Which Law Are We To Follow?
The Law Of Moses And The Christian
What parts of scripture are we supposed to obey?
While the entire Old Testament is inspired by God, it appears that all of it's guidance is not imposed on Christians. An example of this truth can been seen through considering both the Ten Commandments and the Sermon on the Mount.
Are the 10 Commandments as authoritative to Christians as the Sermon on the Mount?
The Sermon on the Mount does not nullify the Ten Commandments, it amplifies them. Through the Sermon on the Mount Jesus is saying that there is a deeper meaning than those laws (Ten Commandments) initially portray. He is saying there is more to those laws, and so you can obey them more fully, I want to share with you the deeper meaning.
Whatever Christ has reinforced (stated to be true) about the Old Testament is binding on the Christian.
1. Jesus had no doubt about the authenticity of the Old Testament. The Jews believed the Old Testament to be inspired by God, a position the Jesus did not refute and a position he in fact acknowledged. When Jesus spoke of the Old Testament, he spoke of it as "God's Word".
- (Jesus Quoting Genesis 2:4) 'and said, 'For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh' Matthew 19:5 (He that made him (God) "said").
- (Jesus Quoting Exodus 3:6) But about the resurrection of the dead—have you not read what God said to you, 'I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob'? He is not the God of the dead but of the living." Matthew 22:31
- And he said to them: "You have a fine way of setting aside the commands of God in order to observe your own traditions! Mark 7:9
2. Jesus had a definite impact on the Old Testament Law as he fulfilled both the "Law and the Prophets".
- Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. I tell you the truth, until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen, will by any means disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished. Matthew 5;17-18
What does fulfill the Prophets mean?
Simply that Jesus fulfilled what was predicted by the prophets - that being the coming of the Messiah.
What does fulfill the Law mean?
The law also predicted the coming of the Messiah non-verbally via "types" and "shadows". Example: Sacrifice of Lambs = Representing Sacrifice of Jesus Christ. The action of these laws symbolically foreshadowed the real event (i.e. the coming of Christ).
- Therefore do not let anyone judge you by what you eat or drink, or with regard to a religious festival, a New Moon celebration or a Sabbath day. These are a shadow of the things that were to come; the reality, however, is found in Christ. Colossians 2:16-17
- 'who disobeyed long ago when God waited patiently in the days of Noah while the ark was being built. In it only a few people, eight in all, were saved through water, and this water symbolizes baptism that now saves you also—not the removal of dirt from the body but the pledge of a good conscience toward God. It saves you by the resurrection of Jesus Christ'. 1 Peter 3:20-21
The laws of the Old Testament fall into essentially three categories:
- Ceremonial Law (religion) - defined in terms of ritual. Example: Slaying one year old lamb vs. two year old lamb - no real intrinsic difference between the two - other than the reason for the symbolic value. Must be done just as instructed so as not to change the importance of the symbol.
- Moral Law (morality) - defined as what is right or what is wrong. Right or wrong has intrinsic value based on how God views those actions. Morality is rooted in God's character.
- Civil Law (penalty focus for magistrates) defined as that law that governed the magistrates and gave them instruction concerning what punishment to measure out as penalty for crimes. (Not truly applicable to us today as it was guidance for magistrates - yet and excellent example of fairness in approach to justice).
How can one tell the difference in Ceremonial Law and Moral Law?
One can easily tell if a law is a moral law or a ceremonial law by asking this simple question: If the law was changed, would it violate God's character? If it would violate God's character if changed, it is a Moral Law. If it would not violate God's character if changed, it is a Ceremonial Law.
- Example #1: Could God have said "come present yourself to me on the second day of the week vs. the first day of the week"?. Yes, He could have stated that without changing His character (would change the message/symbol, but would not change His character) and thus this law is a CEREMONIAL LAW.
- Example #2: Could God have said "thou shalt steal". No - He could not have stated that without violating His just character, thus this law is a MORAL LAW.
Jesus never altered any morale laws of the Old Testament. However many times he declared ceremonial laws no longer applicable. An example of this is in the realm of foods which we as Christians can eat.
- "Listen to me, everyone, and understand this. Nothing outside a man can make him 'unclean' by going into him. Rather, it is what comes out of a man that makes him 'unclean'. Mark 7:15
- They forbid people to marry and order them to abstain from certain foods, which God created to be received with thanksgiving by those who believe and who know the truth. For everything God created is good, and nothing is to be rejected if it is received with thanksgiving. 1 Timothy 4:3-4
3. Jesus inaugurated the eternal spiritual realities pointed to and anticipated by the ceremonial law (i.e. Circumcision, Passover, Priesthood, Sabbath, Sacrifices, Temple Worship, Promised Land). Jesus did not abrogate the ceremonial law, but He transferred it into a spiritual reality that these ceremonial laws were anticipating.
- Circumcision: For it is we who are the circumcision, we who worship by the Spirit of God, who glory in Christ Jesus, and who put no confidence in the flesh. Philippians 3:3 (Spiritual Circumcision)
- Sabbath: There remains, then, a Sabbath-rest for the people of God; for anyone who enters God's rest also rests from his own work, just as God did from his. Let us, therefore, make every effort to enter that rest, so that no one will fall by following their example of disobedience. Hebrews 4:9-11 (Spiritual Sabbath)
- Priesthood, Sacrifices, Temple: 'you also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. 1 Peter 2:5 (Spiritual Priesthood, Spiritual Sacrifices, Spiritual Temple)
- Promised Land: Instead, they were longing for a better country—a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared a city for them. Hebrews 11:16 (Spiritual Land)
Jesus did not abolish the Law - He oversaw the transfer from the ceremonial aspects which were symbolic into the spiritual realities which were anticipated and are eternal.
So how do we address the Ten Commandments today?
This might be best answered by asking the question 'Are the Ten Commandments moral law or ceremonial law'?
Exodus 20:1-17: And God spoke all these words:
- "I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery. "You shall have no other gods before me. (Moral Law)
- "You shall not make for yourself an idol in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below. You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sin of the fathers to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me, but showing love to a thousand {generations} of those who love me and keep my commandments. (Moral Law)
- "You shall not misuse the name of the LORD your God, for the LORD will not hold anyone guiltless who misuses his name. (Moral Law)
- "Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the LORD your God. On it you shall not do any work, neither you, nor your son or daughter, nor your manservant or maidservant, nor your animals, nor the alien within your gates. For in six days the LORD made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, but he rested on the seventh day. Therefore the LORD blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy. (Ceremonial Law)
- "Honor your father and your mother, so that you may live long in the land the LORD your God is giving you. (Moral Law)
- "You shall not murder. (Moral Law)
- "You shall not commit adultery. (Moral Law)
- "You shall not steal. (Moral Law)
- "You shall not give false testimony against your neighbor. (Moral Law)
- "You shall not covet your neighbor's house. You shall not covet your neighbor's wife, or his manservant or maidservant, his ox or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor." (Moral Law)
Using this questioning guideline, nine of the ten commandments appear to be moral vs. ceremonial laws. This can be further reinforced by the fact that Jesus never commanded any of his disciples to keep any of the ceremonial laws, but did command them to keep the moral law. He also made the ceremonial law (Sabbath) an issue with the Pharisees on many occasions.
- At that time Jesus went through the grainfields on the Sabbath. His disciples were hungry and began to pick some heads of grain and eat them. When the Pharisees saw this, they said to him, "Look! Your disciples are doing what is unlawful on the Sabbath." He answered, "Haven't you read what David did when he and his companions were hungry? He entered the house of God, and he and his companions ate the consecrated bread—which was not lawful for them to do, but only for the priests. Or haven't you read in the Law that on the Sabbath the priests in the temple desecrate the day and yet are innocent? I tell you that one greater than the temple is here. If you had known what these words mean, 'I desire mercy, not sacrifice,' you would not have condemned the innocent. For the Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath." Matthew 12:1-8
Jesus defended His disciples by bringing up a parallel situation (David/Showbread - Disciples/Grain) and then sharing with the Pharisees that the law violated was ceremonial in nature and thus the need (hunger) preempted the need to observe ceremony and rituals. He then shared that both David and the disciples were innocent. If David had broken a moral law, it seems reasonable to think that Jesus would not have used this as an illustration of David doing a right thing. Jesus further elaborated by stating that if the temple is important enough that those (Priests) who are going about it's business are not guilty of violating the Sabbath, then those doing Jesus' work, Jesus being greater than the temple, can break the Sabbath and also not be guilty of breaking the Sabbath.
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Going on from that place, he went into their synagogue, and a man with a shriveled hand was there. Looking for a reason to accuse Jesus, they asked him, "Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath?" He said to them, "If any of you has a sheep and it falls into a pit on the Sabbath, will you not take hold of it and lift it out? How much more valuable is a man than a sheep! Therefore it is lawful to do good on the Sabbath." Then he said to the man, "Stretch out your hand." So he stretched it out and it was completely restored, just as sound as the other. Matthew 12:9-13
Jesus declared that it is lawful to good on the Sabbath - good being the same thing one can do every other day of the week. Thus, it is lawful to do the same things on the Sabbath as one does every other day. Doing what Jesus wants us to do is more important than submission to the ceremonial law.
Keeping Sabbath is not wrong, but not something we are held to as it is ceremonial. If it was a moral law, then Paul would not have been able to provide the following guidance to the Church at Rome.
- One man considers one day more sacred than another; another man considers every day alike. Each one should be fully convinced in his own mind. Romans 14:5
While a great rule for what laws we should keep today would fall along the lines of keeping the moral law and not keeping the ceremonial law, this approach would fall short if not viewed with consideration to what Jesus taught.
What did Jesus teach?
We do not keep nine of the ten of the commandments today just because they are moral, we keep them because they are what Jesus commanded. Paul shares this in Romans by presenting what our relationship to the law is now through Christ.
- Do you not know, brothers—for I am speaking to men who know the law—that the law has authority over a man only as long as he lives? For example, by law a married woman is bound to her husband as long as he is alive, but if her husband dies, she is released from the law of marriage. So then, if she marries another man while her husband is still alive, she is called an adulteress. But if her husband dies, she is released from that law and is not an adulteress, even though she marries another man. So, my brothers, you also died to the law through the body of Christ, that you might belong to another, to him who was raised from the dead, in order that we might bear fruit to God. Romans 7:1-4
We, as Christians, have died to the law through the body of Christ, and are called to follow Christ and His teachings, which are fully inline with the character of God, hence are based on God's law - the moral law - a law based on the character of God.
- Though I am free and belong to no man, I make myself a slave to everyone, to win as many as possible. To the Jews I became like a Jew, to win the Jews. To those under the law I became like one under the law (though I myself am not under the law), so as to win those under the law. To those not having the law I became like one not having the law (though I am not free from God's law but am under Christ's law), so as to win those not having the law. 1 Corinthians 9:19-21
In this statement to the Church at Corinth, Paul captured what we might consider a reasonable approach to the ceremonial law of the Old Testament. In this statement he comments that when he was with Jews, he kept the law (ceremonial law) so he might win them to Christ - but stated that he was not obligated to that ceremonial law. He also stated that when he was with the Gentiles, he did not have to follow ceremonial law, but that he still was under God's law - Christ's law - the moral law.
- and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age. Matthew 28:20
As we seek to follow Christ in our daily lives, lets ensure that we are captive to Christ and His commandments, and not unnecessarily constrained by the ceremonial law of Old Testament.
Portions Taken From The Law Of Moses And The Christian By Steve Gregg.
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