SLIDES

The Relationship between the Mosaic Covenant and the Ten Commandments to Believer’s in Jesus of the New Covenant?

Introduction

One of the most misunderstood aspects of Scripture is the relationship of the Mosaic Law and the Ten Commandments to the church i.e. to believers in Jesus. Some believers in the Messianic community think they are under the authority of all the Mosaic Law except for the sacrifices. Many believers think they are not under the authority of the Mosaic Law, but they do think they are responsible for keeping the Ten Commandments.  The question I want to answer today is “What is the exact relationship believers in Jesus have with the Mosaic Law and the Ten Commandments?” The following key points will help us answer this question:

1. The Mosaic Law was given only to Israel and the Jewish people.

Psalm 147:19-20

19 He declares His words to Jacob,

His statutes and His ordinances to Israel.

20 He has not dealt thus with any nation;

And as for His ordinances, they have not known them.

Malachi 4:4

Remember the law of Moses My servant, even the statutes and ordinances which I commanded him in Horeb for all Israel.

As we see in these verses, the Mosaic Law was not given to Gentiles or any Gentile nation. When was the New Covenant inaugurated? As we shall see, when the New Covenant was inaugurated at the death of Christ, it replaced the Mosaic Covenant, therefore, the Mosaic Covenant was made inoperative.

When was the church born?  It was born on the Day of Pentecost which is a Jewish feast day called Shavuot, the waving of the loaves. Pentecost occurred 50 days after the resurrection of Jesus. The word Pentecost means fiftieth day. Therefore, believers in Jesus, which make up the church, cannot be under the authority of the Mosaic Law because the Mosaic Law was made inoperative 53 days before the church was born.

Why would believers want to place themselves under any part of the Covenant Mosaic Law? Since the Mosaic Law was rendered inoperative by the blood that Jesus shed to ratify the New Covenant.

2. The Mosaic Law was Temporary

The people of Israel had been in Egypt for four hundred years. They were an immature people that had been influenced by the Egyptians and their culture. Because of this, God gave them the Mosaic Law that regulated just about every aspect of their lives.  We see this in Galatians 3:23-25.

23  But before faith came, we were kept in custody under the law, being shut up to the faith which was later to be revealed.

24      Therefore the Law has become our tutor to lead us (until) Christ, so that (purpose) we may be justified by faith.

25  But now that faith has come, we are no longer under a tutor.

This portion of Scripture, Galatians 3:23-25. was written to Jewish people in the Galatian churches who were under the authority of the Law of Moses before trusting Christ. These verses also should have given the Gentiles and the Judaizers clarity that the Law of Moses was rendered inoperative by the death of the Messiah.

In Galatians 3:23-25 Paul likened the Law to a prison and to a child-custodian relationship. “Before faith came” means before the advent of receiving declared righteousness through faith in Jesus Christ. Justifying faith was operative in the Old Testament but faith in the person and work of the Messiah did not come until He death at Calvery.  Before the cross, Israel was under the protective custody of the Law.  The word custody means to hold in custody, detain, or confine.  The word was used of Roman prisons principally for the holding of prisoners until disposition of their cases. Israel was held under the authority or was in the custody of the Mosaic Law for approximately 1500 years. God thus shielding His people from the evil heathen rites surrounding them. Further, the Law served as a “tutor” (NASB), “Schoolmaster” (KJV), “Guardian” (ESV), and “Supervisor” (NIV). The word paidagōgos is difficult to translate into English because there is no exact parallel to this position in the world today. JB Phillips suggests translating the term “a strict governess.” The pedagogue was a slave to whom a son was committed from age six or seven to puberty. He was given the responsibility to watch over a young child, train his public behavior, and keep him safe in public. A child being under a tutor was like the Law’s function until Christ came and people could be justified by faith in Him. It is better than to understand that the Law did not lead us to Christ but that it was the disciplinarian until Christ came. Therefore, the reign of Law has ended for faith in Christ had delivered Jewish believers from the protective custody of the prison and the harsh discipline of the pedagogue which was the Law of Moses.

From these verses we not only see one of the purposes of the Mosaic Law was that it was to act as a guardian to Israel but that the Law was also temporary, not permanent. It was operative in the life of Israel until the Messiah came. In Jeremiah 31:31-32 which was quoted in Hebrews 8:8-13.   God through Jeremiah promised to give Israel and Judah a New Covenant which would have better promises and a better sacrifice that would one day replace the Mosaic Covenant which deems it temporary. The writer of the book of Hebrew writing in that vein says in 7:22 says,

“... Jesus has become the guarantee of a better covenant.”

Since Jesus died to inaugurate a better covenant, the New Covenant, why would any believer want to put themselves under the authority of any part of an inferior and inoperative covenant, the Mosaic Covenant?

3. The Mosaic Law was rendered inoperative at the death of Christ.

In the Messianic Community there are some who believe that the Law of Moses is central in their walk with Messiah. Others in the Gentile Christian community also struggle with what to do with the laws found in the Mosaic since the Law of Moses is inoperative and the New Covenant is now reality. These two systems of law are as different as night and day.

Romans 10:4

For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes.

Christ ended the law so that (Purpose) everyone who believes will receive righteousness.

 Hebrews 8:7  For if that first covenant had been faultless, there would have been no occasion sought for a second.

Hebrews 7:18-19

18  For, on the one hand, there is a setting aside of a former commandment because of its weakness and uselessness

19   (for the Law made nothing perfect), and on the other hand there is a bringing in of a better hope, through which we draw near to God.

Here the word “commandment” represents the Mosaic Covenant with its 613 commandments. Paul in these verses contrasts the Mosaic Covenant with the New Covenant.  The verb “setting aside” is a legal term that means a refusal to recognize the validity of something. Basically, it means a legal annulment.  The term "weakness” relates to a relative ineffectiveness of something that is weak, feeble, and ineffectual. In this case it is the Mosaic Covenant. Since the Mosaic Covenant was weak and ineffective, that made it useless or of no advantage. One of the ways that the Law was weak and ineffective was that it made nothing perfect and could not save or mature any Israelite. In context these verses refer to Priesthood. The priesthood under the Mosaic Law was not perfect. The High Priests were weak humans who were mortal. Thus, the writer established the point that the Law which made nothing perfect was replaced by a priestly institution with Jesus as the High priest who is immortal God.

In 2 Corinthians 3:1-18 Paul contrasts the Mosaic Covenant with the New Covenant.

3:1   Are we beginning to commend ourselves again? Or do we need, as some, letters of commendation to you or from you?

2   You are our letter, written in our hearts, known and read by all men;

3   being manifested that you are a letter of Christ, cared for by us, written not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of human hearts.

4   Such confidence we have through Christ toward God.

5   Not that we are adequate in ourselves to consider anything as coming from ourselves, but our adequacy is from God,

6   who also made us adequate as servants of a new covenant, not of the letter but of the Spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life.

7   But if the ministry of death, in letters engraved on stones, came with glory, so that the sons of Israel could not look intently at the face of Moses because of the glory of his face, fading as it was,

8   how will the ministry of the Spirit fail to be even more with glory?

9   For if the ministry of condemnation has glory, much more does the ministry of righteousness abound in glory.

10   For indeed what had glory, in this case has no glory because of the glory that surpasses it.

11   For if that which fades away was with glory, much more that which remains is in glory.

12   Therefore having such a hope, we use great boldness in our speech,

13   and are not like Moses, who used to put a veil over his face so that the sons of Israel would not look intently at the end of what was fading away.

14   But their minds were hardened; for until this very day at the reading of the old covenant the same veil remains unlifted, because it is removed in Christ.

15   But to this day whenever Moses is read, a veil lies over their heart;

16   but whenever a person turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away.

17   Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty.   

  18       But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as from the Lord, the Spirit.

4. The Ten Commandments were an integral part of the Mosaic Law, therefore, were also made inoperative at the death of Christ.

Many Christians today are under the impression that they are responsible for keeping the Ten Commandments.  The Ten Commandments are an integral part of the Law of Moses.

 We have just seen that the Law of Moses was temporary and was made inoperative at the death of Christ. Therefore, believers in Jesus are not in any way responsible for keeping them.

 You may be asking yourself something like, “Isn't it important that we as believers in Jesus not murder, steal, commit adultery, lie, etc. The answer is” yes.” The bottom line is this. Every commandment of the Ten Commandments, except for the Sabbath, was reinstated in the New Covenant. They are now New Covenant Commandments not Old Covenant commandments. The New Covenant Commandments, however, not grouped together in the New Testament as they are in Exodus 20 and Deuteronomy 5. The following chart illustrates this:

Nine Commandments from the Law of Moses 

Mosaic Covenant

1.       Worship no other gods      

  Ex. 20:3; Deut. 5:7

2.       Make no idols to worship them

Ex. 20:4-6; Deut. 5:8-10

3.       Do not take the Lord’s name in vain

Ex. 20:7; Deut. 5:11

4.       Observe the Sabbath

       Ex. 20:8-11; Deut. 5:12-15

5.       Honor your parents

Ex. 20:12; Deut. 5:16

6. Do not murder

     Ex. 20:13; Deut. 5:17

7.       Do not commit adultery

     Ex. 20:14; Deut. 5:18

8.       Do not steal

     Ex. 20:15; Deut. 5:19

9.       Do not lie

Ex. 20:16; Deut. 5:20

10. Do not covet

     Ex. 20:17; Deut. 5:21

Are Repeated in the New Covenant 

 New Covenant

 1.Worship no other gods      

   Acts 14:15

 2. Make no idols to worship them

    1 John 5:21; 1 Cor 10:10

 3. Do not take the Lord’s name in   

    vain        

    James 5:12; 1 Timothy 6:1

 4. There is no command in the New        

Covenant to observe the Sabbath.  

  Relevant verses concerning days to

  worship are:

  Romans 14:5-6; Colossians. 2:16-17

 5.Honor your parents

Eph 6:1-2

6. Do not murder

Rom. 13:9; 1 John 3:15; 1 Pet. 4:15

7.Do not commit adultery

   Heb13:4; 1 Cor. 6:9; Col. 3:5

8. Do not steal

Eph. 4:28; 1 Peter 4:15

9.Do not lie

   Col. 3:9; Rev. 9:21

10.Do not covet

1 Cor. 6:9-Eph. 5:3 ESV, NIV has covetousness which is better. NASB has greed.

6. The Law is good

Romans 7:12

So then, the Law is holy, and the commandment is holy and righteous and good.

In spite of its deficiencies and in the light of its purposes, Paul could say that “the Law is holy, and the commandment holy, righteous and good”). The Law was holy in that it revealed the holiness of God and the demands a holy God makes on those who walk in fellowship with Him. The Law was righteous, or just, because it passed a just sentence on those who fall short of the holiness of God. The Law was good in that it did what it was designed to do. 

In 1 Timothy 1:8 Paul again called the Law good. Even though it had been replaced by the New Covenant and made inoperative as a rule of life. Even though this is true, It still has a purpose for the present time.  The “the Law is good if one uses lawfully.” That is indeed a Paul said the Law was Holy and righteous. In 1Timothy 1:8 Paul again called the Law good.  However, this time he placed a qualifier on it.

But we know that the Law is good, if one uses it lawfully,

It is to be used in an appropriate or legitimate way. It must be used correctly. To use it in an inappropriate or incorrect way would be to use it as rules to live by or obey as the Israel was supposed to before the New Covenant was inaugurated. The Law did not save when in was operational to Israel and it certainly does not today. This is one of the heresies that was being taught by the Judaizers. It also could not bring believes to maturity. 

A hymn written by Philip P. Bliss based pm Hebrews 7:12-28 and published in 1871 got it right.

Free from the law, O happy condition, Jesus has bled, and there is remission; Cursed by the law and bruised by the fall, Grace has redeemed us once for all.

So, what is the proper way to use the Law of Moses today. One of the purposes of the Law was to condemn and convict. It can still do that today. The Law today can reveal the holiness of God, the unholiness of man, and the person and work of Christ.

There also may be general principles drawn from Mosaic Law. One example might be the Sabbath. Israel was to observe Sabbath regulations. Since believers in Jesus are under the authority of the New Covenant, we are not required to observe Sabbath regulations. However, there may be a principle concerning the Sabbath. One principle might be that believers should take a day to worship the Lord and rest so as to find refreshment for their body, soul, and mind. Principles are not commands but are only proposals, suggestions, or recommendations.

Today we learned the following about the Law of Moses and the Ten Commands:

1.The Law of Moses was made inoperative at the death of Christ and is no longer in effect. This includes the Ten Commandments.

2. The Mosaic Covenant was a weak and temporary covenant that was replaced by   the New Covenant, which is superior, eternal, has a better sacrifice, a better High Priest, and has better promises.

3. The Mosaic Covenant brought condemnation and death whereas the New Covenant brings eternal life, the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, and an eternal High Priest.

 4. Even though the Mosaic Law is inoperative today as a rule of life, there are principles that can still be drawn from it.

Since all the above is true, why would any believer in Jesus want to subject themselves to the Mosaic Covenant that is inoperative, weak, and has been replaced a New Covenant that has better promises and a better sacrifice, Jesus the Messiah, who is the Guarantor of the covenant.

1. “Thou shalt have no other gods before me.”

  1. “We … preach unto you that ye should turn from these vanities unto the living God” (Acts 14:15).

2. “Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image; … thou shalt not bow down to them nor serve them.”

  2. “Little children, keep yourselves from idols” (1 John 5:21).

3. “Thou shalt not take the name of the LORD thy God in vain.”

  3. “But above all things brethren, swear not, neither by heaven, neither by the earth, neither by any other oath” (Jas. 5:12).

4. “Remember the sabbath day to keep it holy.”

  4. No such command is found in the teachings of grace.

5. “Honour thy father and thy mother.”

  5. “Children obey your parents in the Lord: for this is right” (Eph. 6:1).

6. “Thou shalt not kill.”

  6. “Whosoever hateth his brother is a murderer: and ye know that no murderer hath eternal life abiding in him” (1 John 3:15).

7. “Thou shalt not commit adultery.”

  7. “Neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers … shall inherit the kingdom of God” (1 Cor. 6:9, 10).

8. “Thou shalt not steal.”

  8. “Steal no more” (Eph. 4:28).

9. “Thou shalt not bear false witness.”

  9. “Lie not” (Col. 3:9).

10. “Thou shalt not covet.”

  10. “Covetousness, let it not be named among you” (Eph. 5:3).

The Contrasts between the Mosaic Covenant and the New Covenant .

Mosaic Covenant                                    The New Covenant

3  Inscribed in stone                                   Inscribed on Human hearts