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Have you not noticed what these people are saying: "The
LORD has rejected the two tribes which he had chosen"? They
spurn my people as if it were no longer a nation in their eyes.
Thus says the LORD: When I have no covenant with day and night,
and have given no laws to heaven and earth, then too will I reject
the descendants of Jacob and of my servant David, so as not to
take from his descendants rulers for the race of Abraham, Isaac,
and Jacob. For I will change their lot and show them mercy. [JER 33:24-26]
To this day they have not been crushed; they do not fear or follow the law and the statutes which I set before you and your fathers.
Hence, thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel: I have determined evil against you; and I will uproot all Judah.
[JER 44:10-11]
Because you burned incense and sinned against the LORD, not
obeying the voice of the LORD, not living by his law, his
statutes, and his decrees, this evil has befallen you at the
present day. [JER 44:23]
This was your warning through your servant Moses, the day you
ordered him to write down your law in the presence of the
Israelites: If you do not heed my voice, surely this great and
numerous throng will dwindle away among the nations to which I
will scatter them. For I know they will not heed me, because they
are a stiff-necked people. But in the land of their captivity they
shall have a change of heart; they shall know that I, the LORD, am
their God. I will give them hearts, and heedful ears; and they
shall praise me in the land of their captivity, and shall invoke
my name. [BARUCH
2:28-32]
She is the book of the precepts of God, the law that endures
forever; All who cling to her will live, but those will die who
forsake her. [BARUCH 4:1]
Let no one gloat over me, a widow, bereft of
many: For the sins of my children I am left
desolate, because they turned from the law of God, and did
not acknowledge his statutes; In the ways of God's
commandments they did not walk, nor did they tread the
disciplined paths of his justice. [BARUCH 4:12-13]
This is the law of the temple: its whole surrounding area on
the mountain top shall be most sacred. [EZEK 43:12]
Then he said to me: Son of man, pay strict attention, look
carefully, and listen intently to all that I will tell you about
the statutes and laws of the LORD'S temple; be attentive in regard
to those who are to be admitted to the temple and all those who
are to be excluded from the sanctuary. [EZEK 44:5]
So King Darius signed the prohibition and made it law. Even
after Daniel heard that this law had been signed, he continued his
custom of going home to kneel in prayer and give thanks to his God
in the upper chamber three times a day, with the windows open
toward Jerusalem. So these men rushed in and found Daniel praying
and pleading before his God. Then they went to remind the king
about the prohibition: "Did you not decree, O king, that no
one is to address a petition to god or man for thirty days, except
to you, O king; otherwise he shall be cast into a den of
lions?" The king answered them, "The decree is absolute,
irrevocable under the Mede and Persian law." To this they
replied, "Daniel, the Jewish exile, has paid no attention to
you, O king, or to the decree you issued; three times a day he
offers his prayer." The king was deeply grieved at this news
and he made up his mind to save Daniel; he worked till sunset to
rescue him. But these men insisted. "Keep in mind, O
king," they said, "that under the Mede and Persian law
every royal prohibition or decree is irrevocable." So the
king ordered Daniel to be brought and cast into the lions' den. To
Daniel he said, "May your God, whom you serve so constantly,
save you." [DAN 6:10-17]
"The ten horns shall be ten kings rising out of that
kingdom; another shall rise up after them, Different
from those before him, who shall lay low three kings. He
shall speak against the Most High and oppress the holy ones
of the Most High, thinking to change the feast days and the
law. They shall be handed over to him for a year, two
years, and a half-year. But when the court is convened, and
his power is taken away by final and absolute destruction,
Then the kingship and dominion and majesty of all the
kingdoms under the heavens shall be given to the holy people
of the Most High, Whose kingdom shall be
everlasting: all dominions shall serve and obey him." [DAN 7:24-27]
I prayed to the LORD, my God, and confessed, "Ah, Lord,
great and awesome God, you who keep your merciful covenant toward
those who love you and observe your commandments! We have sinned,
been wicked and done evil; we have rebelled and departed from your
commandments and your laws. We have not obeyed your servants the
prophets, who spoke in your name to our kings, our princes, our
fathers, and all the people of the land. Justice, O Lord, is on
your side; we are shamefaced even to this day: the men of Judah,
the residents of Jerusalem, and all Israel, near and far, in all
the countries to which you have scattered them because of their
treachery toward you. O LORD, we are shamefaced, like our kings,
our princes, and our fathers, for having sinned against you. But
yours, O Lord, our God, are compassion and forgiveness! Yet we
rebelled against you and paid no heed to your command, O LORD, our
God, to live by the law you gave us through your servants the
prophets. Because all Israel transgressed your law and went
astray, not heeding your voice, the sworn malediction, recorded in
the law of Moses, the servant of God, was poured out over us for
our sins. You carried out the threats you spoke against us and
against those who governed us, by bringing upon us in Jerusalem
the greatest calamity that has ever occurred under heaven. As it
is written in the law of Moses, this calamity came full upon us.
As we did not appease the LORD, our God, by turning back from our
wickedness and recognizing his constancy, so the LORD kept watch
over the calamity and brought it upon us. You, O LORD, our God,
are just in all that you have done, for we did not listen to your
voice. Now, O Lord, our God, who led your people out of the
land of Egypt with a strong hand, and made a name for yourself
even to this day, we have sinned, we are guilty. O Lord, in
keeping with all your just deeds, let your anger and your wrath be
turned away from your city Jerusalem, your holy mountain. On
account of our sins and the crimes of our fathers, Jerusalem and
your people have become the reproach of all our neighbors." [DAN 9:4-16]
In Babylon there lived a man named Joakim, who married a very beautiful and God-fearing woman, Susanna, the daughter of
Hilkiah; her pious parents had trained their daughter according to the law of Moses.
[DAN 13:1-3]
My people perish for want of knowledge! Since you have rejected
knowledge, I will reject you from my priesthood; Since you have
ignored the law of your God, I will also ignore your sons. [HOSEA
4:6]
A trumpet to your lips, You who watch over the house of
the LORD! Since they have violated my covenant, and
sinned against my law, While to me they cry out, "O, God
of Israel, we know you!" The men of Israel have thrown away
what is good; the enemy shall pursue them. They made kings,
but not by my authority; they established princes, but
without my approval. With their silver and gold they
made idols for themselves, to their own destruction. [HOSEA 8:1-4]
Thus says the LORD: For three crimes of Judah, and for
four, I will not revoke my word; Because they spurned
the law of the LORD, and did not keep his
statutes; Because the lies which their fathers
followed have led them astray, I will send fire upon
Judah, to devour the castles of Jerusalem. [AMOS 2:4-5]
Seek the LORD, all you humble of the earth, who have observed
his law; Seek justice, seek humility; perhaps you may be sheltered
on the day of the LORD'S anger. [ZEPH 2:3]
"Do not think that I have come to abolish the law or the
prophets. I have come not to abolish but to fulfill. Amen, I say
to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not the smallest letter
or the smallest part of a letter will pass from the law, until all
things have taken place. Therefore, whoever breaks one of the
least of these commandments and teaches others to do so will be
called least in the kingdom of heaven. But whoever obeys and
teaches these commandments will be called greatest in the kingdom
of heaven. I tell you, unless your righteousness surpasses
that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will not enter into the
kingdom of heaven." [MT 5:17-20]
"Do to others whatever you would have them do to you. This
is the law and the prophets." [MT 7:12]
"Amen, I say to you, among those born of women there has been
none greater than John the Baptist; yet the least in the kingdom
of heaven is greater than he. From the days of John the
Baptist until now, the kingdom of heaven suffers violence, and the
violent are taking it by force. All the prophets and the law
prophesied up to the time of John. And if you are willing to
accept it, he is Elijah, the one who is to come. Whoever has ears
ought to hear." [MT 11:11-15]
At that time Jesus was going through a field of grain on the
sabbath. His disciples were hungry and began to pick the heads of
grain and eat them. When the Pharisees saw this, they said to him,
"See, your disciples are doing what is unlawful to do on the
sabbath." He said to them, "Have you not read what David
did when he and his companions were hungry, how he went into the
house of God and ate the bread of offering, which neither he nor
his companions but only the priests could lawfully eat? Or have
you not read in the law that on the sabbath the priests serving in
the temple violate the sabbath and are innocent? I say to you,
something greater than the temple is here. If you knew what this
meant, 'I desire mercy, not sacrifice,' you would not have
condemned these innocent men. For the Son of Man is Lord of the
sabbath." [MT 12:1-8]
Moving on from there, he went into their synagogue. And behold,
there was a man there who had a withered hand. They questioned
him, "Is it lawful to cure on the sabbath?" so that they
might accuse him. He said to them, "Which one of you who has
a sheep that falls into a pit on the sabbath will not take hold of
it and lift it out? How much more valuable a person is than a
sheep. So it is lawful to do good on the sabbath." Then he
said to the man, "Stretch out your hand." He stretched
it out, and it was restored as sound as the other. But the
Pharisees went out and took counsel against him to put him to
death. [MT 12:9-14]
Now Herod had arrested John, bound (him), and put him in prison on account of
Herodias, the wife of his brother Philip, for John had said to him, "It is not lawful for you to have her." Although he wanted to kill him, he feared the people, for they regarded him as a prophet.
[MT 14:3-5]
Some Pharisees approached him, and tested him, saying, "Is
it lawful for a man to divorce his wife for any cause
whatever?" He said in reply, "Have you not read that
from the beginning the Creator 'made them male and female' and
said, 'For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and
be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh'? So
they are no longer two, but one flesh. Therefore, what God has
joined together, no human being must separate." They said to
him, "Then why did Moses command that the man give the woman
a bill of divorce and dismiss (her)?" He said to them,
"Because of the hardness of your hearts Moses allowed you to
divorce your wives, but from the beginning it was not so. I say to
you, whoever divorces his wife (unless the marriage is unlawful)
and marries another commits adultery." [MT 19:3-9]
Then the Pharisees went off and plotted how they might entrap
him in speech. They sent their disciples to him, with the
Herodians, saying, "Teacher, we know that you are a truthful
man and that you teach the way of God in accordance with the
truth. And you are not concerned with anyone's opinion, for you do
not regard a person's status. Tell us, then, what is your opinion:
Is it lawful to pay the census tax to Caesar or not?" Knowing
their malice, Jesus said, "Why are you testing me, you
hypocrites? Show me the coin that pays the census tax." Then
they handed him the Roman coin. He said to them, "Whose image
is this and whose inscription?" They replied,
"Caesar's." At that he said to them, "Then repay to
Caesar what belongs to Caesar and to God what belongs to God."
[MT 22:15-21]
When the Pharisees heard that he had silenced the Sadducees,
they gathered together, and one of them (a scholar of the law)
tested him by asking, "Teacher, which commandment in the law
is the greatest?" He said to him, "You shall love the
Lord, your God, with all your heart, with all your soul, and with
all your mind. This is the greatest and the first commandment. The
second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. The
whole law and the prophets depend on these two commandments."
[MT 22:34-40]
"Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites. You
pay tithes of mint and dill and cummin, and have neglected the
weightier things of the law: judgment and mercy and fidelity.
(But) these you should have done, without neglecting the others."
[MT 23:23]
Then Judas, his betrayer, seeing that Jesus had been condemned,
deeply regretted what he had done. He returned the thirty pieces
of silver to the chief priests and elders, saying, "I have
sinned in betraying innocent blood." They said, "What is
that to us? Look to it yourself." Flinging the money into the
temple, he departed and went off and hanged himself. The chief
priests gathered up the money, but said, "It is not lawful to
deposit this in the temple treasury, for it is the price of
blood." After consultation, they used it to buy the potter's
field as a burial place for foreigners. That is why that field
even today is called the Field of Blood. [MT 27:3-8]
The Pharisees approached and asked, "Is it lawful for a
husband to divorce his wife?" They were testing him. He said
to them in reply, "What did Moses command you?" They
replied, "Moses permitted him to write a bill of divorce and
dismiss her." But Jesus told them, "Because of the
hardness of your hearts he wrote you this commandment. But from
the beginning of creation, 'God made them male and female. For
this reason a man shall leave his father and mother (and be joined
to his wife), and the two shall become one flesh.' So they are no
longer two but one flesh. Therefore what God has joined together,
no human being must separate." In the house the disciples
again questioned him about this. He said to them, "Whoever
divorces his wife and marries another commits adultery against
her; and if she divorces her husband and marries another, she
commits adultery." [MK 10:2-12]
When the days were completed for their purification according to the law of Moses, they took him up to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord, just as it is written in the law of the Lord, "Every male that opens the womb shall be consecrated to the
Lord" [Taken from LK 2:22-23]
There was a scholar of the law who stood up to test him and
said, "Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?"
Jesus said to him, "What is written in the law? How do you
read it?" He said in reply, "You shall love the Lord,
your God, with all your heart, with all your being, with all your
strength, and with all your mind, and your neighbor as
yourself." He replied to him, "You have answered
correctly; do this and you will live." [LK 10:25-28]
And he said, "Woe also to you scholars of the law! You
impose on people burdens hard to carry, but you yourselves do not
lift one finger to touch them." [LK 11:46]
"The law and the prophets lasted until John; but from then
on the kingdom of God is proclaimed, and everyone who enters does
so with violence. It is easier for heaven and earth to pass away than for the
smallest part of a letter of the law to become invalid." [LK 16:16-17]
"Is it lawful for us to pay tribute to Caesar or
not?" Recognizing their craftiness he said to them,
"Show me a denarius; whose image and name does it bear?"
They replied, "Caesar's." So he said to them, "Then
repay to Caesar what belongs to Caesar and to God what belongs to
God." They were unable to trap him by something he might say
before the people, and so amazed were they at his reply that they
fell silent. [LK 20:22-26]
He said to them, "These are my words that I spoke to you
while I was still with you, that everything written about me in
the law of Moses and in the prophets and psalms must be
fulfilled." [LK 24:44]
From his fullness we have all received, grace in place of
grace, because while the law was given through Moses, grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.
[JN 1:16-17]
Philip found Nathanael and told him, "We have found the
one about whom Moses wrote in the law, and also the prophets,
Jesus, son of Joseph, from Nazareth." [JN 1:45]
"Did not Moses give you the law? Yet none of you keeps the law.
Why are you trying to kill me?" [JN 7:19]
If a man can receive circumcision on a sabbath so that the law
of Moses may not be broken, are you angry with me because I made a
whole person well on a sabbath? [JN 7:23]
Nicodemus, one of their members who had come to him earlier, said to them, "Does our law condemn a person before it first hears him and finds out what he is doing?"
[JN 7:50-51]
But early in the morning he arrived again in the temple area,
and all the people started coming to him, and he sat down and
taught them. Then the scribes and the Pharisees brought a woman
who had been caught in adultery and made her stand in the middle.
They said to him, "Teacher, this woman was caught in the very
act of committing adultery. Now in the law, Moses commanded us to
stone such women. So what do you say?" They said this to test
him, so that they could have some charge to bring against him.
Jesus bent down and began to write on the ground with his
finger. But when they continued asking him, he straightened
up and said to them, "Let the one among you who is without
sin be the first to throw a stone at her." Again he bent down
and wrote on the ground. And in response, they went away one by
one, beginning with the elders. So he was left alone with the
woman before him. Then Jesus straightened up and said to her,
"Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?" She
replied, "No one, sir." Then Jesus said, "Neither
do I condemn you. Go, (and) from now on do not sin any more."
[JN 8:2-11]
"And even if I should judge, my judgment is valid, because I am
not alone, but it is I and the Father who sent me. Even in your
law it is written that the testimony of two men can be verified. I
testify on my behalf and so does the Father who sent me." [JN
8:16-18]
The Jews answered him, "We are not stoning you for a good
work but for blasphemy. You, a man, are making yourself God."
Jesus answered them, "Is it not written in your law, 'I said,
"You are gods"'? If it calls them gods to whom the word
of God came, and scripture cannot be set aside, can you say that
the one whom the Father has consecrated and sent into the world
blasphemes because I said, 'I am the Son of God'? If I do not
perform my Father's works, do not believe me; but if I perform
them, even if you do not believe me, believe the works, so that
you may realize (and understand) that the Father is in me and I am
in the Father." [JN 10:33-38]
So the crowd answered him, "We have heard from the law
that the Messiah remains forever. Then how can you say that the
Son of Man must be lifted up? Who is this Son of Man?" Jesus
said to them, "The light will be among you only a little
while. Walk while you have the light, so that darkness may not
overcome you. Whoever walks in the dark does not know where he is
going. While you have the light, believe in the light, so that you
may become children of the light." After he had said this,
Jesus left and hid from them. [JN 12:34-36]
If I had not come and spoken to them, they would have no sin;
but as it is they have no excuse for their sin. Whoever hates me
also hates my Father. If I had not done works among them that no
one else ever did, they would not have sin; but as it is, they
have seen and hated both me and my Father. But in order that the
word written in their law might be fulfilled, 'They hated me
without cause.' [JN 15:22-25]
At this, Pilate said to them, "Take him yourselves, and
judge him according to your law." The Jews answered him,
"We do not have the right to execute anyone," in
order that the word of Jesus might be fulfilled that he said
indicating the kind of death he would die. [JN 18:31-32]
So Jesus came out, wearing the crown of thorns and the purple
cloak. And he said to them, "Behold, the man!" When the
chief priests and the guards saw him they cried out, "Crucify
him, crucify him!" Pilate said to them, "Take him
yourselves and crucify him. I find no guilt in him." The Jews
answered, "We have a law, and according to that law he ought
to die, because he made himself the Son of God." Now when
Pilate heard this statement, he became even more afraid, and went
back into the praetorium and said to Jesus, "Where are you
from?" Jesus did not answer him. So Pilate said to him,
"Do you not speak to me? Do you not know that I have power to
release you and I have power to crucify you?" [JN 19:5-10]
"You stiff-necked people, uncircumcised in heart and ears,
you always oppose the Holy Spirit; you are just like your
ancestors. Which of the prophets did your ancestors not persecute?
They put to death those who foretold the coming of the righteous
one, whose betrayers and murderers you have now become. You
received the law as transmitted by angels, but you did not observe
it." [ACTS 7:51-53]
From Paphos, Paul and his companions set sail and arrived at
Perga in Pamphylia. But John left them and returned to Jerusalem.
They continued on from Perga and reached Antioch in Pisidia. On
the sabbath they entered (into) the synagogue and took their
seats. After the reading of the law and the prophets, the
synagogue officials sent word to them, "My brothers, if one
of you has a word of exhortation for the people, please
speak." [ACTS 13:13-15]
But the one whom God raised up did not see corruption. You must
know, my brothers, that through him forgiveness of sins is being
proclaimed to you, (and) in regard to everything from which you
could not be justified under the law of Moses, in him every
believer is justified. [ACTS 13:37-39]
But when Gallio was proconsul of Achaia, the Jews rose up
together against Paul and brought him to the tribunal, saying,
"This man is inducing people to worship God contrary to the
law." When Paul was about to reply, Gallio spoke to the
Jews, "If it were a matter of some crime or malicious fraud,
I should with reason hear the complaint of you Jews; but since it
is a question of arguments over doctrine and titles and your own
law, see to it yourselves. I do not wish to be a judge of such
matters." And he drove them away from the tribunal. [ACTS 18:12-16]
The next day, Paul accompanied us on a visit to James, and all
the presbyters were present. He greeted them, then proceeded to
tell them in detail what God had accomplished among the Gentiles
through his ministry. They praised God when they heard it but said
to him, "Brother, you see how many thousands of believers
there are from among the Jews, and they are all zealous observers
of the law. They have been informed that you are teaching all the
Jews who live among the Gentiles to abandon Moses and that you are
telling them not to circumcise their children or to observe their
customary practices. What is to be done? They will surely hear
that you have arrived. So do what we tell you. We have four men
who have taken a vow. Take these men and purify yourself with
them, and pay their expenses that they may have their heads
shaved. In this way everyone will know that there is nothing to
the reports they have been given about you but that you yourself
live in observance of the law." [ACTS 21:18-24]
When the seven days were nearly completed, the Jews from the
province of Asia noticed him in the temple, stirred up the whole
crowd, and laid hands on him, shouting, "Fellow Israelites,
help us. This is the man who is teaching everyone everywhere
against the people and the law and this place, and what is more,
he has even brought Greeks into the temple and defiled this sacred
place." For they had previously seen Trophimus the
Ephesian in the city with him and supposed that Paul had brought
him into the temple. [ACTS 21:27-29]
"My brothers and fathers, listen to what I am about to say
to you in my defense." When they heard him addressing them in
Hebrew they became all the more quiet. And he continued, "I
am a Jew, born in Tarsus in Cilicia, but brought up in this city.
At the feet of Gamaliel I was educated strictly in our ancestral
law and was zealous for God, just as all of you are today. I
persecuted this Way to death, binding both men and women and
delivering them to prison. Even the high priest and the whole
council of elders can testify on my behalf. For from them I even
received letters to the brothers and set out for Damascus to bring
back to Jerusalem in chains for punishment those there as well. On that journey as I drew near to Damascus, about noon a
great light from the sky suddenly shone around me. I fell to the
ground and heard a voice saying to me, 'Saul, Saul, why are you
persecuting me?' I replied, 'Who are you, sir?' And he said to me,
'I am Jesus the Nazorean whom you are persecuting.' My companions
saw the light but did not hear the voice of the one who spoke to
me. I asked, 'What shall I do, sir?' The Lord answered me, 'Get up
and go into Damascus, and there you will be told about everything
appointed for you to do.' Since I could see nothing because of the
brightness of that light, I was led by hand by my companions and
entered Damascus. A certain Ananias, a devout observer of
the law, and highly spoken of by all the Jews who lived there,
came to me and stood there and said, 'Saul, my brother, regain
your sight.' And at that very moment I regained my sight and saw
him. Then he said, 'The God of our ancestors designated you to
know his will, to see the Righteous One, and to hear the sound of
his voice; for you will be his witness before all to what you have
seen and heard'." [ACTS
22:1-15]
Then Paul said to him, "God will strike you, you
whitewashed wall. Do you indeed sit in judgment upon me according
to the law and yet in violation of the law order me to be
struck?" [ACTS 23:3]
"This man, seized by the Jews and about to be murdered by them,
I rescued after intervening with my troops when I learned that he
was a Roman citizen. I wanted to learn the reason for their
accusations against him so I brought him down to their Sanhedrin.
I discovered that he was accused in matters of controversial
questions of their law and not of any charge deserving death or
imprisonment. Since it was brought to my attention that there will
be a plot against the man, I am sending him to you at once, and
have also notified his accusers to state (their case) against him
before you." So the soldiers, according to their orders, took
Paul and escorted him by night to Antipatris. [ACTS 23:27-31]
But this I do admit to you, that according to the Way, which
they call a sect, I worship the God of our ancestors and I believe
everything that is in accordance with the law and written in the
prophets. [ACTS 24:14]
In defending himself Paul said, "I have committed no crime
either against the Jewish law or against the temple or against
Caesar." [ACTS 25:8]
So they arranged a day with him and came to his lodgings in
great numbers. From early morning until evening, he expounded his
position to them, bearing witness to the kingdom of God and trying
to convince them about Jesus from the law of Moses and the
prophets. [ACTS 28:23]
All who sin outside the law will also perish without reference
to it, and all who sin under the law will be judged in accordance
with it. For it is not those who hear the law who are just in the
sight of God; rather, those who observe the law will be justified.
For when the Gentiles who do not have the law by nature observe
the prescriptions of the law, they are a law for themselves even
though they do not have the law. They show that the demands of the
law are written in their hearts, while their conscience also bears
witness and their conflicting thoughts accuse or even defend them
on the day when, according to my gospel, God will judge people's
hidden works through Christ Jesus. Now if you call yourself a Jew
and rely on the law and boast of God and know his will and are
able to discern what is important since you are instructed from
the law, and if you are confident that you are a guide for the
blind and a light for those in darkness, that you are a trainer of
the foolish and teacher of the simple, because in the law you have
the formulation of knowledge and truth - then you who teach
another, are you failing to teach yourself? You who preach against
stealing, do you steal? You who forbid adultery, do you commit
adultery? You who detest idols, do you rob temples? You who boast
of the law, do you dishonor God by breaking the law? For, as it is
written, "Because of you the name of God is reviled among the
Gentiles." Circumcision, to be sure, has value if you
observe the law; but if you break the law, your circumcision has
become uncircumcision. Again, if an uncircumcised man keeps the
precepts of the law, will he not be considered circumcised?
Indeed, those who are physically uncircumcised but carry out the
law will pass judgment on you, with your written law and
circumcision, who break the law. One is not a Jew outwardly. True
circumcision is not outward, in the flesh. Rather, one is a Jew
inwardly, and circumcision is of the heart, in the spirit, not the
letter; his praise is not from human beings but from God. [ROM 2:12-29]
Now we know that what the law says is addressed to those under
the law, so that every mouth may be silenced and the whole world
stand accountable to God, since no human being will be justified
in his sight by observing the law; for through the law comes
consciousness of sin. But now the righteousness of God has been
manifested apart from the law, though testified to by the law and
the prophets, the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus
Christ for all who believe. For there is no distinction; all have
sinned and are deprived of the glory of God. They are justified
freely by his grace through the redemption in Christ Jesus, whom
God set forth as an expiation, through faith, by his blood, to
prove his righteousness because of the forgiveness of sins
previously committed, through the forbearance of God - to prove his
righteousness in the present time, that he might be righteous and
justify the one who has faith in Jesus. What occasion is there
then for boasting? It is ruled out. On what principle, that of
works? No, rather on the principle of faith. For we consider
that a person is justified by faith apart from works of the law.
Does God belong to Jews alone? Does he not belong to Gentiles,
too? Yes, also to Gentiles, for God is one and will justify the
circumcised on the basis of faith and the uncircumcised through
faith. Are we then annulling the law by this faith? Of course not!
On the contrary, we are supporting the law. [ROM 3:19-31]
It was not through the law that the promise was made to Abraham
and his descendants that he would inherit the world, but through
the righteousness that comes from faith. For if those who adhere
to the law are the heirs, faith is null and the promise is void.
For the law produces wrath; but where there is no law, neither is
there violation. For this reason, it depends on faith, so
that it may be a gift, and the promise may be guaranteed to all
his descendants, not to those who only adhere to the law but to
those who follow the faith of Abraham, who is the father of all of
us, as it is written, "I have made you father of many
nations." He is our father in the sight of God, in whom he
believed, who gives life to the dead and calls into being what
does not exist. [ROM 4:13-17]
Therefore, just as through one person sin entered the world,
and through sin, death, and thus death came to all, inasmuch as
all sinned - for up to the time of the law, sin was in the world,
though sin is not accounted when there is no law. But death
reigned from Adam to Moses, even over those who did not sin after
the pattern of the trespass of Adam, who is the type of the one
who was to come. But the gift is not like the transgression. For
if by that one person's transgression the many died, how much more
did the grace of God and the gracious gift of the one person Jesus
Christ overflow for the many. And the gift is not like the result
of the one person's sinning. For after one sin there was the
judgment that brought condemnation; but the gift, after many
transgressions, brought acquittal. For if, by the transgression of
one person, death came to reign through that one, how much more
will those who receive the abundance of grace and of the gift of
justification come to reign in life through the one person Jesus
Christ. In conclusion, just as through one transgression
condemnation came upon all, so through one righteous act acquittal
and life came to all. For just as through the disobedience of one
person the many were made sinners, so through the obedience of one
the many will be made righteous. The law entered in so that
transgression might increase but, where sin increased, grace
overflowed all the more, so that, as sin reigned in death, grace
also might reign through justification for eternal life through
Jesus Christ our Lord. [ROM 5:12-21]
Consequently, you too must think of yourselves as (being) dead
to sin and living for God in Christ Jesus. Therefore, sin must not
reign over your mortal bodies so that you obey their desires. And
do not present the parts of your bodies to sin as weapons for
wickedness, but present yourselves to God as raised from the dead
to life and the parts of your bodies to God as weapons for
righteousness. For sin is not to have any power over you, since
you are not under the law but under grace. What then? Shall we sin
because we are not under the law but under grace? Of course not!
Do you not know that if you present yourselves to someone as
obedient slaves, you are slaves of the one you obey, either of
sin, which leads to death, or of obedience, which leads to
righteousness? [ROM 6:11-16]
Are you unaware, brothers (for I am speaking to people who know
the law), that the law has jurisdiction over one as long as one
lives? Thus a married woman is bound by law to her living husband;
but if her husband dies, she is released from the law in respect
to her husband. Consequently, while her husband is alive she will
be called an adulteress if she consorts with another man. But if
her husband dies she is free from that law, and she is not an
adulteress if she consorts with another man. In the same way, my
brothers, you also were put to death to the law through the body
of Christ, so that you might belong to another, to the one who was
raised from the dead in order that we might bear fruit for God.
For when we were in the flesh, our sinful passions, awakened by
the law, worked in our members to bear fruit for death. But now we
are released from the law, dead to what held us captive, so that
we may serve in the newness of the spirit and not under the
obsolete letter. What then can we say? That the law is sin? Of
course not! Yet I did not know sin except through the law, and I
did not know what it is to covet except that the law said,
"You shall not covet." But sin, finding an opportunity
in the commandment, produced in me every kind of covetousness.
Apart from the law sin is dead. I once lived outside the law, but
when the commandment came, sin became alive; then I died, and the
commandment that was for life turned out to be death for me. For
sin, seizing an opportunity in the commandment, deceived me and
through it put me to death. So then the law is holy, and the
commandment is holy and righteous and good. Did the good, then,
become death for me? Of course not! Sin, in order that it might be
shown to be sin, worked death in me through the good, so that sin
might become sinful beyond measure through the commandment. We
know that the law is spiritual; but I am carnal, sold into slavery
to sin. What I do, I do not understand. For I do not do what I
want, but I do what I hate. Now if I do what I do not want, I
concur that the law is good. So now it is no longer I who do it,
but sin that dwells in me. For I know that good does not dwell in
me, that is, in my flesh. The willing is ready at hand, but doing
the good is not. For I do not do the good I want, but I do the
evil I do not want. Now if (I) do what I do not want, it is no
longer I who do it, but sin that dwells in me. So, then, I
discover the principle that when I want to do right, evil is at
hand. For I take delight in the law of God, in my inner self, but
I see in my members another principle at war with the law of my
mind, taking me captive to the law of sin that dwells in my
members. Miserable one that I am! Who will deliver me from
this mortal body? Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Therefore, I myself, with my mind, serve the law of God but, with
my flesh, the law of sin. [ROM 7:1-25]
For the law of the spirit of life in Christ Jesus has freed you
from the law of sin and death. For what the law, weakened by the
flesh, was powerless to do, this God has done: by sending his own
Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for the sake of sin, he
condemned sin in the flesh, so that the righteous decree of the
law might be fulfilled in us, who live not according to the flesh
but according to the spirit. For those who live according to the
flesh are concerned with the things of the flesh, but those who
live according to the spirit with the things of the spirit. The
concern of the flesh is death, but the concern of the spirit is
life and peace. For the concern of the flesh is hostility toward
God; it does not submit to the law of God, nor can it; and those
who are in the flesh cannot please God. But you are not in the
flesh; on the contrary, you are in the spirit, if only the Spirit
of God dwells in you. Whoever does not have the Spirit of Christ
does not belong to him. [ROM 8:2-9]
What then shall we say? That Gentiles, who did not pursue
righteousness, have achieved it, that is, righteousness that comes
from faith; but that Israel, who pursued the law of righteousness,
did not attain to that law? Why not? Because they did it not by
faith, but as if it could be done by works. They stumbled over the
stone that causes stumbling, as it is
written: "Behold, I am laying a stone in Zion that
will make people stumble and a rock that will make them
fall, and whoever believes in him shall not be put to
shame." [ROM 9:30-33]
For Christ is the end of the law for the justification of
everyone who has faith. Moses writes about the righteousness that
comes from (the) law, "The one who does these things will
live by them." But the righteousness that comes from faith
says, "Do not say in your heart, 'Who will go up into
heaven?' (that is, to bring Christ down) or 'Who will go down into
the abyss?' (that is, to bring Christ up from the dead)." But
what does it say? "The word is near you, in your
mouth and in your heart" (that is, the word of
faith that we preach), for, if you confess with your mouth
that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him
from the dead, you will be saved. For one believes with the heart
and so is justified, and one confesses with the mouth and so is
saved. For the scripture says, "No one who believes in him
will be put to shame." [ROM 10:4-11]
Owe nothing to anyone, except to love one another; for the one
who loves another has fulfilled the law. The commandments,
"You shall not commit adultery; you shall not kill; you shall
not steal; you shall not covet," and whatever other
commandment there may be, are summed up in this saying, (namely)
"You shall love your neighbor as yourself." Love does no
evil to the neighbor; hence, love is the fulfillment of the law. [ROM 13:8-10]
How can any one of you with a case against another dare to
bring it to the unjust for judgment instead of to the holy ones?
Do you not know that the holy ones will judge the world? If the
world is to be judged by you, are you unqualified for the lowest
law courts? Do you not know that we will judge angels? Then why
not everyday matters? If, therefore, you have courts for everyday
matters, do you seat as judges people of no standing in the
church? I say this to shame you. Can it be that there is not one
among you wise enough to be able to settle a case between
brothers? But rather brother goes to court against brother, and
that before unbelievers? Now indeed (then) it is, in any case, a
failure on your part that you have lawsuits against one another.
Why not rather put up with injustice? Why not rather let
yourselves be cheated? Instead, you inflict injustice and cheat,
and this to brothers. Do you not know that the unjust will not
inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived; neither
fornicators nor idolaters nor adulterers nor boy prostitutes nor
practicing homosexuals nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards
nor slanderers nor robbers will inherit the kingdom of God. That
is what some of you used to be; but now you have had yourselves
washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the
Lord Jesus Christ and in the Spirit of our God. [1COR 6:1-11]
"Everything is lawful for me," but not everything is
beneficial. "Everything is lawful for me," but I will
not let myself be dominated by anything. [1COR 6:12]
Although I am free in regard to all, I have made myself a slave
to all so as to win over as many as possible. To the Jews I became
like a Jew to win over Jews; to those under the law I became like
one under the law - though I myself am not under the law - to win
over those under the law. To those outside the law I became like
one outside the law - though I am not outside God's law but within
the law of Christ - to win over those outside the law. To the weak
I became weak, to win over the weak. I have become all things to
all, to save at least some. All this I do for the sake of the
gospel, so that I too may have a share in it. [1COR 9:19-23]
"Everything is lawful," but not everything is
beneficial. "Everything is lawful," but not everything
builds up. No one should seek his own advantage, but that of his
neighbor. [1COR 10:23-24]
It is written in the law: "By people speaking strange
tongues and by the lips of foreigners I will speak to this people,
and even so they will not listen to me, says the Lord." [1COR
14:21]
Indeed, the spirits of prophets are under the prophets'
control, since he is not the God of disorder but of peace. As in
all the churches of the holy ones, women should keep silent
in the churches, for they are not allowed to speak, but should be
subordinate, as even the law says. But if they want to learn
anything, they should ask their husbands at home. For it is
improper for a woman to speak in the church. [1COR 14:32-35]
The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But
thanks be to God who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus
Christ. Therefore, my beloved brothers, be firm, steadfast, always
fully devoted to the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord
your labor is not in vain. [1COR 15:56-58]
We, who are Jews by nature and not sinners from among the
Gentiles, (yet) who know that a person is not justified by works
of the law but through faith in Jesus Christ, even we have
believed in Christ Jesus that we may be justified by faith in
Christ and not by works of the law, because by works of the law no
one will be justified. But if, in seeking to be justified in
Christ, we ourselves are found to be sinners, is Christ then a
minister of sin? Of course not! But if I am building up again
those things that I tore down, then I show myself to be a
transgressor. For through the law I died to the law, that I
might live for God. I have been crucified with Christ; yet I live,
no longer I, but Christ lives in me; insofar as I now live in the
flesh, I live by faith in the Son of God who has loved me and
given himself up for me. I do not nullify the grace of God; for if
justification comes through the law, then Christ died for nothing.
[GAL 2:15-21]
O stupid Galatians! Who has bewitched you, before whose eyes
Jesus Christ was publicly portrayed as crucified? I want to learn
only this from you: did you receive the Spirit from works of the
law, or from faith in what you heard? Are you so stupid?
After beginning with the Spirit, are you now ending with the
flesh? Did you experience so many things in vain? - if indeed
it was in vain. Does, then, the one who supplies the Spirit to you
and works mighty deeds among you do so from works of the law or
from faith in what you heard? Thus Abraham "believed God, and
it was credited to him as righteousness." Realize then
that it is those who have faith who are children of Abraham.
Scripture, which saw in advance that God would justify the
Gentiles by faith, foretold the good news to Abraham, saying,
"Through you shall all the nations be blessed."
Consequently, those who have faith are blessed along with Abraham
who had faith. For all who depend on works of the law are under a
curse; for it is written, "Cursed be everyone who does not
persevere in doing all the things written in the book of the
law." And that no one is justified before God by the law is
clear, for "the one who is righteous by faith will
live." But the law does not depend on faith; rather,
"the one who does these things will live by them."
Christ ransomed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse
for us, for it is written, "Cursed be everyone who hangs on a
tree," that the blessing of Abraham might be extended to the
Gentiles through Christ Jesus, so that we might receive the
promise of the Spirit through faith. Brothers, in human terms I
say that no one can annul or amend even a human will once
ratified. Now the promises were made to Abraham and to his
descendant. It does not say, "And to descendants," as
referring to many, but as referring to one, "And to your
descendant," who is Christ. This is what I mean: the law,
which came four hundred and thirty years afterward, does not annul
a covenant previously ratified by God, so as to cancel the
promise. For if the inheritance comes from the law, it is no
longer from a promise; but God bestowed it on Abraham through a
promise. Why, then, the law? It was added for
transgressions, until the descendant came to whom the promise had
been made; it was promulgated by angels at the hand of a mediator.
Now there is no mediator when only one party is involved, and God
is one. Is the law then opposed to the promises (of God)? Of
course not! For if a law had been given that could bring life,
then righteousness would in reality come from the law. But
scripture confined all things under the power of sin, that through
faith in Jesus Christ the promise might be given to those who
believe. Before faith came, we were held in custody under law,
confined for the faith that was to be revealed. Consequently, the
law was our disciplinarian for Christ, that we might be justified
by faith. But now that faith has come, we are no longer under a
disciplinarian. For through faith you are all children of God in
Christ Jesus. For all of you who were baptized into Christ have
clothed yourselves with Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek,
there is neither slave nor free person, there is not male and
female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus. And if you belong to
Christ, then you are Abraham's descendant, heirs according to the
promise. [GAL 3:1-29]
But when the fullness of time had come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under the law, to ransom those under the law, so that we might receive adoption. [GAL 4:4-5]
Once again I declare to every man who has himself circumcised
that he is bound to observe the entire law. You are
separated from Christ, you who are trying to be justified by law;
you have fallen from grace. For through the Spirit, by faith, we
await the hope of righteousness. For in Christ Jesus, neither
circumcision nor uncircumcision counts for anything, but only
faith working through love. [GAL 5:3-6]
For you were called for freedom, brothers. But do not use this
freedom as an opportunity for the flesh; rather, serve one another
through love. For the whole law is fulfilled in one statement,
namely, "You shall love your neighbor as
yourself." But if you go on biting and devouring one
another, beware that you are not consumed by one another. I say,
then: live by the Spirit and you will certainly not gratify the
desire of the flesh. For the flesh has desires against the
Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; these are opposed to
each other, so that you may not do what you want. But if you are
guided by the Spirit, you are not under the law. Now the works of
the flesh are obvious: immorality, impurity, licentiousness,
idolatry, sorcery, hatreds, rivalry, jealousy, outbursts of fury,
acts of selfishness, dissensions, factions, occasions of envy,
drinking bouts, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I warned you
before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom
of God. In contrast, the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace,
patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness,
self-control. Against such there is no law. [GAL
5:13-23]
Bear one another's burdens, and so you will fulfill the law of
Christ. [GAL 6:2]
See with what large letters I am writing to you in my own hand!
It is those who want to make a good appearance in the flesh who
are trying to compel you to have yourselves circumcised, only that
they may not be persecuted for the cross of Christ. Not even those
having themselves circumcised observe the law themselves; they
only want you to be circumcised so that they may boast of your
flesh. But may I never boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus
Christ, through which the world has been crucified to me, and I to
the world. [GAL
6:11-14]
But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have become
near by the blood of Christ. For he is our peace, he who made both
one and broke down the dividing wall of enmity, through his flesh,
abolishing the law with its commandments and legal claims, that he
might create in himself one new person in place of the two, thus
establishing peace, and might reconcile both with God, in one
body, through the cross, putting that enmity to death by it. [EPH 2:13-16]
Beware of the dogs! Beware of the evil workers! Beware of the
mutilation ! For we are the circumcision, we who worship through
the Spirit of God, who boast in Christ Jesus and do not put our
confidence in flesh, although I myself have grounds for confidence
even in the flesh. If anyone else thinks he can be confident in
flesh, all the more can I. Circumcised on the eighth day, of the
race of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrew
parentage, in observance of the law a Pharisee, in zeal I
persecuted the church, in righteousness based on the law I was
blameless. (But) whatever gains I had, these I have come to
consider a loss because of Christ. More than that, I even consider
everything as a loss because of the supreme good of knowing Christ
Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have accepted the loss of all things
and I consider them so much rubbish, that I may gain Christ and be
found in him, not having any righteousness of my own based on the
law but that which comes through faith in Christ, the
righteousness from God, depending on faith to know him and the
power of his resurrection and (the) sharing of his sufferings by
being conformed to his death, if somehow I may attain the
resurrection from the dead. [PHIL 3:2-11]
I repeat the request I made of you when I was on my way to
Macedonia, that you stay in Ephesus to instruct certain people not
to teach false doctrines or to concern themselves with myths and
endless genealogies, which promote speculations rather than the
plan of God that is to be received by faith. The aim of this
instruction is love from a pure heart, a good conscience, and a
sincere faith. Some people have deviated from these and turned to
meaningless talk, wanting to be teachers of the law, but without
understanding either what they are saying or what they assert with
such assurance. We know that the law is good, provided that one
uses it as law, with the understanding that law is meant not for a
righteous person but for the lawless and unruly, the godless and
sinful, the unholy and profane, those who kill their fathers or
mothers, murderers, the unchaste, practicing homosexuals,
kidnapers, liars, perjurers, and whatever else is opposed to sound
teaching, according to the glorious gospel of the blessed God,
with which I have been entrusted. [1TM 1:3-11]
I want you to insist on these points, that those who have
believed in God be careful to devote themselves to good works;
these are excellent and beneficial to others. Avoid foolish
arguments, genealogies, rivalries, and quarrels about the law, for
they are useless and futile. After a first and second warning,
break off contact with a heretic, realizing that such a person is
perverted and sinful and stands self-condemned. [Taken from TI 3:8-11]
If, then, perfection came through the levitical priesthood, on
the basis of which the people received the law, what need would
there still have been for another priest to arise according to the
order of Melchizedek, and not reckoned according to the order of
Aaron? When there is a change of priesthood, there is necessarily
a change of law as well. Now he of whom these things are said
belonged to a different tribe, of which no member ever officiated
at the altar. It is clear that our Lord arose from Judah, and in
regard to that tribe Moses said nothing about priests. It is even
more obvious if another priest is raised up after the likeness of
Melchizedek, who has become so, not by a law expressed in a
commandment concerning physical descent but by the power of a life
that cannot be destroyed. For it is
testified: "You are a priest forever according to
the order of Melchizedek." On the one hand, a former
commandment is annulled because of its weakness and uselessness,
for the law brought nothing to perfection; on the other hand, a
better hope is introduced, through which we draw near to God. And
to the degree that this happened not without the taking of an oath
- for others became priests without an oath, but he with an oath,
through the one who said to him: "The Lord has
sworn, and he will not repent: 'You are a priest
forever'" - to that same degree has Jesus (also) become the
guarantee of an (even) better covenant. Those priests were
many because they were prevented by death from remaining in
office, but he, because he remains forever, has a priesthood that
does not pass away. Therefore, he is always able to save those who
approach God through him, since he lives forever to make
intercession for them. It was fitting that we should have such a
high priest: holy, innocent, undefiled, separated from sinners,
higher than the heavens. He has no need, as did the high
priests, to offer sacrifice day after day, first for his own sins
and then for those of the people; he did that once for all when he
offered himself. For the law appoints men subject to weakness to
be high priests, but the word of the oath, which was taken after
the law, appoints a son, who has been made perfect forever. [HEB 7:11-28]
The main point of what has been said is this: we have such a
high priest, who has taken his seat at the right hand of the
throne of the Majesty in heaven, a minister of the sanctuary and
of the true tabernacle that the Lord, not man, set up. Now every
high priest is appointed to offer gifts and sacrifices; thus the
necessity for this one also to have something to offer. If then he
were on earth, he would not be a priest, since there are those who
offer gifts according to the law. They worship in a copy and
shadow of the heavenly sanctuary, as Moses was warned when he was
about to erect the tabernacle. For he says, "See that you
make everything according to the pattern shown you on the
mountain." Now he has obtained so much more excellent a
ministry as he is mediator of a better covenant, enacted on better
promises. For if that first covenant had been faultless, no place
would have been sought for a second one. But he finds fault with
them and says: "Behold, the days are coming, says the
Lord, when I will conclude a new covenant with the house
of Israel and the house of Judah. It will not be like the
covenant I made with their fathers the day I took them by the
hand to lead them forth from the land of Egypt; for they
did not stand by my covenant and I ignored them, says the
Lord. But this is the covenant I will establish with the house
of Israel after those days, says the Lord: I will
put my laws in their minds and I will write them upon their
hearts. I will be their God, and they shall be my
people. And they shall not teach, each one his fellow
citizen and kinsman, saying, 'Know the Lord,' for all
shall know me, from least to greatest. For I will forgive
their evildoing and remember their sins no more." When
he speaks of a "new" covenant, he declares the first one
obsolete. And what has become obsolete and has grown old is close
to disappearing. [HEB 8:1-13]
According to the law almost everything is purified by blood,
and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness. [HEB
9:22]
Since the law has only a shadow of the good things to come, and
not the very image of them, it can never make perfect those who
come to worship by the same sacrifices that they offer continually
each year. [HEB 10:1]
If we sin deliberately after receiving knowledge of the truth,
there no longer remains sacrifice for sins but a fearful prospect
of judgment and a flaming fire that is going to consume the
adversaries. Anyone who rejects the law of Moses is put to death
without pity on the testimony of two or three witnesses. Do you
not think that a much worse punishment is due the one who has
contempt for the Son of God, considers unclean the covenant-blood
by which he was consecrated, and insults the spirit of grace? We
know the one who said: "Vengeance is mine; I will
repay," and again: "The Lord will judge his
people." It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the
living God. [HEB 10:26-31]
Be doers of the word and not hearers only, deluding yourselves.
For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a
man who looks at his own face in a mirror. He sees himself, then
goes off and promptly forgets what he looked like. But the one who
peers into the perfect law of freedom and perseveres, and is not a
hearer who forgets but a doer who acts, such a one shall be
blessed in what he does. If anyone thinks he is religious and does
not bridle his tongue but deceives his heart, his religion is
vain. Religion that is pure and undefiled before God and the
Father is this: to care for orphans and widows in their affliction
and to keep oneself unstained by the world. [JMS 1:22-27]
Listen, my beloved brothers. Did not God choose those who are
poor in the world to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom
that he promised to those who love him? But you dishonored the
poor person. Are not the rich oppressing you? And do they
themselves not haul you off to court? Is it not they who blaspheme
the noble name that was invoked over you? However, if you fulfill
the royal law according to the scripture, "You shall love
your neighbor as yourself," you are doing well. But if you
show partiality, you commit sin, and are convicted by the law as
transgressors. For whoever keeps the whole law, but falls short in
one particular, has become guilty in respect to all of it. For he
who said, "You shall not commit adultery," also said,
"You shall not kill." Even if you do not commit adultery
but kill, you have become a transgressor of the law. So speak and
so act as people who will be judged by the law of freedom. For the judgment is merciless to one who has not shown mercy;
mercy triumphs over judgment. What good is it, my brothers, if
someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can that faith
save him? If a brother or sister has nothing to wear and has no
food for the day, and one of you says to them, "Go in peace,
keep warm, and eat well," but you do not give them the
necessities of the body, what good is it? So also faith of itself,
if it does not have works, is dead. [JMS
2:5-17]
Humble yourselves before the Lord and he will exalt you. Do not
speak evil of one another, brothers. Whoever speaks evil of a
brother or judges his brother speaks evil of the law and judges
the law. If you judge the law, you are not a doer of the law but a
judge. There is one lawgiver and judge who is able to save or to
destroy. Who then are you to judge your neighbor? [JMS 4:10-12]
Also try:
just
[J4]
justice
[J5]
judgment
[J3a]
judge
/ judges / judged [J2]
command
/ commandments [C5a]
fair
/ fairly / fairness [F]
righteous
/ righteousness [R11]
corrupt
/ corrupted / corruption [C11]
iniquity
/ iniquities / injustice [I1]
lawlessness
[L]
thief
/ thieves / theft [T5]
wrongdoing
/ sin
[S18a]
punish
/ punishment / unpunished [P22]
Other
resources:
Catholic
Basics
Reflections: A-Z
| Categorized
Classic
Encyclicals & Other Papal Documents
(Also
try: Help, A-Z)
more
alphabetical scripture | more
categorized scripture | top
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