking your own words,
14
Then you shall delight yourself in the Lord;
And I will cause you to ride on the high hills of the earth,
And feed you with the heritage of Jacob your father.
The mouth of the Lord has spoken.”
When broken this is what God says happens.
Eze 22: 26
Her priests have violated My law and profaned My holy things;
they have not distinguished between the holy and unholy, nor have they made known
the difference between the unclean and the clean;
and they have hidden their eyes from My Sabbaths, so that I am profaned among them.
