Faith or Law?

[Gideon300]

I disagree with those who promote rigid observance of Law in order to be righteous. I do not say such things in isolation.
Galatians 3: 1-5
O foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you? Before your very eyes Jesus Christ was clearly portrayed as crucified. I would like to learn just one thing from you: Did you receive the Spirit by works of the law, or by hearing with faith?

Are you so foolish? After starting in the Spirit, are you now finishing in the flesh? Have you suffered so much for nothing, if it really was for nothing? Does God lavish His Spirit on you and work miracles among you because you practice the law, or because you hear and believe?

This was written by one of the foremost scholars of the Law. We do well to take him seriously.

 

[timf]

Rom_13:10 Love worketh no ill to his neighbour: therefore love is the fulfilling of the law.

While those of Israel were required to keep the law.

Christians are supposed to transition from the selfishness of the flesh to the selfless love of Christ. The biblical definition of love is essentially selflessness;

1Co 13:4 Love suffereth long, and is kind; love envieth not; love vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up,
1Co 13:5 doth not behave itself unseemly, seeketh not its own, is not provoked, taketh not account of evil;
1Co 13:6 rejoiceth not in unrighteousness, but rejoiceth with the truth;
1Co 13:7 beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things.

Law can give people a feeling of accomplishment (which is of the flesh). Taking a little pride in accomplishment can take one further into the flesh.

 

[Soyeong]

I disagree with those who promote rigid observance of Law in order to be righteous. I do not say such things in isolation.
Galatians 3: 1-5
O foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you? Before your very eyes Jesus Christ was clearly portrayed as crucified. I would like to learn just one thing from you: Did you receive the Spirit by works of the law, or by hearing with faith?

Are you so foolish? After starting in the Spirit, are you now finishing in the flesh? Have you suffered so much for nothing, if it really was for nothing? Does God lavish His Spirit on you and work miracles among you because you practice the law, or because you hear and believe?

This was written by one of the foremost scholars of the Law. We do well to take him seriously.

We can do works for a variety of reasons, such as in order to embody our love, in order to embody our faith, in order to earn a wage, in order to look good in the eyes of others, in order to get a favor in return, in order to build a relationship with someone, in order to get revenge, and so forth, so it is important to recognize that the that the Bible can speak against doing works for incorrect reasons without speaking against doing works for correct reasons. There are many verses that repeatedly connect our faith with our works such as with the examples of faith listed in Hebrews 11 or with with James 2:18 saying that he would show his faith through his works, so we can embody our faith through our works and the issue is not faith vs law but rather it is about obeying the law for the correct reasons and not the incorrect reasons. Case in point, the reason why we should do good works in not in order to receive the Spirit as the result, but that does not mean that the Spirit is not given to those who obey God (Acts 5:32) or that we are not obligated to good works in obedience to God. In Romans 8:4-7, Paul contrasted those who walk in the Spirit with those who have minds set on the flesh who are enemies of God who refuse to submit to the Law of God.

 

[James456]

I disagree with those who promote rigid observance of Law in order to be righteous. I do not say such things in isolation.
Galatians 3: 1-5
O foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you? Before your very eyes Jesus Christ was clearly portrayed as crucified. I would like to learn just one thing from you: Did you receive the Spirit by works of the law, or by hearing with faith?

Are you so foolish? After starting in the Spirit, are you now finishing in the flesh? Have you suffered so much for nothing, if it really was for nothing? Does God lavish His Spirit on you and work miracles among you because you practice the law, or because you hear and believe?

This was written by one of the foremost scholars of the Law. We do well to take him seriously.

The law is not based on faith Gal3:12

 

[tablet123]

The truth is it is about obeying the law to be saved.

It is required of us to abstain from sin and obey the law.

For we have to deny sin to be saved.

We are saved by faith and not by works when we first confess Christ for that is all we can do.

But then we have to allow the Spirit to lead us to abstain from sin to obey the law.

Rom 3:31 Do we then make void the law through faith? God forbid: yea, we establish the law.

Rom 7:12 Wherefore the law is holy, and the commandment holy, and just, and good.

Rom 7:14 For we know that the law is spiritual.

We do not void out the law by faith but we live up to the law by obeying the law.

Which the law is spiritual, holy just, and good.

Which are the moral laws, laws of love.

Which are to always to be obeyed and if not then no salvation.

Mat 19:17 And he said unto him, Why callest thou me good? there is none good but one, that is, God: but if thou wilt enter into life, keep the commandments.
Mat 19:18 He saith unto him, Which? Jesus said, Thou shalt do no murder, Thou shalt not commit adultery, Thou shalt not steal, Thou shalt not bear false witness,
Mat 19:19 Honour thy father and thy mother: and, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.

Gal 5:19 Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these; Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness,
Gal 5:20 Idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies,
Gal 5:21 Envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God.

If a person does not obey the law abstaining from sin there is no salvation.

Gal 3:1 O foolish Galatians, who hath bewitched you, that ye should not obey the truth, before whose eyes Jesus Christ hath been evidently set forth, crucified among you?
Gal 3:2 This only would I learn of you, Received ye the Spirit by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith?
Gal 3:3 Are ye so foolish? having begun in the Spirit, are ye now made perfect by the flesh?

Gal 4:9 But now, after that ye have known God, or rather are known of God, how turn ye again to the weak and beggarly elements, whereunto ye desire again to be in bondage?

Paul said the Galatians received the Spirit by faith when they were saved.

But then rebuked them because they went back to things of the flesh not obeying the truth.

Gal 5:16 This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh.
Gal 5:18 But if ye be led of the Spirit, ye are not under the law.
Gal 5:22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith,
Gal 5:23 Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law.
Gal 5:24 And they that are Christ's have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts.

1Co 10:13 There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it.

If a person hates sin, and does not want sin, by the Spirit they can abstain from sin, and obey the law.

Therefore they are not under the law for they are abstaining from sin obeying the law so the law cannot touch them for prosecution.

2Ti 2:19 Nevertheless the foundation of God standeth sure, having this seal, The Lord knoweth them that are his. And, Let every one that nameth the name of Christ depart from iniquity.

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.
Mat 7:23 And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.

2Ti 3:4 lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God;
2Ti 3:5 Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away.
2Ti 3:7 Ever learning, and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth.

Some people do not allow the Spirit to lead them and love sin more than God.

And do not come to the truth.

They say faith alone and we cannot abstain from sin.

Which means they are sinning and thinking they still have salvation.

And do not come to the truth.

It is about obeying the law and abstaining from sin to be saved.

If a person hates sin, and does not want sin, by the Spirit they can abstain from sin, and obey the law.

1Jn 5:2 By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God, and keep his commandments.
1Jn 5:3 For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments: and his commandments are not grievous.

Rom 3:31 Do we then make void the law through faith? God forbid: yea, we establish the law.

 

[Gideon300]

The truth is it is about obeying the law to be saved.

It is required of us to abstain from sin and obey the law.

For we have to deny sin to be saved.

We are saved by faith and not by works when we first confess Christ for that is all we can do.

But then we have to allow the Spirit to lead us to abstain from sin to obey the law.

Rom 3:31 Do we then make void the law through faith? God forbid: yea, we establish the law.

Rom 7:12 Wherefore the law is holy, and the commandment holy, and just, and good.

Rom 7:14 For we know that the law is spiritual.

We do not void out the law by faith but we live up to the law by obeying the law.

Which the law is spiritual, holy just, and good.

Which are the moral laws, laws of love.

Which are to always to be obeyed and if not then no salvation.

Mat 19:17 And he said unto him, Why callest thou me good? there is none good but one, that is, God: but if thou wilt enter into life, keep the commandments.
Mat 19:18 He saith unto him, Which? Jesus said, Thou shalt do no murder, Thou shalt not commit adultery, Thou shalt not steal, Thou shalt not bear false witness,
Mat 19:19 Honour thy father and thy mother: and, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.

Gal 5:19 Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these; Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness,
Gal 5:20 Idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies,
Gal 5:21 Envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God.

If a person does not obey the law abstaining from sin there is no salvation.

Gal 3:1 O foolish Galatians, who hath bewitched you, that ye should not obey the truth, before whose eyes Jesus Christ hath been evidently set forth, crucified among you?
Gal 3:2 This only would I learn of you, Received ye the Spirit by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith?
Gal 3:3 Are ye so foolish? having begun in the Spirit, are ye now made perfect by the flesh?

Gal 4:9 But now, after that ye have known God, or rather are known of God, how turn ye again to the weak and beggarly elements, whereunto ye desire again to be in bondage?

Paul said the Galatians received the Spirit by faith when they were saved.

But then rebuked them because they went back to things of the flesh not obeying the truth.

Gal 5:16 This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh.
Gal 5:18 But if ye be led of the Spirit, ye are not under the law.
Gal 5:22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith,
Gal 5:23 Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law.
Gal 5:24 And they that are Christ's have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts.

1Co 10:13 There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it.

If a person hates sin, and does not want sin, by the Spirit they can abstain from sin, and obey the law.

Therefore they are not under the law for they are abstaining from sin obeying the law so the law cannot touch them for prosecution.

2Ti 2:19 Nevertheless the foundation of God standeth sure, having this seal, The Lord knoweth them that are his. And, Let every one that nameth the name of Christ depart from iniquity.

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.
Mat 7:23 And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.

2Ti 3:4 lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God;
2Ti 3:5 Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away.
2Ti 3:7 Ever learning, and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth.

Some people do not allow the Spirit to lead them and love sin more than God.

And do not come to the truth.

They say faith alone and we cannot abstain from sin.

Which means they are sinning and thinking they still have salvation.

And do not come to the truth.

It is about obeying the law and abstaining from sin to be saved.

If a person hates sin, and does not want sin, by the Spirit they can abstain from sin, and obey the law.

1Jn 5:2 By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God, and keep his commandments.
1Jn 5:3 For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments: and his commandments are not grievous.

Rom 3:31 Do we then make void the law through faith? God forbid: yea, we establish the law.

You have the right to cherry pick scripture to make it say something that it does not. No one can stop you. But Paul would describe you as foolish. You do not know the either the purpose of the Law or the power of the cross. I'll leave you God to sort out.

 

[2ndTimeIsTheCharm]

I just obey God because it makes Him happy. Plus He gave me His Holy Spirit to cause me to obey Him, so why not?

 

[Dino246]

There are many verses that repeatedly connect our faith with our works such as with the examples of faith listed in Hebrews 11 or with with James 2:18 saying that he would show his faith through his works, so we can embody our faith through our works and the issue is not faith vs law but rather it is about obeying the law for the correct reasons and not the incorrect reasons.

You are incorrect in your reasoning because you think that the Galatians were following the law for the wrong reasons. They were doing so because they thought the law required circumcision… which it does. Paul showed them their error and he is showing you your error.

Christians enter right relationship with God by faith, not by following the law. They remain in right relationship with God by faith, not by following the law.

Period.

 

[Soyeong]

The law is not based on faith Gal3:12

Paul spoke about multiple different categories of law other than the Law of God such as with the law of sin and works of the law, so it is important to correctly identify which law he is referring to as not being of faith. For example, in Romans 7:25-8:2, Paul contrasted the Law of God with the law of sin and contrasted the Law of the Spirit with the law of sin and death. In Romans 3:27, Paul contrasted a law of works with a law of faith, in Galatians 3:10-12, he contrasted the Book of the Law with "works of the law", and in Romans 3:31 and Galatians 3:10-12, he said that our faith upholds the Law of God in contrast with saying that "works of the law" are not of faith, so that phrase does not refer to the Law of God, which is why it is not of faith. God is trustworthy, therefore His law is also trustworthy (Psalms 19:7), so the way to rely on God is by obediently relying on His instructions, it would be contradictory for someone to think that we should rely on God for salvation instead of on His instructions, and the position that God is a giver of untrustworthy instructions that are not of faith denies the trustworthiness and faithfulness of God.

 

[James456]

Paul spoke about multiple different categories of law other than the Law of God such as with the law of sin and works of the law, so it is important to correctly identify which law he is referring to as not being of faith. For example, in Romans 7:25-8:2, Paul contrasted the Law of God with the law of sin and contrasted the Law of the Spirit with the law of sin and death. In Romans 3:27, Paul contrasted a law of works with a law of faith, in Galatians 3:10-12, he contrasted the Book of the Law with "works of the law", and in Romans 3:31 and Galatians 3:10-12, he said that our faith upholds the Law of God in contrast with saying that "works of the law" are not of faith, so that phrase does not refer to the Law of God, which is why it is not of faith. God is trustworthy, therefore His law is also trustworthy (Psalms 19:7), so the way to rely on God is by obediently relying on His instructions, it would be contradictory for someone to think that we should rely on God for salvation instead of on His instructions, and the position that God is a giver of untrustworthy instructions that are not of faith denies the trustworthiness and faithfulness of God.

What was the law of sin and death in Romans7:
What shall we say then? Is the law sin? God forbid. Nay, I had not known sin, but by the law: for I had not known lust, except the law had said, Thou shalt not covet.

8 But sin, taking occasion by the commandment, wrought in me all manner of concupiscence. For without the law sin was dead.

9 For I was alive without the law once: but when the commandment came, sin revived, and I died.

10 And the commandment, which was ordained to life, I found to be unto death.

11 For sin, taking occasion by the commandment, deceived me, and by it slew me.
Rom7:7-11

 

[Gideon300]

I just obey God because it makes Him happy. Plus He gave me His Holy Spirit to cause me to obey Him, so why not?

And that is the problem in one sentence. Some believe that we are saved in order to obey the law. They go further and say that if you do not obey the law, you lose salvation. The root of sin is disobedience to GOD, not to a set of rules. Sure, the Christian life is a life of obedience. But no one gets to be 100 % obedient because no one is that good.

Jesus said blessed is the man who does not sin by doing what he knows is right. You can take that two ways. Many people sin because they go by slavish obedience to rules. The righteous live by faith, not by law.

The letter of the law kills. The Spirit gives life and liberty. Walk in the Spirit and everything else follows. For me to live is Christ. Christ is the end of the law because I believe. (Romans 10:4) I died to the law (Galatians 2:19).

The obsession with Law takes the glory and emphasis on Christ and puts it on those who try to obey it. They are worshiping the Law of God instead of God Himself.

Paul did not start with his usual niceties with the Galatians. He ripped into them. I believe he would be just as firm with some of the people on this forum who place the law of God above God Himself.

 

[GWH]

Here is how faith and law can be harmonized per the NT:

There is no qualitative difference between faith that accepts God’s saving grace at conversion and faith that accepts God’s working grace or motivates good works while walking/living in the Spirit (Eph. 2:8-10, 2Cor. 5:7), but only a quantitative difference as each additional moment passes–and of course faith remains non-meritorious during the saint’s entire lifetime (Rom. 1:17). IOW, the ability to do good works as well as have saving faith are both due to God’s grace. Faith first; love lasts (Eph. 2:8-10, Rom. 5:5).

 

[2ndTimeIsTheCharm]

And that is the problem in one sentence. Some believe that we are saved in order to obey the law. They go further and say that if you do not obey the law, you lose salvation. The root of sin is disobedience to GOD, not to a set of rules. Sure, the Christian life is a life of obedience. But no one gets to be 100 % obedient because no one is that good.

Jesus said blessed is the man who does not sin by doing what he knows is right. You can take that two ways. Many people sin because they go by slavish obedience to rules. The righteous live by faith, not by law.

The letter of the law kills. The Spirit gives life and liberty. Walk in the Spirit and everything else follows. For me to live is Christ. Christ is the end of the law because I believe. (Romans 10:4) I died to the law (Galatians 2:19).

The obsession with Law takes the glory and emphasis on Christ and puts it on those who try to obey it. They are worshiping the Law of God instead of God Himself.

Paul did not start with his usual niceties with the Galatians. He ripped into them. I believe he would be just as firm with some of the people on this forum who place the law of God above God Himself.

I really don't care. It's not like you or anyone else can send me to Hell for obeyiing Jesus and making Him happy.

 

[Soyeong]

What was the law of sin and death in Romans7:
What shall we say then? Is the law sin? God forbid. Nay, I had not known sin, but by the law: for I had not known lust, except the law had said, Thou shalt not covet.

8 But sin, taking occasion by the commandment, wrought in me all manner of concupiscence. For without the law sin was dead.

9 For I was alive without the law once: but when the commandment came, sin revived, and I died.

10 And the commandment, which was ordained to life, I found to be unto death.

11 For sin, taking occasion by the commandment, deceived me, and by it slew me.
Rom7:7-11

In Romans 7-8:2, Paul said that the Law of God is good, that he wanted to do good, that he delighted in obeying it, and that he served it with his mind in contrast with the law of sin, which was working within his members to cause him not to do the good that he wanted to do, which was waging war against the law of his mind, which he served with his flesh, which held him captive, and which the Law of the Spirit has freed us from. In Romans 8:3-7, Jesus freed us from the law of sin so that we might be free to meet the righteous requirements of the Law of God and Paul contrasted those who walk in the Spirit with those who have minds set on the flesh who are enemies of God who refuse to submit to the Law of God.

The Law of God leads us to do what is holy, righteous, and good (Romans 7:12) while the law of sin leads us in the opposite direction by stirring up sinful passions in order to bear fruit unto death (Romans 7:5). Paul said that he delighted in obeying the Law of God (Romans 7:22), so verses that refer to something that would be absurd for Paul to delight in doing should not be interpreted as referring to the Law of God while verses that refer to a law that is sinful, that causes sin to increase, or that hinders us from obeying the Law of God should be interpreted as referring to the law of sin.

For example, in Romans 6:14, Paul describe the law that we are not under as being a law where sin had dominion over him and it would be absurd for Paul to delight in sin having dominion over him, but rather that is the role of the law of sin. In Romans 6:15, being under grace does not mean that we are permitted to sin, and in Romans 7:7, the Law of God is not sinful but how we know what sin is, so we are still under the Law of God but are not under the law of sin. In Romans 6:16, Paul contrasted these two directions by saying that we are slaves to the one that we obey, either the law of sin, which leads to death, or obedience to the Law of God, which leads to righteousness. In Romans 6:17-23, we are no longer to present ourselves as slaves to impurity, lawlessness, and sin, but are now to present ourselves as slaves to God and to righteousness leading to sanctification, and the goal of sanctification is eternal life in Christ, which is the gift of God, so being a doer of the Law of God is His gift of eternal life in Christ.

In regard to Romans 7:7-13, there is nothing inherent to the command against coveting that causes coveting to increase, but rather that command leads us to repent of our coveting and causes coveting to decrease. The issue is that there is the law of sin that is working within us that takes the occasion by the Law of God that causes coveting to increase. In Romans 7:12-13, Paul said that the Law of God is good and that it was not that which is good that brought death to him, but the law of sin producing death in him through that which is good. So we need to die to the law of sin in order to be free to obey the Law of God, not the other way around.

 

[James456]

while the law of sin leads us in the opposite direction by stirring up sinful passions in order to bear fruit unto death (Romans 7:5).

For example, in Romans 6:14, Paul describe the law that we are not under as being a law where sin had dominion over him

Well Rom7:14-23 concerns Saul the Pharisee
Yes, when Saul lived under the law sinfull passions were stirred up in him through his knowledge of the tenth commandment.

Paul tells us sin had dominion over him concerning the tenth commandment

 

[Howdy]

Because of what many say and the questions they ask, I have come to the conclusion that many on this form do not understand salvation, therefore may not be saved, and that is very troubling to me.

 

[rewriter]

And that is the problem in one sentence. Some believe that we are saved in order to obey the law. They go further and say that if you do not obey the law, you lose salvation. The root of sin is disobedience to GOD, not to a set of rules. Sure, the Christian life is a life of obedience. But no one gets to be 100 % obedient because no one is that good.

Jesus said blessed is the man who does not sin by doing what he knows is right. You can take that two ways. Many people sin because they go by slavish obedience to rules. The righteous live by faith, not by law.

The letter of the law kills. The Spirit gives life and liberty. Walk in the Spirit and everything else follows. For me to live is Christ. Christ is the end of the law because I believe. (Romans 10:4) I died to the law (Galatians 2:19).

The obsession with Law takes the glory and emphasis on Christ and puts it on those who try to obey it. They are worshiping the Law of God instead of God Himself.

Paul did not start with his usual niceties with the Galatians. He ripped into them. I believe he would be just as firm with some of the people on this forum who place the law of God above God Himself.

Paul in Romans 1:18-32 makes a statement about fallen humanity, yet he never once mentions God's law. He references the truth about God and how it is available to all so that no one is without excuse, and he mentions THE LIE, at least in the Greek, many translations default to just "a lie", easier to accept and also allows violation of God's law to be the cause of sin, which is accepted and leads to all types of wickedness evil, greed and depravity, which pretty much defines sin, but he never mentions God's law.

Now getting forgiveness for that specific lie that we all choose to believe requires Grace, and until that lie is removed from our minds, that is true and full repentance, we remain captive to it, requiring full salvation/healing which can only come from God, not by our own actions while we are subject to the lie. But we can seek to act in accordance with the truth that we can catch glimpses of even as we continue to largely hold to the lie in our hearts.

 

[Soyeong]

And that is the problem in one sentence. Some believe that we are saved in order to obey the law. They go further and say that if you do not obey the law, you lose salvation. The root of sin is disobedience to GOD, not to a set of rules. Sure, the Christian life is a life of obedience. But no one gets to be 100 % obedient because no one is that good.

Jesus saves us from our sin (Matthew 1:21) and sin is the transgression of the Law of God (1 John 3:4), so there is a direct connection between our gift of salvation and being a doer of the Law of God and the key is to figure out what that is and is not. We can't earn our salvation even as the result of having perfect 100% obedience to the Law of God because it was never given as a way of earning our salvation in the first place, but Jesus graciously teaching us to experience being doer of the it is intrinsically the way that he is giving us his gift of saving us from not being a doer of it. In Titus 2:11-13, our salvation is described as being trained by grace to do what is godly, righteous, and good, and to renounce doing what is ungodly.

Jesus said blessed is the man who does not sin by doing what he knows is right. You can take that two ways. Many people sin because they go by slavish obedience to rules.

Sin is the transgression of Law of God (1 John 3:4), so the way to sin is not by slavish obedience to it, but just the opposite.

The righteous live by faith, not by law.

The context of Habakkuk 2 does not preset the righteous living by faith as an alternative way of living that is not in obedience to the Law of God, but just the opposite. In Isaiah 51:7, righteous are those on whose heart is the Law of God, and in 1 John 3:4-7, everyone who is a doer of righteous works in obedience to the Law of God is righteous even as they are righteous, so the righteous living by faith is describing the way that the righteous live in obedience to the Law of God.

The letter of the law kills. The Spirit gives life and liberty. Walk in the Spirit and everything else follows. For me to live is Christ. Christ is the end of the law because I believe. (Romans 10:4)

If the letter referred to correctly following God's instructions and that leads to death, then that would mean that God would be misleading us and shouldn't be trusted, but rather the Bible repeatedly states that obedience to the Law of God leads to life and that the Spirit has the role of leading us to obey, so there must something deficient about following the letter that is missing the goal of the law that causes it to lead to death rather than life. In Romans 8:4-7, Paul contrasted those who walk I the Spirit with those who have minds set on the flesh who are enemies of God who refuse to submit to the Law of God.

The Hebrew word "yada" refers to intimate relationships/knowledge gained through experience, such as with Genesis 4:1 where Adam knew (yada) Eve, she conceived, and gave birth to Cain. God's way is the way to know (yada) Him and Jesus by experiencing embodying His character traits, which is the narrow way to eternal life (John 17:3). For example, in Genesis 18:19, God knew (yada) Abraham that he would teach his children and those of his household to walk in His way by being doers of righteousness and justice that the Lord might bring to him all that He has promised. In Exodus 33:13, Moses wanted God to be gracious to him by teaching him to walk in His way that he and Israel might know (yada) Him, and in Matthew 7:23, Jesus said that he would tell those who are workers of lawlessness to depart from him because he never knew them, so the goal of the law is to graciously teach us how to know (yada) God and Jesus by walking in His way, which is His gift of eternal life.

The problem is that someone can go through the motions of obeying the Law of God (following the letter) while neglecting to be a doer of the character traits of God that it was given in order to teach us how to embody and thus neglect to know God and Jesus, which leads to death rather than life. For example, in Matthew 23:23, Jesus said that tithing was something that they ought to be doing while not neglecting weightier matters of the law of justice, mercy, and faithfulness. In Romans 9:30-10:4, they had a zeal for God, but it was not based on knowing Him, so they failed to attain righteousness because they misunderstood the goal of the law by pursuing it as through righteousness were earned as the result of their works in order to establish their own instead of pursuing it as through righteousness were by faith in Christ, for knowing Christ is the goal of the law for righteousness for everyone who has faith. In Philippians 3:8, Paul had been in the same situation where he had been zealous for obeying the Law of God, but not while being focused on knowing Christ, so he had been missing the whole goal of the law and counted that as rubbish.

I died to the law (Galatians 2:19).

The way to bear fruit for God is not by dying to His instructions for how to bear fruit for Him, but by dying to a law that was hindering us from doing that, namely the law of sin.

The obsession with Law takes the glory and emphasis on Christ and puts it on those who try to obey it. They are worshiping the Law of God instead of God Himself.

In Psalm 1:1-2, blessed are those who delight in the Law of the Lord and who meditate on it day and night, so do you think that this verse is expressing a correct view of obeying the Law of God?

In Deuteronomy 6:4-7 the way to obey the greatest commandment in the Bible is essentially by. being obsessed with the Law of God. It is absurd to suggest that by being obsessed with following God's instructions for how to worship him that we are worshiping those instructions instead of God and the way to worship God is certainly not be refusing to follow his instructions for how to worship Him. In Matthew 5:14-16, Jesus did not warn against doing good works in obedience to the Law of God by saying that take gory and emphasis away from him, but rather he encouraged us to do them because they give glory to God.

Paul did not start with his usual niceties with the Galatians. He ripped into them. I believe he would be just as firm with some of the people on this forum who place the law of God above God Himself.

Christ spent his ministry teaching his followers to obey he Law of God by word and by example and his problem in Galatians was not with them being followers of Christ. Can you quote a single person from this forum as saying that they place the Law of God above God Himself? Or are you just arbitrarily assigning that position to some people in this forum?

 

[Soyeong]

Well Rom7:14-23 concerns Saul the Pharisee
Yes, when Saul lived under the law sinfull passions were stirred up in him through his knowledge of the tenth commandment.

Paul tells us sin had dominion over him concerning the tenth commandment

He never sopped being Saul the Pharisee or under the Law of God (Acts 23:6). Can you explain what it is that is inherent to the tenth Commandment that stirs up sinful passions in order to bear fruit unto death? There is nothing. The thing that was stirring up sinful passions in order to bear fruit unto death was not the tenth commandment itself but the law opsin that was working within Paul that was reacting to the tenth commandment that was causing sin to have dominion over him.

 

[Mem]

I do wonder, how do you like your cheeseburger?