Apologia for the Law Pt 2 with Roger Hadad - JL 223

Jacobs Ladder Podcast

There is another New Testament writer of just one book, who sometimes seems to counter Paul’s arguments relating to the law. I’m talking, of course, about the book of James, written by the brother of the Master, though I understand his real name was Jacob or in Hebrew Ja’akov. You make the point that many of James arguments mirror those of the Master, and that James did not have a pharasaical background as Paul did. Why is this important and what can we learn from James about our understanding of the law? Your chapter titled “The Sacred Law” begins perhaps ironically with a quote from Paul, Romans 7:12 “So then, the law is holy, and the commandment is holy, righteous and good”. You then devote about 11 pages to just a portion of the many scriptures that describe the law as good, holy and something we should try to keep. Not to bore our listeners who don’t get excited about arguments based on the original Greek and Hebrew meanings, but you make a fascinating point about the use of the Greek words nomos and entole referring to the law and the commandments. Walk us through this observation and it’s implications for our understanding. You are intellectually honest, as they say, in your book, and note that modern Christianity’s understanding of the law is not without reason. You list several verses commonly used to support a certain viewpoint. I’d like to read these verses and then ask you to respond. The first verse is 2 Cor 5:17 “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold all things have become new” The next verse is Hebrews 8:13 “In that He says a New Covenant, he has the made the first obsolete. Now what is becoming obsolete and growing old is ready to vanish away” And third is John 13:34 “A new commandment I give to you that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another”. What is your response to these verses? When asked for the greatest commandment, Christ said basically to love God and love others. Why is it a mistake to think of this love as an emotional love? No debate on this topic is complete without a reference to Acts 15. Talk to us about what happened in Acts 15 and what we should learn from it as it relates to our relationship with the law? Another phrase used in this debate is the New Covenant. Now, I realize we could devote multiple podcast episodes just talking about the concept of a covenant and all its uses in the Bible, but to cut to the chase what is your understanding of what the New Covenant is and how it should impact our faith and our understanding of the law? You use an interesting analogy of a Rubik’s cube to describe the puzzle of understanding what Christ described as weightier matters of the law, those of justice, faith and mercy. What is the relationship of these three concepts to each other?