The Law of God: Introduction

WTM SERIES ON LAW

INTRODUCTION

You are welcome to Insights from God's Word, a Bible Study Programme that is committed to sharing God's Word by allowing the Bible to speak for itself.

Friends, we greet you in the name of our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ.

In this study, we bring you the introduction to our series on the law of God. When we scan through the pages of Scripture, we come across several laws. Many of these laws were given by God through His servant Moses to govern the people of Israel. Some of the laws that God gave the people of ancient Israel are as follows:

1) Civic Laws: These laws were given by God through Moses to specifically govern the people. These laws were related to the customs as well as the religion of the people (see Leviticus 12:3; Deuteronomy 22:23-24; Deuteronomy 24:1-4; Deuteronomy 25:5).

2) Besides the civil laws in ancient Israel, God also gave the Israelites another set of laws called the ceremonial laws. The ceremonial laws centred on the sanctuary and its services (see Leviticus 1:1-9; Leviticus 2:14-16; Leviticus 5:11-13; Leviticus 23). They were designed by God to teach His children the plan of salvation, and point them to the coming Messiah.

3) Besides the civic and ceremonial laws, God also gave the people of ancient Israel another set of laws that can be categorized as health laws. For instance, God gave them sanitary laws to protect them from diseases (see Deuteronomy 23:11-15), as well as laws in regard to what they could eat and what they could not eat (see Leviticus 3:17; Leviticus 7:26; Leviticus 11; Deuteronomy 14).

4) Besides the laws mentioned above, God also gave the people of Israel the Ten Commandments, which was to provide the moral framework for the people (see Exodus 20:1-17; Deuteronomy 5:6-21).

The list of laws mentioned above do not cover in detail all the laws that existed among the people of ancient Israel. However, the ones pointed out in this introductory study are supposed to serve as an important background that will help us to progress comfortably as we delve deeper into our series of Bible study on the law of God.

Friends, among the topics in Scripture that have generated a lot of controversy within Christendom is in relation to some of the laws that have been described above. For several decades, the majority in Christendom has furthered the argument that there is no need for God's people to keep any of the laws or commandments we have described above as these laws were specifically intended for the people of ancient Israel. This large class makes the argument that the keeping of the various laws or commandments came to an end when Christ died on the cross. Some scriptural passages that this large class utilizes to further their stance are as follows:

1) "Having abolished in his flesh the enmity, even the law of commandments contained in ordinances; for to make in himself of twain one new man, so making peace" (Ephesians 2:15).

2) "Blotting out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us, which was contrary to us, and took it out of the way, nailing it to his cross" (Colossians 2:14).

3) "For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to every one that believeth" (Romans 10:4).

Another class of Christians that actually represent the minority also hold on to the point that some of the laws we read from Scripture were not meant only for the people of ancient Israel, and as such its requirements are still binding on all of God's children across the globe. This group of believers also makes use of several Bible passages to further their stance. Among such quotations are these:

1) "17 Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil. 18 For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled. 19 Whosoever therefore shall break one of these least commandments, and shall teach men so, he shall be called the least in the kingdom of heaven: but whosoever shall do and teach them, the same shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven" (Matthew 5:17-19).

2) "Here is the patience of the saints: here are they that keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus" (Revelation 14:12).

3) "Blessed are they that do his commandments, that they may have right to the tree of life, and may enter in through the gates into the city" (Revelation 22:14).

Friends, from a casual reading of these six texts of Scripture, it looks as if each class of believers has solid biblical support for their stance. But from Christ's own words in John 10:35, we learn that "the Scripture cannot be broken". In other words, the Word of God is not inconsistent. The Scripture does not quote one thing in one passage and refute it in another. Thus, in this series, we are going to take our time to look at the subject of the various Laws of God from the lens of the entire Scripture. At the end of the entire series, we believe that you will be convinced as to the scriptural position of whether some of the laws in Scripture are still binding upon God's people or not. The entire series is dubbed: The Law of God. The topics in this Special Series of Bible Study are as follows:

1. The Ceremonial Laws

2. The Ten Commandments

3. The Ten Commandments Versus the Ceremonial law

4. Are we saved by grace or the keeping of the law?

5. "... Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law ...": an exposition on Paul's words in Galatians 3:13.

6. "But if ye be led of the Spirit, ye are not under the law": an exposition on Paul's words in Galatians 5:18.

7. "...for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life": an exposition on Paul's words in 2 Corinthians 3:6.

8. "For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to every one that believeth": an exposition on Paul's words in Romans 10:4.

Beloved, we believe that this 8 - Part Series of Bible Study is going to be a real blessing in your life. These studies will be highlighted with beautiful slides that will enable you to have a deeper understanding of the issues that are being discussed. We will want to encourage you to follow the studies closely one lesson at a time so you can fully understand and appreciate this series of Bible study. Moreover, we also want to encourage you to share the studies with your friends so they can also experience the rich blessings that come from studying God's Word.

Our next Bible study is captioned: The Ceremonial Laws. The Bible study references for this study are Leviticus 23, Daniel 9:27, Matthew 27:50-51, Acts 15:1-31, Ephesians 2:15, Colossians 2:14-17 and Hebrews 9. Please do well to go through these passages before the next study is released.

We wish you the rich blessings of God and encourage you to keep shining for King Jesus.

Maranatha!

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