The Law, Then and Now

What About Grace?

John B. Metzger

• Publisher: Grace Acres, Inc.
• Year: 2019
• ISBN:
  9781602650572
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Theology & Religion
• Subtopic: Jewish Theology

Many struggle with knowing how, or if, the Law of Moses fits into modern day Christianity. Observance of the Torah, or law keeping, can be controversial. Metzger’s analysis shows that while these laws are complementary rather than contradictory, only one is in force today.

With a detailing of the purposes and provisions of both the Law of Moses and the Law of Christ, the clear message of grace emerges providing hope and help for all. Moving from the conditional Mosaic Covenant to the unconditional New Covenant of Jesus is important to experience the Spirit-filled life of the believer.

1—The Scriptural Setting of the Law of Moses

The Scriptures concerning the Mosaic Covenant constitute the largest part of the whole of Old Testament revelation. The development of the law under Moses begins with Exodus 19 and does not end until Deuteronomy 32, a period that spans approximately 40 years. But that is only one aspect of the law that is contained in the Scriptures.

The Law of Moses was in effect for a much longer time period. After Deuteronomy 32 and the death of Moses, the period of the giving of the law was over. Nevertheless, those laws continue from Deuteronomy 32 through the death of the Messiah Yeshua in the Gospel accounts. This spans approximately 1,440 years, from the death of Moses to the death of the Messiah on the cross.

Thus, the total period of the law reaches from the giving of the law stated in Exodus 19 (1446 BC) to the beginning of the Church in Acts 2 (30 AD). When you put that together, the Law of Moses was valid for roughly 1,475 years, a period that includes the span of the four Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. For those 1,475 years, the law applied exclusively to the Jewish population of the earth and not to Gentiles; it simply was not for Gentiles to begin with. The Messiah came under the law to fulfill the law, which is exactly what He did. Again, the Church did not start until Acts 2, on the Jewish feast day of Shavuot, which we call Pentecost, when the Holy Spirit came and indwelt believers [a manifestation of the New Covenant (Ezek 36:26–27)]. The theological setting of the Gospels is Old Testament law theology and not New Testament grace theology of the Church. Do you understand the significant difference that this makes?

David and Solomon wrote and spoke under the Law of Moses. David revealed the sweet psalmist of Israel, the Messiah, to the Jewish people (2 Samuel 23:1). Solomon wrote words of wisdom to instruct the young how to make godly decisions in life and how to live a good life before God and man using the principles of the law. The prophets challenged Israel to return to the Law of Moses; these prophets’ primary goal as God spoke through them was to get Israel to repent and return unto Him so that He could bless Israel and not have to continue to curse Israel. Then the Gospels record the ministry of the Messiah as He came to fulfill the writings of Moses and the prophets and present the Kingdom to Israel. All of the conflicts between Jesus and the Scribes, Pharisees, Sadducees, and Herodians were over issues concerning the Law of Moses. To be precise, the tension centered on the reinterpretation of the Law of Moses made by the Pharisees, who had been adding thousands of man-made rules for more than four centuries.

With that setting in mind, we will proceed to study the participants, purpose, and provisions of the law so that we can understand what the law was to accomplish; why, when, and how it would end; and how it is not part of the Christian life today — though readers should note that I am not suggesting that Christians have free rein because of the abolition of the Law of Moses. I will also be presenting the Law of Messiah that we are living under today (a fact that most Christians do not understand). First, though, we must understand the Law of Moses.

2—Participants in the Covenant

When examining any covenant with God, it is very important to know who the participants in the covenant are, as well as the other facts (covered in later chapters). The Mosaic Covenant was made between God and Israel, but it is not a unilateral covenant like the Abrahamic Covenant. Rather, it is a bilateral covenant (an agreement between two entities or persons). To understand the ramifications of both terms, it is best to define them up front:

Unilateral covenant: A sovereign act of God whereby He unconditionally obligates Himself to bring to pass specific blessings and conditions for the covenanted people(s). This covenant is characterized by the formula I will, which declares God’s determination to do as He promises.1

Bilateral covenant: A covenant in which a proposal of God to man is characterized by the formula If you will do (blank), then I will…, whereby God promises to grant special blessings to man providing man fulfills certain conditions set out in the covenant. Man’s failure to do so results in punishment.2

Here I examine the Mosaic Covenant, the Law of Moses that was made between God and the people of Israel. Moses acted as Israel’s representative; that is, the law was introduced to Israel by God through His intermediary Moses. This is clearly shown in Exodus 19:3–8:

3 And Moses went up unto God, and the LORD called unto him out of the mountain, saying, thus shall you say to the house of Jacob, and tell the children of Israel; 4 You have seen what I did unto the Egyptians, and how I bare you on eagle’s wings, and brought you unto Myself. 5 Now therefore, if you will obey My voice indeed, and keep My covenants, then you shall be a peculiar treasure unto Me above all people: for all the earth is Mine: 6 And you shall be unto Me a kingdom of priests, and an holy nation. These are the words which you shall speak unto the children of Israel. 7 And Moses came and called for the elders of the people, and laid before their faces all these words which the LORD commanded him. 8 And all the people answered together, and said, all that the LORD has spoken we will do. And Moses returned the words of the people unto the LORD.

Numerous passages spell out the conditional nature of the Mosaic Covenant. For example, in Exodus 15:26, God begins to lay out the conditional nature of this covenant to Israel: And He said, if you will diligently hearken to the voice of the LORD your God, and will do that which is right in His eyes, and will give ear to His commandments, and all His statutes, I will put none of the diseases upon you, which I have put upon the Egyptians: for I am Yahweh [the LORD] that heals you.

Forty years later, in Deuteronomy 28, God lays out the conditional nature of this covenant in clear and unquestionable terms. In verses 1 and 15 you can see that there is no room for misunderstanding the clear words of God: this is a conditional covenant.

1 And it shall come to pass, if you shall hearken diligently unto the voice of the LORD your God, to observe and to do all His commandments which I command you this day, that the LORD your God will set you on high above all nations on the earth.

15 But it shall come to pass, if you will not hearken unto the voice of the LORD your God, to observe and to do all His commandments and His statutes which I command you this day, that all these curses shall come upon you and overtake you.

The first passage, in Exodus, was spoken to the exodus generation (Exodus 19). The next passage, in Deuteronomy, was spoken to the children of that exodus generation, who at that point (40 years later) were poised to enter the Promised Land.

Notice as you read through the whole of the Hebrew Scriptures that the Church is never mentioned, contrary to those theological systems and scholars who want to include the Church in the Mosaic law system by reading it back into the Old Testament. The promises of the Mosaic Covenant, and of the Abrahamic, Land,3 Davidic, and New Covenants, are given exclusively to Jewish people. The only difference is that the Mosaic Covenant is conditional, whereas the others are unconditional in nature. Many Christians today read a New Testament truth back into the Hebrew Scriptures that does not in fact appear in the Hebrew Scriptures, apparently because of their lack of understanding as to who the people of God are. All believers of all ages are the people of God, but God has made specific covenants with the Jewish people that He has not made with the Gentile nations or peoples. This is a foundational truth that must be recognized and understood.

The Church is believers from the nations. The Church is not a nation, nor is it a political force, nor is it an army, nor is it a government to rule over nations, nor is it a system to make the world better (contrary to popular Christian belief). The Body of Messiah is believers — both Jewish and Gentile believers — whose sole purpose is to spread the Gospel4 of Messiah to all the peoples of the earth and to live in obedience to His Word. The Gentile aspect of the Church comes from all Gentile peoples or nations. God did not make any of the covenants just mentioned with anyone other than the Jewish people. The covenants and promises belong exclusively to Israel. This point is further emphasized by the following passages from the Hebrew Scriptures:

7 For what nation is there so great, who has God so near unto them, as the LORD our God is in all things that we call upon him for? 8 And what nation is there so great, that has statutes and judgments so righteous as all this law, which I set before you this day. (Deuteronomy 4:7–8)

19 He showed His word unto Jacob, His statutes and His judgments unto Israel. 20 He hath not dealt so with any nation: and as for His judgments, they have not known them. Praise you the LORD. (Psalms 147:19–20)

4 Remember ye the law of Moses My servant, which I commanded unto him in Horeb for all Israel with the statutes and judgments. (Malachi 4:4)

God, Who is the author of all the Scriptures as well as the author of language, has clearly set up a distinction between Jewish people and the Gentiles. The only participants in this Mosaic Covenant are (1) God and (2) Israel, the Jewish people.

3—The Unity of the Law of Moses

There is a principle that people consistently misunderstand — and they live it out in their Christian lives on a daily basis as it relates to law keeping, whether inside or outside the Messianic community of Jewish believers in Messiah. As you go through your studies of Scripture, observe and note well that God never referred to the Law of Moses as being anything other than the singular Law of Moses.

Within the Law of Moses, there are 613 subunits (laws or rules) that make up the single, unitary Mosaic law. In Christianity, we have divided the Law of Moses up into three components:

1. The moral law— the Ten Commandments

1. Civil or legal law — governmental law, people dealing with people

1. Ceremonial law — relating to the funct...

Table of contents

• Praise for The Law, Then and Now: What About Grace?
• Other Works by This Author
• Dedicated to Lloyd Elias Sealyer
• Preface
• Introduction
• 1—The Scriptural Setting of the Law of Moses
• 2—Participants in the Covenant
• 3—The Unity of the Law of Moses
• 4—The Prologue to the Purpose of the Law of Moses
• 5—Purposes of the Law of Moses
• 6—Provisions of the Mosaic Covenant
• 7—The Law of Moses Rendered Inoperative
• 8—The Letter of the Law or the Spirit of Christ
• 9—Points of Clarification
• 10—Examining the Text of Galatians 6:2
• 11—Examining the Text of 1 Corinthians 9:21: The Law of the Messiah
• 12—Examining the Text of Romans 8:2: Law of the Spirit of Life
• 13—Paticipants in the Law of Messiah
• 14—What is the Law of Messiah?
• 15—The Purpose of the Law of Messiah
• 16—Provisions of the Law of Messiah
• Three Key Concepts of the New Covenant
• 17—The Underlying Principle of Freedom for Believers Under the Law of Messiah
• 18—The Uniqueness of the Law of Messiah
• 19—The Law of Messiah
• 20—The Law of Messiah and Our Sanctification: What Does It Matter?
• Appendix: Imperative Commands
• Endnotes
• Bibliography
• Other Books by John Metzger
• Other Titles from Grace Acres Press