Christian Study

On one rare instance, when chatting with an acquaintance of mine, I was able to get in several paragraphs of information. It was partly due to the fact that there was a third party present. I think it was mainly due to the fact that I took something he had just stated and launched into a story. My acquaintance had just said that he praised God that we are no longer under the schoolmaster.

Here is what I said. Speaking of the schoolmaster, suppose that you had just finished an accounting degree and that you were taking a job as an accountant. Would one burn their degree and books and try to forget all that they had learned? Would they not rather use all that they had learned to be a good accountant? In the same way, when Paul says that we are no longer under the schoolmaster it does not mean that we burn the Law of God and try to forget it as best we can. Paul is expecting that we know in great detail everything that the Law of God teaches so that we can be good Christians.

That story was well received by both my acquaintance and his friend. They both readily agreed with it all. I know that if I had tried to explain the schoolmaster idea as I had in the past my acquaintance would have shut down the conversation with a rant. They both agreed with me and just moments before had been thankful they were no longer under the schoolmaster or in their minds the Law of God in totality.

You see, God’s Law is not just commandments. The commandment is only a part of it. It also includes statutes that explain the law. Most of these are only found in the old scriptures. Judgments are also included as part of the Law. Breaking of the Law of God without forgiveness entails death as the final punishment. What Paul states in Romans 6:14 is that we are no longer under the Law’s judgment of death for sin. Forgiveness through the blood of Christ now removes us from under the curse of the Law, death.

Understanding this correctly then leads one to understand that we still obey the Law from the heart and as a result we are not subject to death. See other comments below regarding God’s morals and what part of the law was added and nailed to the cross.

Tim

In conversations with people I sometimes have the opportunity to bring up God’s Law and show how it works or how things would or could be if we followed it. I have an acquaintance who when I try to do such immediately goes into a rant. Trying to get a word in after that point is useless. He has, in his mind, slain the dragon and that is the end of that. Nothing of any import or content is ever used to refute what I almost was able to say.

I am sure that many can relate to that happening regardless of the subject. What I am learning is that there are people who can quote scripture all day and relate to it inside of their comfort area of understanding. If someone comes along with a new idea or one that they have been trained to categorize and dismiss then no learning can take place on the part of either person. The person with the new idea can not speak to ask questions or add information. The person doing the immediate dismissal of the idea is too busy giving their pre-learned answer and can not or will not listen.

Scripture teaches that we are to be quick to give a response to false doctrine. It should be Spirit led. Sometimes we miss out on teaching from the Spirit of God because we are so quick to respond. Listening is not the easiest thing to do, but asking questions is better than going off into a rant. I suppose though that some are just not comfortable hearing something new. The rant becomes more of a defense not allowing anything foreign to get in. I also suppose that some view any new idea as an assault on their view of truth. Although one would be slow to suggest they have all truth this action says that very thing.

I do not ever expect to get more than a sentence or two spoken before being shut down with my acquaintance. The only exception has been when there is a third person present who asks questions concerning my comment. Then at least partly my acquaintance has been rather forced to listen to more.

Tim

I have been telling people lately that the old and new testaments agree perfectly concerning the law of God. As we have written previously the law of God represents God’s morals. Thou Shall Not Steal will never be changed as stealing is a transgression of the law and sin. If God were to change that law in any way it would represent a change in His morals. God can not change and thus that law will never change.

Having said all of that the old and new scriptures agree when one looks at them using the Greek and Hebrew. The laws for divorce, remarriage and adultery, for exmple, are in total agreement between the testaments when one studies using the Greek and Hebrew. This is not true when one studies the English text. If one only reads the English text one would conclude that the law was changed in the new testament or that there is confusion.

I am writing this perhaps to help those who have just had a terrible time trying to figure some of the scriptures out. I guess it also should be a reminder to those who have an allegiance to one particular Bible version. There is no perfect English translation. I am also aware that there is probably no perfect translation at all, however I do believe that we have the perfection necessary for:

All Scripture is God-breathed, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be perfected, thoroughly furnished to every good work. 2 Timothy 3:16-17.

Tim

I should start out by mentioning that I have not used a lot of references to keep the reading easy. Those who know the scripture fairly well may recognize when I am quoting . If you are not recognizing phrases such as, “430 years after the promises”, then you might want to keep that in mind for your future study.

Hebrews explains to us just what was nailed to the cross in regards to the previous covenant. God’s morals are made known to us in his law. His morals have existed as long as he has and they do not change. So just what was it that was added to the law at the time of Moses and why?

The why was because of disobedience. Hebrews 8:8 says, “For finding fault with them..”. The what included the Levitical priesthood and it’s regulation of required sacrifice for righteousness. Hebrews 7 and 10 explain that the priesthood was put into place as a temporary measure until the anointed one should come. Christ became our high priest and we a priesthood of believers. Christ became our sacrifice to once and for all do what the blood of bulls and goats could truly not perform.

When you remove the Levitical priesthood and the sacrifices what do you have left? Well you have the ten commandments with all the statutes and judgements that explain and enforce them. Although they are very much a part of the ten commandments I will add that they do include the health food laws. “Touch not the unclean thing and I will receive you.” 2 Corinthians 6:17

Most do not realize that the ten commandments were not new. That is what we talk about next time.

Tim

So just what is the new covenant? What are the terms of this coevenant?

The answer to these questions is found in three verses in scripture. There are two in Hebrews.

Hebrews 10:16 “This is the covenant that I will make with them after those days, says the Lord; I will put My Laws into their hearts, and in their minds I will write them,”

and

Hebrews 8:8 For finding fault with them, he saith, Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah:
9  Not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day when I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt; because they continued not in my covenant, and I regarded them not, saith the Lord.
10  For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, saith the Lord; I will put my laws into their mind, and write them in their hearts: and I will be to them a God, and they shall be to me a people:
Both of these have their source in Jeremiah.

Jeremiah 31:31 Behold, the days come, says Yahweh, that I will cut a new covenant with the house of Israel, and with the house of Judah,
32 not according to the covenant that I cut with their fathers in the day I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt; which covenant of Mine they broke, although I was a husband to them, says Yahweh;
33 but this shall be the covenant that I will cut with the house of Israel: After those days, says Yahweh, I will put My Law in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people.

I have heard some say that the law in Hebrews was the law of Christ as if God has one law and Christ another. However one has to deal with the fact that the only law in the time of Jeremiah was the law of God. It is the law of God that is written on the heart that makes up the new covenant. Verse 33 plainly says “my law”.

Sometimes the next question from someone is, “So are we supposed to be offering sacrifices?” I think that question is asked many times before the person really has a chance to think about what they are asking. The quick answer is of course not. In the next post we will talk about what was nailed to the cross and what was added 430 years after the promises to Abraham.

Tim

Before getting into the new covenant I would like to let you know what I believe scripture teaches about God’s Law. That is, what makes up the law. The law that I am concerned with has been in existance as long as God has existed. The law is a part of God. It represents God’s morals. The law can never change or be changed. God can not change. God’s morals can not change.

Theft or stealing is forbidden in the ten commandments. If God had made theft lawful at the death of Christ, for instance, then we would have to conclude that God’s morals had changed. We would find scriptures in the new testament explaining that it would now be just fine to sneak over to your neighbors house and steal something of his. Or perhaps the scriptures would have explained that it would be ok to steal something as long as the one you were stealing from was not your neighbor.

This would represent to me a God whose laws were arbitrary. One could suggest that any particular law could be changed at any time for no particular reason. We would find that some people who had stolen had been perhaps denied an eternal reward while others received a reward having also stolen.

There are some today who do not see any problem with this sort of behaviour on the part of God. After all there have been people who spent years in jail for something that might now only require a fine. Others might be in jail now for something that was never considered illegal in the past. People have been used to laws changing at the whim or desire of people.

After being used to that people might say that God is God and can do whatever he wants. I would say that those people do not understand God’s nature. He did not just make up the law. He is the law. The law is a representation of God himself Read the first chapter of John for more on God’s relationship with his law (word).

God’s law is unchangable just as he is unchangable. There are no arbitrary laws. What was sin the day that Adam became a living soul is still sin today. What was righteous on that same day is still righteous today. God does not change.

What I am suggesting should raise a few questions. One question might be if incest was wrong at the time of Seth just like it is today then who did Seth marry? The solution is reasonably simple, but not necessarily apparent. Next up though lets look at the terms of the new covenant.

Tim

It is commonly taught that God’s law was done away completely at the cross. It is taught that the law of Moses was replaced with a new covenant. It will be the goal of this page to show that in fact the new covenant is made up of God’s law and that as Christ himself stated, “Do not think that I have come to destroy the Law or the Prophets.”, Matthew 5:17. Do you know what are the terms of the new covenant?

Tim