Maybe this will help Josh123 (I'm not a SDA, but an Israelite)
THE LAW AND THE NEW COVENANT BELIEVER (Part 1)
The law has been a contentious issue among believers for hundreds of years. How we, as New Covenant believers, relate to the Law and how the Law relates to us is very important. There is a balance that we need to achieve between legalism (that is, seeking to be justified by the Law) and lawlessness (that is, not having any law or a false idea of liberty that leads to transgression of the Law).
The misunderstanding of the Apostle Paul's writings have led many into both legalism and lawlessness. So, the first thing we need to see is the heart of Paul concerning the Law.
Acts 24:14 - "But this I confess unto thee, that after the way which they call heresy, so worship I the Mighty One of my fathers, believing all things which are written in the law and in the prophets:"
Paul is speaking to governor Felix. The conversation took place after most, if not all, of Paul's epistles were written. He tells Felix that he believes all things written in the Law.
The Greek word translated "believing" in this verse is the same Greek word translated "believeth" in Jn 3:16 - "For [Yahweh] so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life." The word is "pistyoo-o" and it means, "to have faith (in, upon, or with respect to, a person or thing); to entrust (esp. one's spiritual well-being to Messiah)". In other words, Paul is saying that he has faith in and trusts in all things written in the Old Covenant Law; the same kind of faith and trust he has in Messiah, but not for the same reason. Paul's faith was not in the Law to save him, as it was in Messiah, but he had faith and trust in the Old Covenant Law to keep him on the straight and narrow path.
Paul understood the words of David, in Ps.19, that the law of Yahweh would convert his soul; that Yahweh's testimonies or Ten Commandments would make him wise; that Yahweh's statutes would bring rejoicing to his heart; and that Yahweh's commandments would enlighten his eyes.
Two years after his meeting with Felix, Paul met with Festus. Let's turn to Acts 25:7-8 to see how Paul defended himself.
" And when he was come, the Jews which came down from Jerusalem stood round about, and laid many and grievous complaints against Paul, which they could not prove. While he answered for himself, Neither against the law of the Jews, neither against the temple, nor yet against Caesar, have I offended any thing at all."
Paul said he did not "offend" any point of the law of the Jews (that is, the Old Covenant Law). In case you're questioning if the law of the Jews is the Old Covenant Law, several times in the New Testament it says, "the Jews' Passover", or "the Jews' Feast of Tabernacles", or the "Jews' preparation day". These days were not Jewish, but commandments of the Almighty. So, the law of the Jews' is a reference to the law of Yahweh and not to laws devised by the Jews.
The Greek word for "offended" is the same Greek word commonly translated "sin" or "transgress". Paul says he did not sin against any point of Old Covenant law. Bear in mind that he said this towards the end of his life.
Now, the question arises, "how can it be that Paul did not sin against any Old Covenant Law? The answer is simple. He believed all things written in the law and he obeyed all things written in the law, just like Abraham, as it says in Gen 26:4,5;
"And I will make thy seed to multiply as the stars of heaven, and will give unto thy seed all these countries; and in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed; Because that Abraham obeyed my voice, and kept my charge, my commandments, my statutes, and my laws."
Both men lived by faith. Both were justified by faith, and both obeyed the law.
Let's turn to 1 Tim 1:8-10 to see how Paul instructed Timothy concerning the Law.
"But we know that the law is good, if a man use it lawfully; Knowing this, that the law is not made for a righteous man, but for the lawless and disobedient, for the ungodly and for sinners, for unholy and profane, for murderers of fathers and murderers of mothers, for manslayers, For whoremongers, for them that defile themselves with mankind, for menstealers, for liars, for perjured persons, and if there be any other thing that is contrary to sound doctrine;"
The law is good, if a man use it lawfully. To obey the law, is to use it lawfully. To disobey the law is to use it unlawfully and it is contrary to sound doctrine. Obedience to the law is sound doctrine. When Paul says "the law is not made for a righteous man . . .," we can understand this better with a modern analogy. The United States has a law that prohibits people from murdering others. Who was that law made for? It was made for murders. The "righteous" American citizen would not do such a thing, but those with no morality would. The same holds true for any law. Laws are made to clarify unacceptable behavior and to hopefully deter it. The same is true of the Almighty's laws. When we destroy His law codes, we open the door for unacceptable behavior to become acceptable behavior. Sabbath desecration was unacceptable in Messiah's day, but now it is acceptable to work on Sabbath because Christianity has destroyed that law. Eating swine's flesh was unacceptable in the mind of Yahweh for thousands of years, but now it is acceptable because ignorant teachers have destroyed Yahweh's law. They have made void the law, a concept the Apostle Paul tried to prevent in his discourse on faith. Ro 3:31 reads: "Do we then make void the law through faith? [Yahweh] forbid: yea, we establish the law."
The same problem existed in David's day prompting him to write, "It is time for thee, Yahweh, to work: for they have made void thy law" (Ps 119:126).
Let's diverge for a moment to read a few passages from James that will help to understand some of Paul's writings.
James 1:22-25 - "For if any be a hearer of the word, and not a doer, he is like unto a man beholding his natural face in a glass: For he beholdeth himself, and goeth his way, and straightway forgetteth what manner of man he was. But whoso looketh into the perfect law of liberty, and continueth therein, he being not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the work, this man shall be blessed in his deed."
What is the perfect law of liberty? First, Psalm 19 says the Law of Yahweh is perfect. It is a perfect law. Secondly, James 2:8-12 tells us what the perfect law of liberty is.
"If ye fulfil the royal law according to the scripture, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself, ye do well: But if ye have respect to persons, ye commit sin, and are convinced of the law as transgressors. For whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all. For he that said, Do not commit adultery, said also, Do not kill. Now if thou commit no adultery, yet if thou kill, thou art become a transgressor of the law. So speak ye, and so do, as they that shall be judged by the law of liberty."
The law of verses 8-11 is the Old Covenant law. In verse 8, James is quoting the second greatest commandment which is actually an Old Covenant commandment found in Lev 19:18. In verse 9, the law he is referring to is the Old Covenant law. Verse 10 is often used by those opposed to obeying the Old Covenant laws. They say, "if you break one law you've broken them all, so why even try to keep the law?" So verse 10 is also speaking of the Old Covenant law. Of course, verse 11 is quoting two of the Ten Commandments which are also Old Covenant laws. In verse 12, James is saying that people are going to be judged by that same law. So, in order to receive a good judgment, speak and do according to those laws.
Paul said the same thing in Ro 2:12,13, "For as many as have sinned without law shall also perish without law: and as many as have sinned in the law shall be judged by the law; For not the hearers of the law are just before the Mighty One, but the doers of the law shall be justified." Not that the law justifies us. We are justified by grace through faith. However, a saving faith will be evidenced by good works, among which include obedience to the law.
Why does James call the Old Covenant law "the law of liberty"? Well, there are two reasons. The first has to do with obedience. When the law is lawfully used, when it is obeyed through the motivation of love without seeking to be justified or saved by it, we walk at liberty.
Let's look at Gal 5:13-16. "For, brethren, ye have been called unto liberty; only use not liberty for an occasion to the flesh, but by love serve one another. For all the law is fulfilled in one word, even in this; Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. But if ye bite and devour one another, take heed that ye be not consumed one of another. This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh."
Paul then goes on to list the works of the flesh in vss. 19-21, all of which are transgressions against Old Covenant law. However, if we obey the law through the Spirit and through love, the law cannot put us in bondage. If we walk in the Spirit, we walk in freedom and liberty.
Now, if we transgress the law and sin, the second reason why the Old Covenant law is the perfect law of liberty comes into play. It has to do with what Paul said to the Galations in 3:24, "Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Messiah, that we might be justified by faith."
In other words, one of the functions of the law was to lead us to Messiah in order to be liberated from sin. Our disobedience to the law drives us to Messiah and to freedom and liberty from sin through him. We were once imprisoned on death row because of our transgressions against the law. But now, the law has led us to Messiah and liberty. Once we are free from sin, Messiah then drives us back to obedience to the law through faith. We become doers of the word, or as Paul says, "doers of the law", and not hearers only.
How do we know Yahshua is driving us back to obedience to the law through faith? Once again, Ro 3: 30,31 says;
"Seeing it is one Mighty One, which shall justify the circumcision by faith, and uncircumcision through faith. Do we then make void the law through faith? The Mighty One forbid: yea, we establish the law."
Why is the law being firmly established? Because Messiah is driving us back to obedience to it. This verse is a direct contradiction of the doctrine that the law is abolished. I'll address more about faith and grace a little later.
Now let's get back to James 1:22-25 and reread those verses with understanding.
"But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves. For if any be a hearer of the word, and not a doer, he is like unto a man beholding his natural face in a glass: For he beholdeth himself, and goeth his way, and straightway forgetteth what manner of man he was. But whoso looketh into the perfect law of liberty, and continueth therein, he being not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the work, this man shall be blessed in his deed."
James is saying the Old Covenant law (which, incidentally, Jeremiah prophesied would be written in our hearts as part of the New Covenant) is like a mirror. When you look into the mirror of the law and have failed to obey the law, you see the filth of sin on your face. Some people see their filth and walk away failing to wash away the filth. Others are driven to Messiah for a thorough washing away of sin.
Now, here is the tricky part. What happens if you look into the mirror of the law , but the mirror is broken? And right where you should be seeing the filth of Sabbath desecration on your face, you see nothing because the law is no longer there. It was broken off the mirror. If you have been transgressing the Sabbath and then look into the mirror of the law and you don't see your sin because the Sabbath law has been broken off, then you will ignorantly go your way and fail to wash away the filth.
1 Jn 3:4 says, "sin is the transgression of the law" and Ro 3:20 says, "by the law is the knowledge of sin." If you remove any particular law, you remove your knowledge of sin when you break that law. If, for example, Christianity was teaching, "Thou shalt not commit adultery" was abolished and you committed adultery, you would not have sinned because there is no law against it. Over the course of time adultery would become acceptable. We see this happening today concerning homosexuality. Christianity is becoming more liberal in accepting homosexual ministers and homosexuality in general. This is causing that abominable practice to become more and more acceptable in the eyes of society.
What is Satan's primary objective? To get us to sin or transgress the law so he can accuse us before the Almighty. He hates commandment keepers. Rev 12:17 says, "And the dragon (Satan) was wroth with the woman, and went to make war with the remnant of her seed, which keep the commandments of the Mighty One, and have the testimony of Yahshua Messiah."
Posing as an angel of light, Satan has managed to remove the Sabbath, Feast days, and dietary laws from the law. He has broken the mirror so the majority of Christians don't know they are sinning. Yet, if we will look into the perfect, unbroken mirror of the law, and continue therein, being a doer of the law, we will be blessed indeed. And through obedience to the law, we will maintain our freedom from sin.
2 Cor.3:1-18 - This is a favorite passage of antinomians or those oppposed to the Law of Yahweh. Paul begins by edifying the Corinthian believers. He says the Corinthians themselves are epistles or letters. They are living epistles. The Old Testament Scriptures are like an epistle from Yahweh. That epistle was made flesh in the person of Yahshua. He is the living word or the living epistle. All believers should be living epistles. One of the most powerful ways to witness the good news or to witness the Torah is to live it or to be a living epistle to the unbelievers around us.
However, our epistle cannot be written on our hearts simply by reading the Word or reading the letter of the Ten Commandments. We cannot just have a head knowledge of the Sabbath, for example, and begin obeying it. It must be written on our hearts by the Spirit, as it says in verse 3. That Spirit is revealed to us, in vss.14-18, as the Spirit of Messiah or the Spirit of the Master Yahshua.
Ezek 36:26,27 tells us about this. "A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you an heart of flesh. And I will put my spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes, and ye shall keep my judgments, and do them."
It is the Spirit that causes us to keep Shabbat, for example. It should not be our own flesh that causes this.
Now let's look at verses 7-9 in 2 Cor 3;"But if the ministration of death, written and engraven in stones, was glorious, so that the children of Israel could not stedfastly behold the face of Moses for the glory of his countenance; which glory was to be done away: How shall not the ministration of the spirit be rather glorious? For if the ministration of condemnation be glory, much more doth the ministration of righteousness exceed in glory."
What is the "ministration of death, written and engraven on stone" that caused the face of Moses to shine? Let's look at the original account in Ex 34:29-33;"And it came to pass, when Moses came down from mount Sinai with the two tables of testimony in Moses' hand, when he came down from the mount, that Moses wist not that the skin of his face shone while he talked with him. And when Aaron and all the children of Israel saw Moses, behold, the skin of his face shone; and they were afraid to come nigh him. And Moses called unto them; and Aaron and all the rulers of the congregation returned unto him: and Moses talked with them. And afterward all the children of Israel came nigh: and he gave them in commandment all that Yahweh had spoken with him in mount Sinai. And till Moses had done speaking with them, he put a veil on his face."
Continued on Part 2
