Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunter's Campfire The Fourth Commandent

You haven’t answered any of what I’ve asked. But that’s OK; you’re not obligated to. You’ve voiced your opinion somewhat, and provided some commentary. I appreciate that.That wasn’t my intention.

I have a question for you though. What about the many verses in the Old Testamant that admonish the parents to punish their children and if they don't the end turns out worse for them? I curious how you look at those.

Well, I'd say, what ever discipline is needed to "Do the Job" No more.

What about the admonishment in the Old Testament that required God’s people to stone rebellious and stubborn children to death...?

The Mosaic Law was for God’s covenant people, Israel, living in a theocracy. Jesus’ New Covenant values and imperatives stand in sharp contrast to the values and imperatives of the Old Covenant. It was the New Covenant values and imperatives that influenced Western Civilization.

Paul said that the Mosaic Law was introduced as a temporary measure, one that is no longer efficacious now that Jesus has come.

Some nowadays do like to cherry-pick certain Old Covenant laws that support what they already believe though, while completely ignoring the other 600 or so Old Covenant laws. James (the brother of Jesus) made it crystal clear what he thought of those who did just that.

Quite a bit of the admonishment in regard to children is in Proverbs. It was written after the Mosaic law. Besides I'm not talking about killing your kid, just spanking them.

I may be reading you wrong on this but it seems like the Old Testament doesn't hold much value to you. Like it's obsolete.

Well Jesus made it crystal clear how He felt about children. What do you think He’d prefer...? Do you think He’d come at em’ with a rod of discipline, or do you think He’d come at em’ in love and with a gentle spirit...? Seems a lotta Christians have created this weird mindset where they’ve put their own children under the “law” while all other Christian and non-Christian people of all ages are under grace. They’re very gracious and show other adults (and even the children of other parents) considerable grace...but when it comes to their own children...it’s the “law.”

Gentiles didn’t care, at all, about the Hebrew scriptures (what we call the Old Testament). It was a covenant that God made with Israel. It was NOT a covenant that God made with Gentiles. Apostle Paul, better than anyone else, understood the stark contrast between what had come before (the Old Covenant made with Israel) and the kingdom that Jesus came to introduce (the New Covenant made with ALL people). Apostle Paul knew the legalism, hypocrisy, self-righteousness, and exclusivity that characterized ancient Judaism would eventually seep into and erode the beauty, simplicity, and appeal of Jesus’ New Covenant. Paul realized, and taught, that Jesus’ followers were accountable to His New Covenant commands. NOT the 600 and something laws in the Old Covenant, NOT the Ten Commandments, NOT the Mosaic Law at all, in ANY way, shape, or form.

Jesus fulfilled — as in ended — the necessity of the Jewish law. He didn’t abolish the law by fulfilling it...He just made it obsolete by fulfilling it. I don’t equate the fulfilled-and-now-obsolete old covenant with Jesus’ New Covenant. God clearly separated the two.

The law was an unbearable yoke. James (the brother of Jesus) said they shouldn’t make it difficult for the Gentiles who were turning to God by expecting them to abide by the law. And Peter made it clear that the law was a yoke upon the necks of the Jews themselves that none of them or their forefathers had ever been able to bear. And then he (Peter) said that he believed that the Jewish followers of Jesus would be saved through the grace of Jesus, just as the Gentiles would. Grace, NOT law.

Since the law is void, as you are saying. Then it must be okay for a guy to have sex with his fathers wife? That's part of the Mosaic law, it is forbidden. I agree that we live in a time of grace, since the Resurrection but I do not agree with not letting the excellent scriptures of the Old Testament show us how to live our lives. Diet, cleanliness, business affairs and even raising your children.

You honestly need something that was written 4350 years ago to tell you whether or not having sex with your fathers wife is wrong...?
Paul pointed out that Gentiles ‘never’ had the law, but they still knew right from wrong because, by nature, they still had a conscience and they still had cognitive abilities. How do ‘you’ determine which of the Old Testament scriptures you’re gonna live by as you describe above...? How do ‘you’ cherry-pick which ones you’re gonna abide by and which ones you’re gonna ignore...? OK to sell your daughter into slavery as sanctioned in the OT...? OK to put to death people who work on the sabbath as sanctioned in the OT...? Does touching bacon or pork chops make you unclean as the OT says it does...? OK to stone to death those who plant different crops side by side, or for wearing garments made from two different threads, as sanctioned in the OT...?

It’s OK that our opinions differ on this matter