THE CONFERENCE - General Equity Theonomy - Session 7 - Dr. Joseph Boot
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Summary
In this second session, Pastor Ken tackles the question of theonomy, which is God's revealed law, and the role of the disciple in the life of Jesus Christ as a disciple of God's law. What does it mean to be a Christian disciple of Christ?
Transcript
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Well, it's great to have an opportunity to do a second session today, and it's been a
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real privilege to be part of the conference and wonderful interacting with so many of
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you. I always enjoy being here in the United States and feel always encouraged and built
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up by the feedback we receive, so thank you very much.
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if you haven't visited our table before the end of the conference do visit our table
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and remember the announcement that Nathan made our Canadian director about our worldview youth
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academy and our cultural leadership academy which is for 19s through any age all adults
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are welcome to do our cultural leadership academy the youth academy is 14 to 18 why don't we pray
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before we begin this session our lord and our god we give you thanks for
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this blessed day that we have enjoyed together thank you for all we've heard already lord we
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are weak but you are strong make room in our hearts and minds for more of your word for it's
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a lamp to our feet and a light to our path in christ's name we pray amen
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okay so in this session i'm dealing with the topic of theonomy which just means god's law
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now for those of you at this conference last year i spoke on theonomy last year and
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i've spoken many times on theonomy and so as i was preparing for this conference i thought lord
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um how shall i tackle this this year in a way that it may be a little bit fresh i've dealt with
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uh the christian philosophy of law i've come at it from a historical point of view
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and so i thought that actually for this session i would talk about jesus and the law
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if we ask actually at the most basic level what is christianity if we're going to be scriptural
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we must answer that it actually consists in knowing and following christ jesus
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if somebody asks you what is a christian somebody who knows and follows christ jesus
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not simply follows certain doctrines or recites certain confessions or knows historical theology
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or can engage in learned disputes on dogmatics but actually in the here and now to worship and
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follow Christ the Lord he's the master and the disciple is not greater than the master
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now growing up in the western tradition as we have in western civilization we're less familiar
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actually with the ancient eastern style of learning by literally attaching yourself
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to a teacher and learning their way of life and their thought by imitation so i don't want you
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leaving the conference track sort of trying to get yourself into doug wilson's suitcase saying
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I'm attaching myself to the rabbi this is the eastern style of learning we speak of tutors
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and professors and mentors but that actually falls short of the Jewish tradition of following a rabbi
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Jesus actually called the first disciples and when he did it was not to an academy
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for a lofty exchange of ideas in socratic dialogue nothing wrong with that still less was it to
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actually write papers or submit essays to be marked by the lord to be reviewed by a tutor
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when christ called the disciples it was to follow him to devote their lives to him
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to live with and learn from him to memorize his sayings to witness his actions
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to hear his prayers to question him about his parables to tread the dust that he trod
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to be a disciple of christ then meant to imitate him in everything take up your cross jesus said
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and follow me and so the apostle paul actually says imitate me as i also imitate christ of course
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paul before being a disciple of christ was a disciple of gamaliel a famous jewish rabbi
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imitation then is actually the basic meaning of christian discipleship
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and that's actually easily overlooked i think when we come to consider the question of god's law and
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faithful christian witness as a whole in a repaganizing culture more often than not the
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question of god's law the question of theonomy is approached by christians in a very theoretical way
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as though they are personally uninvolved with the question it's just a matter a matter of dogmatic
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dispute not uncommonly the derisive language of its more vehement opponents reflects a posture
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of treating God's revealed law lightly at best and at times with a kind of haughty disdain
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but it's impossible to actually find that kind of an attitude in the master
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you don't find that in the life of our rabbi the Lord Jesus some Christians actually see God's law
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as some sort of a threat an aberration some say something parenthetical it's been and gone it's an
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it's a sort of unchristian blemish on the pages of scripture uh and so the law is for some to all
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intents and purposes ripped out it's a bit like there is it the thomas jefferson bible where he
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sort of cut the bits out he didn't like you know this is this is what's happened for many believers
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Instead, we think about living as we personally see fit or as we feel led,
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as though law and gospel are as incompatible as oil and water.
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But Jesus' relationship to the law as its author, as exegete, as master, teacher and Lord
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is of tremendous significance for all true disciples.
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jesus modeled taking the totality of the law seriously and what matters to jesus
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should matter to us what he taught we must believe remember and teach what he did we need to emulate
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and copy if we want to call ourselves christian we must be truly yoked to the one true rabbi
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now that's not an easy task and it actually comes at a cost because that attachment
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has to take place in a rebellious age that is looking to vanquish god trumpet nihilism
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and champion a grand leveling of all things and through fear and intimidation
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cow the faithful individual into a mouse's hole our time actually embraces and effectively deifies
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an unofficially established order in both state and liberalizing church i talked a bit about that
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in our first session whilst fear and trembling before a holy god and his righteousness is
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abolished truth and justice are now thought to be the province of human beings they're going to
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define it. If I can quote the Danish prophet again in this session, Kierkegaard, he prophetically
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saw this, he put it this way, if you are a student, then you can be sure that the professor is the
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measure and the truth. If you are a parson, then the bishop is the way and the life. If you are a
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scrivener that's a clerk or a notary the judge is the standard the deification of the established
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order is the secularization of everything the established order desires to be totalitarian
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recognizing nothing over it but having under it every individual and judging every individual
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who is integrated in it and that individual who expounds the most humble but at the same time the
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most humane doctrine about what it means to be a man the established or the desires to terrify
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and such as it is that christians face today accused of blasphemy against state orthodoxy
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just as jesus was accused of blasphemy by the pharisees who neither knew the scriptures he said
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nor the power of god ours is a time when human beings have made themselves the gauge
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the measuring reed the canon in the place of god's law word and the impact on the church
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has been significant because in place of god's law new pharisees parroting the culture
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elevate human preferences and customs and positivistic laws and desires and wants into
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articles of faith following jesus is not seen as the measure anymore the established order of the
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world infecting the institutional church like a virus takes the place of christ so holy in fact
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had the Pharisees and scribes become and so holy do men always become when they deify the
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established order that their divine worship is a way of making a fool of God. Under the pretense
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of serving and worshipping they serve and worship their own device either in self-complacent joy
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at being themselves the inventors or through fear of men and we can't be ruled by the fear of man
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can we but by the word of god a servant is not greater than his master so we have to be attentive
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to what our savior who shows us how to regard the law of god in a lawless world exemplified
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faithfulness remember the lord jesus said you call me teacher and lord
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this is well said for i am a messenger is not greater than the one who sent him
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so let's think about the master's relationship to the law first jesus and creation
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of first importance i think is recognizing jesus relationship to creation itself as lawgiver from
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the very beginning as creator in his fleshly tabernacle which is what the apostle john calls
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it he tabernacled amongst us the master spoke to the storm and he calmed the waves
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he cursed the fig tree he raised the dead by the power of his word
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and yet christians often begin the question of jesus relation to law by assuming a dualism
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between creation or nature and revelation a separation and a division which the bible does
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not accept there is an unbreakable cosmological relationship between the physical and the moral
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orders of creation that's manifest in jesus life and work and teaching just as it's expressed in
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the older testament let me give you an example in some cases when jesus healed physically
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this is what he declared your sins are forgiven you
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your sins are forgiven you the connection between moral law and created physical reality is there
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seen as absolutely fundamental which is easier to say which is easier to say to the paralytic
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your sins are forgiven or to say get up pick up your mat and walk but so you may know the son of
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man has authority on earth to forgive sins he told the paralytic I tell you get up pick up your mat
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and go home you see the moral law does not hover in some abstract realm of reason above earthly
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reality it's embedded in it unlike the rationalism of men like Immanuel Kant who thought that moral
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norms are in a separate world to cause and affect creation around us in scripture the word of god
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it speaks to an integral existence when the triune god creates human beings from physical dust
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there are moral obligations intrinsic to that reality and that's why the bible
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in scripture disobedience to god's word had physical effects immediately in the fall of
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human beings thorns and thistles pain disease and death
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it's why the homosexuality and perversions of sodom and gomorrah ended with fire and brimstone
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raining down from heaven it's why saint paul warns of receiving in the body the due penalty
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of doing that which is contrary to God's creation order it's why the land of the Canaanites spewed
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them out it's why Israel is finally dispossessed and taken into exile lawlessness brings social
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to act in a manner contrary to what God has established in creation brings a curse
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professor jonathan burnside he's a fellow of the ezra institute has written a brilliant book called
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god justice and society oxford university press he says this biblical law operates beyond the
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confines of a historical past or single culture instead it is established in the bone and flesh
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of created humanity all this points to the fact that biblical law does not just mystically appear
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on the scene with Moses which Jesus then comes along to set aside in favor of an elastic principle
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of love rather moral laws are embedded into creation and they are republished in the written
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word of God when God created all things in the beginning with the 10 utterances and when he
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created israel at sinai with the 10 words law was central and it was intended as a blessing
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to all the nations and to all peoples creation itself exists remember by the word who was with
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god and was god and became flesh the one through whom all things were made and by whom all things
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hold together so when Jesus taught about God's law for marriage he didn't say let's do a
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sociological study of the Greco-Roman world and see what we should say about marriage today
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he went back to creation itself to the book of Genesis
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it's no surprise then to find in Genesis 6 and 7 that Noah and his family
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as well as the animals with two of each kind enter the ark as married couples
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no trace or sign of a trans man or a trans elephant because both the norm of sexual
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distinction and marriage are basic to god's law order as is the distinction actually between the
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clean and the unclean animals in genesis 7 that anticipates of course the dietary laws of leviticus
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11 as god's image bearers knowledge of these creation norms is available even to those who
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are without the revealed law and it forms the basis of divine judgment remember god judged
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the canaanites who are without revealed law amos prophesies to the pagan nations around who without
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the revealed law we can only follow the master if we recognize that his law is abiding from the
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beginning of creation and recognize him as creator lawgiver and redeemer whom we obey and serve with
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total fealty jesus and creation what about jesus appearance in the flesh in the incarnation jesus
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versus satan let's look at that for a minute at the beginning of jesus ministry after his baptism
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in the jordan he's led out by the spirit of god into the wilderness for 40 days
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and the scholars have noticed that the life of jesus in many respects recapitulates to a great
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extent actually the life and journey of israel remember israel is called out of captivity in
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egypt just as the lord jesus is called out of egypt with his parents hosea 11 1 out of egypt
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i have called my son he passes through the waters of baptism just like israel went through the
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waters and he goes out into the wilderness to be tested not for 40 years but for 40 days
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and then like moses later on he goes up onto the mountain not to receive the law but to teach
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expound and interpret the very law that he gave to his servant moses
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he begins with a series of blessings they're called beatitudes
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that correspond to the curses and warnings at mount sinai in deuteronomy 28 and while in the
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wilderness he is confronted by satan and he is tested how our lord responds is telling if we are
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to imitate christ as disciples and we have to learn to deal with testing and temptation
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as the Lord Jesus confronts it with the word of God Jesus responds to temptation
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with three citations from the law of God in a context where Israel was being tested as to
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whether she would obey God's commands in the first just as Israel was hungry in the wilderness
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and received manna from heaven Jesus is hungry and he's tempted to speak to the stones and turn
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them to bread to prove his identity and address his hunger and he responds it is written and he
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cites Deuteronomy 8 3 man must not live on bread alone but on every word that comes from the mouth
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of god well as far as the lord's concerned this law hasn't passed away into irrelevance has it
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in the second instance jesus is taken to jerusalem on the pinnacle of the temple the dwelling place
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of god and he's tempted to prove his identity as god's son dramatically violating god's purpose
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of concealment in the form of a servant by throwing himself down only to be picked up by
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angels and this time satan has gotten wise knowing christ's trust in the authority of the word he
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quotes psalm 91 11 and 12 regarding angelic protection so that you won't dash your foot
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against the stone just shows you that god's word can be misused satan was expert at misusing the
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word of god and jesus response is again from god's law deuteronomy 6 16 it is also written
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do not test the lord your god in the third instance our master is taken to a high mountain
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and he's shown all the splendors of the kingdoms of the world and in exchange for idolatry
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satan offers jesus all those kingdoms as a gift in luke's account satan correctly points out that
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he could give their splendor and authority because it had been given over to me he says
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if you then worship me all will be yours Luke 4 6 through 7 and this enticement to false worship
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is an incredibly powerful temptation for the precise reason that Christ had come for all
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the kingdoms of the world to take back possession as the heir of all things and to assert his
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authority as the ruler of the kings of the earth but our Lord knew that this could only happen the
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father's way and he again responds with the law of god not a quote from the philosophers
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not a citation from cicero go away satan for it is written worship the lord your god and serve only
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him now because the master wielded god's law he was the authentic israelite he was the truly
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obedient son he was the greater moses the last joshua who would come into the full inheritance
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promised in revelation 11 15 the kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our lord and of
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his messiah and he will reign forever and ever so the lord jesus obviously regarded the law of god
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as the only suitable tool to defeat state satan to stay on mission and to set an example for us
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to follow he recognized the power and authority of the law it is written and he overcame in terms
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of it now do you think it would be strange if the very word which vanquished the devil
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is now thrown aside in favor of human custom reason and imagination
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since the disciples were not present to witness the temptation it's clear that these events must
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have been related to them by the lord himself for their instruction and ours
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and we should also remember that the temp to satan is referred to in scripture as the lawless one
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to thessalonians 2 8 and sin itself is defined as lawlessness and jesus has come to destroy
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the works of the devil and and restore his people to righteousness and obedience to the law
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look at the logic of the apostle john it's unshakable everyone who commits sin also breaks
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the law sin is the breaking of law you know that he was revealed so that he might take away sins
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and there is no sin in him as such the believer does not make a lifestyle john says a practice
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of sinning because to do so is to place oneself on the side of lawlessness and with the devil
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the one who practices sin is of the devil for the devil has been sinning from the beginning
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the son of god appeared for this purpose to destroy the works of the devil so that's how
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jesus dealt with satan in the ministry of jesus he had to deal with the interpreters of the law
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jesus and the pharisees it's vitally important to notice
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in relation to the law jesus owned ministry and debates with the religious authorities
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he was often in dialogue and dispute with the teachers of the law who challenged him
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in order to disclose that he was not a violator of god's law either in his life or teaching but
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rather its fullness, its confirmation, its completion, its fulfillment. He puts it into
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practice completely. He accomplishes its requirements flawlessly. So the sin of the
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Pharisee was not that they longed to obey God's law out of love to God, but they were seeking a
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way around God's law through their own customs, their own reasonings, their own traditions.
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the the Jewish Talmud carries on the tradition of the Pharisees and has done for centuries
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and it forms a very telling illustration of the kind of arguments that the master was up against
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Gary North notes he says the Talmud is a giant exercise in finding ways to escape the Old
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Testament texts the Pharisees were in rebellion against God's law all in the name of God's law
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he goes on to cite david weiss who is a master of the talmud formerly an orthodox jew but a
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professor now at a conservative jewish theological seminary devoted his academic career to a detailed
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study of various versions of the talmud and he actually describes its effective use this is what
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he says with one hand you acknowledge god's existence at the same time you want to have
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some maneuverability studying critically is contending with god's writ acknowledging it
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but using criticism to alter it man is powerless vis-a-vis god but powerful vis-a-vis his torah
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there he can assert his independence by offering an interpretation different from the one god
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intended and it was this approach to the law that jesus is addressing his encounters in the gospels
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in essence like many modern christians they didn't believe moses and so jesus question echoes down
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the centuries if you don't believe moses writings how will you believe my words
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if you don't believe him how will you believe me some telling examples at the heart of the dispute
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are found in john chapter 7 through 10 where during the feast of tabernacles
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jesus is in an extended discussion with the pharisees over his authority and identity
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john chapter john chapter 7 through 10 not only does jesus show
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that he is the fulfillment of the meaning of the older covenant feasts
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but he clearly points to the authority of the law itself in the course of his teaching in the
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temple precinct jesus says didn't moses give you the law yet none of you keeps the law
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this statement invokes the authority of the decalogue the
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prohibition against murder why are they trying to murder jesus well he's healed
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somebody on the sabbath his for this work of restoration and
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wholeness the meaning of the sabbath some of the pharisees
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want to kill him but they can't agree over their
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interpretation of the sabbath and all the while they're seeking to murder jesus in violation of
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god's law that betrays of course the very life-giving purpose of the commandments
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when he defeats at the cross the one who was a murderer from the beginning
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who does not stand in the truth of god's law but is a liar and the father of all lies john 8 44
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then in john 8 13 the pharisees are challenging jesus testimony about himself they're saying it's
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invalid christ turns tables and he accuses them of judging by human standards and not in accordance
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with god's law and he invokes the law of god saying even in your law it is written that the
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witness of two men is valid i am the one who testifies about myself and the father who sent me
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here jesus proves that his witness is in accordance with god's law par excellence
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he's not in violation he fully upholds it but the ultimate purpose of jesus is more than dealing
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with jewish corsistry here that is whether one witness is enough rather it is to show
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the commandment to honor father and mother is exemplified in his relationship to his father
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george brooke says the reader is to perceive this is the reader of john
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that the light of life available in torah is available in knowing the one who keeps the law
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of exodus 20 16 and deuteronomy 5 20 in association with the father himself and this
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gets expressed explicitly in John 8 49 Jesus now responds to the charge that he has a demon
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aren't you amazed that that these people are not struck dead on the spot
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but that's the forbearance of God isn't it he's charged with having a demon
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and with remarkable reference to the fifth commandment about honoring parents this is what
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Jesus says the Pharisees insult Jesus and by extension his father but our Lord declares I do
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not have a demon on the contrary i honor my father and you dishonor me and this sits up the theme
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of glorifying the father and the father glorifying the son later on in jesus dialogue
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so ultimately by honoring christ jesus the son a person honors the father and so hallows god's name
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which fulfills the law positively of prohibiting taking the lord's name in vain
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in john 10 30 where jesus declares his unity with the father he says i and the father are one
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the prohibition of the decalogue you shall have no other god
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gods before me is evidently being stated positively so i encourage you
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bathe yourself in john 7 through 10 and look at jesus interaction with regard to the law pivot
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quickly now to the synoptic gospels there's several clear statements in dialogue with the
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pharisees that are very instructive as we try and imitate the lord and learn and apply what rabbi
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jesus has to say jesus says in matthew 23 woe to you scribes and pharisees hypocrites
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you pay a tenth of mint dill and cumin yet you have neglected the more important matters of
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the law justice mercy and faith these things should have been done without neglecting the others
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blind guides you strain out a gnat yet gulp down a camel
00:33:11.120
so what is everywhere implied in john's gospel is explicit in matthew remember look at it here
00:33:18.840
jesus takes issue not with the law of god cut by the very finger of god and placed in the ark of
00:33:25.760
the covenant one copy for god one copy for the people in accordance with the cesarean treaty
00:33:34.280
format but his issue is with the pharisees hypocrisy in regard to the law the lord doesn't
00:33:42.320
even criticize being faithful in tithing but he distinguishes the weightier matters of god's law
00:33:50.720
that come first and this was the master's constant complaint against the teachers of his day they
00:33:58.060
lacked consistency they kept parts of the law that looked good on the outside when they could
00:34:02.920
be performed by people but they were not interested in the substance and the meaning of the law
00:34:08.320
they neglected its meaning and this contradiction is also what makes jesus remark so humorous
00:34:17.400
seeing a person straining a gnat out of their drink because their little flying insect has
00:34:24.160
gotten in there whilst being happy to gulp down a camel perfectly expressed the sin of the pharisees
00:34:33.220
their rejection of god's law word jesus gives a similar image in the following verses
00:34:41.140
the image of a person concerned to wash the outside of the cup and bowl to look pristine
00:34:48.360
externally whilst the inside is filthy so it was not that the law of god was loved and obeyed
00:34:58.980
from the heart by the religious teachers of the law which is what god's law requires in
00:35:03.360
deuteronomy 6 6 it was quite the opposite their outward conformity
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was a pretense it was a sham it was a piece of theater
00:35:16.020
it lacked authenticity it lacked the true passion of inwardness
00:35:24.260
and so jesus is explicit on the outside you seem righteous to people but inside
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blind Pharisee first clean the inside of the cup
00:36:06.020
pronounced against these religious authorities is that you are clean on the outside but dead
00:36:12.160
and dirty on the inside the master makes the same point in matthew 15 18 through 20 with a direct
00:36:21.340
reference to the decalogue he says but what comes out of the mouth comes from the heart and this
00:36:27.820
defiles a man from the heart come evil thoughts murders adulteries sexual immoralities thefts
00:36:37.940
false testimonies blasphemies these are the things that defile a man but eating with unwashed hands
00:36:44.320
does not defile a man because of sin salvation was never possible by obeying the law never
00:36:57.480
only Christ Jesus has ever truly obeyed it in fact giving salvation was never the law's intended
00:37:07.720
function the law the Torah the wisdom of God was given as the path of life and blessing not the
00:37:16.440
source of life and blessing only faith in the promise and blood of the covenant meant salvation
00:37:25.060
and redemption which is why the instructions for the tabernacle were given to moses by god himself
00:37:31.960
just as the tablets were given to moses obedience to god's commands was to be the expression of
00:37:40.740
gratitude for grace jesus christ was and is the full realization of both promise and atoning
00:37:51.400
sacrificed just as the true temple we're told in hebrews is in heaven where christ makes intercession
00:37:59.880
and moses gets the copy for the earth so the law inscribed in stone by the lord is now written on
00:38:07.640
the tables of the heart that's the meaning of the newer covenant that's what the new covenant is
00:38:14.240
the priestly administration and the location of the covenant law have changed
00:38:23.880
it's no longer an erotic priesthood it's a priesthood after the order of melchizedek
00:38:31.080
the location of the law is no longer on tablets of stone in the ark of the covenant it's now
00:38:39.980
written on the heart but the substance is unchanged let me give you one final encounter
00:38:46.240
with the pharisees recorded in matthew 15 and mark 7 which is relevant for understanding jesus
00:38:53.500
attitude to the law the master is challenged as to why his disciples are not following the
00:39:00.840
tradition of the elders by ceremonial hand washing and jesus response again directly quotes
00:39:08.560
the Decalogue Exodus 20 12 but combines it with a case law from Exodus 21 17 that carries a
00:39:18.320
sanction he said this he answered them and why do you break God's commandment because of your
00:39:23.100
tradition for God said honor your father and your mother and the one who speaks evil of father or
00:39:28.920
mother must be put to death but you say whoever tells his father or mother whatever benefit you
00:39:34.120
might have received from me as a gift committed to the temple he does not have to honor his father
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in this way you have revoked god's word because of your tradition and many other things like this
00:39:50.260
he says you do note especially that jesus does not say why do you break moses command
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or moses said honor your father and mother you've revoked moses
00:40:04.520
no jesus says this is what god has said these are god's commandments they are revoking god's word
00:40:15.020
now i haven't got time to exegete the incorrigible child this is not to do with
00:40:19.340
executing disobedient children in the house this is something completely different to that i haven't
00:40:25.080
got time to discuss all the details of that but this is critically important what jesus has to
00:40:31.740
say here you revoke god's commandment by your traditions at issue is the hypocrisy of the
00:40:40.360
pharisee who has scruples about ceremonially unwashed hands but excuses a man for financially
00:40:47.940
supporting his parents in their old age if he's made a good gift to the temple
00:40:52.300
human teachings and traditions have been put in the place of god's law now isn't this the
00:41:01.920
right across the west where we neither know god's law nor teach god's law as our lord and master
00:41:11.880
taught it but we place instead our preferences our customs our scruples our proclivities
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are political ideas instead don't dance drink smoke or chew and don't go with girls that do
00:41:29.500
but many speak of such things as though they are
00:41:35.300
as though that is the law word of god so at the heart of christ's rebuke
00:41:41.980
is not just an affirmation of the righteousness and authority of god's law but it's a
00:41:49.160
warning it's a warning against replacing god's law with our own ideas even if they sound rational
00:42:00.540
dare i say even if we say they're taught by nature because the problem with that
00:42:06.760
without digressing into a what do i do with my water there it is a lengthy critique
00:42:12.840
this may not be mine if it was doug's it's communion
00:42:16.360
is the which school of the natural law theorists are we talking about where is the where is the
00:42:28.980
codification of natural law that i can turn to as an authority the the the various rationalistic
00:42:39.760
philosophers who taught a pagan version of natural law couldn't agree on what the natural law is or
00:42:46.960
was it was the stoics who originated the idea now of course i understand that what the reformers
00:42:52.680
talked about as the law of nations the natural law was the law of the bible thomas aquinas himself
00:42:56.760
said god's law is necessary to correct the natural law because of sin but let's make sure we don't
00:43:04.880
use the natural law paradigm as an excuse for ignoring what jesus taught of ignoring the
00:43:11.500
explicit commands of god because oh we've got a kind of a natural law adjustment to that
00:43:18.900
they worship me in vain jesus said teaching as doctrines the commands of men matthew 15 9
00:43:34.880
in all these interactions we see Jesus and his followers had neither broken nor abrogated the law
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those Jews who remained unconvinced were caricatured as blind Pharisees descended from
00:43:48.440
the devil for those who desire wisdom they can now find her in the person of Christ who is both
00:43:54.080
the law-giving prophet promised by Moses and the very meaning and purpose of the law itself
00:44:00.560
as he gives eternal life to those who believe in him and keep his commandments
00:44:05.980
well let's say something about jesus and the mountains then because we can't complete the
00:44:15.120
discussion about jesus and the law without reference to the master's great sermon on the
00:44:20.520
mountain coming in from the wilderness the lord went up onto the mountain as the greater moses
00:44:29.440
to explain to teach and to confirm the law we've already seen that the law did not begin to have
00:44:37.680
relevance at sinai or with the sermon on the mount verne poythras is helpful here he says the law of
00:44:46.560
the old testament is not a mere datum or a mere code book but the personal word of the great king
00:44:53.500
of the universe and who is this king from eternity to eternity the word was with god and the word was
00:45:01.640
god the king is the trinitarian god father son and holy spirit god the son was always at work
00:45:08.480
from the beginning the law of moses is a reflection and foreshadowing of the absolute perfection
00:45:16.600
and righteousness of christ so the greater moses goes up onto the mountain
00:45:25.400
all people in all ages have been obligated to love their creator and their neighbor
00:45:36.820
as the prophet says they have violated the everlasting covenant when jonah went to preach
00:45:45.400
in Nineveh what do you think he was preaching about the code book of the Ninevites of the
00:45:51.980
Assyrians some generalized conception of the laws of reason no he preached like Amos the law of God
00:46:01.580
difficult to understand Jonah isn't it he's a one of the most successful theologian evangelists
00:46:09.800
ever and yet he's pretty miserable about the fact that God spared the Ninevites
00:46:15.060
and that they repented from the king down let's not be caught in that kind of a trap that what
00:46:23.260
we enjoy is pronouncing woe and judgment but not knowing what spirit we are of when people turn to
00:46:29.700
faith in christ even the disciples had to be warned about that the sons of thunder james and
00:46:35.740
lord should we call down fire from heaven upon them jesus says you don't know what spirit you are of
00:46:43.020
well since the words of christ love god love your neighbor these were summaries
00:46:54.220
of the law that was established with creation since
00:46:59.240
the law of god had relevance and power prior to moses we should likewise expect that it would
00:47:04.600
have no less force after the passing of moses and that's exactly what we see
00:47:11.680
the kings of israel after moses were required to read the law every day and to make their own copy
00:47:22.780
of the law for themselves deuteronomy 17 18 through 20 they had to write out a copy you know how
00:47:29.460
sometimes when you're making notes you remember things better well moses in the in deuteronomy
00:47:36.180
the kings are commanded make a copy of the law for yourself remember that the law got lost ezra
00:47:44.340
helps recover it so the rebuilding can take place notably then the kings of israel are to make a
00:47:52.840
copy of the law and so we would expect that the greatest son of david the messiah king would
00:47:59.180
endorse and apply the law of god in its fullness as the author and the lord of the law and that's
00:48:07.920
what we see in the sermon on the mountain in matthew 5 through 7 that jesus presupposes
00:48:15.240
the validity of the law and its binding authority he presupposes it don't assume that i came to
00:48:23.400
destroy the law or the prophets i did not come to destroy but to fulfill for i assure you until
00:48:30.420
heaven and earth pass away not the smallest letter or one stroke of a letter will pass from the law
00:48:37.020
until all things are accomplished therefore whoever breaks one of the least of these commands
00:48:43.740
and teaches people to do so will be called least where in the kingdom of heaven but whoever practices
00:48:52.980
and teaches these commands will be called great in the kingdom of heaven so notice that jesus is
00:49:00.040
referring to the totality of his law till the end of history as we know it rightly interpreted
00:49:06.820
and that to teach and practice god's commands will mean being called great not in some past
00:49:14.700
dispensation but great in the kingdom of god in the kingdom of heaven to break god's law and teach
00:49:26.140
others to do the same will mean being leased that is there will be believers who will tell people
00:49:35.240
there'll be antinomians the meaning of the word fulfill the greek word pleru which has been
00:49:44.380
much discussed by you will discover by referring to any commentary is surely settled by the context
00:49:52.300
of the abiding validity and presence of the kingdom of heaven
00:49:56.220
so at the very least the law's abiding validity is being confirmed
00:50:01.920
it cannot mean an ending or setting aside of the law if it meant that the whole sermon on
00:50:09.060
the mount is a self-contradiction on the contrary it means that the law and the prophets why the
00:50:20.340
law and the prophets well what did the prophets do what was the message of the prophets return
00:50:24.420
to God return to his law return to his word come back to the word come back to the law return to
00:50:28.860
god the law and the prophets which are not yet filled out jesus is going to make full
00:50:39.260
rabbi jesus was not setting aside god's law it's he says so himself nor adding something
00:50:46.340
quantitatively to the law as a supplement but he's giving the rightful measure
00:50:53.120
god had always intended here's what herman ritterboss
00:50:57.040
says fulfillment means the effectual assertion of the demands of the law
00:51:03.360
the word suggests a vessel that is being filled the vessel of the law is given its rightful measure
00:51:12.240
for this purpose jesus has come when the master in his sermon uses the expression
00:51:20.500
you have heard that it was said but i tell you he's not refuting the law he's not correcting
00:51:29.040
god's own word but he's filling out its meaning by addressing the misunderstandings and abuses
00:51:38.380
that have arisen and he does so with authority and also i should add originality as the author
00:51:44.860
of the law. In fact, the grammar of the phrase allows the meaning, in agreement with this, I say
00:51:53.480
to you. In agreement with this, I say to you. So the meaning of murder, adultery, divorce, oath-taking,
00:52:01.820
just retribution, generosity, love of neighbor, they're all taken up and they're filled out
00:52:07.600
in the greater Moses sermon on the mountain. The practices of then true worship, facing worldly
00:52:14.480
cares distinguishing between good and evil following jesus accepting his authority they're
00:52:19.680
all dealt with in the sermon in reference to god's wisdom getting to the root of things our heart
00:52:26.440
motives the inside not just the outside the inside our lord's climactic statement be perfect
00:52:37.180
therefore as your heavenly father is perfect isn't that reminiscent of what was said to abraham
00:52:55.160
leviticus 19 2 be holy because i the lord your god am holy
00:53:04.660
the way in which each aspect of the law is confirmed and filled out through jesus life
00:53:11.820
and his redemptive work and teaching involves the task of rightly dividing the word of truth
00:53:16.720
that's where the hard work is done and it's all under the yoke of christ the master but there
00:53:23.680
can be no question of abolishing or setting aside god's law i think the comments of richard barcelos
00:53:29.780
in his critique of new covenant theology is instructive he says this the law christ expounded
00:53:36.840
in the sermon on the mount and revealed in the epistles through his apostles includes portions
00:53:42.460
of the very things moses wrote and sometimes without qualification paul quotes the decalogue
00:53:50.040
in romans 13 9 without any new covenant contrastive qualifications in matthew 5 jesus is indeed
00:53:57.800
introducing a contrast but not between the law of moses and the law of christ rather the contrast
00:54:04.320
is between a true understanding of the law of moses and the false understanding evidenced in
00:54:10.220
the hypocrisy of the scribes and pharisees well let me end with this those of you who have beards
00:54:19.900
will appreciate that picture it's just from a jesus move me it's not idolatry
00:54:26.040
a disciple a disciple is nothing without a master to follow and obey
00:54:43.000
the master clearly taught that the commandments have an ongoing role in evangelism in disciple
00:54:53.260
making and the advance of god's kingdom shattering all the restrictions of national israel
00:55:02.640
which we see in matthew 21 43 the international people of god jew and gentile now disciple all
00:55:11.740
nations which includes teaching the full content of god's law
00:55:17.060
everything i have commanded you says poythras naturally includes the sermon on the mount
00:55:25.680
and within the sermon it includes jesus statement about the continuing force of the law
00:55:30.500
this is why when people say you know jesus said nothing about homosexuality or bestiality
00:55:37.920
really he said a great deal about it because he upheld the totality of his law
00:55:42.480
in addition we are given the personal assurance of our divine rabbi that his everlasting presence
00:55:55.600
will empower and accompany us on our mission and so we are therefore to imitate christ by
00:56:03.880
teaching the law and understanding it through his life and work as the late Greg Barnson explains
00:56:13.700
he says the Christian being condemned by the law saved by Christ's obedience to the law
00:56:20.800
and sanctified by the spirit in accordance with the law is to propagate the Christian gospel in
00:56:27.680
conjunction with pressing home the demands of god's holy law teaching the nations to observe
00:56:34.640
the commandments of god is a definite obligation laid upon christians by christ the christian life
00:56:41.420
and god's kingdom are theonomic through and through as evidenced by both the lord's prayer
00:56:45.980
thy kingdom come thy will be done and the great commission to walk with the master
00:56:53.680
to be his disciple we have to tread the same sod by honoring the same father
00:57:05.000
loving the same law teaching the same commandments and imitating his life of faithful obedience
00:57:15.920
rid of boss exhorts us the theonomy i've loved this statement the theonomy of the gospel is
00:57:25.220
subjection to the law and any attempt to eliminate the category of law from the gospel
00:57:30.720
is frustrated by the continuous and undeniable maintenance of the law by and in the gospel
00:57:39.960
this is confirmed by the words of the master from his heavenly throne
00:57:47.320
the same lord who engraved his law into the stone tablets at sinai and expounded the law
00:57:57.780
upon the mountain here's what he says from his heavenly throne and with this i close
1.00
00:58:03.120
but the cowards unbelievers vile murderers sexually immoral sorcerers idolaters and all liars
1.00
00:58:14.760
their share will be in the lake that burns with fire and sulfur which is the second death
1.00
00:58:20.900
outside are the dogs the sorcerers the sexually immoral the murderers the idolaters and everyone
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who loves and practices lying this is the word of the lord thanks be to god
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