School of Tyrannus Online Course 1: The message of the Gospel Class4: The Mosaic Law

By R.S. Neaville All rights reserved 2012

School of Tyrannus Online Course 1: The message of the Gospel Class4: The Mosaic Law

The Law of Moses The subject of the Mosaic law is a vast one. Our purpose here is twofold so the scope of the class will be limited to a brief overview where these two points are concerned. Do not think for a minute that this study in any ways is exhaustive. These two points are the basics of what every Christian should know where the law is concerned. 1. The Mosaic law was given as a tutor because of sin. 2. The Mosaic law is pure prophecy. 10 Commandments The 10 commandments as given in scripture are as follows: Exodus 20:3 Thou shalt have no other gods before me. Exodus 20:7 Thou shalt not take the name of the LORD thy God in vain; for the LORD will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain. Exodus 20:4 Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. Exodus 20:8 Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy. Exodus 20:12 Honour thy father and thy mother: that thy days may be long upon the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee. Exodus 20:13 Thou shalt not kill. Exodus 20:14 Thou shalt not commit adultery. Exodus 20:15 Thou shalt not steal. Exodus 20:16 Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbour. Exodus 20:17 Thou shalt not covet thy neighbour's house, thou shalt not covet thy neighbour's wife, nor his manservant, nor his maidservant, nor his ox, nor his ass, nor any thing that is thy neighbour's. There were also 613 ordinances that concerned various ceremonial washings, determinations of what was considered clean and unclean etc. that were to rule the daily lives

of the Israelites. All of these were practiced literally but also were rich in symbolism. In applying the Law and the setting up of the sacrifices, offerings and even the tabernacle. All these things were full of meaning. In fact Moses was warned to follow the pattern in all these things so that the pattern of God and its meanings would be preserved. All of these have great meaning for us in the new covenant. Hebrews 8:5 Who serve unto the example and shadow of heavenly things, as Moses was admonished of God when he was about to make the tabernacle: for, See, saith he, that thou make all things according to the pattern shewed to thee in the mount.6 But now hath he obtained a more excellent ministry, by how much also he is the mediator of a better covenant, which was established upon better promises. Hebrews 9:8 The Holy Ghost this signifying, that the way into the holiest of all was not yet made manifest, while as the first tabernacle was yet standing:9 Which was a figure for the time then present, in which were offered both gifts and sacrifices, that could not make him that did the service perfect, as pertaining to the conscience; 10 Which stood only in meats and drinks, and divers washings, and carnal ordinances, imposed on them until the time of reformation. Hebrews 10:1 For the law having a shadow of good things to come, and not the very image of the things, can never with those sacrifices which they offered year by year continually make the comers thereunto perfect. Ephesians 3:3 How that by revelation he made known unto me the mystery; (as I wrote afore in few words,4 Whereby, when ye read, ye may understand my knowledge in the mystery of Christ)5 Which in other ages was not made known unto the sons of men, as it is now revealed unto his holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit; This what Christians today, especially gentile believers, need to understand about the law. The law with its commandments and ordinances through the filter of Christ's death is pure revelation of a spiritual nature and rich in meaning. There has been a spiritual reformation through the death and resurrection of Jesus the Messiah. He fulfilled the law. If you could fulfill it Jesus would not of had to die! We do not try to fullfill it ourselves. We walk in faith in the fact that Christ has fulfilled it on our behalf. The letter of the Law was for physical people under it. We walk by the Spirit of the law as those spiritually alive through faith. 2 Corinthians 3:6 Who also hath made us able ministers of the new testament; not of the letter, but of the spirit: for the letter killeth, but the spirit giveth life. Romans 7:6 But now we are delivered from the law, that being dead wherein we were held; that we should serve in newness of spirit, and not in the oldness of the letter. Romans 2:29 But he is a Jew, which is one inwardly; and circumcision is that of the heart, in the spirit, and not in the letter; whose praise is not of men, but of God. Colossians 2:11 In whom also ye are circumcised with the circumcision made without hands, in putting off the body of the sins of the flesh by the circumcision of Christ:12 Buried with him in baptism, wherein also ye are risen with him through the faith of the operation of God, who hath raised him from the dead.13 And you, being dead in your sins and the uncircumcision of

your flesh, hath he quickened together with him, having forgiven you all trespasses;14 Blotting out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us, which was contrary to us, and took it out of the way, nailing it to his cross;15 And having spoiled principalities and powers, he made a shew of them openly, triumphing over them in it.16 Let no man therefore judge you in meat, or in drink, or in respect of an holyday, or of the new moon, or of the sabbath days:17 Which are a shadow of things to come; but the body is of Christ. The letter of the law acts as a tutor to lead you to the truth that you are a sinner by nature and in need of a savior. Now that the savior has come and you have received him as savior and Lord, You are no longer in need of a tutor. Now you have the Holy Ghost in you as a Christian. The letter of the law is about your flesh. The spirit of the law is about your heart. The letter of the law was literal and structure.. The spirit of the law is meaning. The purpose of structure is to hold meaning, just like the body is meant to hold spirit. We will deal in depth concerning structure and meaning in the next course. Galatians 4:1 Now I say, That the heir, as long as he is a child, differeth nothing from a servant, though he be lord of all;2 But is under tutors and governors until the time appointed of the father.3 Even so we, when we were children, were in bondage under the elements of the world:4 But when the fulness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law,5 To redeem them that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons. John 14:16 And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever;17 Even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you. John 16:7 Nevertheless I tell you the truth; It is expedient for you that I go away: for if I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you; but if I depart, I will send him unto you.8 And when he is come, he will reprove the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment: 16:13 Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will shew you things to come. 1 John 2:27 But the anointing which ye have received of him abideth in you, and ye need not that any man teach you: but as the same anointing teacheth you of all things, and is truth, and is no lie, and even as it hath taught you, ye shall abide in him. 1 John 3:24 And he that keepeth his commandments dwelleth in him, and he in him. And hereby we know that he abideth in us, by the Spirit which he hath given us. To try to fulfill the Law of Moses by literal observance of its commandments and ordinances is to say that you can do it apart from Christ. It is to say that Christ has not fulfilled all righteousness. It is to walk by your own interpretation of how the law is fulfilled as the Jews tried to. Ask yourself, if the Spirit is given you to lead you and guide you should you depend on yourself and your own effort? Or should you rather submit yourself to God. We walk by the Spirit in faith, not by the carnal mind of the flesh that could never properly interpret the law much less fulfill it.

Galatians 3:1 O foolish Galatians, who hath bewitched you, that ye should not obey the truth, before whose eyes Jesus Christ hath been evidently set forth, crucified among you?2 This only would I learn of you, Received ye the Spirit by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith? 3 Are ye so foolish? having begun in the Spirit, are ye now made perfect by the flesh? Those under the law still need a tutor. We who are children and no longer slaves walk by the new nature in us: The Holy Ghost! 1 Timothy 1:9 Knowing this, that the law is not made for a righteous man, but for the lawless and disobedient, for the ungodly and for sinners, for unholy and profane, for murderers of fathers and murderers of mothers, for manslayers, Galatians 5:16 This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh. We do not walk by a set of rules that govern our behavior. Our behavior is governed by the nature of Christ in us. In fact according to scripture those under the law cannot please God. Their nature as we have previously established is contrary to God. We please God now through faith in the sacrifice of the one man who has pleased God. Jesus his son. Remember Jesus did not have Adam as his father, rather God is his father. The Spirit of Christ in us makes us his children through faith in him. That is the nature we of faith walk by. Not a set rules, but rather a pure nature. Romans 8:6 For to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace.7 Because the carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be. Romans 8:9 But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his. Romans 8:14 For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God.15 For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father.16 The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God: We through Christ are no longer children of Adam and slaves under the curse of the Law, but rather children who share in the divine nature of Jesus. 2 Peter 1:4 Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust. The Law as prophecy Now that we understand the law as a tutor or teacher we can look at it from another angle. The Law of Moses by giving us a standard of righteousness we could never hope to achieve ourselves becomes a prophecy of a perfect man. Let us look at the facts. No one besides

Jesus ever fulfilled the righteous requirements of the Law. Romans 3:10 As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one: Romans 3:23 For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God; Romans 5:12 Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned: Now at this juncture you might be questioning the truth of this. You may be thinking of Abraham and Jacob and others the scripture calls righteous. What you need to understand is that not one of these men were righteous of themselves rather they had righteousness imputed to them because of faith in God. Their faith was in God to justify them. In this way these old testament saints greeted the promise of Christ from afar because he is the single justification of all men. Romans 3:20 Therefore by the deeds of the law there shall no flesh be justified in his sight: for by the law is the knowledge of sin.21 But now the righteousness of God without the law is manifested, being witnessed by the law and the prophets;22 Even the righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe: for there is no difference:23 For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;24 Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus: Romans 3:28 Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith without the deeds of the law. Romans 4:3 For what saith the scripture? Abraham believed God, and it was counted unto him for righteousness. Romans 4:6 Even as David also describeth the blessedness of the man, unto whom God imputeth righteousness without works,7 Saying, Blessed are they whose iniquities are forgiven, and whose sins are covered. Galatians 3:6 Even as Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness. Galatians 3:8 And the scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the heathen through faith, preached before the gospel unto Abraham, saying, In thee shall all nations be blessed. Hebrews 11:13 These all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off, and were persuaded of them, and embraced them, and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth. These old testament saints were not righteous of themselves but were imputed righteousness through faith in the sacrifices and the promise that God would justify sinners. In this way they greeted Christ from afar for he is the sacrifice pictured in the law and the justification of all men; first to the Jew and then to the Gentile. Romans 3:28 Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith without the deeds of the law.

Romans 3:30 Seeing it is one God, which shall justify the circumcision by faith, and uncircumcision through faith. Romans 4:5 But to him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness. Romans 5:18 Therefore as by the offence of one judgment came upon all men to condemnation; even so by the righteousness of one the free gift came upon all men unto justification of life. The law describes a righteous man Think of the law of Moses as a full description of a man who could please God. No one fit this description who had Adam as his father as we have said before all who had Adam as their father were born into sin. Romans 5:12 Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned: Jesus However had God as his father. In him was no sin nature. He was considered to be the perfect sacrifice therefore, like a lamb without blemish. Innocent and without the stain of sin. Hebrews 4:15 For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin. John 1:29 The next day John seeth Jesus coming unto him, and saith, Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world. 1 Peter 1:19 But with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot: But in order to be declared as the lamb of God he had to live as a man who pleased God. He had to fulfill the law of righteousness. It is only in the law's fulfillment that he can be judged worthy to be its sacrifice. Hebrews 4:15 For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin. Now put it together. First off God gave us a law we could not keep. This law identified all men born of Adam as being by nature corrupt. Second this law described a man who could please God as well as pointing to a sacrifice to justify those who could not please him. Jesus fulfilled God's own standard of righteousness and then laid down his life as a sacrifice for us. It becomes clear that the Law of Moses is a prophecy of Christ.

Our next class is about how we react to this knowledge. Do you see your need of a savior?

Review Questions 1. 2. 3. 4. What were the two main points of this class? How many commandments and ordinances are there in the Mosaic law? What is the difference between the letter and the spirit? What does it mean that the Law was a shadow of good things to come? Discuss this with the class. 5. Can anyone born of Adam keep the law? 6. How were old testament saints called righteous? 7. What does the Law prophesy? 8. What does the phrase Lamb of God mean? 9. How is righteousness imputed? 10. In what way did the Law prophesy Jesus?