FAQ:What does the letter killeth mean?

Some people believe that the letter killeth means that the verses and words of the Bible kills but that is not what it means.

2 Corinthians 3:6 KJV
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.

What the Bible is referring to here is Moses law, the stone tablets. Like the death penalty for adultery for example.

The gospel gives life like the verses below.

Acts 16:31 KJV
And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house.

John 3:16 KJV
For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.