Redemption of the Firstborn - Way Of Truth Book

Jacob McKessey says

June 9, 2024 at 1:07 am

Like we were taught to redeem our firstborn sons, YHWH redeems us from our bondage to the law of sin and death.

Many have misunderstood the apostle Paul as teaching that we are redeemed from YAH’s Law. Let us take another look at his letter to the Romans.

Romans chapter 7, like other writings of Paul, is a difficult section of Scripture to understand. The leaders and teachers of mainstream Christianity have taken parts of the apostle’s letters, like Romans chapter seven, Galatians chapter three, and other cherry-picked verses in his letters, to build a false narrative that has deceived millions of good people into sinning against their Maker.

Twisting his words, they contradict Paul’s various statements: “The doers of [His] law shall be justified” (Rom. 2:13 in the context of chapter 2), “Do we make [His] law void because of faith? On the contrary, we establish [His] law!” (Rom. 3:31 as his conclusion of 3:21-31), “Shall we sin?” (Rom. 6:1, 15 & 3:8 concluding his comments in 5:12-21, in the context of 6:11-18, and taking into his account his definition of sin in 3:20 & 7:7, respectively).

Let us now turn our attention to the subject matter of this study: Romans chapter seven. For clarity, we will divide this chapter into two sections: the setup (the first six verses), and Paul’s struggle with sin (the rest of the chapter).

The setup (vv. 1-6)

Rom. 7:1-3

Don’t you know, brethren, (for I speak to them that know the law,) how the law has dominion over a man as long as he lives?

For the woman who has a husband is bound by the law to her husband so long as he lives; but if the husband is dead, she is loosed from the law of her husband.

So then if, while her husband lives, she is married to another man, she shall be called an adulteress: but if her husband is dead, she is free from that law; so that she is no adulteress, though she is married to another man.”

Many suppose that the apostle was referencing the books of Moses, when he said, “For I speak to them that know the law”. However, this cannot be true because nowhere in the books of Moses can such a law be found. The opposite is stated in Deuteronomy 24:1-2:

When a man has taken a wife, and married her, and it comes to pass that she finds no favor in his eyes because he hath found some uncleanness in her: then let him write her a bill of divorcement, and give it in her hand, and send her out of his house.

And when she departed out of his house, she may go and be another man’s wife

While the apostle said that the “law” stated that she may not marry another if the first husband is still alive, Moses said that she may. Deuteronomy 24:4 clarifies that the first husband was very much alive in this scenario.

This is how we can know with certainty that Paul was speaking of a different law. Moreover, the apostle tells the Corinthians exactly where this law came from.

1 Co. 7:10-11, 39

And unto the married I command, yet not I, but the Master, let not the wife depart from her husband: But if she departs, let her remain unmarried, or be reconciled to her husband: and let not the husband put away his wife.”

“The wife is bound by the law as long as her husband lives; but if her husband is dead, she is at liberty to be married to whom she will; only in the Master.”

Our Master taught that if a wife is put away and marries another (assuming her first husband is still alive), she is an adulteress (Mar. 10:2-9, 11). By saying “not I, but the Master”, Paul was attributing this teaching to Yeshua. Thus, Paul’s use of the word “law” in Romans 7:3 and 1 Corinthians 7:39 is a reference to the teaching of Yeshua. Speaking of Yeshua, the prophet foretold that “the islands shall wait for His Law” (Isa. 42:4).

Rom. 7:4-6

Wherefore, my brethren, you also are become dead to the law by the body of the Messiah; that ye should be married to another, even to Him who is raised from the dead, that we should bring forth fruit unto the Mighty One.

For when we were in the flesh, the motions of sins, which were by the law, did work in our members to bring forth fruit unto death.

But now we are delivered from the law, that being dead wherein we were held; that we should serve in newness of spirit, and not in the oldness of the letter.”

In the same way a wife is free to marry another when her first husband dies, so are we free to marry another because of the death of the Messiah.

In the example of the “law to her husband” (Rom. 7:2), the wife is bound to her husband until he dies. In the subject of this chapter, because of Yeshua’s death, we are no longer bound by the “law” (7:4, 5, 6) —that is, “the motions of sin” (7:5) that “did work in our members to bring forth fruit unto death” (ibid).
[He also talks about this extensively in his previous chapter (6) and again in the following one (8).]

Under our first husband, as it were, we were “in the flesh” (7:5) and under the Law. Under our first husband, we were under the curse of the Law of YHWH because we did not obey it. In Paul’s past life, he had supposed that he did keep it, but he did so in “the oldness of the letter” and not “in newness of spirit” (7:6). This brings us to the next section:

Paul’s struggle with sin (vv. 7-25)

In the body of this chapter, Paul described YHWH’s Law as defining sin (7:7), as “set-apart, just and good” (7:12), as “spiritual” (7:14), and again as “good” (7:16). He said that he “delights in the Law of the Mighty One” from his innermost being (7:22).

He said that while YHWH’s Law is spiritual, he was carnal and “sold under sin” (7:14). He described “another law” (7:23) in his flesh that was contrary to YHWH’s Law that was in his mind. He said that this law brought him into captivity to the “law of sin” (7:23, 25). [See also 8:2.]

The conflict that Paul described in this chapter (7:8-25), is encapsulated in the statement he made in verse 24: “O wretched man that I am, who shall deliver me from this body of sin and death?”

In this context, he made some statements that need further explanation. For example, in 7:9 he said:

For I was alive without the law once. But when the commandment came, sin revived, and I died.”

And again, in the next verse:

And the command that is for life, this was found by me for death.”

Taken by themselves, these statements can, and have been, taken to suggest that the reason YHWH gave His Law was to condemn people and make them feel guilty. However, reading the chapter in its entirety, we see that Paul himself struggled with feelings of guilt.

It had nothing to do with YHWH’s Law which he viewed as “set-apart, just and good” (7:12). Instead, it had everything to do with how he had been trained to apply it to his life. He had studied under Gamaliel, a leading rabbi of his day and grandson of Hillel the Elder (Act. 22:3). From a boy, he was steeped in Pharisaism and all the misconceptions and misapplications of YHWH’s Law that came with it. As Pharisee, he had considered himself “blameless” according to the law.

Phi. 3:3-6

…in flesh having no trust, though I also have a reason to trust in flesh. If any other one thinks to have the right to trust in the flesh, I more; circumcised on the eighth day! Of the race of Israel! of the tribe of Benjamin! A Hebrew of Hebrews! according to law a Pharisee! According to zeal persecuting the assembly! According to righteousness that is in law becoming blameless!”

More could be said concerning why Paul struggled with a guilty conscience. What he said in his letter to the Philippians (3:3-9), compared to what he said to the Romans (9:31-32 & 10:3) would help explain to us how he could relate to “trusting in the flesh”. His upbringing, his past life, was of the persuasion that a person could be declared righteous by their good deeds.

Moreover, what he said in Galatians 1:14 (compared with Phi. 3:3-5) concerning his former religion, helps explain some statements he made in Galatians chapter three.

It would serve us well to remember that Paul was once a person who did all his works “to be seen by men” (Mat. 23:5); who “appeared before men to be righteous” (Mat. 23:28; Luk 16:5); and who “trusted in themselves that they were righteous” (Luke 18:9).

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Jacob McKessey says

June 9, 2024 at 1:07 am

Like we were taught to redeem our firstborn sons, YHWH redeems us from our bondage to the law of sin and death.

Many have misunderstood the apostle Paul as teaching that we are redeemed from YAH’s Law. Let us take another look at his letter to the Romans.

Romans chapter 7, like other writings of Paul, is a difficult section of Scripture to understand. The leaders and teachers of mainstream Christianity have taken parts of the apostle’s letters, like Romans chapter seven, Galatians chapter three, and other cherry-picked verses in his letters, to build a false narrative that has deceived millions of good people into sinning against their Maker.

Twisting his words, they contradict Paul’s various statements: “The doers of [His] law shall be justified” (Rom. 2:13 in the context of chapter 2), “Do we make [His] law void because of faith? On the contrary, we establish [His] law!” (Rom. 3:31 as his conclusion of 3:21-31), “Shall we sin?” (Rom. 6:1, 15 & 3:8 concluding his comments in 5:12-21, in the context of 6:11-18, and taking into his account his definition of sin in 3:20 & 7:7, respectively).

Let us now turn our attention to the subject matter of this study: Romans chapter seven. For clarity, we will divide this chapter into two sections: the setup (the first six verses), and Paul’s struggle with sin (the rest of the chapter).

The setup (vv. 1-6)

Rom. 7:1-3

Don’t you know, brethren, (for I speak to them that know the law,) how the law has dominion over a man as long as he lives?

For the woman who has a husband is bound by the law to her husband so long as he lives; but if the husband is dead, she is loosed from the law of her husband.

So then if, while her husband lives, she is married to another man, she shall be called an adulteress: but if her husband is dead, she is free from that law; so that she is no adulteress, though she is married to another man.”

Many suppose that the apostle was referencing the books of Moses, when he said, “For I speak to them that know the law”. However, this cannot be true because nowhere in the books of Moses can such a law be found. The opposite is stated in Deuteronomy 24:1-2:

When a man has taken a wife, and married her, and it comes to pass that she finds no favor in his eyes because he hath found some uncleanness in her: then let him write her a bill of divorcement, and give it in her hand, and send her out of his house.

And when she departed out of his house, she may go and be another man’s wife

While the apostle said that the “law” stated that she may not marry another if the first husband is still alive, Moses said that she may. Deuteronomy 24:4 clarifies that the first husband was very much alive in this scenario.

This is how we can know with certainty that Paul was speaking of a different law. Moreover, the apostle tells the Corinthians exactly where this law came from.

1 Co. 7:10-11, 39

And unto the married I command, yet not I, but the Master, let not the wife depart from her husband: But if she departs, let her remain unmarried, or be reconciled to her husband: and let not the husband put away his wife.”

“The wife is bound by the law as long as her husband lives; but if her husband is dead, she is at liberty to be married to whom she will; only in the Master.”

Our Master taught that if a wife is put away and marries another (assuming her first husband is still alive), she is an adulteress (Mar. 10:2-9, 11). By saying “not I, but the Master”, Paul was attributing this teaching to Yeshua. Thus, Paul’s use of the word “law” in Romans 7:3 and 1 Corinthians 7:39 is a reference to the teaching of Yeshua. Speaking of Yeshua, the prophet foretold that “the islands shall wait for His Law” (Isa. 42:4).

Rom. 7:4-6

Wherefore, my brethren, you also are become dead to the law by the body of the Messiah; that ye should be married to another, even to Him who is raised from the dead, that we should bring forth fruit unto the Mighty One.

For when we were in the flesh, the motions of sins, which were by the law, did work in our members to bring forth fruit unto death.

But now we are delivered from the law, that being dead wherein we were held; that we should serve in newness of spirit, and not in the oldness of the letter.”

In the same way a wife is free to marry another when her first husband dies, so are we free to marry another because of the death of the Messiah.

In the example of the “law to her husband” (Rom. 7:2), the wife is bound to her husband until he dies. In the subject of this chapter, because of Yeshua’s death, we are no longer bound by the “law” (7:4, 5, 6) —that is, “the motions of sin” (7:5) that “did work in our members to bring forth fruit unto death” (ibid).
[He also talks about this extensively in his previous chapter (6) and again in the following one (8).]

Under our first husband, as it were, we were “in the flesh” (7:5) and under the Law. Under our first husband, we were under the curse of the Law of YHWH because we did not obey it. In Paul’s past life, he had supposed that he did keep it, but he did so in “the oldness of the letter” and not “in newness of spirit” (7:6). This brings us to the next section:

Paul’s struggle with sin (vv. 7-25)

In the body of this chapter, Paul described YHWH’s Law as defining sin (7:7), as “set-apart, just and good” (7:12), as “spiritual” (7:14), and again as “good” (7:16). He said that he “delights in the Law of the Mighty One” from his innermost being (7:22).

He said that while YHWH’s Law is spiritual, he was carnal and “sold under sin” (7:14). He described “another law” (7:23) in his flesh that was contrary to YHWH’s Law that was in his mind. He said that this law brought him into captivity to the “law of sin” (7:23, 25). [See also 8:2.]

The conflict that Paul described in this chapter (7:8-25), is encapsulated in the statement he made in verse 24: “O wretched man that I am, who shall deliver me from this body of sin and death?”

In this context, he made some statements that need further explanation. For example, in 7:9 he said:

For I was alive without the law once. But when the commandment came, sin revived, and I died.”

And again, in the next verse:

And the command that is for life, this was found by me for death.”

Taken by themselves, these statements can, and have been, taken to suggest that the reason YHWH gave His Law was to condemn people and make them feel guilty. However, reading the chapter in its entirety, we see that Paul himself struggled with feelings of guilt.

It had nothing to do with YHWH’s Law which he viewed as “set-apart, just and good” (7:12). Instead, it had everything to do with how he had been trained to apply it to his life. He had studied under Gamaliel, a leading rabbi of his day and grandson of Hillel the Elder (Act. 22:3). From a boy, he was steeped in Pharisaism and all the misconceptions and misapplications of YHWH’s Law that came with it. As Pharisee, he had considered himself “blameless” according to the law.

Phi. 3:3-6

…in flesh having no trust, though I also have a reason to trust in flesh. If any other one thinks to have the right to trust in the flesh, I more; circumcised on the eighth day! Of the race of Israel! of the tribe of Benjamin! A Hebrew of Hebrews! according to law a Pharisee! According to zeal persecuting the assembly! According to righteousness that is in law becoming blameless!”

More could be said concerning why Paul struggled with a guilty conscience. What he said in his letter to the Philippians (3:3-9), compared to what he said to the Romans (9:31-32 & 10:3) would help explain to us how he could relate to “trusting in the flesh”. His upbringing, his past life, was of the persuasion that a person could be declared righteous by their good deeds.

Moreover, what he said in Galatians 1:14 (compared with Phi. 3:3-5) concerning his former religion, helps explain some statements he made in Galatians chapter three.

It would serve us well to remember that Paul was once a person who did all his works “to be seen by men” (Mat. 23:5); who “appeared before men to be righteous” (Mat. 23:28; Luk 16:5); and who “trusted in themselves that they were righteous” (Luke 18:9).

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