The Law: Then and Now

When we consider the present day mindset of most denominational churches, one wonders where they get their information and from what. This is particularly true about their view on the Law. They claim that the Law was done away with at the Cross and that we are now under Grace, but I wonder if they ever really read and study the Bible, for Jesus Himself tells us in Matt. 5:17-18 “Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets; I am not come to destroy, but to fulfill. For verily I say unto you, till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no way pass from the law, till all be fulfilled.”

Now since heaven and earth are still with us today, I cannot really comprehend that they cannot see for themselves that therefore the law must also be still in existence and valid. Furthermore Jesus goes on to say in verse 19 of Matthew “Whosoever, therefore shall break one of these least commandments, and teach men so, he shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven.”

Now I am not saying that we will be saved by keeping the Law, for St. Paul tells us in Eph. 2:8 “for by grace are ye saved through faith, and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God”; and in Rom 5:3 it states “Abraham believed God, and it was counted unto him for righteousness”.

Now Abraham was born long before God gave Moses the Law for Israel, so, you may ask, “How did Abraham know about the Law of God? Well. according to the Book of Jasher 9: 5-6 we read that Abram was in the House of Noah and Shem for thirty-nine years and there learned all the ways and statutes of the Lord, and that he (Abraham) walked in the Lord’s way all his days until he died. So Abraham had faith in God, and therefore kept God’s Law and Statutes, as taught to him by Shem and Noah, and thus was counted righteous before God. Thus, you can see that willing to keep and follow God’s way is the result of having faith in God.

Abraham’s grandson, Jacob, our progenitor, was sent by his father Isaac to the House of Shem and Eber to learn the ways of the Lord. This was before Jacob went to Laban for Leah and Rachel, and Jacob lived for thirty-two years with Shem and Eber and learned the ways of the Lord.

We can see by this that both Abraham and Jacob were instructed by some the people that in those days were in close harmony with God, for according to the Book of Jasher and some other writings, Shem was also known as Melchizedek, the priest of the most high God. (Gen. 14:18). It stands to reason that Jacob-Israel also taught the ways of the Lord and His Laws to His sons and their families.

Now we come to the point where the twelve tribes are molded into a nation after the Exodus and bondage in Egypt. This took place at Mt. Sinai. Here the children of Israel were given the Law and Statutes by which they were to live as a nation. This is also the first time that they were given a written law. We can compare these to the civil laws that we have in our own countries today, rules and regulations to live by for the benefit and good of all the people. When we break these laws of the land we will soon find ourselves in trouble with the authorities and possibly find ourselves in front of a judge. The same held true for Israel of old, except that the judge in their case was none other that the Lord God Almighty.

Now, God knew right from the very beginning that this would be the case, so He promised an Advocate or Redeemer way back in the Garden of Eden. Read Gen. 3:15. And then after a divorce, banishment and dispersion, after approximately fourteen hundred years from becoming a nation, God finally sent that promised Redeemer, in the form of His only begotten Son, Jesus Christ. Jesus, in His earthly ministry did not at any time indicate that there would be changes in the Law. In fact He elaborated on the Law and taught it.

We should never forget that when Christ and His disciples walked and taught in Palestine before the crucifixion all of them, including Christ, still lived under the Mosaic Law and they were also bound by the old religious system of those days. Remember that Jesus was circumcised according to the Law. In Luke 2: 21-23 we read as follows “And when eight days were accomplished for the circumcising of the child, his name was called JESUS, who was so named by the angel before he was conceived in the womb, and when the days of her purification according to the Law of Moses were accomplished, they brought him to Jerusalem, to present him to the Lord; (As it is written in the Law of the Lord, every male that openeth the womb shall be called holy to the Lord;)”.

We also know from the four gospels that Jesus observed the Sabbaths and the Feasts, including Passover. So we can see that Jesus followed the Law to the letter, not the Pharasaic law, but God’s Law and Commandments.

Now, some of the Mosaic Laws and Statutes pertained to the sacrifices for the atonement of sin and also sacrifices for thanksgiving offerings. All of these sacrifices consisted of animals, either a bullock or young bull, a young goat, or a lamb and in some cases a pair of doves. But when Jesus Christ was crucified on the Cross of Calvary all of those sacrificial requirements came to an end, and that included the Feasts that were associated with these sacrifices.

The Jews still hold to all of these feasts, but then they never accepted Jesus Christ as the promised Saviour and Redeemer. Surprisingly, there are several groups within the Identity movement that insist on celebrating the Old Covenant Feasts as well

When Jesus, together with His disciples celebrated the last Passover just prior to His sacrificial death on the Cross, told His disciples to take the bread, and after having blessed it, to eat it for it was His body. Likewise He took the cup, gave thanks and told them, “It is my blood of the new covenant, which is shed for many, for the remission of sins.” Read Mt. 26:19, Mk. 14:24, Lk. 22:7.

Christ was the ultimate sacrifice. He was the Lamb of God, perfect in all things. His blood paid the price for all. Therefore, if we would keep the Feasts as commanded in the Old Testament we are in essence saying that His death on the cross was and is not enough. The Sacrificial Feasts and sin offerings were forever banished at the cross, but all the other Laws and Statutes of God still stand today.

Under the New Covenant in Christ’s blood, when we believe in Him and are baptized in His name “we are saved by grace through faith, and that not of our selves, it is the gift of God”. Eph. 2:8.

We don’t hold the Passover Feast anymore, but we celebrate the Lord’s Supper as instituted by Christ Himself, at the last Passover, as stated in the Gospels of Matthew, Mark and Luke (three witnesses). Instead, we also commemorate His death on the Cross on Good Friday and we celebrate His Resurrection on Easter morning. Thus we rejoice in a Risen Saviour, who has forever set us free, as St. Paul tells us in Gal. 5:1, “Stand fast therefore in the liberty with which Christ has made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage.

“HALLELUJAH,
WHAT A SAVIOUR!”