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NASB | Matthew 5:17 ¶ "Do not think that I came to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I did not come to abolish but to fulfill. |
AMPLIFIED 2015 | Matthew 5:17 ¶ "Do not think that I came to do away with or undo the Law [of Moses] or the [writings of the] Prophets; I did not come to destroy but to fulfill. |
Subject: I CAME TO FULFILL THE LAW |
Bible Note: Lionstrong, aka LooseCannon? :) I'm not sure that I understand exactly what you mean by "age of grace". I've heard the term many times, but it seems to me, different people mean different things by those words. As to whether or not we can disobey God's law or not... the answer is "no", but there is a difference between "keeping" the Torah (all of God's LAWS), and God's "understanding" of His law that is deeper than human understanding. I will try to explain. God's law said certain things. If a person reads it... we will have an understanding of the words written -- our own human understanding. Jesus showed us that in his examples in Matthew 5, where he added "depth" to the teachings of the Torah. He showed us "God's understanding" of those words written on paper (stone and papyrus in earlier years of course). God's understanding can only happen for each of us when we are being taught by the indwelling Holy Spirit. So we are to OBEY God's law which He writes on our hearts... but we are not under the LAW to keep it when it is only by our own human understanding. Example using one of the Ten Commandments. Thou shalt not kill. With human understanding we know that we shouldn't murder someone. And "keeping" that is good, but not in itself a complete "act of love" towards others according to God's understanding. With God's understanding (Matt. 5:21-26) we know that we are not even to THINK angry thoughts against our brother nor call him evil names... or we've just broken that commandment. I sincerely believe that each of the commandments given in Torah... have deeper meanings than just what we read on the surface. This would include the Sabbath, especially since all God's commands are culminated in the two great commands -- which are the "laws" of love toward God and man. Since the Sabbath is one that comes up so often I will also use that as an example. "Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days shall you work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the Lord your God... " Man's understanding says "go to church and take a day off from work on Saturday". I believe that God's understanding has more "depth" than that. Jesus does not address this really except to say that He is Lord of the Sabbath, and that the Sabbath (day of rest) was made for man, not man for the Sabbath. In other words God knew man would NEED a day of rest every week from his usual labors, and I think Jesus thought we'd understand what it meant when He said He was Lord of the Sabbath too. Paul explains a bit more concerning the Sabbath when he states that our "rest" is in the Lord through faith. Hebrews 4:3 "For we who have believed DO ENTER that rest..." (vs 11) "Let us therefore be diligent to enter that rest, lest anyone fall after the same example of disobedience." So yes, as human beings we physically need a day of rest per week. As new creations in God through faith, we have already entered into the rest that God intended for His children by that command. And I believe that is why Paul states in Romans 14:4-5, "Who are you to judge another's servant? To his own master he stands or falls. Indeed, he will be made to stand, for God is able to make him stand. One person esteems one day above another [6th or 7th?], another esteems every day alike. Let each be fully convinced in his own mind." ... because if someone observes one day or every day -- it is still observed to the Lord... and repeat, Jesus is Lord of the Sabbath. He is Lord of the rest (Sabbath) that we now have through faith. Backing up... if by "age of grace" you mean the new covanant -- and the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, then YES things have changed immeasurably. We are no longer under the LAW as we humanly understand it, but under God's grace where we each learn directly from Him exactly how He understands those things. So from a totally human perspective... many of the LAWS (Torah) have actually changed. But if we look at those same LAWS from God's perspective they have not. It would be sort of like the difference between reading an outline about a book and reading the book itself. We can say that every major event written in the book is included in the outline (Torah) which they are, but all of the details are still missing... until we read the entire book (learn the Torah from the Holy Spirit). If this still doesn't answer your question to me, please ask again. Perhaps we're just on two different wave-lengths here. :) God bless. |