Anothr long article but worth reaing and studying!
The key issue, then, is our desire and willingness to get back to the True Christian faith, "the faith which was ONCE FOR ALL delivered to the saints" (Jude 3). Are we willing to genuinely try to follow the True Christianity of Christ? Or are we willing to "take a chance" in our relationship with God and in our quest for eternal life?
Frankly, the "little flock" (Luke 12:32)�the True Church Christ Founded�has always understood the need to pattern itself after the teachings and examples of Christ and the Apostles. Many scholars and religious historians have understood the concept of the "Jerusalem Church of God." This is a vital concept to understand if we are sincerely interested in contending "for the faith once delivered."
The Apostle Paul was inspired to write to the Thessalonians, "For you, brethren, became IMITATORS of the churches of God which are in Judea in Christ Jesus" (1 Thessalonians 2:14). The book of Acts makes it clear that the earthly "headquarters" of True Church Christ Founded�for many decades�was the Jerusalem Church. It was here that the True Holy Spirit was originally poured out on the true Christians (Acts 2). It was here where Peter, James and John carried on most of their ministry for many years (cf. Acts 4:1; 8:1; 11:1�2). Later, it was to the leadership at Jerusalem that Paul and Barnabas came to settle the major question of circumcision for the Gentiles and related questions (Acts 15:4-6).
As renowned historian Edward Gibbon wrote, "The first fifteen bishops of Jerusalem were all circumcised Jews; and the congregation over which they presided united the law of Moses with the doctrine of Christ. It was natural that the primitive tradition of a church which was founded only forty days after the death of Christ, and was governed almost as many years under the immediate inspection of his apostle, should be received as the standard of orthodoxy. The distant churches very frequently appealed to the authority of their venerable Parent"(The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, chap. 15, sec. 1, p. 389).
As indicated above, the only major ministerial conference indicated in the New Testament was held at Jerusalem. Here lived the leading original Apostles. Here was the true "mother" church (NOT Rome!). And it was to Jerusalem Paul and Barnabas had come even earlier, lest, as Paul had put it, "I might run, or had run, in VAIN" (Galatians 2:1�2).
After the major Jerusalem conference, Paul and Silas traveled through Asia Minor visiting the churches: "And as they went through the cities, they delivered to them the decrees to keep, which were determined by the apostles and elders AT JERUSALEM"(Acts 16:4).
PAUL LOOKED TO JERUSALEM
Clearly the original Apostles and the Jerusalem Church Christ Founded set the inspired "pattern" for true Christianity�NOT just for that time�but for ALL time! Contrary to the heretical Protestant ideas that the Apostle Paul later was used by God to "reinvent" Christianity, the real Apostle Paul of the Bible�as we have seen�constantly showed deep respect for the original Apostles and deferred to the leadership at Jerusalem in all major matters! And it was the Apostle Paul who wrote the primarily Gentile church at Corinth, "Circumcision is nothing and uncircumcision is nothing, but keeping the commandments of God is what matters" (1 Corinthians 7:19).
Noted historian Carl von Weisz�cker wrote in 1895:
Paul was far from confining his interest to the Gentile Christian Church which he had himself founded. His thoughts were much too lofty to leave Jewish Christianity to itself. He toiled not merely for his own work, but for the Church of God... the whole Church. He never forgot for a moment the true birthplace of the gospel. And for him the Christians in Jerusalem were always the [saints].... He did not however merely entertain a grand policy of ecclesiastical union, but his first and constant thought was that the primitive Church was the foremost divine institution under the Gospel.... In the early Apostles he saw... the Apostles of the Lord. From them the testimony of the Resurrection emanated (1 Corinthians 15:1 ff.). They were ever the apostles, whom God had placed at the head of His Church, the first of those divinely commissioned men who held the leading office in the Body of Christ(1 Corinthians 12:28) (The Apostolic Age of the Christian Church, pp. 12�13).
Later in Paul�s ministry, he traveled again to Jerusalem: "And when we had come to Jerusalem, the brethren received us gladly. On the following day Paul went in with us to James, and all the elders were present"(Acts 21:17�18). Notice that Paul presented himself to James, the Lord�s brother, who by now was undoubtedly the chief Apostle at Jerusalem�Peter probably having gone to the "lost sheep" of the house of Israel in northwest Europe and the British Isles.
After rejoicing in The Good News Paul brought about God�s Work among the Gentiles, the Jerusalem leadership told Paul, "You see, brother, how many MYRIADS of Jews there are who have believed, and they are all zealous for the law" (v. 20). The term "myriad" literally means "tens of thousands." So as not to confuse or discourage these many Jewish Christians, Paul was asked by the Jerusalem Church to go through an offering ceremony to publicly demonstrate that he was NOT teaching in any way against God�s laws. As the Jerusalem leaders explained to Paul, "Take these men along and be purified with them and pay all the expenses connected with the shaving of their heads. This will let everyone know there is no truth in the reports they have heard about you and that you still REGULARLY observe the Law"(v. 24, Jerusalem Bible).
If Paul had in fact been teaching against God�s Law in ANY way � especially the SPIRITUAL LAW containing the Ten Commandments � he most certainly would NOT have gone through this ceremony of the law of Moses! That particular ceremony � probably a thanks offering at the conclusion of the Nazarite vow�was NOT necessary for a New Testament Christian. But it was not "sinful" either! And Paul�s deep respect for God�s Law, for the original mother church and the pattern of OBEDIENCE to God�s Law � all this guided Paul in his decision to go ahead and participate in this ceremony. By guiding Paul in this � and putting this example in the Bible � God is showing ALL of us that Paul�s approach was one of OBEDIENCE to law, NOT one who tried to do away with or "reason around" God�s spiritual laws as so many Protestant theologians teach!
WHAT DID CHRIST DO ON EARTH?
Nearly all professing Christians understand that in order to be an acceptable sacrifice for mankind�s sins, Jesus Christ had to keep the Law perfectly. But what law did He keep, and what did He expect of His followers?
Here is how Christ Himself described His mission:
"Do not think that I came to destroy the Law or the Prophets. I did not come to destroy but to fulfill. For assuredly, I say to you, till heaven and earth pass away, one jot or one tittle will by no means pass from the law till all is fulfilled. Whoever therefore breaks one of the least of these commandments, and teaches men so, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever does and teaches them, he shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven. For I say to you, that unless your righteousness exceeds the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven"(Matthew 5:17�20).
Many Christians do not grasp the importance of those words. Christ said that not "one jot or one tittle" (the tiniest marks in the Hebrew script) of the law would pass from the law until heaven and earth pass away. Since heaven and earth have not passed away, we must understand that the law remains. And Christ condemned those who would falsely teach men to break even the "least of these commandments." Rather, He explained that those who both DO and TEACH the commandments will be called "great"in the kingdom of heaven!
Did His "fulfilling" the law somehow change these commands? Or did they change after Christ�s resurrection? No! Heaven and earth did not pass away at His resurrection. And we must understand what He meant when He said that he would "fulfill" the law.
One scholar explains His words as follows:
Did [Jesus] fill or fulfill the [Law]? The common word pler�sai means "to fill." At [Matthew] 5:17 most translations render it "to fulfill." The theological implications often drawn are that [Jesus] fulfilled all the prophecies of the [Old Testament] pertaining to the Jews, so that none remain for them now; and that he kept the [Law] perfectly, so that no one need obey it today. But these conclusions do not follow logically, and in fact they contradict [Jesus�] immediately preceding statement that he did not come to abolish (or destroy) the [Law]. More fundamental for translation, however, is the question of whether pler�sai in this verse should be rendered "to fulfill" at all. [This] translator�s view is that [Jesus] came to fill the [Law] and the ethical pronouncements of the Prophets full with their complete meaning, so that everyone can know all that obedience entails. For this reason the Jewish New Testament says that [Jesus] came "not to abolish but to complete." In fact, this is the subject of the entire Sermon on the Mount; and [Matthew 5:17], understood in this way, is its theme sentence (Jewish New Testament, Stern, 1995, pp. xxii�xxiii).
In other words, Jesus came, as Isaiah prophesied (Isaiah 42:21), to "magnify" God�s law and to show its fullest intent and purpose. What Jesus Christ sought to abolish were the abuses of the law, and the man-made traditions that perverted the law. His sacrificial death, foreshadowed by the temple sacrifices, made those animal sacrifices and washings irrelevant for Christians. But His life showed that the spiritual law�the Ten Commandments and the True Word of The Gospel�was and would remain relevant for those seeking to obey Him.
I think it's interesting that Christians agree that they should be imitators of Jesus but then they seem to think that obedience of the Law does not apply to them. But then they turn around and talk about how we should obey the Ten Commandments, well the nine actually since most of them don't believe in keeping the Sabbath. At any rate, we can't pick and choose can we?
If we believe that the whole Bible is the Word of God and is God-breathed and profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, so that the man of God may be perfected, being fully furnished for every good work then we have to also agree that every word of it applies to us in one way or another. Either by application of obedience to the commandments or by application of the principal intended by the Law and Prophets.
Granted, we are not to depend on the keeping of the Law for our redemption but we are to understand that the Laws are given to us for our benefit and God has told us to obey His commandments. Besides, it still applies that without the Law we would not understand what sin is because the Law exposes our sin. Without the Law we would not understand why we need redemption nor would we be able to understand what it means to be an imitator of God since He has revealed Himself in His laws. Furthermore, some Christians would not be able to place themselves in judgment over other Christians without it!
As the poster said, "every word of it applies to us in one way or another. . . " BUT there is the rub. How do we apply it? Do we imitate John the Baptist and wear camel hair? Do we imitate the communal church of early Acts, Or do we imitate the church of the later New Testament, where people owned personal property.
As Paul said, we need to "RIGHTLY DIVIDE" the world of truth (2 Tim. 2:15), and Law is good if we use it lawfully, and when we receive the message, as it is in the Truth, the WORD OF GOD, then it will work effectively in those who believe it.
It seems to me that there is no easy answer. We need to take the Word, that is the Scriptures of both the New and Old testaments, as the saints of the early church took them. Paul believed in following the whole word, yet he makes it clear by his practice that not everyone should be circumcised, even though "Every word of it applies," AND we should not "pick and choose."
It all works out as we are led by the Spirit in receiving with meekness the engrafted word, which is able to fully save us from the inside out.
This commentator is completely wrong in his interpretation of what Jesus said and meant.
QUOTE: "Many Christians do not grasp the importance of those words. Christ said that not "one jot or one tittle" (the tiniest marks in the Hebrew script) of the law would pass from the law until heaven and earth pass away. Since heaven and earth have not passed away, we must understand that the law remains. And Christ condemned those who would falsely teach men to break even the "least of these commandments." Rather, He explained that those who both DO and TEACH the commandments will be called "great"in the kingdom of heaven!
Did His "fulfilling" the law somehow change these commands? Or did they change after Christ�s resurrection? No! Heaven and earth did not pass away at His resurrection. And we must understand what He meant when He said that he would "fulfill" the law."
WALTER: Let me repeat this as I have time and time again that some here just don't seem to get it. Pay attention to the grammar please everyone. The commentator got it completely wrong above. That is NOT what Jesus said. This guy is twisting the grammar to achieve the desired outcome to his beliefs. Let's re-examine this passage for what it really says!
Mat 5:17 "Do not think that I came to destroy the Law or the Prophets. I did not come to destroy but to fulfill.
First it is important to notice that Jesus did not say just "the Law". He also mentioned "the Prophets". Why do you think that is? Do you think He was talking exclusively about the Mosaic Law or was there something else intended? If Jesus was coming just to "fulfill The LAW" then no mention of the Prophets would have been necessary.
When we deal with "Prophets" we normally are dealing with "Prophesies". What prophesies?"
Jesus was talking about coming to fulfill all the Prophesies that are contained in the Mosaic Law and the Prophets concerning His First Coming. Is there any other passage of scripture in the New Testament that could help us confirm this? Yes.
After the Resurrection Jesus met up with two Disciples on the road to Emmaus and had an interesting conversation with them. In fact Jesus taught them many things. What things?
Luke 24:25 Then He said to them, "O foolish ones, and slow of heart to believe in all that the prophets have spoken!
26 Ought not the Christ to have suffered these things and to enter into His glory?"
27 And beginning at Moses and all the Prophets, He expounded to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning Himself. NKJV
Luk 24:44 Then He said to them, "These are the words which I spoke to you while I was still with you, that ALL THINGS MUST BE FULFILLED which were written in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms concerning Me."
45 And He opened their understanding, that they might comprehend the Scriptures.
46 Then He said to them, "Thus it is written, and thus it was necessary for the Christ to suffer and to rise from the dead the third day,
47 and that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in His name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem.
So we see that Jesus explained to them about all the Prophesies concerning Himself from Moses onward including all the Prophets.
Now let's continue with the rest of this passage and look at other misinterpretations.
***18 For assuredly, I say to you, till heaven and earth pass away, one jot or one tittle will by no means pass from the law till all is fulfilled.***
It is very important to get the Grammar correctly here. Notice above that Jesus is NOT saying that the law will not pass away until heaven and earth passes away. He is saying that it will not pass away UNTIL ALL IS FULFILLED. Did Jesus fulfill all the Prophesies concerning His First Coming? Of course He did. Then since He fulfilled these prophesies then the Law can in fact pass away and did. That is what Jesus is talking about and if it is not then we have a huge contradiction with other NEW Testament passages that clearly shows the Mosaic Law....ALL of it, including the Ten Commandments, was completely replaced, done away with, made obsolete. Before I address the scriptures dealing with the Mosaic Law, let me finish this passage.
Now in verse 19 we have another statement that has many confused. Grammar again is so important.
19 Whoever therefore breaks one of the least of these commandments, and teaches men so, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever does and teaches them, he shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven. NKJV
The key here is to understand what Jesus is saying when He says "these commandments". There are two possibilities in the Greek grammar regarding "these commandments".
First off Jesus didn't mention any Commandments yet. We cannot make any arbitrary statement and say He was talking about Moses as He simply did not say which ones. We could include the commandments to Noah as well if we go down that path.
The word "these" is a demonstrative pronoun and can either be an "Antecedent" or "Postcedent".
Jesus is either referring to the Antecedent...previous verses of Mat 5:3 -16 or Postcedent....the following verses after His statement which would be the rest of the entire Sermon on The Mount. Considering the extensiveness of the rest of the Sermon on the Mount compared to just a few verses previously taught, it would be a more weighty conclusion that Jesus was referring to the rest of His sermon. [postcedent.]
Additionally we have a statement from Jesus at the end of this discourse that solidifies my position.
Mat 7:24 "Therefore whoever hears these sayings of Mine, and does them, I will liken him to a wise man who built his house on the rock:
What sayings? All the teachings He just gave us in Matthew chapters 5,6 & 7.
This question of Keeping the Law was addressed by the council headed by James the brother of our Lord.
They agreed with Paul's position that Gentiles should never be brought under the Law of Moses. Paul considered it a bewitching to teach that Gentiles should be required to be circumcised, and so it is will all of the Law of Moses.
We do not offer sacrifices, we are not obligated to be circumcised, or refrain from mixing wool and linen, nor are we obligated to any Sabbath. Rather we are blessed to enter into the Rest that is in the Lord himself.
If any man preach any other Gospel than this, let him be accursed. Be free in the Lord Jesus and His grace.
