Path: utzoo!attcan!uunet!cs.utexas.edu!uwm.edu!psuvax1!rutgers!aramis.rutgers.edu!athos.rutgers.edu!christian From: davidbu@tekigm2.men.tek.com (David Buxton) Newsgroups: soc.religion.christian Subject: Nuances of the Law in the New Testament Message-ID: Date: 19 Nov 89 19:33:29 GMT Sender: hedrick@athos.rutgers.edu Organization: Tektronix Inc., Beaverton, Or. Lines: 91 Approved: christian@aramis.rutgers.edu Taken from the SDA Bible Commentary on the Law: In the NT the term "the law" is used with various shades of meaning, and unless these different aspects of the "law" are kept in mind, and the context examined to ascertain which shade of meaning the writer is alluding to, the modern reader of the NT is almost certain, at times, to misconstrue what is said about the "law." To a Jewish reader or to one familiar with the Jewish religious system, the different nuances of the word "law" were clear, and a speaker or writer could shift rapidly from one to another without being misunderstood, since the context of his remarks would be sufficient to make his meaning clear. I can provide more information on how the various nuances of the law can be understood. Certainly it is tempting, in our modern context, to throw up our hands in dispair and exclaim that it is too difficult to differentiate what is spo- ken of when 'law' and/or 'commandments' are mentioned in the Bible. Some texts in the NT clearly uphold the law and we must ask what portions of the law these texts are speaking of so highly? Other texts set asside certain portions of the law and we must ask what 'nuance' of the law are these dealing with? Which nuance of 'law' do each of these texts speak of? "Wherefore the law is holy, and the commandment holy, and just, and good." (Rom. 7:12) "But the man who looks intently into the perfect law that gives free- dom, and continues to do this, not forgetting what he has heard, but doing it -- he will be blessed in what he does." (James 1:25) "And hereby we do know that we know him, if we keep his commandments. He that saith, I know him, and keepeth not his commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him." (1 John 2:3,4) "And when the days of her purification according to the law of Moses were accomplished, they brought him to Jerusalem, to present him to the Lord;" (Luke 2:22) "Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You give a tenth of your spices--mint, dill and cummin. But you have neglected the more important matters of the law--justice, mercy and faithfulness. You should have practiced the latter, whithouout neglecting the former." (Matt. 23:23) "Blotting out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us, which was contrary to us, and took it out of the way, nailing it to his cross" (Col. 2:14)(See also Deut 31:24-27 & 2 Kings 22:8) "It is easier for heaven and earth to disappear, than for the least stroke of a pen to drop out of the Law." (Luke 16:17) Old Testament - "And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might. (Deut 6:5) Love your neighbor as yourself. (Lev. 19:18) Clearly the 'law' cannot be treated as a homogeneous inseparable whole that must be kept totally intact or disposed of in its entirety. From the above texts it should be obvious that such a claim would condemn the Bible to be contradictory. We need to study to understand what portion of the law is being spoken of in each passage of scripture that deals with the law. Don't give up just because its not always easy. Yesterday I reviewed what the 'Jewish Encyclopedia' had to say about the law. The law to the Jew, at the time of Christ, was an extremely complex and conflicting spread. It was clear to the Jew that a lot of it could not be of God. Clearly those laws and ordinances associated with the sacrifice of animals were done away with at the cross. Clearly there is also law that the New Testament writers uphold and that Jesus said would never be done away with or even tinkered with by God. Daniel 7:25 says that man will 'think' to change God's law but Jesus clearly stated that it would not change. These texts do not deal with the ceremonial laws, or Moses' camp ordinances that included death penalties. These texts that say that Jesus did not change the law are clearly dealing with the Law of God and of all the Bible only the Decalogue was written by the hand of God. And we are told that God's hand does not change. "To the law and to the testimony, if they speak not according to this word, it is because there is no light in them." (Isa. 8:20) To insist that Jesus did away with the Law would make Jesus out to be a false prophet. Dave (David E. Buxton) davidbu@tekigm2.MEN.TEK.COM