The Law of God

Broadcaster

The Law, Part Four

by John David Clark, Sr. - June, 1990

To Moses and the others under the first testament, the Law was one undivided Law. But within the Law which God gave to Moses on Mount Sinai were three types of law: Moral, Civil, and Ceremonial. It is important to your faith to know how the sacrificial death of Jesus affected each one of these three kinds of law. The principle charge against the martyr Stephen was that " we have heard him say...Jesus of Nazareth...shall change the customs which Moses delivered..." (Acts 6:14). Likewise with Paul. The elder, James, said to Paul that the saints in Judea had been "informed of thee, that thou teachest all the Jews which are among the Gentiles to forsake Moses, saying that they ought not to circumcise their children, neither to walk after the customs" (Acts 21:21). These serious charges against Stephen and Paul contained a germ of truth, but if the whole truth could have been told concerning the "changing of the customs", Jewish wrath against these two humble and obedient servants of God would have been assuaged. And when the whole truth is told now, much of the gentile contempt for the Law is eradicated. So, let's study these three kinds of law within the Law of Moses, and gain a clearer perspective on Jesus's work, and how his work affected the moral, civil, and ceremonial laws of God.

TIME ZONES

In order to understand the work of Christ, in relationship to the Law of Moses, one must understand that there are what I call "time zones" in the Bible. By "time zones" I mean periods of time in which God dealt with man in clearly different ways. Fundamentally, there are but three "time zones" in the Bible. And they are simple to see:

1)Before the Law (From Adam to Moses)
2)During the Law (From Moses to Christ)
3)After the Law (The reign of Christ)

Paul refers to the time from Adam until Moses as a time when the Creator dealt with man differently from the way He dealt with man after the Law was given (Rom.5:13-14). From Adam to Moses, then, is the first "time zone." The second time zone is from Moses until the outpouring of the Spirit in Acts, chapter two. And the third time zone is from that outpouring to the end of this age. There will be no more changes or additions. Jesus is Lord.

With these three "time zones" in mind, we may now see how each of the three kinds of laws were affected by the change from one time zone to another. How can we do this? Simply by reading the Bible and paying attention to what is there. What did God command concerning moral behavior before the Law was given? during the Law? and after? Or how were the ceremonial laws and civil laws affected by the passage of time? We'll set up a chart and study each kind of law, as we see it in the Bible in each separate time, beginning with MORAL laws of God.

Reverence for Parents

1) Before the Law - Gen. 9:18-27
2) During the Law - Lev. 19:3
3) After the Law - Eph. 6:1

What we notice about the moral laws of God from the beginning of the Bible to the end is that they are always the same. Before the Law, God cursed Canaan for showing disrespect to his father, Noah (Gen.9:18-27). During the "time zone" of the Law, God insisted that mothers and fathers be honored (Lev.19:3). After the Law, the apostle Paul teaches the saints that honoring one's parents in the Lord remains the will of God (Eph. 6:1). God's requirement for moral uprightness is neither diminished nor altered at any time in human history. Throughout the Bible's "time zones", the will of God concerning the moral conduct of men is unchanged. Here are some other examples of the will of God concerning the moral conduct of men.

Whether before, during, or after the Law of Moses, you will find that the moral commandments of the Creator are fixed. God is holy, and and His will for mankind, as concerns moral purity, has never changed. As His creatures, we are to be holy as he is holy (Gen.17:1; Lev.19:2; Mt.5:48; 1Pet.1:15-16). The warnings of damnation for moral impurity are stern, wherever you read in the Holy Book.

We must address the issue of accountability. What will be the result, in the final judgment, for those who are immoral in this life? The Bible never wavers in its declaration that the wages of sin is death. Whether it be Job before the Law (Job 24:13-25), Ezekiel during the Law (Ezek.18:4), or the apostle Paul after the Law (Rom.6:23), the message is the same: the wages of sin is death.

Some in Israel held that the wages of sin is not death because of who they were (Jer.7:1-11). According to their doctrine, even if God's children do evil, He doesn't see them as being evil--because they are His. Such teachers denied the reality of the righteous judgment of God against all unrighteousness. They did not believe that God is a God of judgment. Listen to Malachi (2:17):

Ye have wearied the Lord with your words [doctrine]. Yet ye say, "wherein have we wearied him?" When ye say, "Every one that doeth evil is good in the sight of the Lord, and he delighteth in them", or, "Where is the God of judgment?"

This is no strange thing, this doctrine which suggests that God will not condemn the ungodly. Despite the Bible's emphatic and repeated assertion that God will "not at all acquit the wicked" (Nahum 1:3), some still strive to make sin seem not so bad in the sight of God. Some foolishly teach that the blood of Jesus hides our sin from God, so that even though we have to keep sinning, "God can't see through the blood." What blasphemous nonsense. The blood of Christ, the holy Ghost, cleanses us from sin. It doesn't blindfold the Almighty!

To consider the effect which the change from old covenant time to new covenant time had upon the moral commandments of God is sobering. Instead of becoming less worthy of death for disobedience, the new covenant believer becomes more worthy. In other words, a disobedient, immoral believer in Jesus will receive a greater damnation in the judgment than will a disobedient, immoral person who lived during the time of the Law (see comment on Heb. 10:28-29 in April's BROADCASTER). Jesus said, "for unto whomsoever much is given, of him shall be much required" (Lk.12:48). We who are blessed to live in this time zone of grace will be held more accountable for our actions than any people who have ever lived on the face of the earth, including even Adam and Eve. We have the Bible to help us understand the work of God in human history, and we have the Holy Ghost to give us the desire, wisdom, and power to do the will of God. Whatever excuse for sin and ignorance of the divine will which people may have had in other time zones has been completely taken away by the incomparable work of Jesus of Nazareth. God has now "given us all things that pertain to life and godliness."

In short, if you transgress the moral commandments of God, you will most certainly be cast into the lake of fire. Period.