The Law of God - Answers to Difficult Questions

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13. THE LAW OF GOD – ANSWERS TO DIFFICULT QUESTIONS WEREN ’ TTHE TEN COMMANDMENTS GIVEN TO HUMANITY ONLY AS GOD GAVE THEM TO MOSES ON MOUNT SINAI?

 Romans 5:12-14 The timespan considered here is the one between Adam and Moses (see v.14). Sin entered the world through Adam. Death entered the world through sin. Death spread to all men, because all men sinned.

Death (returning to dust) was described by God as a result of sin when He told Adam the consequences of his transgression (see Genesis 3:19). So death (returning to dust) is one of the consequences of sin.

Until the giving of the law (to Moses), sin was in the world. If there is no law, there is no sin to be imputed (see 1 John 3:4 and Romans 7:7-8).

So, if sin was already in the world before the giving of the Ten Commandments, there must be also a law. Death reigned from Adam to Moses even on those who did not sin as Adam did.

Adam’s position when he first sinned included the facts that:  He perfectly knew God’s requirements (see Genesis 2:16-17) while not everyone knew them later, before the giving of the Ten Commandments, and even after;  He was totally sure of God’s existence (not everyone was later, e.g. Exodus 5:2);  He had a personal relationship with God (this made his sin more grievious), while many didn’t later.

Many people after Adam sinned without knowing God’s requirements, or being certain of His existence, or having a relationship with Him. Yet their sins have the same consequences as Adam’s (including returning to dust), because they transgressed the same law that Adam transgressed and because of which he finally died.

This law is the Ten Commandments, and it was in effect even in the time between Adam and Moses, as can be seen from the following Bible texts (all preceding the giving of the Ten Commandments to Moses in Exodus 20): 13. The Law of God – Menorah Mission School – 2018/2019 5  1st Commandment Exodus 12:12  2nd Commandment Genesis 35:2-4  3rd Commandment Genesis 32:29-30  4th Commandment Exodus 16:4-30  5th Commandment Genesis 9:20-27  6th Commandment Genesis 4:8-15  7th Commandment Genesis 39:7-10  8th Commandment Genesis 44:8-16  9th Commandment Genesis 27:12  10th Commandment Genesis 3:6 WERE NOT THE TEN COMMANDMENTS GIVEN ONLY TO THE HEBREW PEOPLE?

 Matthew 15:24 Jesus was sent to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. That does not mean that all that He taught was just for the Jews and nobody else. On the contrary (see Matthew 28:19).

 1 Corinthians 7:19 It does not matter if we are circumcised (Jews) or uncircumcised (non-Jews). What really matters in front of God is to keep His commandments. This shows again that the commandments of God are given to everyone.

 Galatians 3:28-29 There is no distinction between Jews and Greeks (or any other gentile), because all those who are Christ’s are Abraham’s seed.

God wanted to bless the whole world through the Hebrew nation, leading all nations to the same salvation and deliverance from sin, which are found in Christ.

So if salvation from sin is the same for all (see Acts 4:12), also the law that defines what is sin (see 1 John 3:4) must be the same for all.

 Romans 3:28-31 6 13. The Law of God – Menorah Mission School – 2018/2019 A man is justified by faith apart from the deeds of the law (this is not in fact the purpose of the law to justify, see also Romans 3:20).

God is not the God of the Jews only, but also of the Gentiles (non-Jews), and He offers justification through faith to both groups.

Faith, though, doesn’t make void the law of God. Also this is valid for both groups. On the contrary, Paul affirms that we establish the law of God together with the concept of justification by faith, which are both valid both for the Jews and for the Gentiles.

DOESN ’ TTHE BIBLE SAY THAT WE ARE NO LONGER UNDER THE LAW, BUT UNDER GRACE?

 Romans 6:14-15 Yes, the Bible actually says that we are not under the law, but under grace. The text tells us though what the expressions “under the law” and “under grace” imply.

The fact that we are not under the law, but under grace does not allow us to commit sin. This means that being under grace does not allow us to break the law.

In fact this text is actually talking about the slavery of sin and the dominion that it has on those who commit it (see Romans 6:12-13,16-18).

 1 Corinthians 9:19-22 Paul clarifies that not all human beings are under the law. In fact he mentions “those who are under the law” and “those who are without law”.

Talking about people under the law we are then talking about a specific class of people.

 Galatians 4:21 Paul speaks specifically about being under the law to the Galatians who had been under the influence of Jews who tried to change their understanding of the gospel (see Galatians 1:6-7), teaching them that in order to be saved they still needed to keep all the ceremonial rituals (as circumcision, keeping of cerimonial feasts, etc. see Galatians 4:9-11; 5:2-4).

Here, according to Paul’s words, the Galatians desired to be under the law, trying to be saved through their own observance of the law.

 Romans 3:19-20,31 The purpose of the law is not to make us righteous, but to point us sin. So the law speaks especially to those who are trying to be justified by keeping the law (those who are under the law), pointing to their sins and to the impossibility for them to be righteous before God by themselves. 13. The Law of God – Menorah Mission School – 2018/2019 7 Also for this reason the law should not be made void, but established instead, to remind us of our need of a Savior.

 Romans 6:1-2 Abundance of grace does not allow us to continue into sin. This would be an offense for Jesus who hates sin (see Hebrews 1:9) and who came on this earth to save us from it (see Matthew 1:21).

Therefore, the law continues to be valid also under grace, to prevent us from falling back into sin.

DOESN ’ TTHE BIBLE SAY THAT THE LAW HAS BEEN WIPED OUT AND NAILED TO THE CROSS?

 Colossians 2:14 The Bible speaks in this sense about the handwriting of requirements (or of ordinances) that was against us.

 Deuteronomy 6:24-25 The Ten Commandments are for our good always, so it is not them that were wiped out and nailed to the cross, since they were not against us.

This is the moral standard given by God for humanity. To wipe it out in order to save us from sin would mean to fight sin erasing its definition, instead of having us freed from it.

It would be the same as to fight cancer erasing its definition from the books of medicine and considering it a healthy condition. That is not the solution a cancer sick patient would be looking for, right?

 Deuteronomy 31:24-27 The Law of Moses, that includes all the rituals that were pointing to the Messiah, to His ministry as Savior, as the Lamb of God that takes away the sins of the world, were considered by Moses, under the inspiration of God, a witness against us.

In fact they were already telling that sinners would have killed the Messiah, testifying the fact that Jesus would have been killed by the sins of the world (see Isaiah 53:5).

The difference between the moral law (the Ten Commandments) and the ceremonial law (the Law of Moses) is that the first one was put inside of the Ark of the Covenant (see Deuteronomy 10:1- 2), while the second one was put beside it (see Deuteronomy 31:26).

This ceremonial law was the handwriting of requirements that was against us. Being these rituals as a shadow of Christ (see Colossians 2:1 7), when Christ was nailed at the cross, these rituals were nailed together with Him. 8 13. The Law of God – Menorah Mission School – 2018/2019 Since the One to whom these rituals were pointing to was fulfilling His mission on earth, these rituals had come to their natural end.

 Matthew 27:51-52 At Jesus’ death, the veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom, signifying that a supernatural power had done that.

This meant that the temple of Jerusalem had fulfilled its role in teaching about the Savior, bearing the witness for centuries about what had to happen to Jesus for the salvation of the world.

DOESN ’ TTHE BIBLE SAY THAT THE LAW OF COMMANDMENTS IN ORDINANCES CONSTITUTES ENMITY BETWEEN GOD AND US AND THAT THE DEATH OF JESUS ABOLISHED IT?

 Ephesians 2:14-16 The Bible actually says that the law of commandments in ordinances constitutes enmity. Is this text speaking about the Ten Commandments? In this case the context is essential!

 Ephesians 2:11-16 Here Paul is not speaking in a general sense, but is specifically speaking to the Gentiles. He speaks about two different people who had been made one through Christ.

The enmity was in the fact that the law of commandments in ordinances (the ceremonial law) pointed to Israel as the ones who had the promises of God and His covenant, which itself pointed to Christ (see Deuteronomy 26:16-19; Exodus 12:43-45; Romans 9:4-5).

There was no hope then for the Gentiles to enter into God’s covenant of salvation, unless they would become Jews by circumcision (see Genesis 17:10-14 and Exodus 12:48).

This text in Ephesians is talking about the ceremonial law, which constituted the wall of separation between the Jews and the Gentiles. This law Jesus abolished through the cross, in order for the Gentiles to be one people together with the Jews.

DOESN ’ TTHE BIBLE SAY THAT WE ARE NOW UNDER THE NEW COVENANT, AND WE ARE NO LONGER UNDER THE MINISTRY OF DEATH ENGRAVED IN STONES, THE TEN COMMANDMENTS, WHICH ARE NOW PASSED AWAY?

 2 Corinthians 3:2-15 This text speaks about a ministry of death, written and engraved on stones, also called the ministry of condemnation. This ministry is contrasted to the new covenant, the ministry of the Spirit, also called the ministry of righteousness. 13. The Law of God – Menorah Mission School – 2018/2019 9 Paul in this text starts talking about the fact that the Corinthians were an epistle of Christ ministered by himself and his fellow missionaries, written not with ink but by the Spirit of God, not on tablet of stones, but on their heart.

So Paul is contrasting the two covenants, and in this text we find the following information: Old Covenant New Covenant Written with ink (v.3) and engraved (v.5) Written by the Spirit of God (v.3) Written on tablets of stone (v.3) Written on the tablets of the heart (v.3) Be sufficient to ourselves (v.5) Our sufficiency is from God (v.5) (Old Covenant, implicitly) New Covenant (v.6) The letter, that kills (v.6) The Spirit that gives life (v.6) Ministry of death (v.7) and of condemnation (v.9) Ministry of the Spirit (v.8) and of righteousness (v.9) Glorious (v.7) More glorious (v.8), exceedingly much more glorious (v.9) That glory was passing away (v.7) That glory remains (v.11) Moses put a veil over his face (v.13), that remains unlifted in the reading of the Old Testament (v.14) Christ takes away the veil (v.14) Minds are blinded (v.14) (Minds can see, implicitly) It is important to see that Paul is pointing out that the difference between the Old and the New Covenant is not much about the content of what was written (in v.3, talking about something engraved on tablets of stone there is a clear reference to the Ten Commandments, so when Paul talks about writing, he is talking about the law of God).

What really makes the difference is: 1. Where it was written (on tablets of stone or on the heart) and 2. By what (with ink/engraved or by the Spirit of God).

 Hebrews 8:7-10 The Old Covenant is the one that God made with the people of Israel when He led them out of the land of Egypt (see Exodus 24:1-9).

The problem with the old covenant is in the fact that the people of Israel broke it, because they declared, “all that the Lord has said we will do” (see Exodus 24:3,7). This made the keeping of the covenant depending only on human strength.

Since human beings cannot, in their own strength, keep the law of God, this covenant became implicitly a condemnation. 10 13. The Law of God – Menorah Mission School – 2018/2019 The New Covenant implies having the law of God in the mind, written in the heart of men. The final consequence for those who enter into the New Covenant is that God will be their God and they shall be His people.

 Jeremiah 7:23 If we obey to the voice and to the commandments of God then He will be our God and we shall be His people.

So, the New Covenant is the work that God will do through the Holy Spirit to make us obey His law, so that we may be His own. This is what the New Covenant is all about.

 Romans 8:3-7 The law could not work salvation, because of our sinful flesh. God, through the ministry of Jesus, condemned sin in the flesh, that the righteous requirements of the law might be fulfilled in us.

That allows us to walk in newness of life (see Romans 6:4), according to the Spirit. The opposite of being led by the Spirit is to be carnally minded.

As in 2 Corinthians 3, here we find a similar comparison: Old Covenant New Covenant The law could not do (v.3) God did (v.3) The law was weak through the flesh (v.3) and if our mind is carnal is not subject to the law of God, nor indeed can be (v.7) He condemned sin in the flesh, that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us (v. 3, 4) Walk according to the flesh (v.4) Walk according to the Spirit (v.4) Mind set to the things of the flesh (v.5) Mind set to the things of the Spirit (v.5) To be carnally minded is death (v.6) To be spiritually minded is life and peace (v.6) Is enmity against God (v.7) (Is being sons of God, according to Romans 8:14) Again, here the difference is not in the content (the law) but in the different ways in which the New and the Old Covenant are able to fulfill its requirements: the Old Covenant is unable to fulfill them, because of the action of the carnal mind, that cannot be subject to the law of God, while the New Covenant is able to do so, through the direct intervention of the Holy Spirit.

The New Covenant does not dismiss the law, but at the contrary its requirements are fulfilled by the action of the Spirit of God within us.

 Psalm 37:31; Psalm 40:8 13. The Law of God – Menorah Mission School – 2018/2019 11 When the law of God is written in the heart, the natural result is to keep it with pleasure, without it being a burden (see 1 John 5:3).

This confirms again that the New Covenant does not take away the law, but rather makes it possible for men to live according to it, through the work of the Holy Spirit in the heart.