The Torah usually refers to what people have been ordered to do. In some cases, a broader meaning (beyond commandments and regulations) captures the meaning of the Torah (e.B Job 22:22; Ps 94:12; Proverbs 1:8; 4:2; 13:14; Isaiah 2:3; 42:4; 51:4; Evil. 2:6-8), although even in some of these passages the direction probably consisted of what the law required. In the vast majority of cases, however, the word Torah focuses on what is commanded by the law, that is, the commandments and requirements given to Moses on Mount Sinai. The emphasis on keeping the law and carrying out what it requires is evident in verbs whose direct purpose is the Torah (see Figure 1a). Author Sheila Alewine is the wife, mother and grandmother of five children of a pastor. She and her husband run Around The Corner Ministries, which serves to equip Christ`s disciples to spread the gospel where they live, work, and play. She has written several devotions, including Just Pray: God`s Not Done With You Yet, Grace & Glory: 50 Days in the Purpose & Plan of God and her latest, Open The Gift, and Going Around The Corner, a Bible study for small groups who want to reach their communities for Christ. His ministry also offers resources for discipleship, such as training individual disciples in partnership with Multiplication Ministries. Sheila has a passion for God`s Word and shares what God teaches her on her blog, The Way of the Word. Connect with her on her blog, Facebook and Instagram. If this does not apply to you, then do what the psalmist did. He asked God to help him see the “miraculous things” in the law, that is, in the Bible.
Romans 3:19-20 – “Now we know that whatever the law says, it speaks to those who are under the law, that all mouths may be closed and the whole world may become accountable to God; for by the works of the law no flesh in his eyes will be justified, for it is by the law that the knowledge of sin comes. Romans 8:1-4 – “Therefore, there is no condemnation now for those who are in Jesus Christ. For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus delivered you from the law of sin and death. For what the law could not do, however weak it may be by the flesh, God did: He sent His own Son in the form of sinful flesh and as an offering for sin, He condemned sin in the flesh, so that the requirement of the law could be fulfilled in us, which we did not seek after the flesh, but walk in the Spirit. Often, a certain regulation is introduced mainly in Leviticus and sometimes in numbers, with the words: “This is the law.” The law is often associated with a book. In most cases, what is written or found in the book are the provisions of the law. The emphasis on doing what the law commands, keeping it, and obeying what the Lord has prescribed is quite extraordinary. When the word Torah appears in the Old Testament, the emphasis is not on teaching doctrine, as if the Word of God were repeating the work of salvation on behalf of His people. Quite the contrary.
The term Torah focuses on what God requires of His people: His commandments, statutes, and laws. Is the law something that was relegated to the time of the “Old Testament,” or does it make sense to us today? What is the law and what was (or is) its purpose? What is the law? The Bible mentioned the word “law” individually, what does it mean and refer to? 2. The first five books of the Bible (The Pentateuch) Other terms used with the word Torah, which are roughly synonymous with it, confirm that the term Torah focuses on precepts and regulations (see Figure 1b). All these words convey the idea that Israel must obey what God has required in its law. Scholars intensely debate whether Paul in some cases uses the word law metaphorically to refer to a “principle” or “rule” (see Rom 3:27; 7:21, 23, 25; 8:2), or whether the Mosaic law is in the eye in each case. Deciding on this question is not crucial to the purposes of this book, but it seems preferable for Paul to use the term metaphorically in these texts. It is hard to imagine Paul saying that the law in conjunction with the Spirit frees people from sin (Romans 8:2), since Paul emphasizes elsewhere that those who are “under the law” are under sin. Moreover, it is more natural to take the noun “law” as a direct object in Romans 7:21 (“So I find it a law that, if I want to do the right thing, evil is at hand”) instead of an accusative of general reference (“This is how I find in reference to the law”).
And if the “law” is the direct object, the term is clearly metaphorical. Finally, it is quite cumbersome to say that the phrase “another law” (Romans 7:23) refers to the Mosaic Law. It is more natural to conclude that Paul plays with the term law and uses it to refer to another principle or rule among its members. In fact, it is difficult to understand what Paul might mean when he says that the Mosaic Law is in its own members, but it makes a lot of sense to think of another “principle” or “power” in its members. Therefore, Paul is more likely to use the term law in some texts to refer to a principle or power. We see something very similar with verbs that describe a bad reaction to the law (see Figure 1c). In any case, Israel`s disobedience to the law— that is, its inability to observe what the Lord has asked, manifests itself. In the Old and New Testaments, the word law focuses on the commandments and regulations of the Covenant with Moses. In most cases, the word law does not refer to instruction in the general sense, but focuses on what God requires of His people.
This is evident in both the Old and New Testaments, because verbs such as “keep” and “do” are associated with the law. The value of teaching God`s commandments is not to put a burden of perfection or legalism on believers, but to discover what God dislikes and what sin we should avoid. God`s law is good; it is always our guardian who shows us that we need Him, both in salvation and in the process of sanctification, as we grow in faith and likeness of Christ. In any case, let us teach our children the commandments of God so that they may know Christ. The discussion of “the law against grace” is a frequent discussion among Christ`s followers who believe in the Bible. For some reason, we find it difficult to reconcile what seem to us to be two contradictory ideas. Either Christianity is a matter of grace or it is the law. Truth, like many concepts of “god great” in scripture, is an integral part of the gospel of Jesus Christ. Paul regularly thinks of the law in relation to his commandments, and this is evident because he speaks of those who sin by breaking the law, of the need to do what the law says, and to rely on the law and be taught in the law (Rom 2:17, 18, 20).
When Paul speaks of righteousness (Romans 3:21; 9:31; 10:4; Gal 2:21; 3:11; 5:4; Phil 3:6-9) or inheritance (Rom 4:13,14,16; Gal 3:18) Since he has not been attained by the law, he has in mind to do what the law commands. Most scholars now agree that “works of law” refer to acts required by law (Romans 3:20, 28; Gal 2:16; 3:2, 5; 10), as well as the expression “the law of the commandments” (Eph 2:15). The law is understood as a set of commandments summarized in the Covenant of Moses that came at a particular time in history (Romans 5:13; 7:4, 6; 9:4; 1 Corinthians 9:20, 21; 15,56; Daughter. 2:19; 3:17, 19, 21), and the phrase “under the law” also fits here (Romans 6:14, 15; 7:1; Gal 3:23–24; 4:4, 5; 5:18). In Hebrews, the word law always refers to the commandments of the Mosaic Law and the Mosaic Covenant (Hebrews 7:5, 11, 12, 19, 28; 8:4; 9:19, 22; 10:1, 8, 28), emphasizing the precepts for priests and sacrifices that are offered. God`s law does not produce sin; he appoints him only for what he is. Christians struggled to understand exactly what Jesus meant. On first reading, this seems to say that all the rules and rituals of the Old Testament have not yet been observed. But Jesus and his disciples didn`t follow many of these rules and rituals, so it couldn`t mean that. The use of the term law (nomos) in the New Testament is comparable. In some cases, the word law refers to the writings of the Old Testament, and the emphasis is on the Pentateuch: “The Law and the Prophets” (Matthew 5:17; 7:12; 22:40; Luke 16:16; 24:44; John 1:45; Acts 13:15; 24:14; 28:23; Rome. 3:21; cf.
Mt 11:13). In some texts, the “law” seems to refer only generally to the writings of the Old Testament (Matthew 22:36; Luke 10:26; John 7:49; 10:34; 12:34; 15:25; 1 Corinthians 9:8–9 14:21, 34; Gal 4:21), although some of these texts may also contain a special commandment of the Mosaic Law (John 7:49; 1 Corinthians 9:8-9; 14,34). Nevertheless, in the New Testament, as we saw in the Old Testament, the term law most often refers to what is commanded in the Mosaic Law. Matthew speaks of every “iota” and every “point” of the law (Matthew 5:18), and it is clear from the next verse that he is referring here to the “commandments” found in the law (Matthew 5:19). Elsewhere, Matthew deals with certain things commanded by the law (Matthew 22:36; 23:23). Similarly, Luke often uses the word law to refer to what is prescribed in the statutes (Luke 2:22, 23, 24, 27, 39; Acts 23:3) or uses the term to collectively refer to what is commanded in the Sinai covenant (Acts 6:13; 7:53; 13:39; 15:5; 21:24; 22:3, 12; 25:8). . . .
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