The Significance
bread, Law Keepers, Traditional Christianity, Law Moses, Law
of Moses, Covenant of the Lord, Old Covenant, Law of God
What difference does it make?
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For simplicity let's assume there are only two types of Christians in the world today. The traditional group generally believes Christians are not expected to follow most of the instruction of the law, Genesis through Deuteronomy. However, there are also Christians that believe one should keep or live by the instruction in the law. We'll call these people Law-keepers.
We need to distinguish these groups, because they are probably going to have very different reactions to the material presented on this site. This, of course, assumes they have actually taken the time to understand what this site highlights.
A word to Traditional Christians
CreatorsCovenant has documented the fact that there is a difference between the Law of God and the Law of Moses. Generally speaking all Christians assume these bodies of law are one and the same. Since, in some ways the New Testament seems to diminish the need to keep the law, and the Traditional Christian assumes the Law of God and the Law of Moses are the same, the traditional believer does not feel the need to examine anything in the Old Testament very carefully.
In actual fact, the Law was added as a second covenant between God and Israel. It was added to the Law of God, His covenant, which was made at Sinai. So if one does not believe the Law of Moses, the Law, has any authority, they should now realize that the covenant of the Lord, the Ten Commandments and the judgments given at that time, are a separate law and stand by themselves. They are not diminished in the New Testament at all. Typically when the New Testament talks of the Law, it means the Law of Moses given and confirmed after the Law of God was already in place. (see:The Law According to Hebrews )
The Covenant made at Sinai is not the Old covenant. The Ten Commandments are the Creator's eternal covenant (Ps. 111:5, 9). It details the conduct the Creator expects from anyone who wishes to walk with Him (Deu 8:6). It is the original instruction by which the Creator intended that men would live. The Law was added to this, to handle transgressions (Gal 3:19).
Biblical statements that seem to diminish the Law do not diminish the Covenant of the Lord. The law was not from the beginning. His Law was from the beginning. He does not change and He still wants His children to walk in His way, which is only defined in the Hebrew scriptures and not redefined in the Apostolic writings or New Testament. So the definition from the Hebrew scriptures stands.
Belief is proven based on action. If one doesn't act as recommended by the Creator in His Law, then one doesn't believe in the Creator described in the Hebrew Scriptures. Note: We're talking about HIS law, not THE law, two overlapping but different and distinct bodies of law. A believer proves his belief by doing what the Creator recommends. The Apostolic Writings and the New Testament, recommend this same Creator. He does not promise to grant salvation to those who ignore His Law and disobey it. The New Testament teaches obedience. 'Not everyone who says to Me "Lord, Lord", shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven" (Mat 7:21). Obedience requires faith. Often His law doesn't make sense to a normal human. So the just will live by their faith, because their faith is what allows them to obey.
Consider that any parent wants the best for his children. The Creator is no different. His Law is designed to bring peace and prosperity. His way is simply better than ours. The normal human mind can't see it, but that doesn't make it not so. It requires faith in Him. Humans are in the habit of trusting in themselves to do what they think is best. That approach has led to the chaos we see in the world today. Our Creator wants us to come out of that and walk in His way. This is a major shift for traditional Christians, but is vital if one wants to worship the Creator in the way He expects and be acceptable to Him. He will not have someone in His kingdom who will not conduct himself in accord with His way of peace. This is called repentance.
So, a traditional Christian must make a major shift in thinking if he is to return to the faith as originally delivered from the Patriarchs, Prophets, Jesus Christ, and the Apostles. Traditional Christianity simply has not understood the history that Jesus Christ and the Apostles assumed everyone understood. Traditional Christianity has garbled the message of scripture and Jesus Christ. In particular the relationship between Christians and God's law is totally misunderstood. In short, the true message is, "If you will enter into life, keep the commandments" (Mat 19:17), specifically the Ten Commandments. Number four is not excepted.
A word to everyone, especially Law-Keepers
CreatorsCovenant has documented the fact that there is a difference between the Law of God and the Law of Moses. Generally speaking all Christians assume these bodies of law are one and the same. Since, in some ways the New Testament seems to diminish the need to keep the law, Law-Keepers have not necessarily felt the need to follow all instruction in the law. Indeed some cannot be kept. When we sin we cannot go to the Levite at the temple to offer a sin offering. The temple doesn't exist and the Levites have been scattered.
Much that is in the law was written with the assumption that its adherents were Israelites living in the Promised Land. Believers are now scattered all over the world. The law was written to a people living in a different culture that existed some 3000 years ago. There is much about their culture we do not understand intuitively. The instruction covers slavery, multiple wives, functions of the priests at a temple that no longer exists, animal sacrifice and other things that don't obviously apply to our world. So, even Law-Keepers realize they cannot keep the whole law as it is written.
In general, law-keepers have ignored what could NOT be done. This is reasonable. Unfortunately, they have often not taken seriously what is left. More sadly, they have not understood that the bulk of the time Israel was wondering in the wilderness the Law did not exist. The conduct required by the Law was not what the Creator originally asked of Israel. He originally asked what the Creator included in His covenant at Sinai in Exodus 20-23:19. In short, the true message is: "perform, the Ten Commandments" (Deu 4:13b). (Does that sound familiar?)
What makes this message very difficult for Law-Keepers is that they think they are already keeping the Ten Commandments, so no change is needed. They are lulled into complacency by their leaders. Since they put the whole Law on the same level, they have not appreciated the greater importance of the foundation laid in the covenant at Sinai. They have not intently focused on it, so they often miss the full intent of it. They have gotten overwhelmed by the irrelevant details included in The Law and so glossed over the full intent of His Law, which was before The Law. This has been easy to do, because they have not seen a clear distinction between His Law and The Law. If they do see a distinction, it is the Ten Commandments as opposed to everything else. They don’t understand that the judgments given with the Ten Commandments add detail helping us to understand and keep the Ten Commandments better.
It should now be evident there is a distinction. Not only must we carefully examine the entire covenant at Sinai, but we must also read about the Law in the New Testament with an entirely different perspective. The Law was added. It was not from the beginning. There is no reason to be defensive about that.
His Law is not concerned with the priesthood of Levi, animal sacrifice, ritual washings or the temple. In fact, the priesthood of Levi was a necessary evil. His law expects all participants to actively seek to live by that standard without a middleman. It is concerned entirely with how to honor, respect and love God and fellow man. All of it is still 100% applicable. Exodus 20-23 records the essence of His Law as it was to be implemented in Ancient Israel. The Law adds some detail, but it also added some requirements that are not fundamental to His Law. So those things in the Law that touch on His Law we can use to better understand His Law. This allows us to better understand the original intent of His law. Focusing on roughly three or four chapters is much easier than trying to specialize in the five books of Moses
King David claimed to meditate regularly on the way of God (Ps 119:15). That way is bound in His covenant, which is the Ten Commandments (Deu 8:6, 4:13, 23). David never claimed to have learned everything there was to know about His ways. Yet, Law-Keepers often think they know everything they need to know about the Ten Commandments. This author, in visiting among many law-keeping congregations has found their perspective to be an illusion.
The problem is they have not known where to focus and they are accustomed to giving what they think is just the Law a gloss read. They have not known the difference between His Law and the Law of Moses. Consequently, when they do stumble though the few chapters that are pure Law of God, they treat it as if it were the Law of Moses, written to a different culture in a different place. In their gloss read they miss the implications and subtleties shrouded in ancient, but well documented and perfectly understandable practices. A gloss reading misses the full meaning of His Law. In their rut of assumptions law-keepers often break the principles His Law is attempting to teach.
The instruction lighting the way of God is often put in the form of examples. This requires applying each one to similar situations in our own culture. It requires careful thought to apply the principle to modern situations. The connection between old practice and modern is not always obvious.
Instruction on slavery is a good example. Generally slavery has been abolished in the Western world. At least we think so. However, anyone who considers himself a believer in Jesus Christ should know that Christ is our Master. We are His servants/slaves. "For you were bought at a price" (I Cor 6:20a). Fortunately, He is a wonderful master. Understanding a master/slave relationship is really important in understanding how we ought to conduct ourselves. There is a lot about ancient practice in especially Exodus 21. A gloss read will not tell the reader much. One must ponder it and consider it in light of other information in scripture about slavery.
Do we think slavery is indeed illegal in the western world? Do any Western countries have a military conscription? It is pure slavery! Drafted citizens have little other choice but to go to work for the government, which usually means join the military or flee the country. Even the New Testament contains instruction about how slaves are to conduct themselves in relationship to their good and bad masters. Understanding slavery is directly applicable to the life of a Christian, also to those of military age even more than others.
The Law of God also instructs us to help an enemy's donkey if it is weighted down with a load (Ex 23:5). If you don't have any enemies with donkeys are you off the hook? Absolutely not! This is simply one example of the love one is to show even an enemy. If ancient Israel was to help an enemy's lowly donkey, should we not understand that we are to help with crippled cars, bicycles, and in any other way that we can be of service. This is not an option. This is expected of those who wish to walk with God exercising His mind. If that is not a habit we have built, we are not keeping the spirit of the Ten Commandments. The God of Israel is not our God. If the Creator is our God we support His expectation, otherwise our god is self. Yes, it's a dangerous world. One must exercise some caution, but help our fellow man when we can. This instruction is not just for when it is convenient for us.
Messiah lived and taught among people that had been immersed in the Law. The Jews educational system revolved around the Hebrew Scriptures. They did not misinterpret all of this material. In many cases the original intention of God in His Law was preserved. Jesus Christ did not need to clarify everything. He addressed the poorly understood or executed instruction and taught the original intention. Since He focused on the problems, sometimes He never addressed certain aspects of the Law of God. Christians cannot assume that apart from the Ten Commandments themselves, everything they need to know is included in the New Testament.
The fundamental Law of God is contained in Exodus 20-23:19. Some concentrated clarification is also in Leviticus. Believers need to know this area of scripture very well. Sometimes it is difficult to mine new information out of verses that have been read over multiple times before. We get into ruts with blinders on. If you are not seeing new things in this instruction, we highly recommend the document, Ponder the Law of God. You might also examine CreatorsCovenant commentary on the judgments of Exodus 21-23:19. We make no guarantee of completeness. We're still thinking about this material ourselves. The reward is to those who diligently seek Him (Heb 11:6).
In any case, improved understanding in one subject can lead to improved understanding in others. A serious believer in the Savior will be intent on seeking to grow in the understanding of everything connected with Him. The Law is obviously a major subject of scripture. If it is not understood correctly how can we think things connected with it are understood correctly?