Subsídio para a 13ª Lição da EBD - English Class, preparada pelos professores Eudes Pereira e Josué Batista. Assembleia de Deus Abreu e Lima/PE

1. Lesson 13
March 29, 2015
The Church and the Law of God
Golden Text
Do we, then, nullify the law by this faith? Not at all! Rather, we uphold the
law. Romans 3.31
Useful Practice
The Lord Jesus clearly defined the relationship between the Old and the
New Testament, between the Law and the Gospel.
Scripture Reading
Mathew 5:17-20
17. “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.
18.For truly I tell you, until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest
letter, not the least stroke of a pen, will by any means disappear from the
Law until everything is accomplished.
19. Therefore anyone who sets aside one of the least of these
commands and teaches others accordingly will be called least in the
kingdom of heaven, but whoever practices and teaches these commands
will be called great in the kingdom of heaven.
20. For I tell you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the
Pharisees and the teachers of the law, you will certainly not enter the
kingdom of heaven.
Romans 7:7-12
7. What shall we say, then? Is the law sinful? Certainly not! Nevertheless, I
would not have known what sin was had it not been for the law. For I would
not have known what coveting really was if the law had not said, “You shall
not covet”.
8. But sin, seizing the opportunity afforded by the commandment, produced
in me every kind of coveting. For apart from the law, sin was dead.
9. Once I was alive apart from the law; but when the commandment came,
sin sprang to life and I died.
10. I found that the very commandment that was intended to bring
life actually brought death.
11. For sin, seizing the opportunity afforded by the
commandment, deceived me, and through the commandment put me to
death.
12. So then, the law is holy, and the commandment is holy, righteous and
good.

2. Commentary
Introduction
The "law of God" in the current study refers to the entire Pentateuch, not
just the Ten Commandments, because the Decalogue is part of the law. The
Law of Moses is not just about a religious compendium, because it refers to
prophecy, stories, genealogical and chronological records, regulations,
rituals, ceremonies, moral, civil and ceremonial exhortations, priests,
sacrifices, offerings, feasts and the tabernacle. There is in it the foundation
and the social structure and government policy. There is no denying its
contribution to the legislation of all the peoples of the earth, hence its
influence on the State and the Church.
I. What does "fulfilling the law" mean?
1. Completing the revelation. Jesus said that He came to fulfill the Law
and the prophets (5:17). What does that mean? The Greek verb for "to
fulfill" is pleroo and "to accomplish, to complete, to fill". We must recall the
meaning of torah, studied in Lesson 1, as an instruction revealed at Sinai.
During this quarter, we have seen the theological and ethical aspects of the
Decalogue. The Old Testament contains instruction and doctrine about God,
the world and salvation, but its revelation is partial. The manifestation of
the Son of God made explicit what had previously been implicit, and so the
Lord completed the revelation (Heb 1:1,2)
2. Fulfilling the prophecies. Jesus began his earthly ministry by saying
"the time has come" (Mark 1:14,15). Several times we find in the New
Testament the statement as: "These things happened so that the scripture
would be fulfilled" (John 19:36), or a similar phraseology, especially in the
Gospel of Matthew (Matt 1:22; 2:17, 19; 4.14) among other citations. The
prophecies were fulfilled in Christ.
3. The center of the Scriptures. The Old Testament provision about the
redemptive work of God in Christ is rich in detail. The New Testament
writers recognize the presence of Christ in the history of redemption. The
Holy Spirit led the Revelation in the life of the Israeli people in such a way
that the apostles were able to observe every detail in the life and earthly
ministry of the Lord Jesus Christ. The Christological idea is completely
embedded in the Law and the prophets. All of the biblical thought.
II. The Lord Jesus lived by the Law
1. Ceremonial precepts. See the explanation about the ceremonial, civil
and moral precepts in Lesson 2 and its fulfillment in the life and the work of
Christ. The Lord Jesus fulfilled the ceremonial system of the Law in his
death (Mt 27:50, 51; Luke 24:46). Israeli institutions with their feasts, the
burnt offerings and the various types of sacrifices in the Law of Moses were
types and figures that were fulfilled in Christ (Heb. 5:4,5; 1 Cor. 5-7). So,
the ceremonies came to an end, but the meaning was confirmed (Col.
2:17).

3. 2. Civil precepts. Luther used to say that the civil function of the Law still
remains in order to maintain the order and the welfare of society. According
to Martyn Lloyd-Jones, Jesus also fulfilled the legal system of the Law. With
his death, he transferred Israel’s privileges to the Church (Ex 10:6,7; 1
Peter 2:9,10). Jesus told the Jewish authorities that "the kingdom of God
will be taken away from you and given to a people who will produce its
fruit" (Matthew 21:43). This way, Israel is no longer a Theocratic State. The
Church is God's platform on earth to proclaim the truth (1 Tim 3:15).
3. Moral Precepts. The Ten Commandments are represented by the two
great commandments: “love God above all things and your neighbor as
yourselves” (Mark 12:28-33). Actually, the whole Law and the prophets are
summed up in that (Mt 22:40). It is about a combination of two passages of
the Law (Deut. 6:4,5; Leviticus 19:18). They are precepts that were
restored in the New Covenant and adapted to grace, so that the Church
may follow the Law of Christ, the law of love, and not the Mosaic Law (Rom
6:14; 13.9,10; Gal 5:18). The Lord Jesus fulfilled all those commandments
during his earthly life.
III. The law cannot be nullified
1. Jesus reveals his thoughts on the Law. Perhaps, Jesus' Sermon on
the Mount had left some doubts as to his opinion about the Law and the
prophets. He was not a reactionary; he was born under the Law and lived
according to it (Luke 2:21-24; 4:15,16; Gal 4:4). Jesus spoke clearly that
he had not come to abolish the Law, nor the prophets, but to fulfill them
(Matt 5:17). The time had come to clarify his thinking about the Law.
2. "Until heaven and earth disappear". Jesus said that "until heaven and
earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen, will
by any means disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished."
(Matthew 5:18). The smallest letter of the Hebrew alphabet is the jot; it
occupies half of the line in writing, it is the tenth letter and is called yod.
The tittle is a diacritical mark to distinguish one letter from another. No part
of the Law will disappear; no letter or part of it will be out of use until
everything is accomplished. As Pastor John Stott said, "The law has the
duration of the universe."(in a free translation).
3. The least of the commandments (Matthew 5:19). There is a lot of
discussion on this issue. Some think that Jesus was referring to the “jot and
tittle”, others, to ceremonial precepts. There were long debates among the
rabbis over the lighter and heavier commandments. They considered as
being a light commandment not to take the mother with the young in a nest
(Deut. 22:6). There really seems to be, in the Law, commandments of
greater or lesser significance (Mt 23:23). But that is not what Jesus is
talking about here, because the focus is on nullifying the authority of the
Law and teaching that it can be ignored. The Greek verb is lyo, whose basic
idea is "to loosen, to untie, to release", later used for "to nullify" (John
10:35).
IV. The Law and the Gospel

4. 1. The role of the Law. No one is justified by the works of the Law (Gal
2:16). Its function is not to save, but to lead us to Christ (Gal 3:11, 24). It
came to reveal and condemn sin (Rom 3:20; 7:7). Should Christians nullify
the law? Paul's answer is: "Not at all! Rather, we uphold the law" (Rom
3:31). What does that mean? It means that Christian faith is not
antinomian, from the Greek anti "against"; nomos, "law." It is related to
those who erroneously preached that grace dispenses with obedience. The
apostle denied this idea all his life (Gal 5:13).
2. Jesus and Moses are on the same side. The term "law" in the Hebrew
language is torah, which was discussed in lesson 1. Back then, we also
learned that this word comes from a verb meaning "to instruct, to teach."
For this reason, the word "law" sometimes refers to the Holy Scriptures (1
Cor 14:21). It seems to be the case here, because the apostle Paul was
speaking about the Old Testament (Rom 3:19). However, the possibility of
an application to the Pentateuch is not ruled out, because the phrase
"Rather, we uphold the law" (Rom 3.31b), according to the Law of Moses,
does not mean servitude, but that faith confirms the Law, since the Gospel
justifies those whom the Law condemns (Rom 8:4; 13:10).
3. The righteousness of the Pharisees. Jesus is not challenging his
disciples to follow the legalistic scruples of the teachers of the Law and the
Pharisees when he says: “Unless your righteousness surpasses that of the
Pharisees and the teachers of the law, you will certainly not enter the
kingdom of heaven” (Mt 5:20). Instead, he teaches that living in the Spirit
requires communion with God in an abundant and profound way, and
therefore, none of the rabbis experienced it (Romans 8:8-11).
Conclusion
We are ending this quarter aware that Jesus did not abolish the Law, but
fulfilled it. We have also learned that there is no discrepancy between Jesus
and Moses and that the Law remains in effect until the end of time, because
Christian faith is not antinomian.