Christians today are divided along the lines of the Old Law recorded in the Old Testament, and the New Law recorded in the New Testament. The majority of lay persons regard the Ten Commandments with reverence, as do the majority of Churches. How does today’s Church decide whether to follow the law or to trust in the saving Faith of God’s Grace as presented in the New Testament? J. Daniel Hays provides a framework in his essay “Applying the Old Testament Law Today”.…
23 One day on the Sabbath, Jesus was walking amongst His disciples through a field of gain. As they made their way, the disciples began to pick the heads of grain. 24 The Pharisees confronted Jesus and questioned Him as to why the disciples were breaking the law of Sabbath rest. 25 Jesus replied, “Do you know what David and his friends did when they were hungry? 26 Let me tell you, they entered the House of God during the days of Abiathar the high priest and ate the holy bread in front of Abiathar himself! You all know that the holy bread is only able to be eaten by the priests themselves!” 27 Jesus told the Pharisees, “I am the Son of Man. The Sabbath was made for man.” 28 Therefore the Son of Man is even Lord over the Sabbath.…
Jesus is challenging the Pharisees to look past their trust in laws and rules to try and see that everyone has worth. Jesus can see the worth of everyone, but the Pharisees can only see worth in people who are considered pure. Jesus uses a verse from Hosea 6:6 saying “go and learn what this means” he is trying to tell them that rituals should not replace the act of love or mercy.12…
Paul was raised as a Pharisee and was zealous for the Jewish Torah and its traditions, In Acts 26:5 he states … that I conformed to the strictest sect of our religion, living as a Pharisee.…
Several of the prophets had much to say in regards to idolatry, social injustice, and religious ritualism throughout the Old Testament. Some of these that will be used in this essay are Isaiah, Hosea, Micah, Jonah, and Ezekiel. Their verses will better define the meanings God has on each of these subjects.…
The essay, Applying the Old Testament Law today, written by J. Daniel Hays reveals an intriguing perception of the Old Testament Law and its application by today’s Christian Church. The author identifies the fact that the Old Testament Law although valuable and necessary for the Israeli nation seems a bit out of place applied to the Christian Church. [1] Initially, He identifies at least a foundational understanding of the existence of laws which Christians may constantly break. Yet, it generally seems that the author is only giving the minimum amount of information needed to lead the reader into the arena of his subject matter. This does not initially seem threatening yet towards the middle of the article there is a statement that stirs some questions about the author’s understanding of scripture and his intentions.…
Jesus summarized the Law and Prophets in Matthew 22:37-40. But the Sermon on the Mount best delivers insight into the mind of Christ regarding his view on this subject. He told his audience, “Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them” (Matt 5:17). Jesus easily identifies his position here. From Romans 3:31, Paul validates what Jesus is saying. The fulfillment of the law is then established or fulfilled through faith in Christ Jesus. The Law means nothing if salvation and righteousness can take place from the fulfillment of an imperfect Law; therefore faith confirms the Law’s integrity.…
In addressing one of the issues in the book of Hebrews, The late Dr. Walter Martin, “quipped in his usual tongue-in-cheek manner that the Book of Hebrews was written by a Hebrew to other Hebrews telling the Hebrews to stop acting like Hebrews” (Got Questions Ministries, 2013 p. 1). This may sound funny, but it makes an important point, which is more likely to be remembered by the reader. The focal point of this writing is directed at those Hebrews who had started up the rituals and rites of Judaism because of the persecution which had come against them (Got Questions Ministries, 2013). No doubt the persecution was strong, and many times it seems that Christians (especially young Christians) seek to fall back into some of their old ways, and even more so if it brings any relief to them.…
Buddhism is a way of life that is continuously growing due to a variety of reasons. The word, Buddhism, derives from “budhi”, which means “to awaken” (White, 1993). There are various, diverse types of this philosophy. The Dhamma or truth, which is the core of this instruction, is the only constant (White, 1993). This is one on many worldviews prevalent in today’s society. This particular worldview, Buddhism, will be compared and contrasted with the biblical worldview.…
However the sources lie in four different groups dating somewhere between 1,200 BC to 200 BC. The Yahwists are optimistic and believe Israelites will triumph over mankind. The Deuteronomist’s theme is that the Hebrews’ sins will get them in trouble with the Lord, causing the fall of their state. The Elohist is the more complex version by using angels and dreams. Finally there is the Priestly, this promoted priesthood.…
Every culture throughout history has unique aspects in their social, political, and cultural values. Jewish and Zoroastrian people are culturally very similar in their belief of one god and one faith but they differ in social aspects because of the way they deal with sinners and there respect towards other living things. The Jewish people have the Torah or Old Testament which is the law code and beliefs of the Jewish people. The Zoroastrian people have the Avesta which consists of twenty two Fargards that explain the principles of Zoroastrian beliefs.…
One of the factors that distinguished the Pharisees from other groups preceding the destruction of the Temple was their belief that all Jews had to observe the purity laws outside the Temple. The major difference, however, was the continued obedience of the Pharisees to the laws and traditions of the Jewish people in the face of assimilation. The Pharisees were considered the experts and accurate expositors of Jewish law. The sages of the Talmud see a direct link between themselves and the Pharisees, and historians generally consider Pharisaic Judaism to be the progenitor of Rabbinic Judaism. All mainstream forms of Judaism today consider themselves heirs of Rabbinic Judaism and, ultimately, the Pharisees.…
c) From Passover to Mount Horeb in The Wilderness of Sinai( Exodus 12:21-32, 14:21-31, 16:1-7 and 19:1-6)…
The first 39 books of the larger work called the Bible, is called the Old Testament. The Bible itself is arguably the best selling and most read book of all time, yet it’s well known to be quite challenging to read through and understand. The Old Testament portion of the Bible, notably the most difficult portion of the Bible for most to study and follow, yields 39 books from multiple authors, and spans over 4000 years of crucial world and church history. If that were not enough to take on, the Old Testament comes our way through multiple styles of authorship and formats, including but not limited to, books of history, law, proverbs, ethics, philosophy, treatises, dramas, songs, epics, biographies, and letters. There have been many books written and published to survey, explain, and/or bring to light the Old Testament, but none more helpful to me than the review subject of this paper, the work of Dr. Elmer L. Towns, entitled “A Journey Through the Old Testament”.…
We can analyze the similarities and divergences between the Gospel of John and the Synoptic Gospel of Mark with Christology, Anthropology, Soteriolgy, and Eschatology. Even though many of the passages could refer to more than just one theology, it is achievable to separate the different theologies into the four categories. Regardless of how different the Gospel of John is to that of Mark, Matthew, and Luke, it can be concluded that John does have obvious relations to the Gospel of Mark, even though it was written much earlier.…