Well, I will attempt to repond to some of your lengthy post. Firstly let us remember that the disciples of Jesus(including Matthew who wrote the beatitudes) would have spent more time with Jesus and heard more of his teachings and better understood them than any of us living today.
Paul and Barnabas went to Jerusalem to discuss with the church leaders which Jewish laws the Gentile converts should be asked to keep. The decision was four. Three of which were to appease Jewish legalists, that left sexual immorality. I know of nowhere in the NT that Gentiles were specifically toild they must obey the Mosaic law. In that specific instance when it was being discussed Peter said.
'Now then, why do you try to test God by putting on the necks of the disciples a yoke that neither we nor our Fathers have been able to bear. Acts15:10
I say sincerely. If Jewish people believe it is their duty to obey all of the Mosaic law I will not argue. But I am a Gentile and scripturally have not been asked to. I am quite happy to go by the disciples whom Jesus commisioned to spread the Gospel.
It is a truth that once the law was given it did not decrease sin, rather sin increased.
The law was added so that the trespass might increase, but where sin increased grace increased even more. Rom5:20
So the law by trying to be upheld actually brought more sinning. Paul is clear on this on many occassions.
Jesus commandments in the NT should most certainly be upheld. If people in their hearts truly desire this, and they understood Paul's message they would embrace his words wholeheartedly, because he showed us the only way those commandments can truly be upheld.
Paul did not uphold the law by concentrating on striving to obey it. He said that just made him a worse sinner.
For when we were controlled by our sinful nature, the
sinful passions aroused by the law were at work in our bodies so that we bore fruit for death. But now, by dying to what once bound us we have been released from the law so that we serve in the new way of the Spirit and not in the old way of the written code. Rom7:5&6
He said that sin uses the good laws of God to condemn us. This was the person picked out by Jesus and given his message as a revelation by Christ himself and wrote nearly half the books of the NT.
What does Isiaih mean?
Bind up the testimony, seal up the law,
among my disciples Isiaih8:16
Your covenant with death will be annulled, your agreement with the grave will not stand. Isiaih28:18
We know what Paul considered the covenant of death. He spoke of this after trying and failing to uphold the Ten Commandments. So I am left wondering, was Paul right? He could not obey the law or the Ten Commandments. He just became a worse sinner, or are people right when they tell us we must.
And if they quote John as to why we must, but when we fail we have an advocate in Jesus when we repent, I suggest if Paul is right this will not help us. I'm more inclined to believe Paul was being honest.
Paul believed in living his life by faith in Christ and the Holy Spirit's power and not being under the law, however.
Do we then nullify the law by this faith? Not at all! Rather we uphold the law. Rom3:31 Unfortunately people cannot understand or accept what he meant.
It was Paul who showed us truly how to uphold the law God would have us keep, I am convinced this is why he received the message he did
It is interesting to note that Jesus was hounded as law breaker, someone who ignored the law, by religious people
Steven the first Christian martyr was dragged before the sanhedrin and stoned to death, by religious people, one of the reasons? he was ignoring the law
The Apostle Paul was persecuted , by religious people. He said. Brothers if I still preached circumcision(ie law) I would not be persecuted, and he said that this was the offence of the cross. And so he too was persecuted for supposedly ignoring the law.
I wonder if much has changed in two thousand years
