From: heb_roots_chr@mail.geocities.com Sent: Wednesday, November 12, 1997 11:46 PM To: Hebraic Heritage Newsgroup Subject: BOOK: THE SPIRIT OF THE LAW - Lesson #3
From: "HaY'Did" <shalom@haydid.org> To: heb_roots_chr@geocities.com Subject: Lesson Three: THE SPIRIT OF THE LAW Dr. Ron Moseley is head of Arkansas Institute of Holy Land Studies in North Little Rock, Arkansas. This is a specialty college that teaches the Jewish roots of our faith. They offer these courses through correspondence classes and are made for the working person and their busy schedules. Dr. Ron sponsors a conference the first week of August where Eddie Chumney and others in association gather each year to share and teach. Visit their website at http://www.haydid.org/ark.htm for more information. ********************************************************************** LESSON THREE DID PAUL REMAIN A JEW? Only in modern theology is it conceivable that Paul would leave his Jewish faith and practice when he began to preach to the Gentiles. Both the New Testament and ancient literature show that Jewish believers continued to keep the Jewish Law, festivals, and many traditions. The Jewish believers kept the Law ot for salvation, but in obedience to identify as God's Chosen People. It was not until much later, during Justin Martyr's day [150 A.D.] when the Gentile Church began to flourish, that we begin to encounter Replacement Theology where the church replaced the Jews as God's Chosen People. As Jews, Jesus, Paul, James, and Peter are continually seen keeping the Law to the end of their lives, and others like John, as late as 50-60 years after Pentecost. There is not one instance where Jesus or Paul attacked the Law or any of its ordinances, but in every case supported them as the Word of God. We as believers are commanded to walk by faith and to fulfill the Law by applying its moral principles to our relationships with fellow believers [Matthew 5:17-20]. It was Paul who told Timothy the Law was good if an individual used it lawfully, and that no one would be crowned or rewarded except when he lived lawfully [I Timothy 1:8; II Timothy 2:5].. Paul said he was not living without the Law to God, but was under the Law to Christ [I Corinthians 9:21]. Before the high priest and Felix, Paul boldly proclaimed that those who accused him could not prove that he actually broke the Law. Then Paul confessed that he worshiped God and believed all things which were written in the Law and prophets. To make sure there was no misunderstanding, Paul reminded his listeners that he continually brought offerings and alms and went through the Temple purification [Acts 24:13-20].. Dan Harrington, in his book, Paul on the Mystery of Israel, affirms that "Paul never disavowed his Judaism. He never said , ' I am no longer a Jew.' In fact, at several points, he lists his credentials as a Jew [Philippians 3:5, 6; II Corinthians 11:22; Romans11:11]." Harrington further noted that one recent approach by scholars to understand Paul's words involves viewing it in the context of the situation in which he wrote. In his directives, Paul necessarily used the language and slogans of his opponents, or at least of the people whom he addressed. One major component that modern believers seem to miss is that according to Paul's writings, the Law was intended to bring about the right relationship with our fellow believers, while Christ, the redemptive factor of God, brings about the right relationship with God. PAUL'S CONVERSATION WITH JAMES It is particularly interesting to note the four points of conversation when Paul returned to the Jerusalem Church and was confronted by James and the elders concerning several issues of the Law [Acts 21:17-25]. 1. The many thousands of Jews who believed were all zealous for the Law. 2. A problem arose as the incorrect word got out that Paul was teaching Jews to forsake the Law and not circumcise their children. The point was that Gentile converts were not required to keep the Jewish ritual laws, and James was not critical of that, but he objected to anyone teaching Jews not to keep their identification covenant and traditions [Acts 21:21]. 3. James declared to Paul that this misconception must be cleared up immediately. It should be noted that Paul agreed with James, and this was done to prove his loyalty as a Jew to the Law. Unfortunately, today many theologians still believe this misconception about Paul and the Law [Acts 21:24]. 4. Notice "as touching the Gentiles which believe" there was a different standard, and they did not need to identify with a covenant as the Chosen People. They were believers in the Jewish Messiah and had to respect the so called Noachide precepts stressed at the Jerusalem Council by avoiding pagan beliefs [Acts 21:25; Acts 15:28, 29]. THERE IS NEITHER JEW NOR GENTILE IN CHRIST Concerning the promises regarding individual salvation, Paul pointed out that there was neither Jew nor Gentile, slave nor free, man nor woman, but all were one in Christ [Galatians 3:28]. Occasionally, someone takes this to mean that the Jew no longer exists as God's chosen people. But by the same thinking this verse proves there are no more women, no more slaves, no more people in jails. It is clear that Paul is speaking only concerning salvation as he indicated by the words "in Christ." The same point was made to the Ephesians in showing them that there was no distinction or dividing wall in Christ [Ephesians 2:14-19]. On the other hand, we would have to disallow many Scriptures concerning promises to the nation of Israel to believe that there is no difference in the nation who embraced God when no others would. Israel is mentioned in Scripture some 2,293 times with at least 15 references to God's everlasting covenant with them. In Ephesians 2:12 the commonwealth of Israel is used as an exalted phrase, and in Acts 4:27 well after the beginning of the church Luke differentiates between the Gentiles and the people of Israel. Romans 3:1, 2 tells us there is much advantage in every way of being Jewish, especially because the oracles of God were originally from their culture. With these things understood, one can easily see what Paul meant by his words, "If you are a Jew, do not seek to become uncircumcised, if you are non-Jewish, do not seek to be circumcised, but let every man abide in the same calling wherein he is called" [I Corinthians 7:18-20]. THOSE UNDER THE LAW MUST KEEP ALL THE LAW Today some understand the phrase of James "if you offend in one point of the Law, you are guilty of all" to mean that one must keep all of the Law or else the Law is of no use [James 2:10]. Actually James is saying, if you break any part of the Law you have violated the Law as a whole, but that is true of any law, including the speeding laws of our day. What James is addressing in this chapter has to do with having faith in Jesus Christ with sin in one's life [James 2:11]. The problem arises when modern believers fail to realize the Law was not to achieve salvation, but to expose and remove sin from the life of believers. The popular idea that one can live by faith without any rules, committing sin and calling it liberty or grace, while believing the Jews are under Law, is the old heresy of Antinomianism, and is one of the issues being addressed in this chapter. The truth is there can be no grace without Law and all who are without the Law of God are under death because they do not recognize their sin, therefore do not qualify for the grace of God [Romans 5:13, 14]. This was not written to the Jews only, but to the Gentile brethren who thought they were living by a different Law Of Liberty [James 2:8-14]. James is saying even the Gentile brethren have to fulfill the Royal Law of Scripture by loving their neighbor as themselves. This is the spirit of the whole Law, that each individual must honor lest they have respect of persons and are judged for breaking the Law of God. THE FOURTH CENTURY CHURCH A DIFFERENT RELIGION It is obvious that neither Jesus nor Paul ever renounced Judaism, deviated from being Jewish, or attempted to start a new religion. At this point a major question needs to be answered. If Jesus and Paul did not form a new anti-Jewish religion, who did? A quick look at church history shows that as the church moved west away from its Jewish roots, the Roman Church leaders of the fourth century continued to develop theology to do away with all that was Jewish. The most fundamental change was the teaching that the Law was bad and opposed the grace of God. By the fourth century the Roman Church had changed the church's fundamental teaching of keeping the Law to a religion whose message avoided anything to do with the term Law. By this time Christian writers had begun to teach that the Law had been fulfilled by the coming of Christ. By misusing the word fulfilled they defined this to mean it was abolished, or cancelled which was exactly opposite the teaching of Jesus Christ [Matthew 5:18, 19]. To Jesus, as in rabbinic literature of His day, the word fulfill meant to keep the Law and correctly interpret its teachings. From Paul's writing to the Galatians, it is evident that he also understood the phrase fulfill the Law to mean one should fulfill the Law through love and doing for others [Galatians 6:2; Romans 13:10]. From the mid-second century through the seventh century, Roman theologians continued to develop new doctrines that opposed original biblical concepts. One such doctrine was the idea that believers had God's unconditional and unrestrained grace no matter what the circumstances. They claimed this was a part of God's new covenant of grace. Origen, a pastor in the third century, took Paul's phrase the letter of the Law and developed a new teaching on legalism by suggesting a dichotomy between the letter and the spirit. This set the stage throughout history for the term legalism becoming synonymous with Judaism and both being condemned. Remember, Paul's use of the term letter of the Law was solely against Judaizers who misused the Law as a means of salvation. Paul never criticized the Law of God as being legalistic. In fact, it was Paul who reminded us that before the Law, death reigned, and as believers the Law has dominion over us as long as we live because the Law is holy, just, good, and spiritual [Romans 5:14; Romans 7:1-25]. Paul further mentions that the Law of God is the will of God and if we believe it, God will write it on our hearts and it will be evidenced in our lives [Romans 2:17 2 18; 20- 29]. These new ideas opposing Law in Christianity began to spring up as early as 160-220 A.D. in the Roman African communities represented by Tertullian and was spearheaded by popular speakers such as Bishop John Chrysostom in Antioch [349-400 A.D.]. TWO MAJOR CHANGES SINCE 70 A.D. After the Temple was destroyed in 70 A.D., two new religious organizations grew out of the pre-70 Judaism of Jesus and Paul's day. The Pharisees fled Jerusalem to Yavneh and were spared while the Jewish followers of Jesus fled to the mountains of Pella and survived [Matthew 24:16; Git. 56b; Tosef. Ber. 2:6]. From those two groups today we have two separate religions known as Rabbinic Judaism and the Christian Church. Today neither Rabbinic Judaism nor the church that formed much of its theology from the fourth century Roman ideas, hold the same views of the pre-70 Judaism of Jesus and Paul's day. Both Judaism and the church have developed reactionary theologies aimed at keeping this separation final. The church forbade believers from keeping the Jewish feasts and began to meet on Sundays, while in reaction to the Christians kneeling for prayer, the Jews adapted the position that they should stand while praying the Amidah (only the Amidah is said standing). Because of the various changes in both parties since the time of Christ, it is advisable for the serious student to research every topic with the culture of pre-70 Judaism in which most Scripture was written. THE OLD COVENANT AND THE NEW COVENANT The fact that the terms Old and New Covenant combined are only found a total of four times in the biblical text reflects the reality that they have the same basics and we are to fulfill the Old by obeying the New Covenant. In the New Covenant nothing has been replaced. The difference, as well as the advantage, is seen in that the manifestation is far better in Christ in that He opened the flood gates of the kingdom for all mankind. When Hebrews 8:13 speaks of a new covenant that made the first covenant old and ready to vanish, we must remember the subject of this letter was the old priesthood and sacrificial system, which was about to change for two reasons. First, because the Temple and this present sacrificial system, was about to be destroyed, or already was destroyed acccording to when this letter was actually written. Second, because Christ had become a different manifestation of the sacrifice and high priesthood. But under no circumstances did Paul or any Jewish Christian writer suppose that God's unchanging nature, which stands behind the Old Covenant, was about to vanish. Even Christians whose theology opposes the Mosaic Law have to admit that God's moral and spiritual principles of the Law are still active. Obviously, the writer of Hebrews referred to the old system of sacrifices and priesthood that were about to vanish, and not the spiritual principles of the Old Covenant. Paul Ellingworth in his commentary on Hebrews says, "This refers to the replacement of the old cult by the new, not to a change in the ethical or civil requirements of the Torah." END OF LESSON THREE ************************************************************************* For a printed copy of this book you may contact either AIHLS or HaY'Did Learning Center. Dr. Ron Moseley is available to speak by calling 1-800-617-6205. He will be speaking in London, Kentucky at Faith Assembly of God Dec. 14-17, 1997 for an indepth time of teaching. ************************************************************************