You just keep on using that same weak argument that God never changes no matter how many times people have proven to you that His commandments have in fact changed several times. If what you say about the 10 commandments is true then 2 Corinthians 3 is completely wrong and we are still under the letter of the laws that were written on stone tablets.
Here is something to help one understand 2 Cor 3, the bible is meant to be carefully and prayerfully studied and its absurd to try and make the case that Paul is teaching we can now worship other gods, or we can now vain God's holy name, and now covet, or steal or break the least the these commandments, the opposite of what Christ taught Mat 5:19-30 and what Paul said was dishonoring God Rom 2:22-23 and sinning Rom 7:7
In verses 1-3 we have an introduction to a new section which contains an allusion to the Ten Commandments and the New Covenant:
- First, there were, apparently, “letters of recommendation” that ministers were caring at this time, possibly for the purpose of avoiding false teachers, but it seems like in Paul’s view, a true “letter of recommendation” was the changed lives of the people he ministered to which was evident outwardly (verses 1-2).
- The reason for their change is because they have the New Covenant. Verse 3 is using New Covenant language (in fact we are sure of this, because verse 6 says “new covenant”). It says that they’re lives are letters written by the Spirit in the heart, and not by ink on “tablets of stone,” an allusion or quick hint to the Ten Commandments.
- A good hermeneutical move is to always go to where the author is referring or alluding to, in order to better understand what he means. Paul is borrowing New Covenant language directly from the actual prophecy about the New Covenant in Jer. 31:30-33 (cf. Ezek. 36:26-27). In Jeremiah 31:33, we read that God will write His “laws” in their mind and hearts. Since Paul, while speaking about this New Covenant, alludes to the Ten Commandments (tablets of stone), the law in this prophecy is the Ten Commandments being written in another location, the mind and heart.
- The New Covenant is, therefore, a total transformation of the heart, where sins are forgiven and forgotten, God’s Law is written in the heart by the Spirit, and people begin to actually live righteous lives (cf. Jer. 31:34, Ezek. 36:26-27). The Law can only be obeyed by the power of God’s Spirit.
- Therefore, the lives of the Corinthian Christians are living manifestations of God’s law. It was not abolished for them (which Mr. Tucker repeatedly says). On the contrary, their lives manifest obedience to it.
- This is the immediate context, and obviously what follows after this will not mean that the Ten Commandments was abolished for the Christian, since it is written in their hearts. The change was in location, from tablets of stone to “fleshy tables of the heart.”
- QUESTION: However, if what follows will show that the Ten commandments were abolished for the Christian, why are they still playing a role in the lives of Christians? Provide examples. See: Eph. 6:1-3 (actually, the whole letter of Ephesians alludes to various commandments to not break them, see 4:25 28, 29, 31, 5:3-5, 6), Rom. 3:31, 7:7-12, especially verse 13).
SECTION 2: THE LETTER KILLS, THE MINISTRATION OF DEATH
- In verse 4, Paul says that he is fully confident that they are living New Covenant lives which manifest obedience to the Ten Commandments from the heart rather than from tablets of stones (verses 2-3), because his trust is “through Christ toward God” and not in the work they did for them.
- Nevertheless, God made Paul the minister of this New Covenant, not of the letter, which previously was on stone and ink, but of the Spirit, which is now the Law written in the heart (verse 6a).
- The last clause of verse 6, and also verses 7 and 9 speak of the Law as something that kills, brings death and condemns. Why?
- Paul does not here say how the Law kills, but he does in Romans 7:7-13. It kills by revealing the source of death, which is sin! Compared with Psalm 119:86-88:
“All Your commandments are faithful; They persecute me wrongfully; Help me! They almost made an end of me on earth, But I did not forsake Your precepts. Revive me according to Your lovingkindness, So that I may KEEP the testimony of Your mouth.” (Psa. 119:86-88. Note: Comparing the “commandments” here to Rom. 7:7, we learn that the specific laws that kill are the Ten Commandments, since Paul quotes from the tenth one to make his point).
- Psalm 119:86-88 may be referring to David’s enemies as the persecutors, but the clauses of each sentence indicate that the Law has a special function of revealing sin, especially when we compare them to Romans 7:7-13, which also speak of the commandments as something that kills, yet continues to be desirable by Paul.
- We learn from these references that: 1. The law kills in the sense that it reveals sin by pointing to our faults, and 2. This, however, should motivate us to obey it to be in harmony with it.
SECTION 3: TWO MINISTRATIONS: VERSE 9:
- The ministration of RIGHTEOUSNESS
- The ministration of CONDEMNATION
SECTION 4: WAS THE LAW ABOLISHED?
- LET US ASSUME THE TEXT MEANS THE LAW WAS ABOLISHED AS WELL. Various problems arise:
–ONE: The immediate context says it is written in the heart (verses 2-3, cf. Jer. 31:33).
–TWO: In Rom. 7:13 Paul asks, “Has then what is good (the commandment, verse 12) made death unto me?” His answer is a resounding, “certainly not!.”
-No, because Paul also wrote that faith establishes, rather then abolishes, the law (Rom. 3:31).
-No, because David, speaking of the same law that kills, views that as a good thing, and asks God to help him even more to keep it! (cf. Psa. 119:86-88).
- Compare verses 7 and 13 to Romans 3:21. Same Greek word: katargeo.
- The same Greek word in verse 7 is used in verse 13. Both mention what the Israelites could NOT look upon
SECTION 5: WHAT, THAN, WAS ABOLISHED?
- According to verses 7-13, the following things were abolished:
-The ministration under Moses which included the ministry under the Old Dispensation, including the tablets of stone and, by implication, the entire earthly Sanctuary service, to be replaced with the ministration of the Spirit, with fleshy tablets and, by implication, a heavenly Sanctuary (cf. Heb. 8:2).
-The face of Moses, his leadership, being replaced by the face of Christ, as the new High Priest.
- The tablets would not be necessary when its contents are lived out in the lives of believers. Christians should not be trying to measure up to standards that have not convicted their minds and transformed their thoughts. God wants people to want to do right, and He does this by writing His moral principles in their hearts as He previously wrote them on stone. The stones are no longer needed when its principles are lived and obeyed. Once again, believers would NOT insist on abolishing the Law if they truly have it written in the heart.
CONCLUSION: The critic asked, “When was the law established?” but this time quotes 2 Corinthians 3. According to the document we are examining, the law “ended at the cross for believers.” However, that is not what 2 Cor. 3 teaches. On the contrary, this chapter reinforces the Ten Commandments in a better way, as principles that are now written in the heart, rather than stone, under the New Covenant for believers.
This is what we get from the immediate context. The first three verses demonstrate what the lives of New Covenant believers look like. They have the Law of God written in the heart, and it is quite evident. They are, as Paul puts it, living epistles, “known and read by all men.” Paul borrows language from the New Covenant in Jer. 31:33 and alludes to the Ten Commandments when he mentioned the “tablets of stones.” In other words, these Corinthians believers have the Ten Commandments written in their hearts, as promised in the New Covenant prophecy, and everyone can see it by their lives and acts. We know it is “ten” commandments, which includes the fourth, because the “tablets of stone” contained ten, not nine. Therefore, all Ten Commandments are written in their hearts, and as the other nine are practiced both spiritually and practically, so with the fourth one. Anyone living the New Covenant experience, therefore, will not be going around claiming that the Law “ended for believers.”
The conclusion drawn is that the first few verses speak about the Law written in the heart and lived out by the Corinthians believers, what follows after verse 3, therefore, does not abolish the Law. A careful look at the remaining verses reveal that indeed something was abolished, and that was the old ministration of the Law under Moses, along Moses himself and the tablets of stone. The contents of the Law, however, were transferred to the heart. A comparison with verse 13 with the actual story Paul is talking about, found in Exo. 34:29-35, reveals that what was abolished was that which “the children of Israel could NOT look steadily at…” In Exo. 34, the tablets of stone were in plain view in the hands of Moses, but his face was covered. Nevertheless, there is no longer a need for the stone tablets, not that its contents are in the mind and hearts of New Covenant believers.
Not only does the immediate context not allow for the contents of the tablets to be abolished, Paul says in Rom. 3:31 that the Law is NOT made “void” to believers. The Greek word translated “void” is the same one translated “abolished” or “passing away” in 2 Cor. 3.
2 Cor. 3 also explains that the tablets of stone are referred to as the “ministration of death” and “condemnation.” This is because, as Paul explains elsewhere, the Ten Commandments reveal sin, and sin brings death (see Rom. 7:7-11, cf. James. 1:15). Nevertheless, the commandment that does this is considered “holy, just and good” and that which is good does NOT become death to believers (see verses 12-13). Of course, because as 2 Cor. 3 says, it is written in the heart.
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So your statement here not only contradicts Paul in 2 Corinthians 3 but also Colossians 2:16 and Romans 14
Romans 14 doesn't mention the Sabbath and its referring to what man esteems, not what
God esteems. The seventh day is the Sabath of the Lord thy God Exo 20:10 the Sabbath is
My holy day,
the holy day of the Lord, thus saith the Lord Isa 58:13 seems like what God says should matter as He never said this about any other day nor did He ever take it back. Only He can reverse His blessing Num 23:20. Only God can sanctify a day Gen 2:1-3 and only God can sanctify man Eze 20:12 and both of these started from Creation! Man who tries to sanctify themselves, God says that's not a good option come Judgement Day Isa 66:17, we need God, we need to trust Him and live by His Word, even the apostles taught us to obey God over man.
Let me help bring in the context to Col 2:16 which no one ever quotes for some strange reason
The weekly Sabbath can't be a shadow of anything because it started at
Creation Gen 2:1-3 Exo 20:11 when God made everything perfect before the fall of man.
The shadow sabbaths (plural) that have to do with food, drink offerings and are referring to the annual holy feast days which some were sabbath(s) that were
handwritten by Moses and
ordinances the context of this passage found in Col 2:14 which point to Deut 31:24-26 not Creation or our Creator which is what the weekly Sabbath points to Exo 20:11.
Col 2:14 Blotting out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us, which was contrary to us, and took it out of the way, nailing it to his cross;
The weekly Sabbath is
holy and
blessed by God- written by
His finger and is a
commandment- Paul is not referring to one of God's commandments and he clearly shows in the context.
Scriptures show what he's referring to....
which are a shadow of things to come; but the body
is of Christ.
The sacrificial system which was fulfilled in Christ Exo 12:43 1 Cor 5:7
Hebrews 10:1 10 For the law,
having a shadow of the good things to come,
and not the very image of the things, can never with these same sacrifices, which they offer continually year by year, make those who approach perfect. 2 For then would they not have ceased to be offered? For the worshipers, once [
a]purified, would have had no more consciousness of sins. 3 But in those
sacrifices there is a reminder of sins every year. 4 For
it is not possible that the blood of bulls and goats could take away sins.
Heb 9:10
concerned only with foods and drinks, various [
b]washings
, and fleshly ordinances imposed until the time of reformation.
11 But Christ came
as High Priest
of the good things [c]to come, with the greater and more perfect tabernacle not made with hands, that is, not of this creation. 12
Not with the blood of goats and calves, but with His own blood He entered the Most Holy Place once for all, having obtained eternal redemption.
Col 2:140-17 is a tough passage and sadly many use it against one of God's commandments, but Paul never countermanded God, he can be hard to understand so its important we carefully and prayerfully read the context and see how it matches up with other teachings like Jesus in His own Words said the Sabbath would not end at the Cross but would be kept decades later for His faithful Mat 24:20 and for eternity Isa 66:23
That’s why the Jews list 613 COMMANDMENTS of God not only 10 commandments and 603 ordinances.
Can you please quote where it says we are to obey 613 commandments? I can’t find the number 613 anywhere in the scriptures or where everything is a commandment when we are told they are not Neh 9:13 Where is that verse?
Let's bring in the context about the Ten Commandments and the other laws
God only numbered
one set of laws- that were written personally by His finger Exo 31:18
Exo 34:28 So he was there with the Lord forty days and forty nights; he neither ate bread nor drank water. And He wrote on the tablets
the words of the covenant, the
Ten Commandments.
Deut 4:13 So
He (God) declared to you His covenant which He (God) commanded you to perform,
the Ten Commandments; and
He (God) wrote them on two tablets of stone.
Deut 5: 22 “These words the Lord spoke to all your assembly, in the mountain from the midst of the fire, the cloud, and the thick darkness, with a loud voice; and
He added no more. And He wrote them on two tablets of stone and gave them to me.
After God finished speaking the Ten Commandments He added
no more and He wrote them on stone for its eternal nature, they are a standalone unit and He promised the words of the covenant He would not alter Psa 89:34 Mat 5:18 why the New Covenant is established on
better promises Heb 8:6 from tables of stone to tablets of the heart now with the power of Jesus Christ enabling us to keep through our love and faith.
Only the Ten Commandments was placed INSIDE the ark of the Covenant.
So what was different about God’s Ten Commandments and the other law?
All other laws aside from the Ten Commandments was handwritten in a book placed beside the ark as a witness against from breaking what was inside the ark the Ten Commandments.
Deut 31:24:
So it was, when Moses had completed writing the words of this law in a book, when they were finished,
25 that Moses commanded the Levites, who bore the ark of the covenant of the Lord, saying:
26 “Take this Book of the Law, and put it beside the ark of the covenant of the Lord your God, that it may be there as a witness against you;
Very different laws that serve different purposes, which continues in the NC
God called the Ten Commandments- "My commandments" Exo 20:6 i.e. God's commandments- Moses is not God.
Did this change in New Covenant?
Not according to Jesus who I believe is trustworthy
Mat 15:3 He answered and said to them,
“Why do you also transgress the commandment of God because of your tradition? 4
For God commanded, saying, ‘Honor your father and your mother’;
Only found in the Ten Commandments Exo 20:12
The law of Moses is still the law of Moses in the New Covenant
Acts 15:5 But some of the sect of the Pharisees who believed rose up, saying, “It is necessary to circumcise them, and to command
them to keep the
law of Moses.”
Paul contrasted these laws and came to this conclusion
1 Cor 7:19 Circumcision is nothing and uncircumcision is nothing,
but keeping the commandments of God is what matters.
God's people keep God's commandments and the faith of Jesus Rev 14:12 His version of commandments that He personally wrote not what was changed by man we are warned about Dan 7:25
But a good answer will take some time
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