Grace and the laws.
Does living in grace mean the Ten Commandments are done away with? This is a very often heard message from the pulpit that we are living in the times of grace so the Ten Commandments and the laws are no more applicable today in a Christian’s life. They quote Col.2:14 and tell us that the laws are nailed to the cross. The verse reads ‘the handwriting of ordinances that was against us’. Is any one of the Ten Commandments against us? No, I don’t think so. Break any of the commandments from the sixth to the tenth and you will be behind the bars. So people break the first four commandments because they relate to our relationship with Yahweh, and we can’t see Yahweh! Eccl.8:11says,’because sentence against an evil work is not executed speedily, therefore the heart of the sons of men is fully set in them to do evil’:
Read Col.2:16 onwards and you will see that Paul does not mention anything about the Ten Commandments. He talks of the laws about food, drink, festivals...’do not handle, do not touch, do not taste…’
In Gal 3:19, Paul says, ‘wherefore then serveth the law? It was added because of transgression...” The word added implies that there was something already existing to which it was added.
A careful reading of Deut 5:22 shows us the when Yahweh wrote the Ten Commandments on the two tablets of stone, ‘he added no more’! When the children of Israel heard the voice of the Lord, they were afraid and told Moses, ‘speak thou with us and we will hear, but let not Yahweh speak with us, lest we die’. (Ex.20:19) So Moses heard the words of Yahweh and wrote down the 613 laws that made up the Laws of Moses. These laws are the added laws that were ‘nailed to the cross’.
The tables of covenant were placed inside the ark (Heb.9:4) which shows their everlasting nature, while the book of the law written by Moses was place by the side of the ark (Deut.31:24)
Nowhere in the Bible is it mentioned that the Ten Commandments are done away with, on the other hand, we find that Messiah and all the disciples kept the law and the commandments. When the rich young ruler came to Messiah asking what he should do to inherit eternal life, Messiah has mentioned all the commandments towards our fellow men. In Matt.22:37-40, he has mentioned the Ten Commandments in two lines and said ‘on these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets’.
This is the basic fact about the two laws. The Bible Ten Commandments points out sin and the ceremonial laws of Moses was the remedy for sin. The ceremonial laws have now been replaced by the sacrifice of Messiah. But the moral law of Yahweh, that is the Ten Commandments, still stands.
The Ten Commandments were in force from the very beginning. Cain knew that he did wrong in killing Abel, and Yahweh was able to judge Cain, because Cain knew of Yahweh’s law. When Joseph was tempted by Potiphar's wife, he knew that adultery was against Yahweh’s law, so he didn't do it. If Yahweh’s Commandments were not already in force, how could they know what was wrong, and how could Yahweh judge them, without any law? Paul says in Rom.4:15.’Where there is no law, there is no transgression.’ If there was no law in place from the very beginning, then Yahweh could not judge the people for sinning against Him, because there would be no law to sin against. The Lord took away ‘This handwriting of ordinances' and nailed to His cross (Col. 2:14). But the moral law contained in the Ten Commandments, and enforced by the prophets still continues.
Was Yahweh’s Law Abolished in the New Testament? No. Rom.2:13 says that the doers of the law shall be justified before Yahweh. Rom.3:31: ‘we establish the law’. Rom.7:12: The law is holy and the commandment holy and just, and good. Heb.8:10: I will put my laws into their mind, and write them in their hearts. (Also Heb.10:16)
If the Sabbath had been abolished in the New Testament, shouldn't we find at least one passage in the New Testament making that clear? Messiah said that "one jot or one tittle will by no means pass from the law" until all is "fulfilled," or has completely filled its purpose (Matt.:5:18). But Yahweh’s commandments remain. There is not one verse which states directly or indirectly that the Sabbath has been abolished. The last books in the New Testament are John's epistles and the book of Revelation, written between 85-95 AD. Were the Ten Commandments abolished by that time? John, the disciple
whom Jesus loved said, "Now by this we know that we know Him, if we keep His commandments. He who says, 'I know Him,' and does not keep His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him" (1 John: 2:3-4). "By this we know that we love the children of Yahweh, when we love Yahweh and keep His commandments. For this is the love of Yahweh, that we keep His commandments. And His commandments are not burdensome" (1 John:5:2-3).
The purpose of Yahweh's law from the beginning was love. "This is love, that we walk according to His commandments. This is the commandment, that as you have heard from the beginning, you should walk in it" (2 John 6).
In Rev.12:17 Satan attempts to destroy members of Yahweh's Church, "who keep the commandments of Yahweh and have the testimony of Yahshua Messiah." In Rev.14:12, the saints are described as "those who keep the commandments of Yahweh and the faith of Yahshua" Faith and keeping Yahweh's commandments go hand in hand, as Paul stated in Rom.3:31.
In the last chapter of the Bible, Yahshua Messiah gave a final message to the Church: "'Behold, I am coming quickly, and My reward is with Me, to give to every one according to his work...' Blessed are those who do His commandments, that they may have the right to the tree of life, and may enter through the gates into the city" (Rev.22:12, 14).
Can anything else be clearer? Grace means” free, unmerited love and power of Yahweh, the source of benefits, favourable influence of Yahweh, divine influence of the Spirit in renewing the heart and restraining from sin.(Webster’s Dictionary) Grace is not a license to sin, nor does it make the commandments null and void. |