The Law, Then and Now: What About Grace?

Praise for The Law, Then and Now: What About Grace?

How should modern-day believers—Jewish or non-Jewish—relate to the Law of Moses? This is the question John Metzger attempts to answer in this well-written and interesting book. Solidly based in Scripture, both Old and New Testaments, he attempts to show us how we stand regarding the Mosaic law, and how we can fulfill the Law of Messiah (Galatians 6:2). This book nicely fills a lacuna in the literature on this specific question. I like Metzger’s practical answers, and I suspect you will too.

David L. Allen, Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary

Dean, School of Preaching and Distinguished Professor of Preaching

George W. Truett Chair of Ministry

In a Messianic world that is becoming increasingly inundated with the false message of the Hebrew Roots Movement and efforts to entrap people in the concept that we (Jewish and Gentile believers) are obligated to live under some aspect of the post-Yavneh Rabbinic milieu, it is refreshing to know that there is a voice of reason out there. John Metzger’s examination of the conditional Mosaic Covenant and the UNCONDITIONAL New Covenant of Jesus is such a voice of reason.

Dr. Amy Downey, Director of Tzedakah Ministries

I’ve been following my friend John Metzger’s ministry for many years. He is a premier Bible teacher whose thinking is firmly grounded in the Scriptures. In particular, I appreciate his unique way of analyzing complex topics and making them easy to understand. In this important book, that’s what he has done with the controversial topic of Torah observance or Law-keeping. He masterfully and patiently explains that there are two Torahs (i.e., two sets of Laws or Instructions) in the Bible. These two laws are complementary rather than contradictory, but one of them has been broken and is therefore no longer in force as binding law, whereas the other one remains fully applicable to all believers, whether Jewish or non-Jewish. The lists throughout the book and the extensive appendices near the end are especially useful. Believers in Yeshua (Jesus) from all denominational and nondenominational backgrounds will greatly benefit from reading this illuminating book.

Dr. Gary Hedrick, President of CJF Ministries

For all who struggle to know how, or if, the Law of Moses fits into living the Christian life, this book is written for you. For all those asking If the Law of Moses is not the standard and guide for how believers should live today, what is?, this book is especially written for you. While explaining the purposes and the provisions of both the Law of Moses and the Law of Messiah, this book gives a clear and biblical and free grace understanding that believers are under the Law of Messiah today. John Metzger carefully explains how the Law of Messiah (basically the divinely inspired apostolic teaching recorded in the New Testament) gives believers guiding principles and specific instructions for victorious Christian living. Instruction is combined with practical application to help you as you seek to live the victorious Christian life. It is refreshing to read a book written about this topic that is thoroughly grounded not only in truth, but also in grace. Many believers are far from the abundant life that Christ talked about and wants all who believe on Him to experience, for many live shallow Christian lives filled with despair and discouragement. This book describes the liberating and empowering work of the Holy Spirit in the life of the believer who seeks to walk in the truths contained in the Law of Messiah. I highly recommend this book to those who desire to grow in the grace and knowledge of our Savior the Lord Jesus Christ.

Pastor James D. Preslar, Grace Bible Church, Charlotte, NC

For more than 30 years it’s been my privilege to be part of the Messianic Jewish movement of believers in Messiah Jesus, with 17 of those years spent in leadership of a Messianic congregation in a heavily Jewish suburb of New York City. While our congregation was very Jewish in its culture, we also fully embraced Grace. At the same time, it was easy to see that in many corners of the Messianic movement there was confusion over a central question: Are believers in Messiah obligated to keep Mosaic law? In my circles of Grace-embracing Jewish believers in Messiah Jesus, I have heard much discussion over whether the Law of Messiah is something that can be enumerated and written out, or if it is simply a phrase that reflects a heart that is yielded to the Lord, a heart of flesh on which God has written. However, about the Law of Moses there should be no such question, for the Scripture that instructs New Covenant believers tells us with complete certainty that we are no longer under Mosaic law, but are under Grace. So, why is there still confusion? In most cases the cause for uncertainty is unwillingness or failure to see the context in which Scripture is given. That is where John Metzger’s book will be so helpful to sincere Bible students. His treatment of the Law of Moses is masterful; I highly recommend it as a guidebook to fully embracing the freedom for which Messiah has set us free.

Messianic Rabbi Mottel Baleston, Messengers Messianic Outreach, NJ

Other Works by This Author

The Tri-Unity of God Is Jewish

Discovering the Mystery of the Unity of God

God in Eclipse: God Has Not Always Been Silent

God in Eclipse [Russian Translation]

Israel’s Only Hope: The New Covenant

Poking God’s Eye: A Theological and Historical View of Anti-Semitism Based on the Blessings and Curses of Genesis 12:3

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Dedicated to Lloyd Elias Sealyer

Lloyd is my brother in Messiah Yeshua. I am a Gentile and he is of the seed of Abraham. He is my friend and spiritual leader at our Messianic congregation that the LORD led him to develop, called The Seed of Abraham Messianic Congregation and located in Lititz, PA.

Lloyd was born in Brooklyn, New York, and as he says, I was circumcised and had a Bar Mitzvah according to the laws and traditions of our people [Israel]. He remembers worshipping and attending Sabbath school in the synagogue every Sabbath. He also stated that although he read the Hebrew Scriptures and regularly did his morning and evening prayers, he never had inner peace and assurance, nor did I know anyone who did.

He married a Jewish girl by the name of Judith, and they have spent 59 years together. He refers to himself and Judith as transplants from Brooklyn who settled in Ronks, PA, in the Pennsylvania Dutch country in the spring of 1969. It was there in Ronks that he developed the Cherry Lane Motor Inn.

It was also there that, through the witness of a chiropractor, he was confronted with the claims of Christ — and Lloyd’s response was, I couldn’t believe it! This guy must be nuts! Can you imagine asking me, someone who is Jewish, if I ever gave adult consideration to the claims of Christ on my life? Because of Jesus, my people were persecuted, suffered, and died. He [Christ] could never be the long-awaited Messiah! However, because of that question Lloyd began reading his Tanakh [Jewish Old Testament] incessantly, fall asleep, wake up and read again.

In 1971, both he and Judith called on the name of the LORD for salvation in Messiah Yeshua. As a believer, Lloyd has stated: I was born a Jew and I will die a Jew, but I have found the Messiah promised to us in the Old Testament and He is Jesus Christ [Yeshua ha Moshiach]. Lloyd became a believer in Messiah Yeshua after 35 years as a devout Jew, studying the Talmud and practicing its law. With that same energy Lloyd also felt the call of his Messiah to share his faith in the Jewish Messiah with the Jewish community in Lancaster, Pennsylvania.

He began a ministry called Beth Emmanuel Mission to reach out to the Jewish population, which raised hackles in the Jewish community. One of those groups was Jews for Judaism, who were very offended by this new ministry in Lancaster

targeting Jewish people. They tried to intimidate Lloyd with threatening calls, but to no avail. I remember attending a meeting with him at the Jewish Community Center in Lancaster that hosted an antimissionary to challenge the Jewish community not to be persuaded by these Jewish believers in Jesus Christ. When Lloyd walked in, you could have cut the air with a knife. The tension was very apparent, as was the animosity against Lloyd and all believers in Christ who were present.

Later, in 1993, Lloyd began the Messianic congregation called Seed of Abraham in Lititz. He never got caught up in the erroneous teaching in Messianic circles of Torah observance, because —being Jewish and loving his Jewish heritage — it has been more important to him to be like his Messiah, Jesus Christ. When asked what to call him, he very clearly stated not to call him a Messianic rabbi, but to call him pastor and refer to him as the spiritual leader. I appreciate Lloyd’s heart, as he has always encouraged us in Jewish ministry never to take the applause of others but always to give the praise and credit to our LORD. His sensitive heart to his flock is always seen in his words and actions. He is a student of Scripture and his desire to be a witness to the Jewish community of Lancaster has not abated. He and Judith have also been self-sacrificing financially in serving his LORD without adequate compensation for his labors, often having to dip into savings and retirement funds to live month to mouth. Now, as Lloyd approaches his 82nd year, he is still very active, yet slowing down a bit. I am sure he will one day receive those coveted words from his LORD and Messiah: Well done, thou good and faithful servant.

Lloyd, thank you for being an example of the believers in Messiah Yeshua. May He give you and Judith continued strength and wisdom in your sunset years of this life. I know you eagerly anticipate the rapture of the body of Messiah. But even in the reality that physical death could come first, you are anticipating the fulfillments of your Messiah, the Son of David, and your King who inaugurated the New Covenant with the circumcision of Jewish and Gentile hearts. He will fulfill for you and all other believing sons and daughters of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob the Abrahamic Covenant in the Land, with Messiah Himself sitting on the throne of David because of the reality of the New Covenant, our regeneration and our circumcised heart by the blood of Messiah on the tree at Calvary.

With love and a life well lived, your Gentile friend,

John B. Metzger

Missionary/Educator with Ariel Ministries

Contents

Dedication

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 Mosiac 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

12-Examining the Text of Romans 8:2

13-Participants in the Law of Messiah

14-What Is the Law of Messiah?

15-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-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

Preface

My habit has been to write on subjects that are rarely (if ever) talked about, studied, or taught to our families or local churches. Almost every Christian in our sphere of reference is aware of the Mosaic law, whether that term is taken to refer to the Ten Commandments (also called the Decalogue) or the other 603 laws of Moses. What do we, as Christians, do with the Law of Moses? What do Jewish believers in Messiah do with the Law of Moses? How are we to relate to the Law of Moses in the present Church age? Do we obey the Mosaic law system? Do we observe parts of the Mosaic law? Do we relate to the Law of Moses at all?

There is an enormous amount of confusion in the lives of both Jewish and Gentile believers regarding our response to the Law of Moses. Christians, who are members of the body of Christ [Messiah], whether on an individual level, family level, or a church or Messianic congregational level: what do we do with the law? There is a biblical answer, but many people have been so programmed by parents, or their local church, or a Messianic synagogue or other religious body that they cannot accept a biblical answer. This is mainly because the biblical answer is so liberating and freeing that most of these people fear that, without the law, [to them] license to sin enters into the picture. This could not be more mistaken. Nowhere in the Scriptures does God issue a license to sin for Christians. The Scriptures teach that both Jewish and Gentile believers have been set apart for holy use by God: He has justified and sanctified us, not for the purpose of allowing us to sin and/or live for self, but to achieve God’s purpose of conforming us to the image of His Son. So, how does our understanding of His law fit into our daily lives? Within the Messianic movement, the Law of Moses has become an intrinsic part of the belief system in Jesus Christ [Messiah], and for them it is inseparable from their Jewishness.

Even though in this book I am dealing with theology, I am writing for the average person. I am not going to bury you with scholarly theology, but instead help you to understand practical theology. In this book I hope to bring you to an understanding of the purposes and provisions of the Mosaic law and understand the God-intended purpose of it. What we need to understand is that God does not leave us in a lawless vacuum, because every member of the body of Christ [Messiah] is under a law. We further must understand what law we are under. One side teaches that the New Covenant is an extension or continuation of the Mosaic law, whereas the other states that Mosaic law has ended because of the outworking of the New Covenant into another law. This new law is called by three names in the writings of Paul: The Law of Christ [Messiah], the Law to Christ [Messiah] and the Law of the Spirit of Life.

You Gentiles who are walking in grace, do you comprehend the idea that you could still be under a law, the Law of Messiah? There is a two-pronged question for you to consider: If so, what is the Law of Messiah; and can I be living in grace and yet be under any law? For Jewish believers who abide under the Mosaic law, is it possible that there could be a different law than the Mosaic system? Or do you believe that the Law of Moses is eternal and cannot be replaced? For Jewish believers who long to be embraced by the larger unbelieving Jewish community: Could it be that being Jewish trumps new revelation in the New Testament? Here is a question for both Jewish and Gentile believers: How does the law from each perspective relate to us in the 21st century? Both sides are dug into their trenches, doing religious combat to prove and defend their positions. Churches today do not teach sound doctrine. They are more interested in entertaining people and making them feel good about themselves than in obeying the Law of Messiah, which is based on and enveloped in grace.

I personally have been on a spiritual journey for several years, and I believe that both sides need to look at His context. Come with me on this spiritual journey, during which I have fallen in love with my Savior, the Jewish Messiah. I am only beginning to grasp the riches of His grace as a believer, as Paul states that I have been blessed in heavenly places in Christ Jesus. I am learning what it means to walk in the Spirit and to have victory over my flesh and my sinful nature. It is my passion to bring glory to God in our bodies, and together, as Jew and Gentile, to find ways to live out our lives on a daily basis in this earthly place that is not our home. This is an emotional subject, and opinions and conviction run high for everyone, because no one likes to be wrong. As for me, I am concerned about what God has said.

I readily acknowledge that this is my first attempt to understand and categorize the Law of Messiah by dividing it into categories. It definitely is not a finished product and needs much

more attention.

John B. Metzger

Introduction

As we embark on this spiritual journey, the first thing we need to understand is the purpose and the components of the Law. We need to see and grasp all that God has said in His word, which is the Scriptures. Without that understanding we are hopelessly lost in a maze of unbiblical Christian belief, tradition, and opinions. We need to have a proper biblical view of the whole law system that God gave to Moses and Israel at Mt. Sinai. We must recognize that this law was given to Jewish people as a conditional covenant and not to Gentiles.

Most Christians have divided the Mosaic law into three compartments: (1) the moral law; (2) the civil law, which is the legal or legislative aspect of the law; and (3) the ceremonial law, which includes all the temple and priestly functions. This is a convenient division of the law for the sake of study, but the Law of Moses is a unit; God never broke it down into compartments. In fact, the very structure of the law as given by God in the Law of Moses is singular — not the Laws of Moses, plural. God refers to the Law in the singular as a unit of one and not in the plural as many separate laws. The Law is a unit of one, made up of 613 statements of laws. James in his epistle says: For whosoever shall keep the whole law [singular, the unit], and yet offend in one [point of the law], he is guilty of all [the law, plural as a unit of one] (James 2:10).

When the Law of Moses was still in force, Jesus said (in Matthew 5:19) that whoever breaks even one of the more insignificant laws of Moses will be the least in the Messianic Kingdom. He was emphasizing the unity of the Law, of the 613 individual laws that make up the whole Law. The Law stands as a unit. So, he who ignores the Law as a unit, even one of the least of the commandments and teaches people so, he will be counted as the least in the Kingdom, but he who would obey and teach all the Law would be the greatest in the Kingdom.

Many Christians today have an unbiblical relationship to the Mosaic law and a complete lack of understanding of or knowledge of what replaced it; many do not want to believe it was replaced! The new relationship that believers have with God in Messiah is something called the Law of Messiah (Christ), which is a direct result of the New Covenant in His blood. Paul initiates the phrases Law of Messiah, the Law to Messiah, and the Law of the Spirit of Life in three of his epistles, which Christianity has paid little attention to or misunderstands what Paul states: "For the law of the Spirit of life in Messiah Yeshua has made me free from the law of sin and death [the Mosaic law system]" (Romans 8:2).

Now, look carefully at that verse. The Holy Spirit who regenerated us — made us alive in the spirit toward Messiah — has made us free from the law of sin and death. The law of sin and death is the Law of Moses: it is the ministry of condemnation and death (2 Corinthians 3:7, 9). That should be encouraging and freeing! So, why do so many people hold onto a system of sin, condemnation, and death as their standard of living when the Holy Spirit has given us life in Messiah?

Paul also uses the second term, Law of Messiah: To them that are without law, as without law (being not without law to God, but under the law to Messiah) that I might gain them that are without law (1 Corinthians 9:21). Bear you one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Messiah (Galatians 6:2).

So, what is the Law of Messiah? Is the Law of Messiah a restatement of the Mosaic law? Are we as Christians under obligation to the Mosaic law? Many say we are not under law at all, but under grace. However, that verbal expression of belief is just as unbiblical as the statement that we are under the Law of Moses or parts of it. Being under grace does not negate law, but it does raise the question of what law we are currently subject to.

A good friend of mine, after being in the Jehovah’s Witnesses for many years, said to me: Now as a believer in Jesus Christ, what do I follow and obey? There is more to living the Christian life than loving one another as Christ loved us. Her question is profound, and reveals her recognition that there is more to the Christian life than what she had been told. There is so much confusion among believers as to the place of the law, the nature or identity of the law, and what we believe as Christians. Are you in that group? I was for many years. What is the Law of Messiah? I turned 73 this year, and have been a believer in Christ for 59 years. I have been in church regularly since my teenage years, and I remember nothing being taught about the Law of Messiah. I have been trained in Bible school and graduate school and have never heard or seen anything that even suggests this subject. Do we grasp the reality that man cannot, whether in a sinful or regenerated state, be without the Law of God?

What is the Law of Messiah? As Christians, what is our relationship to the Law of Moses, and does Mosaic law have any place in the life of a believer in Messiah? In the following chapters I examine the purpose and the unity of the Law of Moses as well as the end of Mosaic law. Legalism, the stepchild of the Mosaic law, has made life for believers a heavy and joyless life. Christ said that He came to give life more abundantly, not to make our lives burdensome, sad, or depressed, always being critical and judgmental. Jesus said: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly (John 10:10b).

An application can be drawn from Jesus’ words in Matthew 11:29–30: My yoke is easy and My burden is light. What load are you under: the law of men, the Law of Moses, or the Law of Messiah? With an easy and light burden, our countenance ought to reflect joy. I have often seen people who have been living an artificial law system. That system has become a system called legalism which is not filled with joy, but rather is filled with strictness, sad faces, and sternness, with artificially made rules that to them have become a checklist designed to show Christian spirituality. This is not a picture of the abundant life that Jesus came to give. Paul spoke of joy in the life of a believer in all aspects of life’s circumstances: not sadness, not a critical spirit because other believers do not match up to one’s preset biases and lists of do’s and do not’s. Yet our contemporary and traditional religious churches today are filled with sinful, lawless attendees who are no different from the world outside the church doors. To emphasize this, let me share with you some verses from both the Hebrew Scriptures and the New Testament on the joy of a believer and the countenance that all of us are to emulate in all circumstances.

The joy of the LORD is your strength. (Nehemiah 8:10)

The LORD is my strength and my shield; my heart trusted in Him, and I am helped: therefore my heart greatly rejoices; and with my song will I praise Him. (Psalm 28:7)

Be glad in the LORD, and rejoice, you righteous: and shout for joy, all you that are upright in heart. (Psalm 32:11)

My lips shall greatly rejoice when I sing unto You; and my soul, which You have redeemed. (Psalm 71:23)

In Your Name shall they rejoice all the day: and in Your righteousness shall they be exalted. (Psalm 89:16)

I have rejoiced in the way of Your testimonies, as much as in all riches. (Psalm 119:14)

Your testimonies had I taken as an heritage forever: for they are the rejoicing of my heart. (Psalm 119:11)

I rejoice at Your word, as one that finds great spoil. (Psalm 119:162)

…Your word was unto me the joy and rejoicing of mine heart … . (Jeremiah 15:16)

Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great is your reward in heaven… . (Matthew 5:12)

These things have I spoken unto you, that My joy might remain in you, and that your joy might be full. (John 15:11)

And they departed from the presence of the council, rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer shame for His Name. (Acts 5:41)

And at midnight Paul and Silas prayed, and sang praises unto God… . (Acts 16:25)

Rejoice with them that do rejoice, and weep with them that weep. (Romans 12:15)

For the kingdom of God is not meat and drink; but righteousness, and peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit. (Romans 14:17)

As sorrowful, yet always rejoicing; as poor, yet making many rich; as having nothing, and yet possessing all things. (2 Corinthians 6:10)

Finally, my brethren, rejoice in the Lord. (Philippians 3:1)

Rejoice in the Lord always: and again I say, Rejoice. (Philippians 4:4)

Let the word of God dwell in you richly in all wisdom; teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord. (Colossians 3:16)

Whom having not seen, you love; in Whom, though now you see Him not, yet believing, you rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory. (1 Peter 1:8)

But rejoice, inasmuch as you are partakers of Christ’s sufferings; that, when His glory shall be revealed, you may be glad also with exceeding joy. (1 Peter 4:13)

From these (and many other) verses, it should be obvious that the Scriptures do not teach a sad or strict countenance, but rather a joy that bubbles up from the heart. Do you emulate that kind of joy in all of your life situations, or have you locked yourself in a shell to hide who you really are because you are afraid that people will think you are not spiritual? Is the law being forced upon you by others or even by yourself because you have a poor self-image spiritually? You are now a new creation in Christ. Learn of the grace of God at your disposal and what has been given to you in His grace. Joy is not because all things are good and wonderful and perfect; instead, joy is a state of heart and mind because we are loved by God, despite all our scars and warts and mistakes, and have a personal relationship with our Redeemer. This is not a detour from the subject of the law. Rather, this is what He in His grace has given us. We have the provisions of grace, but somehow we feel that we must also keep some law to merit God’s favor.

Today, in the contemporary church, I see lots of praising and motivational speaking to make congregants feel good about themselves. Spiritual poverty is demonstrated by those churches and other pulpits, because they are not encouraging or challenging their flocks to live in obedience to the Law of Messiah. People go out from these churches as starving spiritual infants who are not being taught how to live with joy and lead a victorious Christian life according to the Law of Messiah.

So, what is the Law of Messiah? Are you hungry for the joy of the abundant life you can receive by obeying the Law of Messiah? The next chapters help us understand what the Mosaic law is (which we should not be keeping) and what the Law of Messiah is, which we should definitely be keeping and living by. The two systems are as different as day and night.

First one final matter. Two factions have developed, as expressed in the minds and teachings of many Christians, that have contributed to the creation of this problem. One is the practice of dividing the Law into ceremonial, legal, and moral commandments. On the basis of this division, many are led to think that the believer is free from the ceremonial and legal commandments but is still under the moral commandments. The second factor is the belief that the Ten Commandments are still valid today, but the other 603 commandments are not. When confronted by a Seventh Day Adventist, for example, an individual taking such an approach runs into problems concerning the fourth commandment about keeping the Sabbath. At that point, the believer begins fudging or hedging around the issue, and inconsistency results. Although many different groups — both Jewish and Gentile, Messianic and non-Messianic — claim that we are still under the Law of Moses, none who say so actually believe it in reality! Everyone who makes this claim then proceeds to make major adjustments — so many changes, in fact, that Moses himself would not recognize his own Law. No one who claims this today truly follows the Law of Moses as it is written. This book is intended to explain why trying to do so (or believing that one should try) is both unnecessary and unbiblical.

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