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Matthew 23:23...doesn't say the law is of faith.Indeed, the man-made works of law are not of faith in God, but obedience to God's commands is about demonstrating our faith in Him about how we should live, so God's Law is of faith. As Jesus said in Matthew 23:23, faith is one of the weightier aspects of the Law.
corinth,Matthew 23:23...doesn't say the law is of faith.
I'll have to stick with Gal. 3:12 "and the law is not of faith."
The meaning that comes to mind is ....that we find faith revealed on the scene...when Christ...enters the world.
The law...was done by human effort...and humans couldnt keep the law because their flesh was weak...The promise of blessings was through faith not the law.......and God fulfilled his promise through the seed of Abraham...which was Christ...
Matthew 23:23...doesn't say the law is of faith.
I'll have to stick with Gal. 3:12 "and the law is not of faith."
The meaning that comes to mind is ....that we find faith revealed on the scene...when Christ...enters the world.
The law...was done by human effort...and humans couldnt keep the law because their flesh was weak...The promise of blessings was through faith not the law.......and God fulfilled his promise through the seed of Abraham...which was Christ...
It can't be both true that the Law is not of faith and that faith is one of the most important aspects of the Law. God said that what He commanded was for His people's own good (Deuteronomy 6:24), so those who believed what God said and lived accordingly were straightforwardly living by faith in Him about how they should live. So if Jesus said one thing and you think that Paul said the opposite, then when it comes down to it are you a follower of Jesus or of Paul? However it does not need to come down to that because Paul was not speaking about God's Law not being in faith, but about man-made works of law not being of faith.
It has always been a fundamental misunderstanding of God's law to think that it was about human effort rather than about demonstrating our faith in God about how we should live, about demonstrating of love for God, and thereby growing in a relationship with Him based on faith and love. We could not keep God's Law because it was weakened by the flesh, so the problem was not with God's righteous standard, but with what was preventing us from living according to it. So God made a New Covenant where he would take away our hearts of stone, give us hearts of flesh, send His Spirit to cause us to obey His Law (Ezekiel 36:26-27), where he would put His Law in our minds and write it on our hearts so that we will obey it (Jeremiah 31:33), and where he would send His Son to give himself to redeem us from all lawlessness (Titus 2:14), so that we could be no longer hindered from obeying it so that we might meet its righteous requirement (Romans 8:3-4). The Law was never given as a means of receiving the promise, but as instructions for what we should obey by faith because we have faith in the promise.
But according to Galatians it is true...for scripture declares in Galatians "the law is not of faith" How could they have kept it by the faith of Christ if he'd yet to die?
"Anything that is not of faith is sin"...and here is a case where "of"....I believe should be "through"...but that's my opinion
For everything is made through him..
That is one reason He is the Justifier of man.
My other opinion is-The law is not kept through faith...its upheld /established
Through faith...true meaning is given when first the heart is clean so that the outside works of the flesh, then are too......
The way to have life Is Christ not the law...
Life is the key.......the law pointed out sin...
Through Christ is The Way!...
KEEP your EYES FOCUSED only on JESUS the Christ and HIS LAWS-LIFE-PRECEPTS-COMMANDMENTS
Not the Mosaic Law, Not the miracles of Elijah, Not the Old Testament
...ONLY on the PERSON of JESUS the CHRIST, the DIVINE MESSIAH, The GOD-MAN
1. Jesus confirmed 9 of the 10 OT Commandments and fulfilled the Mosaic Law!
...Man cannot keep the LAW!
2. He gave us The SUPER 2 Commandments...
A. LOVE GOD...confirmed Exodus 20 ....Deuteronomy 5
B. LOVE NEIGHBOR AS SELF...see e.g....Luke 10
3. And He gave us NEW Commandments / Precepts
A. John 15:12 (B.)...Love each other as I have loved you. = Jesus' COMMANDMENT...Vine and the branches
John 15:
"I am the vine; you are the branches.
If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit;
apart from me you can do nothing....
"As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love.
If you obey my commands, you will remain in my love,
just as I have obeyed my Father's commands and remain in His love.
I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete.
My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you.
B. Mark 8...Jesus' demands on His followers...
34 Then he called the crowd to him along with his disciples and said:
"If anyone would come after me, he must
deny himself, (Put God and others before self) and
take up his cross, (sacrifice of self)
and follow me. (keep precepts / examples)
35 For whoever wants to save his life will lose it,
but whoever loses his life for me and for the gospel will save it.
36 What good is it for a man to gain the whole world, yet forfeit his soul?
37 Or what can a man give in exchange for his soul?
38 If anyone is ashamed of me and my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, the Son of Man will be ashamed of him when he comes in his Father's glory with the holy angels."(Second Coming)
corinth,
Galatians was written to counter trying to obtain salvation, or to obtain more perfect standing with God, by keeping the law.
We are not made perfect in any way, by the law. We are not justified by Law.
However, God's law stands forever. Until heaven and earth pass, not one jot or one tittle can in any wise pass.
How do we reconcile those two?
In Christ.
Christ IS our Passover Lamb.
Christ IS our Sabbath Rest.
Christ IS our clean meat.
Christ IS our continual festival.
All those ceremonial laws pointed to Christ, in types and shadows.
But the moral code... it's still the revelation of what's right and wrong.
God doesn't save us from sin by the blood of Christ, just to let us make up our own rules of right and wrong from that point on.
If we truly love God... If we are truly born again, and made new creatures... we will WANT to be holy before God!
And thus, we will pursue God, by walking after the Spirit.
And "the righteousness of the law is fullfilled in them that walk after the Spirit."
What standard of righteousness is fulfilled in us? The standard revealed in the Law.
Because God doesn't change. What He once hated, He will always hate. What He once said was good behavior, will always be good behavior.
He wouldn't say something is an abomination to Him once, and then tell his adopted children that they can go ahead and do that thing He hates!
There is so much we still go to the Psalms for, as Christians... and then, there's so much we just throw out, because of wrong teaching. The very first Psalm for instance. "Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standing in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful. But his delight is in the LAW of the Lord, and in His LAW doth he meditate day and night."
We want to be blessed. We would do well to learn the moral code of the Law, and learn what our Father loves, and what He hates. Just because we want to snuggle up to his heart!
The Law of Moses is God's Word and Jesus is God's Word made flesh, so he is the living embodiment of God's Law, and to do away with God's Word would be to do away with himself.Jesus fulfilled/finished/ended the Law of Moses. Jesus Christ fulfilled/finished/ended the Law of Moses/OT by His birth, life, and death on the cross.
John 19:28-30
After this Jesus, knowing that all was now finished, said (to fulfil the scripture), “I thirst.” A bowl full of vinegar stood there; so they put a sponge full of the vinegar on hyssop and held it to his mouth. When Jesus had received the vinegar, he said, “It is finished”; and he bowed his head and gave up his spirit. rsv
Romans 7:6
But now we are discharged from the law, dead to that which held us captive, so that we serve not under the old written code but in the new life of the Spirit. rsv
1 Corinthians 9:20
To the Jews I became as a Jew, in order to win Jews; to those under the law I became as one under the law—though not being myself under the law—that I might win those under the law. rsv
Galatians 3:23-26
23 Now before faith came, we were confined under the law, kept under restraint until faith should be revealed. 24 So that the law was our custodian until Christ came, that we might be justified by faith. 25 But now that faith has come, we are no longer under a custodian; 26 for in Christ Jesus you are all sons of God, through faith. rsv
Romans 10:4
For Christ is the end of the law, that every one who has faith may be justified.
The Law of Jesus Christ was taught to His apostles/disciples while He was on earth and also through the Holy Spirit after He ascended to be with His Father. All Christians are now under the Law of Christ.
We must obey Jesus' commandments while we are on earth until we die if we want to inherit/enter into eternal life with God after we die.
2 Corinthians 9:13
Under the test of this service, you will glorify God by your obedience in acknowledging the gospel of Christ, and by the generosity of your contribution for them and for all others; rsv
1 Peter 1:1-2a
Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ,
To the exiles of the Dispersion in Pontus, Galatia, Cappado′cia, Asia, and Bithyn′ia, 2 chosen and destined by God the Father and sanctified by the Spirit for obedience to Jesus Christ and for sprinkling with his blood:To the exiles of the Dispersion in Pontus, Galatia, Cappado′cia, Asia, and Bithyn′ia, 2 chosen and destined by God the Father and sanctified by the Spirit for obedience to Jesus Christ and for sprinkling with his blood: rsv
Matthew 19:16-19
16 And behold, one came up to him, saying, “Teacher, what good deed must I do, to have eternal life?” 17 And he said to him, “Why do you ask me about what is good? One there is who is good. If you would enter life, keep the commandments.” 18 He said to him, “Which?” And Jesus said, “You shall not kill, You shall not commit adultery, You shall not steal, You shall not bear false witness, 19 Honor your father and mother, and, You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” rsv
Luke 10:25-28
And behold, a lawyer stood up to put him to the test, saying, “Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?” 26 He said to him, “What is written in the law? How do you read?” 27 And he answered, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength, and with all your mind; and your neighbor as yourself.” 28 And he said to him, “You have answered right; do this, and you will live.” rsv
This is long but answers your question.So all of the Law of Moses applies still? Jesus didn't change anything about existence if that's the case.
KEEP your EYES FOCUSED only on JESUS the Christ and HIS LAWS-LIFE-PRECEPTS-COMMANDMENTS
Not the Mosaic Law, Not the miracles of Elijah, Not the Old Testament
...ONLY on the PERSON of JESUS the CHRIST, the DIVINE MESSIAH, The GOD-MAN
1. Jesus confirmed 9 of the 10 OT Commandments and fulfilled the Mosaic Law!...Man cannot keep the LAW!
2. He gave us The SUPER 2 Commandments...
A. LOVE GOD...confirmed Exodus 20 ....Deuteronomy 5
B. LOVE NEIGHBOR AS SELF...see e.g....Luke 10
3. And He gave us NEW Commandments / Precepts
A. John 15:12 (B.)...Love each other as I have loved you. = Jesus' COMMANDMENT...Vine and the branches
John 15:
"I am the vine; you are the branches.
If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit;
apart from me you can do nothing....
"As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love.
If you obey my commands, you will remain in my love,
just as I have obeyed my Father's commands and remain in His love.
I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete.
My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you.
B. Mark 8...Jesus' demands on His followers...
34 Then he called the crowd to him along with his disciples and said:
"If anyone would come after me, he must
deny himself, (Put God and others before self) and
take up his cross, (sacrifice of self)
and follow me. (keep precepts / examples)
35 For whoever wants to save his life will lose it,
but whoever loses his life for me and for the gospel will save it.
36 What good is it for a man to gain the whole world, yet forfeit his soul?
37 Or what can a man give in exchange for his soul?
38 If anyone is ashamed of me and my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, the Son of Man will be ashamed of him when he comes in his Father's glory with the holy angels."(Second Coming)
Thanks for sharing those passages...Jesus fulfilled/finished/ended the Law of Moses. Jesus Christ fulfilled/finished/ended the Law of Moses/OT by His birth, life, and death on the cross.
Luke 24:44
Then he said to them, “These are my words which I spoke to you, while I was still with you, that everything written about me in the law of Moses and the prophets and the psalms must be fulfilled.” rsv
John 19:28-30
After this Jesus, knowing that all was now finished, said (to fulfil the scripture), “I thirst.” A bowl full of vinegar stood there; so they put a sponge full of the vinegar on hyssop and held it to his mouth. When Jesus had received the vinegar, he said, “It is finished”; and he bowed his head and gave up his spirit. rsv
Romans 7:6
But now we are discharged from the law, dead to that which held us captive, so that we serve not under the old written code but in the new life of the Spirit. rsv
1 Corinthians 9:20
To the Jews I became as a Jew, in order to win Jews; to those under the law I became as one under the law—though not being myself under the law—that I might win those under the law. rsv
Galatians 4:3-6
3 So with us; when we were children, we were slaves to the elemental spirits of the universe. 4 But when the time had fully come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law, 5 to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons. 6 And because you are sons, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, “Abba! Father!” rsv
Galatians 3:23-26
23 Now before faith came, we were confined under the law, kept under restraint until faith should be revealed. 24 So that the law was our custodian until Christ came, that we might be justified by faith. 25 But now that faith has come, we are no longer under a custodian; 26 for in Christ Jesus you are all sons of God, through faith. rsv
Romans 10:4
For Christ is the end of the law, that every one who has faith may be justified.
The Law of Jesus Christ was taught to His apostles/disciples while He was on earth and also through the Holy Spirit after He ascended to be with His Father. All Christians are now under the Law of Christ.
We must obey Jesus' commandments while we are on earth until we die if we want to inherit/enter into eternal life with God after we die.
1 Corinthians 9:21
To those outside the law I became as one outside the law—not being without law toward God but under the law of Christ—that I might win those outside the law.
2 Corinthians 9:13
Under the test of this service, you will glorify God by your obedience in acknowledging the gospel of Christ, and by the generosity of your contribution for them and for all others; rsv
2 Corinthians 10:5
We destroy arguments and every proud obstacle to the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ, rsv
1 Peter 1:1-2a
Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ,
To the exiles of the Dispersion in Pontus, Galatia, Cappado′cia, Asia, and Bithyn′ia, 2 chosen and destined by God the Father and sanctified by the Spirit for obedience to Jesus Christ and for sprinkling with his blood:To the exiles of the Dispersion in Pontus, Galatia, Cappado′cia, Asia, and Bithyn′ia, 2 chosen and destined by God the Father and sanctified by the Spirit for obedience to Jesus Christ and for sprinkling with his blood: rsv
Matthew 19:16-19
16 And behold, one came up to him, saying, “Teacher, what good deed must I do, to have eternal life?” 17 And he said to him, “Why do you ask me about what is good? One there is who is good. If you would enter life, keep the commandments.” 18 He said to him, “Which?” And Jesus said, “You shall not kill, You shall not commit adultery, You shall not steal, You shall not bear false witness, 19 Honor your father and mother, and, You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” rsv
Luke 10:25-28
And behold, a lawyer stood up to put him to the test, saying, “Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?” 26 He said to him, “What is written in the law? How do you read?” 27 And he answered, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength, and with all your mind; and your neighbor as yourself.” 28 And he said to him, “You have answered right; do this, and you will live.” rsv
Feel free to interact with post #20 of this thread in regard to what it means to fulfill the Law:
Sin is Lawlessness
The Law of Moses is God's Word and Jesus is God's Word made flesh, so he is the living embodiment of God's Law, and to do away with God's Word would be to do away with himself.
Jesus was referring to his redemptive work on the cross, not to doing away with God's righteous standard. In Titus 2:14, it does not say that Christ gave himself to redeem us from the Law, but to redeem us from all Lawlessness in order to purify for himself a people who are zealous for doing good works, and the Mosaic Law is God's instructions for how to do good works (2 Timothy 3:16-17, Acts 21:20).
In Romans 7, Paul said that God Law is holy, righteous, and good (7:12), that it is the good that he sought to do (7:13-20), the good that he delighted in doing (7:22), and the good that he served with his mind (7:25), but contrasted it with the law of sin that came about to increase trespasses (5:20), that stirred up sin to bear fruit unto death (7:5), that held him captive (7:6), that gave sin its power over him (7:8), that caused him not to do the good that he wanted to do (7:13-20), that held him captive (7:23), and that he served with his flesh (7:25). So in Romans 7:6, Paul was speaking about being set free from the law of sin that held him captive so that he would be free to serve God through following His commands by the leading of the Spirit.
1 Corinthians 9:21 To those outside the law I became as one outside the law (not being outside the law of God but under the law of Christ) that I might win those outside the law.
Paul said in the very next verse that he was not outside of God's Law, so it clearly has not dead, and he used in a parallel statement with being under the law of Christ, so they both are referring to the same thing.
Having no more need for a tutor is not at all the same as having no more need for what the tutor taught us. A student does not move on to 2nd grade by forgetting everything they were taught in 1st grade, but rather their new teacher builds upon what they were taught previously. Similarly, someone does not move on to algebra by forgetting everything that they learned about addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division, and if they did forget those things, then they would need to go back for a remedial education. Christ was sinless, so he set a perfect example of how to walk in obedience to the Mosaic Law and we are told to follow his example (1 Peter 2:21-22) and to walk in the same way that he walked (1 John 2:3-6). So now that he has come, we have perfect example to follow and a better teacher, but the subject is still how to correctly walk in obedience to the Mosaic Law. Furthermore, we now have the Spirit who has the role of leading us in obedience to the Mosaic Law (Ezekiel 36:26-27)
If are particular action were acting according to God's righteousness before Christ, but after he came that action was no longer according to God's righteousness, then God's righteousness has changed, but God's righteousness is eternal and does not change, which is the same for all of God's righteous laws (Psalms 119:160).
Romans 10:4 Christ is the goal of the Law, which leads to righteousness for all who have faith in God.
According to John 5:46, Jesus said that Moses wrote about him, according to Luke 24:27, Jesus interpreted to them from all of Scripture the things concerning himself, and in Hebrews 10:7, it says that the volume of the scroll is written about him, so the Law is entirely about him, it is pointed at or directed towards him, and a relationship with him is the goal at which obedience the Law aims for righteousness for everyone who believes. Prior to Paul's Damascus road experience, he had been keeping the Law without having a focus on his relationship with Messiah, so he had been missing the whole point and considered it to be rubbish (Philippians 3:8).
If Jesus had said nothing, then he still would have taught obedience to the Mosaic Law by example, and we are told to follow his example. However, he taught obedience to the Mosaic Law both by word and by example, so I do not see any reason to think that the Law of Christ is anything other than how he taught to obey the Mosaic Law by word and how he lived it out by example. It is not as though Christ were in disagreement with what the Father commanded, so sinned in violation of Deuteronomy 4:2 by creating his own set of laws.
Jesus started his ministry with the Gospel message of needing to repent of our sins for the Kingdom of God is at hand. The Mosaic Law was given to reveal what sin is (Romans 3:20), without it we wouldn't even know what sin is (Romans 7:7), sin is defined as Lawlessness (1 John 3:4), and so the Mosaic Law is the way that the Israelites knew what sin is and what they should be repenting from doing. This means that repenting from our disobedience to the Mosaic Law is a central part of the Gospel of Christ and that we should glorify God through our obedience to His Law.
These verses all support obedience to the Mosaic Law.
Thanks for sharing those passages...
Jesus is....the end of the law for righteousness
In my understanding the source of salvation
Has changed
Yet the course of salvation remains.
No man was justified by the law because the flesh of man was weak.
If one gets to be Justified He would have had to come through Christ.
So its not merely the man that looks..but he that looks to Christ and Believths on him.
Love is the ultimate command..that also fullfills the law.
Christ therefore being the righteousness of God [demonstrating keeping his commands]and we...are to be the righteousness of Christ. [demonstrating the love of Christ] most likely the law of CChrist until Christ be formed in us.
So that is how we uphold/establish...and bring meaning to the law..The inside of our hearts are clean through love by love and for love...
For everything is made by him, for him and through him.
We love through Christ..Christ is magnified within us and therefore the law established.
Which means to me nothing on the outside as works of righteousnes mean anything until the heart is made right....
First make the inside clean and the outside will be clean as well....
So as DW would say....you can't keep the law by trying to keep the law....but become the type of person that naturally would do what the law required..(hind sight..that is)
Thats my understanding ...study and live for him for yourself....
This is long but answers your question.
THE LAW OF MOSES AND ITS APPLICABILITY TO TODAY
Definition: The laws given to Moses consists of a comprehensive set of guidelines to ensure that the Israelites' behavior reflected their status as God's chosen people.
It encompasses moral behavior, their position as a godly example to other nations, and systematic procedures for acknowledging God's holiness and mankind's sinfulness.
Some of the dietary and cleanliness laws were probably set up by God for health reasons and He may have given them other laws for no other reason than to separate their culture from that of the peoples who lived around them. He wanted a holy, ‘set apart’ people who did not live as other people lived. God also was preparing the Hebrews for the day when He would send His Son to save the world. A major purpose for having a special people like the Hebrews in the first place was to prepare a religious and cultural environment suitable for raising (and later bringing about the sacrificial death of) His Son.
In an attempt to better understand the purpose of these laws, Jews and Christians categorize them. This has led to the distinction between moral law, ceremonial law, and judicial law. Some of the latter two types are time-limited and culture-limited laws rather than universal laws meant to apply to all times and places and peoples. Figuring out which laws are which is then an important task so that we can know if they continue to apply to us.
Moral Law
The moral laws, or mishpatim, relate to justice and judgment and are often translated as "ordinances." These moral laws are said to be based on God's holy nature. As such, the ordinances are holy, just, and unchanging. Their purpose is to promote the welfare of those who obey. The value of the laws is considered obvious by reason and common sense. The moral law encompasses regulations on justice, respect, and sexual conduct, and includes the Ten Commandments. It also includes penalties for failure to obey the ordinances. The moral law does not point people to Christ; it merely illuminates the fallen state of all mankind and ultimately to their need for Christ.
Modern Protestants are divided over the applicability of these kinds of laws in the church age. Some believe that Jesus' assertion that the law will remain in effect until the earth passes away (Matthew 5:18) means that believers are still bound to it. Others, however, understand that Jesus fulfilled this requirement (Matthew 5:17), and that we are instead under the law of Christ (Gal 6:2), which is thought to be "love God and love others" (Matt 22:36-40).
Although many of the moral laws in the OT give excellent examples as to how to love God and love others, and the NT teaches that freedom from the law is not license to sin (Romans 6:15), it is clear that we are not specifically bound by the Law.
Ceremonial Law
The ceremonial laws are called hukkim or chuqqah in Hebrew, which literally means “custom of the nation”; the words are often translated as "statutes." These laws are not obvious to common sense; for example, the destruction of perfectly good animals for sacrifice and the rejection of food sources such as pork and rabbit. Instead, these statutes are often symbolic and seem to focus the adherent's attention on God. They include instructions on regaining right standing with God (e.g., sacrifices and other ceremonies regarding "uncleanness"), remembrances of God's work in Israel (e.g., feasts and festivals), specific regulations meant to distinguish Israelites from their pagan neighbors (e.g., dietary and clothing restrictions), and signs that point to the coming Messiah (e.g., the Sabbath, circumcision, Passover, and the redemption of the first-born).
Christians are not bound by ceremonial law. Since the church is not the nation of Israel, memorial festivals, such as the Feast of Weeks and Passover, do not apply. Galatians 3:23-25 explains that since Jesus has come, Christians are not required to sacrifice or circumcise.
There is still debate in Protestant churches over the applicability of the Sabbath. Some say that its inclusion in the Ten Commandments gives it the weight of moral law. Others quote Colossians 2:16-17 and Romans 14:5 to explain that Jesus has fulfilled the Sabbath and become our Sabbath rest. As Romans 14:5 says, "Each one should be fully convinced in his own mind." The applicability of the OT law in the life of a Christian has always related to its usefulness in loving God and others. If someone feels observing the Sabbath aids him in this, he is free to observe it.
Judicial/Civil Law
The Westminster Confession adds the category of judicial or civil law. These laws were specifically given for the culture and place of the Israelites and encompass all of the moral law except the Ten Commandments. This includes everything from murder to restitution for a man gored by an ox and the responsibility of the man who dug a pit to rescue his neighbor's trapped donkey (Exodus 21:12-36). Since the Jews saw no difference between their God-ordained morality and their cultural responsibilities, this category is used by Christians far more than by Jewish scholars.
The division of the Jewish law into different categories is a human construct designed to better understand the nature of God and define which laws church-age Christians are still required to follow. Many believe the ceremonial law is not applicable, but we are bound by moral law, particularly the Ten Commandments. All the law is useful for instruction (2 Timothy 3:16), but much in NT verifies that God intended a distinction in categories of the Law. Foods, sacrifices, circumcision, etc. were clearly abolished as requirements for Gentiles; note what was determined at the Council at Jerusalem in Acts 15.
Paul taught that Christians are not under the law (Romans 10:4), certainly not Gentile Christians. Jesus fulfilled the law, thus abolishing the difference between Jew and Gentile "so that in Himself He might make the two into one new man, thus establishing peace, and might reconcile them both in one body to God through the cross…" (Ephesians 2:15-16). But believers want to please God, so they seek to obey the moral laws, and the Holy Spirit enables them in this regard.
Please see post #31 by Dr. Bruce Atkinson.
Gentiles/Greeks were never under the Law of Moses/Old Covenant. Jesus' death on the cross made the Gentiles/Greeks equal in dignity and grace to the Jews. Jesus' New Covenant is not the same as the Old Covenant/Law of Moses. Both covenants can not be in force at the same time.
New Covenant reality:
Romans 10:12Please note that circumcision was an absolute requirement for all men under the Law of Moses/Old Covenant, but not for men under the New Covenant. The Old Covenant/Law of Moses is no longer in force.
For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; the same Lord is Lord of all and bestows his riches upon all who call upon him. rsv
Galatians 3:28
There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus. rsv
Colossians 3:11
Here there cannot be Greek and Jew, circumcised and uncircumcised, barbarian, Scyth′ian, slave, free man, but Christ is all, and in all. rsv
1 Corinthians 7:18
Was any one at the time of his call already circumcised? Let him not seek to remove the marks of circumcision. Was any one at the time of his call uncircumcised? Let him not seek circumcision. rsv
1 Corinthians 7:19
For neither circumcision counts for anything nor uncircumcision, but keeping the commandments of God. rsv
Old Covenant/Law of Moses:
New Covenant Law of Jesus:
Genesis 17:14
Any uncircumcised male who is not circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin shall be cut off from his people; he has broken my covenant.” rsv
1 Corinthians 7:18The Old Covenant/Law of Moses is no longer in force. It was finished/ended/fulfilled by Jesus Christ's death on the cross.
Was any one at the time of his call already circumcised? Let him not seek to remove the marks of circumcision. Was any one at the time of his call uncircumcised? Let him not seek circumcision. rsv
Hebrews 8:13
In speaking of a new covenant he treats the first as obsolete. And what is becoming obsolete and growing old is ready to vanish away. rsv
Heb 5;9You are welcome.
The source of salvation has always been God through Jesus Christ. Under the Old Covenant, the Law of Moses justified people.and made them righteous.
1 Chronicles 16:35
Acts 3:15
I agree that love for God and for neighbor fulfills the Law of God under the New Covenant. There is no need any more for the ceremonial and dietary laws of the Old Covenant.
RE:
"Jesus is.... the end of the law for righteousness."
IOW, the Law of Moses/Old Covenant ended. The Law of Moses/Old Covenant no longer justifies anyone under the New Covenant. The OC no longer makes any person righteous.
The following explains it more clearly:
Now, under the New Covenant, Greeks/Gentiles can be justified/made righteous. They will be justified/made righteous without the Law of Moses. And under the New Covenant, Jews can no longer be justified by the Law of Moses.
Galatians 2:14The essence of the Law of Moses is the following:
But when I saw that they were not straightforward about the truth of the gospel, I said to Cephas before them all, “If you, though a Jew, live like a Gentile and not like a Jew, how can you compel the Gentiles to live like Jews?” rsv
Mark 7:18-20
And he said to them, “Then are you also without understanding? Do you not see that whatever goes into a man from outside cannot defile him, 19 since it enters, not his heart but his stomach, and so passes on?” (Thus he declared all foods clean.) 20 And he said, “What comes out of a man is what defiles a man. rsv Acts 10:13-15
Galatians 3:1-3
O foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you, before whose eyes Jesus Christ was publicly portrayed as crucified? 2 Let me ask you only this: Did you receive the Spirit by works of the law, or by hearing with faith? 3 Are you so foolish? Having begun with the Spirit, are you now ending with the flesh?
Luke 10:25-28
And behold, a lawyer stood up to put him to the test, saying, “Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?” 26 He said to him, “What is written in the law? How do you read?” 27 And he answered, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength, and with all your mind; and your neighbor as yourself.” 28 And he said to him, “You have answered right; do this, and you will live.” rsv
I dont see that u disagree..corinth,
Galatians was written to counter trying to obtain salvation, or to obtain more perfect standing with God, by keeping the law.
We are not made perfect in any way, by the law. We are not justified by Law.
However, God's law stands forever. Until heaven and earth pass, not one jot or one tittle can in any wise pass.
How do we reconcile those two?
In Christ.
Christ IS our Passover Lamb.
Christ IS our Sabbath Rest.
Christ IS our clean meat.
Christ IS our continual festival.
All those ceremonial laws pointed to Christ, in types and shadows.
But the moral code... it's still the revelation of what's right and wrong.
God doesn't save us from sin by the blood of Christ, just to let us make up our own rules of right and wrong from that point on.
If we truly love God... If we are truly born again, and made new creatures... we will WANT to be holy before God!
And thus, we will pursue God, by walking after the Spirit.
And "the righteousness of the law is fullfilled in them that walk after the Spirit."
What standard of righteousness is fulfilled in us? The standard revealed in the Law.
Because God doesn't change. What He once hated, He will always hate. What He once said was good behavior, will always be good behavior.
He wouldn't say something is an abomination to Him once, and then tell his adopted children that they can go ahead and do that thing He hates!
There is so much we still go to the Psalms for, as Christians... and then, there's so much we just throw out, because of wrong teaching. The very first Psalm for instance. "Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standing in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful. But his delight is in the LAW of the Lord, and in His LAW doth he meditate day and night."
We want to be blessed. We would do well to learn the moral code of the Law, and learn what our Father loves, and what He hates. Just because we want to snuggle up to his heart!
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