Dispensationalism teaches that all Old Testament law (this includes religious, social and civil) have been put aside by Christ and his teachings concerning law. Their motto comes from Paul's teaching that “we are not under law, but under grace.”
Gone are the days of sermons like “Sinners in the Hands of an angry God” by Jonathan Edwards, and others by great men of God like Spurgeon, Moody and Whitefield. Instead, all we hear from the pulpit are teachings of peace, happiness and being friends with God. What this effectively does is replace the Gospel of true repentance, with one that is anti-law (known as antinomian). But it is impossible to fully understand the true Gospel, without first fully comprehending God's nature, law, and sin. The focus has also shifted from saving nations and cultures, to that of saving individuals or souls. The church has left the state of the nations to the governments running them – essentially in the hands of Satan. When Paul and the apostles went out, they concentrated on changing the nation as a whole, while today's evangelists and missionaries focus on the individual people and do nothing with trying to change the governments and religious leaders. If the church is lax with respect to the law, will not the rest of the people follow suit? Civil, moral and judicial law cannot be divorced from Biblical law, for Biblical law includes all law, whether civil, moral, ethical, societal, church, family, and all other forms of law. Look at what Jesus said in Matthew 28:18ff - “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations” - not souls/individuals. We are to focus on nations, cultures, races, ethnic groups, etc as a whole, and not just individuals within those groups.
Before we continue to look at the role of the law, let us look at the different types of law found in Scripture. Law is used in different ways, and to apply it one way in all circumstances would be wrong, and even heretical.
Torah: This is the first and most basic word for law in the Old Testament, and even in religious tradition. This is basically the covenant between God and Israel. It contained everything that was essential to the life of the Jews. It contained the promises of God, curses, blessings and any other laws applicable to that covenant relationship.
Ceremonial Law: Even though the laws in the Old Testament are not systematically laid out, there are still some distinct categories. The first being ceremonial law.
The ceremonial laws were those that referred to the sacrificial rituals that were to be practised in the tabernacle and later in the temple. These laws included: the sacrifices, the holy days/sabbaths, the furnishings of the tabernacle and temple, circumcision, etc.
These laws were there in order to strengthen the faith of the Jews and were to be a picture of the coming Messiah. Their function was to restore the people of Israel back to God, for they reflected his mercy and salvation.
These laws were also intended to be temporary, for they were merely types and shadows of the coming Messiah, Jesus Christ. Sin could not really be removed through the sacrifices, but they were to be a picture of true salvation. From the time of the fall in Genesis 3, God had always intended to bring complete salvation through the shedding of his son's blood. (Read the book of Hebrews and you will see the full explanation of these things by the writer to the Christian Jews.)
Finally, the ceremonial laws were put into place in order to differentiate the people of Israel from their pagan neighbours. While the pagan ceremonies were focussed on the individual and what they could receive, the ceremonies of the Jews were focussed on God.
Moral Law: These laws are those that reflect the very nature of God as the absolute standard of righteousness. Because we know that God will not change, these laws too will not change, even by God himself. Like God, they are perfect and everlasting.
The moral laws are summarised in the Ten Commandments. In Scripture, the number ten indicates completeness or fullness. Also, as we read in Exodus, the Commandments were written on both sides of the tablets (32:15), and more importantly by the finger of God (31:18). Therefore, God's entire moral, perfect standard is completely represented in the Ten Commandments, and nothing was to be added or removed by man. Moral laws were not put in place to prevent us from having fun, but rather to give us a blueprint of true righteousness as we endeavour to be more holy. These laws were therefore put in place forever, and were not temporary as were the ceremonial laws.
Judicial Law: The third, and final, category of Biblical law is that of judicial law. The purpose of these laws were to put some flesh onto the ceremonial and moral laws. As with those laws, some were binding only for the people of Israel, but others were binding on all nations. Some were temporary, while others are permanent.
In the modern church, many Christians believe that we are still bound by the Ten Commandments, yet are not bound by all the other civil laws, even those based on the very nature and character of God. Many believe that because the rest of the laws were written by men, but the Ten Commandments were written by the finger of God, the rest are not applicable. But like I have already pointed out, the Ten Commandments are a summary of all the laws, the rest of the laws, the judicial laws, are fleshing them out.
Another argument is that the laws were relevant for a culture that is far different from the one that exists today. Yes, it is true that today's culture is different from the culture of Israel 4000 years ago, but the character of God has not changed, so those laws based on that still stand.
This then leaves four solutions to the problem:
- All law is relevant only to the culture in which it is found,
- Some laws fall into a new category of natural law (conscience) and that we are not bound by God's laws,
- To attempt to form our own laws based on the Ten Commandments and those laws repeated in the New Testament, and
- Stick to the moral laws as laid down throughout Scripture that reflect the very nature of God.
To attempt the first three would mean that the Word of God is not inspired and infallible, but is merely a good book to read for some direction.
Do the laws of God apply to us today? Are the powers that be obligated to follow the moral laws laid down in Scripture? Are we as Christians obligated to follow the moral laws, or to simply follow the Spirit's guidance in a subjective and mystical sense? One word answers all three questions: YES.
Law in the New Testament: When we read of the laws in the New Testament, we are not really seeing anything new, but rather the laws of the Old Testament being fleshed out in a new way. Just as the Old Testament laws pointed the people of Israel forward to the coming Messiah, the laws in the New Testament points the church back to Christ. The old ceremonial laws have been replaced with ones that represent what Christ has done, and the moral laws are still focussed on the character of God and his commandments.
In Matthew 5:17-20 Jesus clearly states that he “did not come to destroy but to fulfill” the law, for “till heaven and earth pass away, one jot or tittle will by no means pass from the law until all is fulfilled.” As we have seen, the ceremonial laws have been fulfilled, but the moral laws are still to be completed, and that will come on the day of judgement.
It is my hope that through this series, we will all begin to focus on the Biblical laws so that we can go out and make a change in the society in which we live. This is such a large topic, so we will cover the role of the law over a number of posts. Comments and questions are more than welcome.
Next topic in the series: Justification and the Law.
Baruch atem b’Shem Yeshua! (Blessings in the name of Jesus!)
GW
GW
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