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FROM: 4/14/02 Radio Program
Question:
The ceremonial law has been done away, but not the ten commandments.
Answer:
Please read Galatians 2:16-18 where Paul makes the distinction between the works of the law (Old Testament) and the faith of Christ. Further, he makes the distinction in Galatians 3:19-24 of the condition of those Jews "before faith came," and then "after faith came." In other words, there had been a change from when they were standing before God while under the Old Testament (covenant, which included the 10 commandments), and now their standing after Christ came. Paul said they were "no longer under the schoolmaster" (tutor, NKJ). It had all been done away, and they were now under Christ.
The word "law" was used 29 times in the book of Galatians, and 51 times in the book of Romans, and never once did it refer to a civil, moral, or ceremonial law in contrast to the ten commandments. In each case, it referred to the "law," i.e., the Old Testament, which included the ten commandments. Neither the Old nor New Testaments make such a distinction as Sabbatarians wish to make today.
Nehemiah 8 uses terms like "book of the law of Moses, which the LORD had commanded to Israel." (v. 1), "the law" (v. 2), "the book of the law." (v. 3), "Ezra opened the book" (v. 5), "the book in the law of God" (v. 8), "the law which the LORD had commanded by Moses," (v. 14), "the book of the law of God." (v. 18) to describe God's word. These are equivalent terms describing the same thing. Further, when Jesus was taken to be circumcised in Jerusalem, the Bible says it was done according to the "law of Moses" in Luke 2:22, but calls this "the law of the Lord" in Luke 2:23. Again, the Bible does not make the distinction that our Sabbatarian friends do.
In Matthew 22:36, Jesus was not asked about the greatest commandment in the "laws," but "the law"! Notice, that when He answered, He did not answer from the ten commandments, but from Deuteronomy 6:5 and Leviticus 19:18! He did not make a distinction here between the ten commandments and some supposed "ceremonial" law.
In the four gospel accounts, and the book of Acts, we find the Sabbath always being referred to in connection with the law of Moses. There was no so-called distinction between "ceremonial" law and the ten commandment law. Romans 7 speaks to "those who know the law" (v. 1) and deals with the marriage relationship (v. 1-4). Yet, in the very same context, Paul speaks of "the law" and refers to one of the ten commandments ("thou shalt not covet," v. 7). So, Paul, one who was a Pharisee, schooled under Gamaliel, and taught in the Old Testament, equated both God's law concerning marriage, and one of the ten commandments, calling both of them "the law." There was no distinction made between "ceremonial," "civil," or anything else.
If these godly examples show us anything, it ought to show us that such distinctions between "ceremonial law," "ten commandment law," etc. are the ideas of men, and nowhere taught in the Scriptures.
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