The Letter and the Spirit of the Law – Lex Meyer
by Scott Blair on December 27, 2012
Yeshua (Jesus) said, “Do not think that I came to destroy the Law or the Prophets”, however popular Christianity teaches that he did come to put an end to it. Why does Christianity contradict the teachings of Yeshua?
In the Berean spirit. I’d like to challenge your thinking in this video.
You say, “I’m going to do my best to enter in and, to be as far along as I can be, to be as close as I can be, to what God is intending for us.” I noticed you skirted around saying, “I’m going to try my best to be great in the Kingdom of Heaven,” but that’s really what you meant. I’m guessing you didn’t come right out and say it because it sounds prideful. But here’s another thing, God never said ” Do your best.” He said, “Do it.” In the Torah, as you know, he said, “Do it or be cursed. Do it or die.” Jesus did it for us, so why are you now trying to place the ministry of death (2 Corin. 3:7), something meant to stir up more sin in our lives (Rom. 5:20), back onto the shoulders of forgiven and redeemed believers?
Here’s another thing, how do you know when you’re doing your best? What if you don’t do your best? Don’t you think you could always try just a little harder? What if your idea of your best is different than God’s idea of your best?
Have you considered that Jesus was teaching the perfection that God requires (a perfection of the heart, aka “the spirit of the Law”) to the Jews because He wanted them to realize, contrary to what the Pharisees thought and taught the people for hundreds of years, that they had no hope of righteousness before God outside of His grace and mercy (Luke 18:9-14)? That we actually have to receive the righteousness of Christ in order to be deemed righteous in any way whatsoever?
According to your understanding of keeping “the spirit of Law” and what Matthew 5:20 says, none of us will enter the Kingdom of Heaven, as none of us can keep the perfection of the heart required by God. It’s harder to do that than to keep “the letter of the Law.”