You quoted the verses I was referring to, thanks Yahshua.
To join the old covenant of Mt Sinai you need to be living in Israel.
You must be living with the Jews and you also need to be circumcised.
That is what the Lord spoke and we will not contradict what He said, will we Yeshua.
Amen, we will not. We're going to take this one piece at a time.
You quoted the verses I was referring to, thanks Yahshua.
To join the old covenant of Mt Sinai you need to be living in Israel.
Exodus 12:49
49 There shall be one law for the native and for the stranger who sojourns among you.”
Numbers 15:16
16 One law and one rule shall be for you and for the stranger who sojourns with you.”
1. Do the passages say there will be one law for those "who live in Israel" or one law for "you" (i.e., the native)? They weren't in Israel yet when these were given. Why were they punished at Horeb (the Mount of God, outside of Israel) if these are only for when one lives
in Israel?
No. A covenant was made that applies
to them wherever they go.
That is what the Lord spoke through Moses, and we will not contradict what He said.
2. I asked are you a wild branch grafted in, or are you not? There's a specific reason why I asked this. A wild branch grafted in - as explained by Paul -
IS NOT a stranger anymore but is described as those who were
ONCE STRANGERS BUT NO LONGER.
Romans 11:17
17 And if some of the branches be broken off, and thou, being a wild olive tree, wert grafted in among them, and with them partakest of the root and fatness of the olive tree;
Ephesians 2:19
Now therefore ye are no more strangers and foreigners, but fellowcitizens with the saints, and of the household of God;
That is what the Lord spoke through Paul, and we will not contradict what He said.
3. You also said, "You also need to be circumcised."
Romans 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.
And how does one circumcise their heart? Well, they were told at the mount.
Deuteronomy 30:6
“Moreover, the Lord your God will circumcise your heart and the hearts of your descendants, to love the Lord your God with all your heart and all your soul, so that you may live.
Which brings us full circle. That is what the Lord spoke, and we will not contradict what He said.
- If you are a gentile believer, you
are circumcised when you love God with all your heart and soul
- If you are circumcised, you are
no longer a stranger, but a Jew inwardly and part of the commonwealth of Israel
- If you are part of the commonwealth, there is
one law for you to obey regardless of where you are.
This is why Paul says the passage I shared that you overlooked in your replies...
Romans 2:12,14
All who sin apart from the law will also perish apart from the law, and all who sin under the law will be judged by the law.
14 Indeed, when Gentiles, who do not have the law, do by nature what the law requires, they are a law to themselves, even though they do not have the law.
That is what the Lord spoke, and we will not contradict what He said, right Inquisitor?
----
It's a false premise to insinuate that gentile believers somehow have a different relationship with the Almighty and the Messiah than those native, such is what lends false support to the notion that there is a different set of rules to follow than natives. So now that we've established that the gentile believer is a Jew by faith and that one law applies to them, next we address "what law"?
The people were commanded
never to add to or take away from the law provided...but you know who can add to and take away from the law provided?
The Original Lawgiver, the one who actually wrote them. So let's see which ones He removed and which ones He added.
1 John 2:8
On the other hand, I am writing a
new commandment to you, which is true in Him and in you, because
the darkness is passing away and the true Light is already shining.
Here's the fuller context.
1 John 2:3-8
And hereby we do know that we know him, if we keep his commandments.
4 He that saith, I know him, and keepeth not his commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him.
5 But whoso keepeth his word, in him verily is the love of God perfected: hereby know we that we are in him.
6 He that saith he abideth in him ought himself also so to walk, even as he walked.
7 Brethren, I write no new commandment unto you, but an old commandment which ye had from the beginning. The old commandment is the word which ye have heard from the beginning.
8 Then again, a new commandment I write unto you, which thing is true in him and in you: because the darkness is past, and the true light now shineth.
9 He that saith he is in the light, and hateth his brother, is in darkness even until now.
10 He that loveth his brother abideth in the light, and there is none occasion of stumbling in him.
The context starts by saying "if you love God, you keep his commandments" and then adds a new commandment, which isn't really new because it was given
at the beginning: Love your brother. It's a "new" command because the darkness of it has passed, not because it was something completely different given. As you say...
The true light and not that dull lamp of the law.
The dull lamp said; but you shall love your neighbor as yourself
The true light is shining now and for ever more.
...and when a shade is removed from a lamp, does its intensity increase or decrease? So likewise, is the law of God now more strict or less strict?
John 13:34
A
new commandment I give to you, that you love one another,
even as I have loved you, that you
also love one another.
4. Did the Messiah add to or take away from the commandments when he said the passages above^? Let's see...
Luke 18:18-23
And a ruler asked him, “Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?”
19 And Jesus said to him, “Why do you call me good? No one is good except God alone. 20 You know the commandments: ' Do not commit adultery, Do not murder, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Honor your father and mother.’”
21 And he said, “All these I have kept from my youth.”
22 When Jesus heard this, he said to him, “One thing you still lack. Sell all that you have and distribute to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me.”
If we apply the context from
1 John 2:3-8, this young ruler already loved God (because loving God means obeying His commandments; the ones He gave at Horeb), but the ruler
lacked love for his neighbor
and faith in the Messiah. The Messiah didn't take away any of the commandments that we're expected to be followed, but added to them.
You see, we can preach mini sermons like...
That's the fulfillment, we don't try to love others as we love ourselves but agape love towards
everyone. That agape love is poured into our hearts and that love is produced by the Holy Spirit.
It's not from us.
...which sounds great, but without
knowing/teaching HOW God said to love in practice, Christians are frequently seduced by counterfeit spirits that
pretend to be the Holy Spirit and that define love in their own way. If the spirit in you does not even
WANT to obey the commandments - setting aside for the moment whether one can or not - then that's another spirit because the same Spirit sent to guide us is Who wrote the commandments.
Matthew 5:18-20
For verily I say unto you, till heaven and earth pass away, not one jot or one tittle shall in any wise pass from the law till all be fulfilled.
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.
20 For I say unto you that unless your righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, ye shall in no case enter into the Kingdom of Heaven.
Revelation 14:12
Here is the patience of the saints: here are they that (1) keep the commandments of God, and (2) the faith of Jesus.
For me it explains this.