“Law” seems to be a dirty word, even in professing “Christianity” today. Interestingly, many declare the Bible to be the inspired word of God, yet, only attempt to follow what is called the New Testament—claiming the Old Testament is done away because we are now under the New Covenant. The supposition is that the death of Jesus did away with all those Old Testament rules and regulations. However, is this really the case? How can you know the difference between the ceremonial laws no longer binding on Christians, and those laws, which we are to still observe today? How can you know which laws in the Old Testament were changed or abolished, and which we are commanded to observe today? These questions are absolutely basic; yet, your Christian growth—your character—concretely depends in no small measure on your response to the answers of these monumental questions.
The Bible itself is an absolute miracle. God has taken pain-staking measures to ensure that you and I have a Bible today. In part, the Jewish community was used by God as an instrument in this process as noted: “What advantage then hath the Jew? Or what profit is there of circumcision? Much every way: chiefly, because that unto them were committed the oracles of God” (Rom. 3:1-2). This often leads to the misunderstanding that the laws of the Old Testament are Jewish and the supposed lack-of-laws in the New Testament are Christian. Nothing could be further from the truth—they are God’s laws and Paul writes, “Wherefore the law is holy, and the commandment holy, and just, and good” (Rom. 7:12). What advantage then has the Jewish community? The answer is in the “oracles of God.” Oracles mean the Word of God. God’s Word was committed to the Jews. What if they don’t believe it or follow as they should? Does their lack of practice make the faithfulness of God ill effect? Certainly not! God used them as human instruments, despite themselves. If God is going to give His Word to someone, it doesn’t make sense for Him to then break it. If God is going to inspire something as His Word, there must be a means of which to preserve it. What we have today, in what we call the Old Testament, is what God wanted us to have—it has been preserved through the centuries. The Old Testament scriptures (Hebrew, with small portions in Aramaic) were entrusted by God to the Jewish community for preservation (Rom. 3:1-3). The Scriptures have been faithfully preserved in hand written manuscripts by scribes called Masoretes who went to great lengths to preserve the accuracy of the text. The authoritative text is the one officially preserved in the Jewish community, the Masoretic text.
Our New Testament (Greek) was put into its final form by the Apostle John just prior to his death in the first century (2 Tim. 4:13, 21). The Greek manuscripts, which originated in Asia Minor, are classified by modern scholars as the Antiochian or Byzantine type. This was the type used in the Greek world, differing somewhat from the Western and Alexandrian types preserved in Rome and Egypt. Copies of the Byzantine texts were brought west by scholars fleeing from the Turkish invasion in the 15th century. Many of these Greek scholars and the manuscripts that they brought with them ended up in the area of Basel, Switzerland after the fall of Constantinople in 1453. It is from these manuscripts that printed texts of Erasmus (1516) and Stephens (1520) were primarily derived. Stephen’s text was known as the Textus Receptus (Received Text) and was the accepted standard of the Greek New Testament for about three centuries. The Authorized Version or King James translation, long the standard in the English-speaking world, was first printed in 1611 after a seven-year effort by 54 scholars. It was primarily translated from the Hebrew Masoretic text and the Greek Received Text drawing on the work of earlier scholars such as William Tyndale. Though there are a few obvious errors, the King James translators strove to be carefully faithful to the texts available to them. Completed in 1982, the New Kings James Version represents an attempt to update the original King James. It is easier to use for most modern readers yet retains much of the beauty and faithfulness to the text of the original King James.
The entire Bible is a catalogue of history (past) and prophecy (future) to illustrate the lives of individuals who have kept and/or broken the spiritual laws God set in motion from creation to regulate human life. This law is summed up in the Ten Commandments! David was inspired to write, “The works of his hands are verity and judgment; all his commandments are sure. They stand fast for ever and ever, and are done in truth and uprightness” (Ps. 111:7-8). The laws given to Moses to relay to Israel on Mt. Sinai were not new—only the written, codified form in which God spoke and wrote them was new. We know this fact, particularly, through the example of the patriarch Abraham who: “…obeyed my voice, and kept my charge, my commandments, my statutes, and my laws” (Gen. 26:5). Jesus stated, “Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil [fill to the full]” (Matt. 5:17). What Christ is saying in effect is, not the dotting of an “i” or the crossing of a “t” is going to disappear. All will be preserved—in fact, it would be easier for heaven and earth to disappear! Are we to believe our Savior? Are we to believe David and Abraham? God's true church does as it differs from all others in that it takes the Bible as absolute and final authority.
We are told that there are commandments, but also other principles based on the Ten Commandments; namely, statutes and laws? What are these statutes and laws, for instance, that Abraham kept?
A statute is an expression of a law maker, usually imposing or forbidding that certain actions be done. God gave the patriarchs statues for the general well-being of the people—coupled with judgments for the protection of people’s legal rights. Judgments are binding decisions based on God’s previously revealed law. These pronouncements are used to resolve similar future disputes and to render a sentence or verdict. The Church of God today from time to time may issue judgments (Matt. 18:18). Jesus Christ is the living Head of the true Church of God (Col. 1:18). When He was instructing the disciples on how to exercise their authority to enforce church discipline (Matt. 18:15-20), He said that if two or more of them would agree on anything, God would bind it in heaven. "For," Jesus said, "where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them." Christ himself will in Spirit be with and guide His apostles in making right decisions. These words have meaning! Jesus said that He would guide His apostles in directing the Church. He said that they should make decisions—based on God’s revealed will and guided by the Holy Spirit. We cannot change God’s laws! These decisions were to include church discipline and what is to be "bound" or "loosed"—defining what is permitted or forbidden to God's people by "rightly dividing the word of truth”—not on personal opinion! Christ Himself—the Head of the Church—has promised to guide His ministers in directing the church. Their decisions, then, will also be God’s decisions. They are binding on God's church. His true church will be obedient! It is government (top-down) by God, through His servants. In general the Ten Commandments apply to individual conduct, the statutes to national or church affairs, and the judgments to decisions rendered according to the principles of the Ten Commandments and the statutes (For instance, we cannot change the Sabbath day.).
Remember that God's basic spiritual laws existed from the beginning. When speaking of divorce, Jesus said that "from the beginning it was not so" (Matt. 19:8). It was a sin at the beginning of this current creation to commit adultery! The world wandered off so far from the truth (as today) that, by the time of Moses, God had to reveal His law anew to the Israelites. They had lost the knowledge of God's way of life while in Egyptian slavery for over two centuries. Let us notice, however, that God was merely revealing His laws which were already in force. The Old Covenant did not establish the spiritual laws. In Exodus 16:28 we read that the Eternal, when speaking about Israel to Moses, said: "How long do you refuse to keep my commandments and my laws?" Israel could not refuse what was not in existence! Now notice Exodus 18:16. Moses told his father-in-law that when the people have a dispute: "I make them know the statutes of God and his laws." It is paramount to note that both these occurrences took place before Israel ever reached Mt. Sinai—before the Old Covenant was established.
What is a covenant? Webster defines a covenant as “a mutual agreement, a legal undertaking to do or to refrain from some act, a document containing the terms of agreement.” A covenant is simply an agreement between two parties. The Old Covenant proposed by God was a marriage agreement between Him and Israel (Ex. 19:5-6). This is something most professing Christians are never shown. So let’s explore this concept a little further. Many have been taught that the Old Covenant was the Ten Commandments—and that the New Covenant contains grace and promises, but not law.
Hence, many erroneously assume the argument; since the Old Covenant has been abolished God’s law has also been abolished. This teaching would have many believe that the law of God is mean, harsh and cruel. Whereas, the New Covenant is all about love—kinder and gentler. Old Testament, New Testament—do these words mean anything to you? New Covenant, Old Covenant—do these words mean anything to you? What is the difference between a covenant and a testament?
Again, what is a covenant? Notice: a covenant is an agreement. Death of one or the other parties does not enter into the terms of a covenant. One of the better known covenants is that between God and Abraham in Genesis 12:1-3. A careful review of these passages will show that Abraham’s condition was to get out of his country. God’s part was to make Abraham’s seed a great nation. No death had to take place to make this covenant binding. It was a covenant—an agreement—plan and simple: “You do this and I will do that.” Continuing on, what is a testament? A testament is a will—it declares a person’s will as to the disposal of his possessions after his death. Note: a death is involved in a will, but not in a covenant. The Old Covenant proposed by God to the Israelites is the most questioned covenant before the time of Christ (Ex. 19:1-6). Its terms and conditions extend from Ex. 19:1 through Ex. 24:8. In actuality, the first half of the Bible has been wrongly named the Old Testament because it contains this vital Old Covenant. Yet, by definition, we now know that a testament or will has to do with the death of one of the parties for fulfillment. But death of the contracting parties was not called for to make this covenant binding. This covenant agreement just called on the Israelites to obey God—and if and when they did, God would bless them. When the Bible was translated into Latin shortly after Christ’s death, the Latin’s used the word Testamentum which, in Latin, means either covenant or a testament. Later, the Bible was translated into English, and the Latin word Testamentum was regrettably continued as the English word Testament. In English, this can only mean one thing—a will. And that is why the part of the Bible containing the Old Covenant is not titled Old Covenant as it should properly be today!
Israel agreed: “And all the people answered together, and said, All that the LORD hath spoken we will do. And Moses returned the words of the people unto the LORD” (Ex. 19:8). The people of that time were so certain of their own ability to do all God would require that they immediately promised. It is imperative to note that the Holy Spirit of power was not made available to the world, as a whole, in Old Covenant times. God spoke the Ten Commandments, which they were to obey, as well as, various civil judgments and statutes. Yet, it was the eternal spiritual law, the royal law of love—the Ten Commandments that comprised a distinct part of the Old Covenant. The Old Covenant Israelites had no promise of the Holy Spirit to dwell within them and give them the power and the very nature of God to help them keep the law. Israel sinned constantly, and was constantly reminded of it! Israel’s history is a lesson for us today, to make us also realize our weakness and the need of divine help in overcoming our human nature (1 Cor. 10:11)! The Holy Spirit of power is now available and it is the Holy Spirit of God that gives life—potential everlasting life! The spiritual law of love, which is summarized in the Ten Commandments, is eternal. It exists forever! The people of Israel accepted the terms that God gave them. They bound themselves by the Old Covenant to refrain from any adulterous or whorish relations—and to remain chaste and acceptable to their husband (Ex. 34:12-17). What kind of covenant was the Old Covenant? It was a marriage covenant (Jer. 3:1-5, 14; Jer. 31:31-33). The covenant was not just the law—people don’t marry a law—the marriage is based on a law—or else it would not be legal. Jesus was married to the nation of Israel—and the marriage was called the Old Covenant. Paul clarifies the marriage relationship in Romans 7:1-4. The same one who was “husband” to physical Israel under the Old Covenant will be “husband” to spiritual Israel (church) under the terms of the New Covenant. Both covenants are marriage agreements—both are governed by the same terms and conditions—God’s spiritual law!
God pinpointed: “O that there were such an heart in them, that they would fear me, and keep all my commandments always, that it might be well with them, and with their children for ever (Deut. 5:29). Many argue that God did away with His law, so that man could naturally—by his present carnal nature—do good! But God has done no such thing (Rom. 8:7). Both wills—God’s will and man’s will—cannot exist together. One must surrender! We must surrender ourselves to God. Surrender ourselves to having His far better nature put within us—a loving nature (1 John 4:8)! If Old Covenant Israel had received the very nature of God—the nature of love—they would naturally have kept these laws because God’s commandments merely reveal to man how His nature works! The Old Covenant—commonly misnamed the Old Testament—contained only material promises, promises of material blessings of wealth, health, crops and such if they would obey God. This covenant was national—to Israel only—no other nations were promised theses blessings (Heb. 8:7-13). The Old Testament and the New Testament represent the very essence of the plan whereby God is fashioning from man, His supreme creation—very Sons of God to be born into His own family! It is only by a miracle that a man can ever hope to be able to keep God’s law perfectly! That was the very purpose of the Old Testament—i.e. the Old Covenant—God made with the children of Israel which they, of themselves, were unable to keep! Never has God done away with his great spiritual law. It is good! The law stands forever! It is the people who have always been weak. Ancient Israel was no different than people are today. We also need help! And we need it badly! But the miracle is—the help is there!
Regarding this covenant Ezekiel writes, “…I sware unto thee, and entered into a covenant with thee, saith the Lord GOD, and thou becamest mine” (Ezek. 16:8). Additionally, in Jeremiah 31:32 we read, “…my covenant they brake, although I was an husband unto them, saith the LORD.” Indeed, the covenant was not just the Ten Commandments, but an actual agreement between God and the nation (Ex. 34:12-17; Deut. 7:9). Israel bound themselves to the Lord—as a wife to her husband. What were the terms and conditions of the Old Covenant to which Israel agreed? In the 19th chapter of Exodus God made provisions to declare the conditions of His covenant to Israel. Chapter 20 records God speaking every word of the Ten Commandments, which are a perfect law in themselves. Upon completion of this event: “…he added no more. And he wrote them in two tables of stone…” (Deut. 5:22). The Ten Commandments were an individual ingredient of the terms of the Old Covenant to which Israel agreed (Ex. 19:8). They were the tables of the covenant (Deut. 9:9, 11).
The Old Covenant was a marriage agreement in which Israel (the wife) promised to obey God (Jesus Christ) who was the Husband. To obey her Husband meant to keep God’s laws, which were already in force! Now notice Exodus 34:7 where Moses “took the book of the covenant, and read in the audience of the people: and they said, All that the LORD hath said will we do, and be obedient.” Aside from the tables of the covenant, containing the ten basic spiritual laws (Rom. 7:14), there was a book of the covenant including statutes—civil laws between God and Israel. From Exodus 21 through 23 inclusive, God revealed these statutes, which Moses wrote in a book (Ex. 24:3-4). These civil laws were based on the principles of ten great spiritual precepts—the Ten Commandments. Upon God speaking the Ten Commandments to the nation, after Moses receiving the statutes from God and delivered them to Israel, the first covenant was sealed in blood—it became binding (Ex. 24:8; Heb. 9:18-20). Since Israel accepted God as her husband, she was to be obedient to Him just as the wife is to be obedient to her husband (Eph. 5:22). The Lord was the Head of the nation (His wife) and promised to provide for her. But she was to keep herself unspotted from the world. Through this covenant she bound herself to abstain from any adulterous or whorish relationships with the “gods” of this world. Had Israel been faithful to the terms and conditions of the Old Covenant it would have made the relationship a perfect union. The spiritual laws of God define sin (1 John 3:4); the statutes amplify them and prescribe punishments for disobedience. These constituted the terms and conditions of the Old Covenant. Yet, very clearly, the commandments and statutes were in existence before the covenant was ever made. They were not thereby abolished or “nailed to the cross” at the crucifixion of Jesus Christ in A.D. 31 when the Old Covenant ceased upon His death. The Old Covenant could not destroy what it did not bring into force. The Old Covenant was merely an agreement to keep these laws which were already in existence!
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