Dr. Cynthia Parker, Deuteronomy, Session 3 -- Deuteronomy 4

Biblical eLearning (biblicalelearning.org) presents (audios also available on Spotify: open.spotify.com/playlist/0Ax...
Dr. Cynthia Parker has a Ph. D. from the University of Gloucestershire. Her thesis was "Deuteronomy's Place: An Analysis of the Placial Structure of Deuteronomy." She teaches at Biblical Theological Seminary and has published several articles in the Lexham Geographic Commentary of the Gospels (ed. Barry Beizel, 2016-2018). Cyndi has also taught for years short term groups at the Jerusalem University College.

[@r-platt]

Please help: Given Deuteronomy 4:2, how can we dismiss some of the laws while enforcing others? Where does God permitted us to even consider ignoring laws an option? And where does God tell us how to decide which of HIS laws can be ignored? Moreover there are numerous examples of ignoring 1 law while enforcing a similar law.

[@tedhildebrandt_BeL]

Actually in Mark and Acts he tells us to ignore the kosher distinctions between clean and unclean food (for example).

[@r-platt]

@@tedhildebrandt_BeL Thank you. That's a start. Could you be a bit more specific? How does that justify, for example, ignoring Lev 19:19 or Deut 21:18-21? Best Regards

[@tedhildebrandt_BeL]

@@r-platt On the rebellious son. Was that ever practiced in Scripture? The punishments prescribed in the law are more a statement of values than that they actually did that. I think you want to look more for the underlying principle. When the NT clashes with the OT prescriptions on food or the necessity of circumcision then that shows a shift. So first thing I do is look for OT/NT comments specifying how or if things have changed (food code, circumcision etc.). In the OT itself I try to look for the underlying principle of a law. I also look at the specified punishments as statements of value (capital punishment for the rebellious child) rather than exact punishments meted out. Culturally they had no major prison contexts so they had to give punishments in a different way than we do. Also Israel is a nation so some of those laws are for nations and not for things like the church which have no nationalistic enforcement modes. Those are some principles I use. Thus I don't ignore those laws I try to understand their meaning in that original cultural context and then see how those underlying principles may come over into our situation noting the differences between Israel (nation) and the church (community) etc. It is complex but it is better to wrestle and try to understand. I don't like the idea of ignoring things in God's word. IMHO

[@r-platt]

@@tedhildebrandt_BeL I like your argument. People lived by the letter of the laws right up until Jesus' time. Today it all comes down to sin or not sin. If we attempt to live by the laws we are constantly judged by the laws. HOWEVER While we live for Jesus the laws no longer hold a curse for us. _We cannot sin._ That's the message of Galatians 2, Hebrews 7:11-19, Romans 13:8-10, etc. Over and over in the NT we are told not to follow the old ways or force others to follow the old ways. We are NOT to abandon the laws and forget them. But the only people to whom the laws apply are those Christians and Jews that choose to be bound by them. Yet _this_ is Jesus' yolk made light. We are only bound by 2 laws: Love your God with all you are Love your neighbor as yourself. The 2nd law requires me to transition because I cannot love myself when I'm filled with conflict and depression. So am I sinning in changing my body? I don't think so.

[@tedhildebrandt_BeL]

@@r-platt But Jesus said I did not come to destroy the law but to fulfill it. To dismiss the OT is a heresy in the church that's why all Bibles (NIV/KJV etc) all have the OT in them. To boil Jesus or the OT down to just those two commands is good but then you must ask yourself what does it mean to love God --> keep his commandments (no lying, stealing, coveting, etc.) Also many of the OT laws have rich teaching that Jesus and his disciples kept. You cannot just throw that all away by trivializing it down to "love" and then define love any way you want. The church has accepted the OT law as part of our Bible. Paul said in 2 Tim 3:16 all Scripture is profitable for doctrine and reproof." What "Scripture" was he telling Timothy about... the Old Testament (as the NT didn't exist yet). Be careful of twisting Scripture just because you have a personal agenda. Allow God's word to speak and listen to it as defining what pleases God rather having your own thoughts and bringing your own predispositions to Scripture for proof and support of your own pet projects. IMHO