Expert: Brenda Martin - 6/19/2007

Question
QUESTION: Why is it that when everyone gives reason that the ten commandments no longer apply to mankind that they always overlook the institution of the fourth commandment at creation? If the ten commandments were abolished at the time of Jesus's crucifixtion then why was the fourth commandment instituted at creation? People are so set on getting to Heaven by works they find every excuse to absolve God's law along with the Mosaic laws that wre no longer needed after Jesus's crucifixtion. It just baffles me to no end especially when Jesus himself denounced such beliefs and stated the ten commandments were everlasting. Also the Bible clearly states that the ten commandments are a covenant between God and his people. Having pointed this out how can you and others claim that God's law  not needed anymore was only one no longer needed was the ritualistic Mosaic laws?

ANSWER: Hi there Michael, you said--"THE INSTITUTION OF THE FOURTH COMMANDMENT AT CREATION"

An honest examination shows that the Scriptures do not say that weekly Sabbath observance goes back to Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden. God proceeded to rest as to his works of material, earthly creation after preparing the earth for human habitation. This is stated at Genesis 2:1-3. But nothing in the Bible record says that God directed Adam to keep the seventh day of each week as a Sabbath.

It was not until immediately before giving the Mosaic law covenant at Mr. Sinai, some 2,500 years after the creation of Adam and Eve that God first commanded observance of a weekly Sabbath. According to Exodus, chapter sixteen, God told the Israelites to pick up the miraculously provided manna six days a week but not on the seventh day. —Ex. 16:23.

"PEOPLE GETTING TO HEAVEN BY WORKS, JESUS DENOUNCED SUCH BELIEFS"

Jesus said—“For this is what the love of God means, that we observe his commandments; and yet his commandments are not burdensome..”

Works are a means of demonstrating the genuineness of our faith and our love. But we cannot earn salvation no matter what works we do. Eternal life is a gift from God through Jesus Christ, not payment for our works.—Eph. 2:8, 9.

Jas. 2:17, 18, 21, 22, 26: “Faith, if it does not have works, is dead in itself. Nevertheless, a certain one will say: ‘You have faith, and I have works. Show me your faith apart from the works, and I shall show you my faith by my works.’ Was not Abraham our father declared righteous by works after he had offered up Isaac his son upon the altar? You behold that his faith worked along with his works and by his works his faith was perfected. Indeed, as the body without spirit is dead, so also faith without works is dead.”

Jesus set the example as to what constituted right works. For instance when sending out his twelve apostles and the seventy preachers Jesus instructed them what to say and what to do. He said: “Go, preach, saying, ‘The kingdom of the heavens has drawn near.’”

"THE TEN COMMANDMENTS WERE EVERLASTING".

Well firstly the Law was not given to all humankind. God made a covenant, or an agreement, with the descendants of Jacob, who became the nation of Israel. God gave his laws to this nation ONLY. The Bible makes this clear at Deuteronomy 5:1-3 and Psalm 147:19, 20.

The apostle Paul asked the question: “Why, then, the Law?” Yes, for what purpose did God give his law to Israel? Paul answered: “To make transgressions manifest, UNTIL the seed should arrive to whom the promise had been made . . . Consequently the Law has become our tutor [or, teacher] leading to Christ.” (Galatians 3:19-24)

Jesus Christ, of course, was that promised Savior, even as the angel proclaimed at his birth. (Luke 2:8-14) So when Christ came and gave his perfect life as a sacrifice, what happened to the Law? It was removed. “We are no longer under a tutor,” Paul explained. (Galatians 3:25)  

Concerning the action that God himself took toward the law of Moses, we read: “He kindly forgave us all our trespasses and blotted out the handwritten document against us…and He has taken it out of the way by nailing it to the torture stake.” (Colossians 2:13, 14) So, with the perfect sacrifice of Christ, the Law was brought to an end.

Some persons, however, say that the Law is divided into two parts: The Ten Commandments, and the rest of the laws. The rest of the laws, they say, are what ended, but the Ten Commandments remain. Yet this is not true. In his Sermon on the Mount Jesus quoted from the Ten Commandments as well as other parts of the Law and made no distinction between them. Jesus thus showed that the law of Moses was not divided into two parts.—Matthew 5:21-42

"THE BIBLE CLEARLY STATES THAT THE TEN COMMANDMENTS ARE A COVENANT BETWEEN GOD AND HIS PEOPLE."

Yes, it was a covenant between God & the Nation of Israel—

“Moses proceeded to call all Israel and to say to them: “Hear, O Israel, the regulations and the judicial decisions that I am speaking in your ears today, and you must learn them and be careful to do them. 2 Jehovah our God concluded a covenant with US in Ho´reb. 3 It was not with our forefathers that Jehovah concluded this covenant, but with us, all those of us alive here today. (duet 5;1-3)

A covenant that ended when the new covenant was introduced (Luke 22;20)

"GOD'S LAW IS NOT NEEDED ANYMORE ?"

Since Christians are not under the Ten Commandments, they do not need to observe any laws? Not at all. Jesus introduced a “new covenant,” based on the better sacrifice of his own perfect human life. Christians come under this new covenant and are subject to Christian laws. (Hebrews 8:7-13; Luke 22:20) Many of these laws have been taken from the law of Moses. This is not unexpected or unusual. A similar thing often happens when a new government takes over the rule of a country. The constitution under the old government might be cancelled and replaced, but the new constitution may keep many of the laws of the old one. In a similar way, the Law covenant came to an end, but many of its basic laws and principles were adopted into Christianity.

For instance read the Ten Commandments and compare them with the following Christian laws and teachings:

“It is Jehovah your God you must worship.” (Matthew 4:10 1 Corinthians 10:20-22)

“Guard yourselves from idols.” (1 John 5:21; 1 Corinthians 10:14)

“Our Father in the heavens, let your name be sanctified [not treated in a worthless way].” (Matthew 6:9)

“Children, be obedient to your parents.” (Ephesians 6:1, 2)

And the Bible makes clear that murder, committing adultery, stealing, lying and coveting are also against the laws for Christians.—Revelation 21:8; 1 John 3:15; Hebrews 13:4; 1 Thessalonians 4:3-7; Ephesians 4:25, 28; 1 Corinthians 6:9-11; Luke 12:15; Colossians 3:5.

God’s laws are much needed & they are found in the Christian laws set out by Jesus Christ.

All the best
Brenda






---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: I can't believe that you're saying that the word of God only applies to the Jews as even Christ commanded that the word of God was for all mankind and not just the Jews. I am further appalled that that just because there is no mention of them being commanded to keep the Sabbath that (even though God made it a holy day) that Adam & Eve didn't have any knowledge of or recognized it. The ten commandments are not a part of the "Mosaic Laws" as they were written by ########### in the prescence of Moses and then handed to him to take to the children of Israel. After having come down from the Mt. Moses was angered and smashed the tablets to bits when he found the israelites worshipping the golden calf then had to go back up the mount again so God could then send him again with the ten commandments. So if ########### wrote the 10 commandments and handed them to Moses then how can you call them "Mosaic Laws"? Also If God established the Sabbath at creation then there was obviously was the law of God (the 10 commandments) also present however unspoken as how would there be any distinction of wicked and Godly? The new covenants (Love the Lord thy God with all your heart, mind, and soul  and love thy neighbor as you love thyself) are just a summary of the 10 Commandments. The first of the 2 greatest commandments has to do with our relationship with God just as the first 1/2 of the ten commandments and the 2nd on has to do with our relationship with our fellow mankind just as the 2nd 1/2 of the 10 commandments. I believe it was after Christ's ressurrection that he revealed this to the disciples. So if Christ displayed this after his ressurrection how is it they were "Nailed" to the Cross at his death?
ANSWER: Hi Michael, you asked--"THE WORD OF GOD ONLY APPLIES TO THE JEWS?"

No not at all Michael; as Rev says—“For all the nations will come and worship before you, because your righteous decrees have been made manifest.” (Revelation 15:2-4)

Peter also said—“For a certainty I perceive that God is not partial, but in every nation the man that fears him and works righteousness is acceptable to him.” (Acts 10;34,35)

However THE LAW was not given to all humankind. Jehovah made a covenant, or an agreement, with the descendants of Jacob, who became the nation of Israel. Jehovah gave his laws to this nation only. The Bible makes this clear at Deuteronomy 5:1-3 and Psalm 147:19, 20.

"ADAM & EVE DIDN'T HAVE ANY KNOWLEDGE OF OR RECOGNIZED IT?"

Indicating that the sabbath law was something new, Moses remarked: “It was NOT with our forefathers that Jehovah concluded this covenant. . . . And you must remember that you became a slave in the land of Egypt and Jehovah your God proceeded to bring you out from there with a strong hand and an outstretched arm. That is why Jehovah your God commanded you to carry on the sabbath day.”—Deut. 5:3, 15.

Also the creative days were not literal 24hr days; Genesis 1:3-31 is not discussing the original creation of matter or of the heavenly bodies. It describes the preparation of the already existing earth for human habitation. This included creation of the basic kinds of vegetation, marine life, flying creatures, land animals, and the first human pair. All of this is said to have been done within a period of six “days.”

However, the Hebrew word translated “day” has a variety of meanings, including ‘a long time; the time covering an extraordinary event.’ (Old Testament Word Studies, Grand Rapids, Mich.; 1978, W. Wilson, p. 109) The term used allows for the thought that each “day” could have been thousands of years in length.

The Bible does not specify the length of each of the creative periods. Yet all six of them have ended, it being said with respect to the sixth day (as in the case of each of the preceding five days): “And there came to be evening and there came to be morning, a sixth day.” (Ge 1:31) However, this statement is not made regarding the seventh day, on which God proceeded to rest, indicating that it continued. (Ge 2:1-3)

Also, more than 4,000 years after the seventh day, or God’s rest day, commenced, Paul indicated that it was still in progress. At Hebrews 4:1-11 he referred to the earlier words of David (Ps 95:7, 8, 11) and to Genesis 2:2 and urged: “Let us therefore do our utmost to enter into that rest.” By the apostle’s time, the seventh day had been continuing for thousands of years and had not yet ended.

"THE TEN COMMANDMENTS ARE NOT A PART OF THE "MOSAIC LAWS"

Did Jesus refer to the Law in a manner that indicated division of it into two parts?

Matt. 5:17, 21, 23, 27, 31, 38: “Do not think I came to destroy the Law or the Prophets. I came, not to destroy, but to fulfill.” Now, notice what Jesus included in his further comments. “You heard that it was said to those of ancient times, ‘You must not murder [Ex. 20:13; the SIXTH Commandment]’ . . . If, then, you are bringing your gift to the altar [Deut. 16:16, 17; NO PART of the Ten Commandments] . . . You heard that it was said, ‘You must not commit adultery [Ex. 20:14; the SEVENTH Commandment].’ Moreover it was said, ‘Whoever divorces his wife, let him give her a certificate of divorce [Deut. 24:1; NO PART of the Ten Commandments].’ You heard that it was said, ‘Eye for eye and tooth for tooth [Ex. 21:23-25; NO PART of the Ten Commandments].’”

So, Jesus mixed together references to the Ten Commandments and other parts of the Law, making no distinction between them. Should we treat them differently?

When Jesus was asked, “Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?” did he isolate the Ten Commandments? Instead, he replied: “‘You must love Jehovah your God with your whole heart and with your whole soul and with your whole mind.’ This is the greatest and first commandment. The second, like it, is this, ‘You must love your neighbor as yourself.’ On these two commandments the whole Law hangs, and the Prophets.” (Matt. 22:35-40)

If some cling to the Ten Commandments (Deut. 5:6-21), saying that they are binding on Christians but that the rest are not, are they not actually rejecting what Jesus said (quoting Deut. 6:5; Lev. 19:18) as to which commandments are the greatest?

"GOD WROTE THE 10 COMMANDMENTS AND HANDED THEM TO MOSES, HOW CAN YOU CALL THEM "MOSAIC LAWS"?"

There is no justification in the Scriptures for separating the Ten Commandments from the rest of the law covenant and claiming that it was not brought to an end by Jesus but is binding upon Christians. The apostle Paul wrote at great length about the law covenant and how it was brought to an end, but not one word was said about the Ten Commandments as being a separate moral law that is eternally binding and the rest of the Law being a ceremonial law that ended.

At Romans 7:6 he speaks about Christians being “discharged from the Law,” and in the next verse he refers to the tenth commandment without giving any indication that he considered it to be a separate law. Then in the thirteenth chapter of Romans he mentions several commandments in the Decalogue and points out that they are all fulfilled by the new commandment that Jesus gave to “love one another.”—Rom. 13:9, 10; John 13:34; Matt. 22:39, 40.

"BEFORE THE 10 COMMANDMENTS WERE GIVEN TO MOSES, HOW WOULD THERE BE ANY DISTINCTION OF WICKED AND GODLY?"

Our first parents, Adam and Eve, were perfect, so that only a few laws were needed to guide them. Love for their heavenly Father should have given them ample reason to obey gladly. But they disobeyed. (Genesis 1:26-28; 2:15-17; 3:6-19)

As a result, their offspring were sinful creatures who needed many more laws to provide direction. Over time, Jehovah lovingly filled this need. He gave Noah specific laws that he was to pass on to his family. (Genesis 9:1-7)

Centuries later, through Moses, God gave the new nation of Israel a detailed, written Law code. This was the first time that Jehovah governed an entire nation by divine law. Examining that Law will help us to understand the vital role that divine law plays in the lives of Christians today.

"THE NEW COVENANT VERSUS THE 10 COMMANDMENTS."

To Hebrew Christians the apostle Paul wrote: “The Law has a shadow of the good things to come, but not the very substance of the things.” (Hebrews 10:1) If you had been a Hebrew convert to Christianity, how would you have understood these comments? Some members of the early Christian congregation believed that all the hundreds of laws that God gave through Moses, including the Ten Commandments, still applied. But was that the right viewpoint?

Consider these words of Paul to Jews who had become Christians in the province of Galatia: “We who are Jews by nature, and not sinners from the nations, knowing as we do that a man is declared righteous, not due to works of law, but only through faith toward Christ Jesus, even we have put our faith in Christ Jesus, that we may be declared righteous due to faith toward Christ, and not due to works of law, because due to works of law no flesh will be declared righteous.” (Galatians 2:15, 16)

Indeed, a righteous standing with God did not depend on perfect obedience to the Mosaic Law, for in the imperfect human state, that was impossible. Paul added: “All those who depend upon works of law are under a curse; for it is written: ‘Cursed is every one that does not continue in all the things written in the scroll of the Law in order to do them.’ . . . Christ by purchase released us from the curse of the Law by becoming a curse instead of us.”—Galatians 3:10-13.

If Jesus’ Jewish followers were no longer under the curse of the Law, were any Christians obligated to observe all the commandments given to Israel? To the Colossians, Paul wrote: “[God] kindly forgave us all our trespasses and blotted out the handwritten document against us, which consisted of decrees and which was in opposition to us; and He has taken it out of the way by nailing it to [Christ’s] torture stake.” (Colossians 2:13, 14)

Doubtless, many early Christians needed to adjust their thinking and recognize that they had been “discharged from the Law.” (Romans 7:6) By exercising faith in Jesus’ sacrificial death, which brought an end to the Law and paved the way for the inauguration of the foretold “new covenant,” they had the prospect of gaining a righteous standing with Jehovah.—Jeremiah 31:31-34; Romans 10:4.

"CHRIST DISPLAYED THIS AFTER HIS RESURRECTION HOW IS IT THEY WERE "NAILED" TO THE CROSS AT HIS DEATH?"

One could not say that the Law ended with Jesus’ death. During the 40 days after Jesus was resurrected to spirit life but remained at the earth, his disciples were still keeping the Law. Moreover, an important feature of the Law was the high priest’s going into the Most Holy once each year. That pictured Jesus’ resurrection to the heavens. There, in the presence of God, he, as Mediator of the new covenant, could present the value of his ransom sacrifice. (Hebrews 9:23, 24) This opened the way for a new covenant to be inaugurated in fulfillment of Jeremiah 31:31-34.

The new covenant went into effect when Jehovah acted upon his acceptance of the ransom sacrifice. He poured out his holy spirit upon the faithful disciples of Jesus to bring into existence a new nation, spiritual Israel, composed of those in the covenant for the Kingdom. (Luke 22:29; Acts 2:1-4) This showed that God had canceled the Law covenant, figuratively nailing it to the stake on which Jesus had died. So the Law covenant ended when the operation, or inauguration, of the new covenant took place at the birth of the new nation, spiritual Israel, at Pentecost 33 C.E.—Hebrews 7:12; 8:1, 2.

It took time for even some anointed Jewish Christians to adjust to the fact that after 33 C.E. it was not necessary to keep the Law; we can see this from the question brought to the governing body in 49 C.E. (Acts 15:1, 2) The complete abandonment of the Law was proved undeniably in 70 C.E., when the temple and genealogical records related to the Law vanished, destroyed by the Romans.—Matthew 23:38.

All the best
Brenda


---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Christ said that the word and law of God are eternal so my further question is where does it say that God's law (the 10 commandments) no longer apply to us? If the ten commandments were so trivial then why would Christ say that that the word of God is everlasting? And let us remember that ########### wrote the ten commandments and if his word is everlasting then how much more can his word be if he himself wrote it?

Answer
Hi there, you asked--"WHERE DOES IT SAY THAT GOD'S LAW (THE 10 COMMANDMENTS) NO LONGER APPLY TO US?"

GALATIANS 3.V.13—“ Christ by purchase released us from the curse of the Law by becoming a curse instead of us”

GALATIANS 3 V.19—“Why, then, the Law? It was added to make transgressions manifest, UNTIL the seed should arrive …”

V.24,25-- “the Law has become our tutor leading to Christ.. we are no longer under a tutor.”

Galatians 5.v.18--“You are being led by spirit, You are not under law”.
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Romans 6.v.14-“You are not under law but under undeserved kindness”.

ROM. 7:6, 7: “we have been discharged from the Law..”

ROMANS 10 V.4—“Christ is the end of the Law..”
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Hebrews 10.v.1—“The Law has a shadow of the good things to come, but not the very substance of the things..”

Ephesians 2;15—“By means of his (Jesus) flesh he abolished the enmity, the Law of commandments consisting in decrees..”

Colossians 2; 13,14—“God..blotted out the handwritten document against us, which consisted of decrees and which was in opposition to us; and He has taken it out of the way by nailing it to the torture stake”.

2 COR. 3:7-11: “If the code which administers death and which was engraved in letters in stones came about in a glory…a glory that was to be done away with.. that which was to be done away with was brought in with glory..”

I will let you get a chance to check these out before I add any more.
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"WHY WOULD CHRIST SAY THAT THAT THE WORD OF GOD IS EVERLASTING?"

Because it is;-- To illustrate, back in 1912 the outdoor high-jump world record was 6 feet 7 inches [2.01 m]. Seventy-five years later, in 1987, the record was 7 feet 11 1/2 inches [2.43 m]. There must, however, be an ultimate limit to how high a human can jump over a bar supported by two posts. The champion who reaches this limit will end all high-jump world records. He could also be said to be “the end” of them.

Likewise When God formed “the Law,” which embraced the Ten Commandments together with over 600 other laws and statutes, and gave it to the Israelites, he set the ultimate goal or standard of perfection. He put the bar at the highest level, so to speak. This divine Law was of such a high standard of morality that only a perfect human could reach it. Ecclesiastes 7:20 says: “There is no man righteous in the earth that keeps doing good and does not sin.”

So the bar—God’s righteous standard—was put too high for the imperfect Israelites, or Jews. Why? The Christian apostle Paul explains: “It [the Law] was added to make transgressions manifest, until the seed [Messiah, or Christ] should arrive to whom the promise had been made.” (Galatians 3:19) By the Law, God showed the Jews that they were all imperfect transgressors, unable to reach the goal of being declared righteous because of their own works.

There was only one who could pass over that bar: the coming promised Messiah, or Christ. Therefore, that high standard was put before the Jews as something to aim at while looking forward to the final Champion, the Messiah, to pass over it once and for all.

Nevertheless, a study of the Law with its Ten Words is essential for Christians, for it reveals God’s viewpoint of matters, and it had “a shadow of the good things to come,” of the reality that belongs to the Christ. (Heb 10:1; Col 2:17; Ga 6:2) Christians are “not without law toward God but under law toward Christ.” (1Co 9:21) But they are not condemned as sinners by that law, for the undeserved kindness of God through Christ provides forgiveness for their errors due to fleshly weakness.—Ro 3:23, 24.

Those divine laws had great value. Did you know, though, that anointed Christians possess something far more valuable than laws written on stone? Jehovah foretold the making of a new covenant unlike the Law covenant made with the nation of Israel. “I will put my law within them, and in their heart I shall write it.” (Jeremiah 31:31-34) Jesus, the Mediator of the new covenant, did not personally impart a written code of law to his followers. He sounded down Jehovah’s law into the minds and hearts of his disciples by the things he said and did.

This law is called “the law of the Christ.” It was first given, not to the nation of natural Israel, who were the descendants of Jacob, but to a spiritual nation, “the Israel of God.” (Galatians 6:2, 16; Romans 2:28, 29)

I look forward to hearing your thoughts.

Brenda