A Better Covenant

[Alive]

Gal. 2:15   “We are ^aJews by nature and not ^bsinners from among the Gentiles; ¹⁶ nevertheless knowing that ^aa man is not justified by the works of ¹the Law but through faith in Christ Jesus, even we have believed in Christ Jesus, so that we may be justified by ^bfaith in Christ and not by the works of ¹the Law; since ^cby the works of ¹the Law no ²flesh will be justified. ¹⁷ “But if, while seeking to be justified in Christ, we ourselves have also been found ^asinners, is Christ then a minister of sin? ^bMay it never be! ¹⁸ “For if I rebuild what I have once destroyed, I ^aprove myself to be a transgressor. ¹⁹ “For through ¹the Law I ^adied to ¹the Law, so that I might live to God. ²⁰ “I have been ^acrucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but ^bChrist lives in me; and ¹the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in ^cthe Son of God, who ^dloved me and ^egave Himself up for me. ²¹ “I do not nullify the grace of God, for ^aif righteousness comes through ¹the Law, then Christ died needlessly.”

 

Gal. 3:1   ¹You foolish ^aGalatians, who has bewitched you, before whose eyes Jesus Christ ^bwas publicly portrayed as crucified? ² This is the only thing I want to find out from you: did you receive the Spirit by the works of ¹the Law, or by ^2ahearing with faith? ³ Are you so foolish? Having begun ¹by the Spirit, are you now ²being perfected by the flesh? ⁴ Did you ¹suffer so many things in vain — ^aif indeed it was in vain? ⁵ So then, does He who ^aprovides you with the Spirit and ^bworks ¹miracles among you, do it by the works of ²the Law, or by ^3chearing with faith?

 

Gal. 3:6   ¹Even so ^aAbraham ^bBELIEVED GOD, AND IT WAS RECKONED TO HIM AS RIGHTEOUSNESS. ⁷ Therefore, ¹be sure that ^ait is those who are of faith who are ^bsons of Abraham. ⁸ The Scripture, foreseeing that God ¹would justify the ²Gentiles by faith, preached the gospel beforehand to Abraham, saying, “^aALL THE NATIONS WILL BE BLESSED IN YOU.” ⁹ So then ^athose who are of faith are blessed with ¹Abraham, the believer.

 

Gal. 3:10   For as many as are of the works of ¹the Law are under a curse; for it is written, “^aCURSED IS EVERYONE WHO DOES NOT ABIDE BY ALL THINGS WRITTEN IN THE BOOK OF THE LAW, TO PERFORM THEM.” ¹¹ Now that ^ano one is justified ¹by ²the Law before God is evident; for, “^3bTHE RIGHTEOUS MAN SHALL LIVE BY FAITH.” ^{12 1}However, the Law is not ²of faith; on the contrary, “^aHE WHO PRACTICES THEM SHALL LIVE ³BY THEM.” ¹³ Christ ^aredeemed us from the curse of the Law, having become a curse for us — for it is written, “^bCURSED IS EVERYONE WHO HANGS ON ^cA ¹TREE” — ¹⁴ in order that ^ain Christ Jesus the blessing of Abraham might ¹come to the Gentiles, so that we ^bwould receive ^cthe promise of the Spirit through faith.

[BibleGuy]

45 minutes ago, Michael37 said:

Now Mr. BibleGuy, do you agree that continuing to perform the ordinances of the Law of Moses and relying on observance of the law are dead works of self-effort? Isn't it true that the law was a shadow of things to come and could not make those who came to it perfect? 

Heb 9:11-15
(11)  But Christ being come an high priest of good things to come, by a greater and more perfect tabernacle, not made with hands, that is to say, not of this building;
(12)  Neither by the blood of goats and calves, but by his own blood he entered in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for us.
(13)  For if the blood of bulls and of goats, and the ashes of an heifer sprinkling the unclean, sanctifies to the purifying of the flesh:
(14)  How much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?
(15)  And for this cause he is the mediator of the new testament, that by means of death, for the redemption of the transgressions that were under the first testament, they which are called might receive the promise of eternal inheritance.
Heb 10:1
(1)  For the law having a shadow of good things to come, and not the very image of the things, can never with those sacrifices which they offered year by year continually make the comers thereunto perfect.
 

Howdy!  Thanks for continuing the friendly chat!

"do you agree that continuing to perform the ordinances of the Law of Moses"

Yes, we should peform Torah ordinances in the Spirit (Eze.36:27) to the extent possible in our present diaspora....

But until Jesus restores the Levitical Covenant (Mal.3:4) "as in the days of old, as in former years", there will definitely be limits upon our ability to obey.

So, grow in faithful obedience to what we can....

 

"relying on observance of the law are dead works of self-effort?"

Of COURSE law without faith is bad (Gal.5:4-5).

I think we agree Paul was QUITE CLEAR on that point!

Paul requires law (Rom.2:13) and faith (Rom.5:1) TOGETHER....not law WITHOUT faith (Gal.5:4-5).

After all, FAITH IS OF THE LAW (Mt.23:23).

 

"Isn't it true that the law was a shadow of things to come and could not make those who came to it perfect? "

Very true!

But the shadow IS (present tense) an ONGOING (present tense!) shadow-function of Torah (i.e., PRESENT TENSE in Col.2:17 and Heb.10:1).

So, the shadow CONTINUES!

And sure, Levitical sacrifices merely ATONE (cover) for sins...whereas only Jesus' Blood fully takes sins away (1Jn.1:7).

But that same Jesus comes to RESTORE Levitical sacrifices (Mal.3:4) in the temple He will rebuild (Zec.6;Eze.40-47) to fulfill the Davidic Covenant (Jer.33) and Sabbath (Is.66) for all nations (Zec.14), including ALL of us! (Dt.30:1-8).

 

And Heb. 9:14 affirms we should SERVE God...and those who SERVE GOD obey TORAH (Jos.22:5).

 

And Heb. 9:15 affirms the NEW COVENANT...which is given as TORAH (Jer.31:33;Heb.8:10;10:16)....so OF COURSE we should obey the very Torah of the New Covenant in which we partake!

And that's the Torah of MOSES passing into the NEW Covenant (Jer.31:33)....

 

NEW Covenant (Jer.31:31;Heb.8:8).

SAME TORAH (Jer.31:33;Heb.8:10;10:16).

 

blessings...

 

 

[BibleGuy]

46 minutes ago, Alive said:

Gal. 6:11   See with what large letters I ¹am writing to you ^awith my own hand. ¹² Those who desire ^ato make a good showing in the flesh try to ^bcompel you to be circumcised, simply so that they ^cwill not be persecuted ¹for the cross of Christ. ¹³ For those who ¹are circumcised do not even ^akeep ²the Law themselves, but they desire to have you circumcised so that they may ^bboast in your flesh. ¹⁴ But ^amay it never be that I would boast, ^bexcept in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, ^cthrough ¹which the world has been crucified to me, and ^dI to the world. ¹⁵ For ^aneither is circumcision anything, nor uncircumcision, but a ^bnew ¹creation. ¹⁶ And those who will ¹walk by this rule, peace and mercy be upon them, and upon the ^aIsrael of God.

Nice!  I uphold ALL BIBLE!

Gal. 6:11 is written by Paul who requires all Torah (2Ti.3:16)....so keep that in mind!

Anyway, of COURSE adult-male-Gentile-converts need not be circumcised....Torah doesn't even require it!

Thus, Paul says the motive for circumcision was to "boast"....the motivation was NOT to obey Torah....because Torah does not even require it!

And we boast in CHRIST (Gal.6:14) who requires ALL Torah (Mt.5:19) for ALL disciples of ALL nations (Mt.28:19-20)....

Christ does NOT require anti-Torah rules like the circumcision-group Paul rightly opposes in Galatians (and in Ac.15).

Again, Paul requires all Torah (2Ti.3:16), but he says that circumcision doesn't matter (Gal.6:15), because Torah does not even require it!

And Paul upholds PEACE (Gal.6:16)...and PEACE is in the hearts of those who LOVE (not oppose!) Torah (Ps.119:165).

And Paul upholds MERCY (Gal.6:16)....and MERCY extends NOT to everyone...but to those who OBEY Torah (Ex. 20:6).

And Paul upholds ISRAEL (Gal.6:16)...and Israelites obey TORAH (Mal.4:4), not oppose it!

And Paul upholds GOD (Gal.6:16)...and GOD requires TORAH (e.g., Dt. 1:3;5:27-33...)

 

Wow!  Thanks for bringing out this important passage!

blessings...

 

 

 

[BibleGuy]

1 hour ago, Alive said:

Gal. 4:1   Now I say, as long as the heir is a ¹child, he does not differ at all from a slave although he is ²owner of everything, ² but he is under guardians and ¹managers until the date set by the father. ³ So also we, while we were children, were held ^ain bondage under the ^1belemental things of the world. ⁴ But when ^athe fullness of the time came, God sent forth His Son, ^bborn of a woman, born ^cunder ¹the Law, ⁵ so that He might redeem those who were under ¹the Law, that we might receive the adoption as ^asons. ⁶ Because you are sons, ^aGod has sent forth the Spirit of His Son into our hearts, crying, “^bAbba! Father!” ⁷ Therefore you are no longer a slave, but a son; and ^aif a son, then an heir ¹through God.

Cool passage!  Thanks for bringing it up.

Gal. 4 shows we are NOT of the Old COVENANT (see "διαθήκη" in Gal.4:24).

Again, the Old COVENANT passes away (Heb.8:13).

But the SAME TORAH OF MOSES (Jer.31:33) passes into the NEW Covenant (Heb.8:10;10:16).

NEW Covenant (Jer.31:31;Heb.8:8).

SAME Torah (Jer.31:33;Heb.8:10;10:16).

 

And Gal. 4:6 affirms we are God's children (sons).  And God's family is ISRAEL (Am.3:2;Ex.4:22).  So we are ISRAELITES...and ISRAELITES obey TORAH (Mal.4:4)....so we obey Torah!

 

And Gal. 4:6 affirms the SPIRIT who testifies we obey Torah (Heb.10:15-16), even all Torah ordinances (Eze.36:27) "from now and forever" (Is.59:20-21 cited at Rom.11:26-27).

 

And Gal. 4:6 affirms the Spirit of CHRIST who requires all Torah (Mt.5:19).

 

And Gal. 4:6 affirms Father God who commands Torah (Dt.1:3;5:27-33;etc..)

 

And Gal. 4:1 reminds us we are HEIRS.  Heirs of what?  The promised LAND INHERITANCE (Gal.3:29).  And we will inherit the land in conjunction with 100% obedience to ALL Torah (Dt.30:1-8).

 

So Torah is surely not abolished or canceled!  Our 100% obedience is yet future!

 

blessings....

 

 

[BibleGuy]

2 hours ago, Alive said:

Gal. 2:15   “We are ^aJews by nature and not ^bsinners from among the Gentiles; ¹⁶ nevertheless knowing that ^aa man is not justified by the works of ¹the Law but through faith in Christ Jesus, even we have believed in Christ Jesus, so that we may be justified by ^bfaith in Christ and not by the works of ¹the Law; since ^cby the works of ¹the Law no ²flesh will be justified. ¹⁷ “But if, while seeking to be justified in Christ, we ourselves have also been found ^asinners, is Christ then a minister of sin? ^bMay it never be! ¹⁸ “For if I rebuild what I have once destroyed, I ^aprove myself to be a transgressor. ¹⁹ “For through ¹the Law I ^adied to ¹the Law, so that I might live to God. ²⁰ “I have been ^acrucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but ^bChrist lives in me; and ¹the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in ^cthe Son of God, who ^dloved me and ^egave Himself up for me. ²¹ “I do not nullify the grace of God, for ^aif righteousness comes through ¹the Law, then Christ died needlessly.”

 

Gal. 3:1   ¹You foolish ^aGalatians, who has bewitched you, before whose eyes Jesus Christ ^bwas publicly portrayed as crucified? ² This is the only thing I want to find out from you: did you receive the Spirit by the works of ¹the Law, or by ^2ahearing with faith? ³ Are you so foolish? Having begun ¹by the Spirit, are you now ²being perfected by the flesh? ⁴ Did you ¹suffer so many things in vain — ^aif indeed it was in vain? ⁵ So then, does He who ^aprovides you with the Spirit and ^bworks ¹miracles among you, do it by the works of ²the Law, or by ^3chearing with faith?

 

Gal. 3:6   ¹Even so ^aAbraham ^bBELIEVED GOD, AND IT WAS RECKONED TO HIM AS RIGHTEOUSNESS. ⁷ Therefore, ¹be sure that ^ait is those who are of faith who are ^bsons of Abraham. ⁸ The Scripture, foreseeing that God ¹would justify the ²Gentiles by faith, preached the gospel beforehand to Abraham, saying, “^aALL THE NATIONS WILL BE BLESSED IN YOU.” ⁹ So then ^athose who are of faith are blessed with ¹Abraham, the believer.

 

Gal. 3:10   For as many as are of the works of ¹the Law are under a curse; for it is written, “^aCURSED IS EVERYONE WHO DOES NOT ABIDE BY ALL THINGS WRITTEN IN THE BOOK OF THE LAW, TO PERFORM THEM.” ¹¹ Now that ^ano one is justified ¹by ²the Law before God is evident; for, “^3bTHE RIGHTEOUS MAN SHALL LIVE BY FAITH.” ^{12 1}However, the Law is not ²of faith; on the contrary, “^aHE WHO PRACTICES THEM SHALL LIVE ³BY THEM.” ¹³ Christ ^aredeemed us from the curse of the Law, having become a curse for us — for it is written, “^bCURSED IS EVERYONE WHO HANGS ON ^cA ¹TREE” — ¹⁴ in order that ^ain Christ Jesus the blessing of Abraham might ¹come to the Gentiles, so that we ^bwould receive ^cthe promise of the Spirit through faith.

Wow!  Glad you love Paul!  I do too....Paul requires ALL Torah (2Ti.3:16).

Paul even condoned an animal-sacrifice-laden vow to prove he "walked orderly according to the law" (Ac.21); and Paul requires that WE imitate that model (1Cor.11:1;Php.4:9).

Always good to keep that in mind....

 

So, Gal.2:16?  Yes!  We are NOT justified by works without faith.  Rather, we are justified by law (Rom.2:13) and faith (Rom.5:1) TOGETHER.....NOT law alone (Gal.5:4-5)....NOT faith alone (Jas.2:24).  But BOTH. TOGETHER.

Gal. 2:17?  Yes!  Sin is BAD.   And sin is Torah-disobedience (Rom.3:20;7:7;1Jn.3:4).  So STOP SINNING (1Cor.15:34) means OBEY TORAH.

Gal.2:19?  Yes!  We are DEAD to the law of sinful disobedience and death (Dt.30:11-15;Rom.8:2). We are ALIVE to the law of righteous obedience (2Ti.3:16;Dt.6:25;Mt.5:19;1Jn.5:3;Jn.14:15) and LIFE (Mt.4:4;Dt.8:3;30:11-15;32:47).

Gal. 2:20?  Yes!  Live by FAITH.  And FAITH is of TORAH (Mt.23:23;Gal.3:11 citing Hab.2:4;Ps.119:30,86,138).

Gal. 2:21?  Yes!  Uphold GRACE.  And Grace is given to the HUMBLE (Jas.4:6;Pr.3:34). And HUMBLE people obey TORAH (Nu.12:3;Ps.25:9;Zep.2:3;Ex.33:13).

Gal. 2:21?  Yes!  We are NOT righteous by law without faith.  Rather, we are justified by law (Rom.2:13) and faith (Rom.5:1) TOGETHER.  BOTH. TOGETHER.

Gal. 3:1?  Yes!  OPPOSE foolishness.  And fools oppose wisdom (Pr.23:9).  Torah is our wisdom (Dt. 4:6).  So OPPOSE foolish rejection of Torah by OBEYING TORAH!

Gal. 3:2?  Yes!  We receive the Spirit in faith, NOT in faithless obedience to law.

Gal. 3:5?  Yes!  We receive good things in faith and HEARING, not in faithless obedience to law.  And those who HEAR will OBEY TORAH.

Gal. 3:6?  Yes!  BELIEVE God...like Abraham....who ALSO OBEYED GOD'S COMMANDS AND LAWS (Ge.26:5).  THAT is called faithful obedience!

Gal. 3:10-11?  Yes!  We are NOT justified by works without faith.  We are justified by FAITH (Gal.3:11;Rom.5:1) and law (Rom.2:13) TOGETHER.  BOTH. TOGETHER.

Gal.3:12?  Yes!  Faithless law-obedience is OBVIOUSLY not of faith!  So obey Torah AND have Faith TOGETHER (Mt.23:23;Rom.10:8 citing Dt. 30:14;Gal.3:11 citing Hab.2:4;Ps.119:30,86,138;Dt.32:20).

Gal. 3:12?  Yes!  If you want to play the "let's live by law without faith" game, then you will lose!  Because it's IMPOSSIBLE to obey law without faith!  Because TORAH REQUIRES FAITH (Dt.32:20;Dt.18:15;Mt.23:23).  So obey Torah AND have faith in Christ....BOTH. TOGETHER.

Gal. 3:13?  Yes!  We are redeemed from the CURSE of the law...not from the law itself!

Gal.3:14?  Yes!  We receive the SPIRIT who testifies we obey Torah (Heb.10:15-16), even all Torah ordinances (Eze.36:27) "from now and forever" (citing Is.59:20-21 at Rom.11:26-27).

 

After all, the Spirit opposes the flesh (Rom.8:13)...and the flesh opposes Torah (Rom.8:7)....so the Spirit opposes Torah-disobedience....so the Spirit leads us to OBEY Torah!

 

And again, Gal. 3:14 affirms FAITH....what faith?  Paul cites "אֱמוּנָה" in Hab.2:4.  And what is this way of "אֱמוּנָה" by which Paul says we must live?  Answer: TORAH!  (see "אֱמוּנָה" in Ps.119:30,86,138 for proof....also the related term in Dt. 32:20 which likewise confirms that FAITH is of TORAH).

 

Thanks for bringing out these REALLY important passages!

blessings...

 

 

[Alive]

 Μὴ δῶτε τὸ ἅγιον τοῖς κυσί· μηδὲ βάλητε τοὺς μαργαρίτας ὑμῶν ἔμπροσθεν τῶν χοίρων, μήποτε καταπατήσωσιν αὐτοὺς ἐν τοῖς ποσὶν αὐτῶν, καὶ στραφέντες ῥήξωσιν ὑμᾶς.

[BibleGuy]

2 hours ago, Alive said:

Gal. 3:15   ^aBrethren, ^bI speak ¹in terms of human relations: ^ceven though it is only a man’s ²covenant, yet when it has been ratified, no one sets it aside or adds ³conditions to it. ¹⁶ Now the promises were spoken ^ato Abraham and to his seed. He does not say, “And to seeds,” as referring to many, but rather to one, “^bAnd to your seed,” that is, Christ. ¹⁷ What I am saying is this: the Law, which came ^afour hundred and thirty years later, does not invalidate a covenant previously ratified by God, so as to nullify the promise. ¹⁸ For ^aif the inheritance is ¹based on law, it is no longer ¹based on a promise; but ^bGod has granted it to Abraham by means of a promise.

 

Gal. 3:19   ^aWhy the Law then? It was added ¹because of transgressions, having been ^bordained through angels ^cby the ²agency of a mediator, until ^dthe seed would come to whom the promise had been made. ²⁰ Now ^aa mediator is not ¹for one party only; whereas God is only one. ²¹ Is the Law then contrary to the promises of God? ^aMay it never be! For ^bif a law had been given which was able to impart life, then righteousness ¹would indeed have been ²based on law. ²² But the Scripture has ^ashut up ¹everyone under sin, so that the promise by faith in Jesus Christ might be given to those who believe.

 

Gal. 3:23   But before faith came, we were kept in custody under the law, ^abeing shut up to the faith which was later to be revealed. ²⁴ Therefore the Law has become our ^atutor to lead us to Christ, so that ^bwe may be justified by faith. ²⁵ But now that faith has come, we are no longer under a ^1atutor. ²⁶ For you are all ^asons of God through faith in ^bChrist Jesus. ²⁷ For all of you who were ^abaptized into Christ have ^bclothed yourselves with Christ. ^{28 a}There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free man, there is ¹neither male nor female; for ^byou are all one in ^cChrist Jesus. ²⁹ And if ^ayou ¹belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s ²descendants, heirs according to ^bpromise.

I think I missed this one....here we go!

Gal. 3:15-18?  Yes!  We are of FAITH in PROMISES....not of faithless law-obedience.

Gal. 3:21?  Of COURSE we do not have life in law (apart from faith).  Of COURSE we do not have righteousness in law (apart from faith).  Of COURSE we have faith in Christ (who requires all Torah!...Mt.5:19....and Who says FAITH IS OF TORAH! Mt.23:23)

Gal. 3:23-25?  Yes!  We are no longer under the "tutor" function of Torah, because we (who are of faith) have ALREADY come to Christ.

Is that the ONLY purpose of Torah?

Of course not!

Torah is good (Rom.7:12).  Be good. Obey Torah!

Torah is holy (Rom.7:12).  Be holy.  Obey Torah! 

Torah is righteous (Rom.7:12).  DO righteousness (1Jn.2:29;3:7) or else you are a child of the devil (1Jn.3:10) who will NOT enter the forthcoming kingdom (Mt.5:20).  So obey Torah!

Torah is spiritual (Rom.7:14).  Desire and pursue what is SPIRITUAL (1Cor.14:1).  Obey Torah!

Torah defines sin (Rom.3:20;7:7;1Jn.3:4).  STOP SINNING (1Cor.15:34) thus means OBEY TORAH!

The New Covenant is given as Torah (Jer.31:33;Heb.8:10;10:16)...so OF COURSE we should obey the very Torah of the New Covenant in which we partake!

 

Gal. 3:29?  Yes!  We are fellow HEIRS (also Eph.3:6) of the promised land-inheritance....which we will inherit (Mt.5:5) when we again obey 100% of ALL Torah (Dt.30:1-8).

 

Thanks for bringing out these important Scriptural passages!

blessings...

 

[BibleGuy]

4 minutes ago, Alive said:

 Μὴ δῶτε τὸ ἅγιον τοῖς κυσί· μηδὲ βάλητε τοὺς μαργαρίτας ὑμῶν ἔμπροσθεν τῶν χοίρων, μήποτε καταπατήσωσιν αὐτοὺς ἐν τοῖς ποσὶν αὐτῶν, καὶ στραφέντες ῥήξωσιν ὑμᾶς.

And don't eat swine either!  Peter applies Lev. 11 to you (citing Lev. 11 at 1Pe.1:16).

And God gets VERY ANGRY at people who eat pork (Is.65:3-4;Is.66:3-4)....

So be careful!

Ok....Happy Thanksgiving!

 

[BibleGuy]

6 minutes ago, Alive said:

 Μὴ δῶτε τὸ ἅγιον τοῖς κυσί· μηδὲ βάλητε τοὺς μαργαρίτας ὑμῶν ἔμπροσθεν τῶν χοίρων, μήποτε καταπατήσωσιν αὐτοὺς ἐν τοῖς ποσὶν αὐτῶν, καὶ στραφέντες ῥήξωσιν ὑμᾶς.

καὶ οὐκ ἴσχυον ἀντιστῆναι τῇ σοφίᾳ καὶ τῷ πνεύματι ᾧ ἐλάλει