This was preached by my pastor. It was to answer a question that was asked by one of the youth: “Why do we keep some laws, and don’t keep others?” I found it very interesting, and decided to share it!
WHAT ABOUT THE LAW?
James 2
Back in the 12th Century AD, Moses Mäi-mon-ï-des – a
preeminent medieval Jewish philosopher and scholar – wrote a fourteen-volume
work called Mishneh Torah. In that work, he recorded and classified 613 Old
Testament commands. While there is still much discussion as to which laws are:
1. From the LORD God.
2. From the Jewish
Rabbis.
However, our purpose
is not to discuss how many laws there really are – and the
reason is simply
because it does NOT matter!
Why? The reason is
stated in …
Verse 10 “For
whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he
is guilty of all.”
Bottom line, if we
only break one law we are guilty of breaking it all! Therefore, the question
that was asked is a very good/important question. The question was asked, “Of
the law in the Old Testament, why do we follow some parts of it, (i.e. the Ten
Commandments) but not others like eating unclean animals.”
In answering this
question there are three points I want to mention:
I. The divisions of the law.
When it comes to the
laws of God that are found in the Old Testament, we must notice that all of the
laws will fall into one of three categories.
A. The civic law –
i.e. laws concerning the Jewish nation.
When the LORD God
chose the nation of Israel
to be His own people, they were
set up to operate as
a “theocracy”.
1. The Jewish historian Josepheus first used this word in
the 1st Century AD.
2. The meaning was simply that the Jews were under the
direct government of the LORD God himself – i.e. the nation was in all things
subject to the will of their invisible King.
3. Therefore, all the people were the servants of Jehovah,
who ruled over their public and private affairs, communicating to them His will
through those men who were called to be His prophets.
In other words, the civic law had to do with how they were
to live together as a nation of God’s people. These included God’s laws
concerning:
1. Murder – theft – immorality.
2. Plowing – sowing –
reaping.
3. Misdemeanors of
all kinds.
These were the civil
laws that the LORD God gave to the nation of Israel – and to break these laws
carried penalties which varied from paying fines to being put to death.
B. The ceremonial law – i.e. laws concerning the Jewish
religion.
These laws were given so that men might have a right
relationship with God – i.e. these laws dealt with:
1. The rite of
circumcision.
2. The keeping of the
Sabbaths and the holy days.
3. The offering of
the sacrifices in the Temple .
4. The keeping of a
strict diet – i.e. both food and drink.
The Apostle Paul made
it very clear that all of these things found their fulfillment in the Lord
Jesus Christ.
Colossians 2:13-17
“And you, being dead in your sins and the uncircum-
cision of your flesh,
hath he quickened together with him, having forgiven
you all trespasses;
Blotting out the handwriting of ordinances that was
against us, which was
contrary to us, and took it out of the way, nailing it to
his cross; And having
spoiled principalities and powers, he made a shew of
them openly,
triumphing over them in it. Let no man therefore judge you in
meat, or in drink, or
in respect of an holyday, or of the new moon, or of the
sabbath days: Which
are a shadow of things to come; but the body is of
Christ.”
This is why, when certain Jewish teachers said that Gentiles
could not become Christians without being circumcised (cf. Acts 15), the
Apostle Paul took a strong stand – and the Jewish church agreed – that Gentiles
did NOT need to follow the ceremonial law of the Jewish religion in order to be
Christians.
Bottom line: After the death of Jesus Christ on the cross,
men no longer have a right relationship with God keeping the works of the law –
rather, our relationship with God is based on our faith in the finished work of
Jesus Christ on Calvary . But it is important
that we remember that, the ceremonial law was added because of man’s
transgression of …
C. The moral law –
i.e. the Ten Commandments.
These are the ten law
statements that the LORD God wrote with His finger on the tables of stone (cf.
Exodus 31:18) and gave to Moses. But not only were these laws written on the
tables of stone, notice in …
Romans 2:14-15 “For
when the Gentiles, which have not the law, do by
nature the things
contained in the law, these, having not the law, are a law
unto themselves:
Which shew the work of the law written in their hearts,
their conscience also
bearing witness, and their thoughts the mean while
accusing or else
excusing one another;”
Notice it now:
1. The civil laws do
not apply to us since we are NOT citizens of Israel .
2. The ceremonial
laws do not apply to us since Jesus Christ fulfilled all those things
that were required
for men to have a right relationship with God.
3. However, the moral
law still applies – so notice with me …
II. The requirements of the law.
The Bible says in …
Luke 10:25-28 “And,
behold, a certain lawyer stood up, and tempted him, saying,
Master, what shall I
do to inherit eternal life? He said unto him, What is written in
the law? how readest
thou? And he answering said, Thou shalt love the Lord thy
God with all thy
heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength, and with all
thy mind; and thy
neighbour as thyself. And he said unto him, Thou hast answered
right ...”
You see, all of the
moral law fills two categories – i.e. our relationship with God and with men.
Let’s look at the moral law in Exodus 20 …
A. Our relationship
to God.
1. No other gods – cf.Exodus 20:3.
Remember, anything selfish desire that we put
before obeying the will of God is an idol (i.e. a god) that has taken God’s
place in the throne room of our heart.
2. No making of idols – cf. Exodus 20:4-6.
While this is certainly speaking of those statues of false
deities that we see all around us, we must remember that an idol is any
physical thing that we allow to become more important to us than obeying God.
a. Toys – i.e.
computer games, movies, TV.
b. Investments –
work.
c. Possessions – i.e.
cars, houses, etc.
3. No taking His name
in vain – cf. Exodus 20:7.
The proper name of
God is JEHOVAH, a word expressive of His essential being. And since God is
infinitely holy, His name is holy – and it is to be regarded as holy. Therefore,
to use His name as a curse/swear word – or, to use His name in making a
statement that is untrue – is to bring upon ourselves the wrath and judgment of
God.
4. Remember to honor
Him – cf. Exodus 20:8-11.
The principle here is
simply that one day a week is to be dedicated to the worshipping and honoring
of our God – i.e. it was to be a day of physical rest so that men might give
themselves to spiritual endeavors.
In the New Testament,
that day of rest was changed from the Sabbath to Sunday.
B. Our relationship
to men.
1. No dishonoring
parents – cf. Exodus 20:12.
The fact this moral
law is still in effect today is clearly seen in the fact that the Apostle Paul
referred to it – cf. Ephesians 6:1-3; Colossians 3:20 – as still being in
force.
2. No committing murder – cf. Exodus 20:13.
3. No committing adultery – cf. Exodus 20:14.
4. No stealing – cf. Exodus 20:15.
5. No lying – cf.Exodus 20:16.
6. No coveting –
cf.Exodus 20:17-18.
As we consider those
moral laws, is there anyone here who has not broken at least one of those
commands? Of course, unless we have the IQ of a rock – or unless we are an outright
liar (NOTE: Rule # 9) – we will all confess that we fit in the statement of the
Apostle Paul in …
Romans 3:23 “For all
have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;”
And that brings us to …
III. The purpose of the law.
Notice three things
we need to understand concerning the purpose of the law:
A. Its revelation.
You see, when we are
confronted with the demands/expectations of God’s moral law – as we have just
seen – we are brought face to face with the fact that we are guilty sinners in
the eyes of a holy God.
Romans 8:3 “For what
the law could not do, in that it was weak through
the flesh …”
Because of the fact
that ALL of us were born with a sin nature – i.e. a nature that naturally
rebels against God’s moral laws – there is no way that we could earn our salvation
by keeping the moral law of God. That is the same conclusion the Apostle Paul
came to in …
Romans 3:28
“Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith with-
out the deeds of the
law.”
Bottom line: The
moral law of God could never cause us to have a right relationship with God;
rather, the law of God can only condemn us guilty sinners before a holy God.
B. Its satisfaction.
Romans 8:3 “… God
sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and
for sin, condemned
sin in the flesh:”
The best commentary on this passage is found in …
Isaiah 53:6 “All we like sheep have gone astray; we have
turned every one to his own way; and the Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of
us all.”
2 Corinthians 5:21 “For he hath made him to be sin for us,
who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.”
C. Its result.
When we see that we
guilty of breaking God’s law – and when we understand that
Jesus Christ
fulfilled the demands of the law by dying in our place – then we turn in faith,
trusting in Him as our Savior, so that …
Romans 8:4 “That the righteousness of the law might be
fulfilled in us …”
Conclusion
This is why the psalmist said in …
Psalm 19:7 “The law
of the Lord is perfect, converting the soul …”
And that is why the Apostle Paul said in …
Galatians 3:24-25
“Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, that we might
be justified by faith. But after that faith is come, we are no longer under a
schoolmaster.”
1. The moral law of
God has NEVER changed – and it is that law which brings us to faith in Christ.
2. After we are
saved, we are no longer under the moral law of God – rather, now as believers
in Jesus Christ, we walk in obedience to the indwelling Holy Spirit of God.
