By Roland Wrinkle
The Book of Hebrews is adamant that the “old” commandments (laws, rules, regulations) are “obsolete,” “useless,” “set aside,” and “weak” and have been replaced by a “new” covenant and a “new” regulation, law, commandment which is “better” and “superior.” In chapters 7 and 8, the author puts it this like this:
The former regulation is set aside because it was weak and useless (for the law made nothing perfect), and a better hope is introduced, by which we draw near to God…. Jesus has become the guarantor of a better covenant…. the law appoints as high priests men in all their weakness; but the oath [conferring eternal priesthood on Jesus], which came after the law, appointed the Son, who has been made perfect forever…. the ministry Jesus has received is as superior to [that of the priests appointed by the law] as the covenant of which he is mediator is superior to the old one, since the new covenant is established on better promises….[God promised:] “The days are coming…when I will make a new covenant….It will not be like the covenant I made with their ancestors when I took them by the hand to lead them out of Egypt, because they did not remain faithful to my covenant, and I turned away from them, declares the Lord….I will put my laws in their minds and write them on their hearts….By calling this covenant “new,” he has made the first one obsolete; and what is obsolete and outdated will soon disappear.
So…the old covenant is obsolete, inferior and will disappear; while the old laws, rules and commandments are weak, useless, and unnecessary. Jesus and Paul says precisely the same thing but in greater detail:
“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. For truly, I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot, will pass from the Law until all is accomplished.” (Matthew 5:17–18). “For all the promises of God find their Yes in him. That is why it is through him that we utter our Amen to God for his glory.” (2 Corinthians 1:20)
He accomplished what the Law required. “For Christ is the end of the law so that there may be righteousness for everyone who believes.” (Rom 10.4). “Now the righteousness of God without the law is manifested… by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe” (Rom 3:21-22).
Paul taught the Romans about the saving grace of Jesus and anticipated their questions about whether the Law was still binding: “Do we then overthrow [abrogate, terminate, negate] the law by this faith? By no means! On the contrary, we uphold [confirm, fulfill, honor] the law.” 3.31. Now you’re going to ask “then what was the purpose of the Law anyway?” Paul answered in his letter to the Galatians and explained the purpose of the Law this way: “Why, then, was the law given at all? It was added because of transgressions [i.e. it served to convince and convict us of our sins] until the Seed to whom the promise referred had come [i.e. who would bring the New Covenant]…Before the coming of this faith [i.e. the New Testament], we were held in custody under the law [i.e. the Old Testament] , locked up until the faith that was to come would be revealed. So the law was our guardian until Christ came that we might be justified by faith [i.e. through the Cross]. Now that this faith has come, we are no longer under a guardian.” Gal 3.19-25. “But now apart from the Law the righteousness of God has been manifested [in the person of Jesus], being witnessed by the Law and the Prophets [i.e. the Old Testament]. Rom 3.21. Accordingly, Torah was not binding on the Gentile churches Paul was forming, e.g. circumcision (1 Cor 7.17; Gal 5.2), food laws (Rom 14.1,14 and 20) and perhaps the Sabbath (Rom 14.5; Gal 4.9) In Hebrews, the author poetically explains that the Law and the sacrifices it commanded were “only shadows of the good things to come and now the good things themselves.” Heb 10.1-18.
And all of you Ten Commandment lovers (like the Alabama Supreme Court), Jesus basically re-issued nine of them under his own name. Yes, all the Ten Commandments are repeated in the New Testament, except for the command to keep the Sabbath:
1. Don’t have other gods– this is the Shema and Jesus was big on it (Matt 4.10 and 22.37)
2. Don’t make idols— both Matthew (4.10) and John (1 Jn 5.21) say the same thing.
3. don’t take the Lord’s name in vain—sam thing in James 5.12 and Matt 22.37.
4. Skip for now
5. Honor mom and dad—Paul agrees in Ephs 6.2
6. Don’t go around murdering people—Paul and John (and anyone in any faith or non-faith community figured this one out.
7. Don’t go around having sex with other folk’s spouses. (Rom 13.9 and 1 John 3.15) and anyone with a basic instinct for self-preservation).
8. Don’t steal other folks’ stuff— (Rom 13.9 and Ephs 4.28). When and where was this ever a community norm?
9. Don’t commit perjury (Rom 13.9 and Col 3.9). Every oath that has ever been administered in a law court has been enforced by penalties for its violation. Again, no brainer.
10. Don’t envy other folks and their stuff. (Rom 13.9 and Ephs 5.3).
Now what about No 4: Keep the Sabbath? Christ and what he did abolished the Jewish Sabbath (Saturday). He established the “Day of the Lord” which is celebrated on Sunday, the day of his resurrection. We are no longer to be defined “by what [we] eat or drink, or with regard to a religious festival, a New Moon celebration or a Sabbath day.” Col 2.17. If you chose to celebrate the resurrection of Christ on Saturday, that’s OK—it’s just that we’re done with the Sabbath. In fact, if you elect to celebrate Chris every day of the week, I doubt God will create Hell so he can send you there. All the ceremonial and ritual stuff has vanished in light of the one, perfect sacrifice.
What this all means is that we need to stop looking to the OT for our Christian ethics and look forward to the final culmination of the unconditional, unilateral Abrahamic Covenant in the Kingdom of God in its eternal form, i.e., New Creation…and start living today as resurrection and new creation people by following the Law of Christ. This is where God was headed from day one.
So…why spend all this time reading and studying the OT, and Exodus in particular, if we are to abide by a new regime instituted by Christ on the cross? That will be the subject of my next epistle.