Yet Under The Moral Law, but NOT for Sin-Atonement
Analyzing the Dangerously-Misinterpretable "Old-Covenant-Law-is-Useless-and-Changed"
Verses of Hebrews chapters 7 and 8
The potentially VERY-problematic verses in question are as follows:
Hebrews 7:11 If therefore perfection were through the Levitical priesthood (for under it the people received the law), what further need was there that another priest rise according to the order of Melchizedek, and not be called according to the order of Aaron?
12 The priesthood being changed, there is, of necessity, a change of the law also made.
13 He of whom these things are spoken pertained to another tribe, of which no man served at the altar.
14 It is evident that our Lord sprang out of Judah, of which tribe Moses spoke nothing pertaining to priesthood.
15 This is more evident when there arose another priest according to the likeness of Melchizedek,
16 who was made priest not according to the law of a carnal commandment, but according to the power of an endless life.
17 For He testified: "You are a priest forever after the order of Melchizedek."
18 There is truly an annullment of the former commandment because of the weakness and unprofitableness thereof
19 because the law made nothing perfect, but the bringing in of a better hope did, by which we draw near to God.
Here are the vital questions:
In verse 11, what is meant by "the law?" The Ten Commandments, for example? Or the law of priests only being qualified if from the tribe of Levi?
Worse yet, in verse 12, what in the world does "also a change of the law" possibly mean? That such Law as The Ten Commandments are revised, altered, negated, abrogated? Or instead simply mean some "change" of the identity of the priest and his family, and certain ritualistic alterations, additions, subtractions, or whatever to the animal-sacrifice procedures?
Verses 14 through 15 strongly infer that the latter explanation is the "change" intended in meaning . . .
. . . as do the words "carnal commandment" referring to instituting sinful-themselves inadequate priests offering sins for themselves and then the remainder of the people (unlike Jesus, who did not offer sin sacrifice for Himself, even though He was imputed with sins as the perfectly-holy-and-innocent-Himself Paschal-Lamb sacrifice).
WHAT the duce is "the former commandment" (of verse 18) which is "annulled," and claimed to be "weak" and "unprofitable?" The moral-Law Ten Commandments? Is THAT what is "annulled" and to be now reviled, discarded, and assiduously ignored as "weak" and allegedly "unprofitable?" So now we can and should even do the opposite the Ten Commandments ordered us to, such as:
1. Not worship only the LORD.
2. Worship idols.
3. Use God's name in profanity.
4. Keep our business running on Sundays while not going to church.
5. Dishonor our parents.
6. Murder (and maliciously hate).
7. Perform adultery (in whatever related forms).
8. Steal and shoplift.
9. Lie and not tell the truth.
10. Covet what only belongs to our neighbors.
???
Again, because of the context of surrounding verses, and the Holy Spirit enlightening our consciences (as we non-legalistically are in "the New Covenant" and "living in the Spirit" of actually and consistently exhibiting and striving for "good fruits" instead of wicked "works of the flesh"), the obvious meaning relates to ritualistically presuming flesh purification by animal sacrifices done by fallible human priests is adequate instead of the addition or replacement of such for conscience purification by acknowledging Jesus as the High Priest of the New Covenant of Sin Atonement along with His personal indwelling presence through, with, and of the Holy Spirit.
Understandably, the ceremonial law of doing animal sacrifices and imperfect human priests "made nothing perfect" but even those of us who are atoned for (thus sanctified, and even "perfected for all time" by Christ's sacrifice of Himself for our complete and permanent sin atonement) . . . can make ourselves UN-perfect, UN-atoned-for with not even Christ's bloody lethal sacrifice of Him applicable to us anymore so as to guarantee our destiny of eternal suspension within solitary-confinement fiery torment in the invisibly-flaming [Outer-Darkness] Lake of Fire forever . . . by sinning (even once) deliberately.
Even the moral Law which the Lord puts into our hearts "so we do not have to teach each other what the Law is" (?) cannot and does not force us against our free will to have to choose to never sin again.
A few additional verses (in Hebrews 7 through 10) supplement and verify what was stated above:
Hebrews 7:23 Truthfully those priests were many, because they were not allowed to continue because of their deaths;
24 but this Being, because He continues forever, has an unchangeable priesthood.
25 Therefore He is also able to completely save those who come to God by Him, being that He forever lives to make intercession for them.
26 Such a High Priest was appropriate for us: Him being holy, without harm, non-defiled, separated from sinners, and made higher than the heavens,
27 who does not need, as those high priests, to daily offer up sacrifices, first for His own sin and then for those of the people, because He did that once when He offered up Himself.
28 The law (of priests and animals sacrifices - NOT the Ten Commandments Law) makes men high priests who have infirmity, but the word of the oath, which came after the law (of priests and animals sacrifices - NOT the Ten Commandments Law), makes the Son consecrated forevermore.
Hebrews 8:7 If that first covenant had been faultless, there would have been no need for the second,
8 because, finding fault with them (not the law itself, but rather the disobedient and faithless law-defying people), He said: "Hey, the days come," says the Lord, "when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah"
9 not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day when I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt, because THEY continued not in My covenant, and so I regarded them not," said the Lord.
10 This is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days," says the Lord: "I will put My laws into their minds and write them in their hearts, and I will be to them God, and they shall be to Me my people.
11 And they shall not teach every man his neighbor and every man his brother, saying: `Know the Lord,' for all shall know Me, from the least to the greatest.
12 And I will be merciful concerning their [formerly-impenitential] unrighteousness, and their sins and their iniquities will I remember no more."
13 By stating: "a new covenant," He has made the first old. And that which decays and becomes old is ready to vanish away.
Hebrews 9:7 But into the second [part of the tabernacle] went the high priest alone once every year, not without blood, which he offered for himself and for the sins of the people.
8 By this the Holy Spirit was signifying that the way into the Holiest of All was not yet made manifest, as long as the first tabernacle was yet standing.
9 This was a figure for the time then present in which were offered both gifts and sacrifices, which could not make them who did the service perfect, pertaining to conscience,
10 being that it concerned only foods and drinks, various washings, and carnal ordinances imposed on them until the time of reformation.
11 But Christ became The High Priest of good things to come, by a greater and more perfect tabernacle, not made with hands (that is to say, not of this creation),
12 not by the blood of goats and calves, but by His own blood, having entered in once into the Holy Place, obtaining eternal redemption for us.
13 If sprinkling the unclean with the blood of bulls and goats and the ashes of a heifer sanctified for purifying of flesh,
14 how much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without blemish to God, purge your conscience from dead (i.e. legalistic inconsistent merely-ritualistic) works to serve the living God?
15 For this cause He is the Mediator of The New Covenant, that by means of death, for the redemption of transgressors obligated under the First Covenant, those who are called receive the promise of eternal inheritance.
18 Not even the First Covenant was dedicated without blood.
19 When Moses had spoken every precept to all the people according to the law (which "law": the ceremonial priestly/animal-sacrifices ones . . . or instead the Moral Law like the Ten Commandments?), he took the blood of calves and of goats, with water and scarlet wool and hyssop, and sprinkled both the book and all the people,
22 By law (WHICH "law?"), almost all things are purged with blood, and without shedding of blood there is no remission (i.e. absolvement against or concerning sins committed).
25 And it was not that He needed to offer Himself continuously, as a high priest enters into the holy place with blood of animals every year,
26 because then He would have had to suffer often since the beginning of the world; but now, once, towards the end of the world, has He appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of Himself.
27 And as it is appointed for humans to die once, and after that the Judgment,
28 so Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many, and for those who look for Him He shall appear the second time without sin, for salvation.
Hebrews 10:1 The law [WHICH one: the ceremonial priestly-successions/animal-sacrifices one . . . or instead the moral-Law Ten Commandments type?], having a shadow of the good things to come and not the very image of those things, can never, with those sacrifices which are offered continually year by year, make those who come to it perfect.
2 Would not then sacrifices have ceased to be offered? If worshipers were once purged, they would have no more consciousness of sins.
3 But those sacrifices are merely a remembrance of sins done every year,
4 because it is not possible that the blood of bulls and of goats takes away sins.
5 Therefore when He came into the world, He said: "Sacrifice and offering you would not have, but a body you have prepared for Me.
6 In burnt offerings and sacrifices for sin you have had no pleasure.
7 Then I said: "Wow, I come - as it is written of me in the Book - to do your will, God.'"
9 . . . He took away the first, so as to establish the second.
10 By that will we are sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.
11 And every priest stands daily ministering and repeatedly offering the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins.
12 But this Being, after He had offered one sacrifice for sins forever, sat down at the right hand of God,
13 waiting for His enemies to be made His footstool.
14 By one offering He has perfected, forever, those who are sanctified.
15 Of this the Holy Spirit also witnesses to us, as He said before:
16 "This is the covenant that I will make with them after those days," said the Lord: "I will put My laws into their hearts, and in their minds I will write them;
17 Their sins and iniquities will I remember no more."
18 Because of remission of these, there is no more offering for sin.
26 But if we sin willfully after having received the knowledge of the truth, there remains no sacrifice against sins for us (including and especially Christ's lethal bloody sacrifice of Himself on the cross of crucifixion),
27 but certain fearful expectation of judgment and fiery indignation, which shall devour the adversaries.
In summary, The New Covenant of noticeable absence of animal sacrifices and appointing family-lineage mortal (and quasi-moral) priests to repeatedly do rituals relating to flesh (in contrast to conscience) purification as a sort of human-based "works righteousness" whether done "in faith" or not, does not abrogate the requirement of blood-of-Christ-redeemed saints to BOTH obey the moral Law [such as the Ten Commandments] perfectly, and TRY to obey the moral Law perfectly.
It simply applies to the ceremonial law of family-line priests offering animal sacrifices not worthy nor necessary for atonement against sins in replacement of, or substitution for, Christ, his Sacrifice and gospel thereof.
It goes right along with a proper understanding of the frequently-also-misapplied verses of Romans and Galatians which (to the lawless who despise the moral Law) are presumed to abrogate the necessity of doing good works 24/7 and instead - while detesting moral Law with the excuse of: "we're saved by grace through faith not by doing good works of the moral Law" -- so as to fulfill carnel cravings of wicked works of the flesh.
We MUST (not "should" nor even "can") -- as a Divine demand, define "sin" by the moral Law, and avoid doing such sin -- whether we like it or not. And do we do it simply "out of love for Christ?"
How many of us stop at red stoplights or get current license-plate tabs merely "out of love for the government"?
If we do not like nor want to be bossed around by God the Creator and not accommodate to His sovereign manifestions within His environment and get out of their way being that they are not going to get out of our way, which we are helplessly confined within -- that is just tough. Live with it . . . or die a miserable painful death.
James counteracts grace-by-faith-only heresy with his:
James 2:24 You see that a human is justified [i.e. saved] by [doing good] works and not by faith alone.
[The apparent exact opposite of Romans and Galatians faith-only cultism].
Both OUR human faith and OUR human works (relating to what "justifies" or saves us) are (though empowered from the Father of lights from whom every good and perfect gift comes) imperfect and not always reliable.
NEITHER [our] faith NOR [our] works (good and/or evil) can nor do atone against our sins.
Having occasional and unreliable faith in Christ, and having done some good works, doing some good works now, or planning to (in the future) do some or all good works . . . can NEVER absolve us of past sins (of disobeying, and not "breaking", the moral Law).
The ONLY thing that atones against our sins is Christ's lethal sacrifice of Himself for us.
And the one big work (amongst many others with respect to Law-obedience) is to believe that that Lethal Sacrificial Death of Jesus on that cross does indeed atone for all our past, present, and future sins.
And, of course, believing that "in faith."
. . . something the demons and Satan have not, do not, and never will apply to themselves, nor have applied to them.