I am not going to check out Sams offering yet, No disrespect to you Brother but was looking for Christian help so while i am getting it will stay on track. Islamic beliefs are different in some aspects so it may introduce more variables. I do intend to look later, so thanks.
Jesus (pbwh) says he came to fulfill the law and but Paul says he abolished it.
Matthew 5:17
17`Do not suppose that I came to throw down the law or the prophets – I did not come to throw down, but to fulfill;
Ephesians 2:15
15the enmity in his flesh, the law of the commands in ordinances having done away, that the two he might create in himself into one new man, making peace,
In the words of Jesus (pbwh) i understand that he shows fulfillment of the law that is that we will obey out of love and desire not obligation while desiring what is outside the law.
The Pauline scripture in its second part says this but in the first offers the law is done away or in my words abolished. This contradicts the words of Jesus (pbwh).
The law surely still stands, it is not ok to steal, not just because God says so but because Jesus (pbwh) shows so.
I have prody mates who because of Pauls words say they are not under the law, i say to them we are all subject to the law. I understand God is merciful, offers us pardon to be repentant and believe the good news. The repentance is about us being away from the law. His grace does not abolish the law only its consequence.
Thank you Steven John. I thought before you that you may have found that quote(s) from a website that pieced them together in an unrelated manner in order to make a point, but you seem to be struggling with St Paul’s relationship to Jesus in regards to doctrine and the meaning of the coming of Christ.
The intent of the law is made more clear throughout the OT, but I believe this to be at the heart of it
Jeremiah 4:4 Circumcise yourselves to the LORD, remove the foreskin of your hearts, O men of Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem; lest my wrath go forth like fire, and burn with none to quench it, because of the evil of your doings."
as well as
Deuteronomy 30:6 And the LORD your God will circumcise your heart and the heart of your offspring, so that you will love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul, that you may live.
Jesus explains some things regarding the dietary requirements of the law vs the intent of the law.
Mat 15:10 And he called the people to him and said to them, “Hear and understand:
Mat 15:11 not what goes into the mouth defiles a man, but what comes out of the mouth, this defiles a man.”
Mat 15:12 Then the disciples came and said to him, “Do you know that the Pharisees were offended when they heard this saying?”
and further
Mat 15:17 Do you not see that whatever goes into the mouth passes into the stomach, and so passes on?
Mat 15:18 But what comes out of the mouth proceeds from the heart, and this defiles a man.
Mat 15:19 For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, fornication, theft, false witness, slander.
Mat 15:20 These are what defile a man; but to eat with unwashed hands does not defile a man."
Mat 22:36 “Teacher, which is the great commandment in the law?”
Mat 22:37 And he said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.
Mat 22:38 This is the great and first commandment.
Mat 22:39 And a second is like it, You shall love your neighbor as yourself.
Mat 22:40 On these two commandments depend all the law and the prophets.”
and the continuation by St Paul
Rom 2:25 Circumcision indeed is of value if you obey the law; but if you break the law, your circumcision becomes uncircumcision.
Rom 2:26 So, if a man who is uncircumcised keeps the precepts of the law, will not his uncircumcision be regarded as circumcision?
Rom 2:27 Then those who are physically uncircumcised but keep the law will condemn you who have the written code and circumcision but break the law.
Rom 2:28 For he is not a real Jew who is one outwardly, nor is true circumcision something external and physical.
Rom 2:29 He is a Jew who is one inwardly, and real circumcision is a matter of the heart, spiritual and not literal. His praise is not from men but from God.
When Jesus said that eating with unwashed hands and worrying about what you put into your mouth do not defile you he was speaking specifically about the law by which it was prescribed that you must baptize (ritually wash) your hands before eating and avoid certain foods lest you defile yourself before God. He also made the point by saying “The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath” to suggest that these laws were for the benefit of men, so that we may learn from God to rest, wash, avoid illness, but also how to treat each other properly, and not so much in order to follow these rituals in a self serving manner, as they were followed by the Pharisees, as an excuse to condemn others and keep them segregated and outcast from society, without love or compassion.
By taking all of these things into proper context and as a whole, not separate, can we see what Jesus was trying to teach us. St Paul also, who had previously been consumed with his zeal for that law, converted from persecuting and killing the saints to a life of self-sacrifice and suffering persecutions for them, becoming a saint himself. This is how his understanding was changed by Jesus, and how he came to understand the law of the heart and putting on the righteousness of Christ, instead of the righteousness of flesh centered acts of piety that in themselves meant nothing if those doing them were focused on the deeds to the detriment of their relationship with God and their fellow man.
By Christ submitting to the destruction of his own flesh and pride (edit: not that pride was an issue with Jesus, but by example) through the scourging, lies, mockery and crucifixion, did fulfill the law and showed what it means to fulfill the law, out of love for God and our fellow man, to deny ourselves for the love of God and for the sake of others. Eating specific foods, wearing specific clothes, making incisions in our flesh are meaningless if we don’t have love for God and each other. St Paul’s writings are there to explain that ultimately the fulfillment of the law in ourselves is to keep these commandments of Christ.
It’s very difficult to sum up all of this because I feel like I’m pigeonholing Jesus’ sacrifice for us into a very narrow meaning, when what he did is so much greater, but this is merely an attempt to explain St Paul’s writings more clearly. I hope that has helped in some way, and if I made an error that someone would correct it.
