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Master Life
Lesson Thirteen

How Much Of The Law Is Valid Today?

You had better sit down for this. [Oh, you are sitting down. You must have known what I was going to say.] God's standards of righteousness do not change; therefore, the Law has not changed. All the Law is as valid today as when it was first given.

Before you flip out [or pick up stones to stone me], let me say that I will explain myself in a few minutes. For now, let's look at this basic principle:

"Do not speak evil of one another, brethren. He who speaks evil of a brother and judges his brother, speaks evil of the law and judges the law. But if you judge the law, you are not a doer of the law but a judge. There is one Lawgiver, who is able to save and to destroy. Who are you to judge another?" [James 4:11-12, NKJV]

God is the Lawgiver and the Judge. God gave the Law; we are to obey it. If we do away with the Law or judge it as to what does or does not apply to us, then we have placed ourselves above the Law. We have denied our creaturehood and attempted to strike at the very heart of God. This was the first temptation and is the root of every temptation. It is the Satanic declaration: I shall be as God!

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When I become a judge of the Law, in effect, I become a judge of God. To be a judge of God, I must be a god or greater than God. As one whose total obedience is required by his Divine Master, I am unqualified to judge the Law. I cannot say this Law belongs in the Old Testament, but it does not apply to me in New Testament times. Therefore, all the Law must be valid.

"Do not think I have come to destroy the Law or the Prophets. I did not come to destroy but to fulfill." [Matt. 5:17, NKJV]

Look at the phrase: "Do not think that I came to destroy the Law." Did Jesus qualify which Law He was talking about? [Study the context.] No, He was referring to the entire Law. He did not come to destroy any of it. The total Law remains as given.

Applications May Change

Now I can see the questions whirling around in your mind. What about the dietary Laws? What about the sacrifices? What about the Sabbath Laws? What about...what about...?

"It was symbolic for the present time in which both gifts and sacrifices are offered which cannot make him who performed the service perfect in regard to the conscience - concerned only with food and drinks, various washings, and fleshly ordinances imposed until the time of reformation...therefore it was necessary that the copes of the things in the heavens should be purified with these, but the heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices than these. For Christ has not entered the holy place made with hands, which are copies of the true, but into heaven itself, not to appear in the presence of God for us..." [Heb. 9:9-11, 23-24, NKJV]

Is this section of Scripture talking about the entire Law or only parts of it? When taken in context, this Scripture is referring to the ceremonial Laws, the dietary Laws, and possibly [though not directly mentioned] the Sabbath Laws. These Laws were shadows or pictures of the true heavenly things which were brought into effect when Jesus rose from the dead. Does that mean these Laws are invalid now? How can all the Law be valid today if some Laws were only types and shadows? And how can we decide which Laws are which without becoming a judge of the Law?

This brings out a very important point in understanding Biblical Law. The Law is valid and has not changed, but its application sometimes changes. Underline this basic rule: The Law stands as given unless a New Testament principle or teaching gives it a different application.

Please take a look at the circle illustration in the video.

This pictures what I have been saying. All the Old Testament Laws [arrows] continue on into New Testament times. Some of the Laws [like the ceremonial Laws], when they pass through Christ into the New Testament era, are applied differently [changed direction], but they are still there. Now that the reality of what these Laws shadowed has come, the shadow drops away, and we have the real substance.

Now there is a line of reasoning which is the reverse of what I have said. It states: All the Old Testament Laws have passed away except those which are restated in the New Testament [we answered this in an earlier lesson, but will look at it briefly again]. This sounds good, but it is faulty. There are many Old Testament topics that are not repeated in the New Testament, yet God still expects us to obey them. [Of course, you now recognize that this falls back on the "God changed His mind" theory.]

For example:

"Nor shall you mate with any beast, to defile yourself with it. Nor shall any woman stand before a beast to mate with it. It is perversion." [Lev. 18:23, NKJV]

"Whoever lies with a beast shall surely be put to death." [Ex. 2:19, NKJV]

Obviously, since God attached a death penalty to the crime, He views it very seriously. However, the New Testament never mentions the subject. Does that mean that God has changed His mind in the New Testament, and it is now all right to have sex with animals? No thinking Christians would say "Yes," and yet to prove it Scripturally, we have to return to the Old Testament Law. We also have to accept the Old Testament Law as valid, or else there is no point in referring to it.

Let's go back to our basic rule: The Law stands as given unless a New Testament principle gives it a different application. How do we know which Laws apply differently? Aren't we becoming judges of the Law again? No, because of that qualifying clause: a New Testament principle. We are not deciding which Laws apply differently. We accept all Biblical Law as given unless God Himself, through the Bible, makes a different application in the New Testament era. In that case, all I am doing is following through on the true application of the original Law. I should note here that I am talking about cases in which the New Testament states that the Law has CHANGED in application, not simply EXPANDED its application.

Let's take the Sabbath Law as a brief example:

"Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days you shall labour and do all your work, but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord your God. In it you shall do no work: you nor your son, nor your daughter, nor your maidservant, nor your cattle, nor your stranger who is within your gates. For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested the seventh day. Therefore, the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and hallowed it." [Ex. 20:8-11, NKJV]

"Observe the Sabbath day, to keep it holy, as the Lord your God commanded you. Six days you shall labour and do all your work, but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord your God...And remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt, and that the Lord your God brought you out from there by a mighty hand and by an outstretched arm; therefore the Lord your God commanded you to keep the Sabbath day." [Deut. 5:12-15, NKJV]

"And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, Speak also to the children of Israel, saying; 'Surely My Sabbaths you shall keep, for it is a sign between Me and you throughout your generations, that you may know that I am the Lord who sanctifies you. You shall keep the Sabbath, therefore, for it is holy to you. Everyone who profanes it shall surely be put to death; for whoever does any work on it, that person shall be cut off from among his people. Work shall be done for six days, but the seventh is the Sabbath of rest, holy to the Lord. Whoever does any work on the Sabbath, he shall surely be put to death. Therefore, the children of Israel shall keep the Sabbath, to observe the Sabbath through their generations as a perpetual covenant. It is a sign between Me and the children of Israel forever; for in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, and on the seventh day He rested and was refreshed.'" [Ex. 31:12-17, NKJV]

Not only is this an Old Testament law, but it is also one of the summary Laws [Ten Commandments]. Paul, in the New Testament, plainly teaches that neither the literal Sabbath nor its connected death penalty apply in the New Covenant.

"Therefore let no one judge you in food or in drink, or regarding a festival or a new moon or Sabbaths, which are a shadow of things to come, but the substance is of Christ." [Col. 2:16-17, NKJV]

So what are we going to do with this Law [and others like it]? To totally dismiss this Law is to undermine Scripture and lay the foundation for tearing down every Scripture. All the Law is still valid, but this one definitely has a different application.

"But, equally clearly, any law which at one time brought forth a death penalty for violation must involve a principle so basic to man and nature that obviously a hard central core remains in some sense binding in every age." [R.J.Rushdoony]

Paul said this Law was a "shadow of things to come." What things? When we know what this Law shadows, we will be on our way to understanding how to apply it in the New Testament era. Go back and re-read the three selections of verses on the Sabbath and see how you would apply them now.

Let's look at a couple of surface, non-binding applications first. Taking one day a week as a day of rest is good for physical, mental, and spiritual health. Only cultures influenced by Christianity have a weekly day of rest. Taking one day helps to promote family life. Even workaholics would have to spend time with their families.

A special day of rest helps us to remember God is the Giver of all things. No matter how hard we work, if God is not blessing us, we will fail. We have to acknowledge that everything comes from God. It provides time to reflect on the goodness of God.

There are deeper, still-binding applications for us today, though.

A very literal way in which the Sabbath is still binding on us today is that many Biblical environmental Laws would come under this summary Law. [The concept of summary/case Law will be covered in the next lesson.] The New Testament never mentions that environmentally related Laws have different applications. Environmental Laws deal with the resting [but not the worship of - as extreme environmentalists do today] of animals and of the land. All of creation is under God's Law and to be treated according to His Law - no more, no less.

The most important application is that the Sabbath was a shadow or picture of Christ. The Sabbath was to be a day of rest, and in Christ I find perfect rest. Jesus has become my Sabbath. It's not a day anymore, it's a Person!

"There remains therefore a rest for the people of God. For he who has entered His rest has himself also ceased from his works as God did from His. Let us therefore be diligent to enter that rest, lest anyone fall after the same example of disobedience." [Heb. 4:9-11, NKJV]

There is a holy Sabbath for the people of God. There is a rest that we are to partake in Christ. This, by the way, does not mean we are to be inactive, but in our God-ordained activity, we have the peace of Jesus reigning in our lives.

"Come to Me, all you who labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest." [Matt. 12:28, NKJV]

Worry, then, is one way of breaking the Sabbath in New Testament times. When we are worrying, we are not resting in our Lord and Saviour. And doesn't that begin to bring death? It plagues our minds, sapping our confidence in God. It can even cause physical illness. Ungodly fear is another Sabbath-breaker which harms our relationship with God. Striving to keep the Law to be righteous in God's sight is yet another Sabbath-breaker. [Many people who are keeping a literal Sabbath are actual Sabbath-breakers in the New Testament applications, without realizing it.] The list could go on, but I'm sure you get the idea.

Although the Sabbath commandment is given in both Exodus and Deuteronomy, each book emphasizes a different reason for the commandment. In Exodus, it is associated with rest, but in Deuteronomy, it is associated with freedom from slavery.

So another current aspect of Sabbath law is our freedom from sin. It pictures the cross and the resurrection. We need to remember, on occasion, the slavery of sin we were under so as not to take our freedom in Christ for granted. A study of Sabbath Laws would remind us that because we were trapped under the bondage of sin until Christ set us free, we are not to add oppression to others who are still trapped under sin. Instead, we are to be the shining light which Jesus can use to lead them out of bondage as well.

I will give one more example of current-day Sabbath law application. The Sabbath was a picture of life beyond the grave. It reassures us of the eternal Sabbath after our days of work on earth are done. So we rest in anticipation of the Great Rest to come when all the problems and hurts of this life are behind us. It is to give us hope. [Again, I do not mean to imply that life after death is inactive, but that it is perfect rest and peace.]

Did this example help? Do you see how the Law is valid, but in this case, the application has changed? It is not the shadow which is permanent, but the reality which is Christ. We do not become a judge of the Law, nor do we change applications without a specific New Testament teaching or principle telling us to do so.

In the last lesson, we will conclude this Master Life Series with how to understand and apply the Law in today's society.