I need to correct an assumption that many make, and that I may have inadvertently promoted. It was not Paul who damned the Pharisees first. But Christ. Paul followed in his footsteps. For the traditions of man have overwhelmed the Law.
I think to throw out the Laws of the Old Testament and then to try to pick up the pieces later does not make sense. Paul threw out the Law. Now Christians are finding it hard to bring back any part of it.
It is not that the Law is wrong, it is that we cannot keep it.
If we could keep it, there would be no need for Christ. And if we rely on the regulations of the law and not Christ, in a hope of earning salvation, then we are not relying on the work of Christ.
Judaism falls out of the teaching of the Pharisees. And we should be aware of it, because we are warned against it.
The Law of Moses can be summed up in two commands: Love the LORD your God with all your heart and soul and mind and strength, and love your neighbour as yourself. All falls from that. In Christ we have a new commandment, we are to love our brothers in Christ as Christ did: self sacrificially.
When the disciples reached the other side, they had forgotten to bring any bread. Jesus said to them, “Watch and beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees.” And they began discussing it among themselves, saying, “We brought no bread.” But Jesus, aware of this, said, “O you of little faith, why are you discussing among yourselves the fact that you have no bread? Do you not yet perceive? Do you not remember the five loaves for the five thousand, and how many baskets you gathered? Or the seven loaves for the four thousand, and how many baskets you gathered? How is it that you fail to understand that I did not speak about bread? Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees.” Then they understood that he did not tell them to beware of the leaven of bread, but of the teaching of the Pharisees and Sadducees.
(Matthew 16:5-12 ESV)
For freedom Christ has set us free; stand firm therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery.
Look: I, Paul, say to you that if you accept circumcision, Christ will be of no advantage to you. I testify again to every man who accepts circumcision that he is obligated to keep the whole law. You are severed from Christ, you who would be justified by the law; you have fallen away from grace. For through the Spirit, by faith, we ourselves eagerly wait for the hope of righteousness. For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision counts for anything, but only faith working through love.
You were running well. Who hindered you from obeying the truth? This persuasion is not from him who calls you. A little leaven leavens the whole lump. I have confidence in the Lord that you will take no other view, and the one who is troubling you will bear the penalty, whoever he is. But if I, brothers, still preach circumcision, why am I still being persecuted? In that case the offense of the cross has been removed. I wish those who unsettle you would emasculate themselves!
For you were called to freedom, brothers. Only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another. For the whole law is fulfilled in one word: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” But if you bite and devour one another, watch out that you are not consumed by one another.
(Galatians 5:1-15 ESV)
The trouble we have now, however, is not the Jews. Particularly not the observant. It is the elite, who consider themselves better than us, for they have a job regulating us. That it matters not a whit what is right or proper but what transnational bodies — from the EU and UN to Twitter and Amnesty — regulate. None of these things are amenable to democratic control. None of these things can be corrected.
The Law keeps the observant Jew studying all his life, and there are about 700 regulations and rules within it. The current European laws cannot be carried by a man or two men, but need a strong truck. The US Federal laws are no better, and I worry about some of the trade agreements NZ has signed.
It is not the Jews who are spreading the leaven, but the Greens and the progressives.
And from then we need to turn, for we are not called to be serfs of the rainbow empire. For Christ called us to be free.
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