I enjoy your passion and defense of the Law. Instead of rebutting point for point, let me lay forth my view of the matter and the interested reader can compare.
The Law was given as the conditions of the Israelite as he entered into a Contract (or Covenant) with God. These condiitons are summarized in Leviticus 26 and Deuteronomy 28. The Law should achieve the following;
- It should cause a lifestyle that makes men who have God living in their midst ritually clean. Israel is the one Nation that has the presence of God and because He is a holy (separate) God, they must be holy
- It should cause a lifestyle in which the righteousness of God is displayed, to the Israelite first and then to the Nations around them who watch
- It should cause a situation where men and the earth are cared for
Habitual breaking of the Law was threatened with God not dwelling in their midst, God calling them "LO-ammi" - "you are not my people", and God scattering them out of the Land into the lands of the heathen.
The weakness of the Law was not in itself. The Law is God's Law, it was given by God via angels, it is good and spiritual and a light to the path of men through life. The weakness of the Law was the falleness of men. Romans Chapter 7 establishes beyond doubt that man, who is subject to another Law, the Law of sin and death, will always fail in matters of Law. It is like the law of gravity. Men are inexorably drawn to the earth even if they don't want to be. So God promised Israel a New Covenant of Law that was better. The Law was the same Law given by Moses, but the New Covenant would be, like the law of sin and death, be inscribed INSIDE the man, not outside on stone Tablets. This would create a bias in the Israelite where he would intrinsically tend toward keeping the Law. Jeremiah 31:31-33 says that this New Covenant would only be given "in the day" when the ten northern Tribes called Israel, and the two southern Tribes called Judah, were ONE NATION AGAIN and IN THEIR LAND.
So if nothing changed, Israel would stay under chastisement until God extended mercy on them and gathered them back to their Land. The Law does not change one bit. Not a "jot" or "tittle" would be modified or moved from its contents, until the present heaven and earth as we know it, was removed.
But something did change. The councils of the Almighty are immutable, and Jehovah did not intend man to display Him by Laws. In Genesis 2 God lays forth how a man, and men, might display Him properly. The way He chose was that man would eat of Christ and thus become organically one with Christ. You are what you eat. Within hours of eating something it permeates your entire being. And if one ate Jesus, one would, within the shortest time, be partakers of His nature. If a man had the nature of Christ he would automatically display Jehovah in every thought, word and deed. The example of this is Jesus Himself. He, from His mother's womb, did only that which His Father commanded and that which He saw His Father do. A dog barks, not because it is commanded to bark. It does it by NATURE. Our Lord Jesus was obedient in all not through a deep self-discipline. He was obedient by nature. This is a far superior way of displaying something. The "something" is not outside the person. It is intrinsic. It is organically one with the person. He is not subject to Law of Words. He is now subject to a Law of LIFE.
But the depths of man's depravity are unfathomable and relentless. Israel refuse Jesus Christ and His NATURE - which was to be had by believing in Him. By refusing Jesus, the CONTRACT REMAINS. Israel's Covenant of Law stands. Neither men, nor God, once having made a Contract, annul it. And so Israel's path was one of Law. The only thing that God can do is make a New COVENANT, but with the same conditions. But what of those Israelites who embraced God's plan to infuse a second and divine nature into men? This presents a major problem. The Law, the conditions of this Contract of Law, forbade Israelites to have relations with Gentiles. An Israelite who embraced Christ could not meet or have fellowship with a Gentile - by God's decree. So the UNITY of the believers was annulled by the Law. How does God solve this problem of His own decree? Beautifully - as always.
God sets forth a New BIRTH and a resulting New Man. And because this New Man comes out of Christ (like Eve came out of Adam), this New Man is a totally New Creature WITHOUT A PAST (2nd Cor.5:17). The Israelite who embraces Christ might be an Israelite to the authorities in Tel Aviv who issue passports, but to God he has no past. The Inuit of Alaska might have a U.S. passport, but if he believes in Jesus he is a New Creation and has no past. But immediately the objection will be raised that the New Man has no past but the Law remains. It is guaranteed an existence till the White Throne in Revelation 20 when heaven and earth flee. So AGAIN, God applies the death of Christ. If you were under Law and you came out of Christ, then you also went to death IN him and Law ceases at death (Rom.7:1-6; 1st Cor.7:39). Those who are IN CHRIST are freed from Law because the One Who fulfilled the Law in every aspect died. Those IN Christ have no past. Their beginning is not the womb but the resurrection of the Lord Jesus. The Law that the believer finds himself under is the LAW OF LIFE.
The Law of Moses, which, forbidding relations between Israelite and Gentile, and which would have destroyed the unity of believers, is NAILED - WITH CHRIST -on the cross. But listen now. This end of the Law ONLY APPLIES TO THE BELIEVER!!!!! The Israelite who had a Covenant is STILL UNDER LAW!!!! Only those IN CHRIST have NO LAW. Our Lord Jesus started a new creation at His resurrection, and in this new creation His LIFE REIGNS - His NATURE is the governing force. But the Jew who refuses Christ is still governed by Moses. This is no more clearly seen that the condition for the recovery and restoration of Israel. The restoration of Israel is NOT dependent on believing in Christ. It is that Israel turn back to the LAW (Deut.30:1-5).
In summary;
- The Law is only given to Israel. The Gentile is governed by conscience
- The Law is good and given by God
- The Law was given like a schoolmaster until Jesus came
- If an Israelite does not want Jesus he remains under CONTRACT of Law
- Christ fulfilled the Law and then went to death - ending the Law
- If an Israelite embraces and believes in Jesus, he is counted to be IN Christ and He died, ending the demands of law
- Those IN Christ are subject to Christ's LIFE - the divine nature in Him (2nd Pet.1:4)
- The Law will not pass till heaven and earth pass. The CONTRACT WILL. It is NOT, "a new law", it is a New COVENANT