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

225 directed toward Jews. A second guideline is to note the progress of revelation in the New Testament. Clearly, the Twelve understood very early and were reminded forcefully at Pentecost, that upon the death of Christ they had begun to enjoy a New Covenant relationship with God. Later, through the revelation given to Peter in Acts 10 and through the special calling of Paul, the Church began to understand the implications which this held for Gentiles. Now that Christ had come, Gentiles were fellow heirs of the promises apart from the Law. They were to be included in the body of the redeemed because both Jew and Gentile experi– enced unity in Christ. At the same time, however , Jewish believers continued to express their obedience to God through Mosaic regulations of worship, even while recognizing their redemption from the curse of the Law through Christ. Based upon the evidence we would conclude that they apparently did not see a conflict between the Old and New covenants. Later, however, near the practical close of New Testament revelation, near A.D. 64 the book of Hebrews clarified the relationship between the two covenants teaching that they were incompatible and mutually exclusive. No longer would worship along Mosaic lines be acceptable. Thus, the varied teachings concerning the law in the New Testament must be understood in their historical contexts. In this way what we see in the New Te tament i not conflict but progress. In concluding his review of the voluminous literature concerning "Paul and the Law in the last ten years" Douglas Moo has written: Any genuine under tanding of Paul' diver e teaching on the la mu t k f r theological framework and grid a integrating m del . True , eg i an b forced into a framework that di tort it: too often e egetical integrit ha b n ri- ficed on the altar of doctrinal uniformity . But the e egete ha n t d n hi j b until h ha earched in the material for clue to uch larg r, integrating m d l . It i h n uch a mod I i found that fairl handle the di er mat rial f th paulin l tt r th t th "p o I m" of Paul and th la ill b I ed . 3 M • "P ul nd th win th L t n er ," 0 -7.