I teach, according to the Scriptures, that
right standing before and with G-D is only the result of perfect obedience to
the Law of G-D. In the beginning, G-D
gave all humans a conscience that contains the Law of G-D, which is composed of
His eternal law (love Him will all your being and love your fellow human) and
natural law (do not murder, steal, commit adultery, commit sodomy, rape, lie,
etc.). Yet, due to the transgression of
the one man (Adam), all humans acquired a predisposition to do that which G-D
said do not do and to not do that which G-D said do. Even though until the giving of the written
Law of G-D, disobeyed G-D like Adam by breaking a direct command of G-D but
only by violating the dictates of the conscience. This predisposition is only inherited through
the father (not the mother) since the sins of the father are transferred and
Adam is the father of us all.
As a result, all humans, Gentile or Jew, are
guilty before G-D as lawbreakers and are the children of His wrath. In His mercy, G-D promised One who would
deliver all of us from the wrath of G-D and through whom He would fulfill all
His promises to Israel Kingdom
of Heaven
Yeshua of Nazareth inherited His
humanity from a mortal human woman but maintained His Deity because He did not
have a mortal human father and, thus, could not inherit a predisposition of
disobedience but His Father was Elohim and, thus, had a predisposition of
obedience. As a result, Yeshua of Nazareth
obeyed all the written Law of G-D and fulfilled the Law and Prophets who
foretold of Him and what He would do.
Now, the purpose of the Law of G-D (whether in the conscience or
written) was, theoretically, to bring righteousness but, ultimately, to bring
us to the revelation that we are breakers of the Law of G-D, need salvation
from the wrath of G-D due us, that salvation would not come as a result of our
obedience to the Law of G-D since we cannot, and that we need another way to
salvation.
Additionally, the Jews had an
advantage in this revelation in that (1) they had the written Law of G-D which
is not subject to defilement like the conscience since it is external to the
person and thus knew the perfect will of G-D and (2) the written Law of G-D
pointed to the other way to salvation via prophecies of the Anointed One
whereas the conscience does not. Those
of us who follow the other Way are subject to the Eternal Law of G-D, Natural
Law, and the Law of Messiah (which reflects these anyway). The Law of Messiah is a new covenant separate
from the Law given to Moses though they both may contain some same provisions
but they also contain similar provisions and different provisions. Yet, because the Law of G-D given to Moses
does reflect His Eternal Law and Natural Law and contains special provisions
relating to the Jewish situation, Jewish followers of the Way may still choose
to observe the Law of G-D given to Moses but this Law does not save nor binds
them. Similarly, the Law of Messiah does
not save but it does bind all followers of the Way. It is the followers of the Way who are the true
Jews and the true children of Abraham.
What do you think?
A: Thanks for sharing your
thoughts. It sounds like we are in agreement about quite a lot of what you have mentioned. Thanks, too, for your encouraging feedback on our website. May God
bless you as you seek him and share his word.
I have the following initial thoughts to share about your teaching, and
only wish that I had more time to go into more depth:
1) Natural Law. It's interesting that you chose the term
Natural Law to describe the requirements that I usually refer to on my website
as the Laws of Noah. Gentile Christians in the early years of
Christianity often used this same name ("Natural Law") for the same
set of laws that you do. It's true that Paul does mention our conscience in mediating the law written on our hearts (Rom. 2:15), but Biblically this inner awareness is ultimately based on the commandments of God in the early chapters of Genesis. That's why I have chosen to refer to them as
the Laws of Noah to emphasize their connection with the Old Testament as well as with the Jewish people. But Natural Law is another valid name for them. This Natural Law, which preceded the time of Moses, is also included in the Law of Moses and in the Law of the Messiah (the New Testament).
2) Predisposition to sin inherited from the father.
Theologically, I have a problem with this position, since both men and women are equally
prone to sin, not to mention that this belief (of inheriting a
predisposition to sin from the father) is taught nowhere in the Bible.
The idea that sin is inherited from the father has been used to try to
explain how Jesus could be without sin. But the simple fact is that Jesus
was without sin because he was (and is) God the Son. The way in which
divinity and ordinary humanity were joined in him is a model and a picture of
God's will for all of us: to be joined together with God in an intimate unity. But this union cannot be achieved by our own perfect obedience, since we are not able to perfectly fulfill the greater demands of the Law ot the Messiah. This unity can only be established through the ministry of Jesus himself and his crucifixion and resurrection. But in that unity, we are growing into greater and greater obedience to God's will through the presence of God in our lives.
3) No human can fully obey the Law of Moses. This common
Christian idea is directly contradicted by the New Testament itself.
See for example Luke 1:6, which says that Zacharias and Elizabeth, the parents
of John the Baptist, were "both righteous in the sight of God, walking
blamelessly in all the commandments and requirements of the Lord."
The apostle Paul, in Phil. 3:6, also claims that he was "as to the
righteousness which is in the Law, found blameless." The common
Christian teaching that perfect obedience to the Law of Moses is impossible is therefore false.
However, perfect obedience to the
Law of Moses cannot and never could bring salvation (Gal. 3:11,21; Heb.
10:1,4). Nor could it bring about perfect obedience to the fullness of God's
will (as revealed in the New Covenant), but only a partial or limited obedience. Man still continued to
have a disposition to sin and continued to sin in ways not covered in the Law
of Moses. Rather, spiritual salvation is available only through faith in Messiah Jesus. This was true both
in Old and New Testament times: 1 Peter 1:11 mentions the "Spirit of Messiah" operating within the Old Testament prophets.
Right standing with God has only therefore ever been possible by faith, and by
faith in the Messiah. One who is in a faith relationship with God
will sin less and less because of the power and presence of God's Spirit in their
lives, bringing us into obedience to the Law of Messiah (1 John 3:9, the "Law of the Spirit" in Rom. 8:2, the Law
written in the heart by the Holy Spirit in Heb. 10:15,16).
So why was the Law of Moses given?
The Law was originally given to Israel to limit sin in Israel in preparation for the coming of the Messiah (Gal. 3:19 ,24;
Heb. 10:3). And it still continues to function today as a signpost pointing to Messiah for those who do not yet know him. But the Law was never a means of spiritual salvation. God's desire from
the very beginning was for man to be in an intimate faith relationship with
him. Messiah is both the model and means for that faith
relationship to come about.
(For more on this topic, see the Index category Laws of Noah.)
(For more on this topic, see the Index category Laws of Noah.)
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"For it is not those who hear the law who are righteous in God's sight, but it is those who obey the law who will be declared righteous." Rom. 2:13
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