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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Whenever they have a dispute, it comes to me, and I make a decision between one man and another. I teach [them] God's statutes and laws."
Then the Lord told Moses, "This is what you are to say to the Israelites: You have seen that I have spoken to you from heaven.
his master is to bring him to the judges and then bring him to the door or doorpost. His master must pierce his ear with an awl, and he will serve his master for life.
"When a man gives his neighbor money or goods to keep, but they are stolen from that person's house, the thief, if caught, must repay double.
They must not remain in your land, or else they will make you sin against Me. If you worship their gods, it will be a snare for you."
"Listen, Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is One. Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength.
Then the king of Jericho sent [word] to Rahab and said, "Bring out the men who came to you and entered your house, for they came to investigate the entire land."
If a man sins against another man, God can intercede for him, but if a man sins against the Lord, who can intercede for him?" But they would not listen to their father, since the Lord intended to kill them.
This is what the Lord of Hosts, the God of Israel, says: "Add your burnt offerings to your other sacrifices, and eat the meat yourselves, for when I brought your ancestors out of the land of Egypt, I did not speak with them or command them concerning burnt offering and sacrifice.
"Look, the days are coming"-[this is] the Lord's declaration-"when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah. [This one will] not be like the covenant I made with their ancestors when I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt-a covenant they broke even though I had married them"-the Lord's declaration. read more. "Instead, this is the covenant I will make with the house of Israel after those days"-the Lord's declaration. "I will place My law within them and write it on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be My people. No longer will one teach his neighbor or his brother, saying: Know the Lord, for they will all know Me, from the least to the greatest of them"-the Lord's declaration. "For I will forgive their wrongdoing and never again remember their sin."
The perimeter [of the city] will be six [miles], and the name of the city from that day on will be: Yahweh Is There."
Though I were to write out for him ten thousand points of My law, they would be regarded as something alien.
But let justice flow like water, and righteousness, like an unfailing stream. "House of Israel, was it sacrifices and grain offerings that you presented to Me during the 40 years in the wilderness? read more. But you have taken up Sakkuthyour king and Kaiwanyour star god, images you have made for yourselves.
Jesus answered him, "Allow it for now, because this is the way for us to fulfill all righteousness." Then he allowed Him [to be baptized].
"Don't assume that I came to destroy the Law or the Prophets. I did not come to destroy but to fulfill.
"Don't assume that I came to destroy the Law or the Prophets. I did not come to destroy but to fulfill. For I assure you: Until heaven and earth pass away, not the smallest letter or one stroke of a letter will pass from the law until all things are accomplished.
For I assure you: Until heaven and earth pass away, not the smallest letter or one stroke of a letter will pass from the law until all things are accomplished.
For I assure you: Until heaven and earth pass away, not the smallest letter or one stroke of a letter will pass from the law until all things are accomplished. Therefore, whoever breaks one of the least of these commandments and teaches people to do so will be called least in the kingdom of heaven. But whoever practices and teaches [these commandments] will be called great in the kingdom of heaven. read more. For I tell you, unless your righteousness surpasses that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. "You have heard that it was said to our ancestors, Do not murder , and whoever murders will be subject to judgment. But I tell you, everyone who is angry with his brother will be subject to judgment. And whoever says to his brother, 'Fool!' will be subject to the Sanhedrin. But whoever says, 'You moron!' will be subject to hellfire. So if you are offering your gift on the altar, and there you remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there in front of the altar. First go and be reconciled with your brother, and then come and offer your gift. Reach a settlement quickly with your adversary while you're on the way with him, or your adversary will hand you over to the judge, the judge to the officer, and you will be thrown into prison. I assure you: You will never get out of there until you have paid the last penny! / 64 of a daily wage "You have heard that it was said, Do not commit adultery. But I tell you, everyone who looks at a woman to lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart. If your right eye causes you to sin, gouge it out and throw it away. For it is better that you lose one of the parts of your body than for your whole body to be thrown into hell. And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. For it is better that you lose one of the parts of your body than for your whole body to go into hell! "It was also said, Whoever divorces his wife must give her a written notice of divorce. But I tell you, everyone who divorces his wife, except in a case of sexual immorality, = fornication, or possibly a violation of Jewish marriage laws causes her to commit adultery. And whoever marries a divorced woman commits adultery. "Again, you have heard that it was said to our ancestors, You must not break your oath, but you must keep your oaths to the Lord. But I tell you, don't take an oath at all: either by heaven, because it is God's throne; or by the earth, because it is His footstool; or by Jerusalem, because it is the city of the great King. Neither should you swear by your head, because you cannot make a single hair white or black. But let your word 'yes' be 'yes,' and your 'no' be 'no.' Anything more than this is from the evil one. "You have heard that it was said, An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth. But I tell you, don't resist an evildoer. On the contrary, if anyone slaps you on your right cheek, turn the other to him also. As for the one who wants to sue you and take away your shirt, let him have your coat as well. And if anyone forces you to go one mile, go with him two. Give to the one who asks you, and don't turn away from the one who wants to borrow from you. "You have heard that it was said, Love your neighbor and hate your enemy. But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be sons of your Father in heaven. For He causes His sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. For if you love those who love you, what reward will you have? Don't even the tax collectors do the same? And if you greet only your brothers, what are you doing out of the ordinary? Don't even the Gentiles do the same? Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.
When Jesus had finished this sermon, the crowds were astonished at His teaching,
Then Jesus told him, "See that you don't tell anyone; but go, show yourself to the priest, and offer the gift that Moses prescribed, as a testimony to them."
Or haven't you read in the Law that on Sabbath days the priests in the temple violate the Sabbath and are innocent? But I tell you that something greater than the temple is here!
But He said to them, "What man among you, if he had a sheep that fell into a pit on the Sabbath, wouldn't take hold of it and lift it out?
If I drive out demons by the Spirit of God, then the kingdom of God has come to you. How can someone enter a strong man's house and steal his possessions unless he first ties up the strong man? Then he can rob his house. read more. Anyone who is not with Me is against Me, and anyone who does not gather with Me scatters.
The queen of the south will rise up at the judgment with this generation and condemn it, because she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and look-something greater than Solomon is here!
He replied, "I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel."
"But, so we won't offend them, go to the sea, cast in a fishhook, and catch the first fish that comes up. When you open its mouth you'll find a coin. Take it and give it to them for Me and you."
Some Pharisees approached Him to test Him. They asked, "Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife on any grounds?" "Haven't you read," He replied, "that He who created them in the beginning made them male and female , read more. and He also said: For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two will become one flesh ? So they are no longer two, but one flesh. Therefore what God has joined together, man must not separate." "Why then," they asked Him, "did Moses command [us] to give divorce papers and to send her away?" He told them, "Moses permitted you to divorce your wives because of the hardness of your hearts. But it was not like that from the beginning. And I tell you, whoever divorces his wife, except for sexual immorality, and marries another, commits adultery."
just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life-a ransom for many."
When the Pharisees heard that He had silenced the Sadducees, they came together in the same place. And one of them, an expert in the law, asked a question to test Him: read more. "Teacher, which commandment in the law is the greatest?" He said to him, "Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the greatest and most important commandment. The second is like it: Love your neighbor as yourself. All the Law and the Prophets depend on these two commandments."
For this is My blood [that establishes] the covenant; it is shed for many for the forgiveness of sins.
On the Sabbath He was going through the grainfields, and His disciples began to make their way picking some heads of grain. The Pharisees said to Him, "Look, why are they doing what is not lawful on the Sabbath?" read more. He said to them, "Have you never read what David and those who were with him did when he was in need and hungry- how he entered the house of God in the time of Abiathar the high priest and ate the sacred bread-which is not lawful for anyone to eat except the priests-and also gave some to his companions?" Then He told them, "The Sabbath was made for man and not man for the Sabbath.
Then He told them, "The Sabbath was made for man and not man for the Sabbath. Therefore the Son of Man is Lord even of the Sabbath."
In order to accuse Him, they were watching Him closely to see whether He would heal him on the Sabbath.
They worship Me in vain, teaching as doctrines the commands of men. Disregarding the command of God, you keep the tradition of men." read more. He also said to them, "You completely invalidate God's command in order to maintain your tradition! For Moses said: Honor your father and your mother; and, Whoever speaks evil of father or mother must be put to death. But you say, 'If a man tells his father or mother: Whatever benefit you might have received from me is Corban ' " (that is, a gift [committed to the temple]), "you no longer let him do anything for his father or mother. You revoke God's word by your tradition that you have handed down. And you do many other similar things." Summoning the crowd again, He told them, "Listen to Me, all of you, and understand: Nothing that goes into a person from outside can defile him, but the things that come out of a person are what defile him. If anyone has ears to hear, he should listen!" When He went into the house away from the crowd, the disciples asked Him about the parable. And He said to them, "Are you also as lacking in understanding? Don't you realize that nothing going into a man from the outside can defile him? For it doesn't go into his heart but into the stomach and is eliminated." (As a result, He made all foods clean.)
For it doesn't go into his heart but into the stomach and is eliminated." (As a result, He made all foods clean.) Then He said, "What comes out of a person-that defiles him. read more. For from within, out of people's hearts, come evil thoughts, sexual immoralities, thefts, murders, adulteries, greed, evil actions, deceit, lewdness, stinginess, blasphemy, pride, and foolishness. All these evil things come from within and defile a person."
But He kept silent and did not answer anything. Again the high priest questioned Him, "Are You the Messiah, the Son of the Blessed One?"
When the eight days were completed for His circumcision, He was named JESUS-the name given by the angel before He was conceived.
The scroll of the prophet Isaiah was given to Him, and unrolling the scroll, He found the place where it was written: The Spirit of the Lord is on Me, because He has anointed Me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent Me to proclaim freedom to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to set free the oppressed, read more. to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor. He then rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the attendant, and sat down. And the eyes of everyone in the synagogue were fixed on Him. He began by saying to them, "Today as you listen, this Scripture has been fulfilled."
Just then an expert in the law stood up to test Him, saying, "Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?" "What is written in the law?" He asked him. "How do you read it?" read more. He answered: Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength, and with all your mind; and your neighbor as yourself. "You've answered correctly," He told him. "Do this and you will live." But wanting to justify himself, he asked Jesus, "And who is my neighbor?" Jesus took up [the question] and said: "A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho and fell into the hands of robbers. They stripped him, beat him up, and fled, leaving him half dead. A priest happened to be going down that road. When he saw him, he passed by on the other side. In the same way, a Levite, when he arrived at the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. But a Samaritan on his journey came up to him, and when he saw [the man], he had compassion. He went over to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he put him on his own animal, brought him to an inn, and took care of him. The next day he took out two denarii, gave them to the innkeeper, and said, 'Take care of him. When I come back I'll reimburse you for whatever extra you spend.' "Which of these three do you think proved to be a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of the robbers?" "The one who showed mercy to him," he said. Then Jesus told him, "Go and do the same."
As He was speaking, a Pharisee asked Him to dine with him. So He went in and reclined at the table. When the Pharisee saw this, he was amazed that He did not first perform the ritual washing before dinner. read more. But the Lord said to him: "Now you Pharisees clean the outside of the cup and dish, but inside you are full of greed and evil. Fools! Didn't He who made the outside make the inside too? But give to charity what is within, and then everything is clean for you.
Satan has bound this woman, a daughter of Abraham, for 18 years-shouldn't she be untied from this bondage on the Sabbath day?" When He had said these things, all His adversaries were humiliated, but the whole crowd was rejoicing over all the glorious things He was doing.
"The Law and the Prophets were until John; since then, the good news of the kingdom of God has been proclaimed, and everyone is strongly urged to enter it.
For I tell you, what is written must be fulfilled in Me: And He was counted among the outlaws. Yes, what is written about Me is coming to its fulfillment."
Then beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, He interpreted for them the things concerning Himself in all the Scriptures.
for although the law was given through Moses, grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.
for although the law was given through Moses, grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.
Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the wilderness, so the Son of Man must be lifted up,
Instantly the man got well, picked up his bedroll, and started to walk. Now that day was the Sabbath, so the Jews said to the man who had been healed, "This is the Sabbath! It's illegal for you to pick up your bedroll." read more. He replied, "The man who made me well told me, 'Pick up your bedroll and walk.' " "Who is this man who told you, 'Pick up [your bedroll] and walk?' " they asked. But the man who was cured did not know who it was, because Jesus had slipped away into the crowd that was there. After this, Jesus found him in the temple complex and said to him, "See, you are well. Do not sin any more, so that something worse doesn't happen to you." The man went and reported to the Jews that it was Jesus who had made him well. Therefore, the Jews began persecuting Jesus because He was doing these things on the Sabbath. But Jesus responded to them, "My Father is still working, and I am working also." This is why the Jews began trying all the more to kill Him: not only was He breaking the Sabbath, but He was even calling God His own Father, making Himself equal with God. Then Jesus replied, "I assure you: The Son is not able to do anything on His own, but only what He sees the Father doing. For whatever the Father does, the Son also does these things in the same way. For the Father loves the Son and shows Him everything He is doing, and He will show Him greater works than these so that you will be amazed.
It is written in the Prophets: And they will all be taught by God. Everyone who has listened to and learned from the Father comes to Me-
I am the living bread that came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread he will live forever. The bread that I will give for the life of the world is My flesh."
Are You greater than our father Abraham who died? Even the prophets died. Who do You pretend to be?"
Therefore some of the Pharisees said, "This man is not from God, for He doesn't keep the Sabbath!" But others were saying, "How can a sinful man perform such signs?" And there was a division among them.
So a second time they summoned the man who had been blind and told him, "Give glory to God. We know that this man is a sinner!"
One of them, Caiaphas, who was high priest that year, said to them, "You know nothing at all!
"I assure you: Unless a grain of wheat falls into the ground and dies, it remains by itself. But if it dies, it produces a large crop.
Then the crowd replied to Him, "We have heard from the law that the Messiah will remain forever. So how can You say, 'The Son of Man must be lifted up'? Who is this Son of Man?"
But [this happened] so that the statement written in their law might be fulfilled: They hated Me for no reason.
"We have a law," the Jews replied to him, "and according to that law He must die, because He made Himself the Son of God."
Therefore, let it be known to you, brothers, that through this man forgiveness of sins is being proclaimed to you,
What then can we say that Abraham, our forefather according to the flesh, has found? If Abraham was justified by works, then he has something to brag about-but not before God. read more. For what does the Scripture say? Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him for righteousness. Now to the one who works, pay is not considered as a gift, but as something owed. But to the one who does not work, but believes on Him who declares righteous the ungodly, his faith is credited for righteousness.
The law came along to multiply the trespass. But where sin multiplied, grace multiplied even more,
What should we say then? Is the law sin? Absolutely not! On the contrary, I would not have known sin if it were not for the law. For example, I would not have known what it is to covet if the law had not said, Do not covet. And sin, seizing an opportunity through the commandment, produced in me coveting of every kind. For apart from the law sin is dead. read more. Once I was alive apart from the law, but when the commandment came, sin sprang to life and I died. The commandment that was meant for life resulted in death for me. For sin, seizing an opportunity through the commandment, deceived me, and through it killed me. So then, the law is holy, and the commandment is holy and just and good.
So then, the law is holy, and the commandment is holy and just and good. Therefore, did what is good cause my death? Absolutely not! On the contrary, sin, in order to be recognized as sin, was producing death in me through what is good, so that through the commandment sin might become sinful beyond measure.
Therefore, did what is good cause my death? Absolutely not! On the contrary, sin, in order to be recognized as sin, was producing death in me through what is good, so that through the commandment sin might become sinful beyond measure. For we know that the law is spiritual; but I am made out of flesh, sold into sin's power. read more. For I do not understand what I am doing, because I do not practice what I want to do, but I do what I hate. And if I do what I do not want to do, I agree with the law that it is good. So now I am no longer the one doing it, but it is sin living in me. For I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my flesh. For the desire to do what is good is with me, but there is no ability to do it. For I do not do the good that I want to do, but I practice the evil that I do not want to do. Now if I do what I do not want, I am no longer the one doing it, but it is the sin that lives in me. So I discover this principle: when I want to do good, evil is with me. For in my inner self I joyfully agree with God's law. But I see a different law in the parts of my body, waging war against the law of my mind and taking me prisoner to the law of sin in the parts of my body. What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death?
because the Spirit's law of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and of death. What the law could not do since it was limited by the flesh, God did. He condemned sin in the flesh by sending His own Son in flesh like ours under sin's domain, and as a sin offering,
But Israel, pursuing the law for righteousness, has not achieved the law.
Because they disregarded the righteousness from God and attempted to establish their own righteousness, they have not submitted to God's righteousness.
I command the married-not I, but the Lord-a wife is not to leave her husband.
Instead, we have renounced shameful secret things, not walking in deceit or distorting God's message, but in God's sight we commend ourselves to every person's conscience by an open display of the truth.
For through the law I have died to the law, that I might live to God. I have been crucified with Christ;
Is the law therefore contrary to God's promises? Absolutely not! For if a law had been given that was able to give life, then righteousness would certainly be by the law.
The law, then, was our guardian described such a slave. This slave was not a teacher. until Christ, so that we could be justified by faith.
Now I say that as long as the heir is a child, he differs in no way from a slave, though he is the owner of everything. Instead, he is under guardians and stewards until the time set by his father. read more. In the same way we also, when we were children, were in slavery under the elemental forces of the world. But when the completion of the time came, God sent His Son, born of a woman, born under the law,
But when the completion of the time came, God sent His Son, born of a woman, born under the law, to redeem those under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons.
Carry one another's burdens; in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ.
and be found in Him, not having a righteousness of my own from the law, but one that is through faith in Christ-the righteousness from God based on faith.
and be found in Him, not having a righteousness of my own from the law, but one that is through faith in Christ-the righteousness from God based on faith.
Let no one disqualify you, insisting on ascetic practices and the worship of angels, claiming access to a visionary realm and inflated without cause by his fleshly mind.
Moses was faithful as a servant in all God's household, as a testimony to what would be said [in the future].
This is a symbol for the present time, during which gifts and sacrifices are offered that cannot perfect the worshiper's conscience.