From: heb_roots_chr@mail.geocities.com
Sent: Wednesday, November 12, 1997 11:47 PM
To: Hebraic Heritage Newsgroup
Subject: Book: The Spirit of the Law - Lesson #4
From: "HaY'Did" <shalom@haydid.org>
Organization: HaY'Did Learning Center
To: heb_roots_chr@geocities.com
Subject: Lesson Four: The Spirit of the Law
This is the final installment from the book THE SPIRIT OF THE LAW
by Dr. Ron Moseley. The entire text may be viewed at his website at
http://www.haydid.org/ark.htm If you wish to order your own copy of
this book please contact Arkansas Institute of Holy Land Studies in
North Little Rock, Arkansas by calling 1--800-617-6205. AIHLS is a
specialty college that teaches the Jewish roots of our faith. Classes
are available for the correspondence student and are reasonably priced.
AIHLS also sponsors a conference the first week of August that Eddie
Chumney and others in association attend each year. Dr. Ron also
sponsors informative trips to the Holy Land twice a year. Call now for
more information or visit their website.
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THE AGE OF GRACE BEFORE PAUL
The notion that the grace of God originated with Paul's message
is not only wrong, but shows a grave negligence on the part of the church
concerning their roots in Jewish history and faith. Abundant records
written in Jewish literature before the time of Christ speak of the
grace of God as a means of salvation. Note that the Thanksgiving Scroll
in the Dead Sea Scrolls declares "only by Your goodness is man righteous
or justified and by the multitude of Your mercy ... and by Your
magnificence have You glorified him" [XIII, 17]. How much clearer can
it be than when the Thanksgiving Scroll recorded, "by Your grace You did
save my soul, for from You is my step" [II, 23]. Another phrase from
the same scroll says, "and all the sons of Your truth You bring
forgivingly before You to purify them from their sins by the plenty of
Your goodness and the multitude of Your mercies to make them stand
before You forever" [VII, 30-31; IV, 33; IX, 9].
THE HOLY SPIRIT, GRACE, AND GIFTS BEFORE CHRIST
The Thanksgiving Scroll mentions a prayer for spiritual gifts
among other detailed references of grace. Note the prayer, "to purify me by
Your Holy Spirit and to draw me near by Your good will according to the
greatness of Your graces or spiritual gifts" [XVI, 12; XIV, 13]. The
believers of this Jewish sect were also called the Sons of His will as
well as the Sons of Grace while their covenant was referred to as the
Covenant of Grace [Thanksgiving Scroll 1QH VII, 20; XIV, 4; Manual of
Discipline 1QS 1,8].
The grace of God is found throughout the Old Testament if the
researcher knows that in Hebrew different words were used for the term
we call grace. Note several examples of the grace of God in the Old
Testament are found in such places as Deuteronomy 7:9; Nehemiah 1:5;
9:32; Daniel 9:4 and II Chronicles
6:14 just to name a few.
As we research the word Paul used for grace, we see that the
concept is rooted in the Hebrew word hesed which is often translated grace, mercy,
or lovingkindness. According to David Blumenthal in his book, The Place
of Faith and Grace In Judaism, God's grace is used in the biblical text
three ways. First, in creation, second, in His covenants, and third, in
forgiveness God extended mercy and grace to all who repented.
CONFESSION AND FORGIVENESS IN THE OLD TESTAMENT
A brief review of the ancient Jewish prayer of forgiveness
[selihah] and confession [vidduy] will show that the grace of God was
the major factor. According to the Encyclopedia of the Jewish Religion,
confession is one of the three essential elements of true repentance.
The other two being regret for the sin and resolve not to repeat it.
The sin offering in the Temple was accompanied by confession, and
according to rabbinic doctrine, there can be no remission of sin
without confession. The rabbis confirm that in a human court a man may
possibly escape punishment by denying his guilt, but before God true
confession appeals to God's forgiving mercy. The wording of the
confession of sin is based upon the example of the high priest in the
Temple when he declared, "and he shall confess all the iniquities of the
children of Israel, and all their transgressions in all their sins..."
[Leviticus 16:21]. Rabbinic literature suggests this example: "I
confess before You for all the wrongs which I have committed. I have
taken the path of evil. I hereby renounce all the wrongdoing which I
have hitherto committed. May it be Your will 0 Lord my God, to pardon
me for all my iniquities, forgive me for all my transgressions, and
grant me atonement from all my sins" [Lev. Rab. 3]. Actually, Jews make
public confessions on penitential and fast days as well as every Monday
and Thursday. Private confessions are made by individuals whenever the
need arises as well as on one's deathbed [Talmud Shav. 32a].
THE THREE STAGES OF SALVATION
According to David Flusser, the ancient Essene sect believed
there were three stages of salvation. The first was preordained election. The
second was the actual operation of grace which began the moment the
individual entered the community and started to live by the covenant
[repentance and faith]. The third was the eschatological redemption in
the future with its reward for the elect.
THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE IDEA OF GOD'S GRACE
REPLACING THE LAW OF GOD
During the second century with the emergence of early heresies,
Marcion was one of the most prominent, with his teaching that the God of the Old
Testament was a lesser god. According to Marcion, the Old Testament was
to be rejected and Jesus was simply a revealer rather than Messiah.
This teaching interpreted Paul's writings as a new gospel that
liberated everyone from the message of the Law, so they could rely on
revelation knowledge. According to Brad Young, "The difference between
Jesus and Paul on the one hand, and Marcion on the other, may be summed
up in one word, Torah [law]." In fact Paul warned Christians against
such arrogance that would separate them from their Jewish roots in
Romans 11:20.
Although the early church identified Marcion as a heretic, today
many theologians have accepted his views as Law. It was Marcion who adopted
Matthew 5:17 as a key theme of ending God's Law and taught that the
grace of God superseded it. Historian E.C. Blackman noted how Marcion
changed the meaning of Matthew 5:17 by "inverting the order of the
clauses so as to give exactly an opposite sense." According to Marcion's
teaching Jesus said, "Think not that I have come to fulfill the Law, I
have not come to fulfill but to abolish it." Young further points out
that while few modern Christians would change the words in the Bible,
they do interpret the words of Jesus in a way that upholds a sharp
contrast between law and grace.
THE WORDS ABOLISH AND FULFILL
In rabbinic literature, the Greek words behind the English terms
abolish and fulfill have equivalents that explain what was actually
meant in Jesus' day. The word abolish means to interpret incorrectly,
while the word fulfill means to interpret properly, as well as to cause
it to stand erect and upright. With this understanding it is obvious
that Jesus did not come to start a new religion or destroy the only Word
of God available, but to properly interpret the Law and show that He
was a new manifestation of the old truth. Brad Young points out that
the three key words Torah [Law], abolish, and fulfill possess quite
different meanings in their modern English translations than in ancient
Jewish thought.
WHAT HAPPENED TO REVERENCE?
Have you ever wondered what happened to the holy reverence that
once accompanied the Bible, God's ministers, and the church? These things
come up missing about the same time that Bibles, prayer, and discipline
began to be frowned on in our society. Biblical scholar Abraham Heschel
says in his book, God in Search of Man that while the Greeks studied to
comprehend, and western thinkers study to apply their knowledge in a
practical way, the ancient Hebrews studied to revere God. The ancient
Jews, including Jesus, believed that the study of the Torah [law] led to
reverence and that reverence led to obedience. Could it be that our
modem ideas about the Bible and religion, that leave out discipline,
study, and days set aside for the awe of God have cost us something?
DELIVERANCE FROM THE BONDAGE OF THE LAW
One of the most misunderstood texts in Paul's writing is Romans
7:1-14 where he speaks of being delivered from the Law, that being dead wherein
we were held; that we should serve in newness of spirit, and not in the
oldness of the letter. Is Paul against the Law of God? He answers that
in Romans 7:7 where he says, God forbid! and spends the next seven
verses explaining how great and spiritual the Law is and what good
things it has done for him. Brad Young reminds us that Paul is using
a well known concept in Jewish law and is actually referring to the
death of the flesh and not the death of God's Law. To illustrate his
point, Paul uses an analogy of the dead husband to show that when an
individual dies, he is free from all laws relating to that marriage.
Young concludes, "It is imperative to recognize that the saying,'when a
person dies he is free from the law and the commandments,' was a
well-known concept in halachah [law], which probably was almost
proverbial in ancient Jewish thought" [Bab. Niddah 61b and parallels].
Note that Paul mentioned he was writing to those who knew the Law
[Romans 7: 1], showing that the Jews in the congregation of Rome were
familiar with such an illustration.
Paul's emphasis points out that when a person is living in sin,
his flesh is in bondage to the law against that sin until death when he is
freed from that law. This is a common Jewish phrase as seen in the
words of Rabbi Simeon ben Pazzi when he dies, he is freed, speaking of
man's flesh being released from the evil inclination [Ruth Rabbah 4:14,
M. Lerner, pp. 78-80].
Ancient rabbis taught that as long as a man lives he is servant
to both God and the evil inclination, but after death, he is freed to serve only
God [Note the book The Slave of Two Masters by Safrai and Flusser]. Both
Jesus and Paul declared that we are to die to sin and its laws of
bondage on this earth, because believers cannot serve two masters and
belong to God [Matthew 6:24]. The point of Romans 7 is the
individual's death to sinful flesh and not to the Law of God.
THE NEW TESTAMENT AND THE LAW
In order to understand the Law in the New Testament, we must
also understand Paul who wrote approximately two-thirds of the text.
According to Peter, the Apostle Paul wrote some things hich are hard to
understand and when in the hands of those unlearned in the Scripture and
unstable are often twisted to their own destruction [11 Peter 3:15,
161]. Those unlearned were unaware of the Jewishness of the Scripture
and culture in which Paul wrote. In our day we have a similar problem
in that modern theologians and laity are generally not trained to
recognize Paul's constant use of Hebraic terms. Only after one
understands the Jewishness of Paul's writings can he obtain an accurate
interpretation of the text. For the truth about what the New Testament
records concerning the Law, we must go directly to that source. Note
12 clear statements that the New Testament registers concerning the Law
of God:
1. The hearers of the Law are not justified before the
Lord, but the doers of the Law will be justified [Romans 2:23].
2. Paul taught the Ephesians that the promises of God come
out of the Law and they were to obey them so things could be well with them and
that they may live long on this earth [Ephesians 6:2, 3; Exodus 20:12;
Deuteronomy 5:16].
3. The writer of the Book of Hebrews confirms that this is the same
covenant of God's Law that He promised to renew by writing it on our
hearts and minds [Hebrews 10:16].
4. James reminds us that if we commit sin, we are actually
transgressing the Law [James 2:11; 2:8-26].
5. By keeping the Lord's commandments we know that we know
Him [I John 2:3, 4].
6. We have our prayers answered because we keep the Lord's
commandments and do those things pleasing in His
sight [I John 3:22].
7. As we keep the commandments, God will dwell in us and we
will have assurance through His Spirit [I John 3:24].
8. By the keeping of God's commandments we know that our
love for God and His children is real [I John 5:2, 3].
9. The definition of biblical love is to walk after God's
commandments [II John 6].
10. Only those who keep the Lord's commandments will
have the right to the Tree of Life [Revelation 22:14].
11. Referring to the Old Testament, the only Law
available, James says, whosoever looks into the
perfect Law of Liberty, and continues therein, being not a
forgetful hearer, but a doer of the work, shall be blessed in
his deed [James 1:25].
12. The man who says he knows the Lord, but does not
keep His commandments is a liar and the truth is not in
him [I John 2:]..
As strong as these often overlooked verses appear, they make up
an active part of the New Testament and were not only a part of the
writer's theology, but the early church's idea of Law.
TODAY'S APPLICATION OF GOD'S LAW
Today more people are "getting back to basics" than in any
recent decade. It is our hope that this book will be a reminder that the
positive commandments of God, which have been cast in such a negative
view, are actually the moral beginnings of Christianity. Without God's
moral principles, it is impossible for any people to live in harmony
with each other. As we remember the words of David, "The Law of the
Lord is complete and restores the soul" [Psalm 19:7], I hope each of us
will choose the eternal principles of God's Law that will produce the
good life [Deuteronomy 30:15].
The question is often asked, "How many of these 613 Laws in the
Old Testament can be applied to the moral life today?" Since the destruction
of the Temple in 70 A.D., the observance of many commandments has become
impossible. In 1931 Chafetz Chayim compiled a list of the positive
and negative commandments applicable to the Jew today. In this list
Chayim recorded 77 positive and 194 negative commandments that could be
kept by the observant Jew. Although the non-Jewish believer is not
required to keep the 613 Laws that identified the Jews as God's chosen
people, there are many moral and ethical principles in the Laws of God
that should be kept by all believers. The basic categories of these
were previously mentioned as the "necessary things" for Gentile converts
in Acts 15:28.
Several years ago, Solomon Schonfeld edited a version of the
Law with his notes called the "Universal Bible." This excellent work is the
result of 20 years of research where Schonfeld listed the parts of the
Pentateuch which present the message not merely for the Jewish people
but for all mankind. The message from the Law for all believers
today obviously omits the Sabbath, dietary laws, sacrifice, and Jewish
customs, but includes such New Testament and universal themes as how to
fear God, prayer, study, polygamy, family responsibilities, divorce,
sexual perversion, respect for property, and how to live at peace with
our fellow man. I personally counted a minimum of 33 out of the 77
positive commands, as well as 135 out of the 194 negative commandments
that could and should be obeyed by all non-Jews today. For those
wondering what could apply to the New Testament believer in the Old
Testament Law, note just a few:
Positive:
1 . To return items taken in robbery [Leviticus 5].
2. To show reverence for the house of worship [Leviticus 19:30].
3. To learn God's Word and teach it [Deuteronomy 6:7].
4. To say grace at meal time (note that the biblical text
says "after meals") [Deuteronomy 8: 10].
5. To pay wages to an employee as soon as the job
is finished [Deuteronomy 24:15].
Negative:
1. Not to swear in the name of an idol [Exodus 23:13].
2. Not to wrongfully retain anything belonging to one's fellow
man [Leviticus 19:13].
3. Not to oppress one's fellow man with words [Leviticus 25:17].
4. Not to cause one's fellow man to stumble over anything
[Leviticus 19:14].
5. Not to tell anyone things that another person said against him
[Leviticus 19:16].
None of the above, nor any of the 168 Laws that have to
do with good relationships, should be avoided by any believer. These
168 do not apply to the Jews only, but have to do with how to live godly and
treat our fellow man properly. I hope each reader will be challenged to
reread God's Law and compare it with the New Testament to find that
they both agree, and that we have great responsibility to others.
SUMMARY
With the understanding that the word Law actually means to teach
or instruct believers how to live in ethical and moral harmony with their
fellow man and before God, how could anyone deny a genuine appreciation
for it? It is my hope that this book will help each of us realize that
although some aspects of the Law applied to sacrifices the Jews made
during the temple period, that the spirit of the Law has changed only in
its manifestation and now comes through Christ for all the world to
fulfill by faith. An example of one aspect of the Law that applies to
all believers is found in Leviticus 19:18 where we are told to love our
neighbor as oneself.
Note 13 conclusions that are sunnnarized in this book:
1. The Law of God did not just last until John the Baptizer, but
was even used by Paul.
2. Jesus went beyond the letter of the Law in His instructions for
today's believers.
3. Successful Christian leaders of the past have always realized
that the Law reveals God's will.
4. The nine-fold purpose of God's Law produces happy and
successful relationships concerning all involved.
5. The curse of the Law is only on lawbreakers.
6. The term New Covenant was in use long before the time of
Paul.
7. There is one covenant for the Jews, who are repentant and
already believe in Messiah, to be identified as God's chosen
people, and another covenant for the rest of the world to
become believers through the Messiah.
8. The true definition of the word Law is a wholesome one and
should be desired by everyone.
9. There are different kinds of Law, some that had
to do with sacrifices and that were strictly for the temple period,
and some that apply to relationships today.
10. After the fourth century, the church's view concerning God's
Law changed.
11. The Age of Grace has to do with God's nature and existed
before Paul.
12. The words abolish and fulfill had very specific meanings
during the time of Jesus that were different from today.
13. The New Testament teaches many positive things
about the Law of God.
With this study we have seen that according to the biblical
text, no promises or blessings can be obtained outside the Law. With this
information each believer should endeavor to take an unbiased and open
look at God's Law. It is my prayer that as believers get this radically
biblical perspective on the spirit of the Law, that its original purpose
of producing peace, harmony, and health in God's earthly kingdom will
be more fully accomplished.
THE END
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Dr. Ron has also written a book called YESHUA: A GUIDE TO THE REAL JESUS
AND THE ORIGINAL CHURCH. The first chapter of this book is posted on
their website at: http://www.haydid.org/ark.htm HaY'Did's site is full
of free information for the student. Why not visit? Its located at
http://www.haydid.org and we welcome your comments. Fill out our
guest book and receive a free issue of our magazine. A catalog of materials
is also on the site for you to view other teaching materials that are
available.
Shalom,
Cheryle Holeman
HaY'Did Learning Center
PO BOX 804
Independence, KS 67301
1-316-331-7712 (credit card orders)
shalom@haydid.org
http://www.haydid.org
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