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Author Topic:   Curse of the Law
purpledawn
Member (Idle past 3457 days)
Posts: 4453
From: Indiana
Joined: 04-25-2004


Message 1 of 2 (693112)
03-11-2013 8:32 AM


Paul and the law seems to be a bit off topic for the Ephesians thread and worthy of a thread of its own. A new thread will give us more dancing room.
Did Paul's authentic letters teach that Christ's death abolished God's Law (Written Torah) or Jewish laws (Oral Torah)?
My contention is that Paul's authentic letters did not present the idea that Christ's death abolished any written or oral legal system or religious rules.
Epistles considered authentic and the order in which they were possibly written: (Timelines differ)
Estimated dating is 50-60 CE.
First Thessalonians
Galatians
First Corinthians
Romans
Second Corinthians
Philippians
Philemon
Bible scholars are split on whether Ephesians is an authentic Pauline letter or not. I feel that Ephesians 2:14-16 is a good reason not to accept that Ephesians (80-100 CE) was written by Paul.
Ephesians 2:14-16
For he himself is our peace, who has made the two one and has destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility, by abolishing in his flesh the law with its commandments and regulations. His purpose was to create in himself one new man out of the two, thus making peace, and in this one body to reconcile both of them to God through the cross, by which he put to death their hostility.
Which brings us to the point of this thread.
In the epistles considered to be authentically Pauline, did Paul teach that Christ's death abolished the Mosaic or Jewish laws? Did he present that Christ's purpose was to reconcile Jews and Gentiles as it seems to claim in Ephesians?
My contention is that he did not. Paul's claim is that Christ redeemed them from the curse of the law.
Galatians 3:13
Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us, for it is written: "Cursed is everyone who is hung on a pole."
So what is a curse?
The main Hebrew word for a curse is arar, which is used as the opposite of barak. Whereas barak refers to divine favor that empowers a person, arar refers to divine bondage that renders one powerless.
In the ancient near-east, curses were just as superstitious as blessings were. They were thought of as spells by which one could summon evil forces to subdue others. The OT, however, completely strips away such ideas and, like blessings, sees curses as directly related to one’s relationship with God. Thus, the person who breaks God’s law is cursed. Looking again at the story of Balaam, he notes that he is unable to curse those whom God has blessed (Num. 23:8).
I feel that the contrast between divine empowerment and divine bondage is the basis for Paul's arguments. A curse prevents a person from living a life of freedom and abundance and comes as a result of sin against God.
Deuteronomy 27:9-26
And these tribes shall stand on Mount Ebal to pronounce curses: ...
"Cursed is the man who does not uphold the words of this law by carrying them out."
Deuteronomy 28:15-68
However, if you do not obey the Lord your God and do not carefully follow all his commands and decrees I am giving you today, all these curses will come upon you and overtake you:
I feel that Paul's position in his letters is that those who believe in Jesus are saved from being rendered powerless by God for wrong behavior, not from any legal system itself or the consequences of wrong behavior per that legal system.
He didn't claim that Christ's death abolished any portion of a written legal system or that God's Law was cursed. He considered God's Law to be holy and spiritual.
Bible Study would be the appropriate place for this debate.

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Message 2 of 2 (693116)
03-11-2013 9:14 AM


Thread Copied to Bible Study Forum
Thread copied to the Curse of the Law thread in the Bible Study forum, this copy of the thread has been closed.

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