38 Bible Verses about Law, Letter And Spirit Of

One day the Pharisees and some of the Teachers of the Law who had come from Jerusalem gathered round Jesus. They had noticed that some of his disciples ate their food with their hands 'defiled,' by which they meant unwashed. (For the Pharisees, and indeed all strict Jews, will not eat without first scrupulously washing their hands, holding in this to the traditions of their ancestors.read more.
When they come from market, they will not eat without first sprinkling themselves; and there are many other customs which they have inherited and hold to, such as the ceremonial washing of cups, and jugs, and copper pans). So the Pharisees and the Teachers of the Law asked Jesus this question--"How is it that your disciples do not follow the traditions of our ancestors, but eat their food with defiled hands?" His answer was: "It was well said by Isaiah when he prophesied about you hypocrites in the words--'This is a people that honor me with their lips, While their hearts are far removed from me; But vainly do they worship me, For they teach but the precepts of men.' You neglect God's commandments and hold to the traditions of men.

Then some Pharisees and Teachers of the Law came to Jesus, and said: "How is it that your disciples break the traditions of our ancestors? For they do not wash their hands when they eat food."

And, later on, when he was at table in the house, a number of tax-gatherers and outcasts came in and took their places at table with Jesus and his disciples. When the Pharisees saw this, they said to his disciples: "Why does your Teacher eat in the company of tax-gatherers and outcasts?" On hearing this, Jesus said: "It is not those who are in health that need a doctor, but those who are ill.read more.
Go and learn what this means--'I desire mercy, and not sacrifice'; for I did not come to call the religious, but the outcast."

And later on he was in his house at table, and a number of tax-gatherers and outcasts took their places at table with Jesus and his disciples; for many of them were following him. When the Teachers of the Law belonging to the party of the Pharisees saw that he was eating in the company of such people, they said to his disciples: "He is eating in the company of tax- gatherers and outcasts!" Hearing this, Jesus said: "It is not those who are in health that need a doctor, but those who are ill. I did not come to call the religious, but the outcast."

And Levi gave a great entertainment at his house, in honor of Jesus; and a large number of tax-gatherers and others were at table with them. The Pharisees and the teachers of the Law belonging to their party complained of this to the disciples of Jesus." In answer Jesus said: "It is not those who are well that need a doctor, but those who are ill.read more.
I have not come to call the religious, but the outcast, to repent."

Wisely do you set aside God's commandments," he exclaimed, "to keep your own traditions! For while Moses said 'Honor thy father and thy mother,' and 'Let him who reviles his father or mother suffer death,' You say 'If a man says to his father or mother "Whatever of mine might have been of service to you is Korban"' (which means 'Given to God')--read more.
Why, then you do not allow him to do anything further for his father or mother! In this way you nullify the words of God by your traditions, which you hand down; and you do many similar things."

His reply was: "How is it that you on your side break God's commandments out of respect for your own traditions? For God said--'Honor thy father and mother,' and 'Let him who reviles his father or mother suffer death,' But you say 'Whenever any one says to his father or mother "Whatever of mine might have been of service to you is 'Given to God,'"read more.
He is in no way bound to honor his father.' In this way you have nullified the words of God on account of your traditions.

Then Jesus speaking to the crowds and to his disciples, said: "The teachers of the Law and the Pharisees now occupy the chair of Moses. Therefore practice and lay to heart everything that they tell preach but do not practice.read more.
While they make up heavy loads and pile them on other men's shoulder's they decline, themselves, to lift a finger to move them. All their actions are done to attract attention. They widen their phylacteries, and increase the size of their tassels, and like to have the place of honor at dinner, and the best seats in the Synagogues, and to be greeted in the markets with respect, and to be called 'Rabbi' for everybody. But do not allow yourselves to be called 'Rabbi,' for you have only one Father, the heavenly Father. And do not call any one Father, the heavenly Father. Nor must you allow yourselves to be called 'Leaders,' for you have only one Leader, the Christ. The man who would be the greatest among you must be your servant. Whoever shall exalt himself will be humbled, and whoever shall humble himself will be exalted. But alas for you, Teachers of the Law and Pharisees, hypocrites that you are! You turn the key of the Kingdom of Heaven in men's faces. For you do not go in yourselves, nor yet allow those who try to go in to do so. Alas for you, Teachers of the Law and Pharisees, hypocrites that you are! You destroy widow's houses, even while pretending to make long prayers; therefore you shall receive greater condemnation. Alas for you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, hypocrites that you are! You scour land and sea to make a single convert, and, when he is gained, you make him twice as deserving of the Pit as you are yourselves. Alas for you, you blind guides! You say 'if any answer by the Temple, his oath counts for nothing; but, if any one swears by the gold of the Temple, his oath is binding him'! Fools that you are and blind! Which is the more important? The gold? Or the Temple which has given sacredness to the gold? You say, too, 'If any one swears by the altar, his oath counts for nothing, but, if any one swears by the offering placed on it, his oath is binding on him'! Blind indeed! Which is the more important? The offering? or the altar which gives sacredness to the offering? Therefore a man, swearing by the altar, swears by it and by all that is on it, and a man, swearing by the Temple, swears by it and by him who dwells in it, while a man, swearing by Heaven, swears by the throne of God, and by him who sits upon it. Alas for you, Teachers of the Law and Pharisees, hypocrites that you are! You pay tithes on mint, fennel, and caraway seed, and have neglected the weightier matters of the Law--justice, mercy, and good faith. These last you ought to have put into practice, without neglecting the first. You blind guides, to strain out a gnat and to swallow a camel! Alas for you, Teachers of the Law and Pharisees, hypocrites that you are! You clean the outside of the cup and the dish, but inside they are filled with the results of greed and self-indulgence. You blind Pharisee! First clean the inside of the cup and the dish, so that the outside may become clean as well. Alas for you, Teachers of the Law and Pharisees, hypocrites that you are! You are like whitewashed tombs, which indeed look fair outside, while inside they are filled with dead men's bones and all kinds of filth. It is the same with you. Outwardly, and to others, you have the look of religious men, but inwardly you are full of hypocrisy and sin. Alas for you, Teachers of the Law and Pharisees, hypocrites that you are! You build the tombs of the Prophets, and decorate the monuments of religious men, and say 'Had we been living in the days of our ancestors, we should have taken part in their murder of the Prophets! By doing this you are furnishing evidence against yourselves that you are true children of the men who murdered the Prophets. Fill up the measure of your ancestor's guilt. You serpents and brood of vipers! How can you escape being sentenced to the Pit?

As Jesus finished speaking, a Pharisee asked him to breakfast with him, and Jesus went in and took his place at table. The Pharisee noticed, to his astonishment, that Jesus omitted the ceremonial washing before breakfast. But the Master said to him: "You Pharisees do, it is true, clean the outside of the cup and of the plate, but inside you yourselves are filled with greed and wickedness.read more.
Fools! did not the maker of the outside make the inside too? Only give away what is in them in charity, and at once you have the whole clean. But alas for you Pharisees! You pay tithes on mint, rue, and herbs of all kinds, and pass over justice and love to God. These last you ought to have put into practice without neglecting the first. Alas for you Pharisees! You delight to have the front seat in the Synagogues, and to be greeted in the markets with respect. Alas for you! You are like unsuspected graves, over which men walk unawares." Here one of the Students of the Law interrupted him by saying: "Teacher, when you say this, you are insulting us also." But Jesus went on: "Alas for you, too, you Students of the Law! You load men with loads that are too heavy to carry, but do not, yourselves, touch them with one of your fingers. Alas for you! You build the monuments of the Prophets whom your ancestors killed. You are actually witnesses to your ancestors' acts and show your approval of them, because, while they killed the Prophets, you build tombs for them. That is why the Wisdom of God said--"I will send to them Prophets and Apostles, Some of whom they will persecute and kill, in order that the 'blood' of all the prophets 'that has been spilt' since the creation of the world may be exacted from this generation-- From the blood of Abel down to the blood of Zechariah, who was slain between the altar and the House of God." Yes, I tell you, it will be exacted from this generation. Alas for you Students of the Law! You have taken away the key of the door of Knowledge. You have not gone in yourselves and you have hindered those who try to go in."

Another time, speaking to people who were satisfied that they were religious, and who regarded every one else with scorn, Jesus told this parable-- "Two men went up into the Temple Courts to pray. One was a Pharisee and the other a tax-gatherer. The Pharisee stood forward and began praying to himself in this way--'O God, I thank thee that I am not like other men-- thieves, rogues, adulterers--or even like this tax-gatherer.read more.
I fast twice a week, and give a tenth of everything I get to God.' Meanwhile the tax-gatherer stood at a distance, not venturing even 'to raise his eyes to Heaven'; but he kept striking his breast and saying 'O God, have mercy on me, a sinner.' This man, I tell you, went home pardoned, rather than the other; for every one who exalts himself will be humbled, while every one who humbles himself shall be exalted."

As Jesus passed by, he saw a man who had been blind from his birth. "Rabbi," asked his disciples, "who was it that sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?" "Neither the man nor the parents," replied Jesus; "but he was born blind that the work of God should be made plain in him.read more.
We must do the work of him who sent me, while it is day; night is coming, when no one can work. As long as I am in the world, I am the Light of the world." Saying this, Jesus spat on the ground, made clay with the saliva, and put it on the man's eyes. "Go," he said, "and wash your eyes in the Bath of Siloam" (a word which means 'Messenger'). So the man went and washed his eyes, and returned able to see. Upon this his neighbors, and those who had formerly known him by sight as a beggar, exclaimed: "Is not this the man who used to sit and beg?" "Yes," some said, "it is"; while others said: "No, but he is like him." The man himself said: "I am he." "How did you get your sight, then?" they asked. "The man whom they call Jesus," he answered, "made clay, and anointed my eyes, and said to me 'Go to Siloam and wash your eyes.' So I went and washed my eyes, and gained my sight." "Where is he?" they asked. I do not know," he answered. They took the man, who had been blind, to the Pharisees. Now it was a Sabbath when Jesus made the clay and gave him his sight. So the Pharisees also questioned the man as to how he had gained his sight. "He put clay on my eyes," he answered, "and I washed them, and I can see." "The man cannot be from God," said some of the Pharisees, "for he does not keep the Sabbath." "How is it possible," retorted others, "for a bad man to give signs like this?"

But, perhaps, you bear the name of 'Jew,' and are relying upon Law, and boast of belonging to God, and understand his will, And, having been carefully instructed from the Law, have learned to appreciate the finer moral distinctions. Perhaps you are confident that you are a guide to the blind, a light to those who are in the dark, an instructor of the unintelligent,read more.
And a teacher of the childish, because in the Law you possess the outline of all Knowledge and Truth. Why, then, you teacher of others, do not you teach yourself? Do you preach against stealing, and yet steal? Do you forbid adultery, and yet commit adultery? Do you loathe idols, and yet plunder temples? Boasting, as you do, of your Law, do you dishonor God by breaking the Law? For, as Scripture says-'The name of God is reviled among the Gentiles because of you'!

And a man came up to Jesus, and said: "Teacher, what good thing must I do to obtain Immortal life?" "Why ask me about goodness?" answered Jesus. "There is but One who is good. If you want to enter the Life, keep the commandments." "What commandments?" asked the man. "These," answered Jesus:-- "'Thou shalt not kill. Thou shalt not commit adultery. Thou shalt not steal. Thou shalt not say what is false about others.read more.
Honor thy father and thy mother.' And 'Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thou dost thyself." "I have observed all these," said the young man. "What is still wanting in me?" "If you wish to be perfect," answered Jesus, "go and sell your property, and give to the poor, and you shall have wealth in Heaven; then come and follow me." On hearing these words, the young man went away distressed, for he had great possessions. At this, Jesus said to his disciples: "I tell you that a rich man will find it hard to enter the Kingdom of Heaven! I say again, it is easier for a camel to get through a needle's eye than for a rich man to enter the Kingdom of Heaven!" On hearing this, the disciples exclaimed in great astonishment: "Who then can possibly be saved?" But Jesus looked at them, and said: "With men this is impossible, but with God everything is possible." Then Peter turned and said to Jesus: "But we--we left everything, and followed you; what, then, shall we have?" "I tell you," answered Jesus, "that at the New Creation, 'when the Son of Man takes his seat on his throne of glory,' you who followed me shall be seated upon twelve thrones, as judges of the twelve tribes of Israel. Every one who has left houses, or brothers, or sisters, or father, or mother, or children, or land, on account of my Name, will receive many times as much, and will 'gain Immortal Life.' But many who are first now will then be last, and those who are last will be first.

And, as Jesus was resuming his journey, a man came running up to him, and threw himself on his knees before him. "Good Teacher," he asked, "what must I do to gain Immortal Life?" "Why do you call me good?" answered Jesus. "No one is good but God. You know the commandments--'Do not kill. Do not commit adultery. Do not steal. Do not say what is false about others. Do not cheat. Honor thy father and thy mother.'"read more.
"Teacher," he replied, "I have observed all these from my childhood." Jesus looked at the man, and his heart went out to him, and he said: "There is still one thing wanting in you; go and sell all that you have, and give to the poor, and you shall heave wealth in Heaven; then come and follow me." But the man's face clouded at these words, and he went away distressed, for he had great possessions. Then Jesus looked round, and said to his disciples: "How hard it will be for men of wealth to enter the Kingdom of God!" The disciples were amazed at his words. But Jesus said again: "My children, how hard a thing it is to enter the Kingdom of God! It is easier for a camel to get through a needle's eye, than for a rich man to enter the Kingdom of God." "Then who can be saved?" they exclaimed in the greatest astonishment. Jesus looked at them, and answered: "With men it is impossible, but not with God; for everything is possible with God." "But we," began Peter, "we left everything and have followed you." "I tell you," said Jesus, "there is no one who has left house, or brothers, or sisters, or mother, or father, or children, or land, on my account and on account of the Good News, Who will not receive a hundred times as much, even now in the present--houses, and brothers, and sisters, and mothers, and children, and land--though not without persecutions, and, in the age that is coming, Immortal Life.

And one of the Presidents asked Jesus this question--"Good Teacher, what must I do if I am to gain Immortal Life?" "Why do you call me good?" answered Jesus. "No one is good but God. You know the commandments--'Do not commit adultery, Do not kill, Do not steal, Do not say what is false about others, Honor thy father and thy mother.'"read more.
"I have observed all these," he replied, "from childhood." Hearing this, Jesus said to him: "There is one thing still lacking in you; sell everything that you have, and distribute to the poor, and you shall have wealth in Heaven; then come and follow me." But the man became greatly distressed on hearing this, for he was extremely rich. Seeing this, Jesus said to his disciples: "How hard it is for men of wealth to enter the Kingdom of God! It is easier, indeed, for a camel to get through a needle's eye than for a rich man to enter the Kingdom of God!" "Then who can be saved?" asked those who heard this. But Jesus said: "What is impossible with men is possible with God." "But we," said Peter, "we left what belonged to us and followed you." "I tell you," he answered, "that there is no one who has left house, or wife, or brothers, or parents, or children, on account of the Kingdom of God, Who will not receive many times as much in the present, and in the age that is coming Immortal Life."

About the same time Jesus walked through the corn-fields one Sabbath. His disciples were hungry, and began to pick some ears of wheat and eat them. But, when the Pharisees saw this, they said: "Look! your disciples are doing what it is not allowable to do on a Sabbath!" "Have not you read," replied Jesus, "what David did, when he and his companions were hungry--read more.
How he went into the House of God, and how they ate the consecrated bread, through it was not allowable for him or his companions to eat it, but only for the priests? And have not you read in the law that, on the Sabbath, the priest in the Temple break the Sabbath and yet are not guilty? Here, however, I tell you, there is something greater than the Temple! And had you learned the meaning of the words--'I desire mercy, and not sacrifice,' you would not have condemned those who are not guilty. For the Son of Man is lord of the Sabbath." Passing on, Jesus went into their Synagogue, And there he saw a man with a withered hand. Some people asked Jesus whether it was allowable to work a cure on the Sabbath- -so that they might have a charge to bring against him. But Jesus said to them: "Which of you, if he had only one sheep, and that sheep fell into a pit on the Sabbath, would not lay hold of it and pull it out? And how much more precious a man is than a sheep! Therefore it is allowable to do good on the Sabbath." Then he said to the man. "Stretch out your hand." The man stretched it out; and it had become as sound as the other. On coming out, the Pharisees plotted against Jesus, to put him to death.

One Sabbath Jesus was walking through cornfields, and hi disciples were picking the ears of wheat, and rubbing them in their hands, and eating them. "Why are you doing what it is not allowable to do on the Sabbath?" asked some of the Pharisees. Jesus' answer was: "Have not you read even of what David did, when he was hungry, he and his companions--read more.
That he went into the House of God, and took the consecrated bread and ate it, and gave some to his companions, though only the priests are allowed to eat it?" Then Jesus added: "The Son of Man is lord even of the Sabbath." On another Sabbath Jesus went into the Synagogue and taught; and there was a man there whose right hand was withered. The Teachers of the Law and the Pharisees watched Jesus closely, to see if he would work cures on the Sabbath, so that they might find a charge to bring against him. Jesus, however, knew what was in the their minds, and said to the man whose hand was withered: "Stand up and come out into the middle." The man stood up; And Jesus said to them: "I ask you, is it allowable to do good on the Sabbath--or harm? to save a life, or let it perish?" Then, looking round at them all, he said to the man: "Stretch out your hand." The man did so; and his hand had become sound. But the Teachers of the Law and the Pharisees were goaded to madness, and consulted together what they could do to Jesus.

And they walked into Capernaum. On the next Sabbath Jesus went into the Synagogue and began to teach. The people were amazed at his teaching, for he taught them like one who had authority, and not like the Teachers of the Law. Now there was in their Synagogue at the time a man under the power of a foul spirit, who called out:read more.
"What do you want with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are--the Holy One of God!" But Jesus rebuked the spirit: "Be silent! Come out from him." The foul spirit threw the man into a fit, and with a loud cry came out from him. And they were all so amazed that they kept asking: "What is this? Strange teaching indeed! He gives his commands with authority even to the foul spirits, and they obey him!" And the fame of Jesus spread at once in all directions, through the whole neighborhood of Galilee.

Then Jesus went down to Capernaum, a city in Galilee. On the Sabbath he taught the people. They were amazed at his teaching, because his words were spoken with authority. In the Synagogue there was a man with the spirit of a foul demon in him, who called out loudly:read more.
"Stop! What do you want with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are--the Holy One of God!" But Jesus rebuked the demon. "Be silent! Come out from him," he said. The demon flung the man down in the middle of the people, and then came out from him, without causing him further harm. And they were all lost in amazement, and kept saying to one another: "What words are these? For he gives his commands to the foul spirits with a marvelous authority, and they come out." And rumors about Jesus traveled through every place in the neighborhood.

Jesus was teaching on a Sabbath in one of the Synagogues, And he saw before him a woman who for eighteen years had suffered from weakness owing to her having an evil spirit in her. She was bent double, and was wholly unable to raise herself. When Jesus saw her, he called her to him, and said: "Woman, you are released from your weakness."read more.
He placed his hands on her, and she was instantly made straight, and began to praise God. But the President of the Synagogue, indignant that Jesus had worked the cure on the Sabbath, interposed and said to the people: "There are six days on which work ought to be done; come to be cured on one of those, and not on the Sabbath." "You hypocrites!" the Master answered him. "Does not every one of you let his ox or his ass loose from its manger, and take it out to drink, on the Sabbath? But this woman, a daughter of Abraham, who has been kept in bondage by Satan for now eighteen years, ought not she to have been released from her bondage on the Sabbath?" As he said this, his opponents all felt ashamed; but all the people rejoiced to see all the wonderful things that he was doing.

On one occasion, as Jesus was going, on a Sabbath into the house of one of the leading Pharisees to dine, they were watching him closely. There he saw before him a man who was suffering from dropsy. "Is it allowable," said Jesus, addressing the Students of the Law and the Pharisees, "to work a cure on the Sabbath, or is it not?"read more.
They remained silent. Jesus took hold of the man and cured him, and sent him away. And he said to them: "Which of you, finding that his son or his ox has fallen into a well, will not immediately pull him out on the Sabbath Day?" And they could not make any answer to that.

Sometime after this there was a Jewish Festival; and Jesus went up to Jerusalem. There is in Jerusalem, near the Sheep-gate, a Bath with five colonnades round it. It is called in Hebrew 'Bethesda.' In these colonnades a large number of afflicted people were lying--blind, lame, and crippled.read more.
OMITTED TEXT One man who was there had been afflicted for thirty-eight years. Jesus saw the man lying there, and, finding that he had been in this state a long time, said to him: "Do you wish to be cured?" "I have no one, Sir," the afflicted man answered, "to put me into the Bath when there is a troubling of the water, and, while I am getting to it, some one else steps down before me." "Stand up," said Jesus, "take up your mat, and walk about." The man was cured immediately, and took up his mat and began to walk about. Now it was the Sabbath. So the Jews said to the man who had been cured: "This is the Sabbath; you must not carry your mat." "The man who cured me," he answered, "said to me 'Take up your mat and walk about.'" "Who was it," they asked, "that said to you 'Take up your mat and walk about'?" But the man who had been restored did not know who it was; for Jesus had moved away, because there was a crowd there. Afterwards Jesus found the man in the Temple Courts, and said to him: "You are cured now; do not sin again, for fear that something worse may befall you." The man went away, and told the Jews that it was Jesus who had cured him. And that was why the Jews began to persecute Jesus--because he did things of this kind on the Sabbath.

"There was one thing I did," replied Jesus, "at which you are all still wondering. But that is why Moses has instituted circumcision among you- -not, indeed, that it began with him, but with our ancestors--and that is why you circumcise even on a Sabbath. When a man receives circumcision on a Sabbath to prevent the Law of Moses from being broken, how can you be angry with me for making a man sound and well on a Sabbath?read more.
Do not judge by appearances; judge justly."

OMITTED TEXT

When the Pharisees heard that Jesus had silenced the Sadducees, they collected together. Then one of them, a Student of the Law, to test him, asked this question-- "Teacher, what is the great commandment in the Law?"read more.
His answer was: "'Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy Heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.' This is the great first commandment. The second, which is like it, is this--'Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thou dost thyself.' On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets."

Then came up one of the Teachers of the Law who had heard their discussions. Knowing that Jesus had answered them wisely, he asked him this question: "What is the first of all the commandments?" "The first," answered Jesus, "is--'Hear, O Israel; the Lord our God is the one Lord; And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength.'read more.
The second is this--'Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thou dost love thyself.' There is no commandment greater than these." "Wisely answered, Teacher!" exclaimed the Teacher of the Law. "It is true, as you say, that 'there is one God,' and that 'there is no other besides him'; And to 'love him with all one's heart, and with all one's understanding, and with all one's strength,' and to 'love one's neighbor as one loves oneself' is far beyond all 'burnt-offerings and sacrifices.'" Seeing that he had answered with discernment, Jesus said to him: "You are not far from the Kingdom of God." After that no one ventured to question him further.

When the Son of Man has come in his glory and all the angels with him, then he 'will take his seat on his throne of glory'; And all the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people--just as a shepherd separates sheep from goats- - Placing the sheep on his right hand, and the goats on his left.read more.
Then the King will say to those on his right 'Come, you who are blessed by my Father, enter upon possession of the Kingdom prepared for you ever since the beginning of the world. For, when I was hungry, you gave me food; when I was thirsty, you gave me drink; when I was a stranger, you took me to your homes; When I was naked, you clothed me; when I fell ill, you visited me; and when I was in prison, you came to me.' Then the Righteous will answer 'Lord, when did we see you hungry, and feed you? Or thirsty, and give you a drink? When did we see you a stranger, and take you to our homes? Or naked, and clothe you? When did we see you ill, or in prison, and come to you?' And the King will reply 'I tell you, as often as you did it to one of these my Brothers, however lowly, you did it to me.' Then he will say to those on his left 'Go from my presence, accursed, into the 'aeonian fire which has been prepared for the Devil and his angels.' For, when I was hungry, you gave me no food; when I was thirsty, you gave me no drink; When I was a stranger, you did not take me to your homes; when I was naked, you did not clothe me; and, when I was ill and in prison, you did not visit me.' Then they, in their turn, will answer 'Lord, when did we see you hungry, or thirsty, or a stranger, or naked, or ill, or in prison, and did not supply your wants?' And then he will reply 'I tell you, as often as you failed to do it to one of these, however lowly, you failed to do it to me.' And these last will go away 'into aeonian punishment,' but the righteous 'into aeonian life.'"

Circumcision has its value, if you are obeying the Law. But, if you are a breaker of the Law, your circumcision is no better than uncircumcision. If, then, an uncircumcised man pays regard to the requirements of the Law, will not he, although not circumcised, be regarded by God as if he were? Indeed, the man who, owing to his birth, remains uncircumcised, and yet scrupulously obeys the Law, will condemn you, who, for all your written Law and your circumcision, are yet a breaker of the Law.read more.
For a man who is only a Jew outwardly is not a real Jew; nor is outward bodily circumcision real circumcision. The real Jew is the man who is a Jew in soul; And the real circumcision is the circumcision of the heart, a spiritual and not a literal thing. Such a man wins praise from God, though not from men.

Foolish Galatians! Who has been fascinating you--you before whose very eyes Jesus Christ was depicted upon the cross? Here is the one thing that I want to find out from you--Did you receive the Spirit as the result of obedience to Law, or of your having listened with faith? Can you be so foolish? After beginning with what is spiritual, do you now end with what is external?read more.
Did you go through so much to no purpose?--if indeed it really was to no purpose! He who supplies you abundantly with his Spirit and endows you with such powers--does he do this as the result of obedience to Law? or as the result of your having listened with faith?

All can see that you are a letter from Christ delivered by us, a letter written, not with ink, but with the Spirit of the Living God, not on 'tablets of stone,' but on 'tablets of human hearts.' This, then, is the confidence in regard to God that we have gained through the Christ. I do not mean that we are fit to form any judgment by ourselves, as if on our own authority;read more.
Our fitness comes from God, who himself made us fit to be ministers of a New Covenant, of which the substance is, not a written Law, but a Spirit. For the written Law means Death, but the Spirit gives Life.

"I see, Sir, that you are a Prophet!" exclaimed the woman. "It was on this mountain that our ancestors worshiped; and yet you Jews say that the proper place for worship is in Jerusalem." "Believe me," replied Jesus, "a time is coming when it will be neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem that you will worship the Father.read more.
You Samaritans do not know what you worship; we know what we worship, for Salvation comes from the Jews. But a time is coming, indeed it is already here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father spiritually and truly; for such are the worshipers that the Father desires. God is Spirit; and those who worship him must worship spiritually and truly."

And so with you, my Brothers; as far as the Law was concerned, you underwent death in the crucified body of the Christ, so that you might be united to another, to him who was raised from the dead, in order that our lives might bear fruit for God. When we were living merely earthly lives, our sinful passions, aroused by the Law, were active in every part of our bodies, with the result that our lives bore fruit for Death. But now we are set free from the Law, because we are dead to that which once kept us under restraint; and so we serve under new, spiritual conditions, and not under old, written regulations.

There is, therefore, now no condemnation for those who are in union with Christ Jesus; For through your union with Christ Jesus, the Law of the life- giving Spirit has set you free from the Law of Sin and Death. What Law could not do, in so far as our earthly nature weakened its action, God did, by sending his own Son, with a nature resembling our sinful nature, to atone for sin. He condemned sin in that earthly nature,read more.
So that the requirements of the Law might be satisfied in us who live now in obedience, not to our earthly nature, but to the Spirit. They who follow their earthly nature are earthly-minded, while they who follow the Spirit are spiritually minded. To be earthly-minded means Death, to be spiritually minded means Life and Peace; Because to be earthly-minded is to be an enemy to God, for such a mind does not submit to the Law of God, nor indeed can it do so. They who are earthly cannot please God. You, however, are not earthly but spiritual, since the Spirit of God lives within you. Unless a man has the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Christ; But, if Christ is within you, then, though the body is dead as a consequence of sin, the spirit is Life as a consequence of righteousness. And, if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead lives within you, he who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will give Life even to your mortal bodies, through his Spirit living within you.

That is what is meant by the words-'Adam, the first man, became a human being'; the last Adam became a Life-giving spirit. That which comes first is not the spiritual, but the human; afterwards comes the spiritual;

Unlike Moses, who covered his face with a veil, to prevent the Israelites from gazing at the disappearance of what was passing away. But their minds were slow to learn. Indeed, to this very day, at the public reading of the Old Covenant, the same veil remains unlifted; only for those who are in union with Christ does it pass away. But, even to this day, whenever Moses is read, a veil lies on their hearts.read more.
'Yet, whenever a man turns to the Lord, the veil is removed.' And the 'Lord' is the Spirit, and, where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. And all of us, with faces from which the veil is lifted, seeing, as if reflected in a mirror, the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into his likeness, from glory to glory, as it is given by the Lord, the Spirit.

But, if you follow the guidance of the Spirit, you are not subject to Law.

On the one hand, we have the abolition of a previous regulation as being both inefficient and useless (for the Law never brought anything to perfection); and, on the other hand, we have the introduction of a better hope, which enables us to draw near to God. Then again, the appointment of this new priest was ratified by an oath, which is not so with the Levitical priests,read more.
but his appointment was ratified by an oath, when God said to him-- 'The Lord has sworn, and will not change, "Thou art a priest for all time."' And the oath shows the corresponding superiority of the Covenant of which Jesus is appointed the surety.

To sum up what I have been saying:--Such is the High Priest that we have, one who 'has taken his seat at the right hand' of the throne of God's Majesty in Heaven, where he ministers in the Sanctuary, in that true Tabernacle set up by the Lord and not by man. Every High Priest is appointed for the purpose of offering gifts and sacrifices to God; it follows, therefore, that this High Priest must have some offering to make.read more.
If he were, however, still upon earth, he would not even be a priest, since there are already priests who offer the gifts as the Law directs. (These priests, it is true, are engaged in a service which is only a copy and shadow of the heavenly realities, as is shown by the directions given to Moses when he was about to construct the Tabernacle. 'Look to it,' are the words, 'that thou make every part in accordance with the pattern shown thee on the mountain.') But Jesus, as we see, has obtained a ministry as far excelling theirs, as the Covenant of which he is the intermediary, based, as it is, on better promises, excels the former Covenant. If that first Covenant had been faultless, there would have been no occasion for a second. But, finding fault with the people, God says-- '"Behold, a time is coming," says the Lord, "when I will ratify a new Covenant with the People of Israel and with the People of Judah-- Not such a Covenant as I made with their ancestors on the day when I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt. For they did not abide by their Covenant with me, And therefore I disregarded them," says the Lord. "This is the Covenant that I will make with the People of Israel After those days," says the Lord. "I will impress my laws on their minds, and will inscribe them on their hearts; And I will be their God, and they shall be my People. There shall be no need for every man to instruct his fellow-citizen, or for a man to say to his Brother 'Learn to know the Lord'; For every one will know me, From the lowest to the highest. For I will be merciful to their wrong-doings, And I will no longer remember their sins."' By speaking of a 'new' Covenant, God at once renders the former Covenant obsolete; and whatever becomes obsolete and loses its force is virtually annulled.