| Author | Message | ||
| Rain Registered user Username: Rain Post Number: 73 Registered: 9-2011  |
My mom doesn't really understand the New Covenant idea. Realistically, I'm very bad at explaining things, but I suspect that part of it is that she doesn't want to stop believing what she believes. I think it's promising that she keeps bringing it up, though. When we talk about the New Covenant, she cites Matthew 22:37-40: 37 And He said to him, “ ‘ You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ 38 This is the great and [a]foremost commandment. 39 The second is like it, ‘ You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ 40 On these two commandments depend the whole Law and the Prophets.” (NASB) Verse 40 is especially what she refers to, saying that "on those two hang all ten," talking about the Ten Commandments. How do I explain this from a New Covenant viewpoint? | ||
| Grace_alone Registered user Username: Grace_alone Post Number: 2116 Registered: 6-2006  |
Hi Rain~ The key word in that verse is "whole" or, entire. The law Jesus was talking about is not only ten commandments. It's 613 laws. You can ask an actual Jewish rabbi about that one. A rabbi would tell you there's no such law called "The 10 Commandments". They never separated from the entire law of Moses. So in other words, Adventists have been conditioned to believe that Jesus only kept or talked about 10 Commandments. In reality though, he would have followed the *entire* law which was 613 laws of Moses. I hope that helps! I'm sure others can elaborate.  Leigh Anne | ||
| Rain Registered user Username: Rain Post Number: 74 Registered: 9-2011 |
Ah, thank you. So, then, the discussion from there is that either one keeps all of it or one accepts that Jesus fulfilled the law. | ||
| Grace_alone Registered user Username: Grace_alone Post Number: 2117 Registered: 6-2006 |
Bingo!! The problem will probably be in convincing your mom that the 10 commandments were never separated from the other 600+ laws. They weren't! Most SDA's I know (including my own hubby) have a hard time even grasping the issue. (I got the glassy-eyed blank stare when I presented this to him). With "THE TEN COMMANDMENTS" drilled so deeply into their subconscious that really, no other laws exist (in their minds). That's dishonest ~ Jesus was truly Jewish and would have kept, and ultimately fulfilled the entire law, not just 10 commandments. I think the first question you could ask would be "what did Jesus mean by "entire"? and then, "when did the 10 commandments separate from the rest?" Also, ask if there are any scriptures referring to the law separating. I know you'll probably get the answer "the 10 were written with God's finger", so then the next question would be "is God's finger is greater and more important than his word?" Leigh Anne (Message edited by grace_alone on August 06, 2012) | ||
| Colleentinker Registered user Username: Colleentinker Post Number: 13869 Registered: 12-2003  |
On Monday night at our last meeting in Michigan, Phil Bubar asked me during a breather between two talks, if when Adventists hear "the law", they assume "the Ten Commandments". I said Yes. He said, "Evangelicals do not think that way. Make sure you clarify the fact, that when you say "Law" from an Adventist perspective, you mean the 10 Commandments." Christians in general do not think 10 Commandments when they hear "law" but rather they understand that to mean all of God's instruction to us. Adventists really have an unrealistic view. The article entitled "What Was Nailed to the Cross?" in this 2005 issue of Proclamation really addresses this issue in a clear and helpful way. It is written by McGregor Wright, a Christian theologian who was never SDA but who originally wrote this piece to help explain the law to an Adventist friend of his who kept trying to get him to accept the Sabbath. You can read it at this link. Scroll down to page 6: http://www.lifeassuranceministries.org/Proclamation2005_JulAug.pdf Colleen | ||
| Ric_b Registered user Username: Ric_b Post Number: 1948 Registered: 7-2004  |
I discussed this issue of how Christian churches generally view Law recently within a blog post: http://blog.lifeassuranceministries.org/2012/02/25/are-non-sabbath-keepers-antinomian/ | ||
| Bskillet Registered user Username: Bskillet Post Number: 988 Registered: 8-2008 |
Ask your mother why, if the Sabbath is the ultimate dividing line between true believers and the lost, Jesus didn't say the 4th commandment is the most important. This text actually helped remove the SDA blinders from my eyes. |
