Likewise, just prior to giving Moses the Ten Commandments on Mount Sinai, we read: "Then Moses climbed the mountain to appear before God. The Lord called to him from the mountain and said, 'Give these instructions to the family of Jacob; announce it to the descendants of Israel: You have seen what I did to the Egyptians. You know how I carried you on eagles’ wings and brought you to myself. Now if you will obey me and keep my covenant, you will be my own special treasure from among all the peoples on earth; for all the earth belongs to me. And you will be my kingdom of priests, my holy nation. This is the message you must give to the people of Israel.'" (Exodus 19:3-6) Next, we read: "Then God gave the people <of Israel> all these instructions..." (Exodus 20:1) Likewise, in the following chapter, we read: "These are the regulations you must present to Israel." (21:1) Over and over again, we read: "Then Moses called together the whole community of Israel and told them, 'These are the instructions the Lord has commanded you to follow.'" (35:1) In the first chapter of Leviticus, we read: "Give the following instructions to the people of Israel." "Give the following instructions to the people of Israel." (4:2) Prior to delineating which animals would be acceptable or unacceptable for food, we read: "Give the following instructions to the people of Israel." (Leviticus 11:2) Likewise, prior to delineating sexual practices which were to be forbidden, we read "Then the Lord said to Moses, 'Give the following instructions to the people of Israel. I am the Lord your God.'" (Leviticus 18:1-2) In the following chapter, we read: "The Lord also said to Moses, 'Give the following instructions to the entire community of Israel. You must be holy because I, the Lord your God, am holy.'" (19:1-2) Once again, prior to giving instructions for the various festivals, we read: "The Lord said to Moses, 'Give the following instructions to the people of Israel. These are the Lord’s appointed festivals, which you are to proclaim as official days for holy assembly." (23:1-2)
For some of my readers, this review will have appeared redundant and unnecessary. For others, however, this exercise will prove to be essential. Why? Because it is absolutely essential that we clearly establish that the commands of the Torah are the terms of the Old Covenant with Israel! Now, that is NOT to say that some of those individual commands would not be applicable to other humans in other times and locations. Clearly, some of those commands reflect universal principles that would be compatible with Christ's summary of the Torah into two great principles: Love for God and love for each other. This, however, CANNOT and DOES NOT change the fact that EVERY one of the commands listed in the Torah are a part of the terms of the OLD Covenant. In other words, the fact that we find ANY of these commands to be applicable to individuals who are a party to the NEW Covenant is a consequence of them fitting within the framework/terms which Christ established for the NEW Covenant. As we will shortly demonstrate, the NEW Covenant supersedes and abrogates the OLD!
In the book of Jeremiah, we read: "The day is coming,' says the Lord, 'when I will make a new covenant with the people of Israel and Judah. This covenant will not be like the one I made with their ancestors when I took them by the hand and brought them out of the land of Egypt. They broke that covenant, though I loved them as a husband loves his wife,' says the Lord. 'But this is the new covenant I will make with the people of Israel after those days,' says the Lord. 'I will put my instructions deep within them, and I will write them on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people. And they will not need to teach their neighbors, nor will they need to teach their relatives, saying, ‘You should know the Lord.’ For everyone, from the least to the greatest, will know me already,' says the Lord. 'And I will forgive their wickedness, and I will never again remember their sins.'" (Jeremiah 31:31-34) Notice that this "NEW" covenant with the Israelites would be completely different from the one God had made with their ancestors at Mount Sinai. How? They wouldn't need a list of instructions going forward, because God would plant the principles of his instructions "deep within them" - that he would "write them on their hearts." In other words, under the terms of this new covenant, the principles themselves would be internalized - the written list of commands would no longer be needed!
In the New Testament, we see that the early Church had a great deal of difficulty coming to terms with the fact that Christ had inaugurated a New Covenant. Many of the Jewish Christians simply could not understand that Gentile Christians would NOT be required to follow the terms of the Old Covenant, but the great council at Jerusalem settled the matter for all times - Gentiles would NOT be required to come under the terms of the Old Covenant (see Acts 15).
Likewise, in Paul's epistle to the Christians at Rome, he gave what is probably the clearest statement about a Christian's obligation to Torah. In the second chapter of that letter, Paul pointed out that some Gentiles had observed the universal moral/ethical standards of Torah, because they had instinctively adopted and internalized the principles which underpinned it (2:14-15). He went on to point out that the Jews had often broken its provisions - though they were great at reciting them (2:17-24). Paul concluded: "The Jewish ceremony of circumcision has value only if you obey God’s law. But if you don’t obey God’s law, you are no better off than an uncircumcised Gentile. And if the Gentiles obey God’s law, won’t God declare them to be his own people? In fact, uncircumcised Gentiles who keep God’s law will condemn you Jews who are circumcised and possess God’s law but don’t obey it. For you are not a true Jew just because you were born of Jewish parents or because you have gone through the ceremony of circumcision. No, a true Jew is one whose heart is right with God. And true circumcision is not merely obeying the letter of the law; rather, it is a change of heart produced by the Spirit. And a person with a changed heart seeks praise from God, not from people." (Verses 25-29)
In the third chapter of the same letter, Paul continued: "Obviously, the law applies to those to whom it was given, for its purpose is to keep people from having excuses, and to show that the entire world is guilty before God. For no one can ever be made right with God by doing what the law commands. The law simply shows us how sinful we are." (3:19-20) According to Paul, the New Covenant pointed in a different direction. He wrote: "But now God has shown us a way to be made right with him without keeping the requirements of the law, as was promised in the writings of Moses and the prophets long ago. We are made right with God by placing our faith in Jesus Christ. And this is true for everyone who believes, no matter who we are. For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God’s glorious standard. Yet God, in his grace, freely makes us right in his sight. He did this through Christ Jesus when he freed us from the penalty for our sins. For God presented Jesus as the sacrifice for sin. People are made right with God when they believe that Jesus sacrificed his life, shedding his blood. This sacrifice shows that God was being fair when he held back and did not punish those who sinned in times past, for he was looking ahead and including them in what he would do in this present time. God did this to demonstrate his righteousness, for he himself is fair and just, and he makes sinners right in his sight when they believe in Jesus. Can we boast, then, that we have done anything to be accepted by God? No, because our acquittal is not based on obeying the law. It is based on faith. So we are made right with God through faith and not by obeying the law." (Verses 21-28)
A little later, in the same epistle, Paul concluded: "So, my dear brothers and sisters, this is the point: You died to the power of the law when you died with Christ. And now you are united with the one who was raised from the dead. As a result, we can produce a harvest of good deeds for God. When we were controlled by our old nature, sinful desires were at work within us, and the law aroused these evil desires that produced a harvest of sinful deeds, resulting in death. But now we have been released from the law, for we died to it and are no longer captive to its power. Now we can serve God, not in the old way of obeying the letter of the law, but in the new way of living in the Spirit." (Romans 7:4-6) So, we see that because of Christ, we are no longer obligated to obey the written code. Instead, we are obligated to internalize those universal principles which Christ derived from the Torah for his disciples!
Likewise, in Paul's letter to the saints of Ephesus, he told them that the New Covenant wasn't just for the Israelites - that it also applied to the Gentiles who had NEVER been part of the Old Covenant or its terms. We read there: "For Christ himself has brought peace to us. He united Jews and Gentiles into one people when, in his own body on the cross, he broke down the wall of hostility that separated us. He did this by ending the system of law with its commandments and regulations. He made peace between Jews and Gentiles by creating in himself one new people from the two groups. Together as one body, Christ reconciled both groups to God by means of his death on the cross, and our hostility toward each other was put to death. He brought this Good News of peace to you Gentiles who were far away from him, and peace to the Jews who were near. Now all of us can come to the Father through the same Holy Spirit because of what Christ has done for us." (Ephesians 2:14-18) Once again, the principles behind Torah are internalized in the Christian - Jew and Gentile. Righteousness is no longer found in those written lists of dos and don'ts!
Also, in Paul's epistle to the Colossians, we read: "When you came to Christ, you were 'circumcised,' but not by a physical procedure. Christ performed a spiritual circumcision—the cutting away of your sinful nature. For you were buried with Christ when you were baptized. And with him you were raised to new life because you trusted the mighty power of God, who raised Christ from the dead. You were dead because of your sins and because your sinful nature was not yet cut away. Then God made you alive with Christ, for he forgave all our sins. He canceled the record of the charges against us and took it away by nailing it to the cross. In this way, he disarmed the spiritual rulers and authorities. He shamed them publicly by his victory over them on the cross. So don’t let anyone condemn you for what you eat or drink, or for not celebrating certain holy days or new moon ceremonies or Sabbaths. For these rules are only shadows of the reality yet to come. And Christ himself is that reality." (2:11-17) The commands of the Torah pointed to Christ, but "Christ himself is that reality." These are things which CANNOT be found in a written code, or even individual commands! For the Christian, they are found in Jesus Christ and MUST be internalized - so that they are applied to every situation which might confront us!
Finally, after speaking at some length about the Torah's instructions for the proper observance of the Old Covenant, the author of the epistle to the Hebrews underscored that God had instituted a New Covenant through Jesus Christ. We read there: "If the first covenant had been faultless, there would have been no need for a second covenant to replace it." (8:7) The author went on to say that God had "found fault with the people," meaning the Israelites. Then, he/she proceeded to quote that passage from the thirty-first chapter of Jeremiah referenced earlier in this post (verses 8-12). Then, the author concluded with: "When God speaks of a 'new' covenant, it means he has made the first one obsolete. It is now out of date and will soon disappear." (Verse 13) Hence, as Christians, we should NOT be using the standard of the Old Covenant as the standard of the New Covenant. And, just as Paul wrote to the Christians of Galatia: "But those who depend on the law to make them right with God are under his curse, for the Scriptures say, 'Cursed is everyone who does not observe and obey all the commands that are written in God’s Book of the Law.' So it is clear that no one can be made right with God by trying to keep the law. For the Scriptures say, 'It is through faith that a righteous person has life.' This way of faith is very different from the way of law, which says, 'It is through obeying the law that a person has life.'" (Galatians 3:10-12)
Thus, as Christians, we MUST NOT look to the Torah as the standard of the New Covenant. The Torah was Christ's standard, and he FULFILLED it. The Torah pointed to him, but he is the reality. The Torah was founded and based on LOVE for God and each other, and Christ incorporated those principles into the terms of the NEW Covenant which he has made with everyone who accepts his fulfillment of Torah and sacrifice for our many violations of its precepts. Clearly then, salvation is found in HIM, NOT in the commands of the Torah!
You cannot impose the terms of the OC on people of the NC? No, but mankind is often willing to do that all by himself! How so?
ReplyDeleteThe agreement God made with the children of Israel was an extension of the covenant made with Abraham in Genesis 12-17, which was unconditional and everlasting. Now I will concede that the Torah, God's standard of righteousness, was very much a part of the agreement. But the terms of any agreement also include the response to the proposal.
Genesis 17:1
The Lord appeared to Abraham and said, I am Almighty God. Walk before me and be thou perfect. What was the response?
Verse 3, And Abraham fell on his face. He said nothing!
Other scriptures tell us that he believed God who previously said, I will establish my covenant with thee, and that belief was accounted to him as righteousness. Now contrast that with the covenant at Siani:
Exodus 19:5, Now if you will obey my voice and keep my covenant (similar to Abraham's obligations), then you shall be an holy nation unto me . . .! The response? Verse 8, all that the Lord has spoken, WE WILL DO! Oh, you will?
On the one hand we have a demonstration of faith in God to work things out and on the other we have a people so foolish and ignorant of their own hearts that believed that by their performance they can make it happen! Now the question is, why would God allow this farce to move forward? for Scriptures such as Deut. 5:29, 29:4, and Romans 8:7 testify that this agreement had no chance for success! Was God being dishonest or did he have an object lesson in mind, namely, "Without ME, you can DO NOTHING", John 15:5?
I personally do not see the Torah as being problematic at all, but trusting in one's self performance and effort stymies everyone!
Luke 18:9. And he spoke a parable unto certain which trusted in THEMSELVES that they were righteous.
Luke 18:18. Good Master, What shall I DO . . .
Romans 9:31-32. But Israel, which followed after the LAW OF RIGHTEOUSNESS, hath not attained to the law of righteousness, BECAUSE they sought it not by faith (in God doing the works), but as it were by them performing works of law. . .being ignorant of God!s righteousness and trying to establish their OWN righteousness (10:3).
Galations 3:3. Are you so foolish having begun in the spirit (by faith, vs.2) are you now made perfect by the flesh?
This trap plagues everybody! Even Abraham fell into it and it caused himself a lot of grief. In society we see slogans on the back of athletic jerseys saying "stop hate", "stop racism". WHO do they think is going to stop it? I could be wrong, but You have made a couple of statements that seem on the surface to smack of the same idea, "because of Christ we are no longer obligated to obey the written code, but WE ARE OBLIGATED TO INTERNALIZE those principles". WE? WHO actually does the internalizing?
Hebrews 8: For finding fault with THEM (not the Torah), He proposes a NEW covenant, in which "I will put my laws (written list and internalized list=same list) into their minds and hearts". And this process is not a one and done thing, but lasts till "Christ be formed in us" completely (Galations 4:19).
The old covenant failed, not because of the Torah, but because of unbelief and trusting in self (Heb.3:19, 4:2). But you are correct, Salvation is found in Him, and not in the commands of the Torah, nor in any kind of self effort such as fasting, or prayer, or anything substituted for the work of Christ for deliverance.
Paul sums it up:
For by Grace are you saved through faith and that NOT OF YOURSELVES lest you should boast. For we are HIS WORKMANSHIP, created in Christ Jesus unto good works (produced by HIM), Eph.2:8-10.