https://youtu.be/MkqmHELp1N0
In our verse-by-verse study of Romans we are between chapters 7 and 8 and have taken up some topical doctrines that Paul is using in his teaching in chapters 7 and 8. Last time we started on the doctrine of the Mosaic Law.
When we left off we were noting God's commands regarding income tax evasion in Mal 3:8-11; "Will a man rob God? Yet you are robbing Me. But you say, `How have we robbing You?' In tithes (taxation for everyone) and offerings (spiritual giving by believers only)
Unbelievers did not want to pay income taxes to support of the Levitical priesthood but God told them through Malachi that because of that "you are cursed with a curse; for you, the entire nation, are robbing Me"
10 `Bring your entire tithe (income tax) to the treasury, so that there may be food in My house (the client nation), and test Me now in this,' declares the Lord of the armies, `if I will not open for you the windows of heaven, and pour out on you so much blessing that it cannot be contained.
11 Then I will rebuke the devourer (anything that would destroy the economy, like bad weather, insects, pests, or invading armies) for you, so that it may not destroy the production of the ground."
We see from this the God blesses the client nation with great prosperity when its citizens faithfully pay legitimate income taxes.
While the amount of tax is known, spiritual giving does not have any specified amount. Never give so that it deprives your family.
While spiritual giving is mentioned, it is not an issue in the establishment code of the Mosaic Law.
In the spiritual code, the offerings of the believer were a private matter between a believer and God. No predetermined percentage was involved.
Codex three included the function of free enterprise and profit motivation and rejected all forms of socialism, communism, and the welfare state, but does mandate giving for charity.
When you destroy wealth in a nation, you destroy jobs in a nation. Charity is always a valid part of the spiritual life, both in the Old Testament and the New. Civil disobedience, violence, and insurrection were to be rejected as evil.
The laws of divine establishment are for believer and unbeliever alike. The morality mandated by the Mosaic Law was for both believers and unbelievers; it was not the means of spirituality.
Morality is not spirituality. Spirituality is infinitely greater than morality. Morality is produced by human self-determination and it is good because it does the right thing but spirituality is produced by God the Holy Spirit and is infinitely greater than human good because it always does the right thing in the right way for the right reason at the right time.
The Mosaic Law was given to the nation of Israel as the first client nation to God in B.C. 1440, Exod 19:3; Lev 26:46; Rom 3:19, and Rom 9:4.
The Mosaic Law was never given to Gentiles, Deut 4:8; Rom 2:12-14, because Israel was God's client nation.
In the Church Age Codex three was given to the entire world, when it was reiterated in Rom 13:1-10; and other New Testament passages.
The Mosaic Law was never given to the Church, Acts 15:5, 24; Rom 6:14; Gal 2:19. This lack of specificity is one of the problems with non-dispensational theology.
The royal family honor code for the church is a much higher moral code.
Except for the Lord's Table the Church has no ritual, no animal sacrifices, no specific Holy Day or Holiday worship, and no specialized priesthood.
All of these passages make the point that morality must be distinguished from spirituality. Morality is for the entire human race. The more morality you have in a country the better off you are, because the purpose of true morality is to provide true freedom.
Believers are not to reject morality because the believer has an even higher mandate as part of the unique spiritual life of the Church Age and the royal family honor code is that is much greater then morality.
The Mosaic Law has limitations that are described in Heb 7:18: as "weakness and uselessness of the Law." The Mosaic Law as a system of works cannot justify anyone before God Acts 13:39; Phil 3:9.
The Law was given as a system for understanding what is sin, not as a system for salvation or spirituality. The Law explains the fact that we need salvation but it cannot save us. Rom 8:3;
The Mosaic Law reveals Jesus Christ as the only savior. It presents a complete Christology and spiritual life. The Jews complied with the ritual legalistically by rote without connecting it to the reality of Jesus Christ.
Rom 3:20-22; "Because by the works of the Law no flesh shall be justified in His sight, for by the Law is the knowledge of sin. But now apart from the Law, the righteousness of God is manifested...even the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all those who believe; for there is no distinction.
Rom 3:28; "Therefore, we contend that a person is justified by faith apart from the works of the Law."
Gal 2:16, "Knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the Law, but by faith in Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Christ that we might be justified by faith and not by the works of the Law. For by the works of the Law no man will be justified."
The predicate for salvation in both the Old Testament and the New Testament is faith in Christ. Abraham believed in the Lord and it was credited to his account as righteousness. Gen 15:6;
The Mosaic Law cannot provide eternal salvation, Gal 3:21-26. The Mosaic Law cannot provide the filling of the Holy Spirit, necessary for the execution of the spiritual life, Gal 3:2.
The Mosaic Law cannot solve the problems of the old sin nature and spiritual death at physical birth, Rom 8:2-3.
It cannot provide righteousness acceptable to God. It must remain in its proper setting as the basis for the function of a nation. The Mosaic Law can only reveal the problem and point to the solution, but it cannot provide the solution.
The equality factor of the Church Age did not exist under the Mosaic Law under the ritual plan in the Mosaic Law a priest had to be a male born into the tribe of Levi. Under God's protocol plan for the church every believer is a royal priest.
The Law never provided for the indwelling of the Trinity in the body of every believer. The Law never provided for the baptism of the Holy Spirit. The Law never provided for the one hundred percent availability of God's power for every believer.
The Law never provided for a dispensation comprised only historical trends and no prophecy, so that every believer can have the greatest historical impact possible.
The humanity of Jesus Christ is related to the Mosaic Law, since our Lord was born a Jew by race from the royal line of David. Gal 4:4;
The humanity of Jesus Christ in hypostatic union kept the Law perfectly during the First Advent and incarnation as described in the doctrine of impeccability. Jesus condemned the legalistic distortions of the Law and the Pharisees who sponsored such practices in Matt 23.
Jesus fulfilled the Law in His humanity, Matt 5:17. That means the Jesus Christ is the termination, completion or end of the Law for the purpose of righteousness for all who believe, Rom 10:4.
There finally came into history one human being who obeyed the Law perfectly. The righteousness we have is higher than the righteousness of the Mosaic Law. The Church Age believer has a higher echelon of virtue than ever existed in the Mosaic Law.
Despite it's limitations there is still a use for the Mosaic Law in the Church Age. The Mosaic Law belongs to the word of God and still has value for the Church Age believer. It defines human freedom in a client nation to God in the Church Age in terms of establishment freedom and spiritual freedom.
The Mosaic Law defines the function and purpose for divine establishment in terms of morality and human virtue. The morality of the Mosaic Law does have virtue as long as it is not taken into arrogance.
It verifies certain principles of Codex three that are related to the principle of freedom through military victory, the control of crime through capital punishment and the proper function of the judiciary in punishing crime.
The Mosaic Law reveals the importance of the sacredness of privacy, property, and life and the common sense functions of life such as quarantine, proper diet, maintenance of good hygiene, etc.
Codex two of the Mosaic Law emphasizes the importance of historical Christology and soteriology because the historical Christology of the Gospels in the New Testament fulfills the shadow Christology of the Mosaic Law by emphasizing the spiritual death and sinfulness of mankind, the work of Christ in providing eternal salvation, by faith in Jesus Christ.
The perpetual application of the Mosaic Law is found in 1Tim 1:8-11; "We know that the Law is good, if one uses it lawfully.
9 Knowing this fact that the Law was not made for the righteous man, but for those who are lawless and rebellious, for the ungodly and sinners, for the unholy and profane, for those who murder their fathers and mothers, for murderers in general,
10 for fornicators and homosexuals, for kidnappers and liars, perjurers, and whatever else is contrary to sound doctrinal teaching,
11 according to the glorious gospel of the blessed God with which gospel I have been entrusted."
The perpetual application of the Mosaic Law brings people to the place where they recognize the need for a savior. Using the Mosaic Law lawfully means no distortions, no distractions, and no Christian activism. All of these categories refer to the activities of both believers and unbelievers.
The Mosaic Law contains truth that applies to every generation of history, that is, the principles of freedom, authority, property, and jurisprudence. All systems of freedom are based on absolute truth, John 8:32.
The freedom of the royal family completely excludes the Mosaic Law. Gal 5:1, "It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Keep standing firm in it (your freedom) and do not become entangled again in the yoke of slavery (the legalistic believer who lives under the misapplication of the Mosaic Law)."
Temporal freedom is the heritage of physical birth. Spiritual freedom is the heritage of the new birth, 2 Cor 3:17, "Now the Lord (God the Holy Spirit) is the Spirit. And where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom."
The Mosaic Law is completely excluded from the believer's spiritual freedom, but it has value in defining human freedom in the human race.
The characteristics of temporal freedom include the recognition of the sacredness of privacy, property, and life, emphasis on and recognition of the sacredness of self-determination a personal sense of responsibility for one's own decisions, and subordination to the authority of establishment.
The characteristics of spiritual freedom are not based on the Mosaic Law, Gal 5:1. Spiritual freedom is based on the absolutes of Bible doctrine, John 8:32 and the filling of God the Holy Spirit, 2Cor 3:17.
Temporal freedom is the heritage of everyone who is born physically in a free nation. Spiritual freedom is the heritage of believers only from their regeneration at second birth. Spiritual freedom is only located inside the spiritual life in the heart of the soul and can function with or without the support of temporal freedom.
For example, some the greatest believers in the Roman Empire were slaves. Paul told them to "Remain in slavery." You can grow spiritually in slavery just as easily as you can as a free person because the details of life from temporal freedom don't limit the believer's spiritual freedom.
Temporal freedom is based on human merit. Spiritual freedom is based on God's merit.
2Cor 3:13-18; "And they are not as Moses, who put a veil over his face so that the sons of Israel might not see it [his face] while the glory was fading away.
14 But their minds were hardened; for until this very day at the reading of the Old Testament, the same veil remains unlifted, because it is removed in Christ.
15 But to this day whenever Moses is read, a veil lies over their heart, `
16 But when anyone turns to the Lord, the veil is removed.'
17 Now the Lord is the Spirit; and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.
18 But we all, with an unveiled face looking into a mirror (God's Word) to produce a reflection (spiritual self-esteem, spiritual autonomy, and spiritual maturity),
the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into that same image (of Jesus Christ in the spiritual life of the hypostatic union) from glory (the glory of the humanity of Christ) to glory (the glory of the believer who executes God's protocol plan for the church), from the Spirit of the Lord."