JBS 1: NT Believers and the OT Law

The importance of the law and I'm in a lot. And I'm generally speaking, when I use that word, I'm referring to the law of Moses and more broadly. You might say your Old Testament, but the more specifically used to talk about the law, given through angels, to Moses for the children of Israel. And you remember what Moses told the nation of Israel when he gave them the law and the first place, this is why, you know it's so important to remember that he told them here. Oh Israel the Lord Our God. The Lord is one. You shall love the Lord, your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children and she'll talk of them. When you sit in your house then when you walk, by the way, when you like when you rise you shall bind them as a sign on your hand and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes, you should write them on the doorposts of your house and on your Gates.

Moses seem to think Lord seemed to think that this was important content. Not just to familiarize oneself with like, read through once. But like to study to the point of memorization to have it be a part of your day-to-day walk, as a child of God in the nation of Israel. In fact, that's not an, of course, the only place that that focus on the law is stressed in the, in the scriptures. What we call the Old Testament now. Genesis through Malachi, if you've noticed in the New Testament, when they're referring to the scriptures, sometimes they will speak of the law and the prophets or the law and the prophets in the fighting. That's how Israelites understood the division of the scriptures, the Old Testament scriptures of all the prophets in the writing on the wall. Are the first five books that was written by Moses Genesis, Exodus Littest numbers, and Deuteronomy the prophets, is that all the profits from Joshua, threw the mate, what we call the major and minor prophets and all the way to Malachi. And then the writings that's basically songs Through Chronicles novels and, and the Order of the Hebrew scriptures, one of those books about three of those books would be in a different category but this is a Loosely, how they would be divided. Now I'm telling you that because you can see the the the Bible is that the Old Testament. Scriptures were seemed basically right there, three parts. And so there are two seems the one between the law and the prophets and the one between the prophets and the writings. And at each of those two seems you have a statement like this one hears, this is between the law and the prophets. So is as Joshua begins. Joshua 1:8 says this book of the law shall not depart from your mouth but you shall meditate on it day and night so that you may be careful to do. According to all that is written in it. But then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success. When will you be prosperous prosperous when you are meditating day and night and the only thing coming out of your mouth is this book of the law, Joshua begin. And at the next scene between the prophets and the writings, when the psalmist, when the songs begin as they were grouped together, someone says blessed, is the man in verse two, but his Delight is in the law of the Lord, and on his law, he meditate day and night the one I'm pointing out there's just at those two seems

that's going in my yard, can't say that the scripture is reattach. Reiterating the central message of

Howell Central to the wife of Israel. These these the law was to be and of course it has not diminished the Apostle Paul told Timothy in his second letter to Timothy and how from childhood you've been acquainted with the sacred writings, which were able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ. Jesus. Think about this when Timothy is, is second generation converted at the time of the Apostles at the time, that Timothy was a boy. What were the sacred writing? How much of the New Testament have been written. 0 pages of the New Testament and the only had what we know as the Old Testament. And pulses, those scriptures with which you were familiar. Things to your mother and grandmother and their faithful instruction in the scriptures. Those scriptures were able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus.

And the Apostle Paul will say when we when the day comes that we get to Rome and 15. He'll say, for whatever was written in, former days, was written for our instruction that through endurance and through the encouragement of the scriptures, we might have hope that you believe that, that whatever it was written in the, in the form of speaking, their of the Old Testament, was written for our instruction that through in endurance and encouragement scriptures. We might have hope. And I know that's why, I believe that because I noticed it, those of you who bring a paper Bible and not just a digital Bible with you to church, you're lugging around the whole thing. The first half is actually more than half its bigger and I know you could save some weight if you just look around your new testament or maybe, you know, Psalms in the New Testament or something. And and yet you don't seem to believe that. It's all the word of God and lug it all around with you all the time. And yet.

There is confusion about the law. we know that it's the Bible, we know that somehow it's profitable for us We just don't always know what to do with it. We retreat. Old Testament. Like I know it's important fact, I'm going to put it in my Bible reading plan and this year is the year, I'm going to make it through it and I go to Genesis Exodus. Viticus numbers around me.

I asked when I Was preparing for this. My shiny new, I think I mentioned this to you. If I have this new AI built into the tool I use for studying sermon tribal That's why I have my shiny anyway, I give me an outline about Christians and our relationship to the law. and, here's the title, it gave me for the message from law to love embracing Old Testament teachings in

Here's a summary, this team highlights, the transition from the Old Testament law which served as a guardian to the New Testament Grace that invites Believers into relationship with Christ. And emphasizes that the intent of the law is fulfilled in shifting from duty to Delight in serving, God and others. And hear the points. They gave me one Jesus, fulfills the law,

It's at this point to just the Christ, life is the ultimate expression of the Law's purpose. Moving Believers from Love and righteousness. I don't know exactly what that means in terms of my relationship to the actual Testament law, but that's the law. Romans 2:13 can illustrate how the Apostle Paul says, love is the Fulfillment of like, herding believe is to shift their focus from legalistic, observant to relation, observance to relational fulfillment. I'm not sure what that means. Either .3 law as a guide to Christ their suggestion. Was this point encourages Christians to live freely in Christ to a transform the laws, roll from restriction to a pathway, for living out, God's love. And I read through this outline that the genius. A I sent me, and I said, thank you very much. I hate it. That's just more. Confusion. That was a well-executed word salad at. I still don't know. What exactly am I to do with the Mosaic law, at what is my relationship to the Old Testament? Exactly. Give a sad disclaimer right up front tonight. If we get where I think we're going to get this evening, we are not going to get two solutions. Really? Want want I just, I just this evening want to set the table and so I'm going to step back and tell you what I learned about the law as a Believer. Now, how many of you grew up in a churchgoing type household

I don't know about you, but I did. And in my household, we believed the Old Testament, was the word of God, just as much as the New Testament was. And so, what do we do with the Old Testament? Well, in my experience reminded for stories. Right, I knew Adam and Eve I knew Noah, and the Ark Moses and the Exodus, and the horses, and Riders thrown into the sea. I knew about King David and his Friend. Jonathan and mean Old King Saul and I have learned about Elijah and the bear is for sure.

Most of what Moses wrote the first five books of the Wawa's. Honestly, I really hadn't not that much of an idea. What was in them? And I sure didn't know what to do them. I knew the story of The Exodus and I knew the story of creation and the rest of it was kind of a blur. And that was pretty much the state of things when I finally went off to Bible College and then I went to Bible College and I went to a very dispensational Bible College in Tyler and the general dispensational view of the law and in understanding the law was for Israel.

. And in, for the, for the New Testament, Christian, it's their instruction has been replaced by what we call from the New Testament, the law of Christ. And so they came to Matthew 5 and Jesus says, do not think that I have come to abolish the law or the prophets. I have not come to abolish them, but to fulfill for truly, I say to you until Heaven and Earth pass away. Not an Iota, not a DOT will pass from the law until all is accomplished. And what do we do with that statement? We say well she's an accomplished it, right? And he didn't actually kept the entire Law Without One failure. Not an Iota, not a. All is accomplished and so there you have it, he's not come to abolish them, but to fulfill them and he did fulfill them. And so since it's all accomplished, It's no longer binding certainly on the New Testament Christian. So the basic framework that I operated under was if there if there's a command that was in the Old Testament but it's repeated in the New Testament. Then that would be binding because it's repeating the New Testament. Otherwise it doesn't have any authority over me whatsoever.

there's a well, that sucks, and they refer to a number of times and names, dr. Richard gave her back and he described it this way. The Old Testament law, no longer has a regular but continues to have a revelatory function. This is basically what I believe their there's

Reading the Old Testament, will give me a sickle early, the wall the instructions in.

Exodus in Leviticus and repeated in Deuteronomy insight into the mind of God. I'll have some idea about what he values and what he doesn't value, but it's not going to be directly applicable.

I later learned it. What I was understanding the way I was understanding the law. I was very similar, very similar to the Lutheran View, Lutheran view in his catechism. I learned the first of the two famous sets of three about the law. Yeah, I'm curious to see if you recognize these was the three uses of the law we heard of these, the wall as curb mirror and guide for the Christian. Never heard that anybody, okay, all right.

First of all, helps to control violent outbursts and keeps order in the world. So it's acting as a curb. Second, the law, accuses us and shows us our sin. That's how it acts like a mirror. That shows you what your like, third, the law teaches us Christians what we should and should not do to live a Godly life.

And so I adopted as well. I best believe that. Three uses of the law seems good. I wasn't exactly sure how that third one work, if the law is specific for Israel and it wasn't directly applicable to me, I wasn't sure exactly how to use it as a guide, but in principle, that sounds good. And then I started reading other circles and I learned about the reformed view of Allah, and let me just summarize the reformed view of the law from the Westminster Confession of faith. End of the summer. I'm going to read the Westminster to you.

And the stipulation for obeying, the law with life and for disobeying the law was deaf. And he didn't just give a damn the lawyer. Also give him the power to keep it and the law that he gave the atom, we call the moral law, more on that in a minute.

God gave this, this is point to God Gave this same law to Moses in the Ten Commandments. The moral law that God gave the Adam he spelled out for Moses in the Ten Commandments and you remember the first four Commandments deal with our relationship to God and the next six Commandments deal with our relationship to man.

In addition.

Point3. Also gave Moses area ceremonial laws. All the laws around the priesthood, then the Tabernacle and sacrificial system in and the stuff that went with that, right? You bring this much flour and you bring this mini doves and whichever animal Works in. Whichever instance all those laws, right? Those are the ceremonial laws and the reformed understanding is those laws prefigured price. All of them and that's certainly true tipid logically. If you look at those laws, you can see how how do that was pointing to something that Christ actually did. And so now he is now, the Christ is actually fulfilled, all of those walls, they've been repealed abrogated. Confessions us.

God also gave Moses judicial or civil laws. These were the laws about Cities of Refuge and hears with a capital crime in those sorts of regulations, right?

And there's any of those were specific to the nation, state of Israel, and they expired with that nation-state when it went when they were taken into captivity. Finally, by the song, thinking about Babylon, and there went the body of laws that we know as the Civil War. And so, the moral law first given to Adam reiterated to Moses, and the Ten Commandments that moral law is permanently finding their Farm. Bureau says it only strengthens the moral law. It's in no way repealed unlike the other two categories. And then point six new testament, Believers are not under law as a covenant of work. So the law for The Believer cannot justify or condemn

So does that mean you use that all? Yes, they say it's it's usual to form and inform us of God's Will and our duty. I puzzled over this one, still at the same kind of instruction it. So it is like Luther said it was a, a guide. Exactly. How is it a guide? If the laws don't directly translate certainly inform us of God's will in our duty, how it directs our walk. Dumb, how it reveals our sin and need for Christ? Amen. Do that. It restrains, our Corruptions. And it shows God's blessings for obedience and that's true. Isn't it? You said you read in the wall, the, the blessings that God promised to God, doesn't just say do this or else. He says, do this. And here's the good news, coming your way for obedience, for following the law, keeping it. And so in that reformed understanding the law from the Westminster they are, you now see the second famous set of three with regard to the three uses of the law from the Lutheran catechism division of the Civil or judicial and ceremonial

So now I got my three uses. and I got my three divisions and I know that the moral law, still binding, the Civil or judicial law, it passed away with the nation state of Israel and all the ceremonial law was fulfilled in Christ and

you know where that left me after putting that information together. It left me troubled. so unsettled, like That's good and I don't really disagree with anything. I just read, but I still am not sure what to do with at least two thirds of my own cousin.

So why am I troubled about the law? What's bothering me now that I've been through these views and and having a storical understanding that is the big picture of why that's bothering me is as succinctly as I know how. Jesus fulfilled, it.

But it's still in my Bible.

so, like Is it just there to show me what Jesus did? I mean, not according to these views that I've been sharing with you. And it's not just feeling like Bible of the New Testament, authors thinks it is still matters and is relevant to me.

Our, he's talking to. He's talkin to mostly Gentile Converse in the city of Rome. After. The resurrection and Ascension. This is well into the New Testament. And he's saying, yeah, the Old Testament, all good, all for you. And the second big picture thing is that it was bothering me is. It's like, I don't have to obey it.

But I kind of do.

Give me feel the attention that I'm just driving there. Have you ever felt that like, I'm reading my Old Testament, reading plan this year and well, praise God. That I don't have to obey this, but actually do I have to do. It's a guy, isn't it? So, that bothered me?

I mean, it doesn't bother me when I read that shalt not murder, that's fine. But Jesus said, it's easier for heaven and earth to pass away than 41. Of the law to become a void. I mean, even the the thing about the shellfish Or the two kinds of cloth. Show me that became void.

And then there were some specific issues that were troubling me. And the 1st specific issue, I'll just call it discontinuity.

What I mean is there's just a massive discontinuity with with either the different station or the Lutheran, or the reformed, understanding of the New Testament, believe its relationship to the law. As much as they try to the harmonised, I feel some tension. Like there's some serious discounted annuity between the two between the Old Testament and the New Testament had to do all this and we don't know if you made a list of all the rules and then just meant to be real short list.

And it doesn't seem like that should be right when you read the scriptures, if you just reading through them, you don't ever get the impression that there was supposed to be some sort of 180 in the middle. Hard sharp turn where the law doesn't matter anymore. Now we're doing a new thing.

Yuri. Remember, Jesus said, At the Last Supper, with his disciples.

he said to them that he was instituting or inaugurating in his blood, what the New Covenant, right? That's what he said. Jesus said that when Jesus says that in Luke, 22 took bread, when he broke it and gave it to them saying, this is my body, which is given for you do this in remembrance of me.

And likewise.

Look up after they had eaten saying this cop. That is poured out for you. Is the New Covenant in my blood. Now, I've read Jeremiah and I've read Ezekiel. Anybody else read Jeremiah and Ezekiel and, you know, then from Jeremiah and Ezekiel in particular, you know, what, the New Covenant promise, right? You know, for example, from Jeremiah, behold the days are coming declares the Lord. When I will make a New Covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah, not like the Covenant that I made with their fathers on the day. When I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt, my Covenant that they broke tho. I was their husband declares. The Lord would come out there. The Mosaic law of Moses. Not like that new one for. This is the Covenant that I will make with the house of Israel. After those days, declares the Lord, I will get rid of my law.

Those of you who actually read Jeremiah know, I tampered with that, didn't I? That's not what it says that all false, what he actually says is for. This isn't coming at that, I will make with the house of Israel. After those days, declares the Lord, I will put my law within them and I will write it on their hearts and I will be their God and they shall be, my people are reading that and they hear God say, there's a new covenant coming and write my wall on their hearts. What do they think he's talking about? What law? The law of Moses, of course, right? What other wall when you be riding on the horse, that is the law. That is God's law. My law, the law. And now it's not going to just be on the stone tablets in those Scrolls locked away somewhere. It's going to be on the heart.

We're going to come back to that quite a bit. That's my first problem is the issue of discontinuity. I'm expecting if if, if the New Covenant has been inaugurated, not fulfilled. My so more to come, but if the new coven has been inaugurated, that's what Jesus actually conflict with his, the shedding of his blood, which is what he said. But I'm expecting not that the law is gone and done away with, but the law is now written on the heart. I'm expecting more continuity, second problem, division. You know what, the moral of the civil and the ceremonial, right?

The first time I heard that.

Explained. It made a ton of sense to me. Anybody hear it for the first time tonight, moral civil and ceremonial at 3 full division of the law does. It didn't make sense to you.

Exodus 20:13, you shall not murder civil or ceremonial? Moral now, but there's a civil component to that, isn't there? Because there are consequences for breaking that law that are spelled out in the Civil War.

Now that's still binding on the Christian. How do you know?

Leviticus to bring the grain offering as an offering to the Lord is offering. She'll be a fine flower. He's a poor oil on it and put frankincense on it and bring it to Aaron's sons the priests and he shall take from it, a handful of the fine flour and oil with all of its frankincense. And the priest shall burn this as a memorial portion on the altar, a food offering with a pleasing Aroma to the Lord. How many of you think that's moral law? Okay. How many of you think that it's Civil War? Okay, how many of you think it's ceremonial. I've had a lot on that one.

You want to say no but you know what? I'm going to ask if you say no, I'm going to say, how do you know And you're going to say, okay, I'll try one more. The word spoken message saying command the people of Israel that they put out of the camp, everyone who is leprous, or has a discharge, and everyone who is unclean to contact with the dead, you should put out both male and female putting them outside the camp that they may not defile. Their camp in the midst of which I dwell, which of the three categories. Do you think that is shout it together on three. One, two, three. Okay, I heard mostly civil, I think so. You think that's a civil law? It is a meeting at the way it had to do with the the jurisprudence of the the theocracy of Israel as a nation state, okay? Zip lining.

No. Okay. How do you know, one more Deuteronomy 14? Verseckes every animal that farts. The hoof and has the hoof cloven in two and chews. The cud among the animals, you may eat. Now, I'm not going to ask if you know what that one's still binding.

Because we would all be embarrassed. If you said yes because then you wouldn't have known heard about Jesus. Declaring all foods clean and Peter's vision of the sheet and all that you hit him and you would be like an idiot for a baking this whole time and That that but is it moral or civil, or ceremonial? Now, it doesn't seem Like the food. The dietary restrictions, it doesn't seem like they were ceremonial, didn't seem to have to do with specifically with

They were broader than that.

And so, you want to say that there which

Hygiene or we don't have a hygiene category. You got three choices, buddy. What's the reformers said, settle?

You know, it's not there ammonia because doesn't have to do with the the sacrifices of the temple system. You might be inclined to say, we'll definitely seem like a moral issue. Like they were moral issue, then Jesus probably wouldn't have said that. It was okay. And yeah, the instructions about dietary laws in Deuteronomy 14, begin with this.

You shall not eat any abomination. If you're familiar with your With your pain tattoo, that's a strong word. Serious sin. You shall not eat any Abomination and you can start to see my honey's with the with the threefold division of law, as much as it makes intuitive sense to me that you would categorize the laws that way. It's not always clear, which category any particular instruction fits, we could have picked more difficult ones probably as examples and here's another problem. Do you know where the Bible itself? Describes the division of the wall between moral and judicial civil and ceremony or sacrifice of worship system? Know where the Bible describes that. Nowhere at all. Not one place anywhere. That we've got the law and the prophets, and the writings, and other divisions mentioned in scripture, but we don't have that one. In fact, those three kinds of laws you often find within the pentateuch in the same passage like winter woven together. Like how am I going to sort that out in the category. So I know which ones are still binding and which ones are not.

And here's another problem for me. A huge problem with that understanding moral civil ceremonial, civil Dawn. The nation of Israel ceremonial have gone with the Tabernacle Temple worship system. What is the problem? The New Testament hate those civil and ceremonial laws will see more of this later and apply them directly to Christians.

That's right. The very kinds of laws that we said our done. Now New Testament authors will take them and apply them to Christian directly.

That bothers me. That troubled me. That's one of the reasons I was troubled. Here's my third problem. The issue of fulfillment.

We have a really big rat problem. Are you practicing?

Remember Jesus said in Matthew 5, do not think that I've come to abolish the law or the prophets. I have not come to abolish them, but to fulfill them. And as we said earlier, he did just that right perfectly. So he did, in fact, keep the whole law. And knowing that, I'm not surprised as we've gone through Romans. When I heard the Apostle Paul, say something, like, for we hold, that one is justified by faith, apart from the works of the law. Yes, I am. I agree with that. I understand, not apart from Jesus, keeping of the law that was required, right? He kept the law perfectly, he lay down his life, sacrificially, my sin, credited to him, his perfect law, keeping credited to me, as if I had actually done what he did, and kept the law. So, yeah, I'm with you on that one, for sure. And when he says, in chapter six percent will have no dominion over you since you are not under law, but under grace and you notice he didn't make a copy out and say what I mean, obviously.

It just said you're not under law. But under grace,

And then in chapter 7 he said likewise my brother's you also have died to the law through the body of Christ so that you may belong to another to him who has been raised from the dead in order that we may bear fruit for God. I'm ready to strike it from my annual reading plan. It seems like all of that supports my time. I understand I was describing earlier. That's that's a lot of basically over. but,

Right. After If you, if you were paying attention, several chapters ago, right after just a couple purses, after Paul makes a statement that we are justified by faith. Apart from works of the law. He says this, do we overthrow the law by this face?

And this is Paul's hardest - right.

By no means. God forbid, it absolutely not. We don't overthrow the law by this face. On the contrary we uphold the law.

Read statements like that. Make me think. I was right to be troubled and make me think that there's probably a better way than the simplistic way that I've been describing at the beginning, And here it is. Why this matters to me this? This matters to me because I want to take my savior seriously, when, when he said in verse 18 of Matthew 5:4, truly, I say to you until Heaven and Earth pass away. Not an Iota, not a. Will pass from the law until all is accomplished. And, you know, he said next, therefore, whoever relaxes 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 does them and teaches them will be called great in the Kingdom of Heaven. I want to honor my savior's instruction there. I don't want to teach you.

And its moral law will Bethel through it together to do that. And not only did Jesus say that it's very obvious to me that the New Testament writers actually believed this. And we're going to see lots of examples of them, taking some small elements of the law and making a big deal out for Christians.

And I think understanding of a better way of looking at the law begins with this. So in Romans chapter 10. Sunday. Lord willing, we'll be in this chapter and will read for Christ. Is the end of the law. To everyone who believes. And if you read ahead, you know, I doctor that verse 2, that's not what it says.

It says this for Christ is the end of the law for righteousness.

For everyone who believes. And I think that gets at the heart of the issue here. Why we have so much trouble and confusion, and money thinking about our relationship to the law.

The primary question is, will what are you asking the law to do?

Are you looking at it as a means of attaining righteousness, before God, that's a problem crisis. The end of the law for righteousness. To everyone who believes. I think you know that this was a problem for Jews Jewish people in Jesus day, right? That they thought obeying, the walleye was the way to have peace with God, right? and do you know that even if they would say they don't think that a lot of Christians today like that is the way to Happy's with God. It's it's how you get righteous. You get a right standing before God. and, you know, None of your phone like that because you know, from the letter to the Romans it that is absolutely not possible. There's no way that The grace of God. Through faith in Jesus Christ alone. That's the only way you would ever have peace with God, right? You know that but did you know that?

The law as a means of attaining, right? Standing before God was never its purpose. It was never the purpose. What what's the? I think a helpful way to illustrate this truth. What is the big salvation events in the Old Testament? And the people of Israel were saved for the day Philistines with the Jawbone of a donkey.

There's a hint. There's a whole book named after it. That's right. That's the big salvation that is God, saving his people and get the whole book because it was that big a deal. And in fact,

was was the law given before or after their salvation, The Exodus It was given after. In fact, the entire the whole thing is predicated on the fact that God had delivered them.

It is The Ten Commandments start that way, right? And God spoke. All these words saying I am the Lord your God who brought you out of the land of Egypt out of the house of slavery.

The law was given to a people. Got it already delivered. And the wall presumed that they shared the faith of their father, Abraham.

That's the only people for whom the law made any sense. Was those who shared the fate of a man were saved by faith, just like Abraham was saved by faith with Abraham after he was alive. Well, I was Abraham save, then my face and the law presumes that everyone who will follow the law has likewise been saved for the same as Abraham. The law was not given to give spiritual life that was never its purpose. Then contrary to the promises of God. He's saying, you can't force me to Believers 2. Just follow the law of Moses. That's that sort of in order to have a right standing before God, you can't do that. So am I saying a lot of country to God. He brings up certainly not. for if I lost had been, given that could give life

Then righteousness would indeed be by the law. It was never intended to give life. It can't do that.

It wasn't supposed to do that. The law was given to people already saved by the faith of Abraham. By having faith like Abraham. To it was given to them to show them how to live with God in their mist. God going to dwell among you people, that he just rescued out of Egypt, you're going to be a nation. Now, your own Nation not as slaves of another nation and God is going to leave in the midst of you with your Tribes arranged around him. Here's how you survive living with God, in your midst. People fake.

Now. Recognizing that.

What people today are saved by the same face, that saved Abraham and have God living in their mist. That's us. That's the church.

And so I'm going to suggest to you as we work through this. We're not out to answer the question of whether the law still applies and we're certainly not an ounce out to answer the question of which laws apply to us today. But really, we're up answer the question. How does the whole awful iOS today? How does it? and I'll finish up tonight with

Three main ideas from this great little book so this is from the same Skyline mentioned before. His name is dr. Richard gave her back the title of that book. If you can't read, it is the Old Testament law for the life of the church. I spent a week with I don't know, 20 30 other guys in May with out of preaching conference retreat with Dr. Every Beck and I found him shoot Ali helpful in in clarifying my thinking about this topic since. So I really want to do is just give you his lectures from my week there with them but that would probably be good. So I can modify a scholar and that's where most of his work. Is that those that the Scholastic level but this book is not a difficult.

As a Ministry ideas that he begins his book with, and then we talked a lot about in the week that I spent with him are the first one is that the law is good.

Laws. Good. And

I've been. hopefully, that one doesn't surprise you at all, because As we've worked through special, Romans chapter 7 and really all of 6, 7 and 8. I've been trying to Bang the Drum for you subtly that the Lord is good. Is it remember that? These, the only problem that the wall had was us? Right. the, the laws call set in chapter 7 is Holy And the Commandment is holy and righteous, and good. And he's talking about Moses there.

The wall is good and that's present tense. By the way, when he says that it's not the wall was good, bless its heart. May God Rest. His soul is good.

And the Commandment is holy and righteous, and good. And Point to the law is. which,

And you saw that end in chapter 8 of them and send you, the God has done what the law weakened by The Flash. Could not do. We use example of the the perfect meat Fork. Going up the turkey? What were not because there's anything wrong with the ball is supposed to the gracious. If there could have been a law given that would have given life. That one would have done it but that's not. I would love to. I can't do that. And I never was intended to do as good as we reach. This is why the, you know, that the New Covenant promise Jeremiah's focus is the law written on the heart, is he who has a little bit different focus and his his Focus. If he says the same thing but he also emphasizes the role of the spirit of God. And this is why it's so crucial that as part of the New Covenant, we don't just get a dolora in our hearts because it would still be weak. We also get the spirit

Indwelling us empowering us to submit enabling us to understand the law, doing all of those things, so that is good. The law is weak and certainly the law is a unified whole whole

Does the bottom line is why I can't? It's not that I don't think there is such a thing as a civil law or a ceremonial law. I think that's true that exist. I just don't think breaking them up in those categories. And saying, this category is abrogated in this category, still Fanny and even dangerous. I think clear that it's one piece did Israel vote on which laws they wanted to obey and which ones they didn't? Okay, Moses came down with 15 and we ratified 10 of them. That is not how the law works, right? You get the whole thing and James in the New Testament, says, whoever keeps the whole law in one point has become guilty of what All of it because it's one unified whole. It's an expression of the will of God. and,

What I'm suggesting to you tonight is that it still is an expression of the will of God. It's just a question of how Do we apply it to our contacts? Because obviously, Jesus has come the accuracy is different, now, right? We don't know where we are, but it's a spiritual tell. Christine Right. Jesus present kingdom is presently. Not of this world. He's ruling from Heaven. Over his church who submits to him, but doesn't control the state. That's why. Example, we let the civil magistrate we let Caesar worry about executing people for their crimes right around 2:13 because we're not living in the Sacristy right now. So when we need to think about how, how does all of the law, apply to us, but we're not start there and not with a question of which laws might I apply So next week, Lord willing, we will begin to solve the puzzle. That's my goal, right? You were like, well, I had three neat categories and you like Madam. You categories are okay, but I don't think they're good enough. And I think we can do better and Lord willing, we will next week.