Wednesday July 9th, 2014 Romans 7:1-20
... we are slaves not under the old written code but in the new life of the Spirit. (verse 6b)
Jesus and Paul were Jews. They attended services at synagogues and would have been well acquainted with the 613 laws that are recorded in the Torah, the first five books of what we call the Old Testament. From personal experience, we know that the Ten Commandments are too hard for us to obey and can well imagine how difficult it would be to follow an additional 603 requirements.
As a Pharisee, Paul not only would have learned all of these 613 laws, he would have earnestly sought to observe them. He would have tried and failed as others before and since him have done. In point of fact, Paul acknowledged that it was humanly impossible to keep the law in its entirety. Paul wasn’t up to the task, and neither are we.
It’s a good thing that Jesus knew that perfect righteousness was never going to be within our human grasp. Jesus demonstrated his love for humanity by modifying the way we are to interpret the law. He changed the focus from a list of rules to the two simple laws of love of God and neighbour.
Jesus, continue to show us how to live by the Spirit rather than by the letter of the law. Amen. — CKA
Contributed by Rule Change
Jesus and Paul were Jews. They attended services at synagogues and would have been well acquainted with the 613 laws that are recorded in the Torah, the first five books of what we call the Old Testament. From personal experience, we know that the Ten Commandments are too hard for us to obey and can well imagine how difficult it would be to follow an additional 603 requirements.
As a Pharisee, Paul not only would have learned all of these 613 laws, he would have earnestly sought to observe them. He would have tried and failed as others before and since him have done. In point of fact, Paul acknowledged that it was humanly impossible to keep the law in its entirety. Paul wasn't up to the task, and neither are we.
It's a good thing that Jesus knew that perfect righteousness was never going to be within our human grasp. Jesus demonstrated his love for humanity by modifying the way we are to interpret the law. He changed the focus from a list of rules to the two simple laws of love of God and neighbour.
