The Relationship of Jewish and Gentile Believers to the Law Between A.D. 30 and 70 in the Scripture

152 A Reformed View and Variation Some have sought to soften the sharp antithesis which the traditional Lutheran view constructs between Law and Gospel for various reasons. Paul's attitude toward the law in Galatians is considered particularly harsh when it is understood that Mosaic Law represents more than commandments and regulations but also the revealed will of God in the Old Testament. Thus , in order to vindicate Paul from charges of Marcionism, some have taught that Paul did not speak against the law per se, but against some aspect of it or some misun– derstanding of it. Burton, for example, states that voµou as used in Galatians 2 :16 refers to "divine law as the legalist defined it. " 22 And further , "By Epya voµou Paul means deeds of obedience to formal statutes done in the legalistic spirit, with the expectation of thereby meriting and securing divine approval and award, such obedience, in other words , as the legalists ren~ered to the law of the O.T. as expanded and interpreted by them. " 23 More recently Cranfield has attempted to defend this position from a lexical standpoint , cautioning that the Greek language used by Paul had no word-group to denote ' legalism', ' legali t ', and ' legalistic ' . . . . In view of this, we should, I think, be ready to reckon with the poss ibility that sometimes , when he appears to be disparaging the law , what he reall has in mind may be not the law itself but the mi understanding and misuse of it fo r which we have a convenient term. 24 uller similarly argue that " law" in Galatians 3 refers to " the inful way men under to d th la " which ignificantly reduce the antithe i between ' true" law of the Old T tam nt and 22 D Burton, A riti al and egeti al ommentary on the pi tie to the ala ttan , in the Int rnati nal mmentar ( dinburgh: T . 1 rk, 19 1) , 1 0. •• B. ranfl ld, " t. P ul nd th " ottl h Journal of Theolog 17 1 ) :