Churches of Christ -- Sermons; Sermons, American -- 20th century
Some of the references placed in opposing columns by the author really
apply to the same law, and present no conflict whatsoever. For instance,
the law which God gave the Jews at Sinai was both _established_ and
_abolished_. It was first established and then abolished. It could not
have been abolished if it had not first been established. It was
established by the life of Christ; it was abolished by the death of
Christ. Christ came not to destroy _the law_ or _the prophets_ but to
fulfill (Matt. 5:17, 18). Jesus said “... all things must be fulfilled,
which were written in the law of Moses, and in the prophets, and in the
psalms, concerning me” (Luke 24:44). Christ fulfilled every prophecy
concerning the Messiah in the law and obeyed every commandment in the
law. In that sense he established the law, and after having done so, he
abolished it when he died upon the cross. Salvation through faith and
obedience to Christ is in fulfillment of the prophecies found in the law
of Moses. In that sense the law of faith establishes the law given to
the Jews at Sinai and abolished by Christ when he was crucified (Col.
2:14-16).
Not a single text listed by the author in his parallel columns serves to
establish the distinction for which he contends. If this is the best he
can do in that respect, it only serves to advertise the weakness of his
contention. Every text he cites refers either to the law God gave the
Jews at Sinai and abolished at the cross, or to the law God gave to the
world through Christ and which went into force when he died at Calvary.
When this is so clearly the case, isn’t it strange that a preacher would
try to make it appear that these Scriptures apply to two imaginary laws
that are not even named in these texts or at any other place in the
Bible?
Since the law given at Sinai was a unit, every Scripture which teaches
that it was taken away at the cross, indeed teaches that it was taken
away as a whole, in its entirety. Please listen again then to Ephesians
2:11-18: “Wherefore remember, that ye being in time past Gentiles in the
flesh ... ye were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of
Israel ... but now in Christ Jesus ye who sometimes were far off are
made nigh by the blood of Christ. For he is our peace, who hath made
both [Jew and Gentile] one, and hath broken down the middle wall of
partition between us; having abolished in his flesh the enmity, even the
law of commandments contained in ordinances; for to make in himself of
twain [Jew and Gentile] one new man, so making peace; and that he might
reconcile both [Jew and Gentile] unto God in one body by the cross,
having slain the enmity thereby ... for through him we both [Jew and
Gentile] have access by one Spirit unto the Father.”
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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