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There is a teaching in Adventism that alleges that the Ten Commandments are eternal and unchanging. We were taught, “they are a transcript of God’s character.” And since God never changes this law can never change. Even speaking those words seems to carry with them the weight of cannon truth. The difficulty comes when one tries to find that teaching in the Bible. In fact it teaches just the opposite. It’s hard to wash those words out of your thinking when they were spoken as if from the very mouth of God. But let’s look at the words that we know did come from the mouth of God in the Bible.
“Yet I will remember the covenant I made with you in the days of your youth, and I will establish an everlasting covenant with you.” Ezek 16:60 (NIV) In context this is referring to the New Covenant.
"’The time is coming,’ declares the LORD, ‘when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah. It will not be like the covenant I made with their forefathers when I took them by the hand to lead them out of Egypt, because they broke my covenant…’”Jer 31:31-32 (NIV) Even the prophets of the Old Testament were told that the Old Covenant was not permanent and that it would be replaced with a covenant that was not like the one they had.
Something added certainly could not have existed from the creation of the world nor would it exist after the Seed had come.
“What, then, was the purpose of the law? It was added because of transgressions until the Seed to whom the promise referred had come.” Gal 3:19 (NIV) Something added certainly could not have existed from the creation of the world nor would it exist after the Seed had come.
“For when there is a change of the priesthood, there must also be a change of the law.” Heb 7:12 (NIV) God didn’t change. He never intended the covenant He made on Mount Sinai to be everlasting. It was a temporary measure from the first and was changed to the New Covenant when the Savior had come. When Jesus had the disciples prepare for the Last Supper they went in to celebrate the Passover and left having made the transition into the New Covenant. It was there that Jesus announced the change from the Old to the New figuratively on His way to the cross. Instead of celebrating the Passover, they celebrated the first communion and remembrance sign of the New Covenant.
“Sacrifices and offerings, burnt offerings and sin offerings you did not desire, nor were you pleased with them" (although the law required them to be made). “Then he said, ‘Here I am, I have come to do your will.’ He sets aside the first to establish the second.” Heb 10:8-9 (NIV) He sets it aside, does away with it, replaces it with something better. Don’t let anyone confuse you that the New Covenant is a rehash or renewal of the Old Covenant. That is a trap and a deception that cannot stand against the weight of scripture.
"Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. I tell you the truth, until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen, will by any means disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished.” Matt 5:17-18 (NIV)
“It is written: 'And he was numbered with the transgressors' ; and I tell you that this must be fulfilled in me. Yes, what is written about me is reaching its fulfillment." Luke 22:37 (NIV)
So, when it was accomplished it would pass away. And when did the shadows of the law become substance?
"After this, Jesus, knowing that all things were now accomplished, that the Scripture might be fulfilled, said, "I thirst!" John 19:28 (NKJV)
“The law is only a shadow of the good things that are coming--not the realities themselves.” Heb 10:1 (NIV) The Sabbath was the shadow; Jesus is the substance. So, continuing to keep the Sabbath is like continuing to participate in a weekly re-enactment of the Civil War but not living in the time of civil rights every day.
“Christ is the end (telos) of the law so that there may be righteousness for everyone who believes.” Romans 10:4 (NIV)
The Greek word for “end” is telos. It has these meanings: “1a) termination, the limit at which a thing ceases to be (always of the end of some act or state, but not of the end of a period of time, 1b) the end 1b1) the last in any succession or series, 1b2) eternally terminated, 1c) that by which a thing is finished, its close…1d) the end to which all things relate, the aim, purpose” —Strong's Greek & Hebrew Dictionary (Bible Explorer)
The following scriptures show that the apostles understood that after Christ had come, the law came to an end. “So the law was put in charge to lead us to Christ that we might be justified by faith. Now that faith has come, we are no longer under the supervision of the law.” Gal 3:24-25 (NIV)
The writer of Hebrews says it this way: “By calling this covenant "new," he has made the first one obsolete; and what is obsolete and aging will soon disappear.” Heb 8:13 (NIV) An obsolete computer is virtually useless and is cast off.
“The former regulation is set aside (not re-newed) because it was weak and useless...” Heb 7:18-19 (NIV) These are strong and even insulting words to describe the law if it was a glorious eternal transcript of God’s character.
“For if there had been nothing wrong with that first covenant, no place would have been sought for another.” Heb 8:7 (NIV) Again, if the law was to be honored and obeyed for all time, the writer of Hebrews was being very disrespectful to say that there was something wrong with it. And he does not suggest that the first covenant was kept and revamped, repackaging it by now writing the “weak and useless” covenant on our hearts.
Summary: Are the Ten Commandments Immutable?
1) The Seventh-day Adventist Church teaches that the Ten Commandments are the “transcript” of God’s character and therefore unchanging.
2) God didn’t change. The Old Covenant was a temporary measure from the beginning for the purpose of pointing forward to Christ.
3) When Christ had come there was no longer any purpose for the shadows. The Son was here.
4) The writers of the Bible both in the Old and New Testaments affirm that the Law came to an end when the New Covenant came into being in Christ.
5) The words used by the New Testament writers (weak, useless, ministry of death, something wrong with it, schoolmaster, a shadow, obsolete) could not be describing an eternal, glorious transcript of the character of God.
2) God didn’t change. The Old Covenant was a temporary measure from the beginning for the purpose of pointing forward to Christ.
3) When Christ had come there was no longer any purpose for the shadows. The Son was here.
4) The writers of the Bible both in the Old and New Testaments affirm that the Law came to an end when the New Covenant came into being in Christ.
5) The words used by the New Testament writers (weak, useless, ministry of death, something wrong with it, schoolmaster, a shadow, obsolete) could not be describing an eternal, glorious transcript of the character of God.
The Next Chapter: The Seventh Day in Creation
When one finally understands that the Sabbath is not a salvation issue - praise God when that happens! - then creation becomes the reason for continued Sabbath-keeping. The argument goes something like this: the Sabbath was "created" at the foundation of the Earth. How could it be uncreated? From the very beginning of the world's history there was a weekly Sabbath. Is that true?
5 comments:
If what you are saying is true then we are no longer bound by the Ten Commandments of god. The same commandments that where written by the finger of god. In This Article you are talking about two different things one being the Jewish economy that was done away with at the Cross that involves the Ceremonial Law, and the other the moral law or the eternal law of God. This is the same law that has always existed even before sin because if it did not exists how then can we now what sin is. The Ten Commandments is like a mirror that allows us to now what sin is.Rom 7:7 What shall we say then? [Is] the law sin? God forbid. Nay, I had not known sin, but by the law: for I had not known lust, except the law had said, Thou shalt not covet. Brother or Sister I really pray and suggest that you read to: 2Ti 2:15 Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth. We are in the faith of Christ and are doing His work are very accountable for leading God's sheep. God will Judge us for the light we have and in how we lead His sheep. God bless
George Gomez
The Bible Truth Network
www.thebibletruthnetwork.com
George,I believe God’s Word teaches us that under the old covenant, law included all the commands God gave. Both moral and ceremonial aspects of the law are intermingled throughout the whole law, and present even in the Ten Commandments.
Furthermore, I believe that the old covenant law no longer serves as a guideline for Christian living and service anymore because the Law no longer applies to one who has died with Christ (Romans 7:4-6). Does that mean that the moral principles contained within the old covenant law have been done away with? Absolutely not! We can see evidence all around us of a world suffering from disobedience to God’s eternal moral laws.
God wants us to know that the new covenant offers us a much better guide for holy living than the old in that it operates from basic principles. Besides that, under the new covenant the Holy Spirit has come to take the place that the law used to fill in our lives, and He helps us interpret these principles to our specific life situations.
Notice what Paul says, “But now we have been released from the Law, having died to that by which we were bound, so that we serve in newness of the Spirit and not in oldness of the letter” (Romans 7:6). Isn’t the phrase “oldness of the letter” a clear reference to the Ten Commandments that were part of the old covenant law?
The work of Christ in the new covenant is to free us from the law so that we can have a relationship with Him—a relationship of surpassing value in “knowing Him.” Although God is telling us that the Ten Commandments are no longer binding upon Christians, the principles upon which they are based are, but not in old covenant form.
I love the Old Testament Scriptures because they are such a gold mine of truth. But we must remember to interpret all old covenant statements in the light of the new covenant gospel.
In christ,
Hazel
George, you said: If what you are saying is true then we are no longer bound by the Ten Commandments of god. The same commandments that where written by the finger of god.
Moderator: Yes, George, you are right. Here is how Paul put it: “Now if the ministry that brought death, which was engraved in letters on stone, came with glory, so that the Israelites could not look steadily at the face of Moses because of its glory, fading though it was, will not the ministry of the Spirit be even more glorious? If the ministry that condemns men is glorious, how much more glorious is the ministry that brings righteousness! For what was glorious has no glory now in comparison with the surpassing glory. And if what was fading away came with glory, how much greater is the glory of that which lasts!” 2 Cor 3:7-11 (NIV)
Paul tells us that it was this very law “which was engraved in letters on stone,” which was fading away and in his time had no glory. Hallelujah!
George said: In This Article you are talking about two different things one being the Jewish economy that was done away with at the Cross that involves the Ceremonial Law, and the other the moral law or the eternal law of God.
Moderator: Actually, the Ten Commandments were the very words of the Old Covenant that became obsolete: “He declared to you his covenant, the Ten Commandments, which he commanded you to follow and then wrote them on two stones.” Deut 4:13 (NIV).
In fact the housing for the Ten Commandments is called the Ark of the Covenant. The Ten Commandments were the Reader’s Digest condensed version of the covenant as a whole.
George: This is the same law that has always existed even before sin
Moderator: “What, then, was the purpose of the law? It was added because of transgressions until the Seed to whom the promise referred had come.” Gal 3:19 (NIV) Throughout his discussion Paul is speaking specifically about the entire law that included the Ten Commandments. The law given to Israel was “added…UNTIL the Seed” came. So, it did not exist before sin, nor was it to exist after Christ had come. “Sacrifices and offerings, burnt offerings and sin offerings you did not desire, nor were you pleased with them" (although the law required them to be made). “Then he said, ‘Here I am, I have come to do your will.’ He sets aside the first to establish the second.” Heb 10:8-9 (NIV) He sets it aside, does away with it, replaces it with something better.
George: because if it did not exists how then can we now what sin is. The Ten Commandments is like a mirror that allows us to now what sin is.Rom 7:7
Moderator: That’s the best part!! Our covenant says this: I will put my laws in their minds and write them on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people. No longer will a man teach his neighbor, or a man his brother, saying, 'Know the Lord,' because they will all know me, from the least of them to the greatest.” Heb 8:10-11 (NIV) The Holy Spirit, Himself, tells us what sin is – in our hearts. We no longer need the school teacher of the law. He calls those things of Himself that He writes in our hearts “the law of Christ.” Gal. 6:2 Thru it “there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of life set me free from the law of sin and death.” Romans 8:1-2 (NIV) Above, we see that the “law of sin and death” is the “ministry that brought death, which was engraved in letters on stone” from 2 Cor 3.
George: What shall we say then? [Is] the law sin? God forbid. Nay, I had not known sin, but by the law: for I had not known lust, except the law had said, Thou shalt not covet.
Moderator: The function of the Old Covenant (the Ten Commandments and the rest of the law) was to be a shadow pointing forward to the substance, Jesus Christ. Above, you have used the word “law” to refer to the Ten Commandments. Paul quotes the Ten Commandments in your illustration above, and calls it the “law.” Nowhere does he suggest that he is talking only of one part of the law and not the other. Can you recall anywhere that he does that? That is an artificial separation that is not made in the scriptures.
George: We are in the faith of Christ and are doing His work are very accountable for leading God's sheep. God will Judge us for the light we have and in how we lead His sheep. God bless.
Moderator: Over the years I have watched the struggle of those who hold onto the law. Paul’s words often come to mind: “Tell me, you who want to be under the law, are you not aware of what the law says? For it is written that Abraham had two sons, one by the slave woman and the other by the free woman…These things may be taken figuratively, for the women represent two covenants. One covenant is from Mount Sinai and bears children who are to be slaves: This is Hagar… Now you, brothers, like Isaac, are children of promise. At that time the son born in the ordinary way persecuted the son born by the power of the Spirit. It is the same now. But what does the Scripture say? "Get rid of the slave woman and her son, for the slave woman's son will never share in the inheritance with the free woman's son." Therefore, brothers, we are not children of the slave woman, but of the free woman.” Gal 4:21-31 (NIV)
It has been taught that those who cling to the law are striving for something higher and better, that the offering they bring to God is pleasing to Him. However, the law represents one dollar in ten, one day in seven. The New Covenant encompasses all that we are and all that we have. Jesus told the rich young ruler – sell all that you have – it’s all mine. The New Covenant is not slavery, but freedom to be children and heirs rather than slaves who owe a tax. We are a part of the family business, so we hold all things in common with our Father because our brother made a way. Thankfully, we will be judge on the basis of Christ's life and blood that covers all of our sins "because by one sacrifice he has made perfect forever those who are being made holy." Heb 10:14 (NIV) Could it be that simple. Yes, George, a thousand times, YES!
It is not less. It is much, much more. I would invite you to read the whole "Ultimate Rest" study and allow yourself to be enraptured by His free gift. Thank you, George for your blessings. I return blessing to you in Jesus’ name.
George,
Scripture doesn't divide the Mosaic law into ceremonial, civil, and moral pieces, but if it did, then assuming the 10 commandments are the moral piece of it, and it wasn't nailed to the cross, then how do we receive forgiveness of moral sin? Jesus Christ, through His sacrifice on the Cross is the only way to forgiveness. "When you were dead in your transgressions and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He made you alive together with Him, having forgiven us all our transgressions, having canceled out the certificate of debt consisting of decrees against us, which was hostile to us; and He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross." Col. 2:13, 14 When we accept Christ, we are sealed by the Holy Spirit forever. "In Him, you also, after listening to the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation--having also believed, you were sealed in Him with the Holy Spirit of promise," Eph. 1:13, 14 Because Christ through His Holy Spirit indwells us, we are convicted of sin and then freed from the burden of that sin, and allow Him to change us from the inside out, but we were no longer guilty of that sin because of Christ's righteousness. Christ paid the penalty for it. We are no longer sinners. We are righteous IN HIM because of HIS sacrifice. Blessings in Jesus' Name.
I wrote a response to an Adventist the other day about a similar inquiry to George's above:
"The Fulfillment of the Ten Commandments"
(As of Feb.1st, it's not fully formatted yet but can still be read)
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