The word 'law' is used variously in the New Testament to refer to:
The entire collection of Old Testament Scriptures (the Tenakh); or
The books of Moses (the Pentateuch, the first five books of the Tenakh); or
The full system of rituals, ceremonies, laws and customs which Moses commanded; or
The Ten Commandments specifically; or
Jewish tradition; or
The law written in the hearts of Gentiles who didn't have the written law; or
An inner power or principle, whether good or bad; or
A 'new' commandment or system (as opposed to an 'old' outdated one); or
The reality that there is a Divine requirement - in general, without specifying
In order to grasp a point an Apostle was making, and to grasp the way he formed his argument for his point, if he used the word 'law' it would therefore be helpful to carefully notice what he was referring to when he used it.
The entire collection of Old Testament Scriptures (the Tenakh); or
The books of Moses (the Pentateuch, the first five books of the Tenakh); or
The full system of rituals, ceremonies, laws and customs which Moses commanded; or
The Ten Commandments specifically; or
Jewish tradition; or
The law written in the hearts of Gentiles who didn't have the written law; or
An inner power or principle, whether good or bad; or
A 'new' commandment or system (as opposed to an 'old' outdated one); or
The reality that there is a Divine requirement - in general, without specifying
In order to grasp a point an Apostle was making, and to grasp the way he formed his argument for his point, if he used the word 'law' it would therefore be helpful to carefully notice what he was referring to when he used it.
No comments:
Post a Comment