Originally posted by Lord Urizen
I knew this argument would come up soon....so why include the Old Testament then? Does this render the Old Testament irrelevant ?
Paul's a witty guy.
EDIT:
It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery.Mark my words! I, Paul, tell you that if you let yourselves be circumcised, Christ will be of no value to you at all. Again I declare to every man who lets himself be circumcised that he is obligated to obey the whole law. You who are trying to be justified by law have been alienated from Christ; you have fallen away from grace. But by faith we eagerly await through the Spirit the righteousness for which we hope. For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision has any value. The only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love.
You were running a good race. Who cut in on you and kept you from obeying the truth? That kind of persuasion does not come from the one who calls you. "A little yeast works through the whole batch of dough." I am confident in the Lord that you will take no other view. The one who is throwing you into confusion will pay the penalty, whoever he may be. Brothers, if I am still preaching circumcision, why am I still being persecuted? In that case the offense of the cross has been abolished. As for those agitators, I wish they would go the whole way and emasculate themselves!
Originally posted by FeceMan
No, for Christ came to fulfill the Old Testament. However, Paul specifically states that we are not forced to abide by them. In that time period, there were people going around saying that you had to be castrated in order to be saved, and Paul says that he wishes that they would "go the whole way" and emasculate themselves fully.Paul's a witty guy.
EDIT:
It still renders the Old Testament Irrelevant, since Christ is there to replace it.
Originally posted by Lord Urizen
It still renders the Old Testament Irrelevant, since Christ is there to replace it.
Originally posted by Alliance
We just make up whatever we want whenever we want and then condemn people for not following it.
Originally posted by FeceMan
No, it doesn't. Christ is there to replace it, but that doesn't make the Old Testament unimportant.
Wouldn't it be like a two part safety manual though?
Safety manual Part One (OT) - To remove toast from toaster insert knife vertically and wiggle about. (Don't shave, don't eat sea food, don't menstruate, don't be vision impaired near alter, don't...)
Safety Manual Part Two (NT) - On second thought don't worry about what Part One says. Just get new toaster. (Sorry everyone, God has changed his mind, all that stuff he mentioned in the first part doesn't mean anything now. Mostly. Don't ask me why, he was just having one of those days at the time.)