No one could ever do everything the law requires
Over the years I’ve collected a lot of bibles. I have a Thompsons Chain Reference KJV that’s been with me for years. It’s been highlighted, underlined and filled with margin notes with my own chain references, back pages loaded with various proof texts from my Christian days.
The sect of Christianity I came from was very focused on bible studies and “truth” or so they said, when I look back I’ve wondered how could I have been so deceived, totally missing the writing in plain sight.
Looking through an old bible I noticed something I’d never questioned before, “the Headings” in select sections throughout the Christian bible chapters.
Christian mindset regarding ‘The Law’ (Torah)
The Christian view of “the Law” is also conveyed in “headings” found at the beginning of sections throughout Christian Bibles. These captions are placed there by the editors to help direct the reader as to what the next group of verses is concerned with.
For instance, at the beginning of the following sections in the “New Testament,” of a popular New King James version of the Bible, we find the following phrases:
- Those under the Law of Moses were “under bondage,” which ended with Jesus
- “No one could ever do everything the law requires”
- The law was “a curse” that Jesus came to do away with. (1)
These three ideas may not be expressed in exactly the same words in every denomination, but the concepts are clear and present in the teachings of Protestant denominations and Catholicism.
On my drive to work in the mornings I’d listen to ‘Thru the Bible’ with J. Vernon McGee, “Thru the Bible program takes the listener through the entire Bible in just five years, threading back and forth between the Old and New Testaments.” Little did I know, my thinking was being shaped and directed in a theology that’s been crafted by the church for century’s. Here’s what Minister McGee wrote about the apostle Paul and the Jewish religion in his Bible commentary:
Paul now calls the religion in which he was brought up the ‘Jews’ religion.’ Paul was saved, not in Judaism, but from Judaism.” (Emphasized words are McGee’s) (2)
The same commentary regarding the book of Galatians states:
“Galatians has been called the Christian declaration of independence. It is Paul’s answer to those who challenged his authority as an apostle and who urged Christians in Galatia to live according to the Law of Moses. Adoption of the Jewish Law by Gentile Christians would have made Christianity merely a sect within Judaism. Paul taught that bondage to the Law ended when Christ made all men free.” (3)
In a commentary appendix to one version of the King James Bible, regarding the book of Hebrews, it says:
“With carefully reasoned arguments the author showed that Christianity is superior to Judaism,” … “Christianity is the perfect religion.” (end-of-quote)
Christian Bible headings, footnotes, commentary books, radio broadcasts and sermons from the pulpits have expressed this thought for centuries, maintaining that Christianity is G-d’s true religion.
Take the three ideas above and hold them up in light of Torah, ask only, ‘What does G-ds Word say?’ (The Tanakh) Bear in mind, nowhere does the Christian New Testament claim to be the Word of G-d.
- Those under the Law of Moses were “under bondage,” which ended with Jesus
“G-d changed his mind about people having to follow his perfect (Psa 19:7) and eternal (Psa 119:152,160) laws and replaced them with a new system of faith in a human sacrifice.”
- “No one could ever do everything the law requires”
The Written Torah (Mosaic Law) contains 613 precepts [תֹוו ְצ ִמ (mitsVOT)], and no person can possibly comply with the entire set. This is because various commands pertain to different groups of people. For example, some precepts apply only to males (e.g., circumcision), others only to females (e.g., feminine hygiene); some apply only to Aaronic Priests (e.g., permitted marriages), others to those who own land in Israel (e.g., rotating the crops), etc. Therefore, anyone who claims to have fulfilled the Mosaic Law in its entirety is either ignorant or a liar. (4)
If they sin against You, for there is no man who does not sin, (I Kings 8:46)
- The law was “a curse” that Jesus came to do away with.
I will give thanks unto Thee with uprightness of heart, when I learn Thy righteous ordinances. (Psa 19:7)
The grass withereth, the flower fadeth; But the word of our G-d shall stand for ever.’ (Isaiah 40:8)
As for G-d, His way is perfect (Psa 18:32)
The law of the LORD is perfect, restoring the soul; the testimony of the LORD is sure, making wise the simple. (Psa 19:8)
Ye shall not add unto the word which I command you, neither shall ye diminish from it, that ye may keep the commandments of the LORD your God which I command you. (Deuteronomy 4:2)
Every word of God is tried; He is a shield unto them that take refuge in Him.
Add thou not unto His words, lest He reprove thee, and thou be found a liar. (Proverbs Chapter 30:5-6)
1 All this word which I command you, that shall ye observe to do; thou shalt not add thereto, nor diminish from it. (Deutronomy 13.1-4)
2 If there arise in the midst of thee a prophet, or a dreamer of dreams–and he give thee a sign or a wonder, 3 and the sign or the wonder come to pass, whereof he spoke unto thee–saying: ‘Let us go after other gods, which thou hast not known, and let us serve them’;4 thou shalt not hearken unto the words of that prophet, or unto that dreamer of dreams; for the LORD your God putteth you to proof, to know whether ye do love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul.
My suggestion is find a good Hebrew/English translation of the Tanakh.
There can be no resource more important than a text of the Bible itself. Although it is best to read it in the original Hebrew, or at least refer to the original Hebrew to appreciate its nuances. These English translations, unlike most of the translations you will find, are prepared by Jews using the Jewish understanding of the meaning of the scriptures, without the Christian slant you will find in many non-Jewish translations. Note: “Tanakh” (also spelled “Tanach”) is a Hebrew acronym that refers to the complete Jewish Bible, what non-Jews call the “Old Testament.”
Online English translation of the Tanakh (Jewish Bible) with Rashi’s commentary.
- Romans 7:1-6: “Freed from the Law”?
- Romans 14:1-13: “The Law of Liberty”?
- Galatians 3:10-14: “The Law Brings a Curse”?
- Galatians 5:7 -15: “Love Fulfills the Law”?
- In other words, Christian propaganda/brainwashing
- Kenneth Copeland Ministries’ New King James Version
- Thru the Bible Commentary Series, Galatians, Vernon McGee, Thomas Nelson Publishers, Nashville, 1991, p. 23.
- Thru the Bible Commentary Series, Galatians, Vernon McGee, Thomas Nelson Publishers, Nashville, 1991,
- http://thejewishhome.org/counter/SinlessJC.pdf
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