This is a series of short bibical studies to try to cover all the arguments that many use to excuse themselves from obeying the law, Namely The Sabbath,And The Holy Days!
"The END of the Law�
Those who attempt to do away with God's Law often turn to Romans 10:4. In the previous verse Paul explains how the Pharisees were going about trying to establish their own righteousness, apart from God's righteousness. They ignored the sacrifice of Christ, and thought that mere commandment-keeping would be enough for anyone.This was real legalism.
But, as Paul pointed out in verse 4, "Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone which that believeth." What does "the end of the law" mean? One definition is the aim, or the purpose, the fullness or outcome of the Law. Christ in us gives us the power to keep God's Holy, perfect Law, since we lack the spiritual strength, ourselves (Romans 8:4).
Apart from Christ, no one can manage to keep God's Law in the spirit. By his very nature, man falls far short. But through Christ, we can (Phil. 4:13). The aim or end of the Law is to make us like Christ!
Christ is the purpose or aim of the Law, for righteousness, to every one that believes. But what is "righteousness"? David said, ". . . for all thy commandments are righteousness" (Ps. 119:172). There is the definition! Clearly, then, God's Law is not done away. It is to teach us to be righteous like Christ was -- and is.
This word "end," used in Romans 10.4, is also found in James 5:11. Same word. James writes, "Behold, we count them happy which endure. Ye have heard of the patience of Job, and have seen the END of the Lord, that the Lord is very pitiful, and of tender mercy.
Now, did James mean that Christ's END had come? Of course not! Christ arose from the dead -- and lives, today, at God's right hand in heaven! (Hebrews 7.26, 9:24). Rather, James explains it himself. They had seen the purpose or aim of the Lord -- "that the Lord is very pitiful, and of tender mercy."
�Dead to the Law�
What did Paul mean in Romans 7.-4, when he said, "Wherefore, my brethren, ye also are become DEAD to the law by the body of Christ; that ye should be married to another, even to him who is raised from the dead, that we should bring forth fruit unto God."
Notice carefully what he said. First, he did not say "the law is dead," he clearly said, "ye . . . are become dead." The law of God did not die, or perish. It was not destroyed or done away. But the people became dead to the law by the body of Christ.
Verse 5 helps explain it. "For when we were in the flesh" -- that is, before we were converted, and were living according to the pulls of the flesh -- "the motions of sins, which were [manifest, revealed for what they were] by the law, did work in our members to bring forth fruit unto death." Do you see? When we were yet sinners, we were worthy of death in Gods sight. We had transgressed His holy Law, and the death penalty hung over our heads.
"But now," Paul explains in verse 6, "we are delivered from the law" -- that is, from the inexorable death penalty of the Law. Christ paid it for us -- in our stead! The Law of God no longer claims our lives, "that being dead wherein we were held; that we should serve in newness of spirit, and not in the oldness of the letter.
While sinners, we were in a state of doom. We were worthy of execution. We were figuratively, sitting on murderers row, awaiting our punishment.
But, now, Paul says, we are dead to the Law -- that is, the penalty of death has been paid by another -- Jesus Christ, who gave His life for us -- so no longer does the death penalty hang over us. It has been paid! So far as the Law is concerned, the penalty is paid -- we are dead, in Christ -- and there is no further date with death for us, if we continue to live in Christ!
This verse in no way says the Law is done away. It merely shows that Christ paid the penalty of the Law for us, died for us, and our date with death has been kept by Him. We are "dead with Him" (Romans 6.-3-4). No longer does condemnation await us (Romans 8.1), because we are also made spiritually alive with Him through His resurrection from the grave (Romans 6:4-5, 11).
No longer, then, are we in a sense married to sin, the way of the flesh -- but we are to be "married to another, even to him who is raised from the dead" in a newness of life, "that we should bring forth fruit unto God" (Romans 7.4, {In other words good works!)....to be continued!
One of the faults or differences of this forum is that it is not nearly as good as the set up on "Mingle". We can't highlight or change fonts or underline, etc. I hate that. LOL But we will have to do with what we have. So we will at times have to CAP words for emphasis. I hope that people will understand that when we do this it does not mean we are mad or SHOUTING. LOL
I think that in your study, which I appreciate, you are making some assertions that I don't believe the scriptures will support. I think we have to go back to the foundation of the Mosaic Law/ Covenant and determine first as to WHOM was this Covenant given to. Was it given to mankind as Universal laws that bound us all or was this Covenant given exclusively to one Nation, Israel? If the Old Mosaic Covenant was NOT done away with then it is necessarily still in force and EVERY commandment, ALL 613 Laws must be kept without exception. The Mosaic Laws were not broken up into different categories. That is arbitrary. They are to taken as a whole, if indeed they were not "done away" with or "replaced".
On the other hand if they were replaced, what replaced them and WHO replaced them?
Here is my study which I am sure you have read before on "Mingle".
Hi Everyone,
The Mosaic Law/Covenant was a specific Covenant given exclusively to Israel and was never binding upon mankind as a whole. This has been a source of confusion among Christians. Let's look at to whom the Mosaic Covenant was given to.
Exod 31:16-18
16 Wherefore... THE CHILDREN OF ISRAEL... shall keep the sabbath, to observe the sabbath throughout their generations, for a perpetual covenant.
17 It is a sign between me AND THE CHILDREN OF ISRAEL...for ever: for in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, and on the seventh day he rested, and was refreshed.
18 And he gave unto Moses, when he had made an end of communing with him upon mount Sinai, two tables of testimony, tables of stone, written with the finger of God.(KJV)
Deut 5:1-3
1 And Moses called all Israel, and said unto them, Hear, O Israel, the statutes and judgments which I speak in your ears this day, that ye may learn them, and keep, and do them.
2 The LORD our God made a covenant WITH US in Horeb.
3 The LORD made not this covenant with our fathers, but with us, even us, who are all of us here alive this day.
(KJV) [Moses them recounted the 10 Commandments in the following verses].
We see clearly from these statements that the Old Covenant, and particularly the 10 Commandments, were NOT universal laws binding on all mankind since creation, but were specific to Israel, from the days of Moses onward. So are the Ten Commandments part of the Mosaic Covenant?
Exod 34:28
28 And he was there with the LORD forty days and forty nights; he did neither eat bread, nor drink water. And he wrote upon the tables the words of the covenant, the ten commandments.
(KJV)
Deut 4:13
13 And he declared unto you his covenant, which he commanded you to perform, even ten commandments; and he wrote them upon two tables of stone.
(KJV)
So we see from the above scriptures that the Ten Commandments are in fact "The Covenant" or let's say the centerpiece of the Mosaic Covenant.
Now when Jesus came He came to give us a New Covenant via His sacrifice for us. It is through His sacrifice in which we are able to be grafted into the Jewish New Covenant and inherit the blessings of entering the Kingdom of God.
Jer 31:31-32
31 Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel, and with the house of Judah:
32 Not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day that I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt; which my covenant they brake, although I was an husband unto them, saith the LORD: (KJV)
It must be emphasized that this NEW Covenant is NOT a Gentile Covenant but a Jewish Covenant given to Israel First and then we who are Gentiles can be "grafted into" this Jewish Covenant. Jesus gave the New Covenant to His Apostles who are the 12 representatives of the 12 tribes of Israel in whom the Promise of this NEW Covenant was promised by God.
So now that we have a New and better Covenant, what happened to the Old one? It was completely done away with and replaced.
Heb 8:6 But now He has obtained a more excellent ministry, inasmuch as He is also Mediator of a better covenant, which was established on better promises.
7 For if that first covenant had been faultless, then no place would have been sought for a second.
8 Because finding fault with them, He says: "BEHOLD, THE DAYS ARE COMING, SAYS 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 DID NOT CONTINUE IN MY COVENANT, AND I DISREGARDED THEM, SAYS THE LORD.
10 FOR THIS IS THE COVENANT THAT I WILL MAKE WITH THE HOUSE OF ISRAEL AFTER THOSE DAYS, SAYS THE LORD: I WILL PUT MY LAWS IN THEIR MIND AND WRITE THEM ON THEIR HEARTS; AND I WILL BE THEIR GOD, AND THEY SHALL BE MY PEOPLE.
11 NONE OF THEM SHALL TEACH HIS NEIGHBOR, AND NONE HIS BROTHER, SAYING, 'KNOW THE LORD,' FOR ALL SHALL KNOW ME, FROM THE LEAST OF THEM TO THE GREATEST OF THEM.
12 FOR I WILL BE MERCIFUL TO THEIR UNRIGHTEOUSNESS, AND THEIR SINS AND THEIR LAWLESS DEEDS I WILL REMEMBER NO MORE."
Now look what Paul says next about the New and Old Covenants.
13 In that He says, "A NEW COVENANT," He has made the first OBSOLETE. Now what is becoming OBSOLETE and growing old IS READY TO VANISH AWAY.
Paul said that the first Covenant, the Mosaic Covenant, has been made "obsolete" and that it was ready to "vanish away". Why is that? Because The New Covenant that was promised by God has now come into being. God fulfilled His promise to Israel that He made in Jeremiah 31:31. He was going to make a New Covenant and it was not going to based upon the Old Mosaic Covenant. It was going to be something entirely new.
Heb 10:8-10
8 Above when he said, "Sacrifice and offering and burnt offerings and offering for sin thou wouldest not, neither hadst pleasure therein; which are offered by the law";
9 Then said he, "Lo, I come to do thy will, O God." He taketh away the first, that he may establish the second.
10 By the which will we are sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all. (KJV)
In verse 9 above we have clear language that demonstrates that God took away the Mosaic Covenant so that He may establish the Second Covenant.
Eph 2:14 For he is our peace, who hath made both one, and hath broken down the middle wall of partition between us;
15 Having abolished in his flesh the enmity, even the law of commandments contained in ordinances; for to make in himself of twain one new man, so making peace;
Above in Ephesians 2:14 we see that Jesus Christ "abolished" the Law of commandments contained in ordinances. What are those? Those are all the Laws contained in the Mosaic Covenant. All 613 of them which includes the original Ten Commandments. Does this mean that we can now murder and commit adultery? Of course not. Jesus implimented God's "Moral Principles" in the New Covenant which is also known as "The Law of Christ". It is important to distinguish between God's "Moral Principles" and the laws themselves. In part two I will address the New Covenant, The Law of Christ. Before I do I would like for you to examine the situation that the Early Church was having regarding the Gentiles and how the leaders of the Church came to the theological conclusion that the Gentile Christians were never under "the Mosaic Law" and were never bound to any of it's requirements.
(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.
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."
There was a transition time when the Old Covenant was still in existence at the same time as the New and then God put an end to it when He had the Temple destroyed in 70 AD. From that point on Jews have not been able to sacrifice animals to atone for their sins, WHICH THEY NEVER COULD HAVE ANYWAY. That is when the Old vanished away. This is a good way to witness to Jewish people. Ask them, "since the Temple was destroyed in 70AD and GOD required sacrifice in the Temple for the atonement of your sins and since you can no longer sacrifice,...where is your atonement?" Some will say "the Sadder". But you have to remind them that only God can change the method of the sacrifice and since they keep themselves under the Mosaic Law and God has not given them the right to change the Law, then how are their sins atoned for?
In Matthew 28:19-20 Jesus gave His Apostles a very specific commandment. He said:
Mat 28:19 Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,
Mat 28:20 teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age." Amen. NKJV
I would like you to notice this specifically.
"teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you"
What did Jesus specifically command them or teach His Apostles? Not the Pharisees of Scribes or the Crowds, but the Apostles only. A command is something verbally given, a specific instruction or teaching. It is not something done by an example. It is a verbal commandment. So if we are really obeying Christ then we must be also teaching specifically what He taught His Apostles. Here's the BIG question.
Did Jesus ever COMMAND His Apostles, NOT the crowds, NOT the Pharisees, but His Apostles... to KEEP the Mosaic Law? You will have to find the scriptures that demonstrate this. But you know what? They don't exist.
I am not trying to start a fight or argue but I have to say I am TIRED..tired, extremely tired of the church not being in one accord and over a DAY..Saturday or Sunday and yes I have studied all the scriptures from the Sabbath worshipers stand and from the sunday worshipers stand and I have to say its time to fall on our faces and worship the king of glory in spirit and in truth EVERYDAY!
He is coming back soon and the Bible says in Romans 14:5
In the same way, some think one day is more holy than another day, while others think every day is alike. You should each be fully convinced that whichever day you choose is acceptable.
I know christmas is a pagan holiday but I choose everyday to celebrate the birth of Jesus christ who died for me his blood was shed on a day and i dont care what day because he rose again and now I have freedom and he who the sun sets free is free indeed.
