In a comment on my last post, the leader of the Church of God International stated: "My position...is that the Law of Moses contains both universal and cultic features, and that the cultic features are time-bound, covenant-specific, and served as types and shadows of a higher and infinitely greater reality. The universal features, on the other hand, are not covenant-dependent at all, but exist apart from the covenant and are, in some measure, 'written on the hearts' (Rom 1:15) of all human beings." He went on to characterize the Ten Commandments as: "The Law of God written on the heart (by the Holy Spirit--the 'finger of God') is the same Law that was written on tablets of stone. That IS the Moral Law." Is Pastor Stinson's position consistent with Scripture?
First, the Bible clearly looks at the Law of Moses as a comprehensive whole. The categories of "universal," "cultic," and "moral" do NOT appear in Scripture! In Torah, we read: "And now, Israel, listen carefully to these decrees and regulations that I am about to teach you. Obey them so that you may live, so you may enter and occupy the land that the Lord, the God of your ancestors, is giving you. Do not add to or subtract from these commands I am giving you. Just obey the commands of the Lord your God that I am giving you." (Deuteronomy 4:1-2, NLT) And: "Look, I now teach you these decrees and regulations just as the Lord my God commanded me, so that you may obey them in the land you are about to enter and occupy. Obey them completely, and you will display your wisdom and intelligence among the surrounding nations. When they hear all these decrees, they will exclaim, ‘How wise and prudent are the people of this great nation!’ For what great nation has a god as near to them as the Lord our God is near to us whenever we call on him? And what great nation has decrees and regulations as righteous and fair as this body of instructions that I am giving you today?" (Deuteronomy 4:5-8, NLT) And: "So Moses told the people, 'You must be careful to obey all the commands of the Lord your God, following his instructions in every detail.'" (Deuteronomy 5:32, NLT) And: "These are the commands, decrees, and regulations that the Lord your God commanded me to teach you. You must obey them in the land you are about to enter and occupy, 2 and you and your children and grandchildren must fear the Lord your God as long as you live. If you obey all his decrees and commands, you will enjoy a long life." (Deuteronomy 6:1-2, NLT) And: "So be careful to obey all the commands I give you. You must not add anything to them or subtract anything from them." (Deuteronomy 12:32, NLT) And: "The Lord your God will be merciful only if you listen to his voice and keep all his commands that I am giving you today, doing what pleases him." (Deuteronomy 13:18, NLT) And: "Today the Lord your God has commanded you to obey all these decrees and regulations. So be careful to obey them wholeheartedly. You have declared today that the Lord is your God. And you have promised to walk in his ways, and to obey his decrees, commands, and regulations, and to do everything he tells you. The Lord has declared today that you are his people, his own special treasure, just as he promised, and that you must obey all his commands." (Deuteronomy 26:16-18, NLT) And: "So you must obey the Lord your God by keeping all these commands and decrees that I am giving you today." (Deuteronomy 27:10, NLT) And: "If you fully obey the Lord your God and carefully keep all his commands that I am giving you today, the Lord your God will set you high above all the nations of the world." (Deuteronomy 28:1, NLT)
Before leaving the Old Testament, I would also like to ask my readers a couple of questions for your consideration: If Mr. Stinson is correct in dividing the commandments of Torah into categories of "cultic" and "universal," which commandments belong in each category? Are clean and unclean meats cultic or universal? Are the festivals cultic or universal? Is the commandment to remember the Sabbath cultic or universal? If they are universal, then why were Gentile nations not permitted to join the Israelite's in their observance? Were both cultic and universal commandments part of God's covenant with Israel?
Like the Hebrew Scriptures, Jesus referred to the "Law of Moses" as a comprehensive whole. We read in the Gospel of Matthew: "Don’t misunderstand why I have come. I did not come to abolish the law of Moses or the writings of the prophets. No, I came to accomplish their purpose." (Matthew 5:17, NLT) And that Jesus said: "You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. A second is equally important: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ The entire law and all the demands of the prophets are based on these two commandments." (Matthew 22:37-40, NLT)
Likewise, Christ's apostles looked at the Law in the exact same way. In one of his epistles, Paul wrote: "For the whole law can be summed up in this one command: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.'" (Galatians 5:14, NLT) And, in his letter to the twelve tribes scattered abroad, James wrote: "Yes indeed, it is good when you obey the royal law as found in the Scriptures: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.' But if you favor some people over others, you are committing a sin. You are guilty of breaking the law. For the person who keeps all of the laws except one is as guilty as a person who has broken all of God’s laws. For the same God who said, 'You must not commit adultery,' also said, 'You must not murder.' So if you murder someone but do not commit adultery, you have still broken the law." (James 2:8-11, NLT)
In other words, as we have said here many times, ALL of the different iterations of God's Law are based on the premise of love - not doing hurt or harm to anyone (Romans 13:8-10)! This (LOVE) is the foundation of God's Law in both the Hebrew Scriptures and the writings which we refer to as the New Testament!
Much of what you say here, Lonnie, is EXACTLY what I was saying in the sermons you seem to be taking issue with. You agree with me more than you seem to think. For instance, you state that two commandments in the Law of Moses are carried forward to the New Covenant: Love God with all your heart, mind, and soul! Love your neighbor as yourself! You do agree, don't you, that the two Great Commandments are a part of the Law of Moses? Of course you do! You also agree that the commandments pertaining to the temple and its services are not carried forward to the New Covenant, just as the law concerning physical circumcision is not. So here's the thing, Lonnie: We all agree that some of the laws in the Torah are universal--they transcend the Old Covenant though they are contained within it--and some are Covenant-specific. OF COURSE the entire Law of Moses--all its moral, civil, judicial, and ceremonial features--was a single unit of law for those who were under the Old Covenant!
ReplyDeleteNo, we are definitely not on the same page. It was NOT happenstance that Christ singled out those two commandments. He said that he singled them out because they were what EVERYTHING on which Torah and the Prophets was founded. Christ said that: Thou shalt not murder, and Thou shalt not commit adultery are NOT sufficient - They do NOT comprehend the full intent of God's morality.
ReplyDeleteOh good grief! You are "answering" something other than what I have said or written! But I do agree that we are definitely NOT on the same page!
DeleteThere is a commentary thread associated with this post over at "Banned by HWA"
ReplyDeleteThere is no "universal" in the Old Covenant. All covenants are specific to the parties of the covenant and the Gentiles are purposefully and explicitly excluded, as was mentioned in the comments above, and as Paul mentions not just once. Therefore these "universal" laws cannot apply to the people they cannot apply to. It's as simple as that. The law makes it clear that in order to participate in the Covenant a Gentile must be circumcised (which is gone) and become a native Israelite.
ReplyDelete"Carried forward" is a poor way to put it. I think we need new terminology to close this legal back door people seem to think is there. Perhaps the word "replicated" would be better.
If what we mean when we say "carried forward" is a thing continues uninterrupted from the Old into the New, then nothing was "carried forward". Not even the two great commandments. That would be impossible for the terms of one contract to simply "carry forward" into another, completely separate contract. The New is not simply some minor renewal of the Old. It is as different as the Noahic is from the Davidic. It just is. Therefore, none of the terms "carried forward".
There are, however, real and inescapable similarities between the two great covenants. The principles expressed by the two great commandments - faith and love - are present in both covenants. They are present because faith and love are at the core of both, and that is because God is present in both.
BUT some people like the idea of things "carrying forward" because then they can "carry forward" other things, like the Sabbath, holy days, meats, tithes, etc etc etc. Strangely, never in the ways the Bible commands (for example holy days are not kept where and how they were commanded to be kept, and tithing is of money given to non-Levites when that was never once commanded). This idea of "carry forward" needs to go. This new notion of "universal" is simply the idea of "carry forward" given a new name.
Great comment. For me, there is a sense that NOTHING in the Law (Torah) is "carried forward," and there is another sense that everything is carried forward into the New Covenant. What? Torah pointed to Jesus Christ, and he fulfilled it - ALL of it. Still, you are certainly correct in pointing out that that legislation was an integral part of God's Covenant with Israel and applied only to them, the Promised Land which they inhabited, and the circumstances of that ancient time.
ReplyDeleteThe New Covenant in Jesus is NEW. The OLD one does NOT apply to Christians. We are NOT under the Law (not ANY of the 613, except the Two Great Commandments which summarize God's character, the Law itself, and Christ's teachings). He singled out those Two Commandments for a reason (because they fully comprehend God's will and require the new person under the guidance of the Holy Spirit to internalize them).