What was the yoke Peter was speaking of in this
passage? Was it circumcision or the Ten Commandments? Was it the dietary laws,
the sacrifices? No, it was the sin consciousness that comes from trying to gain
righteousness by the law. Deu 6:25 KJV And it shall be our righteousness, if we
observe to do all these commandments before the LORD our God, as he hath
commanded us. Inherent from our first parents, humanity has a sin consciousness
that allows us to know that we are separated from God and in need of
redemption. It may not be articulated as such but it is at the core of all of
our problems. The fact is that no matter how we try, we cannot act good enough
to cleans or purify our hearts. That is
what Peter is positing in this speech at the Jerusalem council. He was speaking
of those at Cornelius house who received the Holy Spirit by believing what he
had preached. When they believed their consciences were cleansed, and that is
the same as saying that their hearts were purified. Demanding that circumcision
and obedience to the law was necessary for salvation, i.e., reconciliation to
God was the yoke.
Why did Paul say that Christ was the end of the
law for righteousness in Romans 10:4? It was for this purpose; to ensure that
the person, who was saved, was saved by faith in the finished work of Jesus on
the cross, in the grave, and at the resurrection, and nothing else. Yes it is
important to list all three aspects of the cross event. It is not just the
death, but equally important is the burial and resurrection. Justification comes to the individual that
places trust and hope in the blood of Jesus… trust and hope in the entire cross
event. If we would ever, once and for all, take the new covenant view of the
law and righteousness, realize that Jesus took away the curses, Jesus made the
promises yes, and amen; none of the blessings are commensurate on performance;
people would be free to allow the Law to instruct them. It is interesting to me
that the word Torah, Hebrew for Law means instruction. Instruction does not
mean that it has to be a legal constitutional document. Quite frankly it is not
for New Covenant believers.
Yes, the yoke is the sin conscience that is
exacerbated by the Law. Verse nine of the above Acts 15 text explains, that by
the message Peter preached, the Holy Ghost purified their hearts by faith. That
is the same as cleansing the conscience. The writer of Hebrews put it this way:
Heb 9:13-15 KJV “For if the blood of bulls and of goats, and the ashes of an heifer
sprinkling the unclean, sanctifieth to the purifying of the flesh: (14)
How much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit
offered himself without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works to
serve the living God? (15) And for this cause he is the mediator of the
new testament, that by means of death, for the redemption of the transgressions
that were under the first
testament, they which are called might receive the promise of eternal
inheritance.”
I want to note here that the word used in cleanse
in Hebrews 9:14 and purifying in Acts 15:9 is the exact same word. It is
KARTHARIZO. Therefore, it seems obvious that the yoke that Peter was referring
to was the yoke that comes from a legal-constitutional reading of the Law.
This is why Jesus said my yoke is easy and my
burden is light and why John could say that his commandments were not grievous/burdensome.
Jesus took the burden of the yoke upon himself on the cross to purify our
conscience, and to rid us of sin consciousness, but the mixture of old
covenant-new covenant theology will not allow that to happen. There are so many
things that need to be re-examined and rethought.
No comments:
Post a Comment