Continued From Post Above...... Remember this point! It will help you to know which rites in the old testament were added to the statutes and judgments already in existence. What Is the Law of Moses? Some people are easily confused by the trick statement that the Ten Commandments are the law of Moses. They turn to Luke 2:22-24 in which the ceremonies of the “law of Moses” are also called part of the “law of the Lord.” Why is the “law of Moses” also called the “law of the Lord”? Because all law comes from God! Moses is not the lawmaker! He merely told the people the laws that God set in motion (John 1: 17). The law of Moses is NEVER called the Ten Commandments. It comprises only statutes and judgments which God gave him to communicate to the people. The difference between the law of Moses and the Ten Commandments is that God spoke the ten words, but Moses delivered the statutes and judgments. Now, let us recall that when Moses first delivered the statutes and judgments, the law of Moses had no sacrifices connected with it. Jeremiah said so! (Jer. 7:22). The law of Moses was originally the civil law, based on the principles of the Ten Commandments. These civil statutes and judgments are right and good (Psalm 119:7,8). But after the close of the old covenant (Ex. 24) , the Levitical priesthood was established and the laws regulating offerings were added (Exodus 28: 1 ). (Prior to this time offerings were voluntary and young men were priests-Exodus 24: 5.) Therefore the law of Moses has more than one part! Notice God’s definition of the original part of that law in Malachi 4:4: “Remember the law of my servant Moses, the statutes and judgments that I commanded him at Horeb for all Israel.” This law we are not to forget. We are to keep it! BUT ADDED TO THIS LAW LATER WERE OTHER STATUTES REGULATING MATERIAL RITUALS, SUCH AS SACRIFICES, CENSE, AND VARIOUS WASHINGS FOR THE UNCLEAN. This almost unnoticed fact is what causes so much difficulty in understanding that the LAW OF MOSES WAS COMPOSED OF two DISTINCT PARTS: THE CIVIL AND THE RITUALISTIC! Part of Law of Moses Still in Force! Jesus said the two great commandments were love to God and love to neighbor. Do you know from where He quoted these laws? Out of the book of the law!-the laws that Moses spoke to the people. Read it in Leviticus 19:18: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” And Deuteronomy 6.4. “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your might.” In II John 5 and 6, God commands Christians to obey these two basic laws which He communicated to the people by Moses! In I1 Kings 23:25, Josiah is praised because he “turned to the Lord with all his heart and with all his soul and with all his might, ACCORDING TO THE LAW OF MOSES! Notice how plain it is. The civil law of Moses expounds the Ten Commandments by revealing how the ten basic principles are to be applied. We are to keep this part of the law, not in the strictness of the letter, but according to its spirit and intent. Added Part NO LONGER in Force Then why do we read in Acts that Gentile converts do not have to observe the “law of Moses,” except for four points? (Acts 15.) The answer is made plain in Acts 21:21. The laws of Moses called in question involved “customs.” Read it for yourself. The Jews were falsely accusing Paul, saying that he taught Jews living abroad “not to circumcise their children or observe the CUSTOMS!” (Acts 21:21.) The controversy in the early Church did not involve the civil law of Moses. It involved only the ceremonial additions to the original civil law of Moses -only customs-ADDED ceremonies or rituals. This is further proven by noticing the four points, included in the law added by Moses, which are binding on all Christians everywhere. We are not to eat blood, animals which are strangled, meats offered to idols or to practice fornication. These four points were originally part of the civil law of Moses. They were also included later with the added ceremonies to regulate the typical sacrifices. The Gentiles ate their sacrifices with the blood, often strangled their animals, and presented them to idols. They also committed fornication in their religious ceremonies. To prevent these pagan customs being practised by Israel, God included the four civil laws along with the rituals. (See Lev. 17:7 and 10; Numbers 2 5 : 1- 3 . ) When the ceremonies were declared no longer binding (in Acts 15), these four points had to be declared binding because some would have thought they were abolished along with the temporary rituals. But since these four points were part of the civil law before the addition of the rituals, they remained binding after the abolition of the physical sacrifices and washings! How plain! Only the ceremonial customs of the law of Moses have passed away. The civil law of Moses which defined sin was not called in question, was not involved. The many civil laws regulating tithing, clean and unclean meats, the annual sabbaths, and many others are still for the New Testament Church because they explain what sin is. They were not part of the ceremonial law of Moses mentioned in Hebrews 9:10 and abolished in Acts 15. The civil principles of the law of Moses were a separate law and not part of the added “law of Moses” which is no longer in force. Ministration of Death Now let us consider the use of the death penalty in old testament times. A common question often asked is this: Why do we not enforce the death penalty for sabbath-breakers or for any other violation of the Ten Commandments? The answer to this question is found in Matthew 5. Let us turn to this important chapter again. Jesus was anticipating doubts in the minds of the disciples. He commences by saying He came to keep the law, not to destroy it. Then He proceeds to CHANGE the APPLICATION of the civil laws as they were given to ancient Israel. He magnifies them and makes them honorable. He raises them from narrow, national laws -given to a carnal nation to be administered according to the strict letter to a spiritual plane regulating the whole of human society. Six times Jesus says: “You have heard it said in olden times. . , . But I say to you. . . .” and He then proceeds to expound the spiritual principles underlying the civil laws of Moses. In particular, notice Matthew 5 : 38; “You have heard that it was said, ‘An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.’ But I say to you, do not resist one who is evil. But if any one strikes you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also. . . .” Civil Law Restored to Perfection Jesus RESTORED THESE SPIRITUAL LAWS as they were from the beginning. But why was Moses commanded to give them only in the letter to ancient Israel? Ancient Israel was not like the Church of God today. It was a national church--a carnal nation organized into the congregation of Israel. They did not have the promise of the Holy Spirit; they were a nation of this world. Moses said that they did not even have the power or strength of will to keep what little he commanded them (Deut. 5 : 29). And neither do human beings today! People don’t want to obey the commandments. “The carnal mind is enmity against God: fur it is not subject to the law of God’ (Rom. 8:7). Israel needed punishments for lawbreakers to keep peace and security in the land. Therefore God allowed human judges to take His divine prerogatives and to execute punishments on their fellow men. Jesus gave the civil law to Moses in the strict letter at Mount Sinai for a physical church. Fifteen centuries later
Posted on: Fri, 25 Oct 2013 01:32:36 +0000
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