Gospel of Christ: Is It Law Or Did It End Law?

[mikesw]

We are under the New Covenant, which is made with the same God with the same character traits and therefore the same instructions for how to be a doer of His character traits. In Galatians 3:16-19, there is a principle that new covenants do not nullify the promises of covenants that have already been ratified, so God's covenants are cumulatively valid

The interpretation just given is totally backwards from what Paul wrote. The point was that Christians enjoy the promises given to Abraham and Christ and involve the blessings through Christ. The point of vv17-18 are that the Mosaic law could not change what we get by enjoyment of the Abrahamic promises. Verses 19-20 show that the mediation process was needed due to Israel's demonstrated disobedience leading up to the law-giving. It was not given as a universal law to reconcile humanity with God.

In other words, Moses was given the law for a mediation role. But verse 17 shows that the law could not modify the conditions of the promise.
Galatians 3:18 (ESV)
18For if the inheritance comes by the law, it no longer comes by promise; but God gave it to Abraham by a promise.

Thus, if you want the inheritance promised through Abraham, the Mosaic law is not part of that process. It would only be an obstacle if anything. If you propose that someone who has now become a Christian is somehow placed under the Mosaic law given to Israel, show me where that is. If you think that someone who becomes a Christian will suddenly decided to become a thief, adulterer, and murderer because of grace, explain why that would be natural.

I will remind people of the understanding of Gal 3:19-20 that solves the uncertainty of meaning found in past readings is shared here: #Gal 3:19-20 Solved by the Shema in light of Christ's Divinity

Of course verse 21 shows further that the law was not salvific, so it should not be treated as if it were salvific for people coming to Christ and his grace.

 

[mikesw]

Again, repenting from our disobedience to God's law is a central part of the NT Gospel (Matthew 4:15-23), which was a Gospel that was made known in advance to Abraham in accordance with the promise (Galatians 3:8). Again, the reason why Jesus established the New Covenant was not in order to nullify anything that he spent his ministry teaching or to cause us to be free to have the same lawlessness that caused the New Covenant to be needed in the first place, but rather the New Covenant still involves following God's law (Jeremiah 31:33).

I wondered what point you were quoting from Matthew 4. It has a message given to these guys to be Christ's disciples. That is basically the historical snippet that Matthew provides in vv 18-23, no more, no less.

You should also note that when Jesus speaks of the law, he is speaking to Jews who were under the covenant to which the law applied. Paul conveys the same point in Romans 3:19 (ESV)
19 Now we know that whatever the law says it speaks to those who are under the law, so that every mouth may be stopped, and the whole world may be held accountable to God.

Just like you (likely) are not in China subject to their laws, the gentile Christians in Rome were not subject to Jewish law. Maybe to your interest, this is not welcoming people to do sinful living. Nor is it likely that people that come to Christ will say "Great. I should go out and steal and commit adultery." I'm not sure why anyone would think in that fashion.