Quote 4078
All Christians accept that Christ came to fulfill the law, but what did he mean when he said so in Matthew 5:17? Despite saying in the same breath that he did not come to abolish the law, some interpretations of 'fulfill' demand nothing less than the abolition of the law, leaving us with a Teacher who spoke in unfathomable riddles. In addition, when interpreters look at Matthew 5 in one of several self-imposed contextual microcosms it leads to stifled portrayals of Christ's fulfillment of the law.
Philip S. Ross
https://kevinfiske.wordpress.com/tag/threefold-division/Other Quotes from the Author & Topic
the ten words are distinguished within Israelite law itself by their exclusively apodictic form: 'You shall', 'You shall not', 'Remember', and 'Honour'. Unlike the rest of the law, they are not a mixture of casuistic and apodictic.
From the Finger of God, 90Ten Commandments, The Law0From the Finger of God, 90
hearts always needed the removal and replacement that Ezekiel spoke of, so that the divine inscription of the principles of the Decalogue would be a delight rather than bondage, but the only means by which that was ever achieved and the only guarantee that it will continue in the people of God is in the mediator of the new covenant. Its newness and superiority lie in him. Far from expressing hostility towards the law or commanding a blunt assertion that the law is obsolete, he confirms that the laws inscribed in stone do not pass away.
From the Finger of God, 318The Law, New Covenant, Heart0From the Finger of God, 318
For Christian theology, biblical theology that stops with what the text means is no more useful than systematic theology that ignores what the text meant.
From the Finger of God, 50Systematic Theology, Biblical Theology0From the Finger of God, 50
Exegetes and biblical theologians who eschew systematic theology will approach the texts they study under the influence of dogmatic presuppositions--whether they like it or not.
From the Finger of God, 49Systematic Theology, Presuppositions0From the Finger of God, 49
We must therefore distinguish three kinds of precept in the Old Law; viz. 'moral' precepts, which are dictated by the natural law; 'ceremonial' precepts, which are determinations of the Divine worship; and 'judicial' precepts, which are determinations of the justice to be maintained among men.
Threefold Division, The Law0We must attend to the well-known division which distributes the whole law of God, as promulgated by Moses, into the moral, the ceremonial, and the judicial law.
InstitutesThreefold Division, The Law0Institutes
'I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts' (31:33), does not go beyond the expectations of the Mosaic Law itself (Deut. 30:14). According to the Shema (Deut. 6:6), God always intended that the law be internalized in the hearts of his people.
From the Finger of God, 203New Covenant, The Law0From the Finger of God, 203
The new covenant consists of four elements: the law written on hearts, God's presence, knowledge of God, and forgiveness of sins.
From the Finger of God, 203New Covenant0From the Finger of God, 203
Foods separated for uncleanness were a sign of Israel's separation to a God whose separation was marked by the veil. The implications of its rending extend to everything touched by the theme of separation, including the people and the purity laws. Divine separation gives way to divine nearness -'I am with you always' (Matt. 28:20), ethnic separation gives way to a universal welcome -'make disciples of all nations' (Matt. 28:19), and the separation of certain foods to uncleanness now symbolizes a past reality that gives way to the intrinsic cleanness of all things.
From the Finger of God, 189The Veil, Separation, The Law0From the Finger of God, 189
When Jesus so firmly upholds the commandments in various speeches and encounters (e.g. Matt. 4:10; 5:21-37; 15:4, 19) it is reasonable to expect that he might have been equally frank about the Sabbath if it was no more to be enjoyed. Neither Jesus nor the Gospels are ambiguous about Sabbath. The ambiguity in this case, which is beyond 'slight', is produced by the contributors' anachronistic anti-Sabbatarian framework.
From the Finger of God, 172-173Sabbath0From the Finger of God, 172-173
those who use the threefold division do not view it as the basis upon which the New Testament develops patterns of continuity and discontinuity, but rather as itself based upon the patterns of continuity and discontinuity developed in the New Testament.
From the Finger of God, 165Threefold Division0From the Finger of God, 165
Jesus gave the highest place to the commandments of the Decalogue and his response to the scribe reflected that, thus it is 'with good reason' that the two greatest commandments were considered a precis of the Decalogue.
From the Finger of God, 160Decalogue, Ten Commandments, Jesus0From the Finger of God, 160
Although directed to Israel, it declared certain unchangeable truths from and about God, which affected all humanity, whether they knew it or not. From the perspective of the Pentateuch, as well as the confessions, it 'doth for ever bind all.'
From the Finger of God, 104Pentateuch, Ten Commandments0From the Finger of God, 104
This should be obvious -every society shows it regards some laws as more important than others by making some penalties more severe than others... It is, however, so obvious that it is missed by those who claim the Pentateuch, and the first century Jews who studied it, regarded the Mosaic Law as an individual whole.
From the Finger of God, 91-92The Law, Pentateuch0From the Finger of God, 91-92
Superficially, it may appear that Israel was 'not acquainted with any sabbatical observance at that time' since some of them still went out to gather on the seventh day (Exod. 16:27). But if so, the LORD's complaint, 'How long will you refuse to keep my commands and instruction?' (Exod. 16:28) is misplaced; it implies knowledge of... not least concerning the Sabbath.
From the Finger of God, 65-66Sabbath, Creation Ordinance0From the Finger of God, 65-66
Does Exodus 16 not suggest that they were aware of an obligation to rest before the heard the Decalogue?
From the Finger of God, 65Sabbath, Creation Ordinance0From the Finger of God, 65
The threefold division of the law was born and brought to maturity before the two were forced apart.
From the Finger of God, 50Systematic Theology, Biblical Theology, Threefold Division0From the Finger of God, 50
The wholesale rejection of the value of this categorisation is premature... only given this premise does Jesus' insistence that he fulfils rather than abolishes the law make sense (Mt. 5:17-20).
The Holy Spirit, 164Threefold Division, The Law0The Holy Spirit, 164
Strike out the Sabbath and you also shatter the entire category of moral law and all that depends on it.
From the Finger of God, 6The Law, Threefold Division, Sabbath0From the Finger of God, 6
The non-binding laws were exclusively 'ceremonial'... Laws concerning everyday civil matters in the Israelite community are binding in their underlying principles... The only laws that are, without exception, ever-binding are the laws of the Decalogue.
From the Finger of God, 2The Law, Threefold Division0From the Finger of God, 2
the threefold division of the law is catholic doctrine. Throughout history, the church's most prominent theologians expounded, maintained, and defended its teaching.
From the Finger of God, 1The Law, Threefold Division0From the Finger of God, 1
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