Taking A Stand
Do we nullify the Law through faith? May it never be! On the contrary, we establish the Law. Romans 3:31
Establish – Put yourself in Rome in the first century. You are part of a small group of believers. You have heard the good news of peace with God through Yeshua, the Messiah. How did that happen? Since we’re imaging, we’ll pretend that you’re just as much a Gentile then as you are today. You’re one of the masses of people who are under Roman rule; not Jewish, just part of the Empire. Perhaps you heard the news from someone you know. Perhaps you were merely curious. But one thing is certain. When you became a believer, you joined the Jewish synagogue. How do we know this? Everything that Paul teaches assumes a thorough understanding of Scriptures, and in the first century, the only Scriptures available were the Old Testament books (Tanakh). You are an adopted, proselytized Messianic believer grafted into the commonwealth of Israel. You might not be Jewish by birth, but you are certainly Jewish by life choice. That’s why Sha’ul can say, “Faith establishes the Law.” When you came to believe, you took a stand. That stand was on Torah. You decided God’s instructions for living would be your instructions for living. Your people will be my people. Your God will be my God. Ruth all over again.
Sha’ul uses the Greek verb histemi. It means “to stand, to place on firm footing, to stabilize.” The Hebrew equivalent is qum, a verb that means “to rise up, to set up, to establish.” Where do we find this verb in Hebrew thought? We might look in Genesis 6:18 where God establishes a covenant with Noah or in Exodus 6:4 where God reminds Moses of His covenant established with Abraham. You can see Sha’ul’s choice in Greek points us to the permanency of God’s covenants. Those covenants are the basis of the Law. In fact, from the perspective of God’s unwavering character, the Law, in its entirety, is a covenant. Can faith ever undo a promise God made? Impossible! “Don’t even think like that,” says Sha’ul. Just the opposite is true. When we become believers through the promised Messiah, the one who re-establishes our relationship with the Father, we take a stand for the Torah. We say to the on-looking world, “By these principles I live.” That establishes the Law for us, and it happens because of faith, not in contrast to faith.
Sha’ul makes a lot of assumptions about his readers. He assumes they know the promises. He assumes they know the story. He assumes they know Torah. But he does not assume that they cannot be confused about this issue. That’s why he spends so much time elaborating the connection between faith and Torah. One endorses the other. One validates the other. They are both necessary. They just have different spheres of operation. One (faith) brings us into community. The other (Torah) shows us how to live in the community. Some Christians speak as if Paul is a convert to Christianity. They think he left Judaism behind and moved toward a Hellenistic, Torah-free religion later called Christianity. He would say, “Impossible!” No man who claims that faith puts the Law on firm footing could ever be accused of setting it aside.
Where do you stand? Where does your community stand? If you aren’t standing at the foot of the mountain saying “All these things we will do,” then why are you here?
Topical Index: Law, Torah, faith, establish, histemi, qum, Romans 3:31
the Law is holy, and the commandment is holy and righteous and good. (Romans 7.12)
The law of the LORD is perfect, reviving the soul. The statutes of the LORD are trustworthy, making wise the simple. (Psalm 19.7) Galatians 3:24 “Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ,.. Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth. John 17.17 “Every word of God has proven to be true. He is a shield to those who come to him for protection.” Proverbs 30.5
In conclusion..-it’s all good!”- not either or- both! The “all” of Scripture. The old and the new are “both” necessary to righteous living. By grace through faith unto good works. The law serves a dual purpose. First to establish the fact of sin. “All have sinned.” Jew and Gentile-,male and female, -all. That the whole world may become guilty before G-d. ..”we have already charged that both Jews and Greeks are all under sin;” None righteous, no not one. Just the facts. Not the amount of sin, not the brand of sin, just the fact of sin. We (all) are sinners.
Now to join the apostle Paul, and say with him- O, wretched man that I am..Who shall deliver me? We (all) are sinners in need of a Savior. Now who might that be? Who is our Deliverer? What is His name? Who is the atoning Sacrifice for the sins of the world? What can wash away my sins?
And now having received this gift (by faith), how then shall we live? We return once again to the law of the LORD (which is perfect, and good and just and holy). And now we find these words no longer condemn us.. they capture us by their beauty and worth. We know man does not live by bread alone but by EVERY word that proceedeth forth from mouth of YHWH. It’s all good. And we need a “balanced” diet. We should never neglect or negate the Old Covenant. The Bible is a goldmine when you learn to use a Hebrew key. Neither should we discount or dismiss the New Covenant. “Both” the Old and the New are our Him-book and contain one message. “Behold, the Lamb of G-d which taketh away the sin of the world”. This is the message we “all” need to proclaim. For He (alone) is worthy. Worthy is the Lamb. -“Who is this king of glory?”
Good teaching Skip: ” Paul anticiipated being charged with antinomianism ( against the law): they were saying if justiification comes by faith alone, then is not the law rejected? He gives a more complete answer in chapters 6-7 and reasserts the validity of the law in 13:8-10.
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“To love is the one debt that is never paid off. No matter how much one has loved, he is under obligation to keep on loving. one another includes not only fellow Christians but all people, your neighbor is any one in need.–
—the law– The Mosaic law, which lays down both moral and social responsiblities. Study Bible NIV Foot notes——Don’t you just love this? —- —- And Carl, thanks for a reminder that we all need “balance”. Yes, we need both the Old Covenanat, and the New Covenatnt. NECESSARY!
SKIP, THE LAST PARAGRAPH, IS SOMEWHAT AMBIGUOUS TO ME. IT COULD BE GOING IN DIFFERENT DIRECTIONS. —-It seems you may throw such statements out on purpose.— I still appreciate all that I learn from you though. I personally can deal with it and go on. I am not sure everyone does though. L.B. — with my husband at school today, I never left my studies and computer room, thank goodness for School Cafeterias. I eat whatever is in the ref.— Now back to quilting on a baby boy quilt for my “neighbor”, who lives in Dallas, and I only meet briefly once, last Sat. What a blessed group of people we all are to be able to use our lives honoring God
Romans 3:31
Hi Skip,
After reading Taking a Stand, which was excellent, I read Romans 3:31 and found Paul at his best IMO.
Then I clicked on the link to A view on the canal, but get a NOT FOUND notice from the system.
Just as an FYI, that has happened on several previous web pages as well.
Again, great stuff today!!
Thanks,
Mike
Thanks Skip, i fully agree with you all .
I also agree with Apostle Paul in 2 Cor 12:11 ,he wrote : Finnally, brothers…..Aim for PERFECTION, listen to my appeal, be of one mind, live in peace. And the God of love and peace will be with you.
The Torah of YHVH is PERFECT,reviving the soul. The statutes of YHVH are trustworthy, making wise the simple ( Tehilim/Psalm 19:7)
Can we pursue perfection without living in the fullness of Torah (Scripture) ? impossible !!!
Yehsua is perfect because He is HaTorah ( The Word ) who became the flesh ( Yochanan 1:1,14).
And our goal is to be like Yeshua who fullfilled the Torah did not abolish It !!!
Nothing impossible for him who put his trust in Yahweh/Y’Shua !!
Everyone who loves Yahweh with ALL of his heart,his mind,his soul and his strength…….will make
any effort to offer the best of himself !!!
When we show our optimum effort, Yahweh will apply His optimum for us as well !
For we can’t make Him in debt !!
Let us give Him all without leaving anything behind !!!
Shalom,
“Where do you stand? Where does your community stand? If you aren’t standing at the foot of the mountain saying “All these things we will do,” then why are you here?”
Brother Skip … I see no vague implications to conclude this commentary! 🙂
If we …. and or the community we claim as our own, being one in Yeshua, are not gathering in fellowship to affirm our membership in Israel or to agree to walk in faith and abide by the covenant for His glory …. then we can waste our time without fooling ourselves.
More importantly however …. we need to abide by what we say. Let our yes be yes …. 🙂
Skip you have often upheld Torah …. its beauty, its value, its reflection of ELOHIM’s Character, its consistent place as our behavioral foundation and of course so much more. My question …. have you provided in the past, or plan in the future, structured commentary upon the traditionally accepted 613 … or should I say 614 mitzvot? 🙂
Not that I am trying to push a new book on you or anything … LOL 🙂
A few years ago we started a series of Today’s Word editions on the 613. We got a few done, but the task was too much for the time. At the moment, there is no plan to do this. I wish I could, but trying to make ends meet always gets in the way of what I wish I could.
Just today I read an excellent article about this from Boaz Michael at FFOZ. I will try to summarize it in the next few days. It is a plea for unity above all else – and that’s the not same as uniformity. There is so much tied to the paradigm shift.
Speaking of Boaz and FFOZ …. what are your opinions or their recent teachings about Torah and Gentiles … about roles and the definition of how Gentiles are to embrace Torah in the context of Greater Israel …. the Jews that is!
B/T/W … so that you are not blind sided I will forward to you the materials that I have relative to the matter at hand!
Shalom,
Drew
Thanks for the material. I will do my best to look at it soon.