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Discussion of George Gillespie's Wholesome Severity Reconciled with Christian Liberty
Reflections 
Subject: Reflections
From: Jonny Keen 
Date: Fri, 09 May 1997 19:36:58 -0400

Dear Westminister Forum-I quoted Eaton because he brings out that we
speak of the Law we are not to divide the Law into ceremonial, civil
and moral law when we say that in the NT the ceremonial and civil law
have been done away with but not the moral law-we say the moral law is
still to be kept as a guide on how to live a holy life-GG says in his
treatise the civil law has not been done away with but still is to
be followed by civil rulers-I see confusion in all this understanding
of the Mosaic Covenant-why not just say the Mosaic Covenant the Law 
has been fulfilled in Christ and we are now under the New Covenant-
we are to live the Christian life in the power of the Holy Spirit.
Instead of focusing all our attention on Law keeping why not focus
our attention on living in the power of the Holy Spirit-as we live
in the Holy Spirit a by product will be a life in conformity to
God's Ten Commandments.
	I see in Gillespie a failure to interpret Scripture in the
historical redemptive way-he makes no distinction between the OT nation
of Israel and the NT Church. Gillespie wants us to believe OT Law was
not for Israel-but for all time to be used to govern all nations of
the world. Gillespie is saying there is only one civil government
and this is to be followed by all rulers to the end of time and that
is the laws found in the Torah-Also we have seen he makes no separation
between Church and State-Gillespie wants Christian rulers to follow
OT Law-like stoning idol worshippers-stoning rebellious children-stoning
those who are homosexuals etc. . . Gillespie falls into this way of
thinking because he fails to see what Eaton sets forth in his book No
Condemnation the totality of the Mosaic legislation has been done away
with with the coming of the Messiah/the Kingdom of God. I quote from
the book Jesus and the Victory of God by N.T. Wright "That Jesus had 
followers, and regarded them in some ways as a 'leadership'prophet. . .
He explained what he was doing, as we shall see in more detail later,
in terms of the reconstitution of Israel. This again echoes the work
of John, who saw his disciples, we may certainly suppose, as the nucleus
of the renewed people of God; and the tradition of this sort of thing
goes back at least as far as Isaih of Jerusalem. . ."pg.169 I do not
see the New Israel being ruled by Mosaic case law-and I do not believe
that God gave the Torah to be Law Book for the whole world-ceremonial,
civil and moral. In thinking of moral law I see that being natural law
(Romans 2:15).I close Jonny