Originally posted by hedrick
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The law is a constant. What is discussed in the text is the various ways Jews and their forefathers interacted with it.
The law was what God required of his people to observe, to demonstrate their faithfulness. It was, in the main, a moral requirement commitment.
However observing the law was not the only means of exercising faith in God and His people are not necessarily Jews and Christians. God's people are identified by the faith, belief, they have in what he reveals to them, Abraham being the best known example, being neither Jew nor a keeper of Torah, yet reckoned to be righteous.
Although what he reveals to them is in the main moral, belief in his promises for temporal blessings count in his acceptance, considering as faithful, of their righteous acts. Abraham believed God's promise of blessings and all these were counted, not imputed, they were really considered righteous acts. Even before law was given as a means of demonstrating faithfulness, 430 years before, Abraham was considered faithful, because he believed in God's revelations and promises. The Jews really had no grounds to be proud of their possession of the law. Belief in God's revelation was what counted, whether promises to be received through patience or to be received through obedience.
So it's true that the Jews never believed in works righteousness. Rather, what Paul faulted the Jews for was for being unfaithful to God. His revelation to them was the necessity to obey the law, consistent in the messages of the prophets, even the messages of John the Baptist and Jesus. It mattered not that they failed, they just had to believe that God required perfect obedience.
The observance of the Jews was nomism, they only performed those acts that identified them as Jews. The Baptiser and Jesus rebuked this action.
Paul recognised that this was the failure of the Jews under the Old Covenant, but his rebuke to the Gentiles of Galatia was for being swayed by the judaisers. They were trying to revert back to the old criteria of righteousness, observing the law, which was dangerous, because it has to be observed perfectly. Failure to be faithful to all the law led to being declared unrighteous, because it was not the righteousness defined by God but the righteousness defined by the Jews a righteousness of their own. Gentiles were not stumbled by this ambiguity, ironically, because they HAD no law. Failure to observe the law perfectly led to breaking of the spirit, Paul called it death, but strangely, it led to justification, as seen in the parable of the publican in the temple. This is how the law was a guardian, it protected those who observed it, failed and fell before God for mercy. They would be with Christ in paradise.
However if the Gentile turned to the old covenant, Christ would be of no benefit to them. Observing the new covenant immediately placed the believer in high places, seated by Christ's side. Now by putting to death the deeds of the body the righteous requirements of the law could be met and that which was required to subdue creation could be had. Being in the second Adam had more benefits than being in Moses and even than being in the first Adam.
The mistake the church made (specifically, Melanchthon) was to accept the wrong translation of Erasmus. Instead of using the word reputatum, he used the word imputatum. Imputed righteousness is the doctrine of exchange: Christ took our sins, and we took his righteousness, an uncalled for conclusion.
https://books.google.co.in/books?id=...IVTBO8Ch3pHwAs
Why isn't this all being made clear by Paul? Actually, it was, he did make it clear. However, it would need a good one on one discussion with him for this to really sink in.
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