Dr. Couch, do Romans 3:31 and Hebrews 10:16 support the Covenant theology idea that
believers are under the Law as a rule of life and for sanctification?
It seems to me that the NT teaches that believers are not under the Law
but under grace.
ANSWER: If we were under Law by works, we would fail, as the Jews failed trying
to keep it. Peter reminded the Jews at the Jerusalem Council that they
could not keep the Law which was like putting a test upon God “by
placing a yoke (upon our necks) which neither our fathers nor we have
been able to bear” (Acts 15:10). The point in Romans 3:31 is that God
sees my faith, in a sense, fulfilling the Law: “We establish the Law” by
our faith. The Greek word “establish” means “to confirm.” Thus by faith
God sees me as a Law keeper, though really it was Christ who lived the
perfect life and kept it!
Romans 3:31 says nothing about placing the church believers back under the Mosaic Law system.
In Hebrews 10:16-17, the author is establishing
the fact that the New Covenant is now in operation. Jeremiah 31:31-on
shows that the New Covenant replaces the Mosaic system. By this New
Covenant God sees the believer as having the Law principles established
inside, in the heart and in the mind. It no longer is something to keep
by external standards. If you go back and look at the prophecy of the
New Covenant in Jeremiah 31:31-on, you see that the Mosaic Law has been
replaced. We are of course to live out in our lives the moral and
spiritual principles that can be seen in the Law, but this is not saying
we are now under the Mosaic Law as a way of life or as a system. We are
not!
The Covenant guys just put all of the Bible into
one big mixing bowl and stir it all up. Dispensational guys look
carefully at context and see the unfolding plan.
Thanks for asking,
Dr. Mal Couch
