Featured Justified by the Law is a Scriptural Truth

Lu 10:25 And, behold, a certain lawyer stood up, and tempted him, saying, Master, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?......28 And he said to him, You have answered right: this do, and you shall live.


Lu 18:18 And a certain ruler asked him, saying, Good Master, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?.....Mt.19:Jesus said to him, If you will be perfect,

Rom. 2:6 Who will render to every man according to his deeds:
7 To them who by patient continuance in well doing seek for glory and honor and immortality, eternal life:
8 But to them that are contentious, and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness, indignation and wrath,
9 Tribulation and anguish, on every soul of man that does evil, of the Jew first, and also of the Gentile;
10 But glory, honor, and peace, to every man that works good, to the Jew first, and also to the Gentile:
11 For there is no respect of persons with God.
12 For as many as have sinned without law shall also perish without law: and as many as have sinned in the law shall be judged by the law;
13 (For not the hearers of the law are just before God, but the doers of the law shall be justified.


In all three cases justification by the law for eternal life is not viewed by Christ or Paul as unbiblical. Indeed, Christ told the Lawyer if he could do the law he would live.

The Rich Young ruler claimed he had kept the law from his youth up and so he asks what do I lack. Jesus said "if thou wilt be perfect" (which defines what keeping the Law requires - being perfect) he was to go sell all that he has, give it to the poor and come follow him, which is really what the Law requires to "be perfect" total sell out of self-reliance and complete submission to God.

To the Romans, Paul describing those who believe they can come to God on the basis of self-righteousness (Rom. 2:3) that if they "by patient continuance in well doing" that the "doers of the law shall be justified."

Not that "perfect" people can become righteous by law keeping but rather the law will DECLARE "perfect" people righteous as it requires perfection to keep the law.

With regard to declaring fallen men righteous by the works of the law, the weakness is not in the law but in those who are SINNERS. However, a sinless Jesus Christ can be and was DECLARED to be righteous by the Law of God. Keeping the law did not make him any more righteous than he already was by his holy nature but it did DECLARE Him righteous.

Furthermore, these three Biblical illustrations prove that the Jews believed in a righteousness obtained by law keeping and that Jesus believed that eternal life would be the consequence of keeping the Law. He only denied that sinners could be declared righteous by the Law.

When God covenanted with Israel, Israel covenanted with God that they would keep the law and therefore right from the beginning Israel regarded keeping the Law in order to satsify God's standard of righteousness as possible. God's only response to their covenant commitment was that they lacked the right heart to do so (Deut. 5:29). That is the state of all in Adam - none righteous and therefore the Law can justify "no flesh."

However, Christ was not born of man, but of God and the law declared him righteous as the fit substitute for sinners and thus obtained the righteousness demanded by the law not for himself but for sinners.

 

NT Wright and those who adopt his covenant works theory are wrong! They are wrong about their definition of "justification by works" and "the works of the law" that it does not refer to a moral righteousness obtained by law keeping as both Jesus and Paul affirm that is precisely how it was understood within Israel in the apostolic era.

They are also wrong about the definition of the term "works" used in Romans 4:1-5 as this is a PRE-covenant use of the term "works" that "pertains to the flesh" prior to both the Abrahamic and Mosaic covenant. Jesus rightly defines "works" as the moral or immoral determinative attitude, words and actions of the heart of men rather than a covenant framework proposed by Wright and his followers.

 

Death is only the condemnation of the law and so is not applicable to sinless beings whether angels or men. Hence, anyone that keeps the Law as God intended eternal life is theirs by nature of their sinlessness. That is why Jesus said that no man takes his life from him, but that he laid it down and he laid it down because he was MADE TO BE SIN (2 Cor. 5:21) and justly deserved death as our sins were laid on him LEGALLY.

 

Hey Bill, I am afraid I am not following you. The law cannot save sinners because they are under its condemnation. Some sinners just don't realize they are sinners (Lawyer, Rich Young Ruler) and that is why Jesus pointed them to the Law.

 

I understand what you are saying, but how does this apply to the thread? I believe what the Bible says as well. Are you saying you are a KJV only advocate and reject the Greek and Hebrew scriptures? I am trying to see where you are coming from with regard to this thread and its subject?

 

Lk. 10:25 ¶ And, behold, a certain lawyer stood up, and tempted him, saying, Master, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?
26 He said unto him, What is written in the law? how readest thou?
27 And he answering said, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength, and with all thy mind; and thy neighbour as thyself.
28 And he said unto him, Thou hast answered right: this do, and thou shalt live.

Bill, the reason the law was "added" was to instruct in the knowlege of sin, but that in no way contradicts what Jesus says here. The weakness is not in the law but in the flesh. Jesus is using it to instruct this lawyer why he cannot obtain justification by law keeping. By telling him "this do, and thou shalt live" is true for sinless people but he is not sinless and to find that out he is instructed to "do this" and by attempting to do it he will find out he is a sinner who comes short of the Law's demand to be reckoned as righteous or sinless.

This thread is not concerned about this issue and I don't want to derail this thread by taking on that issue. However, I will respond and if you want to open up another thread to discuss it, that is fine.

I am aware of this theory but that is all it is. Nowhere does scripture say "paradise" is not heaven, but just the opposite (2 Cor. 12:1-3). Nowhere does it say paradise is in hades but they are diametically distinguished from each other in the story of Lazerus and the rich man. David claimed that at death he would go to heaven and at death "fly away":

Psa. 73:23 Nevertheless I am continually with thee: thou hast holden me by my right hand.
24 Thou shalt guide me with thy counsel, and afterward receive me to glory.
25 Whom have I in heaven but thee? and there is none upon earth that I desire beside thee.

 

Aaron, I did not ask the question "What shall I DO to inherit eternal life" and I did not point to the Law and asked "what saith the commandments" and I did not give the answer "THIS DO and that shalt live". Your argument is not with me. I have merely repeated the Scripture.

Are you saying Christ was in error in pointing to the Law when being asked specifically what the lawyer could "DO" to "inherit eternal life"?

Are you saying Christ was in error in telling the Lawyer "THIS DO" and he "shall have life"?

It seems your view does not agree with Christ and so your issue is with Christ not me, I merely repeated his words to a specific question about LAW KEEPING!

It is obvious from the question by the Lawyer and it is obvious by Christ pointing to the Law and it is obvious from Christ's answer that the law would declare righteous all who are sinless people. as all who are declared to be righteous by the law are not condemned by the Law, thus not under the penalty of death of the law and therefore as Jesus said, "shall live."

No one said it could give life. It merely either condemns to death or declares uncondemned thus the uncondemned "shall live."

The law cannot MAKE sinners righteous but need not MAKE the sinless righteous but DECLARE so, and DECLARE them uncondemned and thus they "shall live"

What the law cannot do is "make" any unrightous person righteous but it can declare any righteous (sinless) person righteous IF such a person can be found and they "shall live" as they cannot be condemned by the law.

 

Hank, the law can and does declare God to be without sin, thus righteous. However, the law cannot make any unrighteous person righteous. The law does declare anyone without sin as righteous, thus not under condemnation, thus not under death, thus, if such can be found, they "shall live."

That is all that Christ is saying to this lawyer (and to the rich young ruler) who both believed they were law keepers. The Law does not condemn to death any who can keep the law according to God's definition of keeping it (not according to their definition). Brother, read my last two posts very carefully before responding as not a word I said contradicts any of the scriptures you quoted.