Baptist discussion: Fulfilled law and Salvation

I've asked my Baptist friend about what he meant when he was talking about Jesus abolishing/fulfilling the mozaic law. we specifically were discussing this article: http://www.rationalchristianity.net/abolish_law.html

this is what he had to say:

correct. abolishing and fulfilling are two different things, obviously. To abolish the law would mean that Christians could do as they please, as long as the believe in Christ and His resurrection. That certainly isn't the case, as Christians are held accountable for their actions.

The way I'm reading it, and the article seems to back me up on this, is that the "fulfillment" of the law is analogous to the ripping of the temple curtain during the events immediately after Christs' crucifixion. If you don't know it off the top of your head, when Christ died, along with all of the other earthquakes and stuff, the great curtain in the temple split. The curtain was what separated the main part of the temple from the "holy of holies," which was where God resided, and no man, save a very select few, were ever allowed in there, so the curtain was the barrier between man and God. When the curtain split, it split from the top to the bottom, which would've been an impossible feat for a human to perform, since it was such a massive thing.

What that means is that Christ's sacrifice removed the requirement of the law to be a believer. Before His sacrifice, you had to become a Jew to be part of God's family, and to become a Jew, you had to submit yourself wholly and completely to the law. By removing that requirement, God/Christ opened salvation to any and everyone, no matter their culture or background.

To temper that, let's take a look at part of the first passage they quoted. It says "Anyone who breaks one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever practices and teaches these commands will be called great in the kingdom of heaven." If you look carefully, it doesn't say "If you break the Law as it was written, you'll go to hell, but if you keep it, you'll go to Heaven." It says those that break the commandments and teach others to do the same will be called the least in Heaven. So it's saying that obeying the law as it was written is not a requirement for salvation. It's still good, and following it is commendable, but those who are not strong enough to follow all of the commandments will not be denied salvation because of their weakness. Conversely, those who rightly practice much of the law will be esteemed above those who practice less of it.

So, to sum up: the law provides valid instructions for people to follow, but they are not a requirement for salvation. Christ's sacrifice fulfilled the sacrifice requirement of the law, opening the door to salvation for all people.

If you're confused about any of that, or if you think I'm wrong on some part (b/c i might be, i'm not an authority by any means), or have more questions, let me know.




thankfully Angelo discussed the meaning of Acts 10 with me and this is how i answered:

i agree that the law is still established because of the many text in the new testiment (i cant remember right now...) say that they still established the law. but im still not sure about what exactly jesus has fulfilled. im sure that his sacrifice has fulfilled the sacrificial cerimonies bc obviously we dont do that now. but ill continue to keep studying and looking for what His sacrifice has fulfilled for us.

i also agree that salvation is open for everyone but i havnt heard anything about the curtains ripping or what it means. you think you could send me that text? i definately want to read up on that. though, i have another text that establishes that salvation is open to everyone. its Acts 10.

here Peter was given a vision. (vrs 11-17)

after the vision he was told to go to Cornelius who was a roman centurion.

being a Jew, Peter saw non-jews as lower people and thought that associating himself to those non-jews would defile him/make him unclean. (you can find that in verse 28).

**but in the same verse, Peter said that God has shown him that he should not call any man common or unclean.

then in verse 24, peter said "in truth i perceive that God shows no partiality. But in every nation whoever fears Him and works righteousness is accepted by Him"

so ya, as long as you fear God and do righteous things then you'll be accept by Him, not just Jews.

right now im trying to find some texts that tells you what gets you into heaven, bc freaya and a few other ppl, including myself arnt exactly sure what gets you salvation. a lot of ppl believe that as long as your "generally good" you will go to heaven. but i understand that you need to build that relationship with Jesus. otherwise He would be a stanger to you when you meet Him. if you know any texts at the top of your head, pls let me know :).