I also do my best to maintain a blameless conscience both before God and before other people,” (Acts 24:14, 16). In fact, we might charge him with lying to us because when he offers his self-defense before Felix, he says, “I do serve the God of our fathers, believing everything that is in accordance with the Law and is written in the Prophets. But Dunn is absolutely correct that in Judaism, “the law is itself a gift of grace that shows the people what is in accord with its status.” So, if Paul meant “Law” (with a capital L), then he certainly would be out-of-step with his Jewish contemporaries.

When it does mean “the Mosaic code,” the context must provide this. It can mean “what is proper,” “what is the custom or norm,” “what is traditional,” “what is expected,” “a principle,” “a convention or rule,” “a cause and effect relation.” That’s where we get the idea of a “scientific law.” We don’t mean a divinely provided relationship between the forces of nature. nómos has multiple meanings depending on the context. The verse should be read “under law,” not “under the Law.” Of course, those scholars who follow Dunn (or Augustine and Luther) will read nómos as if it always means the Mosaic code. The footnote tells us that there really is no definite article in the Greek text. First, notice the small footnote in the citation from the NASB. Perhaps a few notes are necessary before we pay attention to the most crucial preposition. If one is ‘under’ the one, he is not ‘under’ the other.” What are we to do about this? Did Paul abandon his Jewish understanding of the Law? Did he really become a Christian? Is he actually Martin Luther in first century garb? It was Paul who posed them as alternatives.” Morris comments, “Paul saw clearly that law and grace do not go together. no one posed grace and law as alternatives rather they saw law as the gift of grace. Dunn, a world-recognized Christian scholar, claims that this thought-the opposition of law and grace-is completely unprecedented before Paul. In fact, as it is read in most English Bibles, it’s the ultimate justification for separating Christianity from Judaism.

Romans 6:14 NASBīut – There’s probably no more important verse for the Church than this line from Paul’s letter to the Romans. For sin shall not be master over you, for you are not under the Law but under grace.

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