Sin
Definition #1

The Hebrew word for sin is chattaah (Strong's #2403). Sinwas certainly brought in through Adam's disobedience (Rom 5:12), but the word sin (chattaah) first appears in Gen 4:7. Cain did not see the need for a blood offering, and the Lord had consequently rejected his offering. Beginning in verse 6, “The Lord said unto Cain, Why are you wroth? And why is your countenance fallen?” (Verse7) “If you do well [righteously], shall you not be accepted? And if you do not well, sin lies at the door...”

There's our first definition of sin: “...you do not well.”

Sin
Definition #2

In Judges 20, the Israelites are gathering an army to fight against the tribe of Benjamin. Some Benjamite men had killed a concubine belonging to a man of Ephraim.

Jdg 20:13 “Now therefore deliver [us] the men, the children of Belial, which [are] in Gibeah, that we may put them to death, and put away evil from Israel. But the children of Benjamin would not hearken to the voice of their brethren the children of Israel:”

So the Benjamites gathered their own army against Israel. They numbered 7,700 men. Now verse 16; “Among all this people there were 700 chosen men, left-handed; everyone could sling stones at an hair breadth and not miss” (chata). This word chata (Strong's #2398) has the same root as chattaah (#2403). This is the only place out of the 220 times it is used in the Old Testament that it is translated miss. It is normally translated sin, sinning, offend, blame, fault and harm. By far the most common translation in the KJV is "sinned."

So our second scriptural definition of sin is to "miss" the mark. The "mark", of course, is always understood to be God's commandments, His law. As Paul states it in Rom 7:7, “...I had not known sin, but by the law...”

Sin
Definition #3

In our definition of righteousness, we pointed out that Gen 15:6 and Gal 3:6 both say that Abraham's faith was counted (the equivalent) of righteousness. The flip side of that statement is our third scriptural definition of sin.

Rom 14:23 ...whatsoever is not of faith [the faith of Christ in us - Gal 2:20] is sin.

Even obedience to the laws of God, when credited to ourselves instead of Christ's faith working in us, is sin. Rom 2:27 says “You...by the letter and circumcision dost transgress the law.” And Gal 2:20 tells us “...The life that I now live, I live by the faith of the son of God...”

The failure to recognize the sovereignty of God in our lives turns our righteousness into sin. “All our righteousnesses are as filthy
rags” (Isa 64:6) and “Whatsoever is not of faith [the faith of Christ in us Eph 2:8 and Gal 2:20] is sin” (Rom 14:23).

Sin
Definition #4

1Jn 3:4 - “...Sin is the transgression of the law.” Thoughthis might better be translated "sin is lawlessness", law is still unavoidable if we are to define sin or righteousness. The inescapable truth of any definition of sin is: “...By the law is the knowledge of sin...” (Rom 3:20)

In Summary of the Definitions

To sum it up: whether we're discussing sin or righteousness, the law of God is central to both. Righteousness is heads, sin (unrighteousness) is tails on the coin of God's law.


Two Covenants

Having scriptural definitions of sin and righteousness, we are now in a position to evaluate the inspired teachings of the apostle Paul on this subject of the law.

Central to this discussion is remembering that there are two covenants mentioned in scripture. God “...hath made us able ministers of the new testament, [the Greek word is diatheke, Strong's#1242, the same word translated covenant in Luk 1:72, Act3:25; Act7:8; Rom 9:4 and Rom 11:27], not of the letter but of the Spirit: for the letter killeth but the spirit giveth life” (2Co 3:6).

Paul is referring to the two covenants mentioned in

Jer 31:31 Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel, and with the house of Judah:

Jer 31:32 Not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day [that] I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt; which my covenant they brake, although I was an husband unto them, saith the LORD:

Jer 31:33 But this [shall be] the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel; After those days, saith the LORD, I will put my law in their inward parts [in the spirit, not in the letter], and write it in their hearts; and will be their God, and they shall be my people.

Did you catch verse 32: “Not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers...?” There is something different about this covenant. It is not according to the "letter but of the spirit" (2Co 3:6).

Verse 33 of Jer 31 tells us that both covenants concern God's law, but the difference is that in the new covenant, nothing is physically written. The only writing involved in the new covenant is “I will put my law in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts...” The "inward man" is the "mind and heart" (Heb 10:16) separate from the carnal mind (Rom 7:22 and Rom 8:7) and separate from the carnal commandment (Heb 7:6). The inward spiritual law isn't abolished; it is actually "established" and fulfilled through Christ in us (Rom 3:31). The "letter" of the law, while being "abolished" for those "in Christ, "is established as the "schoolmaster" to bring us all to Christ.

What Does The Old Covenant Include?

Now we need to ask, exactly what is the Old Covenant that has been replaced by the new covenant? Does the Old Covenant include the ten commandments? Yes, it does! It is only the ten commandments that are called the "tables of the covenant".

Deu 4:13 “And he declared unto you his covenant, which he commanded you to perform, [even] ten commandments; and he wrote them upon two tables of stone.”

Deu 9:11” And it came to pass at the end of forty days and forty nights, [that] the LORD gave me the two tables of stone, [even] the tables of the covenant.”

It seems today that many in the body of Christ are so afraid that they will be accused of turning grace into lasciviousness, that they cannot agree with Paul that the "tables of stone" (2Co 3:3) are "the ministration of death" (2Co 3:7) and "the ministration of condemnation" (2Co 3:9).

It was the ten commandments written on two "tables of stone" that Moses had in his hands when he came down from the mount. It was the ten commandments of which Paul says "if the ministration of death, written and engraven in stones was glorious..." (2Co 3:7). What was glorious is "that which was written and engraven in stones".

The "glory of Moses' countenance" was simply a reflection of theglory of that which was "written and engraven in stones." (vs. 7) “But if the ministration of death, written and engraven in stones, was glorious [this is the source of the glory],so that the children of Israel could not behold the face of Moses for the glory of his countenance; which... was to be done away.” The King James bible has“...which glory was to be done away,” but the word "glory" is in italics meaning it does not appear in the original Greek. Now verse eleven agrees with verse seven: “For if that which is done away was glorious, much more that which remaineth is glorious.” "Glorious" is an adjective describing "that which is done away." The ministration of death written and engraven in stones was glorious and is done away. Until we see and agree with this statement by Paul, we will never fully see the "glory of that which remaineth."

The "law of Moses" is the law of God only in the same sense that the first Adam is called the "son of God" (Luk 3:38) "...that was not first which is spiritual [the law of love - Mat 5], but that which is natural: [carnal old covenant law of Moses, Ten commandments - Heb7:16 and Deu 4:13] and AFTERWARD that which is spiritual" (1Co15:46). Speaking of the law, the first covenant, we are told "...He taketh away the first that he might establish the second" (Heb 10:9)."The law [of Moses] is not made for a righteous man but for the lawless and disobedient" (1Ti 1:9).

There have always been those who will turn the grace of God into lasciviousness (Jud 4), but we must not let this keep us from using a "form [Greek: pattern as in 1Ti 1:16]of sound words" (2Ti 1:13).

Modern Arguments About The Law

Many today, perhaps afraid of appearing too liberal in their theology, do not believe that the ten commandments should ever be considered a part of the old covenant. "Surely", they reason, "Paul is not saying that the Ten commandments are done away."

The argument goes something like this:

"The only thing 'abolished', 'done away', 'vanishing away', 'disannulled' or 'blotted out' are the ceremonial laws regarding the sacrificial system. Christ has died for us so we no longer need those laws because Christ is the fulfillment of all those typical sacrifices. But the death of Christ did not abolish or fulfill the laws regarding the Sabbaths or the laws regarding clean and unclean meats or any of the laws of restitution or tithing, etc., etc.

Oh, yes, Paul specifically states that circumcision is now of the heart in the spirit and not in the letter (flesh). But if Paul does not specifically mention that a particular part of the old covenant has been fulfilled, we cannot take it upon ourselves to decide what has and what has not been 'fulfilled' and 'done away' or 'abolished', etc."

It is this more or less orthodox (not scriptural) mindset that has bequeathed us our present fractured Christian world.

Arguing that "we can't just decide for ourselves what part of the old covenant is 'fulfilled', 'disannulled', etc.," much of Christendom has done just that. For example, some believe we should observe the seventh day Sabbath. For these folks, if you don't do that, you are disobeying the fourth commandment. Others have replaced the seventh day with the first day of the week. To these folks, if you aren't in church on Sunday, you probably won't go to heaven. And if you're still keeping the seventh day Sabbath, then you are 'still under the law'. The "Sunday keepers" feel they are not "under the law" because they keep the first day of the week.

Both schools of thought seem to agree that you still need to tithe. Some are more dogmatic about that than others.

Many, but not all, of the Sabbath keepers maintain that the Sabbath and the holy days and the laws of clean and unclean meats were given to Adam and kept by Noah, Job and Abraham; and therefore are eternal and are not typical so are not fulfilled, or at least not yet fulfilled in Christ. Volumes could be written on the differences in doctrines concerning the law. Many if not all, denominations have been established based on slightly different or sometimes big differences of opinions concerning the law. Is there any truth to any of their arguments?

We Cannot Pick And Choose For Ourselves

There is one truth in these arguments to which we should all agree, and that is that we cannot pick for ourselves what is and what is not "fulfilled" or "done away" in Christ (Deu 4:2, 12:32; Jer 26:2; Rev22:18-19). These scriptures make it clear that God does not take lightly our adding to or taking away from His Word. This is about the only truth I can see in any of these arguments.

Deu 4:2 Ye shall not add unto the word which I command you, neither shall ye diminish [ought] from it, that ye may keep the commandments of the LORD your God which I command you.

Rev 22:18 For I testify unto every man that heareth the words of the prophecy of this book, If any man shall add unto these things, God shall add unto him the plagues that are written in this book: Rev 22:19 And if any man shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part out of the book of life, and out of the holy city, and [from] the things which are written in this book.

With this stern warning in mind, we think it best to agree with the Lord, the prophet (Jer 31:31-33) and the apostle (2Co 3:3-11) that the old covenant with all its glory has been replaced by the new covenant (Jer 31:31-33 and Heb 8:8-10); that the new covenant is "not according to" the old (Heb 8:9); that “that which is done away was glorious...” and was "written and engraven in stones" (2Co 3:11and 7); that the new is a "better covenant" (Heb 8:6); that the old" is ready to vanish away" (Heb 8:13) and "he taketh away
the first, that He may establish the second" (Heb 10:9). He doesn't parse (break apart) the covenant. It is all "done away" or "abolished" (Greek - katargeo) for those "in Christ."

Exactly What Was "Written... In Tables Of Stone"?

In the Old Testament

2Co 3:11 says: "that which is done away was glorious." Verse 7 tells us: "the administration of death written and engraven in stones was glorious..." The only question then becomes exactly what was "written... in tables of stone (2Co 3:3)?

The phrase "tables of stone" appears twelve times in the Hebrew. Every time it appears, it refers to the ten commandments (Exo 24:12,Exo 31:18, Exo 34:1, Exo 34:4; Deu 4:13, Deu 5:22, Deu 9:9-11, Deu 10:1, 3; 1Ki 8:9).

Let's quote just four of these scriptures which refer to the ten commandments as tables of stone.

1.“And He [God] declared unto youHis covenant which He commanded you to perform, even the ten commandments; and He wrote them upon two tables of stone” (Deu 4:13).
2.“When I was gone up into the mount to receive the tables of stone even the tables of the covenant which the Lord made with you...”(Deu 9:9)
3.“And it came to pass at the end of forty days and forty nights that the Lord gave me the two tables of stone, even the tables of the covenant” (Deu 9:11)
4. “The Lord delivered unto me the two tables of stone written with the finger of God...” (De. 9:10).

In the New Testament

The tables of stone are mentioned only two times in the NewTestament.

1.“Forasmuch as ye are manifestly declared to be the epistle of Christ ministered by us, written not with ink, but with the spirit of the living God; not in tables of stone, but in fleshy tables of the heart” (2Co 3:3)
2.“Which had the golden censer, and the ark of the covenant overlaid roundabout with gold, wherein was the golden pot that had manna, and Aaron's rod that budded, and the tables of the covenant.”(Heb 9:4)

The "tables of the covenant" were the 10 commandments written on stone (Deu 4:13 and 9:11).

The Greek word for testament and covenant are the same – diatheke (Strong's #1242). It is used 24 times in the new testament in direct reference to the new covenant. The ten commandments are the heart and soul of the old covenant. All of the other statutes and judgments are based upon and rest upon them. Without the ten commandments there would be no old covenant.

If we want to be careful not to add to or take away from the word of God, we need to simply believe "In that he saith, a new covenant, he has made the first old. Now that which decayeth and waxeth old is ready to vanish away" (Heb 8:13). The ten commandments are the tables of stone of the (first) covenant (Deu 4:13).

A Schoolmaster Is Needed In Every Generation

You may be comfortable retaining some part of that old covenant. That's fine. It was always intended to be our "schoolmaster to bring us to Christ, that we may be justified by faith. But after that faith is come we are no longer under a schoolmaster" (Gal 3:24, 25).

"But before faith comes, we are kept [Greek: sunago- to be garrisoned as by military force] under the law, shut up [Greek katakleio- to lock up or imprison] unto the faith that will afterward be revealed" (Gal 3:23). Because "the scripture hath concluded [is also katakleio- to lock up or imprison] all under sin, that the promise by faith of Jesus Christ might be given to them that believe" (Gal 3:22).

For Whom Are The Ten Commandments Intended?

Those 'locked up' or 'imprisoned' [katakleio]"under the law "are those to whom the law is addressed. "Now we know that what things so ever the law saith, it saith to them who are under the law: that every mouth may be stopped and all the world may become guilty before God" (Rom 3:19). "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" (1Ti 1:9). The Law is not for a righteous man!

So who are those who are "under the law"? As far as God is concerned it is "all the world" and they are "all... guilty before God" because the law (the ten commandments) is a "ministration of death" (2Co 3:7) and "the ministration of condemnation" (2Co 3:9). Why is that? Because the ten commandments were not designed for those who have God's law of love written on their hearts.

Animal sacrifices were typical of the sacrifice of Christ (Heb10:10-11). Physical circumcision was typical of spiritual circumcision (Rom 2:29), and the ten commandments are typical of the spiritual laws first revealed by Christ to his disciples in Matthew 5 in His sermon on the mount.

Col 2:16 Let no man therefore judge you in meat, or in drink, or in respect of an holyday, or of the new moon, or of the sabbath [days]:
Col 2:17 Which are a shadow of things to come; but the body [is] of Christ.

It is the words of Christ (not the law of Moses) that will judge us.

Joh 12:48 He that rejecteth me, and receiveth not my words, hath one that judgeth him: the word that I have spoken, the same shall judge him in the last day.

Luk 6:46 And why call ye me, Lord, Lord, and do not the things which I say?

Mat 7:21 Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven.

None of these verses is referring to the law of Moses. If they were, the sermon on the mount would never have needed to be delivered.

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I think what stood out to me the most in this part of the study was this definition of sin:

“Even obedience to the laws of God, when credited to ourselves instead of Christ's faith working in us, is sin. Rom 2:27 says “You...by the letter and circumcision dost transgress the law.” And Gal 2:20 tells us “...The life that I now live, I live by the faith of the son of God...”

Really something to think about….

Much more to come……Continued

Hello all,

I am continuing on with this study….I will just be making a few comments along the way. In this part the author defines and provides ample Scripture about types and shadows, and how Jesus fulfilled them.

When we are in Christ we keep the Sabbath and the feasts of the Lord every day. What was once a weekly or monthly or yearly observance is now a daily observance as Jesus fulfilled all the shadows and brought them all into reality….imperfect made perfect in Him.

When I say Jesus is all and everything I really mean it!!

The Law has a form of godliness, but it has no power of the spirit! The law is the whitewashed tomb, having a form of godliness but leads to death. Those who do not have Jesus are still under the law! Therefore they are dead already…just like the false churches of these end times…exchanging works for faith… and death for eternal life.

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The Purpose for Types and Shadows

Shadows cannot perfect, and the first covenant is a shadow of the second. "For the law having a shadow of good things to come..." (Heb 10:1). Notice again, no parsing (taking apart and analyzing) of "the law".

In Matthew 5, Christ is showing what the 10 commandments foreshadowed. Six times he says "You have heard it said of old time", then he quotes either the Ten Commandments or the Law of Moses. It was all the same to Christ.

The first two "you have heard that it was said by them of old time" concerned the sixth and seventh commandments. The last four concerned statutes and judgments. All had already "waxed old and were ready to vanish away" (Heb 8:13).

In Romans 2, Paul is calling the Jewish believers to task for judging the Gentile believers who "have not the law, but do by nature [the "divine nature" of 2Pe 1:4] the things contained in the law" (Rom 2:14). Paul is not talking about the old covenant law because that law required circumcision. Circumcision, among many other laws, is NOT by nature. The Jews thought that because they had the Law of Moses, they had the truth.

Rom 2:17 Behold, thou art called a Jew, and restest in the law, and makest thy boast of God, Rom 2:18 And knowest [his] will, and approvest the things that are more excellent, being instructed out of the law; Rom 2:19 And art confident that thou thyself art a guide of the blind, a light of them which are in darkness, Rom 2:20 An instructor of the foolish, a teacher of babes, which hast the form of knowledge and of the truth in the law.

The old covenant, which includes the Ten Commandments (Deu 4:13), was a "form of knowledge and... truth".

The Greek word for form is morphosis (Strong's #3446) and is used only twice in the New Testament. The only other appearance is in 2Ti 3:5. In verse one, Paul is telling us what it will be like "in the last days" (vs. 2). "For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy...". Then in verse 5, he says "having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away." Paul informs us "if ye be circumcised Christ will profit you nothing" (Gal 5:2).
Now Paul was circumcised and goes on to tell the Corinthians that "circumcision is nothing and uncircumcision is nothing, but the keeping of the commandments of God [is everything] (1Co 7:19).

Don't let anyone tell you Paul did not believe in commandment keeping. But neither should you be deceived into believing that "commandments of God" here in 1Co 7:19 are the ten commandments of the old covenant (Deu 4:13; Exo 20). "For I testify again to every man that is circumcised that he is a debtor to do the whole law" (Gal 5:3). "Cursed is everyone that continueth not in all things that are written in the book of the law to do them" (Gal 3:10).

Circumcision is as much a part of the Old Covenant as the Ten Commandments. But the "whole law" and "the book of the law" is a mere "form of the knowledge and of the truth". It is "a yoke...which neither our fathers nor we were able to bear" (Act 15:10).

What Paul is saying is that if we mistake the outward ritual of circumcision for the spiritual reality that "Christ will profit you nothing." The same is true for Sabbath and holy day observance.

The weekly Sabbath and all the holy days are mere forms of Christ, just as surely as animal sacrifices were mere forms, shadows and types.

Surely no Christian would sacrifice animals and expect animal blood to cover and hide their sins. Why? Because "Christ is our Passover". Paul did not physically keep the feast once a year with physical bread. Paul put sin out of his life every day all year. He kept the feast with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth (1Co 5:8).

Let us get away from 'forms'. Let us "keep the feast" not literally once a year, but daily with "the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth."

Let's forsake the form of a Sabbath of one in seven and remain in our sabbatismos 24 hours a day seven days a week, “for we which have believed do enter into rest...”

Heb 4:10 For he that is entered into his rest, he also hath ceased from his own works, as God [did] from his.

“For he that hath entered into his rest, he also hath ceased from his own works” every day. Remember, forms "deny the power thereof" because they are all just 'forms' of Christ. Let's trade in the old passing, powerless form for the permanent, powerful reality of Christ through whom we can do all things and conquer sin all the time.

Mat 5 reveals to us that the 10 commandments are a morphosis, a form of godliness, not the spirit or power of godliness that Christ is revealing here for the first time. If this is not so, then there would have been no need for the "sermon on the mount".

The believing Jews who were attempting to judahize Paul's Gentile converts, were concerned with the letter of the law and an outward visible show of righteousness and obedience. They wanted the Gentiles to be circumcised (Act 15:1), to observe the holy days (Col 2:15) and to keep the law of Moses (Act 15:5). It was not given to them to see (Mat 13:13) that circumcision must be of the heart (Lev 26:41). They may have realized that the Messiah was to be rejected (Isa 53:3), but they did not see that he was to be a reformer like Moses. (Deu 18:15, Heb 9:10)

Yet it was all there in the "law and the prophets" for those who were given "eyes to see and ears to hear" (Mat 13:13). The purpose all the types and shadows serve, being part of the law, is as a "schoolmaster to bring us to Christ" (Gal 3:24).

What Are "Good Things To Come"?

For the law, (notice it simply says "the law", not any particular part of it; the whole 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, make the comers thereunto perfect (Heb 10:1).

As with Heb 7:12, which some say refers only to the laws pertaining to the priesthood, so here also many will argue that this refers only to the laws concerning the animal sacrifices.

But, it is not any particular part of the old covenant that is being replaced; it is all of the... old" covenant that is "ready to vanish away" (Heb 8:13). So if "the law" is simply "a shadow [a form] of good things to come, and not the very image of the things", then what is "the very image that makes the comers thereunto perfect" (Heb 10:1)?

When our eyes are opened, and we are given ears that hear, the Bible becomes amazingly simple and pleasantly redundant in its simplicity: "let no man therefore judge you in meat, or in drink, or in respect of an holy day, or of the new moon, or of the Sabbath days: [all part and parcel of the old "vanishing" covenant] which are a shadow of things to come; but the body [casting that shadow] is of Christ." Once again, they all pointed to Christ who is the center of all scripture (Col 1:19).

Again we ask, what is the "old covenant"? The answer is the same: "And he declared unto you his covenant, which he commanded you to perform, even ten commandments; [the ones superceded by Christ in Mat 5] and he wrote them upon two tables of stone" (Deu 4:13). These are the tables and the stones referred to in 2Co 3:3, 7 and 11). The ten commandments are the foundation of the law of Moses.

Mixing The Old Covenant With The New Covenant

We cannot dissect the old covenant and use or discard its parts at random. It is all or none at all. We dare not mix the old with the new. Mat 9:16, 17, "No man putteth a piece of new cloth into an old garment, for that which is put in to fill it up taketh from the garment, and the rent is made worse. Neither do men put new wine into old bottles: else the bottles break, and the wine runneth out, and the bottles perish: but they put new wine into new bottles, and both are preserved." I think we all realize that Jesus is not speaking of literal cloths and wine bottles.

It is hard to give up the flesh (the letter of the law). It seems so right, so good to us. Old wine will always taste more mellow to the carnal mind. Christ predicted that this "time of reformation," this "new covenant," would not be well received. That is as true today as it has ever been. Here is Christ telling us that the new covenant will be rejected by His people for the old: “No man also having drunk old wine straightway desireth new: for he saith, The old is better” (Luk 5:39). That statement was made to "the disciples of John and of the Pharisees" (Mar 2:18, Luk 5:33), because to this day, it is their disciples who want to go back to the law of Moses.

Keeping the old covenant laws and the ten commandments may seem like the right thing to do (Act 15:5 - “But there rose up certain of the sect of the Pharisees which believed, saying, That it was needful to circumcise them, and to command them to keep the law of Moses.”), however, unless we repent of breaking these new commandments of our Lord, just like the men on whom the tower of Siloam fell, "...ye shall all likewise PERISH" (Luk 13:4-5). Mixing the new with the old does not work. It makes things worse. In fact, Jesus said, "they PERISH"! So notice what Paul tells us regarding circumcision, “I testify to every man that is circumcised [or keeps the holy days, or the clean and unclean food laws, or tithing, etc. etc.] that he is a debtor to do the whole law” (Gal 5:3).

Upon what scripture therefore, have some decided that, yes, circumcision is no longer needed, but the holy days, tithing, clean and unclean food laws, etc. etc. are to be observed? It is the "whole law" that must either be kept or it is all "things written in the book of the law" that are "done away" and "disannulled" but only after the law brings us to Christ (Heb 7:18). Circumcision is a type and shadow of putting off the flesh and being given a new heart: "In whom also ye are circumcised with the circumcision made without hands in putting off the body of the sins of the flesh by the circumcision of Christ [Christ living his life in us] (Gal 2:22, Col 2:11). The type, physical circumcision, has been rejected for the reality, Christ in us.

Who Is 'The Circumcision?'

"For we [those in Christ] are the circumcision, which worship God in spirit, and rejoice in Christ and have no confidence in the flesh [such as being a physical descendant of Abraham]" (Php 3:3).

This is what Paul means when he says “...though we have known Christ after the flesh, yet now henceforth know we him no more” (2Co 5:16). Paul is not saying that we are no longer to acknowledge Christ's teaching given while He was in the flesh. To the contrary, he says “if any man...consent not to...the words of our Lord Jesus Christ...he is proud, knowing nothing...” (1Ti 6:3). What Paul is saying is that the type, being born of David after the flesh, being Abraham's seed after the flesh, the natural is always first (1Co 15:46). But once it is fulfilled, it “waxeth old [and] is ready to vanish away” (Heb 8:13).

Rom 2:28 For he is not a Jew, which is one outwardly; neither [is that] circumcision, which is outward in the flesh:
Rom 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.

The Proper Use Of New Covenant Liberties

On what scriptural grounds do we tend to think that, yes, partof the law (circumcision) is fulfilled in Christ, but that the rest of the law is not? Paul had no such doctrine. Yes, he did "become a Jew to the Jew, and under the law to them that are under the law", but not because those types and shadows were necessary, but simply "that I might gain the Jew" and that "I might gain them that are under the law" (1Co 9:20). When Paul says, "...I must by all means keep this feast that cometh in Jerusalem..." (Act 18:21), it wasn't that he esteemed it necessary for salvation, but rather "and this I do for the gospels sake..." (1Co 9:23).

We should all follow Paul's example and tolerate those who are "weak in the faith" (Rom 14:1). One Christian may eat things not eaten by another (vs. 2 and 3). Another Christian may observe holy days, while another doesn't (yes, holy days were "esteemed" above other days). What is Paul's advice? "One man esteemeth one day above another: another esteemeth every day alike. Let every man be fully persuaded in his own mind" (Rom 14:5). "To his own master (God) he standeth or falleth" (vs. 4).

But how did Paul really feel about clean and unclean meat laws?

Rom 14:14 I know, and am persuaded by the Lord Jesus, that [there is] nothing unclean of itself: but to him that esteemeth anything to be unclean, to him [it is] unclean.

Rom 14:15 But if thy brother be grieved with [thy] meat, now walkest thou not charitably. Destroy not him with thy meat, for whom Christ died.

Rom 14:16 Let not then your good be evil spoken of:

Rom 14:17 For the kingdom of God is not meat and drink; but righteousness, and peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit.

So exactly how do we decide how to conduct ourselves among other brothers whose spiritual development differs from ours?

Rom 14:18 For he that in these things serveth Christ [is] acceptable to God, and approved of men.

And how do we serve Christ?

Mat 25:40 ...Inasmuch as ye have done [it] unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done [it] unto me.

Therefore the way to "serve Christ" is to become a "servant" to your brother: "And whosoever of you will be the chiefest, shall be servant of all" (Mar 10:44). We must not allow our liberty to "become a stumbling block" to our brothers (1Co 8:9).

Understanding the liberties inherent in the new covenant is good as long as we do not become puffed up with our "superior knowledge".

1Co 8:1 ...Knowledge puffeth up, but charity edifieth.

Keep holy days with those who keep holy days, eat meat with those who eat meat, herbs with those who eat herbs. Become "all things to all men that you might by all means save some" (1Co 9:22).

"...Take heed lest this liberty of yours become a stumblingblock to them that are weak" (in faith) (1Co 8:9).

"...Everyone of us shall give account of himself to God. Let us not therefore judge one another anymore: but judge this rather, that no man put a stumbling block or an occasion to fall in his brother's way. I know and am persuaded by the Lord Jesus, that there is nothing unclean of itself: [Gen 9:3 "...everything that moves is food for you..."], but to him that esteemeth anything to be unclean, to him it is unclean" (Rom 14:12-14).

"For the kingdom of God is not meat and drink; but righteousness and peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost" (Rom 14:17).

“The kingdom of God…is righteousness...” sends many folks, oblivious to the whole point of Matthew 5, right back to the commandments of God for carnal Israel. “All your commandments are righteousness” (Psa 119:172) they quote, blithely unaware that the same God who commanded carnal Israel to take an “eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth” changed that command to “But I say unto you, that ye resist not evil: but whosoever shall smite you on thy right cheek, turn to him the other also” (Mat 5:38 and 39).

Yes, "all thy commandments are righteousness", but Christ did not say "Why call ye me Lord, Lord and do not the things in the law or the Torah". What he did say was "Why call ye me Lord, Lord, and do not the things that I say" (Luk 6:46).

Christ did not say "Whosoever cometh to me, and keepeth the Torah or the laws I gave to Moses..." What he did say was "Whosoever cometh to me and heareth MY saying and DOETH them…is like a man which built an house…upon a rock" (Luk 6:47).

Anyone who thinks that "love your enemy" is obeying the law of Moses doesn't know the law of Moses. Anyone who thinks "except for fornication" is in the law of Moses, hasn't read the law of Moses. Anyone who thinks "don't look on a woman to lust after her" is in Torah doesn't know Torah. And anyone who thinks that gathering corn to eat on the Sabbath and telling a man to take up his bed on the Sabbath are not breaking the Sabbath, simply hasn't read the old covenant laws (Num 15:33-35; Exo16:5; Jer 17:21-22).

Christ did not do these things because they were permitted in the "spirit of the law which had been lost in the traditions of the elder." He did them to demonstrate "that he was Lord also of the Sabbath" (Luk 6:5).

Christ, like Moses, was a reformer and a law-giver. “The Lord your God will raise up unto you a Prophet from the midst of thee, of thy brethren like unto me; unto Him ye shall hearken” (Deu 18:15). “Which [tabernacle of Moses] stood only in meats and drinks and…carnal ordinances, imposed on them UNTIL [but only until] the time of REFORMATION…Christ being come” (Heb 9:10 and 11).

Jesus Christ for the first time in history brought a spiritual (not a letter) law (Rom 7:6, 14 and Mat 5). "Thou shalt not commit adultery" (Mat 5:27) is letter law; "Whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her has committed adultery with her already in his heart" (Mat 5:28) is spiritual law. "All these have I kept from my youth up" (Mat 19:20) and "...touching the righteousness which is in the law, blameless" (Php 3:6) are statements made by the rich young ruler and Apostle Paul respectively. Yet Christ says they were 'lacking' while keeping these laws (Luk 18:22). It is the "newness of spirit" primarily (Rom 7:6), that the carnal mind "cannot be subject to" (Rom 8:7). One can keep the ten commandments from his youth up and be blameless in "the law", yet violate the "newness of spirit" (Rom 7:6), "the law of God" which is "inward" (Rom 7:22).

You can refrain from murder, adultery and love your neighbor, and still be carnal; but you cannot refrain from hate and lust and love your enemies and still be carnal. It is the spiritual law, not the Ten Commandments, not the letter of the law that troubles the carnal mind.

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The Law is flesh and Jesus is Spirit…..I want to emphasis two important paragraphs of this part of the study:

[“It is hard to give up the flesh (the letter of the law). It seems so right, so good to us. Old wine will always taste more mellow to the carnal mind. Christ predicted that this "time of reformation," this "new covenant," would not be well received. That is as true today as it has ever been. Here is Christ telling us that the new covenant will be rejected by His people for the old: “No man also having drunk old wine straightway desireth new: for he saith, The old is better” (Luk 5:39).”

“Keeping the old covenant laws and the ten commandments may seem like the right thing to do (Act 15:5 - “But there rose up certain of the sect of the Pharisees which believed, saying, That it was needful to circumcise them, and to command them to keep the law of Moses.”), however, unless we repent of breaking these new commandments of our Lord, just like the men on whom the tower of Siloam fell, "...ye shall all likewise PERISH" (Luk 13:4-5). Mixing the new with the old does not work. It makes things worse. In fact, Jesus said, "they PERISH"! So notice what Paul tells us regarding circumcision, “I testify to every man that is circumcised [or keeps the holy days, or the clean and unclean food laws, or tithing, etc. etc.] that he is a debtor to do the whole law” (Gal 5:3).”]

In returning to the shadow we reject the real! It may seem that it is good to keep the law, when in all actuality we are dishonoring Christ and what he did for us. This is paramount…we must obey Jesus, and let His Spirit guide our lives, and give up our carnal understanding and works that lead to death.

This is also true in regards to defining Israel in regards to Spirit or flesh! Flesh matters nothing as the Spirit is come!!!

"For we [those in Christ] are the circumcision, which worship God in spirit, and rejoice in Christ and have no confidence in the flesh [such as being a physical descendant of Abraham]" (Php 3:3).

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JESUS IS ALL AND EVERYTHING!!

Patti C.

To be Continued………