Has The Law of Moses Ended?

Has The Law of Moses Ended? Is the Law of Moses or any parts of it still in effect today? Has The Law of Moses Ended? We see a great deal of emphasis still placed on the Law of Moses in the religious world today. Especially on the Ten Commandments The Law is used also to justify practices like Tithing and instruments of music in the worship service. What we want to try to determine today is: Who it was given to. Why it was given. How long was it to last. 1

Who was the Law of Moses Given to? The first thing we will look at is who did the law apply to? Was it given to all or just a limited group of people? I believe the answer to this question is pretty simple. After God delivered the Children of Israel from the Egyptians they came to Mt Sinai in the wilderness. It was here that Moses received the Law from God. Who was the Law of Moses Given to? Ex 19:1 In the third month after the children of Israel had gone out of the land of Egypt, on the same day, they came to the Wilderness of Sinai. 2 For they had departed from Rephidim, had come to the Wilderness of Sinai, and camped in the wilderness. So Israel camped there before the mountain. 3 And Moses went up to God, and the LORD called to him from the mountain, saying, "Thus you shall say to the house of Jacob, and tell the children of Israel: 2

Who was the Law of Moses Given to? It would be hard to misunderstand who was camped at Mount Sinai when the Law was Given. It was not the Egyptians, Babylonians, Assyrians, Philistines or anyone else. It was the Israelites. Ex 19:4 'You have seen what I did to the Egyptians, and how I bore you on eagles' wings and brought you to Myself. 5 'Now therefore, if you will indeed obey My voice and keep My covenant, then you shall be a special treasure to Me above all people; for all the earth is Mine. Who was the Law of Moses Given to? Ex 19:6 'And you shall be to Me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.' These are the words which you shall speak to the children of Israel. God was going to make a Covenant with Israel. Websters defines Covenant as: a usually formal, solemn, and binding agreement If they kept this Covenant aka the Law of Moses then they would be a special treasure to God above all the People of the earth. 3

Who was the Law of Moses Given to? If this same Covenant was given to all nations then the Israelites would not have been anything special. Websters defined Covenant as an agreement. For an agreement to take place at least two parties have to agree. God agreed to the Covenant. It was His idea. Who else agreed to this Covenant? The Israelites. Who was the Law of Moses Given to? Ex 19:7 So Moses came and called for the elders of the people, and laid before them all these words which the LORD commanded him. 8 Then all the people answered together and said, "All that the LORD has spoken we will do." So Moses brought back the words of the people to the LORD. No other nation agreed to the Covenant besides Israel. This Covenant aka the Law of Moses was an agreement between God and the Israelites. 4

Now that we have determined who the Law was given to, lets see if we can determine its purpose. When Paul wrote his letter to the Galatians he had to deal with a false doctrine that was being taught and believed by the Christians there. Ga 1:6 I marvel that you are turning away so soon from Him who called you in the grace of Christ, to a different gospel, 7 which is not another; but there are some who trouble you and want to pervert the gospel of Christ. Ga 1:8 But even if we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel to you than what we have preached to you, let him be accursed. 9 As we have said before, so now I say again, if anyone preaches any other gospel to you than what you have received, let him be accursed. We can see from the following context that the false doctrine being taught is the necessity of Christians to keep the Law of Moses. Paul makes plain to teach this is a perversion of the Gospel of Christ. 5

He continues on this very subject in Chapter 3 Ga 3:1 O foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you that you should not obey the truth, before whose eyes Jesus Christ was clearly portrayed among you as crucified? 2 This only I want to learn from you: Did you receive the Spirit by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith? 3 Are you so foolish? Having begun in the Spirit, are you now being made perfect by the flesh? 4 Have you suffered so many things in vain--if indeed it was in vain? We see in Galatians 3:1 that believing this false doctrine was contrary to obeying the truth. In verse 2 he asks them from where did you get your supernatural gifts of the Holy Spirit? Was it from the system of faith (Law of Christ) or from the Law of Moses? Of course it came from the system of faith. Since that is the case he makes the point in vs 3 that it would be foolish to go back to the Law of works that cannot justify Ga 2:16.for by the works of the law no flesh shall be justified. 6

Skipping down to vs 19 Paul gives the purpose of the Law of Moses. Ga 3:19 What purpose then does the law serve? It was added because of transgressions, till the Seed should come to whom the promise was made; and it was appointed through angels by the hand of a mediator. First off the Law of Moses was added. It was not a part of God s original plan. It was added because of sin. Mankind before the Law of Moses was headed down the same road he was on before the flood. Without the addition of the Law of Moses mankind would not have been ready to receive the Law of Christ. Man would have been in the same condition they were in before the flood when they rejected the preaching of Noah. Ga 3:20 Now a mediator does not mediate for one only, but God is one. 21 Is the law then against the promises of God? Certainly not! For if there had been a law given which could have given life, truly righteousness would have been by the law. 7

Ga 3:22 But the Scripture has confined all under sin, that the promise by faith in Jesus Christ might be given to those who believe. 23 But before faith came, we were kept under guard by the law, kept for the faith which would afterward be revealed. Ga 3:23 Now before faith came, we were confined under the law, kept under restraint until faith should be revealed. RSV 24 Therefore the law was our tutor to bring us to Christ, that we might be justified by faith. 25 But after faith has come, we are no longer under a tutor. The Law was used to restrain man from the wickedness he so frequently engages in. Under the Law of Moses man could obey God and be blessed or disobey God and die. This served as a deterrent to man s thoughts becoming evil continually In verse 24 he compares the Law to a tutor Tutor is translated a few different ways: Schoolmaster, Custodian, Child Conductor, Trainer and Guide. All of these are temporary positions. 8

The word Tutor comes from the Greek word paidagogos which is: a servant whose office it was to take the children to school. The purpose of the Law was to take man to the system of faith or the Law of Christ. It accomplished this by physically rewarding obedience and by inflicting severe physical punishment (death in many cases) on those that transgressed it. It accomplished the goal that God had for it. We have seen so far: Law of Moses was to the Israelites. The Purpose of the Law was to restrain man and bring him to Christ. Now lets examine how long it was to last. Common sense would tell us it was to last until its purpose was accomplished. We noticed that it is called a tutor and the other ways that word is translated. Schoolmaster, Custodian, Child Conductor, Trainer and Guide All of these are temporary positions. 9

In similar manner the Law of Moses had a temporary job to accomplish. Once Christ came and established His Law there was no longer a need for the Law. Its purpose was accomplished. Ga 3:19 What purpose then does the law serve? It was added because of transgressions, till the Seed should come to whom the promise was made; and it was appointed through angels by the hand of a mediator. The Seed is Christ and the Law was to last until He came and set up the system of faith. Ro 10:4 For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes. Once Christ came and the system of salvation thru faith was established then there was no longer a need for the Law of Moses. Ga 3:24 Therefore the law was our tutor to bring us to Christ, that we might be justified by faith. 25 But after faith has come, we are no longer under a tutor. 26 For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus. 10

Paul is making the point that the system of faith was in place. Since it was in place, there was no longer a need for the tutor or the Law. Proof of this was the Galatian Christians were sons of God thru the system of faith established by Christ. The Hebrew writer tells us that Christ has established a new and better covenant and that the old is obsolete. Heb 8:6 But now He has obtained a more excellent ministry, inasmuch as He is also Mediator of a better covenant, which was established on better promises. 7 For if that first covenant had been faultless, then no place would have been sought for a second. 8 Because finding fault with them, He says: "Behold, the days are coming, says the LORD, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah-- 11

Lets remember who is considered a Jew in the eyes of God today. Ro 2:28 For he is not a Jew who is one outwardly, nor is circumcision that which is outward in the flesh; 29 but he is a Jew who is one inwardly; and circumcision is that of the heart, in the Spirit, not in the letter; whose praise is not from men but from God. Heb 8:9 "not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day when I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt; because they did not continue in My covenant, and I disregarded them, says the LORD. Heb 8:10 "For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the LORD: I will put My laws in their mind and write them on their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people. 11 "None of them shall teach his neighbor, and none his brother, saying, 'Know the LORD,' for all shall know Me, from the least of them to the greatest of them. 12 "For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins and their lawless deeds I will remember no more." 12

Heb 8:13 In that He says, "A new covenant," He has made the first obsolete. Now what is becoming obsolete and growing old is ready to vanish away. Christ made the first covenant that was made with the Israelites at Mt Sinai obsolete. Christians are the house of Israel today. You don t have to teach a Christian to know the Lord because you can t become a Christian without knowing the Lord. When was the Old Covenant made obsolete and the New Established? When Christ died on the Cross. Col 2:14 having wiped out the handwriting of requirements that was against us, which was contrary to us. And He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross. Christ s will could not come into effect until his death. Heb 9:16 For where there is a testament, there must also of necessity be the death of the testator. 13

Conclusion We have seen today: The Law of Moses was given to the Israelites. It was given to restrain man until Christ could come. It came to an end when Christ died on the Cross. Why would we want to bind on ourselves or anyone else a Law?: Not given to us Whose purpose is fulfilled Has been done away with 14