IS LAW AND GRACE OPPOSITES?

[Skinski7]

Christ said that he was Lord of the Sabbath. I think this gives him the right to say how it should be obeyed. And if he could heal on the Sabbath by simply touching someone, if he said people could be circumcised on the Sabbath without breaking it, etc. then his word stands.

As an aside, Christ did not obtain righteousness by the Law. But I believe he preserved his righteousness by not transgressing it and thereby proving that he was God.

The law can be regarded as a reflection and love is the source. The reflection can never be greater than the source.

This is evident even in the common law legal system where there is the "spirit of the law." Thus a magistrate will take into account the mitigating circumstances surrounding an offense and rule accordingly.

The letter kills but the spirit brings life. If the law brings righteousness then the letter would kill and David would have sinned when he ate the shewbread.

 

[TheAristocat]

The law can be regarded as a reflection and love is the source. The reflection can never be greater than the source.

This is evident even in the common law legal system where there is the "spirit of the law." Thus a magistrate will take into account the mitigating circumstances surrounding an offense and rule accordingly.

The letter kills but the spirit brings life. If the law brings righteousness then the letter would kill and David would have sinned when he ate the shewbread.

I think this goes hand-in-hand with the topic of this thread: Are Law and Grace Opposites? In Matthew 12:7-8 Jesus says, "If you had known what these words mean, ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice,’ you would not have condemned the innocent. For the Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath." Here I believe Jesus is saying that they condemned him for transgressing the Sabbath, but he was innocent of transgressing the Sabbath.

Mark 2:27-28 Then he said to them, "The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath. So the Son of Man is Lord even of the Sabbath." Again, I believe this shows that Jesus is Lord of the Sabbath and decides how it should be obeyed. And how it should be obeyed should be for our benefit (the benefit being focused on resting and whatever will help us rest). In Matthew 12:11-12 Jesus even says that it is lawful to do good on the Sabbath. "He said to them, 'If any of you has a sheep and it falls into a pit on the Sabbath, will you not take hold of it and lift it out? How much more valuable is a person than a sheep! Therefore it is lawful to do good on the Sabbath.'"

So since the priests attend to God on the Sabbath, the priests' transgression he was referring to must not have been the transgression of God's Law but the transgression of Man's Law (Pharisaical Law/what-have-you).

Jesus even says that the priests desecrate the Sabbath but are innocent. How can they be innocent if they are desecrating the Sabbath? There must be two laws at work here. One must be Man's Law and another must be God's.

I believe the letter of the Law is very important, but you are right; we cannot remove its spirit, which is love. As an aside, it is even explicitly stated that during some Sabbaths in the Torah one should do no work, but that they may prepare food to eat.

 

[Red33]

The law can be regarded as a reflection and love is the source. The reflection can never be greater than the source.

This is evident even in the common law legal system where there is the "spirit of the law." Thus a magistrate will take into account the mitigating circumstances surrounding an offense and rule accordingly.

The letter kills but the spirit brings life. If the law brings righteousness then the letter would kill and David would have sinned when he ate the shewbread.

Oh, David did sin when he multiplied wives (10 or more) knowing that kings were not to do that in (Deut 17:15,17). Then explain how God could have made this statement and suggestion to David after his episode with Uriah and Bathsheba in (2Sam 12:7-9)...

7 And Nathan said to David, Thou art the man. Thus saith the Lord God of Israel, I anointed thee king over Israel, and I delivered thee out of the hand of Saul;
8 And I gave thee thy master's house, and thy master's wives into thy bosom, and gave thee the house of Israel and of Judah; and if that had been too little, I would moreover have given unto thee such and such things.
9 Wherefore hast thou despised the commandment of the Lord, to do evil in his sight? thou hast killed Uriah the Hittite with the sword, and hast taken his wife to be thy wife, and hast slain him with the sword of the children of Ammon.

What law was David under at that time as king and I think we can see the mitigating circumstances that surrounded his descisions to have Uriah slain by the sword of the children of Ammon. Yet in (v.13) under conviction from the prophet, David confessed his sin and God put his sin away and spared his life. What is interesting is that God never addressed the issue of multiplying wives, except in the case of Bathsheba because God did not give her to David to be his wife. Yet David took her to be his wife and bore Solomon after losong their firstborn.

 

[WomanLovesTX]

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.

1Co 15:56 The sting of death is sin; and the strength of sin is the law.

Rev 1:18 I am he that liveth, and was dead; and, behold, I am alive for evermore, Amen; and have the keys of hell and of death.

Rev 2:23 And I will kill her children with death; and all the churches shall know that I am he which searcheth the reins and hearts: and I will give unto every one of you according to your works.

Rev 20:14 And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death.

 

[resurrection33]

You need both law and grace. We all need forgiveness for past sins, and that is where grace comes in. We also have to learn to stop sinning. That is where law comes in.