This is a study I did sometime ago and was a response to someone in a discussion here on this board before. This is a very important issue and foundational to the Christian Faith. It is not terribly long and certainly warrants your utmost consideration. I have a great concern on this board as there are some who teach falsely concerning this issue and it can have a direct affect on one's Salvation. I certainly do not believe they are intentionally trying to mislead anyone but even if it's not "intentional" and someone is mislead because of what they teach in this matter because of their own ignorance, the end result is the same. "If the blind follow the blind will not both fall into the ditch?" Mat:15:14.
I ask that no one respond to this study unless you have thoroughly studied the entire post/article. Thank you in advance! Now for the study.
There was a great concern Paul had for the Christians in Galatia. Jews were going around and telling them that it was not sufficient to have Faith in Christ but that they also needed to "KEEP THE LAW, The Mosaic Covenant. In other words they were preaching that Christ's finished work on the cross was not sufficient. Paul called this teaching "ANOTHER GOSPEL" and warned them of the danger of being deceived by these False Teachers. The term for them is called "Judaizers". Let's examine what Paul had to say.
Gal 1:1 Paul, an apostle (not from men nor through man, but through Jesus Christ and God the Father who raised Him from the dead),
2 and all the brethren who are with me, To the churches of Galatia:
3 Grace to you and peace from God the Father and our Lord Jesus Christ,
4 who gave Himself for our sins, that He might deliver us from this present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father,
5 to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen.
***6 I marvel that you are turning away so soon from Him who called you in the grace of Christ, to a different gospel,
7 which is not another; but there are some who trouble you and want to PERVERT the gospel of Christ.
8 But even if we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel to you than what we have preached to you, let him be accursed.
***9 As we have said before, so now I say again, if anyone preaches any other gospel to you than what you have received, let him be accursed.
Paul used some strong language here in saying that these Jews who were presenting "Another Gospel" should be "accursed". He said it twice for emphasis. This can apply to anyone bringing in another gospel.
Gal 2:14 But when I saw that they were not straightforward about the truth of the gospel, I said to Peter before them all, "If you, being a Jew, live in the manner of Gentiles and not as the Jews, why do you compel Gentiles to live as Jews?
15 We who are Jews by nature, and not sinners of the Gentiles,
16 knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law but by faith in Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Christ Jesus, that we might be justified by faith in Christ and NOT by the works of the law; for by the works of the law no flesh shall be justified.
17 "But if, while we seek to be justified by Christ, we ourselves also are found sinners, is Christ therefore a minister of sin? Certainly not!
18 For if I build again those things which I destroyed, I make myself a transgressor.
19 For I through the law died to the law that I might live to God.
20 I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.
21 I do not set aside the grace of God; for if righteousness comes through the law, then Christ died in vain."
Do you see the clear teachings here. Paul was making a case, laying again the foundation that salvation comes only through Jesus Christ and not through "The LAW" nor a combination of both.
Gal 3:1 O foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you that you should not obey the truth, before whose eyes Jesus Christ was clearly portrayed among you as crucified?
2 This only I want to learn from you: Did you receive the Spirit by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith?�
3 Are you so foolish? Having begun in the Spirit, are you now being made perfect by the flesh?
4 Have you suffered so many things in vain�if indeed it was in vain?
5 Therefore He who supplies the Spirit to you and works miracles among you, does He do it by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith?
Paul called the Galatians "Foolish" and that they had been..."BEWITCHED". Strong language here addressing this issue. Again Paul stressed that it is a matter of FAITH and not works of the LAW.
Watch now as Paul explains what the purpose of the LAW was but also what happened to the LAW.
Gal 3:19 What purpose then does the law serve? It was added because of transgressions,... TILL...the Seed should come to whom the promise was made; and it was appointed through angels by the hand of a mediator.
The Law was intended to only remain "TILL" the "SEED" should come. The "seed" is CHRIST.
Gal 3:24 Therefore the law was our tutor to bring us to Christ, that we might be justified by faith.
25 But after faith has come, we are no longer under a tutor.
Paul explained above that "the LAW" was a tutor to bring us to Christ but that after Christ came, we are no longer under a tutor. In other words you are no longer under the LAW/The Mosaic Covenant. (Gentiles never were anyway; Acts 15:23-24; Acts 21: 18-25)
26 For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus.
We are all sons of God HOW? Through FAITH in Christ. Did he say Faith in Christ AND keeping the Law/Torah? NO! Through FAITH.
27 For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ.
Here we see that it is THROUGH BAPTISM we put on Christ. [This is another discussion. ;-) ]
28 There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus.
29 And if you are Christ's, then you are Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise.
Because we have "put on Christ", we have become Abraham's seed and heirs to all that God promised Abraham. Let's continue.
Gal 4:19 My little children, for whom I labor in birth again until Christ is formed in you,
20 I would like to be present with you now and to change my tone; for I have doubts about you.
Paul was very concerned for their salvation. He had doubts about their Faith and if they had been totally deceived. Noticed how he wished he could change his tone. He was been very tough on these people because of the heresy being taught there.
Please don't miss this next important point he makes below.
21 Tell me, you who desire to be under the law, do you not hear the law?
22 For it is written that Abraham had two sons: the one by a bondwoman, the other by a freewoman.
23 But he who was of the bondwoman was born according to the flesh, and he of the freewoman through promise,
24 which things are symbolic. For these are the two covenants: the one from Mount Sinai which gives birth to bondage, which is Hagar�
Paul is now breaking this down through an analogy of the two different covenants. The Mosaic, which is what Sinai refers to and the other one which is of Christ. Watch.
25 for this Hagar is Mount Sinai in Arabia, and corresponds to Jerusalem which now is, and is in bondage with her children�
26 but the Jerusalem above is free, which is the mother of us all.
27 For it is written: "REJOICE, O BARREN, YOU WHO DO NOT BEAR! BREAK FORTH AND SHOUT, YOU WHO ARE NOT IN LABOR! FOR THE DESOLATE HAS MANY MORE CHILDREN THAN SHE WHO HAS A HUSBAND."
Gal 4:28 Now we, brethren, as Isaac was, are children of promise.
Gal 4:29 But, as he who was born according to the flesh then persecuted him who was born according to the Spirit, even so it is now.
Gal 4:30 Nevertheless what does the Scripture say? "CAST OUT THE BONDWOMAN AND HER SON, FOR THE SON OF THE BONDWOMAN SHALL NOT BE HEIR WITH THE SON OF THE FREEWOMAN."
Gal 4:31 So then, brethren, we are not children of the bondwoman but of the free.
In other words we as Christians are not under bondage of the Mosaic Covenant but we are free because we are under the New Covenant.
Gal 5:1 Stand fast therefore in the liberty by which Christ has made us free, and do not be entangled again with a yoke of bondage.
He says above that you are not to go back under THE LAW; The Mosaic Covenant. Do not place yourself under bondage!
2 Indeed I, Paul, say to you that if you become circumcised, Christ will profit you nothing.
3 And I testify again to every man who becomes circumcised that he is a debtor to keep the whole law.
This is a serious point here. Don't miss this. Paul was giving an "EXAMPLE" of circumcision in that if you keep just one part of the Mosaic Covenant/ The LAW, then you are obligated to keep ALL of it. He just used circumcision as an example. If you think you have to keep the Sabbath then you are obligated to keep the WHOLE LAW, ALL of it, no exception, all 613 LAWS. That is a yoke of bondage the Judaizers would have you be under. Now look at the danger of what occurs for those who believe and teach that you must keep the TORAH / The Mosaic LAW.
4 You have become estranged from Christ, you who attempt to be justified by law; you have fallen from grace.
Nothing could be more serious. Becoming estranged from Christ means you have abandoned Christ. APOSTASY! Forfeiture of salvation. That is also what it means to have "Fallen from Grace".
5 For we through the Spirit eagerly wait for the hope of righteousness by faith.
6 For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision avails anything, but faith working through love.
7 You ran well. Who hindered you from obeying the truth?
8 This persuasion does not come from Him who calls you.
9 A little leaven leavens the whole lump.
I hope you see the seriousness in this. The real potential danger and why it is so important to have a firm foundation in the true Gospel so you will not be BEWITCHED into believing another Gospel that actually takes you away from Christ. This is of the Devil and you need to be on guard against it.
Rom 3:24 being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus,
walter as I write from school and do not always have the time to study the word as intnsely as I once did.I like your view and was taught something very similar.
I do not have the word handy at school here.
I feel that the law is what brings us to salvation because it shows us our sins.After we get saved in christ Jesus we choose to keep the law because we love christ and it is a choice that we do out of love for christ.Is this what you agree with? We obey the law out of love for christ.
Actually the "Old Covenant, The Mosaic Law", we are not required to obey for two reasons. 1) it was a covenant given exclusively to and for the nation of Israel, not the world. This is a big misunderstanding with some Christians. 2) The Mosaic covenant was done away with, completely replaced by the New Covenant. Heb 10:8-9. This was a promise by God to Israel. Jer31:31. Here is the mistake that is often made when this discussion comes up. When we say the Mosaic Law was done away with or replaced and that we never had to keep and don't have to keep it, some will incorrectly draw the conclusion that we are saying that we can then BREAK the Law and do whatever we want. This is a wrong conclusion for anyone to make as Christ gave us New Laws in the New Covenant to follow. But not for salvation purposes. Salvation comes ONLY through our Faith in Christ's finished work on the cross. It is a gift we cannot earn.
Now when we examine Christ's Commandments, we can still see God's MORAL PRINCIPLES in the New Covenant. We cannot murder we cannot steal we cannot commit adultery, etc. However, the customs and traditions and the Mosaic LAWs themselves were replaced. That is why you will not see any commandment from Jesus or the Apostles that we must get circumcised or keep the Sabbath, etc., because those things among all the other was done away with.
When Jesus said that if we love Him we will "Keep HIS Commandments.....he is referring to HIS New Commandments He gave us beginning in Mat 5 through 7 in the "Sermon on the Mount" and others after that. He was never referring to the Old Mosaic Covenant that He Himself replaced.
Remember as Gentiles we were never under the Mosaic Covenant to begin with.
(Acts 15:23-24) �The apostles, the elders, and the brethren, To the brethren who are of the Gentiles in Antioch, Syria, and Cilicia: Greetings,
Since we have heard that some who went out from us have troubled you with words, unsettling your souls, saying, �You must be circumcised and keep the law� � to whom we gave no such commandment � it seemed good to us, being assembled with one accord, to send chosen men to you with our beloved Barnabas and Paul, men who have risked their lives for the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. We have therefore sent Judas and Silas, who will also report the same things by word of mouth.
For it seemed good to the Holy Spirit, and to us, to lay upon you no greater burden than these necessary things: that you abstain from things offered to idols, from blood, from things strangled, and from sexual immorality. If you keep yourselves from these, you will do well. Farewell.� .
Act 21:18 On the following day Paul went in with us to James, and all the elders were present.
19 When he had greeted them, he told in detail those things which God had done among the Gentiles through his ministry.
20 And when they heard it, they glorified the Lord. And they said to him, "You see, brother, how many myriads of Jews there are who have believed, and they are all zealous for the law;
21 but they have been informed about you that you teach all the Jews who are among the Gentiles to forsake Moses, saying that they ought not to circumcise their children nor to walk according to the customs.
22 What then? The assembly must certainly meet, for they will hear that you have come.
23 Therefore do what we tell you: We have four men who have taken a vow.
24 Take them and be purified with them, and pay their expenses so that they may shave their heads, and that all may know that those things of which they were informed concerning you are nothing, but that you yourself also walk orderly and keep the law.
Acts: 21: 25 But concerning the Gentiles who believe, we have written and decided that they should observe no such thing, except that they should keep themselves from things offered to idols, from blood, from things strangled, and from sexual immorality."
The Jerusalem church made a very clear distinction about the Gentile believers. They were never obligated to keep any of the Mosaic Covenant/Law of Moses.
Whatever philosophical path of discussion you are attempting to get me to go down does not alter the clear scriptures that state with absolute certainty that the Mosaic Covenant has been completely replaced by the New and better Covenant of Grace. Gentiles were never bound by the Mosaic Covenant. I have proven this over and over again. Christians are not bound by the Mosaic Laws. We are bound to the "Law of Christ" in the New Covenant.
Are we to "TRY" to avoid sin? Of course we are to try and not to sin. Do we sin? Yes. Do we have a mediator for our sins? Yes, the Lord Jesus Christ.
How do we know sin? Because of "The Law". "The Mosaic Laws" were given to Israel for an "Example". It was to show us sin and that no one was able to keep the Laws. Gal 3:24 Therefore the law was our tutor to bring us to Christ, that we might be justified by faith.
Gal 3:25 But after faith has come, we are no longer under a tutor.
What was it's purpose? Gal 3:19 What purpose then does the law serve? It was added because of transgressions, *** TILL*** the Seed should come to whom the promise was made; and it was appointed through angels by the hand of a mediator. NKJV
The "Mosaic Covenant/ The Law" is gone, replaced, abolished, made Obsolete, wiped away, vanished away.
Gal 5:1 Stand fast therefore in the liberty by which Christ has made us free, and do not be entangled again with a yoke of bondage.
My dear brother Walter I disagree with part of what you said. The 10 commandments are still to be kept.The part of sacriface was dropped.We are still to keep the passover.
Breaking of bread and drinking wine at passover and other special times.
The passover feast itself teaches the very life of christ like a 5th gospel.I like studing the passover and am really into that celebration.Moses gave us the rules from god.Things about that feast were telling details about jesus 1st and 2nd comings. In some way the church keeps it now but does not go into the detail it should.
Friends go to yuor christian book store and pick a passover book up and study it sometime.It will help you to understand the feast.Of course Jesus is the lanb so the feast has been changed to leave the blood off the door post and such.But as a chritian it will help you understand so much more.I am reading it all over again,(my passover book).
Whatever philosophical path of discussion you are attempting to get me to go down does not alter the clear scriptures that state with absolute certainty that the Mosaic Covenant has been completely replaced by the New and better Covenant of Grace. Gentiles were never bound by the Mosaic Covenant. I have proven this over and over again. Christians are not bound by the Mosaic Laws. We are bound to the "Law of Christ" in the New Covenant.
Are we to "TRY" to avoid sin? Of course we are to try and not to sin. Do we sin? Yes. Do we have a mediator for our sins? Yes, the Lord Jesus Christ.
How do we know sin? Because of "The Law". "The Mosaic Laws" were given to Israel for an "Example". It was to show us sin and that no one was able to keep the Laws. Gal 3:24 Therefore the law was our tutor to bring us to Christ, that we might be justified by faith.
Gal 3:25 But after faith has come, we are no longer under a tutor.
What was it's purpose? Gal 3:19 What purpose then does the law serve? It was added because of transgressions, *** TILL*** the Seed should come to whom the promise was made; and it was appointed through angels by the hand of a mediator. NKJV
The "Mosaic Covenant/ The Law" is gone, replaced, abolished, made Obsolete, wiped away, vanished away.
Gal 5:1 Stand fast therefore in the liberty by which Christ has made us free, and do not be entangled again with a yoke of bondage.
Blessings!
Walter
Lol. I'm not trying to lead you down any "philosophical anything". I wanted to see where you were coming from more clearly. The best way to do so, I've found, is to ask questions instead of assuming. You know what I found out from your 2 answers so far? You were reluctant to answer for some reason. You wanted to know why I was asking such a question. This is outside of your normal character. You normally answer questions head on. You bring forth an IMMENSE amount of knowledge and scripture. You didn't do that in this case, though. Then, in your second response, you didn't start by answering my question, but by defending your position again. This makes me wonder. I'm thinking that maybe YOU know what I'm gonna say next and just maybe don't want to accept/hear it. So, I guess I'll quit rambling and just come out with my "point". lol
"Are we to "TRY" to avoid sin? Of course we are to try and not to sin."
My question to you NOW is, "How are we to do this? How do we know what sin IS?" Well, you already helped answer that one, and did a pretty good job.
"How do we know sin? Because of "The Law". "The Mosaic Laws" were given to Israel for an "Example". It was to show us sin and that no one was able to keep the Laws."
Here is another answer: "Everyone who sins breaks the law; in fact, sin is lawlessness. But you know that he appeared so that he might take away our sins. And in him is no sin. No one who lives in him keeps on sinning. No one who continues to sin has either seen him or known him." (1 John 3:4-6)
So, does this mean I completely disagree with you? Heck no! You bring forth very good scriptures. Your right that we are no longer under bondage. The TYPE of bondage, though, is what I'm questioning. You say it's from the law. Period. I say it's from ATTAINING RIGHTEOUSNESS from the law. Similar, but not the same. We are righteous because He has redeemed us and MADE us righteous. It is not something we can do for ourselves. When we become children of God, we are made righteous in simply TRYING to do the right thing. Then, according to scripture, we are made righteous LIKE HIM. Even in our shortcomings. We are still called to try and do what is right, though, and this is how we know who the children of God are and who the children of the devil are (1 John 3:4-10).
