The Letter Killeth: Pure Religious Bunkum!

THE ALTERNATIVE

By Reno Omokri

Have you ever had a discussion with a religious person (there is a difference between a religious person and a Godly person) about a scriptural matter, by confronting him or her with a Scripture that contradicts their dogma (belief of their denomination) and when they could not sufficiently explain the clash between their dogma and the Scriptures, they pull out their joker: The letter killeth?

I have—countless of times. You see, I am used to religionists. They can use the holy Scriptures to justify their dogma. Still, when their dogma does not conform to Scriptural standards, they then go Uber spiritual and claim a divine mandate that you cannot understand because you are so carnal and legalistic that the letter has trapped you.

But from where does this ‘the letter killeth’ stuff come from?

People who pull that trump card are relying on 2 Corinthians 3:6, which in the King James Version says:

“Who also hath made us able ministers of the new testament; not of the letter, but of the spirit: for THE LETTER KILLETH, but the spirit giveth life.”

Now, that word ‘letter’ is quite confusing when you read it in English, and religionists count on that ambiguity to disarm you when you have caught them out in hypocrisy.

This is why I encourage all believers in Yeshua the Messiah (Yeshua Hamashiach), who is also known as Christ, to do what the Muslims do, and read Scripture in its original languages.

I do it. It is not as hard as you think.

In any case, in that verse, 2 Corinthians 3:6, when read in the original Greek, the word “letter” is written as ypàμμa, which when romanised is gramma, which literally means what is written down using alphabets. It is the root word of the English word grammar.

That verse, 2 Corinthians 3:6, is not saying that we should discard the written word or grammar of Scripture; what it is actually saying is that we should also look behind the Spirit’s intent in inspiring those words.

And we see a perfect example in Matthew 19:8. That verse says:

“Jesus replied, “Moses permitted you to divorce your wives because your hearts were hard. But it was not this way from the beginning.” (NIV).

Now, here, clearly, Christ is saying that the physical written alphabets of the law, when put in grammar form, does allow divorce in Deuteronomy 24:1-4.

However, that law came about because of the wickedness of mankind, which Christ describes as ‘hard heartedness’, and that the initial intention of the Spirit from the beginning of creation was that marriage was to last a lifetime.

So, whilst a man is legally allowed to divorce his wife, it is better if he does not divorce her. In this instance, abiding by the strict letters of the law will kill the marriage. However, if you allow yourself to be led by the Spirit and forgive your wife of whatever sin she may or may not have committed, you give life to the marriage.

What this verse, 2 Corinthians 3:6, is saying is that the harsh penalties of the Law of Moses, were given by God, not because that was His original intent, but because of the attitude of the nation of Israel AT THAT TIME. Their hearts had become ‘hard’.

Why? Because they were coming out of Egypt where they had lived for 430 years.

In that time, they had been acculturated to the Egyptian lifestyle of polytheism (belief in many gods), reincarnation, temple prostitution of both male and females as part of religious practice, the worship of the bull, ibis, and other animals, etc, as well as other habits that were downright evil.

And because of these, they had become wicked people. And what does Scripture say about wickedness?

Proverbs 28:2 says:

“When a country is rebellious, it has MANY rulers, but a ruler with discernment and knowledge maintains order.” (NIV).

It was the rebellious nature of their hearts that made God give the ancient Israelites many laws.

It is just like a man living a lawless nation, like Somalia, and going to America. For the first few years, he will experience a culture shock. Unlike Somalian women, American women will not kowtow to him. American children do not bow to him. He cannot drive against traffic when he is frustrated by the long time spent in gridlock. And he cannot practice adultery.

American historians will tell you that the origins of many of their laws was to check the behaviour of immigrants to America, whose lifestyles contradicted the American way of life.

For instance, polygamy was not illegal in America until July of 1862. Prior to then, the United States did not feel the need to make polygamy illegal, because it was not in their way of life.

But why did America pas the Morrill Anti-Bigamy Act? Because in the 1830s, a new religion called Mormonism was introduced into America by a man named Joseph Smith, which allowed polygamy.

So you see, without Mormonism, the Morrill Anti-Bigamy Act would not have been passed in 1862. The law was passed because of what was seen as the wickedness in certain people.

So, that was why the law was given to Moses. Because the Holy Spirit had not been given to the ancient Israelites when they left Egypt. They were not born again of water and the Spirit. They were not “a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new”.

They were as wicked as they were when they were still in Egypt, and Moses was afraid of them. Aaron was afraid of them. They could kill both of them at anytime. These were the dregs of Egyptian society. They were the bottom class. Uneducated, uncouth, with a strong tendency to crime.

In Egypt, they were in the habit of fighting each other-Exodus 2:13. They betrayed each other-Exodus 2:14. These were not nice people to be amongst.

So, when you read 2 Corinthians 3:6, that the letter killeth, that is what it is referring to. It is saying that most of those Mosaic laws were not meant to be permanent. The 10 Commandments Laws like the laws regarding the Sabbath Day, and the law against idols, and honouring God and parents, are obviously everlasting. That is why the 10 Commandments were given as a set of stand-alone laws.

However, laws like the stoning to death of a disobedient child-Deuteronomy 21:21, the stoning to death of a non virgin bride-Deuteronomy 22:21, and other such eye for eye, tooth for tooth laws, were not meant to be forever.

That is why Moses told the ancient Israelites as follows in Deuteronomy 18:15:

“The LORD your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among you, from your fellow Israelites. You must listen to him.” (NIV)

Moses was the only law giving prophet. Other prophets after him only prophesied the future, or reinterpreted Moses’s laws. They did not make new laws.

The use of the term “a prophet like me”, meant that another prophet would come and give a new law, that will make the Mosaic Laws obsolete (those of you who attack Muslims for calling Christ a prophet can now see that even Moses called Him a prophet. He is a Prophet and a Son, and we ought to be more understanding to Muslims).

It is this prophesy that made Christ say:

“A NEW COMMAND I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another.”-John 13:34.

That is the new law that the coming Prophet (who is also God’s Son), was meant to bring according to Moses’s Deuteronomy 18:15 prophesy.

This is why Romans 13:10 says “Therefore love is the fulfillment of the law”.

What 2 Corinthians 3:6 means, by saying “the letter killeth”, is that any Mosaic Law that leads to death has been cancelled by Christ’s “new commandment” of John 13:34.

What 2 Corinthians 3:6 does NOT mean is that the Spirit of God has given any Christ follower, or any Christian denomination, a special dispensation, or understanding of Scripture, that is different from what is written plainly and unambiguously, and does not lead to death.

We know this, because Scripture foresaw such abuse of 2 Corinthians 3:6, and said in 2 Peter 1:20 that:

“No prophecy of the scripture is of any PRIVATE INTERPRETATION.”

What this means is that if Scripture says something, it means it, and nobody can give you another meaning to it because ‘the Holy Spirit’ told me so.

In fact, if you read 2 Corinthians 3:6 in the Amplified Version, it will tell you that the word ‘letter’, which kills is not referring to all the written word of Scripture, but refers only and specifically to the Laws of Moses. That verse in the Amplified version, reads:

“He has qualified us [making us sufficient] as ministers of a new covenant [of salvation through Christ], not of the letter [of a written code] but of the Spirit; for the letter [of the Law] kills [by revealing sin and demanding obedience], but the Spirit gives life.”

Reno Omokri

Gospeller. Deep Thinker. #1 Bestselling author of Facts Versus Fiction: The True Story of the Jonathan Years. Avid traveller. Hollywood Magazine Film Festival Humanitarian of the Year, 2019.

Reno

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