Do not think that I came to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I did not come to abolish but to fulfill. —Matthew 5:17
The word “fulfill” in the Greek is “pleroo”. It means to fill to the full, render full, or to complete. I’m a bit perplexed by how “fulfill” has been twisted by some to mean “transfer” or “continue”, particularly when it comes to the Old Covenant, including the ten commandments. Some denominations point fingers at others; one saying the Sabbath has been transferred to Sunday, another saying the fourth commandment was continued in the New Covenant. Which one is right?
Neither.
Some say only the ceremonial laws were nailed to the cross and fulfilled by Christ, others say it was all Old Covenant laws—ceremonial, civil and moral. Which is right?
Jesus fulfilled all of God’s laws including eternal moral ones (Mat. 5:17-19; Luke 24: 27, 44-45; Rom. 8:3-4; Eph. 2:15-16; Col. 2:13-17; Heb. 10:5-10). If He had not done this for us, we would be judged based on our own ability to keep them. Instead, believers are judged righteous not because of our own ability, but because of His.
During His last agonizing moments on an old rugged cross, Jesus cried out, “It is finished”. Of course we look to the cross for the payment Jesus made for our sins; absorbing God’s wrath directed at us. But in fact, His life righteously lived was of equal importance to His death.
Jesus, born a Jew, under the Old Covenant Law, was the only one who could keep the letter of the Law perfectly in our place. He was not only our substitute Lamb at the cross; He was our substitute life (second Adam) before the cross—His life in exchange for our sin, His death in exchange for our life, His righteousness credited to those who believe (Rom 5:13-21).
The point of the Law was to reveal man’s sin and unrighteousness (Rom 3:20, 5:13) in order to point man to his need for a Savior. But is it still the best means to establish sin when Jesus gave the world the Holy Spirit to convict man of sin, righteousness, and judgment (John 16:8)?
The Holy Spirit isn’t given to believers to help us bear the fruit of the ten commandments so that we can then be saved. The Holy Spirit is given to us because we are saved (Eph. 1:13-15). He testifies to our righteousness in Christ. When we live in the Spirit, which all believers are urged to do, we automatically produce good fruit (Gal. 5:22-25). Obedience isn’t something we strive to do; it is a fruit we naturally yield when we are surrendered to His Spirit in us.
So what does it mean to God when believers return to the Law, the very thing He died to free us from? One thing is clear, when we return to the Law we don’t trust Christ alone for conviction of sin, righteousness or salvation. But here are some other things we are saying to God:
• We prefer being children of bondage (Sinai/Hagar) versus children of the free woman (Zion/Sarah)—Gal. 4:21-31
• We prefer a ministry of death to a ministry of life—2 Cor. 3
• We don’t mind cheating on Jesus and committing spiritual adultery by trying to live by and keep both the Old and New Covenants—Rom. 7:1-6
• We prefer to live under a Law that condemns us (Rom. 3:20) rather than living free from condemnation through the righteousness of Christ—Rom. 8:1
For what the Law could not do, weak as it was through the flesh, God did: sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and as an offering for sin, He condemned sin in the flesh, so that the requirement of the Law might be fulfilled in us, who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.—Rom. 8:3-4
Read “Part II: The Law Fulfilled – Sabbatarians and the Law” HERE.
[author] [author_image timthumb=’on’]https://blog.lifeassuranceministries.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/DSCN0187_2_2.jpg[/author_image] [author_info]Cherie Skrivan was born and raised in the Seventh-day Adventist church and school system. She spent nearly 10 years working for the SDA church in publishing and communications. In 2005, Cherie’s life was changed forever as she was born into a new life with Christ. By the grace of God she exchanged her knowledge of Christ for a relationship with Christ alone as her Savior. Today she is happily married to Jim and is a stay-at-home mom to their three kids —Kai, Mila and Marika. They live in Omaha, NE where they are members of Christ Community Church. Cherie is passionate about encouraging and helping people grow their faith and relationship in Christ and enjoys helping teach a discipleship class at their church.[/author_info] [/author]
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That was an excellent article, thanks.
Since the 10 Commandments are no longer viable in today’s Christian society, with Jesus fulfilling them, I think we should just sleep with each other (married or not), lie about as much as we can, and kill those we don’t like, maybe our parents. Might as well worship other Gods and idols while we’re at it also. Sure we may break some pagan laws and civil ordinances in doing so but at least it’s ok in the eyes of God.
Jesus fulfilled the law as in He was the ultimate sacrificial lamb. The penalty for sin is death. Before Christ, in order to “pay” that penalty a perfect lamb was needed to sacrifice for everyone’s sins. Christ died AS OUR SACRIFICE so we no longer need to sacrifice lambs for our sins. That’s not too difficult to understand.
The law, as in the Ten Commandments, has been in effect from the beginning (God rested on the seventh day) and is still kept in heaven, even in the new heaven Isaiah references the Sabbath. If the law is to show our sins then wouldn’t it make sense that the law is still in effect and not abolished as Jesus said?
Yes, we are saved by grace through faith alone. We keep the law as a show of that faith. If you love someone then you try to show it right? You don’t tell your spouse, I love you, then go sleep around with other people do you? No, you try to please them the best you can. You may falter but your spouse’s love is forgiving and they will continue to love you despite your own shortcomings. The same can be said of our Father. Despite our shortcomings He still loves us. Shouldn’t we try our best to please Him as well?
Hi Grace,
While your argument regarding the Decalogue sounds very reasonable, I don’t believe it is entirely scriptural. In II Corinthians 3, Paul refers to the Old Covenant and the New Covenant as two “ministries”. He compares and contrasts the old covenant “engraved on stone” with the New Covenant. I would like to ask you to consider doing the following exercise on your own:
1. Pray for the Holy Spirit to teach and guide you. Pray that He will show you truth and guard you against error. Pray that if there is any veil in place that the Holy Spirit will remove it in Christ.
2. Carefully read through the third chapter of II Corinthians for overall context. You may want to read through a couple of different reliable translations.
3. Now grab a pencil and paper. At the top of your paper write “Old Covenant” on the left side and “New Covenant” on the right side forming two columns. As you read through II Corinthians 3 again, take time to carefully list everything you learn about each covenant in the appropriate column. List everything even if it seems insignificant at the time.
4. Review the list and pray over the things that the Holy Spirit has pointed out to you. As additional insights come to you, you may want to jot these down as well.
This is a great way to develop your skills in determining the exegetical point of a passage. If you’re interested to see the list I came up with while reading II Cor. 3, you can find it here: http://bereanmind.blogspot.com/2010/08/covenants-part-iv-ii-corinthians-3-4.html
Chris
Excellent exercise, Chris! Knowing what the old & new covenants are makes everything SO clear!
Hi Grace,
I understand your frustration. What these passages describe are a complete paradigm shift for any Christian who has been taught to believe that obedience to the Law is the solution for sin, instead of Jesus alone.
I urge you to do the exercise Chris suggested in regards to 2 Cor. 3. I think it will be quite revealing.
Also, consider this:
In your home there are two rooms. One room is the “Old Covenant”. It is dark, gray and cold. It is old and outdated; its glory faded. In the center of the room on an easel stands two stone tablets with the 10 commandments written by the finger of God.
The room next door is filled with so much glory it cannot be contained and pours out of every crack and crevice. This room is aglow with righteousness and is known as the “New Covenant”. In the very center of the room sits Jesus Himself, pierce-scarred hands stretched wide, welcoming you inside.
To which room are you drawn? Which can better look into your heart and know your desires and motives—tablets of stone or Jesus? Which door do you enter for the removal of sin? For healing? For righteousness? Which room holds the Power to change your life for eternity? Which room will you lead your family and friends to first?
You cannot be in both rooms at the same time. The rooms are not connected. Where will you abide—with tablets of stone or Jesus?
Hi Grace!
I’m wondering how the 10 Commandments could possibly be eternal, when there is no marriage and babies in heaven … why would angels need eternal commandments about adultery or honoring parents?
Also Matthew 5:17 says Jesus came to fulfill the Law AND the Prophets, not abolish them.
The term Law and Prophets means the ENTIRE old testament.
The Law part of that equation included 613 commands given in the 5 books of Moses, of which the 10 were a part of.
“IF” Matthew 5 means what SDAs say it means, that would actually obligated you to keep ALL 613 commands, because the passage teaches not one jot or tittle can pass from the Law.
That is a great point too, Ane.
Adventists claim that the law is eternal. One of their arguments for the 4th commandment is that they claim that Christians try to get rid of it and say that the other 9 are binding. They say that you cannot take even one away from the eternal law.
I wish one of them would explain to me how they can say the 10 commandments are “eternal” which means never created always existing, but in the same conversation they will argue to death the fact that the 7th day Sabbath was born during creation week.
So, all ten are eternal and cannot be separated, but Sabbath didn’t come until creation week. Which is it?
The sad truth is, these issues are impossible to see when you have been saturated in these lies every week for all your life. It is heartbreaking.
Wonderful article! Thank you. I love this:
“Jesus fulfilled all of God’s laws including eternal moral ones (Mat. 5:17-19; Luke 24: 27, 44-45; Rom. 8:3-4; Eph. 2:15-16; Col. 2:13-17; Heb. 10:5-10). If He had not done this for us, we would be judged based on our own ability to keep them. Instead, believers are judged righteous not because of our own ability, but because of His.”
This really is a hard concept to see when you spend your life hearing that the 10C are binging.
It took me a long time to see that righteousness by faith alone cannot be a true concept if I have to “prove my love”. Any love I have in my heart for God was put there by Him. He knows my love for Him and He knows my sinful nature. There is nothing I need to “prove” to Him because He knows my heart perfectly. In fact, He is often the one who is revealing it to *me*.
As long as I had the law in my hands, I couldn’t reach out to grab the hands of Christ and trust in His finished work on the cross. While God accepted the sacrifice of Jesus, I did not–I believed I had to contribute to it with my own evidence. The Sabbath was my “just-in-case” doctrine, but I couldn’t see that by clinging to it I was breaking the first commandment by making it a religious idol.
I have to say that the argument that now we can go out and sin all we want is an unfair one. Abortion is legal, but I would never do it because my heart would not let me. In some states prostitution is legal, but not everyone does it because their heart will not let them. Even in the context of this country, we do not do things just because they are legal. We are led by our heart. The believer who is born from above is lead by something greater than the broken human heart, they are lead by the Holy Spirit and they have no desire to act against God in any way.
The law was fulfilled not to free us *to* sin, but to free us *from* it. We are helpless sinners who cannot rise above our nature and we desperately needed a savior.
Well said, well said!!
Grace,
You said: “Yes, we are saved by grace through faith alone.”
Question #1: So if we have faith in Jesus, and feel convicted by the Holy Spirit and the scriptures that the Sabbath no longer applies (and stop keeping it), we will still be saved – correct?
Question #2: Since there will be no night or day in heaven, how are you planning to keep the Sabbath day?
On a more serious note, you seem to disregard Paul’s statements about the tables of stone. In all sincerity, please give Chris Lee’s suggestion a try.
No one is suggesting that we should harm each other, or deliberately displease God; in fact, as Nikki noted, when we are filled with the Spirit we are on an entirely new (and better) spiritual level with God. Paul not only makes it clear that we are no longer under the law, he also plainly states that whether one keeps a certain day – or not – is a matter of personal conviction.
I like Chris’s suggestion about 2 Corinthians 3 and making notes on the two covenants. The assumption that the law is eternal is contradicted in Galatians 3: 16-18 where Paul states that the law came 430 years after Abraham and was to last until the Seed came.
If the law is eternal, the transcript of God’s character, then the law has a position on the same plane as God Himself. God is not subject to the law, however: the law is God’s creation and is subject to God.
Colossians 2:20-23 explain that the law has absolutely no power against fleshly indulgence. Our only spiritual safety is to be hidden in Christ. The law cannot help us live righteously. Only the Lord Jesus can do that. His blood paid for sin; when we receive Him as our Substitute who literally redeemed us from bondage and death, we receive His life. That life, sealed in us by the Holy Spirit, is what teaches us and changes us.
The law is fulfilled in Jesus; the curse of death is swallowed up by life! Jesus’ life is the one Power over all sin! When we are in Jesus, we are eternally secure and saved. He convicts us and teaches us to submit to Him at our moments of temptation.
And even if we sin after we receive His life, we do not lose our position in Jesus. We are eternally secure. We are sons and daughters of our true Father, and the Lord Jesus is our intercessor forever. We are loved and saved.
Instructive comments, all. It seems there is no time in heaven as there is no night and day so there can be no distinction between days. Association with our Savior in eternity will amount to an eternal rest, a Sabbath if you will, from our plague of a sinful nature and the struggles of the flesh on earth. As for the SDA mantra we were taught of the 10 commandments as a “transcript of God’s character,” I see no reason why God should be assuring us that He would not commit adultery or covet someone’s spouse, nor dishonor His parents. Please. These were laws given to a society for civil behavior and to point out to them they were selected to live under a theocracy in a multi-god world. Their entire system pointed to Christ and Grace but the people became ennamored more of their law and its duties than of the Messiah to come so that they missed Him when He appeared. Let’s not do the same.
Chris, I just did the study of 2 Cor 3,4 as you suggest in your post above. Wish I’d known this years ago but we don’t learn such things in the SS lessons, and when exposed to this for first time our SDA indoctrination and conditioning can cause us to doubt the Bible in favor of our doctrines. Amazing that the SDA-labeled “Babylon” churches (sorry folks)have known this all along. Studying the Bible on my own the last 4 years led me to examine the doctrines which did not correspond to what I was seeing and the “veil was lifted” and I found the gospel, praise God. Courage to all recovering SDAs. We truly have a brain dysfunction which requires healing. And I ask understanding from non-SDAs as you have not likely experienced what we have nor are aware of the depths of the cult-like conditioning we have experienced. To other SDAs I encourage you to “taste and see” the glory of God, the righteousness of Christ which redeems God’s fallen creatures. Love to all.