Reference: Law
Hastings
1. That the 'law was given by Moses' (Joh 1:17) represents the unanimous belief both of the early Christians and of the Chosen Nation. He was their first as well as their greatest law-giver; and in this matter religious tradition is supported by all the historical probabilities of the case. The Exodus and the subsequent wanderings constitute the formative epoch of Israel's career: it was the period of combination and adjustment between the various tribes towards effecting a national unity. Such periods necessitate social experiments, for no society can hold together without some basis of permanent security; no nation could be welded together, least of all a nation in ancient times, without some strong sense of corporate responsibilities and corporate religion. It therefore naturally devolved upon Moses to establish a central authority for the administration of justice, which should be universally accessible and universally recognized. There was only one method by which any such universal recognition could be attained; and that was by placing the legal and judicial system upon the basis of an appeal to that religion, which had already been successful in rousing the twelve tribes to a sense of their unity, and which, moreover, was the one force which could and did effectually prevent the disintegration of the heterogeneous elements of which the nation was composed.
2. We see the beginning and character of these legislative functions in Ex 18:16, where Moses explains how 'the people come unto me to inquire of God: when they have a matter they come unto me; and I judge between a man and his neighbour, and make them know the statutes of God, and his laws (t
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But Jesus answered, "Let it be so this time, for it is right for us to do everything that God requires." Then John consented.
"Do not suppose that I have come to do away with the Law or the Prophets. I have not come to do away with them but to enforce them.
"Do not suppose that I have come to do away with the Law or the Prophets. I have not come to do away with them but to enforce them. For I tell you, as long as heaven and earth endure, not one dotting of an i or crossing of a t will be dropped from the Law until it is all observed.
For I tell you, as long as heaven and earth endure, not one dotting of an i or crossing of a t will be dropped from the Law until it is all observed.
For I tell you, as long as heaven and earth endure, not one dotting of an i or crossing of a t will be dropped from the Law until it is all observed. Anyone, therefore, who weakens one of the slightest of these commands, and teaches others to do so, will be ranked lowest in the Kingdom of Heaven; but anyone who observes them and teaches others to do so will be ranked high in the Kingdom of Heaven. read more. For I tell you that unless your uprightness is far superior to that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never even enter the Kingdom of Heaven! "You have heard that the men of old were told 'You shall not murder,' and 'Whoever murders will have to answer to the court.' But I tell you that anyone who gets angry with his brother will have to answer to the court, and anyone who speaks contemptuously to his brother will have to answer to the great council, and anyone who says to his brother 'You cursed fool!' will have to answer for it in the fiery pit! So when you are presenting your gift at the altar, if you remember that your brother has any grievance against you, leave your gift right there before the altar and go and make up with your brother; then come back and present your gift. Be quick and come to terms with your opponent while you are on the way to court with him, or he may hand you over to the judge, and the judge may hand you over to the officer, and you will be thrown into prison. I tell you, you will never get out again until you have paid the last penny! "You have heard that men were told 'You shall not commit adultery.' But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman with desire has already committed adultery with her in his heart. But if your right eye makes you fall, tear it out and throw it away, for you might better lose one part of your body than have it all thrown into the pit! If your right hand makes you fall, cut it off and throw it away, for you might better lose one part of your body than have it all go down to the pit! "They were told, 'Anyone who divorces his wife must give her a certificate of divorce.' But I tell you that anyone who divorces his wife on any ground, except unfaithfulness, makes her commit adultery, and anyone who marries her after she is divorced commits adultery. "Again, you have heard that the men of old were told, 'You shall not swear falsely, but you must fulfil your oaths to the Lord.' But I tell you not to swear at all, either by heaven, for it is God's throne, or by the earth, for it is his footstool, or by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the great king. You must not swear by your own head, for you cannot make one single hair white or black. But your way of speaking must be 'Yes' or 'No.' Anything that goes beyond that comes from the evil one. "You have heard that they were told, 'An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.' But I tell you not to resist injury, but if anyone strikes you on your right cheek, turn the other to him too; and if anyone wants to sue you for your shirt, let him have your coat too. And if anyone forces you to go one mile, go two miles with him. If anyone begs from you, give to him, and when anyone wants to borrow from you, do not turn away. "You have heard that they were told, 'You must love your neighbor and hate your enemy.' But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for your persecutors, so that you may show yourselves true sons of your Father in heaven, for he makes his sun rise on bad and good alike, and makes the rain fall on the upright and the wrongdoers. For if you love only those who love you, what reward can you expect? Do not the very tax-collectors do that? And if you are polite to your brothers and no one else, what is there remarkable in that? Do not the very heathen do that? So you are to be perfect, as your heavenly Father is.
When Jesus had finished this discourse, the crowds were astounded at his teaching,
Then Jesus said to him, "See that you tell nobody, but go! Show yourself to the priest, and in proof of your cure, offer the gift that Moses prescribed."
Or did you never read in the Law how the priests in the Temple are not guilty when they break the Sabbath? But I tell you, there is something greater than the Temple here!
But he said to them, "Who among you if he has even a single sheep and it falls into a hole on the Sabbath, will not take hold of it and lift it out?
But if I am driving the demons out by the aid of God's Spirit, then the Kingdom of God has overtaken you. How can anyone get into a strong man's house and carry off his property unless he first binds the strong man? After that he can plunder his house. read more. Anyone who is not with me is against me, and anyone who does not join me in gathering, scatters.
The queen of the south will rise with this age at the judgment and condemn it, for she came from the very ends of the earth to listen to Solomon's wisdom, and there is more than Solomon here!
But he answered, "I am sent only to the lost sheep of Israel's house."
But rather than give offense to them, go down to the sea and throw in a hook. Take the first fish that comes up, open its mouth and you will find in it a dollar. Take that and pay the tax for us both."
And some Pharisees came up to him to test him, and they said, "Is it right for a man to divorce his wife for any cause?" But he answered, "Did you never read that the Creator at the beginning made them male and female, read more. and said, 'For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two of them shall become one'? So they are no longer two but one. Therefore, what God has joined together, man must not try to separate." They said to him, "Then why did Moses command us to draw up a written divorce-notice and give it to her?" He said to them, "It was on account of your perversity that Moses permitted you to divorce your wives, but it was not so at the beginning. I tell you that whoever divorces his wife on any ground but her unfaithfulness, and marries another woman, commits adultery."
just as the Son of Man has come not to be waited on, but to wait on other people, and to give his life to ransom many others."
And when the Pharisees heard that he had silenced the Sadducees, they gathered together, and one of them, an expert in the Law, to test him, asked, read more. "Master, what command is greatest in the Law?" And he said to him, " 'You must love the Lord your God with your whole heart, your whole soul, and your whole mind.' That is the great, first command. There is a second like it: 'You must love your neighbor as you do yourself.' These two commands sum up the whole of the Law and the Prophets."
"You must all drink from it, for this is my blood which ratifies the agreement, and is to be poured out for many people, for the forgiveness of their sins.
He happened to be passing through the wheat fields on the Sabbath, and his disciples began to pick the heads of wheat as they made their way through. And the Pharisees said to him, "Look! Why are they doing what it is against the law to do on the Sabbath?" read more. He said to them, "Did you never read what David did, when he was in need and hungry, he and his men? How is it that he went into the house of God when Abiathar was high priest, and ate the Presentation Loaves, which it is against the law for anyone but the priests to eat, and gave some to his companions too?" And he said to them, "The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath,
And he said to them, "The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath, and so the Son of Man is master even of the Sabbath."
And they were watching him closely, to see whether he would cure him on the Sabbath, in order to get a charge to bring against him.
But their worship of me is all in vain, For the lessons they teach are but human precepts.' "You give up what God has commanded and hold fast to what men have handed down. read more. "How skilful you are," he said to them, "in nullifying what God has commanded in order to observe what has been handed down to you. For Moses said, 'Honor your father and your mother,' and again, 'Whoever abuses his father or mother must be put to death.' But you say, 'If a man says to his father or mother, "Anything of mine that might have been of use to you is Korban," ' that is, consecrated to God, you let him off from doing anything more for his father or mother, and so you nullify what God has said by what you have handed down. You have many such practices." He called the people to him again and said to them, "Listen to me, all of you, and understand this. Nothing that goes into a man from outside can pollute him. It is what comes out of a man that pollutes him." OMITTED TEXT When he had left the crowd and gone home, his disciples asked him what he meant by this figure. And he said to them, "Have not even you any understanding then? Do you not see that nothing that goes into a man from outside can pollute him, since it does not go into his heart but into his stomach and then is disposed of?" So he declared all food clean.
since it does not go into his heart but into his stomach and then is disposed of?" So he declared all food clean. He went on to say, "It is what comes out of a man that pollutes him. read more. For it is from inside, from men's hearts, that designs of evil come; immorality, stealing, murder, adultery, greed, malice, deceit, indecency, envy, abusiveness, arrogance, folly??23 all these evils come from inside, and they pollute a man."
But Jesus was silent and made no answer. The high priest again questioned him and said to him, "Are you the Christ, the son of the Blessed One?"
When he was eight days old and it was time to circumcise him, he was named Jesus, as the angel had named him, before his birth was first expected.
And the roll of the prophet Isaiah was handed to him, and he unrolled it and found the place where it says, "The spirit of the Lord is upon me, For he has consecrated me to preach the good news to the poor, He has sent me to announce to the prisoners their release and to the blind the recovery of their sight, To set the down-trodden at liberty, read more. To proclaim the year of the Lord's favor!" And he rolled up the roll and gave it back to the attendant and sat down. The eyes of everyone in the synagogue were fixed upon him. And he began by saying to them, "This passage of Scripture has been fulfilled here in your hearing today!"
Then an expert in the Law got up to test him and said, "Master, what must I do to make sure of eternal life?" Jesus said to him, "What does the Law say? How does it read?" read more. He answered, " 'You must love the Lord your God with your whole heart, your whole soul, your whole strength, and your whole mind,' and 'your neighbor as you do yourself.' " Jesus said to him, "You are right. Do that, and you will live." But he, wishing to justify his question, said, "And who is my neighbor?" Jesus replied, "A man was on his way down from Jerusalem to Jericho, when he fell into the hands of robbers, and they stripped him and beat him and went off leaving him half dead. Now a priest happened to be going that way, and when he saw him, he went by on the other side of the road. And a Levite also came to the place, and when he saw him, he went by on the other side. But a Samaritan who was traveling that way came upon him, and when he saw him he pitied him, and he went up to him and dressed his wounds with oil and wine and bound them up. And he put him on his own mule and brought him to an inn and took care of him. The next day he took out a dollar and gave it to the innkeeper and said, 'Take care of him, and whatever more you spend I will refund to you on my way back.' Which of these three do you think proved himself a neighbor to the man who fell into the robbers' hands?" He said, "The man who took pity on him." Jesus said to him, "Go and do so yourself!"
When he said this, a Pharisee asked him to lunch with him, and he went to his house and took his place at table. The Pharisee noticed that he did not wash before the meal, and he was surprised. read more. But the Master said to him, "You Pharisees clean the outside of cups and dishes, but inside you are full of greed and wickedness. You fools! Did not the Creator of the outside make the inside too? But give your inmost life as charity, and you will immediately find everything clean.
And did not this woman, who is a descendant of Abraham, whom Satan has kept bound for eighteen years, have to be released from those bonds on the Sabbath day?" When he said this, all his opponents were humiliated, and all the people were delighted at all the splendid things that he did.
Until John came, it was the Law and the Prophets. From that time the Kingdom of God has been proclaimed, and everyone has been crowding into it.
For I tell you that this saying of Scripture must find its fulfilment in me: 'He was rated an outlaw.' Yes, that saying about me is to be fulfilled!"
And he began with Moses and all the prophets and explained to them the passages all through the Scriptures that referred to himself.
And just as Moses in the desert lifted the serpent up in the air, the Son of Man must be lifted up,
And the man was immediately cured, and he picked up his mat and walked. Now it was the Sabbath. So the Jews said to the man who had been cured, "It is the Sabbath, and it is against the Law for you to carry your mat." read more. But he answered, "The man who cured me said to me, 'Pick up your mat and walk.' " They asked him, "Who was it that said to you, 'Pick it up and walk'?" But the man who had been cured did not know who it was, for as there was a crowd there, Jesus had left the place. Afterward Jesus found him in the Temple, and said to him, "See! You are well again. Give up sin, or something worse may happen to you." The man went and told the Jews that it was Jesus who had cured him. This was why the Jews used to persecute Jesus, because he did things like this on the Sabbath. But he answered them, "My Father is still at work, and I work too." On account of this the Jews were all the more eager to kill him, because he not only broke the Sabbath but actually called God his Father, thus putting himself on an equality with God. So Jesus answered them, "I tell you, the Son cannot do anything of his own accord, unless he sees the Father doing it. For whatever the Father does, the Son also does. For the Father loves the Son and lets him see everything that he himself is doing, and he will let him see greater deeds than these, to make you wonder.
In the prophets it is written, 'And all men will be taught by God!' Everyone who listens to the Father and learns from him will come to me.
I am this living bread that has come down out of heaven. Whoever eats this bread will live forever, and the bread that I will give for the world's life is my own flesh!"
Are you a greater man than our forefather Abraham? Yet he is dead and the prophets are dead. What do you claim to be?"
Then some of the Pharisees said, "This man does not come from God, for he does not keep the Sabbath." But others said, "How can a sinful man show such signs as this?" And there was a division of opinion among them.
So they again summoned the man who had been blind, and they said to him, "Give God the praise. This man we know is a sinful man."
Jesus answered, "Is it not declared in your Law, 'I said, "You are gods" '?
I tell you, unless a grain of wheat falls on the ground and dies, it remains just one grain. But if it dies, it yields a great harvest.
The crowd answered, "We have learned from the Law that the Christ is to remain here forever. So how can you say that the Son of Man must be lifted up? Who is this Son of Man?"
But the saying of their Law, 'They hated me without cause,' must be fulfilled.
The Jews answered, "We have a law, and by our law he deserves death, for declaring himself to be a son of God."
You must understand therefore, my brothers, that through him the forgiveness of your sins is announced to you,
Then what are we to say about our ancestor Abraham? For if he was made upright by what he did, it is something to be proud of. But not to be proud of before God, read more. for what does the Scripture say? "Abraham had faith in God, and it was credited to him as uprightness." Now paying a workman is not considered a favor, but an obligation, but a man who has no work to offer, but has faith in him who can make the ungodly upright, has his faith credited to him as uprightness.
Then law slipped in, and multiplied the offense. But greatly as sin multiplied, God's mercy has far surpassed it,
Then what shall we conclude? That the Law is sin? Certainly not! Yet, if it had not been for the Law, I should never have learned what sin was; I should not have known what it was to covet if the Law had not said, "You must not covet." That command gave sin an opening, and it led me to all sorts of covetous ways, for sin is lifeless without law. read more. I was once alive and without law, but when the command came, sin awoke and then I died; and the command that should have meant life in my case proved to mean death. The command gave sin an opening and sin deceived me and killed me with it. So the Law itself is holy, and each command is holy, just, and good.
So the Law itself is holy, and each command is holy, just, and good. Did what was good, then, prove the death of me? Certainly not! It was sin that did so, so that it might be recognized as sin, because even through something that was good it effected my death, so that through the command it might appear how immeasurably sinful sin was.
Did what was good, then, prove the death of me? Certainly not! It was sin that did so, so that it might be recognized as sin, because even through something that was good it effected my death, so that through the command it might appear how immeasurably sinful sin was. We know that the Law is spiritual, but I am physical, sold into slavery to sin. read more. I do not understand what I am doing, for I do not do what I want to do; I do things that I hate. But if I do what I do not want to do, I acknowledge that the Law is right. In reality, it is not I that do these things; it is sin, which has possession of me. For I know that nothing good resides in me, that is, in my physical self; I can will, but I cannot do what is right. I do not do the good things that I want to do; I do the wrong things that I do not want to do. But if I do the things that I do not want to do, it is not I that am acting, it is sin, which has possession of me. I find the law to be that I who want to do right am dogged by what is wrong. My inner nature agrees with the divine law, but all through my body I see another principle in conflict with the law of my reason, which makes me a prisoner to that law of sin that runs through my body. What a wretched man I am! Who can save me from this doomed body?
For the life-giving law of the Spirit through Christ Jesus has freed you from the Law of sin and death. For though it was impossible for the Law to do it, hampered as it was by our physical limitations, God, by sending his own Son in our sinful physical form, as a sin-offering, put his condemnation upon sin through his physical nature,
while Israel, straining after a law that should bring uprightness, did not come up to it.
For in their ignorance of God's way of uprightness and in the attempt to set up one of their own, they refused to conform to God's way of uprightness.
To those already married my instructions are??nd they are not mine, but the Lord's??hat a wife is not to separate from her husband.
I disown disgraceful, underhanded ways. I refuse to practice cunning or to tamper with God's message. It is by the open statement of the truth that I would commend myself to every human conscience in the sight of God.
For it is through the Law that I have become dead to the Law, so that I may live for God.
Is the Law then contrary to God's promises? By no means. For if a law had been given that could have brought life, uprightness would really have come through law.
So the Law has been our attendant on our way to Christ, so that we might be made upright through faith.
I mean this: As long as the heir is a minor, he is no better than a slave, although he is the owner of all the property, but he is under guardians and trustees until the time fixed by his father. read more. So when we were minors, we were slaves to material ways of looking at things, but when the proper time came, God sent his Son, born of a woman, and made subject to law,
but when the proper time came, God sent his Son, born of a woman, and made subject to law, to ransom those who were subject to law, so that we might receive adoption.
Bear one another's burdens, and in that way carry out the law of the Christ.
and be known to be united to him, with any uprightness I may have not based on law but coming through faith in Christ??he uprightness that comes from God through faith.
and be known to be united to him, with any uprightness I may have not based on law but coming through faith in Christ??he uprightness that comes from God through faith.
No one can put you in the wrong by persisting in studied humility and the worship of angels, being absorbed in the visions he has seen, and groundlessly conceited over his mere human mind.
Now the faithfulness of Moses in all the house of God was that of a servant, in faithfully repeating what he was told to say;
And all this looked toward the present time and was symbolic of the fact that the mere offering of material gifts and sacrifices cannot inwardly qualify the worshiper to approach God,