Romans 3:31 Do we then make void the law through faith? God forbid: yea, we establish the law.
There's been much ado about that by faith we establish the law as if this is something believers set out to do once they have come to faith in Christ. Not so fast. William Newell may be of help here.
How then, was the Law established? You know very well. All Israel were commanded by Jehovah to stone the man to death. We read: “And they that found him gathering sticks brought him unto Moses and Aaron, and unto all the congregation. And they put him in ward, because it had not been declared what should be done to him. And Jehovah said unto Moses The man shall surely be put to death: all the congregation shall stone him with stones without the camp. And all the congregation brought him without the camp, and stoned him to death with stones; as Jehovah commanded Moses” (Numbers 15:33,ff).
Thus and thus only was the commandment of Jehovah established—by the execution of the penalty. Paul preached Christ crucified: that Christ died for our sins, that “He tasted death for every man.” And that Israel, who were under the Law, He redeemed from the curse of that Law by being made a curse for them. Thus the cross established law; for the full penalty of all that was against the Divine majesty, against God’s holiness. His righteousness, His truth, was forever met, and that not according to man’s conception of what sin and its penalty should be, but according to God’s judgment, according to the measure of the sanctuary, of high heaven itself!
The Jew, prating about his own righteousness, went about to kill Paul, crying that he spake against the Law; whereas it was that very Jew who would lower the Law to his own ability to keep it, instead of allowing it its proper office; namely, to reveal his guilt, curse him, and condemn him to death, and thus drive him to the mercy of God in Christ, whose expiatory death established law by having its penalty executed!
William Newell on Romans 3:31
Paul is not going to contradict Jesus in anything he teaches therefore William Newell is obviously twisting the writings of Paul and following the Spirit of Error.
Peter in warning of the judgment of God and that the material world will be burned up wrote the following...
2Pe 3:11 Seeing then that all these things shall be dissolved, what manner of persons ought ye to be in all holy conversation and godliness,
2Pe 3:12 Looking for and hasting unto the coming of the day of God, wherein the heavens being on fire shall be dissolved, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat?
2Pe 3:13 Nevertheless we, according to his promise, look for new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness.
2Pe 3:14 Wherefore, beloved, seeing that ye look for such things, be diligent that ye may be found of him in peace, without spot, and blameless.
2Pe 3:15 And account that the longsuffering of our Lord is salvation; even as our beloved brother Paul also according to the wisdom given unto him hath written unto you;
2Pe 3:16 As also in all his epistles, speaking in them of these things; in which are some things hard to be understood, which they that are unlearned and unstable wrest, as they do also the other scriptures, unto their own destruction.
2Pe 3:17 Ye therefore, beloved, seeing ye know these things before, beware lest ye also, being led away with the error of the wicked, fall from your own stedfastness.
2Pe 3:18 But grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. To him be glory both now and for ever. Amen.
In that passage Peter compelled people to "be diligent that ye may be found of him in peace, without spot, and blameless" and the context of that statement had to do with, "what manner of persons ought ye to be in all holy conversation and godliness."
So what is Paul teaching when he writes...
Rom 3:31 Do we then make void the law through faith? God forbid: yea, we establish the law.
The answer is very simple. Paul is teaching that it is by faith that righteousness is established in the heart and the law is but a shadow of genuine faith. In the verse right before 3:31 Paul writes this...
Rom 3:30 Seeing it is one God, which shall justify the circumcision by faith, and uncircumcision through faith.
God does not justify people via the deeds of the law and circumcision is the example Paul is using here. In chapter 2 Paul wrote this...
Rom 2:26 Therefore if the uncircumcision keep the righteousness of the law, shall not his uncircumcision be counted for circumcision?
Rom 2:27 And shall not uncircumcision which is by nature, if it fulfil the law, judge thee, who by the letter and circumcision dost transgress the law?
Rom 2:28 For he is not a Jew, which is one outwardly; neither is that circumcision, which is outward in the flesh:
Rom 2:29 But he is a Jew, which is one inwardly; and circumcision is that of the heart, in the spirit, and not in the letter; whose praise is not of men, but of God.
How can the uncircumcision keep the righteousness of the law? Simple. By faith. Why is that? Well faith works by love...
Gal 5:6 For in Jesus Christ neither circumcision availeth any thing, nor uncircumcision; but faith which worketh by love.
Faith works by love and love works no ill.
Rom 13:10 Love worketh no ill to his neighbour: therefore love is the fulfilling of the law.
Thus...
Gal 5:4 Christ is become of no effect unto you, whosoever of you are justified by the law; ye are fallen from grace.
Gal 5:5 For we through the Spirit wait for the hope of righteousness by faith.
Gal 5:6 For in Jesus Christ neither circumcision availeth any thing, nor uncircumcision; but faith which worketh by love.
You see apart from faith outward deeds profit nothing. Without faith an outward deed is a dead work. The issue is the heart. The heart was the issue with the Pharisees...
Mat 23:23 Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye pay tithe of mint and anise and cummin, and have omitted the weightier matters of the law, judgment, mercy, and faith: these ought ye to have done, and not to leave the other undone.
Mat 23:24 Ye blind guides, which strain at a gnat, and swallow a camel.
Mat 23:25 Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye make clean the outside of the cup and of the platter, but within they are full of extortion and excess.
Mat 23:26 Thou blind Pharisee, cleanse first that which is within the cup and platter, that the outside of them may be clean also.
Mat 23:27 Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye are like unto whited sepulchres, which indeed appear beautiful outward, but are within full of dead men's bones, and of all uncleanness.
Mat 23:28 Even so ye also outwardly appear righteous unto men, but within ye are full of hypocrisy and iniquity.
Mat 23:29 Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! because ye build the tombs of the prophets, and garnish the sepulchres of the righteous,
Jesus told the Pharisees that they "make clean the outside of the cup and of the platter, but within they are full of extortion and excess." That the Pharisees were like "whited sepulchres, which indeed appear beautiful outward, but are within full of dead men's bones, and of all uncleanness."
That is why Jesus told them to "cleanse first that which is within the cup and platter, that the outside of them may be clean also."
That is what they had to do and that cleansing is via faith, a faith that works by love, a faith that fulfills the law because love works no ill.
Act 15:9 And put no difference between us and them, purifying their hearts by faith.
So what Paul is teaching is in perfect agreement with what Jesus was teaching in the Sermon on the Mount...
Mat 5:8 Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God.
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Mat 5:17 Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil.
Mat 5:18 For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled.
Mat 5:19 Whosoever therefore shall break one of these least commandments, and shall teach men so, he shall be called the least in the kingdom of heaven: but whosoever shall do and teach them, the same shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven.
Mat 5:20 For I say unto you, That except your righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, ye shall in no case enter into the kingdom of heaven.
Mat 5:21 Ye have heard that it was said by them of old time, Thou shalt not kill; and whosoever shall kill shall be in danger of the judgment:
Mat 5:22 But I say unto you, That whosoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment: and whosoever shall say to his brother, Raca, shall be in danger of the council: but whosoever shall say, Thou fool, shall be in danger of hell fire.
...
Mat 5:27 Ye have heard that it was said by them of old time, Thou shalt not commit adultery:
Mat 5:28 But I say unto you, That whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart.
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Mat 5:48 Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect.
Jesus stated that our righteousness must exceed that of the scribes and Pharisees. The righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees was an outward appearance of righteousness only but their hearts remained wicked. This is why Jesus would speak of "murder in the heart" and "adultery in the heart" as breaking the law.
Jesus was teaching about heart purity and compelled people to be pure.
Paul wrote...
Rom 8:1 There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.
Rom 8:2 For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death.
Rom 8:3 For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh:
Rom 8:4 That the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.
The righteousness of the law is fulfilled in us if we walk after the Spirit because when we walk after the Spirit we are abiding in the Spirit of life in Jesus Christ. That is where we may find life.
There are a multitude of false teachers today who deny all this and replace it with "Jesus obeying for you" because they teach "you cannot obey." Thus they preach a substitution message where the righteousness of Jesus must be credited to your account because they deny the dynamic where the righteousness of God is made manifest in our hearts through a faith that works by love.
Saved by grace THROUGH faith simply means we abide wholeheartedly in the grace of God and are inwardly transformed and made pure. Faith is the working dynamic by which we yield to God and faith comes when we meditate on the words of God and that is why faith is a gift from God. We receive grace for obedience of the faith because it is the working dynamic of "working with God" (where God leads and we follow) that we are brought to newness of life.
Don't be fooled by those who would twist Paul and preach the error of the wicked. Paul does not contradict Jesus and the way to life is to DO what Jesus said to do. That is to repent and forsake sin, yield to God and follow Jesus. Do that and God will energise you with His power and the righteousness of the law will be fulfilled in your too through the Spirit of life IN Jesus Christ whereby we are set free from the law of sin and death.
God bless.
