The Law Of God Is Perfect Sure Right And Pure
The law of the LORD is perfect, converting the soul The testimony of the LORD is sure, making wise the simple The statutes of the LORD are right, rejoicing the heart The commandment of the LORD is pure, enlightening the eyes The fear of the LORD is clean, enduring forever The judgments of the LORD are true and righteous altogether .
More Than The 10 Commandments
The 10 Commandments are the core of the law of God. They provide a foundational and essential statement of Gods moral law, and other laws and the spirit of the law fit within this framework.
When God wrote the 10 Commandments in stone, He was writing this foundational framework for how mankind should interact with God and with each other. The laws contained in the 10 Commandments were known and obeyed before Moses.
But the 10 Commandments were not the only laws of God, since other laws are mentioned before the giving of the 10 Commandments and the Old Covenant at Mount Sinai. While some laws span across both the Old and New Covenants, others were specific to the Old Covenant, and each one has a spiritual element.
How Can We Tell What Is Moral Law In The Old Testament
Some have said The moral law of God is found in the ten commandments and that is it. Well that is not exactly true. Only nine of the ten commandments are upheld in the New Testament. The law regarding Sabbath keeping is rescinded and thus revealed not to be part of Gods continuing moral law.
Someone else might say Ok then then the ten commandments, minus the Sabbath keeping commandment are the complete moral law of God. Well again not so fast. The Apostle Paul demonstrates that the moral law of God is larger than just the ten commandments given to Moses.
Let me give you some examples to illustrate my point.
Laws forbidding marriage to close relatives are upheld
It is reported commonly that there is fornication among you, and such fornication as is not so much as named among the Gentiles, that one should have his fathers wife.
I Corinthians 5:11
Laws against homosexuality are upheld
26 For this cause God gave them up unto vile affections: for even their women did change the natural use into that which is against nature: 27 And likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust one toward another men with men working that which is unseemly, and receiving in themselves that recompence of their error which was meet.
Romans 1:26-27
Laws regarding gender roles and the family are upheld
I Corinthians 14:34
Genesis 3:16
1 Corinthians 7:39
1 Corinthians 9:7-10
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The Law As The Mosaic Law
The Law can also refer to the Mosaic Law. It was given to Moses when he was on Mount Sinai. That is the message of Exodus 24:12.
Now the LORD said to Moses, Come up to Me on the mountain and remain there, and I will give you the stone tablets with the law and the commandment which I have written for their instruction. Exodus 24:12
In this passage we are told that Moses was given the Ten Commandments. The commandments are the most well-known part of the Mosaic Law. But notice that God also gave the law along with the stone tablets or the Ten Commandments. That is, the Law includes the Ten Commandments and a long list of detailed laws which were recorded in the book of Leviticus. Leviticus includes laws related to: various sacrifices and offerings , dietary laws , motherhood and leprosy . There are laws about the atonement , immoral relationships and many other laws . In summary, the expression the Law usually refers to the Mosaic Law. Deuteronomy contains a summary of the Mosaic Law and it was given just before the Israelites entered Canaan or the Promised Land. The expression the Law of Moses appears throughout the Bible. The shorter version of the phrase is the Mosaic Law.
Many references to the Mosaic Law occur in the New Testament. One significant passage is Luke 24:44. Here we see that Jesus is clearly speaking to the Pentateuch of the first five books of the Old Testament. In the Hebrew Bible it is also called the Torah.
Types Of Laws In The Old Testament
But that still leaves us with a big question: What else does the Law of Moses contain? What types of laws are there? Do those laws speak to us in this 21st century? And if so, what do they say?
In principle the Law of Moses is a huge body of laws designed to cover every aspect of life for a physical nation. They include civil laws for ancient Israel, as well as ceremonial lawsvarious animal sacrifices, washings and priestly ceremonies.
They also include laws governing marriage and family, societal concerns such as care for widows and orphans, animal control laws, property rights, tithing laws, laws of the land Sabbath and the jubilee, laws against apostasy, and laws concerning the holy days and the festivals.
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What About The Civil Laws Contained In The Mosaic Law
Up to this point we have shown from the Scriptures that the New Covenant explicitly rescinds Ceremonial laws of the Old Covenant. But what about the Civil laws? Are those rescinded as well?
The answer to that questions is Yesand here is why.
The Civil laws of Israel were made for a theocracy and can only be carried out at a governmental level. The theocracy of Israel ended because Israel broke its Covenant with God. Right now, Christ sits at the right hand of God in heaven. But one day Christ will return to sit on the throne of David and once again God will have a theocracy here on earth for 1000 years.
25 For I would not, brethren, that ye should be ignorant of this mystery, lest ye should be wise in your own conceits that blindness in part is happened to Israel, until the fulness of the Gentiles be come in. 26 And so all Israel shall be saved: as it is written, There shall come out of Sion the Deliverer, and shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob:
Romans 11:25-26
And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them: and I saw the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and for the word of God, and which had not worshipped the beast, neither his image, neither had received his mark upon their foreheads, or in their hands and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years.
Revelation 20:4
The Moral Law In The Bible And The Ceremonial Law
by Thomson Dablemond | Sep 22, 2018 | Religion |
How to define the ceremonial law in the Bible? What was it used for? What is the meaning of the moral law in the Bible? What was the purpose of the ceremonial law? What is moral law? How to distinguish between the ceremonial law and the moral law in the Bible? Learn everything about the difference between the ceremonial law and the moral law in the Bible, in this article that preacher Thomson Dablemond offers you.
The laws in the Bible, there are some. There is so much law in the Bible that it is often difficult to know how to do things in the Bible. It is on this subject that wants to overcome this article. In the Bible, especially in the Scriptures , we distinguish different types of laws.
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What Does The Bible Say About Respecting Leaders
Exodus 22:28 provides another interesting example. You shall not revile God, nor curse a ruler of your people.
In todays culture in which respect for God and national and religious leaders has been eroded, this law provides another example of one that shows us the way to walk. It even guided the apostle Paul, who in Acts 23:5 gave an apology to the high priest of Israel for reviling him and quoted this law.
Some Examples Of Old Testament Laws
The next sections of this article will talk about several different types of laws within the Bible outside of the 10 Commandments. The goal is to give you a sampling of what their purpose is and whether they apply currently or were specific to a covenant.
Lets start with laws given to man early in the Bible, before the Old Covenant was made at Mount Sinai.
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Clean And Unclean Foods In The Bible
Many today regard the law of clean and unclean animals as an Old Covenant law that was done away with when Christ was nailed to the cross. Modern Christianity teaches it as a Jewish tradition, antiquated and no longer necessary. Yet the first mention of this law was almost 1,000 years prior to its codification to the Israelites in Leviticus 11 .
The first mentions of this law are in Genesis 6:19 7:2, 8 and 8:20. To put it plainly, this law long predates the Old Covenant! Noah was given clear instructions to set apart a different number of clean animals than unclean animals , just as Noah and his family were set apart by God from the wicked generation that He would destroy with the Flood. But why would God do this?
To begin with, God sets apart what is holyHe defines what is acceptable and righteous, not man. God then tells His people that they are to be holy . Therefore we must strictly avoid anything that would contaminate us, either physically or spiritually . This is a law that, like marriage, is still in effect today. Read more about it in our article Clean and Unclean Animals: Does God Care What Meats We Eat?
Are The 10 Commandments Part Of The Law Of Moses
So here is an important distinction: The 10 Commandments were given directly by God. They were not mediated by Moses. They are the 10 points of fundamental moral law given directly by God to His people.
The 10 Commandments define how to love God and how to love others . This moral law existed from the beginning . Gods 10 Commandments are expounded throughout the Bible in the letter and in their spiritual intent. They provide a framework upon which all of the law of God hangs.
The 10 Commandments are quoted repeatedly in the New Testament .
But, then, so are many of the laws of Moses.
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What Is The Law And Where Do We See It In Scripture
The first use of the Hebrew word translated as law is found in Genesis 26:5, in which God restates the promised blessing given to Abraham to his son, Isaac, blessings which are being passed on to future generations because, God says, Abraham obeyed Me and kept My charge, My commandments, My statutes and My laws. The word is tôrâ and is used in the Bible to describe teaching or instruction. While the Law generally refers to the Ten Commandments and the sacrificial laws given to Moses on Mount Sinai , God gave instructions to men long before the children of Israel left Egypt as a nation.
The law is Gods perfect standard of obedience and holiness as described in the commands, statutes, and ordinances given to those who would worship and serve Him. The very first law was given in the Garden of Eden when God told Adam not to eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil . Gods commands are His laws.
God gave Adam and Eve the free will to choose to obey the command, or to break the law. They chose disobedience and transgressed, or violated Gods law. As 1 John 3:4 says, Everyone who sins breaks the law in fact, sin is lawlessness. Sin is often referred to in the Bible as a transgression or a trespass. The Greek word translated trespasses in Ephesians 2:1, paraptma, is a lapse or deviation from truth and uprightness the word literally means to fall aside. The Hebrew word for transgression, pea, indicates revolt or rebellion.
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The Moral Law In The Bible
The moral law designates the Ten Commandments. They exist since eternity God does not change . He is holy, and he wants a holy people. These laws still apply. They are engraved in our hearts according to the promise that God made in Jeremiah 31: 31-33 Ezekiel 11: 19-20, and Ezekiel 36: 25-27. This is the moral law, the Ten Commandments, a reflection of Gods character.
In the following lines, we will highlight the differences between ceremonial law and morals in the Bible. Several points distinguish ceremonial law from moral law.
1. The Moral Law or the Ten Commandments of God, was proclaimed on Mount Sinai, written on two stone tablets by the hand of God, and handed over to Moses to be placed in the ark of the covenant . The moral law is also called the law of the Lord . Yet the ceremonial law or the law of Moses, written in a book by Mosess hand and handed over to the priests to be placed beside the Ark of the Covenant .
2. The moral law is a royal law . The ceremonial law is a mosaic law .
3. The moral law was engraved on the stone by Gods finger . Now, Moses wrote the ceremonial law in a book .
4. The moral law was placed in the Ark . However, the ceremonial law was seated next to the Ark .
7. The moral law is perfect . The ceremonial law is imperfect .
8. The Bible teaches us that the moral law makes us happy when we consider it and put it into practice. . And since the ceremonial law, being a shadow, it cannot sanctify entirely .
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What Does All This Mean
There are many laws in the Bible. Some were specific to a covenant, while others predate and extend through both the Old Covenant and the New Covenant. Many laws are still essential today, and they all are intended to give us a deeper understanding of what God expects and how He wants us to live.
God gave the law of God out of love so that it might go well with us. In fact, we must ask ourselves a very fundamental question at the end of this: Do we love God the Father and Jesus Christ? If we say yes, then do we keep the law of God?
As Jesus Christ said:
- Do not think that I came to destroy the Law or the Prophets. I did not come to destroy but to fulfill .
- If you love Me, keep My commandments .
What Is A Law
How does man define the law? The New Oxford American Dictionary defines law as:
1. the system of rules that a particular country or community recognizes as regulating the actions of its members and may enforce by the imposition of penalties
2. a statement of fact, deduced from observation, to the effect that a particular natural or scientific phenomenon always occurs if certain conditions are present
3. the body of divine commandments as expressed in the Bible or other religious texts.
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Widows Orphans And Strangers
Exodus 22:21-24 enjoins care and concern for three categories of people who were part of the Israelite community: foreigners, widows and orphans. These three groups would have been the most vulnerable in that ancient society. Watch out for them, God says! Care for them!
Caring for those who are vulnerable is an essential element of genuine Christianity.
The principle is godly and is echoed in the New Testament, where James 1:27 provides a description of pure and undefiled religion. Pure and undefiled religion before God and the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their trouble, and to keep oneself unspotted from the world.
Caring for those who are vulnerable is an essential element of genuine Christianity.
What Is The Law And Does It Have Purpose For Us Today
Gods requirements have not altered, but we are not the ones to meet them. Praise God, He is the Lawgiver on the Throne, and He is the Lawkeeper in my heart. He who gave the Law, Himself keeps it. -Watchman Nee, The Normal Christian Life
The discussion of law vs. grace is a common one among Bible-believing Christ followers. For some reason, we have trouble harmonizing what feels to us like two conflicting ideas. Either Christianity is all about grace, or its all about law. The truth is, like many God-sized concepts in Scripture, both are integral parts of the gospel of Jesus Christ.
Is the Law something relegated to Old Testament days, or does it have meaning for us today? What is the Law, and what was its purpose?
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Civil Laws In The Bible
Many laws were given to allow the proper functioning of a physical nation. These national laws and punishments cannot be fully implemented or enforced outside of a nation under Gods control.
Since Christians are not of the world and its governments, and Jesus Christ said My kingdom is not of this world , Christians do not seek to apply the letter of civil laws about tribal inheritances, temple taxes, punishments for crimes, etc. God has delegated civil authority to the governments of this world .
However, Christians do seek to understand the purpose and spirit of the civil laws of the Bible.
What Is The Law Of Moses
Lets begin with a definition of the Law of Moses.
The Law of Moses is the body of law that God gave to ancient Israel through Moses as mediator. The Law of Moses is found in the Old Testament books of Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy. You can usually identify these laws because they are often introduced with this kind of wording: Then the LORD spoke to Moses, saying . . . . According to Jewish tradition, there are 613 such laws.
But to be exact, we need to exclude the 10 Commandments, since they were given directly by God to the people .
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