Godsloveandlaw's Blog

In the New Testament it is very  important to understand that the “Law” is spoken about in TWO SENSES. The Mosiac law( or ceremonial law) and the Moral Laws are two distinct laws which  are quite different in their meaning and purpose.

In the book called  ” The Ten Commandments twice removed”  the writers explain very clearly the following.  ” The law of Moses described ceremonies and practices given to Israel that pointed forward to  Jesus as the true lamb of God. Because of this, it  sometimes was referred to as the “Ceremonial law” and had a limited time of effectiveness attached to it.”

Now before we go into more about understanding this difference we must know that this misunderstanding was told of by Peter when he said (2 Peter 3:15-16) “…just as our dear brother Paul also wrote you with the wisdom that God gave. He writes the same way in all his letters. speaking in them of these matters. His letters contain some things that are HARD TO UNDERSTAND which the ignorant and unstable people distort, as they did other scripture, to their own destruction.” God foresaw in His great vision that Paul’s writing would be taken out of context, amazing and true!

I am often in debates and discussions with “Sunday” keepers and they almost always quote Paul as to their reason that the “Law” was done away with or changed. Particularly Colossians and Galatians. If you were not aware that Paul discusses “two” laws in his writings you could easily be fooled into thinking he is talking about the “Moral Law”. For example let’s look at the often quoted ( Col 2:16)

In that verse it reads  ” Let no man THEREFORE (remember this word) judge you in meat or in drink, or in respect to a holyday, or a new moon, or of the sabbath days.”  When we read that verse we must understand the verses BEFORE it! The word “therefore” means Paul has arrived at his conclusion based on what he said BEFORE this verse and now wishes to draw his conclusion with the fact we should not be judged based on the CEREMONIAL law.

In verse 2:14 Paul writes ” Blotting out the handwritting of ORDINANCES (don’t forget this word) that was against us, which was contrary to us and took it out of the way, nailing it to the cross.” Now it is very important to understand that it was the “ceremonial law” which had all the ordinances NOT the 10 Commandment Law (Moral Law). Paul was explaining that ceremonies and the like were “shadows” of things to come, and after our Lord’s sacrifice , THEY CEASED! Therefore don’t allow anyone to judge you according to “those laws and ordinances”! And the Ceremonial laws had many special “sabbath days” of observance APART from the 7th day Sabbath (totally seperate Sabbath!)

Can anyone say the Commandments were “against us”?? Just use common sense on that one. I could go on and on to explain all the misunderstandings of Paul’s writings but I think you can see the reason for the mis-guided reasonings. Infact even the popular Protestant preacher Billy Graham has said “The NT speaks of the “law” in two senses, and does not imply that the 10 Commandment Law has been done away with” (source- Doug Batchelor  Lord’s day DVD)

In (1 Cor.7:19) Paul makes a stark difference between the two laws. “Circumcision is nothing and uncircumcision is nothing, but the keeping of  THE COMMANDMENTS of God is what matters”.  Circumcision was part of the Mosiac law, and therefore was being explained by Paul as not important, rather it’s God’s Commandments that are. So anytime you see Paul explaining the “non-importance” of the “law” you can be assured it was NOT the Moral Law  (10 Commandments).

So the next time you are discussing the Sabbath or the Commandments with a non-believer, make sure they understand that the “Law” isn’t just on ONE SENSE when spoken in the New Testament. The Devil wants many to believe this and sadly many are!  But if you summit to the Lord and make him YOUR KING and obey His holy Laws, your eyes will open and you’ll understand scripture clearly, amen!

This entry was posted on February 12, 2011 at 3:32 am and is filed under Understanding Paul's writings. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.