New Testament Conception of Law: Contemporary problems and ancient solutions Part III

The focus of the last post was on the law in the gospels. Jesus never claimed to have abolished or negated the Law of Moses. Jesus said he came to both fulfill the law and to enable others to do the same. By doing so, he established the moral law of God and His governmental model for all time. Because his suffering and death satisfied God’s law and justice, faith in Jesus is the means by which we all may obtain God’s pardon for our sins or moral crimes against the law of God. In this, the love of God is reveal and experienced. God is not tolerant. Jesus’ suffering, death and resurrection fulfilled the law. The law of faith annulled the law of sin so that everyone who believes can fulfill the requirement of the moral law. Was this the view of Paul taught in his letters? If not, what was Paul’s view of law?

Paul’s View of Law

Paul’s conception of authority is important to understanding his view of the Law. In his letters, Paul clearly outlined the order of his authority. God was the highest authority. Paul called God the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ and our Savior.[1] The authority of Jesus is almost as high as God is. Jesus is the Lord, messiah, savior, and our hope.[2] Paul’s apostleship was “according to the commandment of God our Savior and Jesus Christ, our hope.”[3] Jesus called him to be his apostle,[4] but God had ordained it. [5] Having been appointed to his apostleship and instructed by Jesus, Paul’s instructions to the followers of Christ were the commandments of the Lord Jesus.[6] They were the laws of the Jesus, Lord and Messiah. That is why he distinguished his opinions from his speaking on behalf of the Lord. His preaching and teaching was the same as Moses, the prophets, or Jesus himself.

When Jesus ascended to heaven, he created or recreated all rule and authority.[7] The office and authority of his Paul’s apostleship was one part of the new universal rule. Just as God ordained secular authorities, so were those in the kingdom of Christ. Therefore, whoever resists authority has opposed the ordinance of God.[8]

Paul defined the Law as the covenant of promise made to Abraham.[9] It encompasses the Law of Moses[10] as well as the word of the prophets.[11] The law of God was holy and good.[12] Paul even regarded the law as spiritual.[13] As we will see later, the new covenant in Jesus Christ was the fulfillment of the one promised by Jeremiah.[14] As portended by Jeremiah, the law of God fulfilled because of becoming of human nature.

Paul dealt extensively with the purpose of the Law. He taught that the law was made for the lawless, not the righteous (lawful); in modern conception, it is to regulate the moral behavior of citizens, protecting law-abiding from the destructive.[15] It seems strange that he would claim it was given so that transgression of the law would increase.[16] He preached this to explain how the power sin dominated human life because of rebellion against the can’t of the law. The knowledge of sin comes by knowing the law. The principle goes back to God’s warning to Adam’s eldest son Cain. When Cain revealed jealousy of his brother Able, God told him, “Sin lies at your door; its desire is for you, but you must master or dominate it.”[17] The problem is we all have failed to master it. As Paul wrote, “we have all sinned and come short of the glory of God.”[18] Therefore, “there is none righteous not even one.”[19] There may be some who are self-righteous, but none righteous before God.

The law also serves as a tutor teaching us all about our need for forgiveness.[20] The law then lead us to Jesus Christ because his death satisfies the required punishment of God’s law.[21] His resurrection is our hope of eternal life when we believe on the Lord Jesus. When anyone “confesses Jesus as Lord and believes in his or her heart that God raised him from the dead will be saved.”[22]

This concludes the definition and purpose of the Law as explained by Paul. In the next posting, Paul view on the law will be completed. Many believe Paul taught the law of the old covenant ended with Jesus. Whether this is true will be covered in the last part of this series on the New Testament Conception of Law.
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Notes:
[1] 2 Cor. 1:3; Eph. 1:3; 1 Col. 1:3; 1 Tim. 1:1
[2] Act. 2:36; Rom. 1:1-7; 10:9,13; Php. 3:20; 2 Tim. 1:10; 1 Tim. 1:1
[3] 1 Tim. 1:1
[4] Acts 9:1-19
[5] 1 Cor. 1:1; 2 Cor. 1:1; Gal.1:1; Eph. 1:1; Col. 1:1
[6] 1 Cor. 14:37; 1 Thes. 4:2; Tit.1:3
[7] Col. 1:16
[8] Rom. 13:1-3
[9] Gal. 3:15
[10] Act. 13:39, 15:5, Rom. 13:8-10, Gal. 3:15; 5:14; 6:2; Eph. 6:2
[11] Rom. 16:25-26; 1 Cor. 14:21; Isa. 28:11
[12] Rom. 7:12; 1 Tim. 1:8
[13] Rom. 7:1
[14] Jer. 31:31-34; 2 Cor. 3:1-6; Gal. 4:22-31
[15] 1 Tim. 1:8-9
[16] Rom. 5:20
[17] Gen. 4:6-7
[18] Rom. 3:23
[19] Rom. 3:10
[20] Gal. 3:22-25; 4:4-5href="http:
[21] Gal. 1:3-4; 3:24
[22] Rom. 10:9-10

New Testament Conception of Law : Contemporary problems and ancient solutions Part II

The focus of the last post was on the law of love. In the liberal or secular equation, the law of love equals tolerance of moral relativity, even immorality. In both the gospels and Paul’s letters, the law of love means fulfilling the moral law of God because of the abiding love for God and for others. This kind of love is result of experiencing the redeeming and restorative love of God. According to Paul, the law of love sums up the whole Law of Moses, but how exactly did Jesus and Paul regard God’s law.

Many believe the Mosaic Law ended forever with the death and resurrection of Jesus. Following this view to its conclusion, the view of life lived by faith and love is the only law of God. Moral law somehow ended with Christ. Is this liberal conception of law represented in the gospels, teaching of Paul or John?

Jesus’ View of Law According to the Gospels

Jesus said he came to fulfill the law not abolish it. When Jesus spoke about the law, he meant Torah law. The law of Israel was the Law of Moses. This is the law God gave Israel. Jews were subject to the laws of foreign empires like those of Babylon, Persia, Greece, and Rome. As it today, liberalization of local law gave some excuse to live immoral lives. Nonetheless, the law of God was Israel’s local law. It was under Roman influence that Jesus lived and died.

Under the laws of Moses, the Jewish people were promised a life of good health and healing. It seemed that Jesus had no problem with breaking God’s laws. He healed on the Sabbath. He and disciples picked grain to eat while traveling during the Sabbath. To many Jewish leaders, these actions were crimes against the law. To Jesus, the law was being fulfilled. No human heals another. Medicine does not heal. It enables the body’s immune system to fulfill its job of healing. Otherwise, medicine kills diseased cells or effected organs surgically removed. Because only God heals, Jesus was simply following God. Eating on the Sabbath was not a sin. Because Jesus followers had no food, they picked grain to eat. So how could picking grain to satisfy hunger be a crime to God? At least that is the implication. What offended the Pharisees more than doing some work on the Sabbath was the authority Jesus claimed for allowing his followers to do so. Jesus justified it by saying his was Lord of the Sabbath.[1]

Beyond these issues, Jesus explicitly said he did come to abolish the law or the prophets but to fulfill both. His position about law was made in the Sermon on the Mount, in which he said,

“Do not think I came to abolish the law or the prophets; I did not come to abolish but to fulfill. For truly I say unto you, until heaven and earth pass away, not the smallest letter or stroke shall pass from the law until all is accomplished. Whoever annuls one the least of these commandments, and teaches other to do the same, shall be called the least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever keeps and teaches them, he shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven.”[2]

When lepers were healed, Jesus instructed them to go fulfill the requirement of the law.[3] When a disabled man was healed, Jesus told him to sin no more.[4] When Jesus forgave an adulterous woman caught in the act, he told her to sin no more.[5] It seems Jesus was being tolerant towards the adulterer, but actually, he was simply being just. The unjust Jews did not fulfill the law by bringing the man also caught in the act. The law required judgment of both adulterers. Therefore, it was only just for the women to have a second chance as well. When we consider the various acts of healing, exorcisms, and forgiveness, we witness Jesus instructing those who received mercy instead of judgment for their moral crimes to sin no more unless worse consequences occur. Jesus did not give anyone an excuse not to keep God’s moral laws. Jesus upholds the validity of God’s law. Jesus in no way suggests that he has eliminated the requirements of the law of God. His purpose was not to create antinomianism or anarchy, but his purpose was lead all to fulfill God’s law.

Jesus made another interesting statement in the Sermon on the Mount. He said,

“Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of my Father…. Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name cast out demons, and in your name perform many miracles?’ And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you who practice lawlessness.’”[6]

The key to understanding this statement is the word lawlessness. This means two things: (1) God does not accept people who live contrary to the moral law of God. How could people live in the kingdom of God if they will not live according to God’s laws? In Acts 2:36, Peter confirms that Jesus was made Lord of God’s kingdom. Jesus’ perfect fulfillment of God’s law does not excuse anyone from breaking it. On the contrary, followers of Jesus receive the Spirit of God in order to fulfill that law. Those who enter the kingdom do so through Jesus. When they do, they are still accountable for obeying the law of the kingdom. (2) Lawlessness also means doing work of the kingdom without fulfilling God’s will. Notice Jesus said those who do the kind of works he did was not a ticket to heaven. If self-aggrandizement was the purpose of those who healed the sick and cast of demons, the aggrandizement is their only reward. Most people can think of a charlatan who pretended to do miracles only to get rich. This is implied in Jesus’ statement. His statement also means those who do not do what the Lord wanted them to do. Beyond living out the moral law, when people disregard Jesus revealed will about doing or not doing something, for example, praying for someone in need or some other service would be to disobey the Lord, which is lawlessness. Of course, one cannot disobey what has not been clearly revealed or commanded.

Obeying a command from the Lord Jesus and keeping the moral law seems more like duty. It could seem as something motivated by fear of punishment or losing salvation. It cannot be denied that disobedience will result in God’s judgment not his blessing. The purpose of salvation is the restoration of individuals to a right relationship with their Creator and kinsman redeemer. This is an act of God’s love solely initiated by God, which is life changing. It is natural, therefore, for recipients to respond to God with thanksgiving and love. The writer of the First Epistle of John stated it best when he wrote:

“In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He first loved us and sent His son to be the propitiation for our sins. If God so loved us, we ought to love one another.”[7]

The motivation to love God is the result of God’s unmerited love experienced by us. We experience this unmerited love because of the terrible sacrifice and suffering of Jesus. He bore the punish we deserve for the moral crimes we commit against the law of God. Once we have realize the full meaning of Jesus’ suffering on our behalf, our experience love God’s love become the motivation of our love toward Jesus and God the Father. This what Jesus meant when he said,

“He who has my commandments and keeps them is the one who loves me; and he ho loves me will be loved by my Father… and we will come to him and make our abode with him.”[8]

Nowhere in the gospels will the reader find Jesus contradicting, replacing, annulling, or negating the law of God. In addition to the law of redemption, the law of Moses is God’s model of government, of constitutional law, and of a common law. Jesus did not negate that law. The death and resurrection of Jesus satisfied the justice required by God’s law concerning our moral crimes. Consequently, the sacrificial laws are no longer valid for redemption. "By the works of the law no one will be saved."[9] Salvation is by faith alone in Jesus. Without submitting to his Lordship, salvation is not complete. The love of husbands and wives and their mutual submission to each other makes a marriage relationship. In every marriage, one of the spouses leads and the other follows in most things. This is true in most covenant agreements as well. In the kingdom of God, the love between the Lord and us is a mutual one. However, the authority of the covenant belongs to Jesus. We follow and he leads, and God is pleased.

In the next post, Paul’s view of law will be explored.

Notes:
[1] Matthew 12:1-14
[2] Matthew 5:17-19 NASB
[3] Luke 5: 12-15; 17:11-14
[4] John 5:1-17
[5] John 8:1-11
[6] Matthew 7:21-23
[7] 1 John 4:10-11 NASB
[8] John 14:21,23d NASB
[9] Galatians. 2:16

What can a child-like faith do?

James, the brother of Jesus, said that faith without works is dead.¹ Who would leave their house without faith? Every one believes they will be relatively safe beyond their home. Who would sit on a chair or drive their car? It takes faith to believe all chairs will hold them and all cars will get them to their desired destination. Even when a father is encouraging his child to trust in his ability to
catch her, she usually hesitates for a few moments before jumping off from a highplace. Once her dad has caught her, she demands to do it again and again and again.

Jesus said, “Whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child will not enter it at all.”² This is comparable to a child jumping off a roof in the arms of her father. In fact, it is comparable in several ways: First, we are the human brain is hard wired to recognize the natural presence of God. The mystery of the divine presence is the awesome experience of newness. Most of us know the excitement of making a new friend or falling in love. Meeting God for the first time is like that. Once our gracious Creator has come near, we begin to recognize His still small voice. Then the call to jump comes … not merely a leap of faith but a risk of trust. The leap of trust risks failure of being wrong in hopes of being right. If God catches, the act of faith establishes a new trust—a do it again God kind of trust. The analogous catch means God also acts in a substantial way. God’s response may be healing, deliverance from an addiction, or some other miracle to a timorous situation; it could be an instantaneous experience of peace as if a heaven burden of guilt was lifted; or God’s act might simply confirm the reality of His presence some other way—maybe just by a subsequent feeling of His love and acceptance. Whatever God’s response, it is that concrete settling of trust that makes children want to repeat it over and over and over again--adults too.

Therefore, entering the kingdom of God means simply entering it at the bidding of the Lord Jesus. It is the excited, thrill seekers, heart thumping Yes to God’s invitation into the unknown. I dare even to think it might be comparable to running into a black hole and coming out on the other side realizing that you are not only still alive but aware of a whole new dimension. That dimension is called spirit, the realm of God and the core of one own being. It is at the core of you own existence that your trust relationship with God is fully experience. At the center of eternity, you meet God as the one you can trust forever.

In many ways, life as a child of God is difficult because of human nature. Living in a physical world in which social relationships are often oppositional to God’s ways makes adjustment to both worlds rather challenging. That is why Jesus came into the world to ransom us and to show us the way.³ The Jesus we encounter in the eternal spirit and in the Bible is the one who lived without moral or spiritual crime. He understands our frailties, confusions, lapses, and finiteness. He even understands the pain of sin. God accepted his death as sufficient punishment for all of our moral crimes called sin. Relying on God grace, our responsibility as children of God is to learn to live under His rule, and God made Jesus king to lead and teach us to do just that.⁴

“This is the work of God that you believe in him whom He has sent.”⁵ Jesus also said, “He who believes in me, the works that I do, he will do also.” ⁶ If Jesus is king of God’s kingdom, how could we do his works without obeying his laws? Therefore, Jesus said, “If anyone loves me, he will keep my word.”⁷ That is what the faith of God’s people does. For we live by faith and not by our senses.⁸

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¹ Jas. 2:17
² Mk. 10:15; Lk.18:17
³ Mat. 20: 28; 1 Tim. 2:6; 1 Pet. 2:21-25; Heb. 2:14-18
⁴ Ac.2:36
⁵ Jo. 6:29
⁶ Jo. 14:12
⁷ Jo. 14: 21
⁸ 2 Cor. 5:7; Rom. 1:17; Hab. 2:7

Israel in a New World

When colonists settled the east coast, they sought to create a new world. In the new world, Puritan ideals were put forth. Puritans believed in the God of Genesis. Because God created the earth, they believed the new land across the Atlantic was given to them to build a new world. They patterned their new society partly on inherent forms of church polity and partly on the Mosaic model of society. It was a biblically dominated new world. Our Puritan ancestors identified their new world as a new Israel. It was a city on a hill from which the light of Hanukkah would shine across the vast sea of humanity. Like the ancient festival, the Puritan Hanukkah celebrated the miracle of deliverance from the oppressive corruption of false religion and the restoration of Christian purity and freedom. Unlike the ancient Jewish celebration, the Puritan’s light of the world was to shine every day of the year. It was a celebration of a new way of life in a new world.

To put some critics at ease, this is not an effort of replacement theology. Although later in Massachusetts Bay history, Puritans did adopt the view of Massachusetts as literal New Jerusalem where the Messiah could return to establish the divine kingdom on earth. Many others did not cross the allegorical line. Instead, they envisioned a parallel world—a new civilization founded on Torah principles. We might describe it as a daughter of Zion. Those were the reasons why Puritans were known as Hebraists. Yet, most Hebraic Puritans believed God would resurrect the dry bones of the Jewish people in the land of the eternal covenant.

What this rather odd introduction is meant to do is point to a necessary reality of the Jewish people. It is the wonderful heritage of Jews wrapped in the mantel of Exodus. It is beginning and end of the meaning of Jew and Israel. Its alpha and omega is the divine intention of a future restoration of the Jews in a new world--a world of genuine peace, prosperity, and the complete realization of the kingdom of God. The ancients did create a new world as God led them. The tragedy is they failed to remain completely faithful to God.

So has the descendents of the Puritans.

Though a vast fertile land filled with potential and abundant life, fear of big problems blinded their faith in a much more powerful deliverer. Nevertheless, the Jewish people did enter the Promised Land. The promises of the King of universe were established upon agreement. The Jews began to live a new life in a new world where God was their King. All they had to do was obey His laws, and He would provide a rich satisfying life. As straying sheep, they strayed into the snare of the ravenous enemy.

This too is the story of Americans.

God is still a good shepherd. He always sought them and brought them back into the boundaries of his gracious kingdom rule. At least until they refused to return … until they went too far in their evildoing.

And, America is heading in that direction.

What about Jews in the 21st century? The world has witnessed the return of the Jews to the land God promised to them. This is a fulfillment of prophecy. Israel once again exists as separate government among a many nations. This too is fulfillment of ancient prophecy. They have fought three major battles with surrounding nations and have won each and every time. This is fulfillment of prophecy as well. From news reports and commentary originating from Israel, the impression given is that around 80% of the people observe the Torah. If true, here is a bona fide supernatural miracle. In spite of the good news, Israel has three current problems hindering its progress to the new world of yet unfulfilled prophecy. One is their liberal leaders who are loyal not to the eternal covenant but to covenants with the United Nations and with the American-Arab coalition. The second is the apparent fear of the enemies. From a covenantal perspective, the enemies of Israel are both internal and external. They are pro-globalist Jews, Islamist fascists, and Western globalists, and their goal is legitimating the global power of the UN governance. It is certainly is not establishing real peace. The third problem Israel faces is the fact that the Messiah has not yet come. Therefore, the first two problems have not decisively been resolved. When the Messiah comes, he will not apologize to Muslim, Christians, or Jews. He will establish the kingdom rule of God. All those who did not like the divine rule prior to his appearing will not have to worry about it. They will no longer exist in kingdoms of this world that the Messiah will inherit. It is not very likely that they will inhabit heaven either.

The challenge of Joshua is as valid today as it was when he spoke it at Schechem. Joshua said,

“[The Lord] has given you the land…. Now, therefore, revere the Lord and serve Him with undivided loyalty…. Or, if you are loath to serve the Lord, choose this day which you are going to serve—the gods of the [globalists] or the [secularists]; but I and my house will serve the Lord.” (24:14, 15)

The Jews of Israel are not the only ones who must make this choice, so must Americans. Because the earth is the Lord’s and all of its fullness, He can give it to whom ever he wills. The Lord created the earth, not evolution scientists, not liberal politicians, not the Arabs, and not the UN. The Lord has already revealed who is to have the Promised Land. In fact, God has already determined who will inherit the earth.

The question then is when … when is the day that God restores the fortunes of Israel? When will Israel be one people? When will it be that God is Israel’s God and David is king again? When will Israel leaders make God king? When will Israel and all people realize the promise of a new world?