|
In Romans 7:19 Paul writes: "For the good that I would I do not; but the evil which I would not, that I do.: To which the Rabbis would reply: That is to refuse to give God the honour. For in his Torah it says: "For this commandment which I command thee this day, it is not hidden from thee, neither is it far off. It is not in heaven, that thou shouldst say, Who shall go up for us to heaven, and bring it unto us, that we may hear it, and do it? Neither is it beyond the sea, that thou shouldst say, Who shall go over the sea for us, and bring it unto us. that we may hear it, and do it? But the word is very nigh unto thee, in thy mouth, and in thy heart, that thou mayest do it." (Deut 30:11-14)... (96:2) "Paul might then answer (Romans 7:22-3): "I delight in the law of God after the inward man: but I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin, which is in my members." Whereupon the Rabbis would doubtless refer to Genesis 4:7: "...sin lieth at the door. And unto thee shall be his desire, and thou shalt rule over him." (96:3) see Finally, Schoeps observes that the contradiction between earning salvation by faith and earning it by works, between justification by the Law and by the Gospel is "as common as it is false." It only remains to add that Paul's assertion (in Romans 10:4) that Christ is the end of the law, contradicts Matthew 5:17-19 where Jesus says: "Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil... Whosoever therefore shall break one of these least commandments, and shall teach men so, he shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whosoever shall do and teach them, the same shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven." How can.. (the theologian) talk, then, of "the failure of experiments with commandments and laws"?
(96:4)
see
|