There
are many different laws. The law of sin and
death was nailed to the cross. The laws dealing
with sacrifices were only for the Temple period.
The intention of ceremonial laws is to bring
holiness to God’s people. “And
the Lord spoke unto Moses and said, ‘Speak
to all the congregation of the children of Israel
and say to them; You shall be holy, for I the
Lord you God am holy.’” Jesus
became the ultimate sacrifice–no more sacrifices
are needed (Hebrews 8).
We
are not without the law but under “the
law of Christ” (Gal. 6:2). There are laws
that apply to believers today that deal with
our relationships with other people. The law
is good and just and perfect–there is a
problem with the law–there is a problem
with man. Man, with his sin nature, is unable
to keep the law.
The
New Testament verses concerning God’s law
explain that those who love God will follow
God’s instructions—His ways, His paths
(Romans 2:23; Ephesians 6:2-3; Exodus 20:12;
Deuteronomy 5:16; Hebrews 10:16; James 1:25;
2:11; 8-26; 1 John 2:3-4, 24; 3:22; 5:2,3; 2
John 6; Revelation 22:14). The law was never
meant to save—only to guide. Without God’s
instruction, it would be impossible for people
to live together. Without God’s law, there
could be no grace. As David said in Psalm 119,
God laid down precepts that are to be obeyed.
He said he meditated on God’s precepts
and ways, and if we walk in God’s paths
our hearts are set free.
The
Jews never believed that anyone could earn their
way to salvation. They know salvation is only
by grace through Messiah (and we are praying
they will have their eyes opened to see the
Y’shua (Jesus) is the Messiah). Neither
Jesus nor Paul ever taught God’s law was
“done away with.” Paul’s letters
to the Gentiles speak against upset with those
who twisted the law–those who abused it
such as making it a prerequisite for salvation.
Paul made it clear the Gentiles did not have
to live by the law to attain salvation. He did
encourage the Jewish believers to keep the law–but
never made it a condition of salvation. Paul
never implied that believers in Christ were
to start a “new religion” that did
away with the Old Testament. In fact, Paul explains
we should thank God for His mercy that by faith
we are grafted into Israel and we are not to
boast for their eyes are blinded, in part, until
the fullness of the Gentiles– see Romans
11:16-36. We are under a new covenant but we
still have the same King and His Word says obedience
is better than sacrifice. The law exposes sin,
measures man, and actually shows us how full
of mercy God is. Luther, Wesley, Spurgeon, Finney,
Moody and other Christian leaders all taught
the importance of God’s law.
The
idea that grace replaced the law began in the
second century. The first section of this book
explains how the Early Church left their Hebraic
roots. During the second century, Marcion, a
heretic who twisted Paul’s writings, caused
a radical opposition between the Law and the
Gospels. He suggested the entire Old Testament
be omitted from the cannon. He broke away from
the Roman church in 144 and set up his own very
successful group. Polycarp referred to Marcion
as the Son of Satan. Marcion believed the God
described in the Old Testament was cruel, so
he refused to acknowledge the God of the Old
Testament but embraced the portions of the New
Testament that expressed God’s love. Marcion
created a reduced version of the New Testament
consisting of Luke and parts of Paul’s
letters–purposely leaving out all Jewish
interpolations. Marcion’s legacy lives
on. A study of Marcion and his immense influence
on Christian leaders in church history is highly
advisable to anyone serious about studying God’s
law. More on Marcion.
Roy
Blizzard summed up the law, as it is used in
the Bible, in these two sentences:
“The
idea of law in Hebrew is not something that,
if transgressed, is going to get you zapped.
Torah
[Law] is instruction, that if followed, will
enrich
one’s life, if ignored will diminish it.”
The
Nine-Fold Purpose of the Law of God
Ron
Mosley’s book The Spirit
of the Law sums up the purpose of the Law:
1.
To teach the believer how to serve, worship
and please God [Psalm 19:7-9; Acts 18:13, 14].
2.
To instruct the believer how to treat his fellow
man and have healthy relationships with him
[Leviticus 19:18; Galatians 5:14; Galatians
6:2].
3.
To teach believers how to be happy and prosper
here on earth by manifesting the power and authority
of God’s reign in their lives [Joshua 1:8;
Psalm 1:1-3; Luke 12:32].
4.
The Law was given, not to save, but to measure
man’s deeds both toward God and his fellow
man, straightening out all matters contrary
to sound doctrine [I Timothy 1:8-10; II Timothy
2:5; I Corinthians 6: 1- 12; I Corinthians 3:13;
Romans 2:12; Revelation 20:12, 13].
5.
The Law is a schoolmaster showing that we are
guilty and then leading us to Christ our Messianic
justification [Galatians 3:21-24; Romans 3:19].
6.
The Law gives us both the knowledge and depth
of our sin [Romans 3:20; Romans 4:15; Romans
7:7, 8; Luke 20:47 - greater damnation].
7.
The Law reveals the good, holy, just, and perfect
nature of God and serves as the visible standard
for God’s will [Romans 2:17, 18; Romans
7:12; II Peter 1:4].
8.
The Law is to be established or accomplished
by our faith, therefore, it is called the Law
of faith [Romans 3:27; Romans 3:31].
9.
The same Law today is written on our hearts,
and through God’s Spirit we can delight
and serve the Law of God [Romans 7:6-25] (Mosley
1996).
613
Laws
According
to orthodox Jewish tradition, there are 613
commandments in the law of Moses. These are
divided into 248 affirmative laws and 365 negative
laws. Moses Margoliouth, who was one of the
translators of the English Revised Version,
published a catalog of the 613 commandments
in English in 1743. It is common to divide the
Mosaic law into three parts: the Ten Commandments
(often called the moral law), the ordinances,
and the judgments. The ordinances are the laws
governing Israel’s religious life while
the judgments are the civil laws. These divisions
are sometimes helpful for analysis and study
but actually have no Scriptural authority. Many
of Israel’s laws would belong in two of
the suggested divisions. For example, the law
of the tithe is both religious and civil. The
Ten Commandments have a prominent place in the
law but Christ taught that the greatest commandment
was not one of the ten (Aldrich 1959). Each
of the 613 laws can be classified into the two
commandments above.
Noahide
Laws
Since
the time of Noah there are seven laws non-Jews
were required to “keep” after becoming
a worshiper of the God of Abraham. Keeping the
Noahide laws did not save you—even the
Jews know that keeping the law does not save.
Only the Messiah can save. These laws are simply
instructions for our own good. The word law
means instruction. The Noahide Laws based on
Genesis nine are:
