the clear intent of the New Testament as a whole is that Jesus’ teachings are meant to be applied now. For if they are not, neither is the remainder of what the New Testament says about life. You cannot consistently say that the great passages such as Romans 8, 1 Corinthians 13, Colossians 3, and Galatians 5, for example, are for now—as everyone admits—while relegating the Sermon on the Mount and other Gospel passages to the next dispensation or life. This cannot be, simply because they actually say the same things.
