On another forum there was a question asked the exposes the problem we sometimes have with statements made by the Apostle Paul. After all, the Apostle Peter explains that Paul is not always easy to understand. I would say that Paul uses "shortcuts," or abbreviated statements, to shorten things so that complex ideas do not run away with too many words. These shortcuts can be easily misunderstood if the greater context of his statements are not clearly understood.
So below I give you an example of how someone viewed Paul's comments on righteousness under the Law. She saw this as a blanket statement indicating the Law of Moses could never have made Israel righteous by obeying it, which on the face of it sounds absurd to me. So I try to explain the greater context of Paul's statement.
The basic context of all of Paul's theology begins in the garden of Eden, where Man was branded a sinner, and cursed with death. At that point, nothing man could ever do, by the Law or otherwise, could redeem him from death. So the Law could not provide a righteousness that restores Man to Eden, where he could partake of the Tree of Life and live forever.
Here is the conversation we had, and you can apply what I'm saying here...
So, to restate, the Law does not produce a righteousness that provides Salvation, even though obedience to the Law is, in fact, righteousness. It would be absurd, after reading the giving of the Law in the Pentateuch, and after reading psalms like Psalm 119, to conclude that the Law provided no righteousness at all!
So what Paul was really talking about, in context, was righteousness of a kind that is eternal, that provides for Salvation. This righteousness could only come by the sinless, divine Christ, as opposed to sinful Israel under the Law. Any sin at all in the Israelite priests disqualified them from either their priestly work or the work they were doing for Israel.
But in reality, God provided a dispensation of mercy to allow the Israelite priests to effectively offer sacrifices for Israel, to keep them in temporary relationship with God until Christ had provided his perfect, redemptive righteousness.
So below I give you an example of how someone viewed Paul's comments on righteousness under the Law. She saw this as a blanket statement indicating the Law of Moses could never have made Israel righteous by obeying it, which on the face of it sounds absurd to me. So I try to explain the greater context of Paul's statement.
The basic context of all of Paul's theology begins in the garden of Eden, where Man was branded a sinner, and cursed with death. At that point, nothing man could ever do, by the Law or otherwise, could redeem him from death. So the Law could not provide a righteousness that restores Man to Eden, where he could partake of the Tree of Life and live forever.
Here is the conversation we had, and you can apply what I'm saying here...
Yes, I'm glad you brought this up because it's really the meat of the matter for me. When Christians quote Paul as saying the Law did not make Israel "righteous," the inference is not always recognized by its context. The reference is to *righteousness that saves,* and not simply to *righteousness* in the general sense.
So, to restate, the Law does not produce a righteousness that provides Salvation, even though obedience to the Law is, in fact, righteousness. It would be absurd, after reading the giving of the Law in the Pentateuch, and after reading psalms like Psalm 119, to conclude that the Law provided no righteousness at all!
So what Paul was really talking about, in context, was righteousness of a kind that is eternal, that provides for Salvation. This righteousness could only come by the sinless, divine Christ, as opposed to sinful Israel under the Law. Any sin at all in the Israelite priests disqualified them from either their priestly work or the work they were doing for Israel.
But in reality, God provided a dispensation of mercy to allow the Israelite priests to effectively offer sacrifices for Israel, to keep them in temporary relationship with God until Christ had provided his perfect, redemptive righteousness.
