Tuesday, July 28, 2026

LIVING BY EVERY WORD OF GOD #2

 

Living by Every Word of God...How?

Part Two

6. PHYSICAL LAWS

     There are many physical laws stipulated in the books of
Moses.  Some as we have already seen were directly connected to
the Tabernacle/Temple worship together with animal sacrifices to
be offered upon being completed. I have talked about such laws as
the physical cleansing of a woman after childbirth.  
     Yet there are other physical laws different from those
physical laws, some of which have no connection with the Temple
or animal sacrifices. Such laws would be the CLEAN and UNCLEAN
food laws of Lev.11 and Deut.14.  Please read these sections of
Scripture. Note how God is emphasizing HOLINESS,  Israel was to
be HOLY as God was HOLY, even in matters of DIET!

     You will notice there is NOTHING in these passages of
scripture to say these laws were tied to the priesthood,
tabernacle, or sacrificing of animals.
     Then as you read all of the word of the Lord you will find
the CLEAN and UNCLEAN creatures existed in the days of NOAH, way
BEFORE Moses and the giving of the Old Covenant to Israel.

     Also the New Testament must be considered, and this is where
CARE must be taken and HONESTY, for some passages in the NT have
been taken to say these food laws were merely ceremonial and not
creationally designed to be GOOD or NOT GOOD for the human body
to eat. It is a very true saying: "You are what you eat."  We are
made of atoms and molecules that must be replenished by the atoms
and molecules of the food we eat. The human body was created in
such a way that to feed it and try to live on a diet of wood and
grass.....well we would soon be six feet under the wood and
grass, turning back to dust.

     There are certain PLANTS that if eaten would do two things,
either make us sick in a literal way, or KILL us!  
     So knowing those facts of this physical life, should it be
thought a STRANGE thing that the Eternal would have laws
concerning DIET that if obeyed would produce HEALTH and if
disobeyed would produce a body not as healthy as it should and
could be.
     Once more, it is not the purpose nor the place to expound
all the truth of this subject and the truth of some verses in the
NT that are often given to teach that the food laws of the books
of Moses are "done away."  Needless to say, that is NOT the case.
The laws regarding DIET in the Old Testament are VERY MUCH for
the Christian today, and they are laws that the child of God
would do well to HEED and OBEY!
     As we are to live by every word of God, that would include
the PROPHETIC word also.  There is a prophecy in the book of
Isaiah chapter 66 that is an END TIME prophecy, concerning the
coming of the Lord with FIRE and POWER to plead with all nations.

It is more than interesting to note that God is at this time
still upholding His food laws, and those rebelling against them
He will deal with in no uncertain way.

     There are physical laws as in Lev.13,14, that although they
had some connection with  the priest and sacrifice, upon
examining them, and many Christian man and woman in the medical
skill have done so, can hardly be said to be JUST ceremonial in
nature and so worthless for the Christian today under the New
Covenant.  Surely the world HAS and is STILL experiencing the
terrible penalties in sickness and death, for not giving more
heed to some of the aspects of these laws.  Certain aspects as
COMMON SENSE, but often common sense is not learned until after
the pain and penalty has been experienced.
We have the law of QUARANTINE expressed in such laws, which is as
the world knows VERY WELL, a MUST in the air borne disease of TB.

There is the health law of SANITATION also unfolded in such laws.


     The men in the ARMIES of Israel were to carry a little spade
with them on their exploits, you know to dig a hole in the ground
to deposit the result of a bodily function.
Sanitation is EXTREMELY important to health and the well-being of
any people.  Such laws are not dependant upon a priesthood, a
Temple, or animal sacrifices.  They work  and are in force and
effect even when the ones just mentioned are not.  Any people
finding themselves in a situation(say after an earthquake) where
sanitation becomes a large problem, soon know the dire results
with the outbreak of diseases that are in the main the result of
poor or no sanitation.  There is another old saying that goes:
"Cleanliness is next to godliness."  And when it comes to the
physical, it is true, for the Eternal God knows what is good for
the human body to maintain it free from disease, sickness, and in
keep it in tip-top healthy shape.

     Many aspects and certainly the PRINCIPLES of these physical
laws are for Christians, individually and collectively, as well
as the nations of the earth, to LOOK INTO and OBEY today!  In so
doing much sickness in the world could be avoided.

7. NEW TESTAMENT DIRECT ALTERATION

                     VOWS, OATHS, SWEARING

     Numbers 3;  Deut.23:21-23.   Oaths and Vows were laws under
the Old Covenant, they were ALLOWED and permitted. There were
rules and regulations regarding those laws.
     One of the important points to remember and to apply in
governing your life by trying to live by every word of God is:
Does the NT have a DIRECT ALTERATION to any of the Old Covenant
laws of Moses or even before Moses for that matter?
     We must read all the word of God to learn how to live by all
the word of God. So it is important we read the NT to see if
there are any passages that clearly ALTER a law found in the Old
Testament.
     When it comes to the law of OATHS and VOWS for the Christian
TODAY under the New Covenant, we do INDEED find verses in the NT
that DIRECTLY ALTER those laws.  Such laws are NOT to be followed
or obeyed or lived by today for the Christian!
     Matthew 5:33-37,  " Again, you have heard that it has been
said by them of OLD TIME, You shall not foreswear yourself, but
shall perform unto the Lord your OATHS. BUT I SAY UNTO YOU, SWEAR
NOT AT ALL; neither by heaven; for it is God's throne: Nor by the
earth, for it is His footstool: neither by Jerusalem; for it is
the city of the great King. Neither shall you SWEAR by your head,
because you cannot make one hair white or black. BUT LET YOUR
COMMUNICATION BE, YES, or NO: for whatsoever is more than these
comes of evil."
     Now that is pretty straightforward, little to interpret
here.  Jesus DIRECTLY ALTERED the laws concerning Oaths and Vows
and Swearing as under the Old Covenant, for the Christian under
the New Covenant.  The Christian today is NOT to enter into any
OATHS, VOWS, or SWEARING !
     James 5:12, " but above all things, brethren, SWEAR NOT,
neither by heaven, neither by the earth, neither by ANY OATH: but
let your yes be yes, and your no be no, lest you fall into
condemnation."

     The laws of our land(at least in Britain, Canada, and the
USA) allow for you as a Christian to AFFIRM and not to have to
swear on the Bible.  I hope most of you know that fact.  If you
find yourself in court for any reason, and you are asked to put
one hand on the Bible and raise the other while you swear to tell
the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth,  YOU DO NOT
HAVE TO COMPLY!  You can tell them that as a Christian you will
AFFIRM. And you do not have to put a hand on the Bible to do that
either.
     A number of years ago, I was in court. The lady came forward
with a Bible to do what she had probably done thousands of times
before. This was in a small town, where obviously she had never
encountered someone who would not swear on the Bible to tell
the truth. I said to her that I did not do such a thing, but
would be quite willing to AFFIRM as a Christian that I would tell
the truth. She blinked, her mind no doubt going blank, and
repeated what she wanted me to do, that is swear on the Bible. I
once again, told her I would affirm to tell the truth. This time
she not only blinked again, but stuttered, paused and stuttered,
only to repeat she wanted me to swear on the Bible. 
     It was obvious by now to me that this poor lady that was
turning red with embarrassment in front of the Judge, did not
know there was a provision in the laws of the land that
Christians did not have to swear on the Bible in courts of law
but could affirm to tell the truth.  As she is telling me for the
third time to swear on the Bible and looking over at the Judge at
the same time, the Judge knowing what I'm going to say, finally
stepped in to tell her that I did not have to swear on the Bible
but could affirm to tell the truth. He took over for her and
asked me to affirm, which I readily did.
     I once had a Judge ask me where in the Bible did it say we
are not to swear. He knew the law of the land that I as a
Christian did not have to swear on the Bible but could affirm to
tell the truth, yet maybe he had never encountered it before, so
he politely asked me where he could find the no swearing verse. I
politely gave him the answer, and he seemed quite pleased to have
it.

     The same holds true for legal documents. If at the end of
them you see SWORN on this day.....etc.  all you need do is cross
out the word "sworn" and replace it with the word "affirmed." My
wife and I have had to do this a number of times in our life when
dealing with legal documents.

     It can be quite a WITNESS to the world at times when as a
Christian we live by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of
God.
                  PHYSICAL CIRCUMCISION

     Romans 2:28,29.  "For he is not a Jew, which is one
outwardly; neither is that circumcision, which is outward in the
flesh: But he is a Jew, which is one INWARDLY; and circumcision
is that OF THE HEART, in the SPIRIT, and not in the letter, whose
praise is not of men, but of God."
     1 Corinthians 7:19,  "Circumcision is NOTHING, and
Uncircumcision is NOTHING, but(what is important) the keeping of
the commandments of God."
     Galatians 5:6, "For in Jesus Christ neither circumcision
avails any thing, nor uncircumcision; but faith which works by
love."

     The Jerusalem conference of Acts 15 led to the official
presentation of the truth that was already being taught by Paul
and others, that physical circumcision was NOT required to be
saved.

     What we see in the above NT scriptures is BOTH an ALTERATION
and even a "done away with" law concerning physical circumcision.
     True NT circumcision for the Christian was not in the flesh
but in the HEART. It was a SPIRITUAL matter, not something
physical.  There was in that sense an ALTERATION from the flesh
to the spirit.  Made very CLEAR by the words of the NT. 
Then going even beyond that, the above words in 1 Cor.7:19 make
it plain that physical circumcision EITHER WAY, doing it or not
doing it, IS NOTHING today!!
     Now, I will probably get some flack from some who want to
uphold physical circumcision as a "good" thing health wise.  Such
can argue all they like, but Paul made it very clear that
physical circumcision is NOTHING!  Look, when was circumcision
introduced by God?  Was it from the beginning?  Was it with Adam?

No!  It was with ABRAHAM!  A number of thousands of years had
gone by from the beginning and MEN DID NOT PRACTICE CIRCUMCISION.

We have no record as coming from God that any were to so
practice. 
     If the nations before Abraham were obeying all of God's
health laws, then there would have been health WITHOUT
circumcision.  God did not make the male, He did not create the
male CIRCUMCISED!  For thousands of years before Abraham males
got along just fine without circumcision thank you, so did
Abraham himself before God introduced it to him, and ordered it,
for him and his seed.
     My mother did not believe in circumcision, so guess what. 
Yes you've got it.  Oh, it takes a little more work on the part
of parents to teach certain cleanliness habits to uncircumcised
males as they grow from small children to adults, and a few other
things we shall not go into here, but you can read about them in
the clinical sex books on the market.  Health wise I stand as one
to prove that the words of Paul are very true. Circumcision is
nothing, and uncircumcision is nothing.
     The old law of physical circumcision is ALTERED and even
"done away with" as for Christians under the New Covenant to have
to observe.  So it is written in the New Testament. 

8. EXAMPLES AND/OR COMMANDS OF THE NT
      
               ATTENDANCE AT SABBATH SERVICES

     Luke 4:16; Acts 17:2.  What we would call today "going to
church on the Sabbath" is given to follow by the Christian today
from EXAMPLES in the NT. We can certainly see that Jesus made it
a custom to attend "church" services, as we read through the
Gospel accounts. 
     So also the apostle Paul as we follow his journeys in the
book of Acts.  And we have a more direct command from Paul as
found in Hebrews 10:24-25, which with the above would include
assembling on the Sabbath if possible.

     Jesus observed the Festivals of God, the ones He gave to
Israel in Leviticus 23. This can be seen again from reading the
Gospels. Paul and the apostles likewise in the book of Acts (Acts
2:1; 18:21; 20:6,16). There may not be any direct command in the
NT that says, "You shall observe the feasts of Leviticus the
twenty-third chapter."  But there is NO verse(although some try
to use a few) in the NT that says, "The feasts of Leviticus
23 are now under the New Covenant, not to be observed."  When
EXAMPLES by Christ and Paul are given to show they continued to
observe these feasts under the NC, then those examples, WHEN
other things are "all weighed together" to prove the point fully,
do portray a picture that should be followed by the Christian of
the NT age.

        REMEMBER THE LORD'S DEATH WITH BREAD AND

                 FRUIT OF THE VINE 

     Matthew 26:17-29;  1 Corinthians 11:20-28.  Here we see both
example and command.  Jesus ALTERED the NT Passover service from
a festive meal of roast lamb to the relative simple symbols of
bread and the cup(the fruit of the vine).  Paul also was inspired
to say that people were to "examine themselves" and then to eat
those symbols.

        ANGRY WITH YOUR BROTHER AND LUST IN THE MIND

     Matthew 5:21-30. Under the Old Covenant certain laws were in
effect that were quite letter of the law specific.  One was
MURDER, another was ADULTERY.  Jesus comes along under the NC and
with direct command goes one step further with those laws. He
goes to the heart and spirit of those laws. He teaches that now
to have a wrong attitude and mind and heart within such laws
against your neighbor or the spouse of your neighbor, was just as
guilty as if they had committed the literal act itself.

     John was also inspired to give instruction on the "spirit"
of the NT law command. He that did not love his neighbor, or
hated his neighbor was a murderer, and no eternal life was in him
(1 John 3:14,15).

                 RETURNING GOOD FOR EVIL

Matthew 5:38-41.  In some situations we are under the NT commands
NOT to seek rightful justice.  There will come times when others
may do things to us that could warrant justice on our part to be
persuasively sort for. Sometimes such temptation for revenge
and justice must not only be passed over, but doing good from us
to our enemy must come forth. This is not to say a Christian is a
"door-mat" for everyone to wipe their dirty boots on. Paul did
appeal to the Roman Authorities at times when the religious Jews
wanted to wipe their muddy shoes on him, as we see from the book
of Acts.  Yet there were times when Paul and Peter and other
servants of the Lord, endured evil from men and returned good. 
The situation, circumstance and the Holy Spirit, will lead and
guide you to know when justice on your part needs to be put to
one side and simple goodness returned to those who may have done
you wrong.

          COMMANDED TO SERVE WHEN IT IS POSSIBLE

     1 John 3:16-19.  The very context of these verses show that
John did not have in mind the literal giving of your life for a
brother/sister, although some have indeed done that very thing.
     The NT command is not that we just love in WORD, and in some
inner mental mind set, but if we see our brother with a physical
need and we HAVE the physical goods, whatever they be, to help
them in their need, WE MUST DO SO!  If we do not John can hardly
envision that person having the love of God in them.  It would
just not be the way the love of God flowing into and out of a
person would practice his Christian life.
     Of course the "good Samaritan" parable given by Jesus is the
capstone to serving others when it is possible for you to do so. 
That parable was both an example and a command for the child of
God to follow in this age.

9. THE SPIRIT OF THE NEW TESTAMENT
      
     Acts 6.  This is really the NT category of Deut.17 I talked
about in the first part of this study.  It allows for the leading
and directing and inspiring  by the Holy Spirit within the
community of God, to make judgments for the betterment of the
whole body, or the body of a local congregation or groupings of
congregations, depending on the circumstances of the time and the
needs of the people.  It may also apply on a more individual
basis where hard matters are an issue and certain judgments must
be handed out.
     The example of Acts 6 and the choosing of seven by the
church and apostles to wait on tables, or to be more specific in
this situation, serve the widows with daily needs, to administer
physical necessities to them as the need arose. This judgment to
so organize had no SPECIFIC law as such from the books of Moses.
You will find in Acts 6 the apostles did not quote a book,
chapter, and verse of the OT to specifically authorize them
to make this judgment. Maybe it could be argued there are
PRINCIPLES in the OT to cover the establishment of "servers" or
"deacons."  But none are given or alluded to by the apostles. 
Then on the other hand, and this is an important hand, there are
no scriptures in the OT to oppose this judgment decision either.

     What is one of the most important factors here, probably THE
most important factor of all?  It is this:  The working decision
of the judgment MUST NOT contradict the teachings of God that are
still in effect for the individual and collective Christian
community to observe.  Let me give you an example as to what I
mean.
     The church, be it a local or a grouping of churches, its
ministers or its whole membership, cannot, because of a situation
say concerning travel, decide to hold the feast of Tabernacles in
the 6th month instead of the 7th month. They cannot sit down and
say, "Well for our members the way most are with their jobs, it
would be better to have the fall Festivals in the 6th month." 
Such a judgment would directly break an iron clad law of God that
the fall Festivals are to be in the 7th month.
     Any so called "leading by the Spirit" over such matters
should send bells ringing off in a Christian's mind, if any group
of persons made a judgment as I've outlined above. The obvious
question would be WHOSE spirit is such a judgment coming from? If
it is not from God, then we are left with only one other possible
answer.  
     Acts 6 was breaking NO command, law, statute, precept, of
God. Certain situations in any given age will arise for any given
congregation of God's people, that were not there before, and a
judgment must then be rendered if it is of sufficient importance.
     Today, we could possibly use an example of a church
congregation having a media outreach of the printed word. A
church that has the funds to produce a magazine, booklets and the
like, to send near and far, maybe around the world. We have
nothing in the OT or the NT on the matter in any specific way. To
do such an undertaking requires manpower and skilled leadership
over different departments of that manpower. The church with the
final blessing of the ministers(Acts 6 principle) may be involved
in the choosing of the skilled leaders over this publication
outreach.  There is no establishment and example and law of this
publication work found in the Bible, but on the other hand it is
not AGAINST any law or commandment in the Bible either.
     The Spirit leading in the church and body of Christ will
guide into the right judgments on such new specifics for a new
situation and age in the life of the people of God.

     This must also be applied at times on a personal individual
basis for a minister or group of ministers. Another example will
explain.

     Back in the 80's when I was in Ontario, near the city of
Toronto, a young man in the congregation came to me for help and
for counsel. He told me he was homosexual. I talked to him for a
number of hours that day. He wanted to know what God's stand was
on homosexuality. At the end of it all he said he understood. I
told him the thing that God hates the most is someone who
PRACTICES homosexuality.  For we all have our different sins of
the mind we must root out and clean out, and fight against.  Some
weeks went by and then he came to me again to talk more about the
same subject.  This time he told me other things he did not tell
me the first time.  He had and was still visiting with and
spending time with other homosexuals who were practicing this
sin.  Then he told me he was thinking about moving into the city
of Toronto.  Well for you that do not know, and think Canada is
lily white when it comes to sin as compared to the USA, this will
shock you.  The city of Toronto has the SECOND largest homosexual
community in North America, next to San Francisco.
     He still seemed like he wanted help from me to overcome
homosexuality and wanted me to tell him what he should do.
     I told him I would tell him what he should NOT DO.  I told
him that if he was to stand any chance of overcoming this sin, of
never practicing it, he had to GIVE UP his homosexual friends,
get away from them, put them out of his life.  Then I told him
that if he moved into the city of Toronto to live, it would be
the end of his life in the church and walk with God.
     Now to give that judgment, about not moving into Toronto to
live, I could not quote any Bible verse that said: "No Christian
having problems with homosexuality shall live in Toronto."  On
the other hand there was no scripture that said I could not
render such a judgment if everything pointed to that being the
best judgment under his circumstance. I had to act as given in
Deut.17 and this category we are looking at here of the leading
of the Holy Spirit under the NT age.  
     I had to see the overall teaching of the word of God on this
matter, understand the present situation of the area we lived in,
the facts of the city of Toronto, the facts that this young man
was too close to this sin for comfort at the present, and render
my judgment. I am sorry to tell you, he did not listen to me. He
did move into Toronto to live, would not give up his homosexual
friends, and our church congregation never saw him again.

     The Spirit of the Lord must be allowed to LEAD, to TEACH, to
render JUDGMENTS where such judgments may never have been
rendered before in quite that manner for that situation of the
time.  But remember the Spirit of God will NEVER contradict the
words of the Eternal that we are still to apply and live by as
Christians today.

10. NOT EFFECTED BY ANY OF THE ABOVE

     As we use the above 9 categories to help us determine HOW we
are to live by every word of God, we also need to remember that
there are some things that are NOT effected by ANY of those
overall categories.
     Let's take the example of FASTING, say on the Day of
Atonement. It is not governed by SACRIFICIAL laws, or by NATIONAL
laws, for you as a individual can fast without it being a law of
the nation.  It has nothing directly to do with HISTORICAL
National laws as far as you personally being able to fast on the
festival of Atonement.  It has nothing to do with CULTURAL
CARNALITY laws. You do not have to live in a certain culture to
decide to fast on this or any other day of the year. There is no
NT DIRECT ALTERATION to do with fasting per se.  In fact we find
NT statements like as when Jesus said, "WHEN you fast"  not IF
you fast.  So EXAMPLES and COMMANDS under the NT would be used
for fasting.
     
     The DAYS of the week or month, are not effected by any of
the above nine categories.  SACRIFICING, having a Temple with a
priesthood, does not effect the days of the month as to whether
those days are there or not. When the Temple was not in existence
during the 70 year captivity of Judah in Babylon,  the days of
the week did not end, they continued as ever before. Not
performing animal sacrifices on certain days or no days at all,
does not "do away" with the days themselves.

     The months of a year are un-effected by any of the nine
categories above. There is no ALTERATION in the NT that would
tell us something like: "You shall from this point on begin the
first day of the year in the middle of summer."  Living under a
nation that has its own National culture calendar does not effect
the calendar Moses and the leaders of Israel had. The one does
not have to effect the other in any foundational way. Two
calendars can co-exist alongside each other just fine, the Jews
have been doing it for centuries with the Hebrew and Roman
calendars.

     The above TEN categories must be used with each other and
with WISDOM in logical ways. To jump the gun and say, "everything
I can find that has any connection with physical sacrifice, I
will take as not having to be observed today because animal
sacrificing does not have to be observed(and cannot be observed
as there is no Temple in Jerusalem)" will lead you to "doing
away" with not only every day of the week, but every day of the
month and year also, as animal sacrificing in ancient Israel was
to be performed on  every day of the year.  When the Jews were in
captivity for 70 years in Babylon and were not able to practice
daily animal sacrificing, they did not believe the days of the
year had ceased to exist and that time was no more.

     The festivals of Leviticus 23 have the tabernacle,
priesthood and sacrifices attached to them. This does not by
itself and automatically mean that just because there is no
Temple, priesthood and sacrifices today, the festivals are thrown
out the window also. The Jews sure do not think this is the case,
not at all.  The baby does not have to get thrown out with the
bath water.  Care must be taken.
     There may be PORTIONS of a law in the Old that has been
changed in the New, while leaving the rest. It could be one
aspect or portion of a law or two or more aspect of the law that
has been changed, while the foundation of the law remains.
     Again I use the Festivals as an example.

     Under the OC the Feasts of God were to be observed in a
central location in Israel, at the place where God placed His
name. At first it was in Shiloh, and later that place was in
Jerusalem. Jesus comes along under the NC and in John 4 tells the
woman at the well that the time was COMING and even NOW was, that
Jerusalem would no longer be the only place to worship God. There
was an ALTERATION to this ASPECT of the law.  He did not say the
Festivals of God were "done away" only the specific aspect of a
central location in Israel to observe them and worship God
through them at this location WAS ALTERED under the NC. The basic
foundation of the festivals THEMSELVES would remain solid and
firm as before, but the portion of that law concerning a central
location in Palestine would become VOID and not applicable to NT
Christians.
     We see from 1 Corinthians 5 that the Gentile/Jewish church
at Corinth were observing the feast of Unleavened Bread and
literally putting the literal leaven out of their homes during
this feast as was commanded under the OC.  From this EXAMPLE in
the NT we are taught that THIS ASPECT of the festival law is
STILL to be followed by Christians today.
     Now another aspect of the festival law must have JUDGMENT
applied to it. I refer to the aspect of observing the Feast of
Tabernacles in make-shift booths, made from the branches of trees
(see Lev.23:41-43;  Nehemiah 8:14-18).  As this was to be done in
a central location (after Shiloh it was Jerusalem) in Palestine,
during the 7th month (our Sept./Oct) and as it was very pleasant
in the main at this time of the year in Jerusalem, it was no big
hardship for anyone, young or old.  Now under the NC age we have
first of all the aspect of a central location in Palestine NOT IN
EFFECT, and secondly a WORLDWIDE membership of God's people
called and chosen from EVERY NATION, far and near, east and west,
north and south. WITHOUT ANY LIMITATION as to land surface.  Do
you see what this means under our judgment here called for? 

     We have no SPECIFIC mention in the NT as to a judgment on
THIS aspect of the Festival law.  Yet for TODAY one surely must
be made.  God's people living in parts of the world where in
Sept./Oct. it would be very hard and severe weather to be out in
booths made from branches of trees, especially for the very young
and elderly, the Spirit of the law of the NT would I believe lead
to see that THIS aspect of the law of the feast of Tabernacles is
NOT in force today.  Certainly if some in climates that favor
such booth dwelling for seven days WANT to experience tent living
during this feast, they have the liberty to so do.  But I believe
the church of God has judged correctly for centuries now
that the aspect of Lev.23:41-42, and as followed in Nehemiah 8, 
was for an OC people who dwelt in Palestine and were coming to a
central location in that land, and that Christians today are
under no obligation to observe that portion or aspect of that law
of the feast of Tabernacles.

     The NT Spirit would have all persons, of every age, in every
land on earth, ENJOY and be BLESSED at the observance of the
feast of Tabernacles.  Many young and old, and some inbetween,
living in some areas on this earth, would come to dread and very
much dislike the feast of Tabernacles, if they were absolutely
and only to observe it living in make-shift booths made from the
branches of trees.  And God's festivals are to be a WONDERFUL
BLESSING for everyone everywhere, not an endurance trial.

     I have given you the basic keys and points to use TOGETHER,
and the word "together" is of prime importance, for often it is a
combination of these categories that must come together to answer
the question of HOW do I live by every word that proceeds out of
the mouth of God.

     Now you have them, keep them close at hand for reference.
Use them wisely as you prove all things and hold fast to that
which is good.

                             ...........................................

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LIVING BY EVERY WORD OF GOD #1

 

Living by Every Word of God...How?

Part One

by 
Keith Hunt
     It is written that Jesus said: "man shall not live by bread
alone but BY EVERY WORD THAT PROCEEDS OUT OF THE MOUTH OF GOD"
(Mat.4:4).
     Jesus was not uttering something brand new, for He was
quoting what the books of Moses had said, namely the book of
Deuteronomy, and specifically chapter 8 and verse 3.

     Those words by Jesus as pretty plain and easy to understand.
No theology degree from some school of learning needed to
interpret those words. They mean what they say and say what they
mean. Christ was saying that men/women who are called to serve
the Eternal God, are to conduct their lives in all its various
forms of thoughts, actions, and deeds, the way of life, by
letting the WHOLE of God's word teach and guide them as they
live. They are to walk the walk of the word of the Lord. Jesus
expects His followers to read and study ALL of God's word, and
let that whole word mould and shape their speech, conduct and
thoughts.

     What an undertaking!  Pretty serious stuff Jesus was talking
about.  He was saying that the children of the heavenly Father
were to read every book of the Bible to LEARN and be INSTRUCTED
in HOW TO LIVE in all aspects of life here and now. 
     The Old Testament is not just a collection of different
historical events, songs, and psalms, poetry, and old laws,
written down just to entertain us when we feel we need to be
entertained. What Jesus said led to the apostle Paul saying these
words: " For whatsoever things were written aforetime were
written FOR OUR LEARNING......Now these things were OUR
EXAMPLES.......Now all these things happened unto them for
types(marg. of KJV) and they are written for OUR ADMONITION, upon
whom the ends of the world are come......All scripture is given
by the inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for
reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness "
(Rom.15:4;  1 Cor.10:6,11;  2 Tim.3:16).
     So the Christian desires to do as Jesus taught, to live by
every word that comes from the mouth of God. The Christian starts
to read the Bible, beginning with the first book - Genesis. But
soon he is into the books of Moses such as Exodus, Numbers,
Leviticus, and Deuteronomy, that contain ALL THOSE MANY LAWS,
STATUES, PRECEPTS, and JUDGMENTS. Some are to the modern space
age mind, VERY STRANGE,  OUT OF DATE in many respects,  NOT
really applicable in our culture and society and context of
living.  And there are SOME MANY.  Then we have the New
Testament, with OTHER laws, some of which seem to alter the old
laws found in the books of Moses.
     A little confusing to the average Christian's mind.  How can
you apply the words of Jesus in Matthew 4:4 and clear away the
smoke, the haze, the WONDERING about WHICH laws, statutes,
precepts, judgments, ARE FOR US TODAY TO FOLLOW AND LIVE BY?

     I hope this article will serve you and many others in
answering and helping you find the correct way as to HOW indeed
to live by every word of God.

                     A FOUNDATIONAL KEY

     We need to keep in mind at all times that this study of
living by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God, is
JUST THAT. It entails EVERY WORD OF GOD! It may be that the
answers to some of our questions are found WAY OUT in another
part of the word of God.  In fact we shall see that is the case
for some of our answers.  So, this HOW TO LIVE, WHAT LAWS TO
FOLLOW, is a study of the WHOLE word of God, from Genesis to
Revelation.  We must read and meditate, study and search, ALL the
words that proceed from the Lord, as given to us and as found in
the Bible.
                                     
           TEN BASIC CATEGORIES TO HELP YOU KNOW 
              HOW TO LIVE BY EVERY WORD OF GOD

     Some laws, commandments and the like, may fall under one or
more of the following basic categories. One or more should be
used to answer your questions on any given law, commandment,
statute, or precept in the Bible, and how, if in any way it
should be applied today for the Christian. The list is NOT in the
order of importance.

1. MORAL LAWS (i.e."You shall not murder" - "Honor your father   
   and mother.")

2. SACRIFICE LAW (i.e.The   physical  rites  for  the            
   Priesthood,  Tabernacle,   and  Sacrifices). 

3. NATIONAL LAWS (i.e. The 50th year of Jubilee for the nation).

4. HISTORICAL/NATIONAL/CULTURE LAW (i.e. Man dies and his brother
   marries his wife to raise up children).

5. CULTURAL CARNALITY LAW (i.e.Laws regulating more than one     
   wife - Polygamy).

6. PHYSICAL LAWS (i.e.Clean and Unclean foods;  Plague in the    
   physical building).

7. NEW TESTAMENT DIRECT ALTERATION (i.e. Physical circumcision).

8. EXAMPLES AND/OR COMMANDS OF THE NT (i.e. Cannot lust after the
   opposite  sex in the mind).

9. THE SPIRIT OF THE NT (i.e. Spirit leading the Church to ordain
   7 as deacons in Acts 6).

10.NOT EFFECTED BY ANY OF THE ABOVE (i.e.The weekly 7 day        
   cycle).

                  ONE MORE IMPORTANT POINT

     With all the above, and I shall expound each quite
thoroughly presently, we need to remember the VERY IMPORTANT
section of scripture as found in Deut.17 and verses eight through
thirteen.
     Please read those verses carefully.  The point to see for
our study is that the word of the Lord is NOT all encompassing. 
The Bible is not a text book that covers EVERY situation in life,
every circumstance that may arise, every problematic disputation
that many need to be solved from time to time, through the course
of life within the community of God.
     Within that body of people, we today call the Church of God,
there will need to be JUDGMENTS made by the leaders of that
community, based upon the laws and principles, examples, and
whatever else can be gleaned from God's word in order to
arrive at the correct sentence of judgment. 
     You will notice this is not some high handed, authoritarian
mind set that is here being talked about, where leaders rule with
a pompous, self-righteous, vain ego of dictatorial cult
leadership. The sentence of the law is to be taught to the
enquirer, and to those who are coming for help because the matter
is too HARD for them. 
     You will notice in 1 Timothy 3 the qualifications for those
who will oversee the church of God is very demanding.  They are
to guide and teach, to take care of the church of God.  They are
to fulfil the role of what you are reading about in Deut.17 at
times. They are to judge HARD matters and bring the sentence of
the law, when there is possibly no SPECIFIC law stated in the
word of God concerning the matter.

                    EACH OF THE TEN POINT

     It's time to move down each of the above ten points I've
given you. We need to expound and amplify each one so you will be
able to use them as tools whereby you can read the Bible, all of
it, in order to do as Jesus said - live by EVERY WORD that
proceeds out of the mouth of God.

1. MORAL LAW

     This is perhaps the least difficult category for most people
to deal with, the one that gives, on the whole, the least amount
of trouble for Christians to understand in the light of having to
live by every word of God.
     Most can see that the Lord instituted MARRIAGE, for an
example, at the BEGINNING, with Adam and Eve, the Lord Himself
bringing them together as husband and wife.  Then reading on in
the book of Genesis, it is clear from examples given that
taking another man's wife in sexual union, adultery, was WRONG,
that is was displeasing to the Lord and even sin.
     Coming to Exodus and the other books of Moses, it is pretty
simple to see the command that "you shall not commit adultery"
and "you shall not covet your neighbors wife" law .
     Reading on through all the Bible to the end of the book of
Revelation, it is clear that the law of adultery continues, never
being "done away" or allowed to be practiced in the Christian's
life without it being a sin against God, and earning the death
penalty.
     Most Christians will see that laws and commandments such as
ones called "moral" laws, are in effect, and remain in effect to
the end, while there are flesh and blood people on this earth.
Even the unconverted world, the majority at least, can see that
it is not good for their society if people murder each other, 
steal from each other and the corner store,  and practice many
other morally wrong ways of life, that unchecked and wilfully
allowed would soon have our nations in utter degradation and
moral free for all, to the point that our society would totally
break down and collapse.

2. SACRIFICE LAWS

      Again in the main, most can understand the obvious
implications here with the laws governing sacrificing and the
system of ancient Israel that went along with it, namely the
Priesthood and the Temple.
     As the Temple and Levitical priesthood came to an official
and literal end in 70 A.D. with the destruction of the Jerusalem
Temple by the Roman armies, the Christian has generally no
problem realizing physical sacrificing in a central location
through a literal priesthood in a literal Temple, has no
importance or bearing on living today by every word of God.
     The book of Hebrews portrays to us in plain words that these
physical sacrifices and the priesthood/temple that went along
with them, was to COME TO AN END, TO PASS AWAY,  for this present
age.  That side of the sacrificial laws gives no trouble, and
Christians think little about them in any physical living way of
life. Even the Jews(except possibly for a minority sect) realize
those physical laws are not for today. Many Christians do no
know, for they have never heard, that the strict Orthodox Jews
believe another Temple in Jerusalem cannot, should not, will not,
be built unto the MESSIAH comes in glory. It is He they say who
will again build the Temple. And without a Temple, there can
be no sacrificing by a priesthood. Exodus 35 to 40 and Leviticus
1 to 10  were for the Old Covenant. They are not for us today in
this present age. There are of course many other such passages as
those in other parts of the OT.

     Yet what is not often understood are some of the laws that
were also part of the sacrificing system, needing that system to
complete the law. For us to live by every word of God we need to
see how this interlocking law worked, then we shall understand
how some laws in the OT are not for us to observe today. 
Examples are often the best way to teach and make the point
stated easy and clear to comprehend.  Hence I will use many
examples from here on out.

                     THE NAZARITE VOW

     Numbers chapter 6. Please read from verse one to verse
twenty one.  The first number of verses tell you what the man or
woman putting themselves under a Nazarite vow could NOT do. The
duration of this vow was voluntary. The individual set the length
of time.
     Now notice what is written starting with verse thirteen.
     When the days were FULFILLED, the length of time the
individual had allotted themselves to be under this vow was now
at an end. Did they just say, "O, well time is up, it's over,
back to normal again" and proceed to "get back to the norm"?  No,
it was not to be done that way. It was not at all to be that
simple.  It was quite an elaborate ceremony that the person had
to go through, and notice what and who it involved.
     It involved, set in stone, no buts or maybe or perhaps about
it. To sign off from this vow involved physical sacrifices, the
priesthood and the temple!

     This law of the Nazarite was absolutely TWO FOLD - a
beginning part with of course its duration to the end and the
rules for that part of the vow, and an ending part with the rules
for that section of the vow. BOTH parts were a MUST!  That was
the law of the Nazarite vow. It took both parts to make the law.
     Now AFTER 70 A.D. with the end of the Temple, the Levite
priesthood, and physical sacrificing, the Nazarite vow - that law
- ALSO CAME TO AN END!  It is today IMPOSSIBLE to observe that
law, as there is no Temple in Jerusalem with a priesthood
performing animal sacrifices.  Today, at this present time, you
cannot observe the nazarite vow even if you wanted to!
     Oh, you could take the principles I guess of the vow, and
dedicate yourself for a time to serving the Lord in some special
way, but the specific law of the Nazarite vow as laid out in the
book of Moses IS NOT FOR US TODAY!  
     So living by every word of God for the Christian during this
present age DOES NOT include the Nazarite vow.

               TEMPLE PURIFICATION SACRIFICE LAWS

     Lev.12.  As we read through the whole Bible it becomes very
plain that God is PERFECTLY PURE HOLINESS - RIGHTEOUS AND
SINLESS.  With ancient Israel the Eternal was dealing with a
people that were in the main, CARNAL, without the Spirit of
God leading, guiding and helping them. The Lord had not chosen to
give them all, His Spirit(see Numbers 11). He did decide to have
them build a Tabernacle, as the book of Hebrews tells us, like as
to the one in heaven. God would come and live among Israel
WITHIN that Temple or Tabernacle of congregation.
     There are certain functions of the human body that although
created by the Eternal, and so in that sense perfect and holy on
a physical level, are regarded even by humans as physically
unclean to be openly displaying them in a public manner to all
and everyone around us. The process of human elimination is such
that we keep those functions private in the main. A woman flowing
during her monthly period is another bodily function that is kept
private as much as possible from others. It is natural, it was
created by God, it is pure in that sense but it is unclean and
impure from a certain physical point of view.
     When our pet dog is in heat, it is natural, it is the way
the Lord made dogs, it is pure from that point, but nevertheless
when our dog is in heat we do not want it jumping up on to our
lovely new chesterfield, for it is unclean from a certain
physical viewpoint.
     
     The Lord in dealing with a majority of carnal people in
Israel,  within the context of a Tabernacle that He would dwell
within, and that they as a physical sinfilled people would come
before to worship Him, took some physical functions of the body
to teach them PURITY AND HOLINESS from IMPURITY.  Leviticus 12 is
one example - the purification of the woman after childbirth. 
Such a function by the body was created by God, so perfectly pure
from that view, but from a human perspective, such cleansing is
impure and must be looked after with care and privacy. I think we
all understand there are certain things of the human body we do
not want deposited just anywhere.
     Such a law as Lev.12 was to teach a carnal people lessons of
holiness by using physical carnal functions of the body. Certain
laws like this kept people(and there were ones for men also) from
entering the Tabernacle of Holiness, where the Holy perfect God
was dwelling at times.
     Such laws were very much tied up with the physical
Tabernacle, and with physical sacrifices, for after the
fulfilment of the required stipulations of the law, there was the
required animal sacrifice.
     These kind of laws were great teaching tools for holiness,
no uncleanness(from a human perspective)  was allowed in the
presence of a Holy God.  For a carnal minded people these laws
would constantly remind them that they could not approach the
Eternal while unclean, even while physically unclean.  It would
serve a purpose in also teaching a deeper lesson, namely, that
they should be mentally and of heart, humble and clean of
attitude when approaching the throne of God.
     As the Temple, Levite priesthood and animal sacrifices are
no longer, together with the New Covenant fact that God today
lives within each member of the body of Christ via the Holy
Spirit, the Christian is not under obligation to live by these
particular laws in this age.
 
3. NATIONAL LAWS

                     CITIES OF REFUGE

     Numbers 35:9-28. Six cities were chosen for the
administration of the law of MANSLAUGHTER in Israel of old.  This
law shows us the importance that the Eternal places upon human
life. We may think it rather severe, but it certainly taught
Israel the value of human life and the value of being VERY
CAREFUL at all times, so we are responsible persons in how we
live in relation to the lives of others. 
     This law was a NATIONAL law. It was part of the written
constitution of the government of the nation of Israel. One of
the laws of the land. A part of the court system of the land.    

     Now stop and think!  Putting this kind of a law into the
context of an individual Christian living today, what are you
going to come up with, for obeying it?  Why, for an individual
Christian, even for a local church congregation, IT IS NOT
POSSIBLE TO OBSERVE THIS LAW!!
     Try, next time you see someone in a car kill another person
on the road, going over to them, or meeting them in court, and
telling them to go live in a certain town until the President
dies. Try telling the relatives of the one who died that if the
person responsible for the death of their loved one steps out of
the city limits, they can kill them, and see what the courts and
police of our land have to say to you.
     I think you get the point.  A single Christian or church
organization CANNOT put this law into effect. 
     It is a NATIONAL LAW!  Only the NATION can establish and
enforce such a law today, or any day. This kind of law in the
word of God cannot be established or obeyed by the individual
child of God. Not even the church of God can establish and obey
such a law as this one. It was given by God to a NATION, to be
part of its constitution and laws of the supreme court of the
land.

                     LAND SABBATH LAWS

     Lev.25. This was also given to Israel as to be part of their
NATIONAL constitutional laws. They were laws that ALL had to
obey. Everyone in the agriculture business was obligated to
observe these laws. Such laws were tied up with other laws of the
nation, note verse 10. God would bless the nation in a miraculous
way, see verses 20,21. 
     The individual Christian today could not possibly enforce
these laws upon the nation they live under.
     Certain principles can be taken from these laws and applied
by the farming Christian in our lands. Resting the land is good
farming practice. Many farmers out west still rest a section of
their land each year, one section one year, another section
another year, and so on till all land has had a rest.
     But the specific land rest laws as written in the books of
Moses, were for the NATION of Israel. They were national laws,
and not intended to be applied today by individual NT Christians.

4. HISTORICAL/NATIONAL/CULTURAL LAWS

          MARRIAGE TO BROTHER'S WIFE UPON HIS DEATH 

     This is somewhat like the above law but with some
differences. Please turn to Deut.25 and read verses five to ten.
     A man dies without leaving any children. His wife is now a
widow. The dead man has a brother who under this law was to marry
his brother's wife and raise up children, the firstborn taking
the name of the dead brother, so this brother's name would
continue in Israel(verses 5,6). 
     There was a provision by which the brother could refuse to
take this widow to be his wife(verses 7-10). Probably the most
famous example of this taking place is in the book of RUTH, and
how Boaz married Ruth.
     This was a NATIONAL law of the land, a part of the
constitution. It was on the books of the land for all people who
found themselves in that particular situation.  If you today as
an individual Christian would try to enforce that law, even in
your own family, well I think you know how far you would get.
Most of the time not very far at all, unless the other parties
were all in agreement. It is not a law that individual Christians
need concern themselves with.  It was for a nation who had that
law as part of their national court statutes.
     It was probably a law that back in that HISTORICAL period,
and that CULTURE of time, was not unusual, certainly not thought
about as unusual as we in our culture of North America think it
is today. The whole culture of marriage back in that period of
history was in many way quite different than our culture of
marriage. Parents were much more involved  in arranging marriages
for their children. You had the "dowry" practice in marriage and
many other customs that we today in Britain and the USA think
rather strange and even odd. But for them at that time and in
their culture, such practices were thought of as quite normal.
     So this law instituted by the Lord in Israel was probably
accepted without a second thought.  Israel was a young nation. 
People were much more conscious about family trees and continuing
family names back then, than we are today. It would seem that at
this time in history even God was more concerned with this fact
than He is today for the nations of Israel.
     It was a way of preserving the people of Israel, and
inheritances in families. A way of keeping certain things moulded
together in a close knit nation with many laws that jig- sawed
together to produce the whole under God.
     Today such laws are not needed in our nations as they were
under the economy of ancient Israel. 
     Then again, it is a law for the nation, NOT FOR INDIVIDUAL
CHRISTIANS to enforce or try to obey.

              CORNERS OF THE HARVEST FOR THE POOR

     You can read about another law that would fall under this
category in Leviticus 19:9,10;  Deut.24:19-22.  God instituted in
Israel under the OC a law for the POOR of the land. It was then
an HISTORICAL NATIONAL law. It was part of their constitutional
laws of the whole land.  When they harvested they were to leave
SOME for the poor to gather and eat thereof. They were not to
pick every single grape on the vine, or every fig on the
tree. 
     It was a CULTURAL law also, because they were a farming
community in the main. So it was to be a part of their
work-a-world culture. It was to be national culture practice, as
a way of life in Israel. Everyone would be raised with this law,
it was known by all in the nation, it was a national way of life.
     Now you put yourself as an individual Christian today, doing
the same thing.  The grain farmer leaves the corners of his field
unharvested for the poor to glean. Well first of all, the poor
would not know about what they could come and glean unless a sign
was posted. And some have indeed done that very thing. But today
when it comes to GRAIN, say wheat, most poor would not bother to
go to all the trouble of gleaning and grinding and baking, as
they can obtain welfare and buy their baked products from the
supermarket.  Some poor may come to pick fruit left on the trees,
but by and large, it just is not the cultural thing to do anymore
for most people in our modern city life.
     This particular law as outlined in the above verses, would
at best be a judgment call on the part of the individual
Christian produce farmer, to obey in the letter or not. Certainly
it could be obeyed, and would not be wrong to obey by such a
Christian, if he thought he could make it work as it was intended
to work for the culture of ancient Israel. In some areas of some
countries it could well work just fine.  The other way is to take
the PRINCIPLE of this national culture law and apply the spirit
of it, which says, the POOR of the land should be helped if you
are in the position of being able to help them. This was
certainly upheld by the church of God in the days of the apostles
- see Gal.2:9,10.

                     TITHE FOR THE POOR

     Deuteronomy 14:28,29.  Whatever you want to say about this
tithe, one thing is clear, we are talking about a tithe and it
was for certain people WHO NEEDED some extra help, and it was
EATING. So it would correspond today to our FOOD STAMPS or
FOOD BANKS for the needy and the poor.
     It was ancient Israel's WELFARE PROGRAM in the main.  It was
a NATIONAL CULTURAL law of the land.
     Yes, certainly individual Christians could follow this law
if they so chose. There is nothing preventing them to so learn
how the Jews understood and practiced this law and observe it
themselves, giving help in a physical way to the needy.
     But the main point I want you to see is that this was a
national historic law that was given to Israel in the time of
Moses to be the basic welfare law of the land. It was part of the
constitutional laws of the country.  Today our nations of the
West have taken the spirit of that law and are fulfilling it
through the welfare programs we have established as our national
laws. We all through our taxes help fund this poor tithe law.
Some have estimated that the tax payers contribute more than a
tenth or tithe to maintain this help to the needy and poor.
     Certainly the Church of God should not be trying to impose
this law upon its members for the law is already in place as
instituted by our governments.  On the other hand the NT does
tell Christians to serve and help their brothers and sisters in
Christ in literal and practical ways as needed.

5. CULTURAL CARNALITY

             LAW OF THE FIRSTBORN FOR TWO WIVES

     Deut.21:15-17.  Here we see a law regarding a man with more
than one wife, commonly called Polygamy.  It is not the place or
the time to discuss the subject of Polygamy. I do have an article
covering that subject for those interested in the topic as
to what the word of the Lord teaches on the matter.  But I will
say that from the BEGINNING(as Jesus often said) it is clear that
God intended a ONE man ONE wife at ONE time marriage bond. That
was God's IDEAL for men and women. The Lord could have created a
few women out of a few ribs from Adam if He thought the ideal for
marriage was a man with more than one wife. But that was NOT the
case. The ideal for the King over Israel was that he should not
multiply wives to himself (Deut.17:17).
     The fact is that the Eternal was dealing mainly with a
CARNAL group of people. A nation of persons that for the
MAJORITY, DID NOT HAVE the Spirit of God with them. Only a
selected few were given the Spirit, see Numbers 11, and
especially verse 29.  
     You will remember what Jesus said to the Pharisees in
Matthew 19 concerning DIVORCE, and as to why Moses allowed it for
many reasons. Jesus said that from the BEGINNING it was not so,
but because of the carnality of the heart, divorce for just about
any reason was allowed. It was not God's IDEAL, it was ALLOWED
because of the hardness of their hearts.
     So with having more than one wife. It was not so from the
beginning, it was not God's ideal, it was because of their carnal
heart, ALLOWED!
     By this time in history, way before for that matter, many
people of the earth, without the Spirit of the Lord, wanted more
than one wife. There is something in the carnal heart of the male
that for many, desires the beauty of more than one woman. Under
these circumstances God would allow the Israelite men to have
more than one wife. He would allow them to be like many other
cultural carnal people around them, at least in this respect. BUT
in allowing this cultural carnality of more than one wife, He
would set down certain laws to regulate certain aspect of this
practice. 
     God knew that under this marriage there would be other
aspects of carnality also shown, one being the fact that
favoritism to one wife above another wife would manifest
itself in various ways. The carnal mind in such a situation
probably would love one wife more than another wife, and the
children of the one loved the most would get special favors, and
treatments. 
     The firstborn son was to be acknowledged as the firstborn
for inheritance purposes, even if he was born of the wife that
was not loved as much as another wife.

     Under the Old Covenant DIVORCE for all kinds of reasons was
ALLOWED. Under the Old, more than one wife at one time was
ALLOWED.  It was never God's IDEAL, it was not so from the
beginning.  The New Covenant, the Spirit poured out into all true
Christians,  such allowances and liberties are brought back to a
more original ideal.  Jesus did give some circumstances for
divorce, but having more than one wife at one time, it not
allowed under the NT church age.

                      PLEDGE TAKING

     Deut.24:10-13.  Reading this in the KJV may seem hard to
understand.  You take a pledge from someone, out of his house.
Something that is your pledge that what you have lent to him will
be returned. But you are not to keep his pledge overnight. You
are to deliver this pledge back to him for the night, so he can
sleep in his own raiment.
     The Bible Commentaries will explain all this.  It was the
CULTURAL practice back in those days, that if you were to borrow
something from your neighbor, for two or more days, you would
give them something important to your comfort, as a pledge that
what you were borrowing would be returned to them. Something like
what we call a SECURITY DEPOSIT today in our culture. I am a
landlord, and when a tenant moves in to one of our apartments we
take a security deposit of a certain amount of money that they
get back when they move out and have left the apartment in as
good a shape as when they moved in.
     Back in the days of ancient Israel, it was a cultural
practice that if you borrowed something from a neighbor, and you
were poor, the most important thing you could give him for a
pledge was your BED ROLE, what you slept in.  The carnal mind was
such that the lender would probably say: "you'll get this back
when you return to me what you have borrowed."  God knowing the
workings of the carnal mind, said it would not be so, but the
lender would each night return the bed clothes to the borrower.
This would be the righteous way to transact such
lending/borrowing arrangements.
     This cultural practice is pretty well none existent in North
America today. So this specific law in the book of Moses,
Christians would not be under as expected to obey. Now our
culture may employ other types of practices for lending and
borrowing, but this one here in Deuteronomy may never be applied
at any time in the Christians life. If our culture never uses
this specific pledge law then God does not expect the Christian
to observe it.

                     MARRIAGE - DIVORCE

     Deut.24:1-5.  I have already alluded to the subject of
divorce under the Old Covenant.  Because of the hardness of the
hearts of the carnal people of Israel, God ALLOWED under the laws
of Moses, for divorce on a wide and broad spectrum. In so doing
though, not to make marriage a travesty and a laugh, as it would
ultimately become through cultural carnality taking its course,
God did set a few laws within that law, as can be seen from this
passage before us.
     When a man took a wife he was not to go out to war nor enter
any business, but to have a whole year with his wife at home.
     Wow! A year long honey-moon !  Well the culture of the day
could allow for such things back then.  And as carnal people who
did not have the Spirit of God, it was probably needed if the
marriage was to last, for God had already allowed for divorce on
a wider scale than before because of their hard heartedness. So
having a year long honey-moon may have strengthened the marriage
so cultural carnality of divorce would be less prominent.
     Not only do we live in a culture and society today that
makes it just about impossible for the average man to take a year
off work to be with his new wife, but under the New Covenant
Spirit this section of scripture is NOT to be applied by the
Christian. Jesus made it clear in Matthew 19 and other passages
that what was ALLOWED under Moses, is not allowed under the New
Covenant, but only in certain exceptions. 
          Many of the old cultural carnality laws in the books of
Moses the Christian today will not live by. They were for THAT
culture which was basically carnal, unconverted, and devoid of
the Spirit of the Lord in their minds and hearts.

     SLAVERY LAWS - THE BUYING AND SELLING OF PERSONS

     There is not one scripture in the word of God that tells us
the Eternal called such practices as RIGHTEOUS,  HOLINESS,  or 
JUST.  The practice of slavery probably goes back not far from
the beginning of the human race.  Certainly when some of the
large empires came on the scene after the scattering of the
people from the tower of Babel, slavery and the buying and
selling of persons was not far behind.  
     In the books of Moses we find God simply addresses this
issue with certain laws to regulate, and give some kind of human
benevolence to what is really a cultural carnal practice.  He
never states He approves of it.  Obviously He ALLOWED it in
Israel just as He allowed many other things because of the
hardness of their hearts.  If I may be allowed to indulge in some
paraphrasing of what God was saying to Israel, I think it was
something like: "I realize you are a  people that are carnally
minded, that I have not given My Spirit to except for a few. I
realize you will WANT to, and WILL practice in your life some of
the ways of the nations around you.  One of those ways will be
the practice of slavery and the buying and selling of persons.  I
shall ALLOW you to be so carnally minded and to practice this
cultural way of life, but in ALLOWING it, I will impose certain
rules and regulations that will give this practice at least some
compassion and benignity."
     The laws God gave to Israel regulating the buying and
selling of persons, were instituted for a people that wanted to
practice this cultural carnality way of life.  Certainly the
individual Christian or the Christian community today is under no
obligation to practice and live by these laws. In fact the NT
Christian community will not live by such laws, for they were
only ALLOWED to be practiced by God, by a carnal people, because
of the hardness of their hearts.  The Christian has a new heart,
moulded and shaped by the Holy Spirit, and wherein such cultural
carnal laws cannot be rooted or formed. 
     
                             To be continued
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ISAIAH FOR TOMORROEW CHAPT. 41 - 44

 

Isaiah For Tomorrow!

God is THE God - Israel Punished/Restored

                        
                              Chapters 41-44


CHAPTER 41

     We continue with the majestic and inspiring words from the
Eternal God.

     God tells the islands (large or small) to keep silent , and
for people to renew their strength, and come near together for
right judgment. It is the Lord who guides and controls all
things. He is in charge at all times, and can step in at His will
among the people and nations, in any generation. Who can do this
God says, "I the Lord, the first and the last (the word "with" is
not in the Hebrew); I am HE" (verses 1-4).
     The Almighty is indeed the great I AM of Moses' day.  

     The Lord gives encouragement in the times of despair, so
good can come out of evil (verses 5-7).

God has Chosen Israel

"But thou, Israel, art my servant, Jacob whom I have chosen, the
seed of Abraham my friend" What words to be called a "friend of
God" - so was Abraham. We also can not only be the child of God
but we can be His friend also. Jesus said to His disciples in the
Gospels that He called them "friends" (John 15:14).

     In the time of Israel's (all 13 tribes) trouble at the end
of the age, THE LORD GIVES COMFORTING words; He calls them His
servant, and has not completely cast them away (verse 9).

"Fear you not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy
God: I will strengthen you; yes, I will help you, uphold you with
the right hand of my righteousness. Behold all they that were
incensed against thee shall be ashamed and confounded: they shall
be as nothing; and they that strive against three shall perish.
You will seek them but not find them, even them that contended
with you: they that have made war against you shall be as
nothing, and as a thing of nought. For I the Lord thy God will
hold your right hand, saying unto you, Fear not; I will help you.
Fear not you worm Jacob, and you men of Israel; I will help you,
says the Lord, and your REDEEMER, the Holy One of Israel" (verses
8-14).

     All of Israel (Israel and Judah) have been punished for
their sins, they have only ONE in TEN persons remaining alive,
scattered in the nations that the end-time Beast Power of Europe
reigns over; they are in the lands of their enemies. All looks
completely lost, it looks like the full end has come to the
mighty Israel nations of Britain and the Commonwealth, the USA,
and other nations of the West. the house and people of Judah, the
Jews, are fallen also; ALL of Israel is looking like it will
disappear from the earth. But God tells them to take heart, the
be encouraged, He will RISE UP, AND DESTROY THEIR ENEMIES, He
will be the REDEEMER to all Israel, and terrible shall be the
destruction of those who have hated them and smashed them and
cast them off.
     Yes, beyond the many warnings the prophets SHOUT OUT to
Israel and Judah that they shall in the last days be PUNISHED and
FALL into the hands of their lovers (as Ezekiel puts it) and
destroyed, the prophets also GAVE HOPE to them, that God would
not forget them, but would RESTORE them as ONE PEOPLE and bring
them back to the Promised Land.

     He will make them once more a sharp tool and they will work
wonders among the nations left on earth. When the poor and needy
seek water, and there is none, during their hard times to come,
God will hear, the Holy One of Israel will NOT forsake them
utterly; the rivers will be opened, the wildness shall blossom
and the dry land shall break forth with springs of water; the
cedar and many other trees will again take root and grow forth.
The Lord will do it so the nations will SEE, will KNOW, will
UNDERSTAND, that the HAND OF THE LORD HAS DONE IT, the Holy One
of Israel has created it a wonderful world once more.

     When you read and understand what is YET to COME on this
earth as told by the book of Revelation; destruction like the
world has never seen, it will be a GLORIOUS WITNESS to all the
people left on earth, when they see the blue planet of earth
RESTORED to BEAUTY and SPLENDOR!!

Idolatry and Fortune-tellers Confounded

     The Enteral cries out, "Produce your cause, bring forth your
strong reasons, says the King of Jacob. Let the fortune-tellers
bring forth, and show us what SHALL HAPPEN: let them show the
former things, what they be, that we may consider them, and know
the latter end of them; or declare us things for to come. Show
the things that are to come thereafter, that we may know that you
are gods: yes, do good, or do evil, that we may be dismayed, and
behold it" (verses 21-23).

     They say that if we do not learn from history we are bound
to repeat it. God challenges the star-gazers, the fortune-
tellers, to declare what is to take place on this earth. With
tongue-in-cheek He wants them to show they are some kind of "god"
to bring forth the future.
     What you are reading of the prophecies of the Lord God on
this website, are SURE TO COME TO PASS, as the rising of the sun.
It is God who only can lay down what the nations will do. He
gives DETAILS, He proclaims it BEFORE it comes to be.
     
     I have told you time and time again, the fundamental
prophets of Protestantism DO NOT UNDERSTAND prophecy, they
CANNOT, because such understanding is only given to those who
serve and fear and KEEP the commandments of the Most High. They
will NOT repent of breaking the FOURTH commandment, they will not
abandon the false Christian Festivals and observe the Feasts of
the Almighty as found in Leviticus 23. So they will never
understand Bible prophecy!
     I have told you over and over again the drama of the last 42
months of this age. Prophecy in Europe and the Middle East is
marching on. There will come a last resurrection of the Holy
Roman Empire in Europe, it is even now forming more and more,
with each passing month and year. There will come a king of the
South, Egypt will dominate an Arab confederation of nations. The
two Empires will clash, the Roman Babylon Whore of Europe will
come against the king of the south, and win the battle. The
Babylon Whore will march into the Holy Land and encompass about
the city of Jerusalem. She will cause the desolation of that
city, just as Daniel and Jesus foretold. Then the Jews of the
land will have to flee for their lives. Mystery Babylon the Great
will then turn on the rest of the West, and attack and smash the
proud nations of the British Commonwealth and the USA.
Babylon/Assyria (the German led and false prophet guided) Europe
will control the Western world, and much of the Middle East.
Russia and China and others from the East be watching. The lesson
NOT learned from history will be repeated - the Europe Beast will
attack the mighty men of the East. The East will counter attack
and a war so IMMENSE will take place that IF NOT STOPPED there
would literally be no human life left on this blue planet. Jesus
will step in, He will come with the angelic armies of heaven; the
resurrection of the saints of all ages will take place, they will
rise to meet Christ in the clouds and proceed down to the Mount
of Olives at Jerusalem. The great battle of Armageddon will take
place. Christ and His armies will destroy those armies that come
against Him. The Lord will begin to bring the people of Israel
and Judah from the lands where they have been scattered. He will
RESTORE them to the Promised Land, and so will start the
wonderful age to come, spoken about by all the Holy prophets
since the world began. The RESTORATION OF ALL THINGS WILL BEGIN!!

     That my friends, in a nut-shell, is what the Almighty God
tells you what will come to be on this earth. It has nothing to
do with a physical temple in Jerusalem, Jews offering animal
sacrifices, a 7 year covenant by the Beast Power with the Jews, a
middle interruption, a breaking of the covenant, a rapture of the
saints to heaven, and then coming back to earth with Christ after
the second part of the 7 years. All of that is FALSE prophetic
garbage from the false prophets of fundamental Protestantism.
     And the fairy tales of some who have not learnt from the
past as to setting date years for Christ's coming, is also the
folly of a twisted mindset that captures silly people. Indeed it
is as Jesus said, the blind leading the blind, and all will fall
into the ditch.

     What does God say to them: "Behold, you are worse than
nothing (margin) and your work is worse than nothing (margin): an
ABOMINATION is he that chooseth you" (verse 24). 

     Yes, the warning is to YOU also, who choose to follow such
false prophets with their crazy predictions. You are held
responsible for who you follow. You have the responsibility to
search God's word and to determine who are the true prophets and
servants of the true God.

     God will send someone in the last days who will know the
right and the true prophetic words of the Lord (verse 25). This
is probably a reference to the Elijah to come as the Old
Testament prophets proclaim and as Jesus also claimed would come
(Mat.17: Mal.3:1; 4:5).

     The Amplified Bible in part:

"[What idol] has declared this from the beginning, that we could
know? And beforetime, that we could say that he is
[unquestionably] right? Yes, there is none who declares it, yes,
there is none who proclaims it; yes, [the truth is, O you dumb
idols] there is none who hears you speak!
I [the Lord] first gave to Zion the announcement, Behold ...
behold them! And to Jerusalem I gave a herald ... bringing good
news..." (verses 26-27).

     God will make sure that a warning goes out to Zion, the
Jews, and Jerusalem. And that the good news of the age to come is
proclaimed.
     But the work of the false prophets is all vanity, worthless;
their works are as nothing; their images of words, predictions,
whatever they set up, are wind and confusion.

CHAPTER 42

     THE SERVANT of verse one is the Christ, the Messiah, as
shown clearly from Matthew 12:18. The Messiah will show forth the
Word of God and bring salvation to the Gentiles. He will not
fail nor stop until He sets true judgment in the earth, and until
even the isles of the sea will wait for His law, delight in His
way (verse 1-4).

"Thus says God the Lord, He that created the heavens and
stretches them out; He that spreads forth the earth, and all that
comes from it; it is He that gives breath unto people of the
earth, and spirit to them who walk on it. The Almighty shall be
with His Servant, to give righteousness, He shall be the covenant
to the people, and a light to the Gentiles/Nations. He will open
the blind eyes, to bring out the prisoners from prison and those
that sit min darkness out into light" (verses 5-7).

     It will be a time of SPIRITUAL awaking. When people will see
the truths of God, be free from sin and evil, and shall find
salvation. It will be the time to chain up Satan and the demons,
so people will no longer be held in the pit of darkness and
deception.

     "I am the Lord: that is my name: and my GLORY will I not give
to another, neither my praise to graven images. Behold the FORMER
THINGS are come to pass, and NEW THINGS do I declare: before they
spring forth I tell you of them" (verses 8-9).

     History does indeed REPEAT itself. Isaiah was to write all
these things down as we have seen, so also did the other prophets
of the Old Testament. One large reason is that the former things
were to come to pass again at the time of the end. So much is to
happen in the last 42 months of this age that is really is mind-
bending. Yes of course we want the Kingdom of God to come on
earth, we desire Jesus to return, but in so desiring we must also
bear in mind the horrific things that must come on the earth and
the nations BEFORE Jesus can return. Human words cannot correctly
explain and declare adequately the tribulation to come that has
never been the like or never will be again experienced by the
nations of this earth.
     But the Lord God DECLARES THOSE THINGS. He has told you in
advance WHAT WILL COME TO PASS!!

A New Song

     In the heat of all that tribulation to come, because there
is a bright light beyond the pain of the darkness, we are to sing
a new song of praise to the Eternal, all peoples near and far are
to sing praise. "The Lord SHALL GO FORTH AS A MIGHTY MAN, He shall
stir up jealousy like a man of war; He SHALL CRY, YES, ROAR; HE
SHALL PREVAIL AGAINST HIS ENEMIES!" (verses 10-13).

God's Impatience with Idolaters

     The long-suffering of the Lord is long and He is very
patient. He has been still for a long time, He has held back,
sometimes we think prophecy is close to all coming to pass, then
it seems things slow down, and maybe it is so, for God here tells
us He has refrained Himself. Yet one day He will CRY OUT, He will
not hold back, He will be the Warring King and He will come and
there will be mighty destruction. Mountains and hills will fall,
burn the earth, dry up the rivers and lakes, and with it all He
will lead the spiritual blind; He will make the darkness into
light, and He will not forget them or forsake them. There will
come at that time, REPENTANCE, when people will see the false
images they raised up for themselves, and they will be ashamed of
calling all those false ways "You are our gods" (verses 14-17).

     Oh, many may be sincere, and do not mean to set up idols
before themselves, but if anyone does not seek the Lord God with
all their heart and mind, searching His word for truth and then
practicing it, they have then allowed whatever they do, and however
they live, to be their god!

Spiritual Blindness of Israel

     God calls out to His people Israel to look and see, to give
ear and hear. The Lord will make sure that His righteousness and
His law will be MAGNIFIED and will be made HONORABLE. Part of
that which is pleasing to Him, in MAGNIFYING His law, is
proclaimed to the world by this very website. There are others in
the work of the Lord who also MAGNIFY His law and have their
websites. Truly today as never before the MAGNIFICATION of the
way and law of the Lord is being done via a medium that was not
even dreamed about by servants of the Lord 50 years ago.

     Yet with such a POWERFUL tool as the Internet God says His
people Israel, are like those snared in holes, bound up in
prison, put out for the prey ..... and they have NONE to
DELIVER them. The Lord says, "WHO among you will give ear, who
will harken and hear" (verses 18-23).

     Though Israel has many out there who "preach" from the Bible
on TV and Radio and in Magazines, there is few who know the sound
of the words of the TRUE servant of the Lord. So Israel is
BLINDED, and WILL NOT see to they can be spared the punishment to
come.

     Who is it that will give Jacob Israel to the spoiler? It is
the Lord, the one they have sinned against! For they would not
walk in His ways, nor be obedient to His law.
     You, the British Commonwealth, the United States of America.
You, many nations of North-West Europe. You the Jewish people of
the earth. You are not willing to walk in the ways and in the LAW
of God. Therefore He will pour out on you His wrath and anger,
and the might of battle, and you will be as a house set on fire,
terrible things will come on you, you will experience troubles,
as never before in your history. Yet for all this, the Eternal
says you "laid it not to heart" (verses 24-25).

     You people of Israel and Judah are so very stiff-necked, you
will not listen to the truth of God though it be SHOUTED to you.
You have cast the word and law of God out of your homes, out of
your educational institutions, you have gone a whoring after the
false teachings of evolution and secularism. You have tasted of
disasters never the like in your history, but none of it has
turned you to deep and real REPENTANCE!! 
     So hence you will suffer one day as never before because of
your sins.

CHAPTER 43

     Even then the Lord is MERCIFUL, He will not cast you off
forever, or destroy you so none is left. God will through it all
REDEEM you. Those left who will walk through the fire, shall not
be burnt, some will survive. The Holy One of Israel will bring
your seed from the East and from the West. God will tell the
North, "give them up" and to the South "Keep them not." Your sons
and daughters will come from far away and from the other end of
the earth, all that are called by the name of the Lord, for it
was He that called Israel for His glory" (verse 1-7).

     Yes, we see from Deuteronomy 4 that God called Israel to do
His will, to perform His law, to be a LIGHT to the nations
around them, so other people would say they also wanted to know
the true God of Israel.
     The Lord's work will not be undone. Israel will yet in the
age to come be the glory of the Lord, the servant people who will
show the world the true ways of God.

Israel is Called to Witness

     Bring forth the people the Lord says, bring them forth. Let
Israel be His witness to the light of truth. God has chosen
Israel to believe in Him, to understand that there is no god but
the Lord. The Eternal says that before Him there was nothing
formed of God (margin) and there will be no god after Him. He
says, "I, even I, an the Lord and besides me there is NO
salvation." The Lord revealed Himself to Israel and therefore
they must be His witnesses. There is NO OTHER god. There is none
that can deliver out of His hand. He is and He works and none
shall stop Him (verses 8-13).

Babylon Will Fall

     A brief prophecy that Babylon (the modern Holy Roman Empire
of Europe) is to fall. Other prophecies declare this Beast power
will only rise for a short time, it will astound the world when
it does and its destruction in one day will also astound the
world. It will be at the time period when God will make a new
thing in the earth, when the wilderness breaks forth and rivers
in the desert (verses 1-21).

Israel's Sins of Ingratitude

     God says Israel has NOT called upon Him. Israel has become a
weary to Him. Israel has not acknowledged the Holy One in any
deep way. They have stopped serving Him in the ways they did at
one time. The Lord of Israel has been forgotten. God has become
wearied with their sins and iniquities. It is God that can blot
out transgressions and not remember sins any more. He calls out
for them to REMEMBER Him. He wants them to talk to Him, plead for
forgiveness. He wants them to be justified, to be forgiven.
     But as it has been in the past O Israel, your father (Jacob)
sinned (though he found repentance, and you have as yet not) and
your teachers (in the churches and schools of education) do
transgress against me. And as the Amplified Bible puts it:

"And so I will profane the chief ones of the sanctuary and will
deliver Jacob to the curse (the ban, a solemn anathema or
excommunication) and [will subject] Israel to reproaches and
reviling" (verses 22-28).

     Time after time, over and over again, we find God telling
the people of the Western world, their sins, the walking away
from Him that they are doing, their unwillingness to listen to
Him and to His true prophets He sends them. He tells us in the
West that our teachers of "religion" and "education" are
transgressors of His holy law. And because we will not turn to
repentance He will need to give us to the curse, and into the
hands of those whom He will use to destroy us and take us captive
into lands far away.

CHAPTER 44

     And as the punishment is repeated so also is the RESTORATION
repeated over and over again. So the beginning of chapter 44 is
foretelling the time when Jacob Israel with have God's Spirit
poured out on them, when they will be called by His name. The
Eternal once more tells Israel that He is the FIRST and the LAST,
and there is no god other than He. He asks the tellers to tell
the future if they can, but He knows they can not. There is no
one like He is (verses 1-8).

Delusion of Men who Make various Idols

     Verses 9-20 is a full descriptive narrative of people who
make out of physical material various "gods" - it is all not only
logically silly but also they deceive themselves into a false
dream of secure deliverance from evil or destruction.

     Today, it seems it is general "materialism" that has turned
the nations of Israel from their God. We are caught up in a world
of such material blessings and such a fast paced life style, and
the power of space-age technology and the false security of
weapons of mass destruction, that we either do not pay any
attention to God period, or we worship Him for a few hours on the
pagan Sun-god day.

     Whatever we have made in our minds or by our material goods,
we have succeeded in throwing the Lord out of the window. We
simply do not pay much attention, if anything, to the GLORY of
God.

Glory of God who Makes Man

     No Matter what we are doing, the God of Israel will not
forget us and will one day bring us to doing what He chose us for
in the first place.

"Remember these O Jacob and Israel; for thou are my servant: I
have formed thee, thou art my servant: O Israel, thou shalt not
be forgotten of me. I have BLOTTED OUT, as a thick cloud, they
TRANSGRESSIONS, and as a cloud, they SINS: RETURN unto Me; for I
have REDEEMED thee. Sing, O ye heavens; for the Lord hath done
it: shout, ye lower parts of the earth: break forth into singing,
ye mountains, O forest, and every tree therein; for the Lord hath
REDEEMED Jacob, and glorified Himself in Israel. 
Thus says the Lord, thy REDEEMER, and He that formed thee from
the womb, I am the Lord that maketh all things; that stretches
forth the heavens alone; that spreadeth abroad the earth by
Myself; That frustrates the tokens of the liars, and makes
diviners mad; that turns the wise man backward, and makes their
knowledge foolish; That confirms the word of His servants, and
performs the counsel of His messengers; that says to Jerusalem,
You shalt be inhabited; and to the cities of Judah, You shall be
built, and I will raise up the decayed places thereof...."
(verses 21-27).

     Yes, we are left with the GOOD NEWS to end this section of
Israel. Verse 28 should be the first verse of chapter 45.
     God will RESTORE Jacob Israel, Jerusalem shall be inhabited,
the cities of Judah shall again be built. After the Great
Tribulation of the last 42 months of this age, a NEW AGE will
come, in that age Israel and Judah shall be once more ONE
people, brought back from their enemies, brought back to the Holy
Land of Promise, where finally God's Spirit will be poured out on
them and they will settle and grow and be the WITNESS they were
originally chosen for, to be the LIGHT of the world, to SHOW
FORTH the RIGHTEOUSNESS of God.

     What a BLESSED TIME that will be! What wonder is the
Almighty, He will have His way on this earth, truly as it is
written, there will be a day when the knowledge of God shall
cover the earth as the waters cover the sea beds.

                            ............................................


To be continued

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Sunday, July 26, 2026

PAUL AND THE LAW #3

 

Paul and the Law - Part three

The Law is Holy, Just, and Good!

PAUL AND THE LAW - Part 3

by the late Samuele Bacciocchi Ph.D.



     Recent Studies of Romans 10:4. In a lengthy article (40
pages) published in Studia Teologica, Ragnar Bring emphasizes the
culminating significance of telos in Romans 10:4 on the basis of
the race-track imagery in the context (Rom 9:30-10:4). He argues
that in this context, telos "signifies the winning-post of a
race, the completion of a task, the climax of a matter. 56
     Bring explains that, since "the goal of the Law was
righteousness," the Law served as a custodian (paidagogos)
directing people to Christ, who only can give righteousness. This
means that "Christ is the goal of the Law" in the sense that He
is the eschatological fulfillment of the Law. 57
     In the article cited earlier, "St.Paul and the Law," C.E.
B.Cranfield argues that in the light of the immediate and larger
context of Romans 10:4, 'telos' should be translated as "goal."
     Consequently, he renders the texts as follows: "For Christ
is the goal of the Law, so that righteousness is available to
every one that believeth." 58 
     He notes that verse 4 begins with "for--gar" because it
explains verse 3 where Paul explains that "The Jews in their
legalistic quest after a righteous status of their own earning,
have failed to recognize and accept the righteous status which
God has sought to give them." On verse 4, according to Cranfield,
Paul continues his explanation by giving the reasons for the Jews
failure to attain a righteous status before God: "For Christ,
whom they have rejected, is the goal toward which all along the
Law was directed, and this means that in Him a righteous status
before God is available to every one who will accept it by
faith." 59
     Similarly, George E. Howard advocates a goal-oriented
interpretation of telos in Romans 10:4, arguing that "Christ is
the goal of the Law to everyone who believes because the ultimate
goal of the Law is that all be blessed in Abraham." 60 
     A lengthier treatment of Romans 10:4 is provided by J.E.
Tows, who interprets telos as "goal" on the basis of "linguistic
and contextual grounds ." 61
     More recently, C.T.Rhyne has produced a perceptive
dissertation on Romans 3:31 where Paul says: "Do we then
overthrow the Law by this faith? By no means! On the contrary, we
uphold the Law." Rhyne shows that there is a theological
connection between this verse and Romans 10:4. This connection
supports the teleological interpretation of telos and is more
consistent with Paul's positive understanding of the relationship
between Christ and the Law in Romans. 62
     Walter Kaiser, a well-known and respected Evangelical
scholar, offers a compelling defense of the teleological
interpretation of Romans 10:4 by examining closely the arguments
developed by Paul in the whole section from Romans 9:30 to 10:13.
He notes that in this passage Paul is "clearly contrasting two
ways of obtaining righteousness-one that the Gentiles adopted,
the way of faith; the other, a work method, that many Israelites
adopted-all to no avail." 63
     What many fail to realize, according to Kaiser, is that the
"homemade Law of righteousness [adopted by many Jews] is not
equivalent to the righteousness that is from the Law of God. "64
     In other words, what Paul is condemning in this passage is
not "the righteousness that God had intended to come from the Law
of Moses," but the homemade righteousness which many Jews made
into a Law without Christ as its object. 65 
     Paul's condemnation of the perverted use of the Law does not
negate its proper use.
     Kaiser concludes his insightful analysis of this passage
with these words: "The term telos in Romans 10:4 means `goal' or
purposeful conclusion. The Law cannot be properly understood
unless it moves toward the grand goal of pointing the believer
toward the Messiah, Christ. The Law remains God's Law, not Moses'
Law (Rom 7:22; 8:7). It still is holy, just, good, and spiritual
(Rom 7:12, 14) for the Israelite as well as for the believing
Gentile." 66

The Larger Context of Romans 10:4. 

     In the final analysis, the correct meaning of Romans 10:4
can only be established by a careful examination of its larger
and immediate contexts. This is what we intend to do now. In the
larger context (Romans 9 to 11), Paul addresses not the
relationship between Law and Gospel, but how God's plan of
salvationfinally fulfilled with the coming of Christ relates to
the destiny of Israel. The fact that the majority of Christian
converts were Gentiles and that the majority of the Jews had
rejected Christ, raised questions about the trustworthiness of
God's promises regarding the salvation of Israel.
     The question that Paul is discussing is stated in Romans
9:6: "Has the word of God failed?" How can God's promises to
Israel be true when Israel as a nation has jeopardized its
election as God's people by rejecting Christ? This was a crucial
question in the apostolic church which was formed by many Jewish
Christians and directed by Twelve Apostles who were Jews. "The
issue was how to explain that the people of the old covenant, who
had been blessed by God with the greatest privileges (Rom 9:4-5),
were now separated from the community of the new covenant, which,
as a matter of fact, was nothing other than the extension of
Israel." 67
     Paul responds to this question in Romans 9 to 11 first by
pointing out that God's word has not failed because divine
election has never been based on human merits, but on God's
sovereignty and mercy. The inclusion of the Gentiles following
Israel's disobedience is not unjust because it represents the
triumph of God's plan as contemplated in the Scriptures (Rom
9:6-29). "As indeed he says in Hosea, `Those who were not my
people I will call my people'" (Rom 9:25).
     Second, Paul points out that Israel's rejection of Christ
comes from their failure to understand God's purposes as revealed
in Scripture and manifested through the coming of Christ (Rom
9:30 to 10:21). Instead ofreceiving the righteousness of God by
faith, Israel sought to establish its own righteousness (Rom
9:31; 10:3).
     Last, Paul brings out that the failure of Israel is only
partial and temporary. God has not rejected Israel but has used
their failure for the inclusion of the Gentiles and ultimately
the salvation of Israel (Rom 11:1-36). "A hardening has come upon
part of Israel, until the full number of the Gentiles come in,
and so all Israel will be saved" (Rom 11:25-26). This bare
outline of the larger context of Romans 10:4 suffices to show
that the issue that Paul is addressing is not the relationship
between Law and Gospel, but how God is working out His plan for
the salvation of both Jews and Gentiles, "for there is no
distinction between Jew and Greek" (Rom 10:12). This means that
Romans 10:4 must be interpreted not on the basis of a
"Law-Gospel" debate, which is foreign to the context, but on the
basis of the salvation of Jews and Gentiles which is discussed in
the context.

The Immediate Context of Romans 10:4. 

     The section of Romans 9:30 to 10:13 is generally regarded as
the immediate context of Romans 10:4. Paul customarily signals
the next stage of his argument in Romans by the recurring phrase:
"What shall we say, then?" (Rom 9:30). And the issue he addresses
in Romans 9:30 to 10:13 is this: How did it happen that the
Gentiles who were not in the race after righteousness obtained
the righteousness of God by faith, while Israel who was in the
race to attain the righteousness promised by the Law, did not
reach the goal?
     Badenas provides a convenient, concise summary of Paul's
argument in Romans 9:30-33. He writes; "Paul presents the failure
of Israel in the fact that it did not recognize from Scriptures
(eis nomon ouk ephthasen---did not attain to the Law-Rom 9:31)
Jesus Christ as the promised Messiah, the goal and substance and
meaning of the Law. Looking at the Torah [Mosaic Law] from the
human perspective-as a code primarily interested in human
performance-Israel overlooked the importance of looking at it
from the perspective of God's saving acts and mercy. Having
failed to take their own Law seriously in that particular
respect, they did not see that God's promises had been fulfilled
in Jesus of Nazareth. In other words, Israel's misunderstanding
of Torah [Mosaic Law] is presented by Paul as blindness to the
Law's witness to Christ (cf. Rom 9:31-33 with 10:4-13 and 3:21)
which was epitomized in Israel's rejection of Jesus as Messiah."
68
     It is important to note that in the immediate context, Paul
is not disparaging the Law but is criticizing its improper use as
a way to attain one's own righteousness. The Jews were extremely
zealous for God, but their zeal was not based on knowledge (Rom
10:2). Being ignorant of the righteousness that comes from God,

     The problem with the Jews was not the Law. but their
misunderstanding and misuse of it. They did not attain to the
righteousness promised by the Law because they misunderstood it
and transformed it into a tool of personal achievement (Rom
10:2-3,5; 2:17,27; 3:27; 4:2). They insisted on establishing
their own righteousness (Rom 10:3) rather than accepting the
righteousness that had been revealed by God through Moses in the
Law. They did not see that the righteousness of God had been
revealed especially through the coming of the promised Messiah.
They looked at the Law in order to see what a person could do to
become righteous before God instead of recognizing what God had
already done for them through Jesus Christ. They failed to
recognize that Christ is the goal of the Law, as Paul says in
verse 4.

Romans 10:4: Goal or Termination? P

     Paul continues his argument in verse 4, which literally
reads: "For Christ is the goal of the Law for righteousness to
every one that believeth." This crucial text begins with the
conjunction "For-gar," thus indicating a continuous explanation
within the flow of Paul's thought. This means that this text must
be interpreted in the light of its immediate context where Paul
discusses the failure of the Jews to attain the righteousness
promised by the Law.
     In Greek, the key sentence reads "telos nomou Christos,"
which literally translated means "The goal of Law [is] Christ."
The structure of the sentence with telos nomou at the beginning
indicates that Paul is making a statement about the Law rather
than about Christ. The Law (nomos) has been the center of Paul's
discussion since Romans 9:6, and particularly since Romans 9:31,
where he speaks of nomos dikaiosunes---the Law of righteousness,
that is, the Law that holds forth the promise of righteousness.
Note must be taken of the fact that in the immediate context,
Paul does not speak of the Law and Christ as standing in an
antagonistic relationship. In Romans 9:31-33 he explains that,
had the Jews believed in Christ ("the stone"), they would
certainly have "attained" the Law which promises righteousness.
Consequently, in the light of the immediate context, it is more
consistent to take the Law-nomos as bearing witness to Christ
rather than as being abrogated by Christ. The abrogation
interpretation ("Christ has put an end to the Law") disrupts
Paul's flow of thought, works against his main argument, and
would have been confusing to his readers in Rome accustomed to
use telos with the sense of "goal" rather than "termination."

     The athletic metaphors used in the immediate context (Rom
9:3033) also suggest that 'telos' is used with the meaning
of"goal," because telos was one of the terms commonly used to
denote the winning-post or the finish line. Other athletic terms
used by Paul are diokon (Rom 9:30-31), which denotes the earnest
pursuit of a goal; 'katelaben' (Rom 9:30), which describes the
attaining of a goal; 'ouk ephthasen' (Rom 9:31), which refers to
the stumbling over an obstacle in a race; and 'kataiskuno' (Rom
9:33), which expresses the disappointment and shame of the
defeat.
     The implications of the athletic metaphors are well stated
by Badenas: "If by accepting Christ the Gentiles reached the
winning-post of dikaiosune [righteousness] and, thereby,
acceptance within the new people of God (Rom 9:30), and by
rejecting Christ Israel did not reach the goal of the Law and
thereby admission into God's new people, the logical conclusion
is what Romans 10:4 says: that the goal of the Law and the
winning-post of dikaiosune [righteousness] and entrance into
God's eschatological people are to be found nowhere else than in
Christ." 69

The Qualifying Clause: "For Righteousness ..." 

     Further support for the teleological interpretation is
provided by the qualifying clause that follows: "For
righteousness to every one that believeth" (Rom 10:4b; KJV). The
phrase "for righteousness" translates the Greek eis dikaiosunen.
Since the basic meaning of the preposition eis-"into" or "for" is
directional and purposive, it supports the teleological
interpretation of the text, which would read: "Christ is the goal
of the Law in [its promise of) righteousness to everyone that
believeth."
     This interpretation harmonizes well with the context, and
contributes to the understanding of such important elements in
the context as "the word of God has not failed" (Rom 9:6), the
Gentiles attained righteousness (Rom 9:30), Israel did not
"attain" to the Law (Rom 9:31) but stumbled over the stone (Rom
9:33), and ignored God's righteousness (Rom 10:23). All these
major themes fit if Romans 10:4 is understood in the sense that
the Law, in its promise of righteousness to whoever believes,
pointed to Christ.
     The abrogation interpretation that "Christ has put an end to
the Law as a way of righteousness by bringing righteousness to
anyone who will believe," interrupts the flow of the argument and
works against it. The same is true of the interpretation which
says "Christ has put an end to the Law in order that
righteousness based on faith alone may be available to all men."
The problem with these interpretations is that they wrongly
assume that, prior to Christ's coming, righteousness was
obtainable through the Law and that the Law was an insurmountable
obstacle to the exercise of righteousness by faith, and,
consequently, it was removed by Christ.
     The assumption that Christ put an end to the Law as a way of
salvation is discredited by the fact that, in Paul's view,
salvation never did come or could come by the Law (Gat 2:21;
3:21). In Romans 4, Abraham and other Old Testament righteous
people were saved by faith in Christ (cf. Rom 9:30-33). The rock
that Israel stumbled over was Christ (Rom 9:33; cf. 1 Cor 10:4).
Paul explicitly says that the Law was not an obstacle to God's
righteousness, but a witness to it (Rom 9:31; 3:21, 31).
     Another important point to consider is that the key to
understanding Romans 10:4 may to be found in the proper
comprehension of the last words of the text "to everyone who
believes." This is the view of George Howard who notes that this
is the theme of the inclusion of the Gentiles which dominates the
immediate context. He writes: "The Jews based their salvation on
the fact that they had the Law, the fathers, and all the
blessings which go with these. Their extreme hostility to the
Gentiles (1 Thess 2:1516) had caused them to miss the point of
the Law itself, that is, that its very aim and goal was the
ultimate unification of all nations under the God of Abraham
according to the promise. In this sense Christ is the telos
[goal] of the Law; he was its goal to everyone who believes." 70
     In the light of the preceding considerations, we conclude
that Romans 10:4 represents the logical continuation and
culmination of the argument initiated in Romans 9:30-33, namely,
that Christ is the goal of the Law because He embodies the
righteousness promised by the Law for everyone who believes. This
is the righteousness which the Gentiles attained by faith and
which most Jews rejected because they chose to establish their
own righteousness (Rom 10:3) rather than accept the righteousness
the Law pointed to and promised through Jesus Christ. Thus, far
from declaring the abrogation of the Law with the coming of
Christ, Romans 10:4 affirms the realization of the goal of the
Law in Christ who offers righteousness to everyone who believes. 

Romans 10:5-8: The Obedience of Faith. 

     In order to support the statement in Romans 10:4 that Christ
is the goal of the Law in offering righteousness to everyone who
believes, Paul continues in verses 5 to 8 showing how the Law
calls for a response, not of works in which a person can boast,
but of faith in which God receives the credit. Paul develops his
argument by quoting two texts from the Old Testament-Leviticus
18:5 in verse 5 and Deuteronomy 30:12-14 in verses 6 to 8.
     Romans 10:5-8 reads: "For Moses writes that the man who
practices the righteousness which is based on the Law shall live
by it [quote from Lev 18:5]. But the righteousness based on faith
says, Do not say in your heart, `Who will ascend to heaven?'
(that is, to bring Christ down) or `Who will descend into the
abyss?' (that is, to bring Christ up from the dead). But what
does it say? The word is near you, on your lips and in your heart
(that is, the word of faith which we preach)" [paraphrase of Deut
30:12-14].
     The principal problem with these verses is in establishing
the relationship between the quotation of Leviticus 18:5 in
Romans 10:5 and the quotation of Deuteronomy 30:12-14 in Romans
10:6-8. Are the two quotations intended to present two
complementary aspects of righteousness or two conflicting ways of
righteousness? The common interpretation assumes that the two
quotations are used by Paul to contrast two ways of
righteousness: the righteousness by works of the Law as taught in
Leviticus 18:5 and the righteousness by faith as taught in
Deuteronomy 30:12-14. The former would represent the Jewish way
of righteousness based on human obedience and the latter the
righteousness of divine grace offered by faith.
     This popular interpretation rests on two mistaken
assumptions. The first is that the two particles "gar--for ...
de--but," which are used to introduce verses 5 and 6,
respectively, serve to contrast the two types of righteousness.
"For Moses writes ... but the righteousness of faith says ..."
This assumption is wrong because the Greek word translated "but"
in verse 6 is de and not alla. The particle de is frequently
translated as "and" without any contrast intended, while alla is
consistently translated as "but" because it serves to make a
contrast. George Howard clearly and convincingly points out that
"gar ... de" do not mean "for ... but," but as in Romans 7:8-9;
10:10; 11:15-16, they mean "for ... and." 71
     In other words, in this context Paul uses this set of
particles not in an adversative way but in a connective way, to
complement two aspects of righteousness.

One Kind of Righteousness. 

     The second mistaken assumption is that the two quotations
used by Paul are antithetical, teaching two different kinds of
righteousness. But this cannot be true. If Paul had quoted
Leviticus 18:5 as teaching righteousness by works, he could
hardly have faulted the Jews for pursuing the "the righteousness
which is based on Law" (Rom 9:31), since they would have been
doing exactly what the Law commanded them to do. But this is
contrary to Paul's charge that the Jews had misunderstood the
Scripture.
     In their original contexts, both quotations say essentially
the same thing, namely, that the Israelites must observe God's
commandments in order to continue to enjoy the blessings of life.
In Leviticus 18:5, Moses admonishes the Israelites not to follow
the ways of the heathen nations, but to keep God's "statutes and
ordinances" in order to perpetuate the life God had given them.
Similarly, in Deuteronomy 30:11-16, Moses tells the Israelites
"to obey the commandments of the Lord" because they are not hard
to observe, and ensure the blessings of life ("then you shall
live and multiply" - Deut 30:16).
     Some argue that Paul took the liberty of misinterpreting
Deuteronomy 30:11-14 in order to support his teachings of
righteousness by faith. But had Paul done such a thing, he would
have exposed himself to the legitimate criticism of his enemies
who would have accused him of misinterpreting Scripture.
Furthermore, neither Paul nor any Bible writer sets Moses against
Moses or against any otherbiblical statement. It was not the
custom of Paul to seek out contradictions in the Scripture or to
quote the Old Testament to show that one of its statements was no
longer valid. The fact that Paul quoted Deuteronomy 30:12-14
immediately after Leviticus 18:5 suggests that he viewed the two
passages as complementary and not contradictory.
     The complementary function of the two quotations is not
difficult to see. In Romans 10:4 Paul affirms that Christ is the
goal of the Law in offering righteousness to everyone who
believes. In verse 5, he continues (note "for -- gar") expanding
what this means by quoting Leviticus 18:5 as a summary expression
of the righteousness of the Law-namely, that "whoever follows the
way of righteousness taught by the Law shall live by it." This
fundamental truth had been misconstrued by the Pharisees who made
the Law so hard to observe that, to use the words of Peter, it
became a "yoke upon the neck" that nobody could bear (Acts
15:10). Paul clarifies this misconception in verses 6 to 8 by
paraphrasing Deuteronomy 30:1214 immediately after Leviticus 18:5
in order to show that God's Law is not hard to observe, as the
Pharisees had made it to be. All it takes to obey God's
commandments is a heart response: "The word is near to you, on
your lips and in your heart" (Rom 10:8).
     Daniel Fuller rightly observes that "by paraphrasing
Deuteronomy 30:11-14 right after a verse spotlighting the
righteousness of the Law which Moses taught [Lev 18:5], and by
affirming this paraphrase of Moses which inserts the word
'Christ' at crucial points, Paul was showing that the
righteousness set forth by the Law was the righteousness of
faith. Since the wording of the Law can be replaced by the word
'Christ' with no loss of meaning, Paul has demonstrated that
Moses himself taught that Christ and the Law are one piece.
Either one or both will impart righteousness to all who believe,
and thus the affirmation of Romans 10:4 [that `Christ is the goal
of the Law'] is supported by Paul's reference to Moses in verses
5-8." 72
     What Paul wishes to show in Romans 10:6-8 is that the
righteousness required by the Law in order to live (Lev 18:5)
does not necessitate a superhuman achievement, like climbing into
heaven or descending into the abyss. This was Paul's way of
expressing the impossible task the Jews wanted to accomplish
through their own efforts. By contrast, the righteousness
required by the Law is fulfilled through the Word which is in the
heart and in the mouth, that is, by believing and confessing the
Lord (Rom 10:10).
     The reference to the nearness of the Word in Deuteronomy
30:14 permitted Paul to link the divine grace made available by
God in the Law with the divine grace made available by God in
Christ, the Word. His commentary on Deuteronomy 30:14 clearly
shows that he understood Christ to be the substance and content
of both the Law and the Gospel. Because of the unity that exists
between the two, he could identify the word of the Law (Deut
30:14) with the word of the Gospel (Rom 10:8-9).
     The recognition of the unity between Law and Gospel leads
Walter Kaiser to pose a probing rhetorical question: "What will
it take for modern Christians to see that Moses, in the same way
that the apostle Paul, advocated, wanted Israel to `believe unto
righteousness' (Rom 10:10; cf. Deut 30:14)? ... Both Moses and
Paul are in basic agreement that the life being offered to
Israel, both in those olden days and now in the Christian era,
was available and close at hand; in fact it was so near them that
it was in their mouth and in their hearts." 73 
     It is unfortunate that so many Christians fail to recognize
this basic unity that exists between the Law and the Gospel,
Moses and Paul, both affirming that Christ is the goal and
culmination of the Law in its promise of righteousness to
everyone who believes.

Conclusion. 

     The foregoing analysis of Romans 10:4 shows that Christ is
not the end, but the goal of the Law. He is the goal toward which
the whole Law was aimed so that its promise of righteousness may
be experienced by whoever believes in Him. He is the goal of the
Law in the sense that in His person and work He fulfilled its
promises, types, and sacrificial ceremonies (2 Cor 1:20; Rom
10:6-10; 3:21; Heb 10:1-8). He is also the goal of the Law in the
sense that He is the only Man who was completely obedient to its
requirements (Phil 2:8; Rom 5:19; Rom 10:5). He is also the goal
of the Law in the sense that He enables the believer to live in
accordance to "the just requirements of the Law" (Rom 8:4).


PART 4: THE LAW AND THE GENTILES

     In studying some of Paul's negative comments about the Law,
we noted that such comments were occasioned by the Apostle's
effort to undo the damage done by false teachers who were
exalting the Law, especially circumcision, as a means of
salvation. To bring into sharper focus Paul's criticism of the
Law, we now consider why the Gentiles were tempted to adopt
legalistic practices like circumcision.
     Paul's letters were written to congregations made up
predominantly of Gentile converts, most of whom were former
"God-fearers" (1 Thess 1:9; 1 Cor 12:2; Gal 4:8; Rom 11:13; 1:13;
Col 1:21; Eph 2:11). A crucial problem among Gentile Christians
was their right as Gentiles to enjoy full citizenship in the
people of God without becoming members of the covenant community
through circumcision.

A Jewish Problem. 

     This was not a uniquely Christian problem. W. D. Davies has
shown that the relationship of Israel to the Gentile world was
the foremost theological problem of Judaism in the first century.
74 
     Basically, the problem for the Jews consisted in determining
what commandments the Gentiles had to observe in order for them
to have a share in the world to come.
     No clear-cut answer to this question existed in Paul's time.
Some Jews held that Gentiles had to observe only a limited number
of commandments (Noachic Laws). Other Jews, however, like the
House of Shammai, insisted that Gentiles had to observe the whole
Law, including circumcision. In other words, they had to become
full-fledged members of the covenant community in order to share
in the blessings of the world-tocome. 75
     Lloyd Gaston perceptively notes that "it was because of this
unclarity that legalism-the doing of certain works to win God's
favor and be counted righteous-arose a Gentile and not a Jewish
problem at all." 76
     Salvation was for all who were members of the covenant
community, but since the God-fearers were not under the covenant,
they had to establish their own righteousness to gain such an
assurance of salvation.
     Marcus Barth has shown that the phrase "works of the Law" is
not found in Jewish texts and designates the adoption of selected
Jewish practices by the Gentiles to ensure their salvation as
part of the covenant people of God. 77 
     Recognition of this legalistic Gentile attitude is important
to our understanding of the background of Paul's critical remarks
about the Law.

A Christian Problem. 

     The Jewish problem of whether Gentiles were saved within or
without the covenant soon became also a Christian problem. Before
his conversion and divine commission to the Gentiles, Paul
apparently believed that Gentiles had to conform to the whole
Mosaic Law, including circumcision, in order for them to be
saved. The latter is suggested by the phrase "but if I still
preach circumcision" (Gal 5:11), which implies that at one time
he did preach circumcision as a basis of salvation.
     After his conversion and divine commission to preach the
Gospel to the Gentiles, Paul understood that Gentiles share in
the blessing of salvation without having to become part of the
covenant community through circumcision. To defend this
conviction, we noted earlier that Paul appeals in Romans 4 and
Galatians 3 to the example of Abraham who became the father of
all who believe by faith before he was circumcised.
     In proclaiming his non-circumcision Gospel, Paul faced a
double challenge. On one hand, he faced the opposition of Jews
and JewishChristians because they failed to understand ("Israel
did not under stand"-Rom 10:19) that, through Christ, God had
fulfilled His promises to Abraham regarding the Gentiles. On the
other hand, Paul had to deal with the misguided efforts of
Gentiles who were tempted to adopt circumcision and other
practices to ensure their salvation by becoming members of the
covenant community (Gal 5:2-4).

Law as Document of Election. 

     To counteract the double challenge from Jewish and Gentile
Christians, Paul was forced to speak critically of the Law as a
document of election. Several scholars have recently shown that
the concept of the covenant-so central in the Old Testament-came
more and more to be expressed by the term "Law" (torah-nomos). 78
     One's status before God came to be determined by one's
attitude toward the Law (torah--nomos) as a document of election
and not by obedience to specific commandments.
     The Law came to mean a revelation of God's electing will
manifested in His covenant with Israel. Obviously, this view
created a problem for the uncircumcised Gentiles because they
felt excluded from the assurance of salvation provided by the
covenant. This insecurity naturally led Gentiles to "desire to be
under Law" (Gal 4:21), that is, to become full-fledged covenant
members by receiving circumcision (Gal 5:2). Paul felt compelled
to react strongly against this trend because it undermined the
universality of the Gospel.
     To squelch the Gentiles' "desire to be under Law," Paul
appeals to the Law (Pentateuch), specifically to Abraham, to
argue that the mothers of his two children, Ishmael and Isaac,
stand for two covenants: the first based on works and the second
on faith (Gal 4:22-31)- the first offering "slavery" and the
second resulting in "freedom." The first, Hagar, who bears
"children of slavery," is identified with the covenant of Mount
Sinai (Gal 4:24).
     Why does Paul attack so harshly the Sinai covenant which,
after all, was established by the same God who made a covenant
with Abraham? Besides, did not the Sinai covenant contain
provisions of grace and forgiveness through the sanctuary
services (Ex 25-30), besides principles of conduct (Ex 20-23)?
The answer to these questions is to be found in Paul's concern to
establish the legitimacy of the salvation of the Gentiles as
Gentiles.
     To accomplish this goal, Paul attacks the understanding of
the Law (covenant) as an exclusive document of election. This
does not mean that he denies the possibility of salvation to Jews
who accepted Christ as the fulfillment of the Sinai covenant. On
the contrary, he explicitly acknowledges that just as he was
"entrusted with the Gospel to the uncircumcised," so "Peter had
been entrusted with the Gospel to the circumcised" (Gal 2:7).
     Paul does not explain what was the basic difference between
the two Gospels. We can presume that since the circumcision had
become equated with the covenant, the Gospel to the circumcised
emphasized that Christ through His blood ratified the Sinai
covenant by making it operative (Matt 26:28). This wouldmake it
possible for Jews to be saved as Jews, that is, while retaining
their identity as a covenant people.

     Note that Paul does not deny the value of circumcision for
the Jews. On the contrary, he affirms: "Circumcision indeed is of
value if you obey the Law; but if you break the Law, your
circumcision becomes uncircumcision" (Rom 2:25). Again in Romans
9 to 11, Paul does not rebuke the Jews for being "Jewish" in
their life-style (Rom 11:1), but rather for failing to understand
that the Gentiles in Christ have equal access to salvation
because Christ is the goal of the Law.

Conclusion

     Several conclusions emerge from our study of Paul's view of
the Law. We noted that prior to his conversion, Paul understood
the Law like a Pharisee, namely, as the external observance of
commandments in order to gain salvation (2 Cor 5:16-17). After
his encounter with Christ on the Damascus Road, Paul gradually
came to realize that his Pharisaic view of the Law as a way of
salvation was wrong, because the Old Testament teaches that
salvation was already promised to Abraham through the Christ, the
Seed to come, 430 years before the giving of the Law at Sinai
(Gal 3:17).
     From the perspective of the Cross, Paul rejected the
Pharisaic understanding of the Law as a means of salvation and
accepted the Old Testament view of the Law as a revelation of
God's will for human conduct. We found that for Paul the Law is
and remains God's Law (Rom 7:22, 25), because it was given by God
(Rom 9:4; 3:2), was written by Him (1 Cor 9:9; 14:21; 14:34),
reveals His will (Rom 2:17, 18), bears witness to His
righteousness (Rom 3:21), and is in accord with His promises (Gal
3:21).
     Being a revelation of God's will for mankind, the Law
reveals the nature of sin as disobedience to God. Paul explains
that "through the Law comes the knowledge of sin" (Rom 3:20)
because the Law causes people to recognize their sins and
themselves as sinners. It is evident that this important function
of the Law could not have been terminated by Christ, since the
need to acknowledge sin in one's life is as fundamental to the
life of Christians today. as it was for the Israelites of old.
The function of Christ's redemptive mission was not to abrogate
the Law, as many Christians mistakenly believe, but to enable
believers to live out the principles of God's Law in their lives.
Paul affirms that, in Christ, God has done what the Law by itself
could not do-namely, He empowers believers to live according to
the "just requirements of the Law." "For God has done what the
Law, weakened by the flesh, could not do: sending his own Son in
the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin, he condemned sin in the
flesh, in order that the just requirements of the Law might be
fulfilled in us, who walk not according to the flesh but
according to the Spirit" (Rom 8:3-4).
     The new life in Christ enables the Christian to keep the
Law, not as an external code, but as a loving response to God.
This is the very thing that the Law by itself cannot do, because
being an external standard of human conduct, it cannot generate a
loving response in the human heart. By contrast, "Christ's love
compels us" (2 Cor 5:14) to respond to Him by living according to
the moral principles of God's Law (John 14:15).
     Paul recognizes that the observance of the Law can tempt
people to use it unlawfully as a means to establish their own
righteousness before God. This was the major problem of his
Gentile converts who were tempted to adopt practices like
circumcision in order to gain acceptance with God. Paul exposes
as hopeless all attempts to be justified in God's sight by works
of the Law because "no human being will be justified in his sight
by the works of the Law, since through the Law comes knowledge of
sin" (Rom 3:20). Human beings in their fallen condition can never
fully observe God's Law.
     What Paul radically rejects is not of the Law, but of
legalism, that is, the attempt to establish one's righteousness
through the external observance of the Law. Legalism ultimately
blinds a person to the righteousness which God has made available
as a free gift through Jesus Christ (cf. Rom 10:3). This was the
problem with the false teachers who were promoting circumcision
as a way of salvation without Christ. By so doing, they were
propagating the false notion that salvation is a human
achievement rather than a divine gift.
     The mounting pressure of Judaizers who were urging
circumcision upon the Gentiles made it necessary for Paul to
attack the exclusive covenant concept of the Law. "But," as
George Howard points out, "under other circumstances he [Paul]
might have insisted on the importance of Israel's retention of
her distinctiveness." 79
     An understanding of the different circumstances that
occasioned Paul's discussion of the Law is essential for
resolving the apparent contradiction between the positive and
negative statements he makes about the Law. For example, in
Ephesians 2:15 Paul speaks of the Law as having been "abolished"
by Christ, while in Romans 3:31, he explains that justification
by faith in Jesus Christ does not overthrow the Law but
"establishes" it. In Romans 7:6, he states that "now we are
discharged from the Law" while a few verses later he writes that
"the Law is holy, and the commandment is holy and just and good"
(Rom 7:12). In Romans 3:28, he maintains that "a man is justified
by faith apart from works of the Law," yet in 1 Corinthians 7:19,
he states that "neither circumcision counts for anything nor
uncircumcision, but keeping the commandments of God."

     How can Paul view the Law both as "abolished" (Eph 2:15) and
"established' (Rom 3:31), unnecessary (Rom 3:28) and necessary (1
Cor 7:19; Eph 6:2, 3; 1 Tim 1:8-10)?    

     Our study shows that the resolution to this apparent
contradiction is found in the different contexts in which Paul
speaks of the Law. When he speaks of the Law in the context of
salvation (justification-right standing before God), especially
in his polemic with Judaizers, he clearly affirms that
Law-keeping is of no avail (Rom 3:20). On the other hand, when
Paul speaks of the Law in the context of Christian conduct
(sanctification-right living before God), especially in dealing
with antinomians, then he upholds the value and validity of God's
Law (Rom 7:12; 13:8-10; 1 Cor 7:19).

     In summation, Paul criticizes not the moral value of the Law
as guide to Christian conduct, but the soteriological (saving)
understanding of the Law seen as a document of election that
includes Jews and excludes Gentiles. Failure to distinguish in
Paul's writing between his moral and soteriological usages of the
Law, and failure to recognize that his criticism of the Law is
directed especially toward Gentile Judaizers who were exalting
the Law, especially circumcision, as a means of salvation, has
led many to fallaciously conclude that Paul rejects the value and
validity of the Law as a whole. Such a view is totally
unwarranted because, as we have shown, Paul rejects the Law as a
method of salvation but upholds it as a moral standard of
Christian conduct.


NOTES:P

1. Dale Ratzlaff, Sabbath in Crisis (Applegate, California,
1990), pp.200,218,219.
2. Ibid., p.49. 
3. Ibid., p.74. 
4. Ibid., p.73. 
5. Ibid., p.181.
6. Walter C. Kaiser, "The Law as God's Gracious Guidance for the
Promotion of Holiness," in Law, The Gospel, and the Modern
Christian (Grand Rapids, 1993), p.178.
7. C.E.B.Cranfield, "St.Paul and the Law," Scottish Journal of
Theology 17 (March 1964), pp.43-44.
8. A convenient survey of those scholars (Albert Schweitzer, H.
J. Schoeps, Ernest Kaseman, F.F.Bruce, Walter Gutbrod) who argue
that the Law is no longer valid for Christians, is provided by
Brice Martin's Christ and the Law in Paul (Leiden, Holland,
1989), pp.55-58.
9. Gerhard von Rad, "Zao," Theological Dictionary of the New
Testament, ed. Gerhard Kittel (Grand Rapids, 1974), p.845.
10. George Eldon Ladd, "A Theology of the New Testament" (Grand
Rapids, Michigan, 1974), p.497.
11. H. Kleinknech, "Bible Key Words" (Grand Rapids, Michigan
1962), p.69.
12. "Pike Aboth" 2:7. For other references, see H. Kleinknech
(note 11), p.76.
13. George Eldon Ladd (note 11), p.501.
14. C.K.Barrett, "Commentary on the Book of Romans" (New York,
1957), p.58.
15. C.E.B. Cranfield (note 7), p.47. 
16. Ibid., pp.66-67.
17. John Calvin, "The Epistles of Paul the Apostle to the Romans
and to the Thessalonians," trans. R. Mackenzie (Edinburg, 1961),
p. 141.
18. George Eldon Ladd (note 10), p.541.
19. Brice L. Martin, "Christ and the Law in Paul" (Leiden,
Holland, 1989), pp.53,68.
20. John Murray, "The Epistle to the Romans" (Grand Rapids,
Michigan, 1982), p.229.
21. Greg L. Bahnsen, "The Theonomic Reformed Approach to Law and
Gospel," in "Law, the Gospel, and the Modern Christian" (Grand
Rapids, 1993), p.106.
22. John Murray (note 20), p.229.
23. Rudolf Bultmann, "Theology of the New Testament" (New York,
1970), vol.1, p.262.
24. Philip Edgcumbe Hughes, "Paul's Second Epistle to the
Corinthians," in "The New International Commentary on the New
Testament" (Grand Rapids, 1962), p.97.
25. Ibid., p.94.
26. C.E.B. Cranfield (note 7), p.58.
27. Philip Edgcumbe Hughes (note 24), p.104. 
28. C.E.B.Cranfield (note 7), p.59.
29. John Calvin, "Commentary on the Epistles of Paul the Apostle
to the Corinthians," trans. by. J. Pringle (Grand Rapids,
Michigan, 1948), vol.2, p.183.
30. C.E.B. Cranfield (note 7), p.61. 
31. Brice L. Martin (note 19), p.155.
32. Ardel Bruce Caneday, "The Curse of the Law and the Cross:
Works of the Law and Faith in Galatians 3:1-14," Doctoral
dissertation submitted at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School
(Deerfield, Illinois 1992), p.58.
33. George Eldon Ladd (note 11), p.507.
34. Ernest De Will Burton, "A Critical and Exegetical Commentary
on the Epistle to the Galatians" (Edinburgh, 1962), p.188.
35. John Calvin, Institutes of the Christian Religion, trans. F.
L. Battles (London, 1961), vol. II, VI, 2.
36. C.E.B.Cranfield (note 7), p.63. 
37. Ibid., p.62.
38. Eduard Lohse, " Commentary on the Epistles to the Colossians
and to Philemon "(Philadelphia, 1971), p.116.
39. To justify this interpretation, the phrase "cheirographon
tois dogmasiv" is translated "the document consisting in
ordinances." But, Charles Masson explains that "the grammatical
justification for this construction is highly debatable.... It
should have by rule the preposition en (cf. v.11) to say that the
document "consisted in ordinances" (L. Epitre de St.Paul aux
Colossians [Paris, 1950], p.128).
40. J.Huby, Saint Paul: ies Epitres de la captivate (Paris,
1947), p.73. Charles Masson (note 37), p.128, mentions that for
Schlatter, Huby, and Percy, "the idea ofthe Law nailed on the
Cross with Christ would have been unthinkable for Paul."
41. For a lengthy list of commentators who interpret the
cheirographon either as the "certificate of indebtedness"
resulting from our transgressions or as the "book containing the
record of sin," see Samuele Bacchiocchi, "From Sabbath to Sunday:
A Historical Investigation of the Rise of Sunday Observance in
Early Christianity" (Rome, Italy, 1977), p.349.
42. For references of rabbinical and apocalyptic literature, see
Samuele Bacchiocchi (note 41), pp.339-340.
43. See Josephus, Jewish Wars 5,5, 2; 6, 2, 4.
44. Herold Weiss, "The Law in the Epistle to the Colossians," The
Catholic Biblical Quarterly 34 (1972), p.311, note 10.
45. William F. Arndt and F. Wilbur Gingrich, "A Greek-English
Lexicon of the New Testament" (Chicago, 1979), p.811.
46. Roberto Badenas, "Christ the End of the Law: Romans 10:4 in
Pauline Perspective," published as Supplement Series 10, Journal
for the Study of the New Testament (Sheffield, England, 1985),
pp.79-80.
47. Ibid., p.34. 
48. Ibid., p.34. 
49. Ibid., pp.19-26. 
50. Ibid., p.22.
51. Ibid., p.22. 
52. Ibid., p.24. 
53. Ibid., pp.25-27.
54. For a representative list of scholars who advocate the
termination interpretation of Romans 10:4, see Robert Badenas
(note 46), pp.3032.
55. Ibid., p.32.
56. Ragnar Bring, "Paul and the Old Testament: A Study of the
Ideas of Election, Faith, and Law in Paul, with Special Reference
to Romans 9:30-10:13," Studia Theologica 25 (1971), p.42.
57. Ibid., p.47.
58. C.E.B.Cranfield (note 7), p.49. 
59. Ibid., p.49.
60. George E. Howard, "Christ the End of the Law: The Meaning of
Romans 10:4ff," Journal of Biblical Literature 88 (1969), p.337.
61. John E.Toews, "The Law in Paul's Letter to the Romans. A
Study of Romans 9:30-10:13," Ph.D. dissertation, Northwestern
University (1977), pp. 219-245.
62. Clyde Thomas Rhyne, "Faith Establishes the Law: A Study on
the Continuity between Judaism and Christianity, Romans 3:31,"
SBL Dissertation Series, 55 (Missoula, 1981), pp.114-116.
63. Walter C.Kaiser (note 6), p.182. 
64. Ibid., p.184.
65. Ibid., p.182. 
66. Ibid., p.188. 
67. Roberto Badenas (note 46), p.93. 
68. Ibid., p.107.
69. Ibid., p.115.
70. George E. Howard (note 60), p.336. 
71. Ibid., pp.335-336.
72. Daniel P. Fuller, "Gospel and Law: Contrast or Continum?"
(Grand Rapids, Michigan 1980), p.86.
73. Walter C.Kaiser (note 6), p.187.
74. W.D.Davies, "From Schweitzer to Scholem. Reflections on
Sabbatai Svi," Journal of Biblical Literature 95 (1976), p.547.
75. For an informative discussion of the Jewish understanding of
the salvation oflsrael and ofthe Gentiles. see E.P.Sanders, "The
Covenant as a Soteriological Category and the Nature of Salvation
in Palestinian and Hellenistic Judaism," Jews, Greeks and
Christians (Leiden,1976), pp.11 -44. 
76. Lloyd Gaston, "Paul and the Torah" in "Anti-Semitism and the
Foundations of Christianity," ed. Alan T.Davis (New York. 1979),
p.58. Gaston provides a most perceptive analysis of Paul's
attitude toward the Law.
77. Marcus Barth, Ephesians, Anchor Bible (Grand Rapids, 1974.),
pp.244-248.
78. See D.Rossler, Gesetz and Geschichte (Neukirchen, 1960); E.
P.Saunders (note 75), p.41, concludes: "Salvation comes by
membership in the covenant, while obedience to the commandments
preserves one's place in the covenant."
79. George E.Howard, "Paul: Crisis in Galatia. A Study in Early
Christian Theology" (Cambridge, 1979), p.81.

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