Admins: If this is in the wrong forum, please change it to the right one, thanks.


It seems to me that the Apostle Paul taught that these two were at odds with each other. For one brought death the other brought life.

Quote:

2Cr 3:6 Who also hath made us able ministers of the new testament; not of the letter, but of the spirit: for the letter killeth, but the spirit giveth life.

What is the purpose of the "letter of the law" if it only brings about death? What exactly does the"letter of the law" mean? What exactly is the spirit of the law? I would like to hear y'alls opinion on that.

Hi Donna, I will try and give you my take on that verse as best I can, I hope it helps. Often times it helps me to go back at least to the beginning of the chapter, if not further to find verbal and context cues and get a more complete and accurate interpertation of what the author was trying to convey. This has helped me many times, and not doing this has lead to a great many teachers picking and choosing scriptures to twist and manipulate a point they want to make. It also helps me to have several different translations when studying a particular scipture. I like to use Greek and Hebrew transliterated scriptures as well as NIV and KJV. Some people find the Amplified Bible to be helpful but I personally find it more confusing sometimes. Cross referencing them in that way has also helped lead me to a better understanding of scriptures and see truths or insights I may not have seen from one particular wording. That being said, if you notice the subject is on spreading the message of Yeshua. (Christ) The author is basically saying they are not spreading their own message but YHWH'S (God's) very own message and they were not doing it for financial gain. The author was stating that the only proof people needed to see this was that the people's lives were transformed and we can safely assume others could see the "fruits" of their actions. When they speak of the convenant they are talking about the Mt. Sinai covenant (old), that was given to Moses. The covenant basically stated the law and the consequences of breaking the law which was ultimately death. The benefit of accepting the convenant was being YHWH's set apart, holy, blessed people. Now remeber "the wages of sin are death." However no one could follow the law to a "letter", hence the need for a savior. Scripture talks elsewhere that the purpose of the law is to convict us of sin. Without the law to measure ourselves against we would not know that we were sinful. Scripture also tells us that the purpose of the law is for edifying and disciplining. Just as the laws of my nation the U.S.A for example are created and enforced in order to instill order and protect and exact justice, so to the laws of YHWH were created. When Yeshua was crucified he paid the price of us breaking the covenant, which was death, he did not do away with the covenant. Actually He "renewed" it. He fufilled some aspects of the law and as a result of His coming and dying and subsequent resurrection He sent the Holy Spirit, to the believers to "write the laws upon our hearts, versus stone tablets, a reference to the convenant made at Mt. Sinai. In my humble opinion the author is making several points. One, a person alone can't possibly keep every one of YHWH's laws to the "letter" (exactly) and if you somehow did manage to follow out a law precisely, if you were not doing it with the right motivation and intention you were still doing it wrong. Especially if you were under the impression that merely following the law would earn YHWH's favor and salvation. Hence we are under grace and not the law. Acceptance of the new or "renewed covenant, how ever you want to look at it, (the belief that Yeshua died for our sins), was now the only way to salvation and not through the old system of following the law and offering burnt sacrifices. So the "old way", leads to death in the sense that Yeshua had not been sacrificed at the time the "old" covenant was made and the Holy Spirit had not been poured out. Once that happened the only way to salvation and a relationship with YHWH was by accepting the "renewed" covenant. Now that being said Yeshua told us that if we LOVE Him we will follow His commands. He also said not one stroke would pass away from the law until all was fufilled, which of course have not been fufilled, as some false teachers would have many believe as a liscence to not follow the law. I apologize if this was too long winded of a reply or if it did not somehow answer your question of give you any helpful insight. Shalom, Melissa

Oh yeah Donna, I noticed the "y'all" in your post. Central Texas here.

Melissa,

Welcome to Joel's trumpet. Thank you for your opinion.

I am from SWPA, but my mother was born and raised in the south, Georgia.

I think that this is the very subject that divides many in the body today. I want to get an accurate idea of what these two mean. It seems to me that we have two different ideas in the body today. But there is only one spirit, and one God so only one interpretation can be correct.

No problem, I agree on one interpretation and I find for myself the best approach is to let scripture interpret scripture.