| Vol. 55 | 23 June 2002 | No. 33 |
God’s Holy Fire IX
The three Abilene Christian University professors who wrote God’s Holy Fire, the second volume of the “Heart of the Restoration Series,” are Kenneth L. Cukrowski, Mark W. Hamilton, and James W. Thompson. They falsely accuse brother N. B. Hardeman of having misused Bible passages to support the idea that the Law of Moses has ended. I want to revisit the passages that Hardeman is charged with having perverted.
The first passage these professors cite which they claim Hardeman misused was Galatians 3:16-19. Hardeman said, “But I ask again: Why was the law given, and how long was it intended to last? In Galatians 3:19 Paul has this to say: ‘Wherefore then serveth the law? It was added because of transgressions, till [and thus the limit is fixed] the seed should come to whom the promise was made; and it was ordained by angels in the hand of a mediator.’” Hardeman went on to show that Paul said that seed of Abraham was Christ. (Gal. 3:16) and that the Law of Moses was added until Christ should come, after which, when by him fulfilled, it ended.
The Lord, in the Sermon on the Mount, said, “Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil. For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled.” (Matt. 5:17-18.) This passage was used by Hardeman to show that Jesus came neither to destroy nor to violate the law, but to “fill it full and to fulfill it. When he had accomplished this purpose, which is indicated by his statement on the cross, “It is finished,” he removed it. What other meaning could be rightly derived from this passage I do not know. If the professors have another explanation on it, they did not take the space to enlighten us.
The Abilene professors tell us Hardeman perverted Colossians 2:15. I deny the allegation and charge the alligators. They argue it was not the Law of Moses that was nailed to the cross, but the accusation that we are sinners which was nailed to the cross. They wrote:
Hardeman
equates “the handwriting of ordinances” with the Old Testament. This interpretation of the verse once
dominated our discussion of the Old Testament as Scripture, and in many circles
it still does…. Understanding the text this way grossly oversimplifies matters,
however. The language of Colossians
derives from the law courts, and refers simply to an indictment. At most, Colossians celebrates the fact that
Christ’s saving action on the cross disproves or removes the accusation that we
have broken the law. We are found not
guilty! God has thrown the case against
us out of court.
(God’s Holy Fire, p. 58.)
The verse reads, “Blotting out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us, which was contrary to us, and took it out of the way, nailing it to his cross.” (Col. 2:14.) What was “blotted out”? Paul said “the handwriting of ordinances,” which stood for the Law of Moses. Paul said that it was contrary to them, i.e., the Jews. Why was it contrary to them? Because they could not live it perfectly, and it condemned them. Thus, it was contrary to them. But Paul said that it was taken out of the way and nailed to the cross. The pronoun “it” refers back to its nearest antecedent, which is “the handwriting of ordinances,” or the Law of Moses. Jesus blotted out the Law of Moses when he died on the cross. That is not about it; that is it. No little “upspurt” professor can prove otherwise.
Brother Hardeman simply quoted Ephesians 2:13-22, and these professors accuse him of ignoring the context of Paul’s discussion. How can that be? The passage tells the condition of the Gentiles prior to their having been reconciled to God in one body and their condition afterward. Paul said that Christ broke down the middle wall of partition, i.e., the Law of Moses, between Jew and Gentile, stating that Christ “abolished in his flesh the enmity, even the law of commandments contained in ordinances; for to make in himself of twain one new man, so making peace; And that he might reconcile both [Jew and Gentile] unto God in one body [the church] by the cross, having slain the enmity thereby.” (Eph. 2:14-16). By the Lord’s death on the cross he rendered the Law of Moses “null and void.” No longer is it in force as a law.
Does the Law of Moses still exist? In one sense it does. Is there profit in studying it? Yes. Paul said as much: “For whatsoever things were written aforetime were written for our learning, that we through patience and comfort of the scriptures might have hope.” (Roms. 15:4.). Has it been taken away insofar as any man’s standard of authority today? If the old covenant has not been taken away, then the new covenant is not in force. Paul wrote, “He taketh away the first, that he may establish the second.” (Heb. 10:9.)
The last passage cited by the professors which they claim
Hardeman misused is Romans 7:1-7. Please read the passage. Paul uses an illustration of marriage to show that the Law of Moses is no longer in force. A wife is bound to her husband as long as he lives, but if he dies, she is free to remarry. If, however, while her husband lives, she marries another man, she is an adulteress. But if her husband is dead, she can marry another man and would not be an adulteress. Paul concludes by saying, “Wherefore, my brethren, ye also are become dead to the law by the body of Christ; that ye should be married to another, even to him who is raised from the dead, that we should bring forth fruit unto God.” (Roms. 7:4.)
What is the point? The first husband represents the Law of Moses; the wife represents the Jew; the death of the first husband stands for the ending of the Law of Moses; the second husband represents Christ; the marriage to the second husband represents the Jew becoming a Christian. We know that the law under consideration is the Law of Moses, because Paul quotes from it in verse 7. These professors need to believe what Paul said: “But now we are delivered from the law.” (Roms. 7:6.) That takes care of the Jews’ obligation to Law of Moses, and the Gentiles were never under that law. So, the Law of Moses ceased to be in force. It was ended by the body of Christ on the cross.
Someone has said that it is better to light a candle than to curse the darkness. But it is terrible, indeed, for one (or three in this case) to curse one who lit a candle and helped to dispel the darkness for generations. Hardeman helped many people in his generation and afterward to understand the truth of God’s word. These professors attempt to put out the light and leave the world in darkness. “But they shall proceed no further: for their folly shall be manifest unto all men, as their’s also was.”