Combating Calculatus Eliminatus in Theological Discourse: Longenecker on Rom 7:10
The Cat in the Hat had an unusual method of finding lost objects. He would search for where the object was not located. Over the centuries, theologians have taken a similar approach when trying to understand Paul’s writings concerning the Law of Moses. If Moses says anything that “contradicts” what Paul stated, then Moses’ testimony is immediately eliminated in favor of Paul’s statements. In other words, “The truth is not here in Moses.” This is the original sin (rejecting the testimony of Moses) of any expositor who insists that Paul taught an abrogation of the Law. This series of articles will consist of short investigations into the assertions of Christian scholars who think the law of Moses (Torah) has been ended in part or in total. Most Christians have believed the end product of Christian scholars’ theological investigations concerning the apostle Paul’s teachings on the Law—the belief that the Torah was done away with primarily based on Rom 6:14, “For sin shall not have dominion over you, for you are not under law but under grace”—without having actually examined the logic of how the scholars came to such a conclusion. This series of articles will investigate the foundations, thoughts, assumptions and opinions of scholars to see if they are consistent with the revelation of God’s word—both the Tanakh and the Apostolic writings.[1] Furthermore, we will show how unbelief in Moses’ testimony is the primary reason they are led to erroneous conclusions about the Law and how to interpret Paul’s writings.
I will assess each author’s views based upon the following assumption. The entire Bible (Tanakh and Apostolic writings combined) is one complete, consistent revelation spoken by God, and therefore, any Biblical doctrine must be consistent with and supported by both “testaments.” [2] Furthermore, my assessment of each author’s views will be based on my understanding of Paul’s discourse on the relationship between sin and the Law found in Rom 5:20–7:25. I call this view Our True Freedom from the Law (Torah), and it is captured in the following six points:
One of the functions of the Law is to cause offenses/sins to abound—the Stirring Up of Sin Effect of the Law (Rom 5:20; 7:5, 7, 8a, 8b, 9, 11, 13, 22-23).
This function of the Law only occurs within the unregenerated (Rom 7:5).
The root cause of the Stirring Up of Sin Effect of the Law is sin within the unregenerated (Rom 7:8a, 11, 13b).
God’s remedy to free a person from the Stirring Up of Sin Effect of the Law is regeneration, which causes the old man to die (Rom 6:1-23).
The death of the old man frees him from the Law, i.e., the Stirring Up of Sin Effect of the Law (Rom 6:14; 7:4-6).
Once a person has been freed from the Stirring Up of Sin Effect of the Law, it will be a source of life (through obedience to it) as originally intended, no longer stirring up sin and causing death, but leading to life and holiness, i.e., sanctification (Rom 8:1-17).
The Author—Richard Longenecker
As a system of works given through Moses, the Law came with a valid promise of life and righteousness (Rom. 7:10), but a promise incapable of reception because of the inability of man to fulfill its obligations (Rom. 8:3).[3]
When Longenecker states, “the Law came with a valid promise of life and righteousness (Rom. 7:10),” he is actually basing his assertion on Leviticus 18:5, “You shall therefore keep My statutes and My judgments, which if a man does, he shall live by them: I am the LORD.” We know this because Paul’s statement in Rom 7:10, “And the commandment, which was to bring life, I found to bring death,” is a direct reference to Lev 18:5. Despite Moses’ promise of life to those who obey Adonai’s commandments, Longenecker asserts that the promise of life to those who obey was “a promise incapable of reception.” There are a number of issues with Longenecker’s statements.
Issue #1 “as a system of works”—By referring to the Law of Moses as “a system of works,” Longenecker is setting us up to believe something negative about the Law, namely, “the inability of man to fulfill it.” In other words, thinking of the Law as a “system of works” makes it easier to believe the idea of “the inability of man to fulfill it.” Where does the Bible ever refer to the Law as a system of works? You may see this as a small matter, but I do not. The Bible refers to the Law in many positive ways—the Word of the Lord, Covenant, Testimony, the Book of the Covenant, the Way of the Lord, the Book of the Law, and the Torah. In fact, the word Torah simply means teaching and instruction, not Law! Unfortunately, when the Septuagint translators translated the Hebrew word torah into Greek, they used the Greek word, nomos, with its common meaning of law, and this connotation survives to this day. The Torah of Moses simply means the teaching and instruction of Moses.
Issue #2 “a valid promise of life”—Longenecker’s statement that “it was a valid promise of life” is not true if it was “a promise incapable of reception because of the inability of man to fulfill its obligations.” How can a promise be valid if it is impossible for the promise to ever be fulfilled? If I promise a three-year old a year’s worth of candy if he can bench press 400 lbs., have I made him a valid offer of candy? The promise of life is one of the main promises Adonai made to his people.[4]
The other problem stems from Longenecker’s misinterpretation of Paul’s statement. Longenecker is not aware of the context for Paul’s statement in Rom 7:10: “And the commandment, which was to bring life, I found to bring death.” Our True Freedom from the Law (Torah)[5] teaches us that it is only within the life of the unregenerate that the Torah functions to bring death (through the sin that the Law stirs up)! That’s Paul’s main argument in Rom 5:20–7:25! When Paul makes his assertion in Rom 7:10 of how the Law brought death instead of promised life, it is the assertion from the point of view of an unbeliever, someone who has not been regenerated, and thus, is still under the Stirring Up of Sin Effect of the Law. Thus, death is the result, not life, because of the unregenerated heart.
Issue #3 “because of the inability of man to fulfill its obligations”—This is an ancient misconception of the law of Moses that continues to obfuscate to this day. Adonai never required 100% obedience of His people in order for them to experience the blessings of the covenant. How do we know this? The very Law of Moses itself makes provisions for disobedience, which includes restoration for all sins repented of! In other words, there are provisions within the Law whereby one can be forgiven for not hitting the mark. Thus, an Israelite who sinned would simply need to offer the correct sacrifices with a penitent heart and they would be forgiven and be capable of receiving covenant blessings. Amazingly, many scholars based their arguments on the exact opposite of what the Torah says. Longenecker says man is not able to fulfill the Law’s covenant obligations, but in regards to keeping the Torah, Moses said in Deut 30:11, “For this commandment that I command you today is not too hard for you, neither is it far off (ESV).” So, whose testimony should we believe? I’ll take Moses’ testimony.
The issue with obedience to the Torah is and always has been a matter of whether or not the human heart has been circumcised.[6] In fact, Moses mentions circumcision of the heart in relation to obeying the commandments on more than one occasion: “And the LORD your God will circumcise your heart and the heart of your descendants, to love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul, that you may live,” (Deut 30:6). Notice how circumcision of the heart leads to obedience, which then leads to life![7] In fact, the Bible is replete with examples of people who, because they had a circumcised heart, kept the commandments of the Torah, obtained the life it promised, and were declared to be righteous. Five times the psalmist spoke of receiving life from the Law of the Lord—Ps 119:25, 50, 93, 116, and 156. This life, attained by the obedient, is also fittingly captured in Psalm 1. At Yeshua’s birth we are told that Simeon was “was just and devout.”[8] We are also told that Zacharias and Elizabeth “were both righteous before God, walking in all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord blameless” (Luke 1:6). As you can see, the life Moses promised was a valid offer of life, and those who were regenerated received it. Furthermore, they were enabled to walk in the Law of the Lord to such an extent that Adonai considered them blameless! Does that mean they walked in sinless perfection? Of course not. But they walked in obedience to all the commandments and when necessary repented for sin and sought restoration through the sacrificial system. Again, do we misinterpret Paul and then choose him over Moses and the testimony of the saints of the Tanakh? Apparently, Longenecker has no problem rejecting the testimony of the Tanakh and the witness of the saints therein.
The idea that no one could keep the Law nor experience the life it promised are two of the myths that many scholars promulgate in their teachings. The primary reason they do so is because they have (1) rejected the testimony of Moses instead of trying to reconcile it with Paul’s words, and (2) not understood the nature of Our True Freedom from the Law (Torah). Once we are regenerated (get a circumcised heart), we no longer are subject to the Stirring Up of Sin Effect of the Law, and we are empowered by God’s grace and Spirit to live a life of obedience to His commandments.[9]
[1] What most non-Jewish believers know as the “Old Testament.” In Hebrew, the consonants in the word Tanakh actually form an acronym. The Tanakh is divided into what is called the Torah, Prophets (Nevi’im), and Writings (Khetuvim); hence, T-N-Kh.
[2] Commonly called the New Testament writings.
[3] Richard N. Longenecker, The Ministry and Message of Paul, (Grand Rapids, Mich: Zondervan Pub. House, 1971), 94.
[4] The promise of life (not eternal life) by keeping the commandments is quite extensive—Exod 20:12; Lev 26:3-13; Deut 4:10; 5:33; 6:24; 8:1,3;16:20; 30:15-20; 32:47
[5] A series of articles I wrote to properly interpret Rom 6:14. Located on my SubStack: Our True Freedom from the Law (Torah).
[6] “Get a circumcised heart” is the “Old Testament” way of saying “get born again,” or “be regenerated.”
[7] Obedience = loving the Lord with all your heart. See Deut 10:12-13—“And now, Israel, what does the LORD your God require of you, but to fear the LORD your God, to walk in all His ways and to love Him, to serve the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul, 13 and to keep the commandments of the LORD and His statutes which I command you today for your good?” and John 14:15—If you love Me, keep My commandments.
[8] Luke 2:25. Just and devout are equivalent to righteous.
[9] Rom 8:3-4—For what the law could not do in that it was weak through the flesh, God did by sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, on account of sin: He condemned sin in the flesh, 4 that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.
Isaiah 8:20 NASB95 — To the law and to the testimony! If they do not speak according to this word, it is because they have no dawn.
I wonder how Longecker and a whole lot of others overlooked or ignored this fact.