Monthly Archives:April 2020

 

Oh, how I love your law! I meditate on it all day long. (Psa 119:97)

When you ask people if they are law-abiding citizens, most will answer that they believe they are. In general, countries that have a good functioning Law system and less corruption do better than those who don’t. One of the key reasons why the Western countries have done really well is because they had a Law system that was based on Judeo-Christian values.

Without really realizing it, we, as law-abiding citizens, following hundreds, if not thousands, of laws (traffic, council, state, and federal). Most of the Laws are not that hard to keep, just stick to common sense and to some basic rules, like do to others what you would have them do to you.

Mat 7:12 So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets.”

When asking people about God’s law you will notice that it brings up more negative emotions than positive ones. Emotions expressed are; it is impossible to keep and the law enslaved or is bondage, but you will hardly ever hear anyone say how much they love God’s laws, or that they delight in His laws as David and Paul did! Read Psalm 119, the longest chapter in the Bible and it is all about how wonderful God’s law is!

Jesus gives a very good summary of God’s Law when asked what is the greatest commandment in the law:

Mat 22:36-40 “Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?” Jesus replied: ” ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’  All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.“

At the heart of God’s law is ‘Love’, love God and love your neighbor, so how come that so many have such a negative view when it comes to God’s law?

Most are due to our misunderstanding of what God’s law actually is. In this article, we will try to create an overview of what God’s law is and also highlight what it is not. Once you get a clear understanding of what the Law of God is you will also understand why David says that he loves God’s laws and why Paul calls God’s law a delight, holy, righteous, and good.

What is not the Law of God

I think it is best to tackle this issue first because a lot of our misunderstanding of God’s Law has to do with us reading scripture and assuming that it is talking about God’s Law, while it is talking about another law.

One key verse we find in Act 15:8-10 where Peter explained what happened when he visited the house of the centurion named Cornelius and how God accepted them by giving them the Holy Spirit. He then states that we should not put such a heavy yoke on the gentile’s shoulders that neither they nor their fathers been able to bear:

Act 15:8-10 God, who knows the heart, showed that he accepted them by giving the Holy Spirit to them, just as he did to us. (9) He made no distinction between us and them, for he purified their hearts by faith. (10) Now then, why do you try to test God by putting on the necks of the disciples a yoke that neither we nor our fathers have been able to bear?

The keywords here are “a yoke that neither we nor our fathers have been able to bear”, most will believe that Peter is talking about God’s Laws but he does not refer to God’s Law, instead, he is referencing the Laws of the Jews, the traditions of the elders also known as the commandments of men.

Peter was talking in this passage about an earlier event described in Acts 10:24-33 where he visited the house of the centurion named Cornelius after he received a vision from God about a blanket filled with animals. Noticed what he said in verse 28:

He said to them: “You are well aware that it is against our law for a Jew to associate with a Gentile or visit him. But God has shown me that I should not call any man impure or unclean. (Act 10:28)

It is not against God’s Law to visit Gentiles or be associated with Gentiles, quite the opposite, God’s Law tells us that they should be considered as one of their own, we read:

Lev 19:33-35 “When a stranger sojourns with you in your land, you shall not do him wrong. (34) You shall treat the stranger who sojourns with you as the native among you, and you shall love him as yourself, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt: I am the LORD your God. (35) “You shall do no wrong in judgement, in measures of length or weight or quantity.

Num 15:14-16 And if a stranger is sojourning with you, or anyone is living permanently among you, and he wishes to offer a food offering, with a pleasing aroma to the LORD, he shall do as you do. (15) For the assembly, there shall be one statute for you and for the stranger who sojourns with you, a statute forever throughout your generations. You and the sojourner shall be alike before the LORD. (16) One law and one rule shall be for you and for the stranger who sojourns with you.”

The Jews at that time were not only subject to God’s Laws but Jewish laws as well. One of the topics in Acts 15 was the question if Gentile believers were required to be circumcised. When a Gentile converted to Judaism, through circumcision, they were not only required to keep God’s Laws but also the Jewish laws imposed on them by other Jews! This is what Peter is opposing!

We have countless examples where Jesus is fighting with the Pharisees in regards to these man-made laws. Few examples are:

• Mark 7:1-13 were the disciples of Jesus did not wash their hands before eating
• or when Jesus and His disciples went through a grain field and picked some grain and ate it on the Sabbath (Math 12:1, Mark 2:23).
• Paul is accused of bringing a gentile into the temple and by doing so defiled the temple (Act 21:28), while we read in Num 15:14 that everyone should be able to bring an offering to God.

You can find many other examples but when you test them in scripture you will find that they are not God’s Laws but instead are man-made commandments, traditions of the elders also referred to as the Oral Law (Talmud). Jesus actually mentions the heavy burden they place on people’s shoulders:

Mat 23:2-4 “The scribes and the Pharisees sit on Moses’ seat, (3) so practice and observe whatever they tell you–but not what they do. For they preach, but do not practice. (4) They tie up heavy burdens, hard to bear, and lay them on people’s shoulders, but they themselves are not willing to move them with their finger.

As we can see, from what Jesus said, one key reason why we believe the Laws are too hard to keep is that we mix-up ‘commandment of men’ with God’s Law.

But there is another reason why we believe that God’s Laws are impossible to keep. Church doctrine teaches us that in the old covenant a person could only receive salvation by keeping God’s Law and that we now, in the new covenant, are instead saved by grace through faith. This is not a Biblical concept but church doctrine!

Try to find anywhere in the Old Testament where the children of Israel are told that they will find salvation by keeping the Law, you will find it nowhere. Instead, you will find that salvation has always been through faith and faith alone. Something Paul tries to make very clear in both Romans and Galatians. When Paul says in Galatians 3:11 “Now it is evident that no one is justified before God by the law, for ‘The righteous shall live by faith.'”, he is actually quoting old testament Habakkuk 2:4, very similar we see in Rom 4:2-3 and Gal 3:6:

Rom 4:2-3 For if Abraham was justified by works, he has something to boast about, but not before God. (3) For what does the Scripture say? “Abraham believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness.” (quoting Genesis 15:6)

Gal 3:6 Consider Abraham: “He believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness.” (quoting Genesis 15:6)

As we can see it is not an Old Covenant vs New Covenant issue or only a New Testament concept, salvation has always been through faith. To me, it only shows that a person saying this simply does not understand the New Covenant and instead is teaching what they have learned from church doctrine.

Church doctrine is one of the main causes why people have such a negative perception of God’s Law. God does not want us to keep His commandments for salvation, instead, God wants us to desire with our hearts to keep His commandments and that this desire is reflected in our actions by doing them the best we can (our fruits). He wants us to keep His Laws as an expression of our love for Him! Remember His Laws are all about love!

The Law according to Paul

But what about Romans 7, Paul clearly states that he can’t stop doing what is wrong, so clearly it is not that simple? Romans 7+8 are key to understand Paul when he talks about the Law because in these chapters He is not only talking about the Law of God but he specifies 3 other laws:

1. The Law of Sin (Rom 7:23)
2. The Law of the Spirit of Life (Rom 8:2)
3. The Law of Sin and Death (Rom 8:2)

These 2 chapters are perfect to show what God’s Law is and what it is not! Church doctrine teaches that the Law enslaves, causes bondage, and imprisons us and they do this because they do not get what Paul is actually telling us in these 2 chapters. Paul here explains what is actually causing bondage and what enslaves, and how it relates to God’s Law.

In Chapter 7 Paul draws a picture of a conflict between God’s Law and Sin, Paul says in this chapter that God’s Law is:

• holy, righteous, and good
• spiritual
• a delight

But he is wondering how come, that a law that is good, holy, spiritual and righteous, causes so much conflict within someone’s soul?

Rom 7:15 I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do.
…
Rom 7:17 As it is, it is no longer I myself who do it, but it is sin living in me.

Paul finds the answer to his problem at the end of chapter 7:

Rom 7:21-23 So I find this law at work: When I want to do good, evil is right there with me.  (22) For in my inner being I delight in God’s law; (23) but I see another law at work in the members of my body, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within my members.

He finds another Law at work in his body and calls it The Law of Sin, this law directly opposes the Law of God. It is not God’s Law that enslaves or causes bondage but The Law of Sin that does this!

How this all relates to what Jesus did for us on the cross can be found in the last verse of Chapter 7 and the first 2 verses of Chapter 8:

Rom 7:24-8:2 What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death? (25) Thanks be to God–through Jesus Christ our Lord!
So then, I myself in my mind am a slave to God’s law, but in the sinful nature a slave to the law of sin.
(8:1) Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, (2) because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of life set me free from the law of sin and death.

We read here that:

the law of the Spirit of life set me free from the law of sin and death.

and we read in 1 Co 15:21-22 the next:

For since death came through a man, the resurrection of the dead comes also through a man. (22) For as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive. (1Co 15:21-22)

So, here we find the other 2 laws that Paul defines, and they are directly connected to the Curse of Adam and the Blessing of Christ:

1. the Law of Sin and Death (the curse of Adam – death through one man)
2. the Law of the Spirit of Life (Life through Christ countering Adam’s curse)

God’s Law does not bring death but “The Law of Sin and Death” (“Adam’s Curse”) does, Jesus does not set us free from the Law but He set us free from the “Law of Sin and Death”. This is at the heart of the New Covenant.

Eze 36:26-27 I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. (27) And I will put my Spirit in you and move you to follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws.

I would recommend studying all Paul’s definitions of different laws and their characteristics; it will help to understand what Paul writes in all of his letters. To give a summary of what we have found in Rom 7 + 8:

• The Law of God (holy, righteous, good, a delight, spiritual, it identifies sin, blesses us when we keep it, but curses us when we break it)
• The Law of Sin (directly opposes the Law of God, Enslaves, imprisons, resulting in the fruits of sin)
• The Law of Sin and Death (Curse of Adam, brings death)
• The Law of the Spirit of life (frees us from The Law of Sin and Death, help us to resist sin, convicts us of sin when we sin, resulting in the fruits of the spirit)

An example of how it can help us to understand what Paul writes:

Rom 6:12-14 Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its evil desires. (13) Do not offer the parts of your body to sin, as instruments of wickedness, but rather offer yourselves to God, as those who have been brought from death to life; and offer the parts of your body to him as instruments of righteousness.
(14) For sin shall not be your master ^{(schoolmaster -Gal 3:24)}, because you are not under law (of sin), but under grace.

What Church Doctrine fails to do is testing what they believe with the Old Testament, as the Bereans did (Act 17:11). If they would test the idea that the Law enslaves, they would find that the Old Testament actually claims the opposite:

Psa 119:44-48 I will always obey your law, for ever and ever. (45) I will walk about in freedom, for I have sought out your precepts. (46) I will speak of your statutes before kings and will not be put to shame, (47) for I delight in your commands because I love them. (48) I lift up my hands to your commands, which I love, and I meditate on your decrees.

We are warned by Peter in his last words, that what Paul writes will be taken out of context, and that we should be on our guard so that we are not carried away by the error of lawless men!

2Pe 3:15-17 Bear in mind that our Lord’s patience means salvation, just as our dear brother Paul also wrote you with the wisdom that God gave him. (16) He writes the same way in all his letters, speaking in them of these matters. His letters contain some things that are hard to understand, which ignorant and unstable people distort, as they do the other Scriptures, to their own destruction. (17) Therefore, dear friends, since you already know this, be on your guard so that you may not be carried away by the error of lawless men and fall from your secure position.
(Lawless Men = Men that don’t believe the Law applies to them)

You might have heard the argument that the law has more than 600 commandments and no one is able to keep them all. As we saw in the start, by being just law-abiding citizens we are already keeping hundreds if not thousands of laws right now. Very similar is it with God’s commandments. Many of the commandments are just common sense, others only apply to the priest and temple services and cannot be observed today because of the destruction of the Temple at 70 AD. Some laws are specific for a certain target group and as such only expected to be kept by that target group. Very similar to traffic laws regarding driving a car, if you do not drive a car then those laws are not applicable to you.

When we look at the ruling James makes in Acts 15:19-21 in regards to new Gentile believers we read; that all new believers should right away abstain from things polluted by idols, from sexual immorality, from that what is strangled and from the blood. We also read something most Christian denominations skip, that the rest of the Law they will learn in the synagogues on the Sabbath!

We are not right away expected to understand all the Laws and how they apply to us, instead, we will learn them on the Sabbath when we study God’s Law. Around the World, on every Sabbath, the Torah gets read in all the synagogues, and every year they go through the complete Torah. Starting from Genesis 1:1 right after the Feast of Tabernacles (Sukkot) on the eighth day of the festival. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Weekly_Torah_portion

God’s Law is not an impossible mountain to climb, but more a slope, and when we test the idea that God’s Laws are too difficult, with scripture itself, we read that Gods Laws are not burdensome or too hard to keep:

1Jn 5:3 For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments. And his commandments are not burdensome.

Deu 30:11 “For this commandment that I command you today is not too hard for you, neither is it far off.

Hopefully, you start to see that a lot of the negative emotions with regards to God’s Law are due to us not understanding what God’s Law is. So let start looking at what God’s Law actually is.

What is God’s Law

If we have to summarise God’s Law using single words we read:

• Perfect (Psalm 19:7)
• Just (Nehemiah 9:13)
• Good (Prov. 4:2,Rom 7:12)
• Life (Prov 6:23)
• Truth (Psalm 119:142)
• Light (Isaiah 8:20,Psa 119:105,Prov 6:23)
• Way (Malachi 2:8,Psa 119:32,Psa 1:6 ,Prov 6:23)
• Freedom (Psalm 119:45)
• Holy (Rom 7:12)
• Delight (Psa 1:2 , Rom 7:22)
• Not burdensome or difficult to keep (Deu 30:11,1Jn 5:3)

Jesus also showed us in Mat 22:36-40 that at the heart of God’s Law is Love. When we look at the meaning of the word Torah (Hebrew for Law), it actually means instructions.

The word “Torah” in Hebrew is derived from the root ירה, which in the hif’il conjugation means ‘to guide’ or ‘to teach’ (cf. Lev 10:11). The meaning of the word is therefore “teaching”, “doctrine”, or “instruction”; the commonly accepted “law” gives a wrong impression. (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Torah)

So simply put, God’s Law = God’s Instructions for us. When you think of this you start to realize that the whole Word of God is His instructions to us. We see in many scriptures that the law is referenced as “his word”, we see this also in 1 Jn 2:3-6:

We know that we have come to know him if we obey his commands. (4) The man who says, “I know him,” but does not do what he commands is a liar, and the truth is not in him. (5) But if anyone obeys his word, God’s love is truly made complete in him. This is how we know we are in him: (6) Whoever claims to live in him must walk as Jesus did. (1 Jn 2:3-6)

Furthermore, we read in Psalm 119 a lot about what God’s Law actually is, and similar to what we saw in 1 Jn 2:3-6, we see that the words ‘your law’ and ‘your word’ are used interchangeably. Once we start to understand what God’s Law really is, it will change us!

We all know that Jesus is “the Word”:

Joh 1:1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

But we also read what Jesus says about Himself:

Joh 8:12 …, he said, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but
will have the light of life.”
…
Joh 14:6 Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father
except through me.

On the other hand, we saw already that God’s Law is:

• The Way (Malachi 2:8, Psa 119:32, Psa 1:6, Prov 6:23)
• The Truth (Psalm 119:142)
• The Life (Prov 6:23)
• The Light (Isaiah 8:20, Psa 119:105, Prov 6:23)

In other words, Jesus is the Law (Jesus = the Word = God’s Instructions for us = the Law)! He is the living embodiment of the Law, our example to follow!

If we love Christ, we love the Law, something 1Jn 2:3-6 and 1Jn 5:2-3 try to make very clear to us:

1Jn 2:3-6 We know that we have come to know him if we obey his commands. (4) The man who says, “I know him,” but does not do what he commands is a liar, and the truth is not in him. (5) But if anyone obeys his word, God’s love is truly made complete in him. This is how we know we are in him: (6) Whoever claims to live in him must walk as Jesus did.

1Jn 5:2-3  By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God and obey his commandments. (3)  For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments. And his commandments are not burdensome.

Once we understand that Jesus is the living embodiment of the Law and that we as His Disciples have to walk as He did, things start to make a lot more sense. Jesus is the example that we, as His disciples, must follow.

Verses like Rom 10:14, where the word end actually means ‘end objective’ or ‘goal’, start to make a lot more sense:

Rom 10:4 For Christ is the end ^{telos (τέλος)} of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes.

A telos (from the Greek τέλος for “end”, “purpose”, or “goal”) is an end or purpose, in a fairly constrained sense used by philosophers such as Aristotle. It is the root of the term “teleology”, roughly the study of purposiveness, or the study of objects with a view to their aims, purposes, or intentions.
This is demonstrated in the way one can say that the telos of warfare is victory or the telos of business is the creation of wealth.

The telos of the Law is Christ!

When we ask Jesus in our heart, we actually invite the Law of God in our heart, which is a key component of the new covenant!

In Conclusion:

Now that we know that Jesus is God’s Law it is not hard to understand why David says that he loves God’s laws and why Paul calls God’s law a delight, holy, righteous, and good. Read Psalm 119 and rediscover how wonderful God’s Law is!

Freedom is not found outside the Law, outside the law lives anarchy, freedom is found within the Law, in Christ!

May God Bless you and don’t forget to test everything!

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And when he had entered the house and left the people, his disciples asked him about the parable. (18) And he said to them, “Then are you also without understanding? Do you not see that whatever goes into a person from outside cannot defile him, (19) since it enters not his heart but his stomach, and is expelled?” (Thus he declared all foods clean.) (20) And he said, “What comes out of a person is what defiles him. (Mar 7:17-20)

I just read an article that China is reclassifying dogs as Pets rather than livestock (food) in response to COVID-19 outbreak. Most of us will throw up at the thought that some people eat dogs as food. Just imagine reclassifying the next examples as food like cockroaches, worms, maggots or street rats.

Hope you are not just eating something, but I try to make a point here, most of us would not classify or consider these examples as food, period! So, this raise the question; when Jesus referred to ‘all foods’, what did He classify as food? Did He refer to ‘all food’ as that what was classified as food within scripture or did he classified as food anything that was eaten at that time around the world?  It is important for us to understand what Jesus classified as food in order to read this scripture within proper context.

Mark 7:1-23 is the key scriptures used today to preach in church doctrine that Jesus declared all foods clean, including that what was classified in the Bible as unclean (Leviticus 11).

Other scriptures used for this argument are:

• Acts 10:15, were Peter has a vision of a sheet with unclean animals
• and what Paul writes in Romans 14:14

We are going to look at these scripture within the proper Context of what the passage is trying to say.

Mar 7:1-23 Clean and Unclean

When reading the whole passage you will notice that not once is their any reference to any food being eaten which was classified as unclean in the Bible! We don’s see the Pharisees getting upset because the disciples of Jesus were eating prawns or pork, no they got upset because the disciples did not was their hands before eating as it was custom to do based on their traditions.

Mar 7:1-5 Now when the Pharisees gathered to him, with some of the scribes who had come from Jerusalem, (2) they saw that some of his disciples ate with hands that were defiled, that is, unwashed. (3) (For the Pharisees and all the Jews do not eat unless they wash their hands, holding to the tradition of the elders, (4) and when they come from the marketplace, they do not eat unless they wash. And there are many other traditions that they observe, such as the washing of cups and pots and copper vessels and dining couches.) (5) And the Pharisees and the scribes asked him, “Why do your disciples not walk according to the tradition of the elders, but eat with defiled hands?“

It is quite clear that the context of the whole passage has nothing to do with the eating of unclean animals but to do with eating with unwashed hands, which according to the man-made commandments made the person unclean. As such we have no reason to even think that Jesus definition of ‘All foods’ would include animals considered unclean in scripture.

Jesus response to them speaks volumes to what He thought of their traditions and man-made commandments and is key to understand what Jesus is actually saying to His disciples in the end. We read His response in the next few verses:

And he said to them, “Well did Isaiah prophesy of you hypocrites, as it is written, “‘This people honors me with their lips, but their heart is far from me; in vain do they worship me, teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.’ You leave the commandment of God and hold to the tradition of men.” And he said to them, “You have a fine way of rejecting the commandment of God in order to establish your tradition! For Moses said, ‘Honor your father and your mother’; and, ‘Whoever reviles father or mother must surely die.’ But you say, ‘If a man tells his father or his mother, “Whatever you would have gained from me is Corban”‘ (that is, given to God)– then you no longer permit him to do anything for his father or mother, thus making void the word of God by your tradition that you have handed down. And many such things you do.” (Mar 7:6-13)

Now just think of this: He calls them hypocrites for honouring God with their lips but not with their hearts and in doing so establishing man-made commandments and traditions making God’s word void. Then Jesus, according to today’s church doctrine, does exactly the same in verse 19, declaring unclean animals clean, an in doing so making God’s word void!  Honestly, would that not make Jesus a bigger hypocrite than the Pharisees?

The argument used for this is Jesus explanation of the parable to the Disciples as we can read in verses 17-23:

Mar 7:17-23 And when he had entered the house and left the people, his disciples asked him about the parable. (18) And he said to them, “Then are you also without understanding? Do you not see that whatever goes into a person from outside cannot defile him, (19) since it enters not his heart but his stomach, and is expelled?” (Thus he declared all foods clean.) (20) And he said, “What comes out of a person is what defiles him. (21) For from within, out of the heart of man, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, (22) coveting, wickedness, deceit, sensuality, envy, slander, pride, foolishness. (23) All these evil things come from within, and they defile a person.”

So, the key argument in summary here is:

“That what goes into the mouth does not make a person unclean but that what comes out of the heart of that person does.”

Just think for a moment:

This argument is valid today as it was 2000 years ago, but it was also valid the day God gave that law, so the question than is: Why did He gave the Law in the first place?

This also does not make any sense; He first gives the Law and then abolish that Law using an argument that was valid on the day He made that Law!

Any Bible believing christian, being honest to themselves, should by now have some serious questions about what is being taught to us by church doctrine regarding this subject!

Beside this, Jesus could not have abolished the Dietary Laws given to us in Leviticus 11, if he would, he would actually break the law and therefore not be able to fulfil the law perfectly, which is something all Bible believing Christians are in agreement about He did! We can read this in:

Deu 4:2 Do not add to what I command you and do not subtract from it, but keep the commands of the LORD your God that I give you.

and in:

Deu 12:32 See that you do all I command you; do not add to it or take away from it.

So, if Jesus fulfilled the law perfectly than this simply means he did not abolish any laws. Something He tries to also make very clear in Mat 5:17!

We have another passage in the Bible that refers to the same event and highlights exactly what the real context is for Mar 7:1-23, we find the same story in Mathew 15:16-20:

Mat 15:16-20 And he said, “Are you also still without understanding? (17) Do you not see that whatever goes into the mouth passes into the stomach and is expelled? (18) But what comes out of the mouth proceeds from the heart, and this defiles a person. (19) For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false witness, slander. (20) These are what defile a person. But to eat with unwashed hands does not defile anyone.“

So, when we read the text “Thus he declared all foods clean” He is simply saying that not washing your hand, or not doing any of the other man-made commandment, will not make foods, which are clean in itself, unclean! Instead of nullifying or making God’s word void, Jesus made the man-made commandments void!

Acts 10:15, Peter’s vision

Act 10:15 And the voice came to him again a second time, “What God has made clean, do not call common.”

This passage is about God giving Peter a vision of a large sheet hanging by its corners and within it all type of animals, both clean and unclean, and then instructing Peter to eat them. When we read this passage we notice first of all Peter’s strong refusal to what God is ordering Him to do, we read:

Act 10:9-18 The next day, as they were on their journey and approaching the city, Peter went up on the housetop about the sixth hour to pray. (10) And he became hungry and wanted something to eat, but while they were preparing it, he fell into a trance (11) and saw the heavens opened and something like a great sheet descending, being let down by its four corners upon the earth. (12) In it were all kinds of animals and reptiles and birds of the air. (13) And there came a voice to him: “Rise, Peter; kill and eat.” (14) But Peter said, “By no means, Lord; for I have never eaten anything that is common or unclean.” (15) And the voice came to him again a second time, “What God has made clean, do not call common.” (16) This happened three times, and the thing was taken up at once to heaven. (17) Now while Peter was inwardly perplexed as to what the vision that he had seen might mean, behold, the men who were sent by Cornelius, having made inquiry for Simon’s house, stood at the gate (18) and called out to ask whether Simon who was called Peter was lodging there.

Peter says “By no means, Lord; for I have never eaten anything that is common or unclean.”, from this we know that the animals shown were according to Peter common and unclean. But the key question we must ask here is; why did Peter refused a direct instruction from God, especially in the context of Mark 7:19?

If Jesus clearly explained to the Disciples in Mark 7:19 that from now on all animals are to be considered clean, then why would Peter refuse to obey!

The only explanation is that Jesus never implied this in Mark 7:19, this is something that is implied by church doctrine and has no scriptural foundation!

Again, if we look at Peter’s response “By no means, Lord; for I have never eaten anything that is common or unclean.” we notice that Peter identified 2 types of animals:

1. Common (opposite of Holy so basically unholy/impure)
2. Unclean

While in scripture we only have the distinction between ‘clean’ and ‘unclean’ animals (Leviticus 11). The text says that within the sheet were all kinds of animals …, this means both ‘clean’ and ‘unclean’ were within the sheet.

So, why did Peter identify the clean animals as common and why did he not kill the clean animals and eat those?

Understanding this will help us to understand the whole topic much better. The reason why Peter called the clean animals common has to do with Jewish Law that states that once a clean animal touches an unclean animal, the clean animal becomes common or impure.

Because all animals in the sheet touched one-another, Peter no longer considered the clean animals as clean, but instead classified them as common (unholy)! The Gentiles were also viewed by the Jews as either unclean or common, due to the very likelihood they get in touch with unclean things or they did something that made them unclean.

I hope you start to see why God showed Peter the sheet with animals, and how this links to Cornelius the Gentile, who is mentioned before and after the vision.

Christian doctrine today will use the words; “What God has made clean, do not call common.” as an argument that God declared animals that were unclean, now clean. But is this the case?

Notice that God only addresses the ‘common’ part of Peter’s argument and not the unclean part when He said; “What God has made clean, do not call common“.

God never referred to the unclean animals, and never declared unclean animals clean, this is what gets read into the text! He rebukes Peter for calling “clean” animals “common”!

Peters response shows us a few more things:

1. He was still keeping the dietary laws as given to us in Leviticus 11, even after Jesus resurrection and Pentecost.
2. Peter was also still under Jewish law, and that is what prevented him from doing what God asked of Him.
3. Peter’s understanding of what Jesus said in Mark 7:19, is clearly not what mainstream doctrine teaches today.

As mentioned already, Peter was wondering what the meaning of the vision was, and if we keep on reading, we will find out what God revealed to Peter, and what the vision actually means!

Act 10:25-29 When Peter entered, Cornelius met him and fell down at his feet and worshipped him. (26) But Peter lifted him up, saying, “Stand up; I too am a man.” (27) And as he talked with him, he went in and found many persons gathered. (28) And he said to them, “You yourselves know how unlawful it is for a Jew to associate with or to visit anyone of another nation, but God has shown me that I should not call any person common or unclean. (29) So when I was sent for, I came without objection. I ask then why you sent for me.”

As we always say, context is everything! God showed Peter that he should not call any person common or unclean. So God was not declaring unclean animals clean but he wanted to teach Peter a lesson not to call any person common or unclean, especially if that person is seeking God.

It is important to note that when Peter mentions that “how unlawful it is for a Jew to associate with or to visit anyone of another nation (gentiles)”, that He was not referencing God’s Law but Jewish Law (man-made laws). It is nowhere to be found in the Bible that gentiles are to be considered unclean, quite the opposite, the Law specifies that they should be considered as one of their own, we read:

Lev 19:33-35 “When a stranger sojourns with you in your land, you shall not do him wrong. (34) You shall treat the stranger who sojourns with you as the native among you, and you shall love him as yourself, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt: I am the LORD your God. (35) “You shall do no wrong in judgment, in measures of length or weight or quantity.

Num 15:14-16 And if a stranger is sojourning with you, or anyone is living permanently among you, and he wishes to offer a food offering, with a pleasing aroma to the LORD, he shall do as you do. (15) For the assembly, there shall be one statute for you and for the stranger who sojourns with you, a statute forever throughout your generations. You and the sojourner shall be alike before the LORD. (16) One law and one rule shall be for you and for the stranger who sojourns with you.”

Deuteronomy 10:17-19 For the LORD your God is God of gods and Lord of lords, the great, the mighty, and the awesome God, who is not partial and takes no bribe. (18) He executes justice for the fatherless and the widow, and loves the sojourner, giving him food and clothing. (19) Love the sojourner, therefore, for you were sojourners in the land of Egypt.

Again, reading a verse within context shows us clearly what the Bible tries to teach us, while reading the verse by itself would result in taking the text out of context and leaves us with a con (context-text=con)!

Romans 14

Basically, the whole chapter is about food and it tells us not to judge others about what they eat or do not eat.  It also tells us not to eat or drink anything that might cause others to stumble even though you believe that it should be perfectly okay to do so. Before we start to go through this chapter verse by verse, it is important to note that Paul never references the word Sabbath once in this chapter or in the whole letter to the Romans! As it is a letter, we must take the whole letter into account in order to understand the proper context.

Let’s have a look, the first verse is key in the whole chapter!

Rom 14:1 As for the one who is weak in faith, welcome him, but not to quarrel over opinions. (ESV)

Rom 14:1-2 Accept him whose faith is weak, without passing judgement on disputable matters. (NIV)

Paul starts this chapter indicating that he will be talking here about opinions, disputable matters. The definition of disputable is; not established as a fact, and so open to question or debate. So, we are talking about matters that are subjective and not objective!

God’s Laws are not subjective, they are objective and are actually used to judge others! We read in the same letter in (Rom 2:27) that Paul tells the Jews, who are physically circumcised but are not keeping the laws, that they will be judged by the gentiles that are actually, keeping those same laws! You cannot judge someone on disputable/subjective matters, and that is exactly what Paul tries to make clear in this chapter. On the other hand, we are taught that we have to judge on matters of the law!

When it comes to God’s Laws, we read:

Rom 2:27 Then he who is physically uncircumcised but keeps the law will condemn you who have the written code and circumcision but break the law.

1Co 5:12 For what have I to do with judging outsiders? Is it not those inside the church whom you are to judge?

Mat 18:15 “If your brother sins against you,[2] go and show him his fault, just between the two of you. If he listens to you, you have won your brother over.

Luk 17:3 Pay attention to yourselves! If your brother sins, rebuke him, and if he repents, forgive him.

1Ti 5:20 As for those who persist in sin, rebuke them in the presence of all, so that the rest may stand in fear.

Joh 7:24 Do not judge by appearances, but judge with right judgment.”

Joh 7:51 “Does our law judge a man without first giving him a hearing and learning what he does?”

Zec 8:16 These are the things you are to do: Speak the truth to each other, and render true and sound judgment in your courts;

So, if the whole chapter is about subjective matters and we are asked not to judge the weak in regards to these matters, while at the same time the Bible instruct us to judge our brother when it comes to breaking God’s Laws, then we can only conclude that:

1. The whole chapter is not talking about God’s Laws
2. Instead it is only talking about personal beliefs, opinion or man-made rules, things we should not judge others on as long as they do not conflict with God’s Laws.

Now that we established that this chapter is not referring to God’s Laws lets continue with the key verses that are being taken out of context. The first one is verse 5 which is used to say that we can worship God on any day we like:

Rom 14:5-6 One man considers one day more sacred than another; another man considers every day alike. Each one should be fully convinced in his own mind. (6) He who regards one day as special, does so to the Lord. He who eats meat, eats to the Lord, for he gives thanks to God; and he who abstains, does so to the Lord and gives thanks to God.

First thing we noticed is the reference to what “One Man considers”; what man consider to be holy is disputable as long as it does not conflict with what God instructs us to do. As Peter and the other apostles said “We must obey God rather than men!” (Act 5:29).

So what are these sacred days referring to? We read this at the end of verse 6:

“He who eats meat, eats to the Lord, for he gives thanks to God; and he who abstains, does so to the Lord and gives thanks to God”

To abstain from food is the definition of fasting, which makes a lot more sense given that the whole chapter is about food. So why the dispute about what day to fast or not to fast? The reason for this can be found in Luke 18:12

Luke 18:11-12 The Pharisee, standing by himself, prayed thus: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other men, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. (12) I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all that I get.’

The Pharisees were eager to announce to the whole world that they are fasting 2 times a week but the Bible does not specify what days they fasted. From other writing in those days we know that the days were most likely on the second and fifth day of the week and also that Christians were encourage not to keep those same days as those hypocrites the Pharisees. We find this in the First century writings “The Didache – Chapter 8”:

The Didache (Teachings of the Apostles – First Century Writing), chapter 8:
“But let not your fasts be with the hypocrites, for they fast on the second and fifth day of the week. Rather, fast on the fourth day and the Preparation.” (Wednesday and Friday).
(http://www.earlychristianwritings.com/text/didache-roberts.html)

Noticed that Fridays is mentioned here as the day of Preparation. If the Sabbath was no longer to be observed as the Day of Rest, like church doctrine is trying to imply, then what were they preparing for on that day? Anyway, it shows a very good reason why their were disputes about what days to fast or not to fast, and explains a lot better what this paragraph is talking about.

The fact that church doctrine is trying to read the Sabbath into this text makes totally no sense, and shows again how they try to use a single verse to build support for a doctrine that is not supported within scripture. To elevate what man considers to be holy to the same level as that what God calls Holy is simply unbelievable!

Another verse that is being used in a similar way as Mark 7:19, is Rom 14:14

Rom 14:14 As one who is in the Lord Jesus, I am fully convinced that no food is unclean in itself. But if anyone regards something as unclean, then for him it is unclean.

Paul seems to reference what Jesus said in Mark 7 and would classify food in the same way as Jesus would, which is based on what is defined as food within Scripture. The context here again is not unclean food, nowhere in the whole chapter do we read anything related to eating anything classified by scripture as unclean. Similar to Mark 7 we dealing here with issues in relation to the food and not the food in itself. We saw already that this chapter is about opinions or disputable matters, as such some people might be of the opinion that something is unclean because of:

• a person not washing their hands, similar to Mark 7
• the food comes from the markets and might be food offered to idols
• the pot or the plate, that contains the food, is not cleaned in a specific way
• they did not pray for that food before eating it
• etc…

So, we see many personal reason why one person might consider something unclean and what Paul tries to teach us here is to accept that person and don’t judge them. He even tells us that it is better not to eat or drink something if that would cause a person to stumble:

Rom 14:19-23 Let us therefore make every effort to do what leads to peace and to mutual edification. (20) Do not destroy the work of God for the sake of food. All food is clean, but it is wrong for a man to eat anything that causes someone else to stumble. (21) It is better not to eat meat or drink wine or to do anything else that will cause your brother to fall. (22) So whatever you believe about these things keep between yourself and God. Blessed is the man who does not condemn himself by what he approves. (23) But the man who has doubts is condemned if he eats, because his eating is not from faith; and everything that does not come from faith is sin.

In Conclusion

By using 3 single verses we see that mainstream churches try to build a doctrine that is not based on context!

1. Mar 7:19 For it doesn’t go into his heart but into his stomach, and then out of his body.” (In saying this, Jesus declared all foods “clean.”)
2. Act 10:15 The voice spoke to him a second time, “Do not call anything impure that God has made clean.”
3. Rom 14:14 As one who is in the Lord Jesus, I am fully convinced that no food is unclean in itself. But if anyone regards something as unclean, then for him it is unclean.

By ignoring the context of these verses we get misled to believe that today we can eat anything we like. Jesus did not nullified the laws given to us in Leviticus 11 and when reading these verses within proper context we can clearly see that none of the verses support this doctrine that most churches are teaching today.

We even find some very strong rebuke with regards to this type of teaching in the old testament:

Eze 22:26-27 Her priests do violence to my law and profane my holy things; they do not distinguish between the holy and the common; they teach that there is no difference between the unclean and the clean; and they shut their eyes to the keeping of my Sabbaths, so that I am profaned among them. (27) Her officials within her are like wolves tearing their prey; they shed blood and kill people to make unjust gain.

It seems that God has a very good reason why He tells us not to eat anything what He considers to be unclean. More than anytime, now with the COVID-19 outbreak, we should think about this! I personally believe that the COVID-19, SARS and the Swine flu would never happened if people would keep God’s Dietary laws.

I hope that this article helps you to:

• keep what God declared Holy and clean as such, Holy and clean.
• distinguish between what is Holy and common and between what is clean and unclean.

May God Bless you and don’t forget to test everything!

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“Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. I tell you the truth, until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen, will by any means disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished. Anyone who breaks one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever practices and teaches these commands will be called great in the kingdom of heaven. For I tell you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the Pharisees and the teachers of the law, you will certainly not enter the kingdom of heaven.” (Mat 5:17-20)

“Do not think” are the first words used here, and Jesus goes on saying “I tell you the truth”! But even though Jesus used crystal clear and very strong words, most Churches now teach the complete opposite; because Jesus fulfilled the law of Moses, they believe we no longer have to keep them.

One of the first problems with this is the sole focus on the fulfilling of the law. While Jesus is not only talking here about the Law but also about the Prophets! He came not to abolish them but to fulfill (plēroō – fully preach) them.  “Them”; refers to both the Law and the Prophets.

The word ‘fulfill’ here gets translated by the church as ‘end’ or ‘finish’. like when you finish a cup of coffee there is no longer a need for drinking it, but this would not contrast abolish, which is the clear objective within the context. It would be good to get a better understanding of what is meant here by the word ‘fulfill’.

Fulfill

When looking at the root meaning of the word fulfill we see that the Greek word plēroō is being used.

πληρόω | plēroō |play-ro’-o
Thayer Definition:
1) to make full, to fill up, i.e. to fill to the full
2) to render full, i.e. to complete

Strong:
From G4134; to make replete, that is, (literally) to cram (a net), level up (a hollow), or (figuratively) to furnish (or imbue, diffuse, influence), satisfy, execute (an office), finish (a period or task), verify (or coincide with a prediction), etc.: – accomplish, X after, (be) complete, end, expire, fill (up), fulfil, (be, make) full (come), fully preach, perfect, supply.

The word plēroō can mean ‘end’, ‘expire’ or finish, but let’s look at the context and try to use those word within the verse:

• I have not come to abolish them but to end them
• I have not come to abolish them but to expire them
• I have not come to abolish them but to finish them

None of them makes sense because the context tries to point out an opposite (do not think) to ‘abolish’, and ‘end’, ‘expire’ or ‘finish are not opposites of ‘abolish’, they pretty much have similar meanings. A much better fit is ‘fully preach’ or ‘perfect’.

• I have not come to abolish them but to fully preach them
• I have not come to abolish them but to perfect them

We find a similar use for this word in Rom 15:19:

Through mighty signs and wonders, by the power of the Spirit of God; so that from Jerusalem, and round about unto Illyricum, I have fully preached (plēroō) the gospel of Christ. (Rom 15:19)

One of the prophecies about the Messiah is that he will magnify the law and make it honorable again which fits with “fully preach” or “perfect” them:

“The Lord is well pleased for his righteousness’ sake; he will magnify the law, and make it honourable” (Isaiah 42:21 KJV).

So, we can see within the context that ‘fulfill, in regards to the law, does not refer to ‘end’ or ‘finish’ the law, but more to ‘fully preach’. Jesus, by fully preaching the Law, was a perfect example to us so we understand how to keep it, and do as Jesus did. It is also clear that Jesus disciples had the same understanding because all of them kept all the laws after Jesus went to the Father, even the smallest of the laws, as Jesus instructed us in this passage. See also my article “Are we disciples of Christ or of the church fathers“.

The Prophets

As mentioned already, Jesus is not only referring to the law he also talks about fulfilling the prophesies made by the Prophets. As part of the Lord’s prayer we still pray “your kingdom come” and many prophesies have still not come to pass:

• His Kingdom has not yet come!
• Also, Jesus did not yet return.
• We are still expecting The day of the Lord.
• Armageddon has not happened.
• Heaven and Earth are still here and therefore we have no new heaven, new earth or a New Jerusalem.

The context is pretty clear that “until everything is accomplished” includes all prophecies!

It is very interesting Jesus mentioned that heaven and earth have to disappear before one letter of the law does:

I tell you the truth, until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen, will by any means disappear from the Law until everything (both Law and Prophesies) is accomplished. (Mat 5:18)

This happens to be one of the last prophesies that will take place (see Revelations 21) followed by the creation of a New Heaven, New Earth and the coming down of the New Jerusalem. Only after this “all is accomplished”! We read this in Rev 21:1-6:

Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.” And he who was seated on the throne said, “Behold, I am making all things new.” Also he said, “Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.” And he said to me, “It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. To the thirsty I will give from the spring of the water of life without payment. (Rev 21:1-6)

It just lines up perfectly! With this, the last Prophesy gets fulfilled and it matches exactly what Jesus said (see also Isaiah 65:17-19)

To take away any confusion, we read the same in Luke 16:17:

 It is easier for heaven and earth to disappear than for the least stroke of a pen to drop out of the Law. (Luk 16:17)

I don’t think the Bible can get any clearer than this, Jesus even instructs us not to break even the least of the commandments in verse 19:

Mat 5:19 Anyone who breaks one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever practices and teaches these commands will be called great in the kingdom of heaven.

Not many know this but there is a very interesting reason why Jesus refers to “heaven and earth” with regards to the Law. We find the reason for this in Deuteronomy 30:19

This day I call heaven and earth as witnesses against you that I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses. Now choose life, so that you and your children may live (Deu 30:19)

God calls on heaven and earth to be a witness to make sure His people are keeping His commandments! As long as we have this heaven and this earth they will be God’s witness of us keeping God’s commandments.

The Spirit of the Law

As we already saw the word fulfill refers to ‘fully preach the law’ or ‘perfect the law’, even though God’s word states that His Laws are already perfect (see Psalm 19:7), the Jews’s understanding of the Law was far from perfect! As Isaiah prophesied that the Messiah will Magnify the Law and make it Honourable again, Jesus is doing exactly that in verses 21 to 48. These verses are in reference to verse 20:

Mat 5:20 For I tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.

All the topics in verses 21 to 48 start with the words “You have heard that it was said” which clearly refers to the understanding the Jews had about the law at that time. Noticed that Jesus does not say “For it is written” as He did when He was referring to actual Scripture. We find 3 examples of this in Mathew 4:

Mat 4:4 But he answered, “It is written, “‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.'”

Mat 4:7 Jesus said to him, “Again it is written, ‘You shall not put the Lord your God to the test.'”

Mat 4:10 Then Jesus said to him, “Be gone, Satan! For it is written, “‘You shall worship the Lord your God and him only shall you serve.'”

He is referring, in Mathew 5 verses 21 to 48, to the teaching known to them in those days and not to scripture itself! This is important to note because Jesus had to keep the Law perfectly to be a perfect sacrifice. By adding new commandments He would be breaking the Law (Deu 4:2, Deu 12:32). All that He is referring to in these verses can be traced back to the Old Testament.

One good example is the last one about “Love your enemies”

Mat 5:43 “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’

Nowhere are we commanded to hate our enemies in the Bible, you will not find it anywhere! Quite the opposite when you check the Old Testament you find several passages that tell us to help our enemies when they are in need.

“If you meet your enemy’s ox or his donkey wandering away, you shall surely return it to him. If you see the donkey of one who hates you lying helpless under its load, you shall refrain from leaving it to him, you shall surely release it with him,” (Exodus 23:4-5).

and

“If your enemy is hungry, give him food to eat; And if he is thirsty, give him water to drink,” (Proverbs 25:21).

Jesus is saying that for us to exceed the Pharisees we have to apply the spirit of the Law and not only the letter. Mathew 5 verses 21 – 48 are highlighting the spirit of the law as it was always intended! Jesus is not adding to the Law. And to use Jesus’ words: “Do not think” he came to subtract anything from the Law. Jesus Magnified the Law and made it Honourable again!

The Berean Test

As the Bereans did, we have to test that what we believe is in agreement with the rest of scripture, which was for them the Old Testament (see Acts 17 verse 11).

So, what position does the Old Testament support:

1. The Law of Moses has been fulfilled and therefore no longer applies to us.
2. The Law of Moses has been fulfilled (Fully preached) and still applies to us today.

When checking what the old testament says with regards to these positions, we can find countless verses throughout the Old Testament stating “throughout their generations” or “Forever” in relation to the Law. Just some of the examples:

Exo 31:16-17  Therefore the people of Israel shall keep the Sabbath, observing the Sabbath throughout their generations, as a covenant forever. It is a sign forever between me and the people of Israel that in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, and on the seventh day he rested and was refreshed.'”

Exo 31:13  “You are to speak to the people of Israel and say, ‘Above all you shall keep my Sabbaths, for this is a sign between me and you throughout your generations, that you may know that I, the LORD, sanctify you.

Exo 12:14  And this day shall be unto you for a memorial; and ye shall keep it a feast to the LORD throughout your generations; ye shall keep it a feast by an ordinance for ever.

Exo 12:17  And ye shall observe the feast of unleavened bread; for in this selfsame day have I brought your armies out of the land of Egypt: therefore shall ye observe this day in your generations by an ordinance for ever.

Exo 12:24  And ye shall observe this thing for an ordinance to thee and to thy sons for ever.

Lev 16:29  And this shall be a statute for ever unto you: that in the seventh month, on the tenth day of the month, ye shall afflict your souls, and do no work at all, whether it be one of your own country, or a stranger that sojourneth among you:

Lev 16:31 It shall be a sabbath of rest unto you, and ye shall afflict your souls, by a statute for ever.

Lev 23:21 And ye shall proclaim on the selfsame day, that it may be an holy convocation unto you: ye shall do no servile work therein: it shall be a statute for ever in all your dwellings throughout your generations.

Lev 23:31 Ye shall do no manner of work: it shall be a statute for ever throughout your generations in all your dwellings.

2 Chronicles 2:4 Behold, I build an house to the name of the LORD my God, to dedicate it to him, and to burn before him sweet incense, and for the continual shewbread, and for the burnt offerings morning and evening, on the sabbaths, and on the new moons, and on the solemn feasts of the LORD our God. This is an ordinance for ever to Israel.

Psa 119:44 I will keep your law continually, forever and ever,

Psa 119:159-160  See how I love your precepts;  preserve my life, O LORD, according to your love. All your words are true;  all your righteous laws are eternal.

Deu 5:29 O that there were such an heart in them, that they would fear me, and keep all my commandments always, that it might be well with them, and with their children for ever!

Deu 11:1 Therefore thou shalt love the LORD thy God, and keep his charge, and his statutes, and his judgments, and his commandments, always.

Lev 10:15 The heave shoulder and the wave breast shall they bring with the offerings made by fire of the fat, to wave it for a wave offering before the LORD; and it shall be thine, and thy sons’ with thee, by a statute for ever; as the LORD hath commanded.

On the other hand, when looking for any verses supporting the position “that after the Messiah comes, the laws of Moses no longer apply”, we find:

Nothing, not one verse!

If the law of Moses would end and be replaced with a new law then we must be able to find it in one of the prophesies, as is stated in Amos 3:7:

Surely the Sovereign LORD does nothing without revealing his plan to his servants the prophets. (Amos 3:7)

Again, we have 2 positions:

1. The Law of Moses has been fulfilled and therefore no longer applies to us
2. The Law of Moses has been fulfilled (Fully preached) and still applies to us today

Old Testament confirms position 2 and not position 1, that the Laws remain in place for us today.

Misconceptions within the Church today

Some may say “What about the New Covenant? The Old Testament speaks about the New Covenant, with the New Covenant comes a new law or not?”

When you read Jer 31:31-34, Eze 36:26 and Heb 8:1-13 you will find that what is new in the New Covenant is not the Law, the Law (tôrâh H8451 as mentioned in the verse) is the same.

In the New Covenant God will remove the heart of stone and replace it with a heart of flesh, then He writes the law (tôrâh) on their hearts and minds and He will give us His Spirit that will help us to keep the Law instead of breaking it.

There is a big misconception in Churches teaching that with the New Covenant comes a new law. The idea of a new Law being introduced with the New Covenant has no Biblical foundation! The once making the argument will show a few verses from Paul and make a beautiful picture of a Cross with on the Left the text ‘Old Covenant’ plus the text ‘The Law’ and on the right, you have the text ‘New Covenant’ and the word ‘Grace’.

But you will never see a Pastor go over the scriptures directly related to the New Covenant line by line! I had totally no clue what the New Covenant was about except for what I was taught by church doctrine. How many Christians today have studied this topic for themselves?

Read for yourself Jer 31:31-40, Eze 36:22-38 and Heb 8:1-13 (quoting Jer 31:31), and ask yourself the next 3 questions:

1. What was wrong with the Old Covenant?
2. What is new in the New Covenant?
3. And with who will the New Covenant be made?

The last one will shock you because God does not make it with the Gentiles!

This will bring us to another big misconception in Churches today with regard to this subject. Many will say but the Old Testament is for the Jews and the New Testament is for the Gentiles. See all the verses quoted in the Barean test, it clearly mentions Israel all the time, for example:

Exo 31:16-17  Therefore the people of Israel shall keep the Sabbath, observing the Sabbath throughout their generations, as a covenant forever. It is a sign forever between me and the people of Israel that in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, and on the seventh day he rested and was refreshed.'”

One of the things I learned is that there is a big difference when the Bible talks about the people of Israel and the Jews. Jews are descendants from the House of Judah, the other house is the House of Israel. Not many Christian realize that the people of Israel got split up into 2 kingdoms, the Northern Kingdom which was the House of Israel (10 tribes), and the Southern Kingdom which was the House of Judah (the tribe of Judah and Benjamin + some of the tribe of Levi).

Both got exiled for their disobedience to God’s Laws, first, the House of Israel was taken captive and exiled by the Assyrian, later on, the House of Judah got exiled to Babylon by the Babylonians. Only the House of Judah returned to the land of Israel but the House of Israel never did! So, when we talk about Jews we basically refer to the House of Judah only. During Jesus’ time, Israel was only made up of the House of Judah.

Why I am mentioning all this? Because it is of key importance for us to understand that the key objective of God is to unite back the 2 houses, both the House of Israel and the House of Judea into a New Kingdom with one people, the people of Israel, and not to create a new church! This is why we read the next verses in the New Testament.

Mat 15:23-24  Jesus did not answer a word. So his disciples came to him and urged him, “Send her away, for she keeps crying out after us.” (24) He answered, “I was sent only to the lost sheep of Israel.”

Luk 4:43 But he said, “I must preach the good news of the kingdom of God to the other towns also, because that is why I was sent.”

Mat 6:9-10 Pray then like this: “Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name. (10) Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.

Act 1:6-7 So when they met together, they asked him, “Lord, are you at this time going to restore the kingdom to Israel?” (7) He said to them: “It is not for you to know the times or dates the Father has set by his own authority.

Act 9:15 But the Lord said to him, “Go, for he is a chosen instrument of mine to carry my name before the Gentiles and kings and the children of Israel.

Act 26:6-7 And now it is because of my hope in what God has promised our fathers that I am on trial today. (7) This is the promise our twelve tribes are hoping to see fulfilled as they earnestly serve God day and night. O king, it is because of this hope that the Jews are accusing me.

We find also confirmation of this in the Old Testament:

Jer 31:10 “Hear the word of the LORD, O nations, and declare it in the coastlands far away; say, ‘He who scattered Israel will gather him, and will keep him as a shepherd keeps his flock.’

Jer 3:18 In those days the house of Judah shall join the house of Israel, and together they shall come from the land of the north to the land that I gave your fathers for a heritage.

Psa 106:45-48 For their sake he remembered his covenant, and relented according to the abundance of his steadfast love. (46) He caused them to be pitied by all those who held them captive. (47) Save us, O LORD our God, and gather us from among the nations, that we may give thanks to your holy name and glory in your praise. (48) Blessed be the LORD, the God of Israel, from everlasting to everlasting! And let all the people say, “Amen!” Praise the LORD!

Mic 2:12 I will surely assemble all of you, O Jacob; I will gather the remnant of Israel; I will set them together like sheep in a fold, like a flock in its pasture, a noisy multitude of men.

Eze 37:22 I will make them one nation in the land, on the mountains of Israel. There will be one king over all of them and they will never again be two nations or be divided into two kingdoms.
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Eze 37:24 ” ‘My servant David will be king over them, and they will all have one shepherd. They will follow my laws and be careful to keep my decrees.

Isa 27:12 In that day the LORD will thresh from the flowing Euphrates to the Wadi of Egypt, and you, O Israelites, will be gathered up one by one.

Isa 56:6-8 “And the foreigners who join themselves to the LORD, to minister to him, to love the name of the LORD, and to be his servants, everyone who keeps the Sabbath and does not profane it, and holds fast my covenant– (7) these I will bring to my holy mountain, and make them joyful in my house of prayer; their burnt offerings and their sacrifices will be accepted on my altar; for my house shall be called a house of prayer for all peoples.” (8) The Lord GOD, who gathers the outcasts of Israel, declares, “I will gather yet others to him besides those already gathered.”

Hos 1:11 And the children of Judah and the children of Israel shall be gathered together, and they shall appoint for themselves one head. And they shall go up from the land, for great shall be the day of Jezreel.

As you will read in the scriptures regarding the New Covenant and notice from these verses, the New Covenant is only with the House of Judah and the House of Israel. The only way for us Gentiles to be part of this New Kingdom of Israel and the New Covenant is by being crafted into the New Kingdom as Paul mentions in Rom 11:11-24. We do not read about 2 Olive trees but one and the ‘wild olive shoots’ (Gentiles) get grafted into that one tree. Right after this scripture, Paul writes:

Rom 11:25-27  I do not want you to be ignorant of this mystery, brothers, so that you may not be conceited: Israel has experienced a hardening in part until the full number of the Gentiles has come in. (26) And so all Israel will be saved, as it is written: “The deliverer will come from Zion; he will turn godlessness away from Jacob. (27) And this is my covenant with them when I take away their sins.“

The whole idea of the Old Covenant is for the Jews and the New Covenant is for the Gentiles has no Biblical foundation. We are all part of one body, part of one tree, and are all children of Abraham through our Faith in Christ. There are no 2 trees and 2 bodies and 2 different laws, one for the Jews and another for the Gentiles.

1Co 12:13 For we were all baptized by one Spirit into one body–whether Jews or Greeks, slave or free–and we were all given the one Spirit to drink.

We read in Rom 2:23-29 that the Jews brag about the law that they did not keep while the Gentiles are actually keeping that same law, not 2 laws but one and the same law for all! Paul also states here that “A man is not a Jew if he is only one outwardly, nor is circumcision merely outward and physical. No, a man is a Jew if he is one inwardly; and circumcision is circumcision of the heart, by the Spirit, not by the written code”:

Rom 2:23-29 You who brag about the law, do you dishonor God by breaking the law? (24) As it is written: “God’s name is blasphemed among the Gentiles because of you.” (25) Circumcision has value if you observe the law, but if you break the law, you have become as though you had not been circumcised. (26) If those who are not circumcised keep the law’s requirements, will they not be regarded as though they were circumcised? (27) The one who is not circumcised physically and yet obeys the law will condemn you who, even though you have the written code and circumcision, are a lawbreaker. (28) A man is not a Jew if he is only one outwardly, nor is circumcision merely outward and physical. (29) No, a man is a Jew if he is one inwardly; and circumcision is circumcision of the heart, by the Spirit, not by the written code. Such a man’s praise is not from men, but from God.

He also says:

Gal 3:26-29 You are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus, (27) for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. (28) There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. (29) If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.

By your circumcision of the heart you become sons of Abraham and sons of God, and by this become part of Israel and God’s covenant with the House of Judah and the House of Israel, God’s New Kingdom!

In Conclusion

Jesus used very strong words to make it very clear that He is not going to end the Law, He furthermore makes it very simple for us to understand what He is saying, by referring in 2 separate occasions within Scripture, that not one letter of the Law will pass as long as we have this Heaven and Earth.

So, if you wake up and you notice that the earth is still here then remember what Jesus said:

It is easier for heaven and earth to disappear than for the least stroke of a pen to drop out of the Law. (Luk 16:17)

May God Bless you and don’t forget to test everything!

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