A Few Thoughts on Psalms 1 (Branch)

[Soyeong]

@Arial suggested that I start a new thread with my post #32 in this thread:

https://christcentered.community.forum/threads/a-few-thoughts-on-psalm-1.874/page-2#post-34237

A chip off the old block is someone who is in the same image or has the same nature as their father expressed through doing the same works, and this is the concept of sonship in the Bible, such as in John 8:39, Jesus said that if they were children of Abraham, then they would be doing the same works as him. So this is the sense that Jesus is the Son of God insofar as he is the exact image of God's nature (Hebrews 1:3), which he expressed through setting an sinless example of how to walk in obedience to the Mosaic Law, and the sense that we are sons of God in His image when we are partaking in the divine nature through following his example. This is why those who do not practice righteousness in obedience to the Mosaic Law are not children of God (1 John 3:4-10) and why those who are born again of the Spirit are contrasted with those who have minds set on the flesh who are enemies of God who refuse to submit to the Mosaic Law (Romans 8:4-14).

Morality is based on the nature of God and all of God's laws divide between what is in accordance with or contrary to His nature, so all of His laws are inherently moral laws. The Bible often uses the same terms to describe aspects of the nature of God as it does to describe aspects of the nature of God's law, which is because it is God's instructions for how to act in accordance with those aspects of His nature, such as with it being holy, righteous, and good (Romans 7:12) or with justice, mercy, and faithfulness being weightier matters of God's law, and aspects of God's nature are the basis of morality.

In Jeremiah 31:33, the New Covenant still involves following the Mosaic Law.

In Matthew 4:17-23, Christ began his ministry with the Gospel message to repent for the Kingdom of God is at hand, and the Mosaic Law was how his audience knew what sin is (Romans 3:20), so repenting from our disobedience to it is a central part of the Gospel message. Furthermore, Jesus set a sinless example of how to walk in obedience to the Mosaic Law, and we are told to follow his example (1 Peter 2:21-22) and that those who are in Christ are obligated to walk in the same way he walked (1 John 2:6). So Christ spent his ministry teaching his followers to obey the Mosaic Law by word and by example and Christians people to seek by faith to follow what Christ taught.

In 1 Peter 1:16, we are told to be holy for God is holy, which is a quote from Leviticus where God was giving instructions for how to do that, which includes keeping God's holy days (Leviticus 19:2-3) and refraining from eating unclean animals (Leviticus 11:44-45).

Indeed, I agree that the Psalms were written from the viewpoint of someone who is under the Mosaic Covenant law, though that does not mean that anything that he said was any less true, but rather the NT authors did not hesitate to quote from the Psalms.

 

[Josheb]

Indeed, I agree that the Psalms were written from the viewpoint of someone who is under the Mosaic Covenant law,

I think that is a false dichotomy.

Do a word search of the words, "covenant" and "covenants." Notice the plural form of the term is rarely used in the Bible. It is a FACT the plural form occurs only four times and it is also a FACT two of those four uses have nothing to do with any covenant initiated by God. That means only two out of the 320 uses of the term are plural.

Look it up.

So.....

There is only one covenant.

Notice also that when God speaks in the Old Testament of any covenant, He often refers back to the covenant He made with Abraham, or the covenant He made with the patriarchs. In other word, no matter what covenant or aspect of covenant He speaks of, He ties it all back to the one covenant, the covenant with Abraham.

Notice also that when the New Testament writers write of any God-initiated covenant in the Old Testament they also tie it all forward to Christ.

As far as the psalms go..... there are a couple of features of the psalms that warrant notation because the psalms are often prophetic. They should, therefore, be treated as prophecy, not Law. Yes, they do contain reiteration and celebration of the Law but that just means they have more than one aspect, not one or the other. No false dichotomies if they are to be understood correctly. Remember: All the prophets, law, and psalms testify to Christ. Perhaps they all also testify about some other matter but THE one object they are explicitly said to witness about is Jesus, and Jesus living, dead, resurrected, and ascended. Another aspect is that of the psalmists' own knowledge, knowledge that sometimes isn't made known until the New Testament. For example, we'd have no idea the gospel was preached to Abraham if Paul had not declared it to us. We'd have no idea David understood the resurrection of Christ if Peter hadn't explained it to us. We'd have no idea the men and women of faith are perfected in those who inherit salvation if the author of Hebrews hadn't said so.

David lived during a time when the Mosaic Law was incorrectly thought to be a means of obtaining justification and righteousness, but David also understood the resurrection (at least to some degree) and the salvation found therein.

There's another thread on Psalm 1 with a similar title HERE. Give it a perusal because what turned out to be some unusual perspectives were posted there and we can save ourselves the space by not repeating them here .


One last thought: The New Testament writers chronically cited and applied the Mosaic Law to New Testament era converts to Christ and they did so to both Jewish and Gentile converts to Christ. They themselves did not do away with the Law (or psalms) in its entirety. They simply did not hold it as the means of obtaining justification or righteousness.

Therefore, the above gives us three or four reasons not to argue false dichotomies about the conditions under which Psalm 1 was written. It affirms God's Law(s), is prophetic (and therefore messianic), and applied by the NT writers often under the auspices all the covenants of Old speak about that which is found in Christ.

 

[Soyeong]

I think that is a false dichotomy.

I don't see a false dichotomy in what you quoted, so please clarify what you are referring to.

Do a word search of the words, "covenant" and "covenants." Notice the plural form of the term is rarely used in the Bible. It is a FACT the plural form occurs only four times and it is also a FACT two of those four uses have nothing to do with any covenant initiated by God. That means only two out of the 320 uses of the term are plural.

Look it up.

So.....

There is only one covenant.

While I agree that Isaiah 33:8 and Hosea 10:4 are referring to covenants that weren't initiated by God, Romans 9:4, Galatians 4:24, and Ephesians 2:12 all refer to covenants that were initiated by God, so the fact that the vast majority of the time it is used in the singular does not mean that God has not initiated multiple covenants.

Notice also that when God speaks in the Old Testament of any covenant, He often refers back to the covenant He made with Abraham, or the covenant He made with the patriarchs. In other word, no matter what covenant or aspect of covenant He speaks of, He ties it all back to the one covenant, the covenant with Abraham.

Notice also that when the New Testament writers write of any God-initiated covenant in the Old Testament they also tie it all forward to Christ.

Indeed, God initiated the Mosaic Covenant, which ties back to the covenant that He initiated with Abraham, which ties forward to Christ.

As far as the psalms go..... there are a couple of features of the psalms that warrant notation because the psalms are often prophetic. They should, therefore, be treated as prophecy, not Law. Yes, they do contain reiteration and celebration of the Law but that just means they have more than one aspect, not one or the other. No false dichotomies if they are to be understood correctly. Remember: All the prophets, law, and psalms testify to Christ. Perhaps they all also testify about some other matter but THE one object they are explicitly said to witness about is Jesus, and Jesus living, dead, resurrected, and ascended. Another aspect is that of the psalmists' own knowledge, knowledge that sometimes isn't made known until the New Testament. For example, we'd have no idea the gospel was preached to Abraham if Paul had not declared it to us. We'd have no idea David understood the resurrection of Christ if Peter hadn't explained it to us. We'd have no idea the men and women of faith are perfected in those who inherit salvation if the author of Hebrews hadn't said so.

David lived during a time when the Mosaic Law was incorrectly thought to be a means of obtaining justification and righteousness, but David also understood the resurrection (at least to some degree) and the salvation found therein.

I agree that the Psalms contain both prophecy and contain reiteration and cerebration of the Mosaic Law. The Mosaic Law was given to testify about how to know Christ (Exodus 33:13, Matthew 7:23, John 5:39-40). It is possible to know that the Gospel was made known in advance to Abraham without needing to rely on Paul telling it to us, which is how Paul figured it out in the first place, and the same goes with Peter and the author of Hebrews. In Acts 23:6-8, the Pharisees had hope in the resurrection, so they figured it out. In Psalms 119:29-30, he wanted God to put false ways far from him, for God to be gracious to him by teaching him to obey the Mosaic Law, and he chose the way of faithfulness by setting it before him, so he correctly knew that salvation is by grace through faith.

There's another thread on Psalm 1 with a similar title HERE. Give it a perusal because what turned out to be some unusual perspectives were posted there and we can save ourselves the space by not repeating them here .

@Arial suggested that I start new thread based on my post #32 in that thread that I linked at the topic of my OP.

One last thought: The New Testament writers chronically cited and applied the Mosaic Law to New Testament era converts to Christ and they did so to both Jewish and Gentile converts to Christ. They themselves did not do away with the Law (or psalms) in its entirety. They simply did not hold it as the means of obtaining justification or righteousness.

Therefore, the above gives us three or four reasons not to argue false dichotomies about the conditions under which Psalm 1 was written. It affirms God's Law(s), is prophetic (and therefore messianic), and applied by the NT writers often under the auspices all the covenants of Old speak about that which is found in Christ.

They did not do away with any part of the Mosaic Law or the Psalms. The Mosaic Law never never given as a way of earning justification or righteousness as a wage, though it is nevertheless also true that only doers of the Mosaic Law will be declared righteous (Romans 2:13).

 

[atpollard]

There is only one covenant.

Cough .... HEBREWS 7 and 8 ... cough.

 

[Josheb]

I don't see a false dichotomy in what you quoted, so please clarify what you are referring to.

Psalm 1 could have been written from the perspective of someone under the law or someone not under the law. If the psalm was written by David then it was, in fact, written by someone both under the Law and not under the Law. He was under the Law simply because he lived in a theocratic society that held to the Mosaic Law as its jurisprudence. David also understood the promised Messiah and the resurrection and thereby, understood the Law was not the means of obtaining righteousness or justification apart from the Law. David understood his hope was in the Lord, not the Law.

A man who obeys every letter of the Law still needs Jesus. No one can come to the Father except by Jesus. Separating the Law from the person of Christ (and grace, faith, etc.) is what creates the false dichotomy (sometimes called the fallacy of the neglected middle). There is plenty of overlapping middle ground between someone under the Law and someone not under the Law. Every Gentile convert to Christ proves it.

 

[Josheb]

While I agree that Isaiah 33:8 and Hosea 10:4 are referring to covenants that weren't initiated by God, Romans 9:4, Galatians 4:24, and Ephesians 2:12 all refer to covenants that were initiated by God, so the fact that the vast majority of the time it is used in the singular does not mean that God has not initiated multiple covenants.

I would agree if that is all there is. Left out is the fact God Himself ties His own mentions of "covenant" back to Abraham and nowhere does God state, "I have two or more completely differently and wholly unrelated covenants," (and you guys can choose which one you like ). Never happens.

Study this.

Separate every mention of God tying a covenant back to Abraham. Study the word "promise" because God often ties the covenant of which He is speaking back to Abraham by saying He is keeping or has kept the promise made to Abraham. Jesus is a clear example of that. Paul writes Jesus is the seed promised Abraham. Paul also clearly states the seed is one, or singular, and he thereby precludes all interpretations saying there are multiple seeds. If Israel is a said to be a seed, for example, it is not the seed promised Abraham. Jesus is that seed.

The covenant in Christ is thereby tied all the way back to the covenant initiated by God with Abraham.

Galatians 3:16
Now the promises were spoken to Abraham and to his seed. He does not say, "And to seeds," as referring to many, but rather to one, "And to your seed," that is, Christ.

Note what is states. The promises were spoken to Abraham and his seed. Jesus is the seed. In other words, Paul is claiming the promises were spoken to Abraham and Jesus. How can that be? Jesus was not yet alive on the planet? Regardless how one answers that question the verse is very clear: the promises were spoke to Abraham and Jesus. God spoke those promises to Jesus, the seed of Abraham.

 

[Josheb]

Indeed, God initiated the Mosaic Covenant, which ties back to the covenant that He initiated with Abraham, which ties forward to Christ.

Yep.

One covenant, not two.

I agree that the Psalms contain both prophecy and contain reiteration and cerebration of the Mosaic Law. The Mosaic Law was given to testify about how to know Christ (Exodus 33:13, Matthew 7:23, John 5:39-40). It is possible to know that the Gospel was made known in advance to Abraham without needing to rely on Paul telling it to us, which is how Paul figured it out in the first place, and the same goes with Peter and the author of Hebrews. In Acts 23:6-8, the Pharisees had hope in the resurrection, so they figured it out. In Psalms 119:29-30, he wanted God to put false ways far from him, for God to be gracious to him by teaching him to obey the Mosaic Law, and he chose the way of faithfulness by setting it before him, so he correctly knew that salvation is by grace through faith.

Yep. Well, some of the Pharisees at least.

@Arial suggested that I start new thread based on my post #32 in that thread that I linked at the topic of my OP.

I understand. It was a smart thing to do. I simply don't want to have to repost content already posted.

They did not do away with any part of the Mosaic Law or the Psalms. The Mosaic Law never never given as a way of earning justification or righteousness as a wage, though it is nevertheless also true that only doers of the Mosaic Law will be declared righteous (Romans 2:13).

Yep. So why did Paul have to explain that to his readers in the first century?



So we do not lose focus or get far afield of this op, would you mind summarizing as best you can the one point of comment or inquiry the members are supposed to be discussing under this op? Thx

 

[Josheb]

Cough .... HEBREWS 7 and 8 ... cough.

Cough..... Hebrews 9, 10, and 11 .....cough.


Hebrews 11:39-40
And all these, having gained approval through their faith, did not receive what was promised, because God had provided something better for us, so that apart from us they would not be made perfect.


Who is the "us" in that last sentence?

 

[Soyeong]

Psalm 1 could have been written from the perspective of someone under the law or someone not under the law. If the psalm was written by David then it was, in fact, written by someone both under the Law and not under the Law. He was under the Law simply because he lived in a theocratic society that held to the Mosaic Law as its jurisprudence. David also understood the promised Messiah and the resurrection and thereby, understood the Law was not the means of obtaining righteousness or justification apart from the Law. David understood his hope was in the Lord, not the Law.

A man who obeys every letter of the Law still needs Jesus. No one can come to the Father except by Jesus. Separating the Law from the person of Christ (and grace, faith, etc.) is what creates the false dichotomy (sometimes called the fallacy of the neglected middle). There is plenty of overlapping middle ground between someone under the Law and someone not under the Law. Every Gentile convert to Christ proves it.

No one has ever been under the Mosaic Law in the sense of being required to obey it in order to earn their righteousness or justification because it was never given as a way of doing that even through perfect obedience (Romans 4:1-5), but rather being under the law refers to being obligated to obey it in accordance with God's sovereignty. A man who embodies God's word has Jesus because he is the embodiment of God's word. God's word is the way to the Father and Jesus is the embodiment of the way, so he can't be separated from God's word.

I would agree if that is all there is. Left out is the fact God Himself ties His own mentions of "covenant" back to Abraham and nowhere does God state, "I have two or more completely differently and wholly unrelated covenants," (and you guys can choose which one you like ). Never happens.

Study this.

Separate every mention of God tying a covenant back to Abraham. Study the word "promise" because God often ties the covenant of which He is speaking back to Abraham by saying He is keeping or has kept the promise made to Abraham. Jesus is a clear example of that. Paul writes Jesus is the seed promised Abraham. Paul also clearly states the seed is one, or singular, and he thereby precludes all interpretations saying there are multiple seeds. If Israel is a said to be a seed, for example, it is not the seed promised Abraham. Jesus is that seed.

The covenant in Christ is thereby tied all the way back to the covenant initiated by God with Abraham.

Galatians 3:16
Now the promises were spoken to Abraham and to his seed. He does not say, "And to seeds," as referring to many, but rather to one, "And to your seed," that is, Christ.

Note what is states. The promises were spoken to Abraham and his seed. Jesus is the seed. In other words, Paul is claiming the promises were spoken to Abraham and Jesus. How can that be? Jesus was not yet alive on the planet? Regardless how one answers that question the verse is very clear: the promises were spoke to Abraham and Jesus. God spoke those promises to Jesus, the seed of Abraham.

All of God's covenants teach us the way to grow in a relationship with Him through acting in accordance with His eternal nature, so all of God's covenants are in accordance with and related to each other, though they are not all the same covenant. In Psalms 119:1-3, the Mosaic Law is how the children of Abraham knew how to be blessed by walking in God's way, and in John 8:39, Jesus said that if they were children of Abraham, then they would be doing the same works as him, so the way that the children of Abraham inherit the promise through faith of being multiplied and being blessing to the nations is by turning the nations from their wickedness and teaching them to do the same works as Abraham by walking in God's way in obedience to the Mosaic Law in accordance with spreading the Gospel (Acts 3:25-26), so that connect God's covenants.

Yep. So why did Paul have to explain that to his readers in the first century?

If I state on a forum that our salvation requires us to choose to obey the Mosaic Law, then I often can people who reply with verses that speak against earning our salvation even though I didn't say anything about obeying it in order to earn our salvation, so it is an easy mistake that people are still making today to connect our obedience to it with earning a wage when it actually about God graciously giving a gift to us (Psalms 119:29). In Deuteronomy 6:24 and 10:12-13, it states that the Mosaic Law was given for our own good.

So we do not lose focus or get far afield of this op, would you mind summarizing as best you can the one point of comment or inquiry the members are supposed to be discussing under this op? Thx

The topics that I was discussing in the OP were in regard to what it means to be born again in Christ's image, what we should consider the moral law to be, whether Christians should follow the Mosaic Law in accordance with what Christ taught by word and by example, and whether we should have the same view of the Mosaic Law that is expressed in the Psalms.

 

[Josheb]

The topics that I was discussing in the OP were in regard to what it means to be born again in Christ's image, what we should consider the moral law to be, whether Christians should follow the Mosaic Law in accordance with what Christ taught by word and by example, and whether we should have the same view of the Mosaic Law that is expressed in the Psalms.

What about practicing the Law as the New Testament writers applied to their audiences?

 

[Soyeong]

What about practicing the Law as the New Testament writers applied to their audiences?

That's good too. Jesus would have still taught full obedience to the Mosaic Law by example even if none of its commands had been repeated in the NT and we are told to follow his example (1 Peter 2:21-22).

 

[ChristB4us]

@Soyeong & @Josheb

Psalm 1:1Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful. 2 But his delight is in the law of the Lord; and in his law doth he meditate day and night. 3 And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper. 4 The ungodly are not so: but are like the chaff which the wind driveth away. 5 Therefore the ungodly shall not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous. 6 For the Lord knoweth the way of the righteous: but the way of the ungodly shall perish.

Do consider that in light of the Old Covenant vanishing away, the New Covenant can not be anything like the former.

Hebrews 8:6 But now hath he obtained a more excellent ministry, by how much also he is the mediator of a better covenant, which was established upon better promises. 7 For if that first covenant had been faultless, then should no place have been sought for the second. 8 For finding fault with them, he saith, Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah: 9 Not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day when I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt; because they continued not in my covenant, and I regarded them not, saith the Lord. 10 For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, saith the Lord; I will put my laws into their mind, and write them in their hearts: and I will be to them a God, and they shall be to me a people: 11 And they shall not teach every man his neighbour, and every man his brother, saying, Know the Lord: for all shall know me, from the least to the greatest. 12 For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins and their iniquities will I remember no more. 13 In that he saith, A new covenant, he hath made the first old. Now that which decayeth and waxeth old is ready to vanish away
The Old Covenant was man's turn at keeping the law to obtain salvation by but failing that, the New Covenant is God's turn and we are to trust him to do it.

John 6:28 Then said they unto him, What shall we do, that we might work the works of God? 29 Jesus answered and said unto them, This is the work of God, that ye believe on him whom he hath sent.

Philippians 1:6 Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ: 7 Even as it is meet for me to think this of you all, because I have you in my heart; inasmuch as both in my bonds, and in the defence and confirmation of the gospel, ye all are partakers of my grace. 8 For God is my record, how greatly I long after you all in the bowels of Jesus Christ. 9 And this I pray, that your love may abound yet more and more in knowledge and in all judgment; 10 That ye may approve things that are excellent; that ye may be sincere and without offence till the day of Christ. 11 Being filled with the fruits of righteousness, which are by Jesus Christ, unto the glory and praise of God.

Galatians 2:14 But when I saw that they walked not uprightly according to the truth of the gospel, I said unto Peter before them all, If thou, being a Jew, livest after the manner of Gentiles, and not as do the Jews, why compellest thou the Gentiles to live as do the Jews? 15 We who are Jews by nature, and not sinners of the Gentiles, 16 Knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law, but by the faith of Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Jesus Christ, that we might be justified by the faith of Christ, and not by the works of the law: for by the works of the law shall no flesh be justified. 17 But if, while we seek to be justified by Christ, we ourselves also are found sinners, is therefore Christ the minister of sin? God forbid. 18 For if I build again the things which I destroyed, I make myself a transgressor. 19 For I through the law am dead to the law, that I might live unto God. 20 I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me. 21 I do not frustrate the grace of God: for if righteousness come by the law, then Christ is dead in vain.
Galatians 3:1O foolish Galatians, who hath bewitched you, that ye should not obey the truth, before whose eyes Jesus Christ hath been evidently set forth, crucified among you? 2 This only would I learn of you, Received ye the Spirit by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith? 3 Are ye so foolish? having begun in the Spirit, are ye now made perfect by the flesh?

Galatians 5:1Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage. 2 Behold, I Paul say unto you, that if ye be circumcised, Christ shall profit you nothing. 3 For I testify again to every man that is circumcised, that he is a debtor to do the whole law. 4 Christ is become of no effect unto you, whosoever of you are justified by the law; ye are fallen from grace. 5 For we through the Spirit wait for the hope of righteousness by faith.

So are we as Gentiles believers to be compelled to live as the Jews after the Mosaic laws?

Acts 15:5 But there rose up certain of the sect of the Pharisees which believed, saying, That it was needful to circumcise them, and to command them to keep the law of Moses. 6 And the apostles and elders came together for to consider of this matter. 7 And when there had been much disputing, Peter rose up, and said unto them, Men and brethren, ye know how that a good while ago God made choice among us, that the Gentiles by my mouth should hear the word of the gospel, and believe. 8 And God, which knoweth the hearts, bare them witness, giving them the Holy Ghost, even as he did unto us; 9 And put no difference between us and them, purifying their hearts by faith.

10 Now therefore why tempt ye God, to put a yoke upon the neck of the disciples, which neither our fathers nor we were able to bear? 11 But we believe that through the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ we shall be saved, even as they.

12 Then all the multitude kept silence, and gave audience to Barnabas and Paul, declaring what miracles and wonders God had wrought among the Gentiles by them.

Jesus did not do away with the law but He fulfilled them by paying the ransom on the cross for our sins.

If you ever wondered why His disciples were guiltless on the sabbath day for picking ears of corn in the field, in Matthew 12:1-8, Jesus cited tow examples in the Old Testament how the saints had actually profaned the sabbath but they were in the Temple when they had done it for why they were guiltless; and then He said One greater than the Temple was here in defense of His disciples meaning Himself for why His disciples had profaned the sabbath but He was with them for why they were guiltless.

Now having died on the cross and risen from the dead & ascended to the Father in Heaven, all those who believed in Him are saved, having been bought with a price and sealed as His as their bodies are now the temples of the Holy Spirit ( 1 Corinthians 6:19-20 ) for how He is with us always ( 2 Corinthians 13:5 & Matthew 28:20 ) for why saved believers are guiltless for profaning the sabbath day as that law was not done away with, but because they are saved is why they are guiltless.

Anyway, we are to look to Jesus Christ as Our Good Shepherd to help us lay aside every weight & sin daily ( Hebrews 12:1-2 ) in walking in the light in fellowship with the Father & the Son ( q2 John1:3-9 ).

That is how the New Covenant are on better promises as we trust in Him to do it for how we can rest in Him for everything. Matthew 11:28-30 & Hebrews 4:1-11

 

[Josheb]

That's good too. Jesus would have still taught full obedience to the Mosaic Law by example even if none of its commands had been repeated in the NT and we are told to follow his example (1 Peter 2:21-22).

It is not just "good, too."

It is how the Law should ALWAYS be understood. It should be how the Law was understood prior to it being given, during the time from when it was given up through the crucifixion, and how it should have been understood afterwards. Nearly everything Jesus is recorded to have said can be found in the Old Testament. Jesus did not so much teach things new as he did restored. He taught the original meaning of the Law and he taught in both letter and principle. Jesus did not create false dichotomies between the two. The Spirit-filled and inspired writers of the epistolary expounded and explained his teaching and example further, and every single one of them took the OT Law and applied it to both Jewish and Gentile converts to Christ. One of the laws in the Law was that the Law applied to the sojourner among them, not just the Jews.

It's not a Jewish thing.

The author of Psalm 1 knew that. He said, "How blessed is the man...," not, "How blessed is the Jew..."

 

[Soyeong]

It is not just "good, too."

It is how the Law should ALWAYS be understood. It should be how the Law was understood prior to it being given, during the time from when it was given up through the crucifixion, and how it should have been understood afterwards. Nearly everything Jesus is recorded to have said can be found in the Old Testament. Jesus did not so much teach things new as he did restored. He taught the original meaning of the Law and he taught in both letter and principle. Jesus did not create false dichotomies between the two. The Spirit-filled and inspired writers of the epistolary expounded and explained his teaching and example further, and every single one of them took the OT Law and applied it to both Jewish and Gentile converts to Christ. One of the laws in the Law was that the Law applied to the sojourner among them, not just the Jews.

It's not a Jewish thing.

The author of Psalm 1 knew that. He said, "How blessed is the man...," not, "How blessed is the Jew..."

Mostly agreed.

 

[Josheb]

Mostly agreed.

I'm game. What did I leave out or get wrong?

 

[Soyeong]

@Soyeong & @Josheb

Psalm 1:1-6

Do you agree that the Psalms express a correct view of the Mosaic Law that we should share and that we should also delight in obeying it as Paul did (Romans 7:22) even if it were the case that we are not obligated to obey it?

Do consider that in light of the Old Covenant vanishing away, the New Covenant can not be anything like the former.

Hebrews 8:6-13

Both the Mosaic and New Covenant contain the command against adultery, so saying that the New Covenant is not like the Mosaic Covenant is not saying that thy have nothing in common, but that there is an important difference. The Mosaic Covenant is eternal (Exodus 31:14-17, Leviticus 24:8, so the only way that the New Covenant can replace it is if it the New Covenant does everything that it does plus more, which is what it means to make something obsolete (Hebrews 8:13), so the New Covenant still involves following the Mosaic Law (Hebrews 8:10), plus it is based on better promises and has a superior mediator (Hebrews 8:6), which is the important way that they are different.

The Old Covenant was man's turn at keeping the law to obtain salvation by but failing that, the New Covenant is God's turn and we are to trust him to do it.

God is trustworthy, therefore His law is also trustworthy (Psalms 19:7), so the way to trust God for salvation is by trusting in what He has instructed, while it is contradictory to contrast trusting in God with trusting in what He has instructed. In Psalms 119:29-30, he wanted to put false ways far from him, for God to be gracious to him by teaching him to obey His law, and he chose the way of faithfulness by setting it before him, so this has always been the one and only way of salvation by grace through faith.

John 6:28 Then said they unto him, What shall we do, that we might work the works of God? 29 Jesus answered and said unto them, This is the work of God, that ye believe on him whom he hath sent.

God's word is His instructions for how to believe in God's word made flesh, which is why the Bible repeatedly connects our faith in God with our obedience to Him, such as in Revelation 14:12, those who kept faith in Jesus are the same as those who kept God's commandments. For example, by doing good works in obedience to the Mosaic Law, we are testifying about God's goodness, which is why our good works bring glory to Him (Matthew 5:16), which is also the way to believe in that God is good, in other words, the way to believe in Him and the way to believe in the Son, who is the exact image of God's nature (Hebrews 1:3).

Philippians 1:6 Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ: 7 Even as it is meet for me to think this of you all, because I have you in my heart; inasmuch as both in my bonds, and in the defence and confirmation of the gospel, ye all are partakers of my grace. 8 For God is my record, how greatly I long after you all in the bowels of Jesus Christ. 9 And this I pray, that your love may abound yet more and more in knowledge and in all judgment; 10 That ye may approve things that are excellent; that ye may be sincere and without offence till the day of Christ. 11 Being filled with the fruits of righteousness, which are by Jesus Christ, unto the glory and praise of God.

Galatians 2:14 But when I saw that they walked not uprightly according to the truth of the gospel, I said unto Peter before them all, If thou, being a Jew, livest after the manner of Gentiles, and not as do the Jews, why compellest thou the Gentiles to live as do the Jews? 15 We who are Jews by nature, and not sinners of the Gentiles, 16 Knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law, but by the faith of Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Jesus Christ, that we might be justified by the faith of Christ, and not by the works of the law: for by the works of the law shall no flesh be justified. 17 But if, while we seek to be justified by Christ, we ourselves also are found sinners, is therefore Christ the minister of sin? God forbid. 18 For if I build again the things which I destroyed, I make myself a transgressor. 19 For I through the law am dead to the law, that I might live unto God. 20 I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me. 21 I do not frustrate the grace of God: for if righteousness come by the law, then Christ is dead in vain.
Galatians 3:1O foolish Galatians, who hath bewitched you, that ye should not obey the truth, before whose eyes Jesus Christ hath been evidently set forth, crucified among you? 2 This only would I learn of you, Received ye the Spirit by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith? 3 Are ye so foolish? having begun in the Spirit, are ye now made perfect by the flesh?

Galatians 5:1Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage. 2 Behold, I Paul say unto you, that if ye be circumcised, Christ shall profit you nothing. 3 For I testify again to every man that is circumcised, that he is a debtor to do the whole law. 4 Christ is become of no effect unto you, whosoever of you are justified by the law; ye are fallen from grace. 5 For we through the Spirit wait for the hope of righteousness by faith.

So are we as Gentiles believers to be compelled to live as the Jews after the Mosaic laws?

In Acts 5:32, the Spirit has been given to those who obey God, so obedience to God is part of the way to receive the Spirit, however, Galatians 3:1-2 denies that "works of the law" are part of the way to receive the Spirit, therefore that phrase does not refer to obedience to God. In Romans 3:27-31, Paul contrasted a law of works with a law of faith, so works of the law are of works while he said that our faith upholds God's law, so it is of faith, and a law that our faith upholds can't be referring to the same thing as the works of the law that are not of faith in Galatians 3:10-11.

If God saved the Israelites out of bondage in Egypt in oder to put them under bondage to the Mosaic Law, then it would be for bondage that God sets us free, however, Galatians 5:1 says that it is for freedom that God sets us free. In Psalms 119:142, the Mosaic Law is truth, and in John 8:31-36, it is sin in transgression of the Mosaic Law that puts us in bondage while it is the truth that sets us free. All throughout the Bible, God wanted His people to repent and to return to obedience to the Mosaic Law and even Christ began his ministry with that Gospel message (Matthew 4:15-23), so it would be absurd to interpret Galatians 5:1-4 as speaking against doing that and warning that we will be cut off from Christ if we follow Christ. Christ spent his ministry teaching his followers to obey the Mosaic Law by word and by example and Paul's problem in Galatians was not with those who were teaching Gentiles how to follow Christ, but with those who were wanting to require Gentiles to obey works of the law in order to become justified.

 

[Soyeong]

Acts 15:5 But there rose up certain of the sect of the Pharisees which believed, saying, That it was needful to circumcise them, and to command them to keep the law of Moses. 6 And the apostles and elders came together for to consider of this matter. 7 And when there had been much disputing, Peter rose up, and said unto them, Men and brethren, ye know how that a good while ago God made choice among us, that the Gentiles by my mouth should hear the word of the gospel, and believe. 8 And God, which knoweth the hearts, bare them witness, giving them the Holy Ghost, even as he did unto us; 9 And put no difference between us and them, purifying their hearts by faith.

10 Now therefore why tempt ye God, to put a yoke upon the neck of the disciples, which neither our fathers nor we were able to bear? 11 But we believe that through the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ we shall be saved, even as they.

12 Then all the multitude kept silence, and gave audience to Barnabas and Paul, declaring what miracles and wonders God had wrought among the Gentiles by them.

In Romans 10:5-8, our faith references Deuteronomy 30:11-20 as the word of faith that we proclaim by saying that the Mosaic Law is not too difficult for us to obey and that obedience brings life and a blessing while disobedience brings death and a curse, so choose life! So if Acts 15:10 has been referring to the Mosaic Law, then they would have been in direct disagreement with God and they would have been ruling that Gentiles should choose death and a curse. However, Acts 15:11 makes it clear that the ruling in 15:10 was not against obeying the Mosaic Law, but against a means of salvation that is an alternative to salvation by grace, namely salvation by circumcision that was promoted in Acts 15:1.

In Acts 15:5, Pharisees rose up from among the group of believers who agreed with the men who came down from Judea that Gentiles should obey the Mosaic Law and become circumcised, but did not agree that Gentiles should be required to have done that first in order to become saved, so again they were disputing the means of salvation, not whether followers of God should follow what God has command in accordance with the example that Christ set for us to follow. In Acts 5:6-7, Peter spoke about Gentiles hearing and believing the Gospel message, which involves repenting from our disobedience to the Mosaic Law (Matthew 4:15-23). Furthermore, in Acts 15:8-9, Peter spoke about God giving Gentiles the Spirit and purifying their hearts by faith, and in Ezekiel 36:26-27, the New Covenant involves God taking away our hearts of stone, giving us hearts of flesh, and sending His Spirit to lead us in obedience to the Mosaic Law, so again Peter was speaking about Gentiles obeying the Mosaic Law in favor of salvation by grace in accordance with the Pharisees in Acts 15:5 and against the men from Judea promoting salvation by circumcision in Acts 15:1.

Jesus did not do away with the law but He fulfilled them by paying the ransom on the cross for our sins.

"To fulfill the law" means "to cause God's will (as made known through His law) to be obeyed as it should be" (NAS Greek Lexicon: pleroo). So after Jesus said that he came to fulfill the law in Matthew 5:17-20, he immediately proceeded to fulfill it six times throughout the rest of the chapter by teaching how to correctly obey it as it should be without saying anything in that chapter about paying the ransom for our sins on the cross.

If you ever wondered why His disciples were guiltless on the sabbath day for picking ears of corn in the field, in Matthew 12:1-8, Jesus cited tow examples in the Old Testament how the saints had actually profaned the sabbath but they were in the Temple when they had done it for why they were guiltless; and then He said One greater than the Temple was here in defense of His disciples meaning Himself for why His disciples had profaned the sabbath but He was with them for why they were guiltless.

There are a number of instance where some of God's laws appear to conflict with each other, such as with God commanding priests to rest on the Sabbath while also commanding priests to make offerings on the Sabbath (Numbers 28:9-10), however, it was not the case that priests were forced to sin by breaking one of the two commandments no matter what they chose to do, but that the lesser command was never intended to be understood as preventing the greater commandment from being obeyed. This is why Jesus said in Matthew 12:5-7 that priests were held innocent for doing their duties on the Sabbath, why David and his men were held innocent, and why he defended his disciples as being innocent. Likewise, this is way it is permitted to get an ox or a child out of a pit on the Sabbath or why it is permitted to circumcise a baby on the 8th day if it happens to fall on the Sabbath, which has nothing to do with being in the temple or near Jesus. If a priest did work that they were not commanded to do on the Sabbath while in the temple, then they would have been guilty of breaking the Sabbath. If Jesus had wanted to, then he could have cited Rabbi Yehuda as saying that we are permitted to crush grains of wheat with our hands on the Sabbath as long as we don't use a tool.

Now having died on the cross and risen from the dead & ascended to the Father in Heaven, all those who believed in Him are saved, having been bought with a price and sealed as His as their bodies are now the temples of the Holy Spirit ( 1 Corinthians 6:19-20 ) for how He is with us always ( 2 Corinthians 13:5 & Matthew 28:20 ) for why saved believers are guiltless for profaning the sabbath day as that law was not done away with, but because they are saved is why they are guiltless.

In Titus 2:14, Jesus gave himself to redeem us from all lawlessness and to purify for himself a people of his own possession who are zealous for doing good works, becoming zealous for doing good works in obedience to God's law is the way to believe in what Jesus accomplished through the cross (Acts 21:20). In Ezekiel 36:25-27, the Spirit has the role of leading us to obey God's law. Our salvation is from sin (Matthew 1:21) and sin is the transgression of God's law (1 John 3:4), so living in obedience to it through faith in Jesus is intrinsically part of the concept of him saving us from not living in obedience to it. For example, keeping the Sabbath holy is intrinsically part of the concept of Jesus saving us from not keeping the Sabbath holy.

Anyway, we are to look to Jesus Christ as Our Good Shepherd to help us lay aside every weight & sin daily ( Hebrews 12:1-2 ) in walking in the light in fellowship with the Father & the Son ( q2 John1:3-9 ).

That is how the New Covenant are on better promises as we trust in Him to do it for how we can rest in Him for everything. Matthew 11:28-30 & Hebrews 4:1-11

In Hebrews 3:18-19, they did not enter into God's rest because of their unbelief/disobedience, and in Ezekiel 20:13, it specifically mentions that they greatly profaned God's Sabbaths. In Hebrews 4:9-11, there remains a Sabbath rest for the people of God, we should rest from our work as God rested from His, and we should strive to enter into God's rest so that no one may fall away by the same sort of disobedience, so using entering into God's rest to justify the same sort of disobedience is exactly the opposite of what was being said. Jesus set a sinless example for us to follow of how to walk in obedience to the Mosaic Law, including keeping the Sabbath holy, and in Matthew 11:28-30, he was inviting people to come to him for rest and to learn from him, not inviting people to turn away from him and reject his example. By Jesus saying that we would find rest for our souls, he was referencing Jeremiah 6:16-19, where the Mosaic Law is described as the good way where we will find rest for our souls.

 

[Soyeong]

I'm game. What did I leave out or get wrong?

Nearly everything Jesus is recorded to have said can be found in the Old Testament.

I would cross out the word "nearly".

 

[ChristB4us]

Do you agree that the Psalms express a correct view of the Mosaic Law that we should share and that we should also delight in obeying it as Paul did (Romans 7:22) even if it were the case that we are not obligated to obey it?

Psalm 1:1Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful. 2 But his delight is in the law of the Lord; and in his law doth he meditate day and night. 3 And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper. 4 The ungodly are not so: but are like the chaff which the wind driveth away. 5 Therefore the ungodly shall not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous. 6 For the Lord knoweth the way of the righteous: but the way of the ungodly shall perish.

Under the New Covenant, I read Psalm 1 as if it is warning me not to join Christian forums where they do not all speak the same thing nor hold to the same judgment. And yet, it can serve as an outreach ministry to those that have gone astray. I can only hope I am following Him.

As for Romans 7:22, when read in context of that whole chapter, Paul/Saul was testifying to his life as a former Jew in how his sinful nature under the law shows how weak he was in following the law. He may delight in the law with his mind per verse 22, but afterwards, he testified how sin in his body warred against him in following the law; thus the need for Jesus Christ as His Saviour & Enabler in following Him.

Both the Mosaic and New Covenant contain the command against adultery, so saying that the New Covenant is not like the Mosaic Covenant is not saying that thy have nothing in common, but that there is an important difference. The Mosaic Covenant is eternal (Exodus 31:14-17, Leviticus 24:8, so the only way that the New Covenant can replace it is if it the New Covenant does everything that it does plus more, which is what it means to make something obsolete (Hebrews 8:13), so the New Covenant still involves following the Mosaic Law (Hebrews 8:10), plus it is based on better promises and has a superior mediator (Hebrews 8:6), which is the important way that they are different.

What is obsolete is that the onus is no longer on us to keep the covenant by doing the best we can in keeping the law. The onus in the New Covenant is on God to do His work in us and through us so that we are saved by having believed in him and we follow him by faith in Him in being our Good Shepherd to do that.

As you say, the new Covenant is higher than the Old Covenant for why it is obsolete because we can't do it; but Jesus Christ can when we trust Him to do it as a little child would. That is how and why His yoke is easy & His burden is light thereby finding rest for our souls in Him for everything.

Matthew 11:28 Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.

John 6:28 Then said they unto him, What shall we do, that we might work the works of God? 29 Jesus answered and said unto them, This is the work of God, that ye believe on him whom he hath sent.

The old two greatest commandments were...

Matthew 22:36 Master, which is the great commandment in the law? 37 Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. 38 This is the first and great commandment. 39 And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. 40 On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.

The new two greatest commandments are...

1 John 3:22 And whatsoever we ask, we receive of him, because we keep his commandments, and do those things that are pleasing in his sight. 23 And this is his commandment, That we should believe on the name of his Son Jesus Christ, and love one another, as he gave us commandment. 24 And he that keepeth his commandments dwelleth in him, and he in him. And hereby we know that he abideth in us, by the Spirit which he hath given us.

So if a saved believer have trouble loving God with all thy heart, with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, they can go to Him for help with that.

If a saved believer have trouble loving their enemies and or forgiving their brothers that will not repent, they can ask Him for help there too.

It is no longer looking to ourselves to do it, but to Jesus Christ, our hope in following Him.

 

[Josheb]

I would cross out the word "nearly".

Then Psalm 1 should be understood in that overarching context and not the mch smaller one in which it was given (Jesus is much larger, whole, and truer than Moses).