Chp.22 - So Also Were Sacrifices And Oblations

Justin now unites the temple and the sacrifices to the Sabbath and dietary laws that now make the arrival of Christ greater, as he fulfills the purpose and end of those means. In other words they were only a means to bring in the Messiah and make his life the most distinct and holy from among all the sons of Eve. Christ is the Most High Priest who has made those offerings holy to God, and even now those sacrifices and thanksgivings that come after him pleasing to God. In other words, the prescribed sacrifice is no longer to be received according to the letter of the old form, but of the Spirit who sanctifies the sinner's priestly prayer.

Romans 12:1–3 (NKJV) 1 I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. 2 And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God. 3 For I say, through the grace given to me, to everyone who is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think soberly, as God has dealt to each one a measure of faith. 2 Chronicles 30:27 (NKJV) 27 Then the priests, the Levites, arose and blessed the people, and their voice was heard; and their prayer came up to His holy dwelling place, to heaven. Malachi 1:6–8 (NKJV) 6 “A son honors his father, And a servant his master. If then I am the Father, Where is My honor? And if I am a Master, Where is My reverence? Says the Lord of hosts To you priests who despise My name. Yet you say, ‘In what way have we despised Your name?’ 7 “You offer defiled food on My altar, But say, ‘In what way have we defiled You?’ By saying, ‘The table of the Lord is contemptible.’ 8 And when you offer the blind as a sacrifice, Is it not evil? And when you offer the lame and sick, Is it not evil? **Offer it then to your governor!** Would he be pleased with you? Would he accept you favorably?” Says the Lord of hosts. What was it that made these sacrifices defiled? They defiled the "Name" of God with these sacrifices even though they were offered according to the letter of the law. These were spiritless and heartless sacrifices. They were given not out of faith but of prescription. They were not given out of a broken and contrite spirit under the rod of the Lord's divine discipline. They were not offered out of the heart that pleases God in the Spirit of truth. This is why our offerings are voluntary according to faith and only in the understanding of the name of the Lord. Our offerings must be given through what makes them holy and acceptable to God. They must be given in the thanksgiving of the Most Holy and pure sacrifice. Matthew 23:16–22 (NKJV) 16 “Woe to you, blind guides, who say, ‘Whoever swears by the temple, it is nothing; but whoever swears by the gold of the temple, he is obliged to perform it.’ 17 Fools and blind! For which is greater, the gold or the temple that sanctifies the gold? 18 And, ‘Whoever swears by the altar, it is nothing; but whoever swears by the gift that is on it, he is obliged to perform it.’ 19 Fools and blind! For which is greater, the gift or the altar that sanctifies the gift? 20 Therefore he who swears by the altar, swears by it and by all things on it. 21 He who swears by the temple, swears by it and by Him who dwells in it. 22 And he who swears by heaven, swears by the throne of God and by Him who sits on it. Jesus gives this rebuke to the legalistic Pharisees who saw the earthly elements as the power to the sanctification of the offering, but Christ clearly demonstrates to these superstitious hypocrites the order of the value of these elements leading right up to the Creator of those elements. The point being that it is God who sanctifies these gifts for men. These religious hypocrites valued the gold over the temple which was dedicated for a dwelling place of God, also the gift over the alter that it was sanctified upon, yet all these things needed to be sanctified by the glory of the presence of God. Christ was the gift and the alter whose presence sanctified these earthly elements. But if God does not dwell in or use these things they have no intrinsic value by themselves. So Justin quotes David and the prophets, saying: "These things hast thou done, and I kept silence; thou thoughtest that I would be like thyself in wickedness. I will reprove thee, and set thy sins in order before thine eyes. Now consider this, ye that forget God, lest He tear you in pieces, and there be none to deliver. The sacrifice of praise shall glorify Me; and there is the way in which I shall show him My salvation.1 Accordingly He neither takes sacrifices from you nor commanded them at first to be offered because they are needful to Him, but because of your sins. For indeed the temple, which is called the temple in Jerusalem, He admitted to be His house or court, not as though He needed it, but in order that you, in this view of it, giving yourselves to Him, might not worship idols. And that this is so, Isaiah says: ‘What house have ye built Me? saith the Lord. Heaven is My throne, and earth is My footstool.’2" Justin Martyr. (1885). Dialogue of Justin with Trypho, a Jew. In A. Roberts, J. Donaldson, & A. C. Coxe (Eds.), The Apostolic Fathers with Justin Martyr and Irenaeus (Vol. 1, pp. 205–206). Buffalo, NY: Christian Literature Company. So what then are we to give God as an offering? Paul told the Romans to present their bodies a living sacrifice. It is the will of God that our life is to be lived out according to the Spirit of the law ordered by true love. Romans 15:14–16 (NKJV) 14 Now I myself am confident concerning you, my brethren, that you also are full of goodness, filled with all knowledge, able also to admonish one another. 15 Nevertheless, brethren, I have written more boldly to you on some points, as reminding you, because of the grace given to me by God, 16 that I might be a minister of Jesus Christ to the Gentiles, ministering the gospel of God, that the offering of the Gentiles might be acceptable, sanctified by the Holy Spirit. Paul wants these Roman believers to be able to admonish one another not according to personal preference but according to knowledge and what is good for edification of all. Philippians 2:1–4 (NKJV) 1 Therefore if there is any consolation in Christ, if any comfort of love, if any fellowship of the Spirit, if any affection and mercy, 2 fulfill my joy by being like-minded, having the same love, being of one accord, of one mind. 3 Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than himself. 4 Let each of you look out not only for his own interests, but also for the interests of others. Philippians 2:12–18 (NKJV) 12 Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling; 13 for it is God who works in you both to will and to do for His good pleasure. 14 Do all things without complaining and disputing, 15 that you may become blameless and harmless, children of God without fault in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world, 16 holding fast the word of life, so that I may rejoice in the day of Christ that I have not run in vain or labored in vain. 17 Yes, and if I am being poured out as a drink offering on the sacrifice and service of your faith, I am glad and rejoice with you all. 18 For the same reason you also be glad and rejoice with me. Chp.23 - The Opinion Of The Jews Regarding The Law Does An Injury To God

The Jews then, now having the understanding of Law in Christ, are not to press the condemnation of the Law upon those who have this love for the offering of Christ, but are to look out for the good and well being of the nations who turn to God through Christ.

"“But if we do not admit this, we shall be liable to fall into foolish opinions, as if it were not the same God who existed in the times of Enoch and all the rest, who neither were circumcised after the flesh, nor observed Sabbaths, nor any other rites, seeing that Moses enjoined such observances; . . . Therefore we must confess that He, who is ever the same, has commanded these and such like institutions on account of sinful men, and we must declare Him to be benevolent, foreknowing, needing nothing, righteous and good." Justin Martyr. (1885). Dialogue of Justin with Trypho, a Jew. In A. Roberts, J. Donaldson, & A. C. Coxe (Eds.), The Apostolic Fathers with Justin Martyr and Irenaeus (Vol. 1, p. 206). Buffalo, NY: Christian Literature Company. Again, Justin wants Trypho to conclude that this form of the Law was given to them because of their particular sins and that they would observe this Law after the knowledge of Yahweh, who is the one, true and living God. "“Wherefore, Trypho, I will proclaim to you, and to those who wish to become proselytes, the divine message which I heard from that man.3 [The fatherly man Justin met on the seashore.] Do you see that the elements [of the Temple] are not idle, and keep no Sabbaths? Remain as you were born. For if there was no need of circumcision before Abraham, or of the observance of Sabbaths, of feasts and sacrifices, before Moses; no more need is there of them now, after that, according to the will of God, Jesus Christ the Son of God has been born without sin, of a virgin sprung from the stock of Abraham." Justin Martyr. (1885). Dialogue of Justin with Trypho, a Jew. In A. Roberts, J. Donaldson, & A. C. Coxe (Eds.), The Apostolic Fathers with Justin Martyr and Irenaeus (Vol. 1, p. 206). Buffalo, NY: Christian Literature Company. Justin is not calling Trypho to forsake his Hebrew heritage, but to live free after the Spirit of Christ. By telling him to remain as he was born is to say that being a disciple of Christ is not a national standard by which one is sanctified, but a holy standard by which one lives to the heart and person of the Lord in Jesus Christ, the spiritual father who blesses all nations with salvation. Christ is the purpose of the Law for righteousness sake. And therefore whatever nation one lives in they can submit to those righteous laws and kings which honor the character and holiness of God, who are given authority to punish evil and (not reward but) praise the good. God never gives authority to tax for the purposes of doing good for goodness sake, but for only protecting the good. This is a liberty given to government not be used as a cloak for their own greed and vice, but as living sacrifices to God. 1 Peter 2:13–17 (NKJV) 13 Therefore submit yourselves to every ordinance of man for the Lord’s sake, whether to the king as supreme, 14 or to governors, as to those who are sent by him for the punishment of evildoers and for the praise of those who do good. 15 For this is the will of God, that by doing good you may put to silence the ignorance of foolish men—16 as free, yet not using liberty as a cloak for vice, but as bondservants of God. 17 Honor all people. Love the brotherhood. Fear God. Honor the king. Revelation 21:22–27 (NKJV) 22 But I saw no temple in it, for the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are its temple. 23 The city had no need of the sun or of the moon to shine in it, for the glory of God illuminated it. The Lamb is its light. 24 And the nations of those who are saved shall walk in its light, and the kings of the earth bring their glory and honor into it. 25 Its gates shall not be shut at all by day (there shall be no night there). 26 And they shall bring the glory and the honor of the nations into it. 27 But there shall by no means enter it anything that defiles, or causes an abomination or a lie, but only those who are written in the Lamb’s Book of Life.

Chp.24 - Christian Circumcision Far More Excellent

"“Now, sirs,” I said, “it is possible for us to show how the eighth day possessed a certain mysterious import, which the seventh day did not possess, and which was promulgated by God through these rites. But lest I appear now to diverge to other subjects, understand what I say: the blood of that circumcision is obsolete, and we trust in the blood of salvation; there is now another covenant, and another law has gone forth from Zion." Justin Martyr. (1885). Dialogue of Justin with Trypho, a Jew. In A. Roberts, J. Donaldson, & A. C. Coxe (Eds.), The Apostolic Fathers with Justin Martyr and Irenaeus (Vol. 1, p. 206). Buffalo, NY: Christian Literature Company. Justin preaches Christ crucified. The whole purpose and end of the Law was to illustrate what Christ demonstrates in his life and death. But Christ, a new law, was instituted because of the resurrection. The law of Christ! In Christ's resurrection the beatitudes now make logical sense. It is a Law not after the flesh but after Life in God. It is not a Law to expose the nature of sin, but a law to demonstrate the power of God. This Law makes us after the image of His eternal likeness. Matthew 5:17–18 (NKJV) 17 “Do not think that I came to destroy the Law or the Prophets. I did not come to destroy but to fulfill. 18 For assuredly, I say to you, till heaven and earth pass away, one jot or one tittle will by no means pass from the law till all is fulfilled. Matthew 5:21–22 (NKJV) 21 “You have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not murder, and whoever murders will be in danger of the judgment.’ 22 But I say to you that whoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment. And whoever says to his brother, ‘Raca!’ shall be in danger of the council. But whoever says, ‘You fool!’ shall be in danger of hell fire. Matthew 5:27–29 (NKJV) 27 “You have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’ 28 But I say to you that whoever looks at a woman to lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart. 29 If your right eye causes you to sin, pluck it out and cast it from you; for it is more profitable for you that one of your members perish, than for your whole body to be cast into hell. Matthew 5:38–39 (NKJV) 38 “You have heard that it was said, ‘An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.’ 39 But I tell you not to resist an evil person. But whoever slaps you on your right cheek, turn the other to him also. Matthew 5:43–45 (NKJV) 43 “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ 44 But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you, 45 that you may be sons of your Father in heaven; for He makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust. Matthew 5:48 (NKJV) 48 Therefore you shall be perfect, just as your Father in heaven is perfect. Matthew brings out for us the ultimate aim of the Law. The Law was first given to preserve an elect nation from sin, but the Law of Christ was given to preserve an elect nation from sin and everlasting torment. Matthew makes the case that Christ desired Israel to submit to her oppressors to express the love God has for all the nations. She was to endure this persecution so salvation could have a foothold in the Roman Empire. Israel was to demonstrate the suffering servant and righteousness of God, but in her failure Christ fulfilled both the righteous condemnation of the Law against sin and the righteous love of God for sinners. By this Law of liberty God is both Just and the Justifier of the ungodly. But this was the resurrection power of love that was being demonstrated through Christ and this is why Justin will not submit to the ministry of death having been delivered over to the resurrection of life. Justin's justification was not in the letter of an earthly, national covenant God made with the Hebrews, but in the everlasting covenant of love that God made with Christ for an elect people out of all nations. Christ's sacrifice was not only for the Jews, but for all who would call upon God in surrender to the conviction of the cross of His beloved. Though salvation has come to the world through the Hebrew nation it extends well beyond her reign and power within her borders. The Law of Christ is more than a demonstration of earthly justice, but extends into the everlasting justice of heaven and hell. The beatitudes exalt the eternal nature of God and the superiority of His righteousness.The Law of Christ is a greater reflection of God himself. This law gives no liberty to the flesh and hardness of heart; it penetrates between soul and spirit and joint and marrow. Where Moses gives liberty for divorce Christ condemns by love and meekness. This Law makes no provision for the flesh. This Law walks in the Spirit serves all manner of men.