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The covenant God
made with Israel at Mount Sinai eventually
became known as the “Old Covenant” (2 Cor. 3:14),
or the “first covenant” (Heb. 8:7; 9:15, 18).
There was only one law God gave
to Israel, not two. The Mosaic Covenant had
613 laws made up of three parts: the Ten
Commandments, the ordinances, and the
Levitical system of worship (Exod. 20-40;
Lev. 1-7; 23).
God wrote the
Decalogue (the Ten Commandments) on tablets
of stone (Exod. 34:28; Deut. 4:13), and then
spoke all of the rest of the laws to Moses
personally because the people feared hearing
from their God, Yahweh directly.
Exodus 20:18-19
says, “Now when all the people saw the
thunder and the flashes of lightning and the
sound of the trumpet and the mountain
smoking, the people were afraid and
trembled, and they stood far off and said
to Moses, “You speak to us, and we will
listen; but do not let God speak to us, lest
we die.”
The Ten
Commandments made up the core of the Old
Covenant (Exod. 34:28; Deut. 4:13). As part of
the Old Covenant, the people at Mount Sinai
also agreed to obey all the laws God gave in
Exodus 20-24. These additional laws became
part of the covenant God made with Israel,
and then the covenant was ratified with a
blood sacrifice.
Exodus 24:6-8
says, “And Moses took half of the blood and
put it in basins, and half of the blood he
threw against the altar. Then he took the
Book of the Covenant and read it in the
hearing of the people. And they said, “All
that the LORD has spoken we will do, and we
will be obedient.” And Moses took the
blood and threw it on the people and said,
“Behold the blood of the covenant that the
LORD has made with you in accordance with
all these words.”
The Ten
Commandments are the words of the covenant.
As the Words of the covenant, they
represented the entire covenant.
Exodus 34:27-28
says, “And the LORD said to Moses, “Write
these words, for in accordance with these
words I have made a covenant with you and
with Israel.” So he was there with the
LORD forty days and forty nights. He neither
ate bread nor drank water. And he wrote on
the tablets the words of the covenant, the
Ten Commandments.”
And Deuteronomy 4:13
says,
“And he declared to you his covenant, which
he commanded you to perform, that is, the
Ten Commandments, and he wrote them on two
tablets of stone.” (cf. Exod. 20:1; 34:1, 4;
Deut. 9:9; 5:2-3; 1 Kings 8:9, 21; 2 Chron. 6:11).
One of the most
distinguishing features of the Ten Words is
that they are the only laws ever
specifically referred to as “the covenant”
itself (Exod. 34:28). That is why they were
among the items placed inside the Ark of the
Covenant. They were the foundational laws
upon which the rest of the 613 laws
contained in the covenant were based.
The
Mosaic Covenant was conditional upon
Israel’s faithfulness to the covenant
requirements (Exodus 19-24).
God said in
Exodus 19:5-6 that “if” Israel obeyed Him
they would be His chosen people. Those
blessings were meant to be extended to all
other nations on earth (Isa. 2:2-3; 11:10; 14:1; 55:5; 56:3-8;
Jer. 3:17; 16:19; 33:9;
Zech. 2:11; 8:20-23). This type of
conditional covenant was based on the
Hittite, suzerain-vassal treaty that had
both blessings and curses laid out for Israel in
Leviticus 26 and Deuteronomy 28-30.
God gave
all of the “commandments”, “statutes”, and
“laws”, through His servant Moses.
Exodus 24:12
says, “The LORD said to Moses, “Come up to
me to the mountain and remain there, and I
will give you the stone tablets with the law
and the commandments that I have written, so
that you may teach them.’” (NET)
The
Sabbath was given to Israel alone.
Nehemiah 9:13-15
says, “You came down on Mount Sinai and
spoke with them from heaven and gave them
right rules and true laws, good statutes and
commandments, and you made known to them
your holy Sabbath and commanded them
commandments and statutes and a law by Moses
your servant. You gave them bread from
heaven for their hunger and brought water
for them out of the rock for their thirst,
and you told them to go in to possess the
land that you had sworn to give them.”
The Sabbath was
not a commandment before the time of Moses.
The first time God commanded anyone to keep
the seventh day as a Sabbath rest was after
the exodus, shortly before God gave Israel the Law
on Mount Sinai (Exod. 16; 20:8).
The Sabbath was
not made for everyone to keep, God gave it
to Israel alone to serve as a ceremonial
sign of the Mosaic Covenant (Exod. 31:16-17;
Ne. 9:13-14; Ezek. 20:12, 20).
The
scriptures tell us that God gave the Law of
Moses and Moses gave the Law of God.
God gave the Law of
Moses:
Ezra 7:6 says,
“this Ezra went up from Babylonia.
He was a
scribe skilled in the Law of Moses that the
LORD, the God of Israel,
had given, and the
king granted him all that he asked, for the
hand of the LORD his God was on him.”
Nehemiah 8:1
says, “And all the people gathered as one
man into the square before the Water Gate.
And they told Ezra the scribe to
bring the
Book of the Law of Moses that the LORD had
commanded Israel.”
Moses gave the Law of
God:
Nehemiah 10:29
says, “join with their brothers, their
nobles, and enter into a curse and an oath
to walk in God’s Law that was given by Moses
the servant of God, and to observe and do
all the commandments of the LORD our Lord
and his rules and his statutes.”
2 Chronicles 34:14 says, “While they were bringing out
the money that had been brought into the
house of the LORD,
Hilkiah the priest found
the Book of the Law of the LORD given
through Moses.”
There was no
distinction ever made between the moral and
ceremonial laws in the Mosaic Covenant. The
“Law of God” and the “Law of Moses” are the
very same Law.
In Nehemiah 8, Nehemiah was reading to the
people from the Law that they had not heard
read their entire lifetimes because of their
captivity in Babylon. Nehemiah wanted to
restore Israel to a lifestyle of
covenant-keeping. Nehemiah used the terms,
“the book of the law of Moses”, “the law”,
“book of the law”, “the law of God”, and the
“book of the law of God”, to show that all
of those expressions are just different ways
of referring to the same law, or covenant.
The Law of God and the Law of Moses are the
same law (see: Ne. 8:1, 2, 3, 8, 18).
Nehemiah wrote
these verses with an almost prophetic eye
toward the future when some people would make the
false claim that there were two different
covenants when in fact, there is just one.
They make an artificial distinction between
the laws God gave to Israel and the laws
Moses gave to Israel but the scriptures tell
us that God gave the whole law to Israel
through Moses (Ne. 9:13-15). The Jews have
always known this and it has been the
consistent teaching of the Christian Church
throughout most of its history. There was
never a distinction made between the Ten
Commandments and the rest of the Laws of
Moses in scripture.
Why the Old Covenant
came to an end.
God brought the
Old Covenant to an end when Israel rejected
Jesus as their Messiah and King. The week
before He died, Jesus
warned His disciples that the nation would
soon be destroyed because they had rejected Him
(Jer. 12:14-17; 18; 26:1-6; Dan. 9:26-27;
Matt. 23:37-39; 21:42-44; Luke 13:34-35; cf.
1 Kings 9:7; Jer. 22:5; 1 Pet. 2:9).
Israel
failed to understand that the Law
was a curse for anyone who didn’t keep it
perfectly!
Galatians 3:19-26
says, “Why then the law? It was added
because of transgressions, until the
offspring should come to whom the promise
had been made, and it was put in place
through angels by an intermediary. Now an
intermediary implies more than one, but God
is one. Is the law then contrary to the
promises of God? Certainly not! For if a law
had been given that could give life, then
righteousness would indeed be by the law. But the Scripture imprisoned everything
under sin, so that the promise by faith in
Jesus Christ might be given to those who
believe. Now before faith came, we were
held captive under the law, imprisoned until
the coming faith would be revealed. So
then, the law was our guardian until Christ
came, in order that we might be justified by
faith. But now that faith has come, we
are no longer under a guardian, for in
Christ Jesus you are all sons of God,
through faith.”
The Law brings a curse, not
righteousness.
Galatians 3:10-13
says, “For all who rely on works of the law
are under a curse; for it is written,
“Cursed be everyone who does not abide by
all things written in the Book of the Law,
and do them.” Now it is evident that no one
is justified before God by the law, for “The
righteous shall live by faith.” But the law
is not of faith, rather “The one who does
them shall live by them. Christ redeemed us
from the curse of the law by becoming a
curse for us — for it is written, “Cursed is
everyone who is hanged on a tree.”
Paul quoted
Deuteronomy 27:26 to show that failure to
keep the law perfectly brings divine
judgment and condemnation on the guilty
party. Even one violation of the law brings
the person under the curse of death (Deut. 27-28; cf. James 2:8-12).
The New
Covenant.
Unlike the Mosaic
Covenant, the New Covenant is made up of
people “from every nation, tribe, and
people” on earth who accept Jesus Christ as
their Lord and Savior (Gal. 3:28; Eph. 2:11-22;
Matt. 28:18-20; Isa. 9:6; Rom. 10:9; Luke 2:11; 19:10; Acts 13:23; Titus 2:13;
1 Tim. 1:15; 4:10; 1 Jn. 4:14; Rev. 7:9).
Look at
how clearly the New Covenant describes the
end of the Old Covenant Law.
Hebrews 8:13
says, “In speaking of a new covenant, he
makes the first one obsolete. And what is
becoming obsolete and growing old is ready
to vanish away.”
The Law
was added because of our sin.
Galatians 3:19
says, “Why then the law? It was added
because of transgressions, until the
offspring should come to whom the promise
had been made, and it was put in place
through angels by an intermediary.”
Romans 3:20 says,
“For by works of the law no human being will
be justified in his sight, since through the
law comes knowledge of sin.”
The Law
arouses our sinful passions and increases
sin in our lives which produces death.
Romans 7:5 says,
“For while we were living in the flesh, our
sinful passions, aroused by the law, were at
work in our members to bear fruit for
death.”
Romans 7:8 says,
“But sin, seizing an opportunity through the
commandment, produced in me all kinds of
covetousness. For apart from the law, sin
lies dead.”
The Old
Covenant Law was a death sentence
because it required perfect obedience.
2 Corinthians 3:6-8
says, “who has made us sufficient to be
ministers of a new covenant, not of the
letter but of the Spirit. For the letter
kills, but the Spirit gives life. Now if the
ministry of death, carved in letters on
stone, came with such glory that the
Israelites could not gaze at Moses’ face
because of its glory, which was being
brought to an end, For if there was glory in
the ministry of condemnation, the ministry
of righteousness must far exceed it in
glory.”
The Law
was weak and had to be set aside.
Hebrews 7:18
says, “For on the one hand, a former
commandment is set aside because of its
weakness and uselessness”
The Law
HAD to change for Jesus to become our new
High Priest.
Hebrews 7:12
says, “For when there is a change in the
priesthood, there is necessarily a change in
the law as well.”
The Law
that came to an end included the Ten
Commandments written on stone tablets.
Romans 7:6-7 says,
“But now we are released from the law,
having died to that which held us captive,
so that we serve in the new way of the
Spirit and not in the old way of the written
code. What then shall we say? That the law is
sin? By no means! Yet if it had not been for
the law, I would not have known sin. For I
would not have known what it is to covet if
the law had not said, “You shall not covet.”
Hebrews 9:1, 4
says, “Now even the first covenant had
regulations for worship and an earthly place
of holiness... having the golden
altar of incense and the ark of the covenant
covered on all sides with gold, in which was
a golden urn holding the manna, and Aaron’s
staff that budded, and the tablets of the
covenant.”
As pointed out
before, one of the most distinguishing
features of the ‘Ten Words’ is that they are
referred to as the actual covenant itself.
The Ten Commandments are the only laws
specifically referred to as “the covenant” (Exod. 34:28;
Deut. 4:13). So when the New Testament says
the Old Covenant is obsolete, it is saying
every law contained in the covenant is
obsolete, including the Ten Commandments.
Christians have died to the
Law through
Christ’s sacrifice on the cross.
Romans 7:4-8
says, “Likewise, my brothers, you also have
died to the law through the body of Christ,
so that you may belong to another, to him
who has been raised from the dead, in order
that we may bear fruit for God. For while
we were living in the flesh, our sinful
passions, aroused by the law, were at work
in our members to bear fruit for death. But now we are released from the law, having
died to that which held us captive, so that
we serve in the new way of the Spirit and
not in the old way of the written code. What then shall we say? That the law is sin?
By no means! Yet if it had not been for the
law, I would not have known sin. For I would
not have known what it is to covet if the
law had not said, “You shall not covet.” But sin, seizing an opportunity through the
commandment, produced in me all kinds of
covetousness. For apart from the law, sin
lies dead.”
At conversion,
believers die to the law with the
result that they are now able to serve in
newness of life (Rom. 6:4). They have a new
life in the Holy Spirit, not in the old way
of the letter, the old way of trying to gain
life by means of law-keeping. Romans 7:6
plainly says that we no longer live by the
“written code”. Which law is the written
code? Romans 7:7 says it was the law that
said, “You shall not covet” from Exodus 20:17 and Deuteronomy 5:21. According to
Romans 7:1-7, there can be no mistaking that
the law Christians have to die to, the law
of the written code, is the Ten
Commandments, along with all of the rest of
the laws of the Old Covenant (2 Cor. 3:2-11).
Christ
brought an end to the Law for all those who
believe in Him.
Romans 10:4 says,
“For Christ is the end of the law for
righteousness to everyone who believes.”
2 Corinthians 3:11 says, “For if what was being brought to
an end came with glory, much more will what
is permanent have glory.”
Hebrews 10:9
says, “then he added, “Behold, I have come
to do your will.” He does away with the
first in order to establish the second.”
Jesus is the only
person who has ever kept God’s law
perfectly.
He did everything the law
required of a person, never once breaking
any of its commandments (John 8:46;
2 Cor. 5:21; Heb. 4:15; 7:26;
1 Pet. 2:22; 1 Jn. 3:5). Because He was
sinless, Jesus was able to meet the
requirements of the law to be the perfect
sacrifice for our sins. His death redeemed
those who follow Him from the curse of the
law so we could have eternal life by
trusting in Him for our salvation (Rom. 5:19; Gal. 3:13).
Christians are
freed from trying to be saved by keeping the
Old Covenant Law. The Law has no
power, or authority over us. Christ has
taken away our bondage to the Law and given
us freedom in place of our slavery (Gal. 4:4-7; cf.
John 1:17; 8:32, 36; Acts 15:10-19; Rom. 3:21-26; 6:14; 7:1-8; 8:15; 10:4;
2 Cor. 3:3; Gal. 2:4; 3:13, 14, 15, 25; 5:1; Eph. 2:14-15; Phil. 3:9; Col. 2:13-17; Heb. 7:19; 10:1).
Christ freed us
from our bondage to the Law to live the
Christian life out of love. 1 John 4:7-8
declares, “Beloved, let us love one another,
for love is from God, and whoever loves has
been born of God and knows God. Anyone who
does not love does not know God, because God
is love.” Then 1 John 5:3 continues, “This
is love for God: to obey His commands. And
His commands are not burdensome.”
Christians
live by the indwelling power of the Holy Spirit.
In all of Romans 8, Paul was talking about the need for
Christians to make a serious commitment to
live the Christian life through the power of
the Holy Spirit, which includes living by
the highest moral standards.
2 Corinthians 1:21-22
says, And it is God who
establishes us with you in Christ, and has
anointed us, and who has also put his
seal on us and given us his Spirit in our
hearts as a guarantee.
John 14:26
says, “But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom
the Father will send in My name, He will
teach you all things, and bring to your
remembrance all that I said to you.”
Acts 1:8 says, “But you will
receive power when the Holy Spirit has come
upon you; and you shall be My witnesses both
in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria,
and even to the remotest part of the earth.”
Romans 15:13 says, “Now may the God of
hope fill you with all joy and peace in
believing, so that you will abound in hope
by the power of the Holy Spirit.”
And 1 Thessalonians 1:6
says, “For our gospel did not come to you in
word only, but also in power and in the Holy
Spirit and with full conviction.”
“The Greek word for “power“ is dunamis;
it speaks of “potential power” and “actual
power.” Our English word “dynamite” is a
derivative. Everyone knows that dynamite is
powerful, but God is more powerful. He can
create things, while dynamite can only
devastate... Those who believe in God
receive power from the Holy Spirit (Acts 6:8),
God’s inner dynamo to live in His service
(Eph. 3:16), power to be His witnesses
(Luke 24:49; Acts 1:8), and power to endure
suffering (2 Tim. 1:8).“ [The Holman Treasury
of Key Bible Words: dunamis].
Following the
Spirit’s guidance in all of life’s decisions
is a personal act of submission to Christ
living His life through us.
The Spirit’s work is not
irresistible, we need to yield our thoughts to the
Spirit’s leadership. When the Spirit lives
inside us, He has already given us the power
to obey Him but we have to respond to His
guidance. Christians do not live by a list of
rules, even if they were engraved on stone
tablets by God Himself. We live through the power of the
indwelling Spirit who is conforming us, more
and more each day into Christ’s likeness.
The New Testament
is clear, the Ten Commandments and all of
the other 613 laws of the Old Covenant were
brought to an end by the New Covenant (2 Cor. 3:6-11;
Rom. 14:5-12; Gal. 4:10-11; 4:21; 5:1-4;
Eph. 2:11-16; Col. 2:14-17; Heb. 7-10).
Unlike the Old Covenant, the New
Covenant gives us the power to live the
Christian life!
Christians live
under the law of Christ, not the laws of the
Old Covenant. The New Covenant is not the Old Covenant law
all over again (Jer. 31:31-32; 1 Jn. 4:7-8; 5:3; Gal. 6:2;
1 Cor. 9:19-23; cf. James 2:8-12). God has
different laws under each covenant because
each covenant was a new legal agreement, or
contract. Every contract must have all of
its requirements spelled out in that
contract.
When people accuse
Christians who strive to live by the Spirit of
being law-breakers they are really admitting
that they have no concept of living by the
grace of God, under the power of His Spirit.
If we focus on keeping the law, we are
focusing on ourselves, not on Christ! They
don’t understand that “the law of the Spirit
of life” has set us free in Christ Jesus
from the law of sin and death (Rom. 8:1-2).
The only laws
Christians are expected to follow are the
commands and teachings given in the New
Testament epistles. If you are in Christ, you are a
new creation, made in the image of Christ
(2 Cor. 5:17; Gal. 6:15).
Why would you ever
want to go back and try to live by the
Old Covenant Law when you could have the
power of the Holy Spirit living inside of
you?
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