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There's a passage in 1 Corinthians that offers profound insight into the relationship between Christians and the law. In fact, it addresses three big questions many Christians struggle with today. First, what is our relationship to the OT law? Are Christians required to keep the law of Moses? What about the Ten Commandments? What does the Bible say? (And of course, that’s a topic of great interest for many of our viewers who either subscribe to the theology of Torahism, or Hebrew Roots, and are dealing with that theology in their families, communities or churches.) The second question is this: If Christians are not under the old covenant law, does it mean we’re under no law at all? Are we free to do whatever we want? (Believe it or not, some “Torah-keeping” Christians will actually challenge us by asking, “Of we’re not under the law, is it now okay to murder, steal, commit adultery?”) And we get into that. And the third question is this: Is there a difference between the law of Moses and the law of God? If so, what’s that difference?

And all three of these questions are directly addressed in 1 Corinthians 9:19–23. To make sure we're interpreting this passage in context, we first spend a few minutes establishing the historical and literary setting of 1 Corinthians as a text, and then we briefly outline the topics and concerns that the apostle Paul lays out which ultimately lead us into our passage in Chapter 9. Then we carefully unpack these five amazing verses and see what they have to tell us about the distinctions in biblical law and those three big questions. And let me tell you, it’s pretty profound.

Soli Deo Gloria!

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Chapters
00:00 Introduction
02:40 Cultural and Historical Background
04:11 Literary Structure of 1 Corinthians
05:12 Picking Up The Theme
06:31 Permitted But Not Required
08:09 Chapter 9
09:34 1 Corinthians 9:19-23
11:52 Verse 19
13:33 Verse 20: As a Jew
17:09 Verse 20: As One Under the Law
24:18 Verse 21: As One Outside the Law
28:20 Sidebar: The Laws of Moses, God, and Christ
40:45 Verse 22: As the Weak
42:59 Verses 22–23
44:36 Wrap it up, Professor.