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NASB | Hebrews 6:4 For in the case of those who have once been enlightened and have tasted of the heavenly gift and have been made partakers of the Holy Spirit, |
AMPLIFIED 2015 | Hebrews 6:4 For [it is impossible to restore to repentance] those who have once been enlightened [spiritually] and who have tasted and consciously experienced the heavenly gift and have shared in the Holy Spirit, |
Subject: Joe, what is Paul and Hebrews 'the Law'? |
Bible Note: Joe, here's my thoughts: "Do not think that I came to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I did not come to abolish but to fulfill. For truly I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not the smallest letter or stroke shall pass from the Law until all is accomplished." Joe, you said it yourself, Christ did fulfill it. He could not allow it to pass away UNTIL He fulfilled it. The key phrase here is not 'until heaven and earth pass away,' the key phrase is 'until all (of the Law) is accomplished.' And Christ did that. 'Then why do some try to annul God's moral commands?' I do not try to annul God's moral commands. They do serve a purpose. They show sinners God's righteous standard and how far they fall short of it. But as a Christian, you are not under the Law, you are under grace and the law of Christ. As far as dismantling the Law, I am supporting no such thing. God's moral requirements both are encapsulated in the decalogue, but also pre-date the law as well. His moral requirements for humanity extend back as far as the garden, long before Moses came down from Sinai. Paul even mentions this in Galatians: 'If God's moral requirements only exist in the form of the Mosaic Law, we not only have the question of those who pre-date the Law, but also those who lived afterward but were not under the Law of Moses (i.e. the Gentiles).' True, God's moral requirements existed before the Mosaic Law. Why? Because they are a reflection of who He is. 'Therefore, only the Jews were "under the Law" in the first place, in the Mosaic sense.' True, so if you are a Gentile, what are you doing under the Mosaic Law? 'However, we are all accountable to the moral law of God, which is seen and expressed clearly in the Law of Moses, but also is eternal.' True, and none of us can keep it perfectly. All have sinned and fallen short of God's glory - Rom 3:23. 'Why do you contend that when Christ died and rose again that the moral requirements of God, which did not begin at Sinai, ended at Calvary?' I didn't. I said that we are under the law of Christ which surpasses the Mosaic law by miles. Christ fulfilled the complete moral requirements of God at Calvary. And He will continue to fulfill the law of the Spirit of life in us as we abide in Him. But this is not to acheive righteousness or sanctification. We have already been made righteous and sanctified in our spirits. We obey God's moral laws not to achieve or attain a status, but because we have already, in Christ, attained. Will Christ in you, the hope of glory, break God's moral law? I don't think so. But if you do, if you sin as a Christian, does that invalidate what Christ in you has done? I don't think so. Grace is what leads us to say no to ungodliness and live holy lives. Christ in us. 'God's covenant of grace was fulfilled at Calvary,' Not true, Joe. The New Covenant of grace was established at Calvary. New covenants were established by the shedding of blood. Christ fulfilled the Old Covenant (the Law) at Calvary. 'However, all humanity, as descendants of Adam, are part of the covenant of works established by God, which has never been nullified.' I don't believe so. 'The reason I am saved is that I am in Christ, who fulfilled the covenant of works for me and all who believe.' True. He did then He took it away. No one is saved by works, ever. 'One other question that would help clear things up on your perspective for me, Bill: what can I do as a Christian to honor God in my daily life that is not expressed in the Law? If the moral law passed away with the Mosaic Law, how am I to please God without obeying the moral commands found in the Pentateuch?' Faith in what Christ has done. Without faith, it is IMPOSSIBLE to please God. Faith, not in yourself and how well you keep God's moral law, but faith in Christ and the fact that He will, day by day, moment by moment, fulfill God's righteous requirements in you. In fact, anything that is not of faith, including human effort to keep the Law, is sin. That is why the Pharisees were condemned. If you could live every day keeping every moral law of God, then you would, indeed, be justified. But neither you nor I nor anyone else (except Christ) can do this. So what do we do? Just keep trying? No. Rest in Christ and know that because He did it once, He will continue to do it through you. Faith in Christ alone is what pleases God. Anything else is works. Gal 3:24,25 - 'Therefore the Law has become our tutor to lead us to Christ, so that we may be justified by faith. But now that faith has come, we are no longer under a tutor (the Law).' It's pretty clear, Joe. Grow in grace and the knowledge of our Lord, Bill Mc |