October 10–16

 

Lesson 3: The Law as Teacher

This week’s lesson is painful to read as it blatantly contradicts the grace of Christ to force us back under the Law that condemned us in the first place.

This confusion is what happens when there is such misunderstanding over the difference between the Old Covenant and the New Covenant. When one ties to combine them or say that they are the same thing, one demonstrates an abysmal lack of understanding. According to the dictionary, abysmal is defined as: “immeasurably low or wretched; extremely poor or bad” which, in this case, is very descriptive.

This “extremely poor or bad” biblical understanding is clearly expressed in this quote from Tuesday’s lesson:

“Old Testament, New Testament, Old Covenant, New Covenant—it doesn’t matter: as Bible-believing Christians we are called to obedience to God’s law.”

In combatting error or a lack of understanding, it is usually best to start at the beginning, so we will start with some definitions. Words mean things, and if we are to understand the meaning of the words in the Bible, we have to understand, as best we can, how they were used then, not how we want to use them now. We also have to use them between ourselves to mean the same things or there is no possibility of communication.

Law

Is the law the 10 Commandments? Or the first 5 books of the Bible, also called the Pentateuch? Or is it the entire Old Testament?

If we are to use that word correctly 2,000 years after the cross, we have to understand what it meant to those who wrote 2,000 years before the cross. In the four gospels, Jesus used that word 18 times, so He clearly respected the authority of the law. In His teaching He frequently quoted from many books of the Old Testament, not just Exodus 20; He called all of it “the Law” and obviously considered it to be authoritative.

Adventist theology uses Law almost exclusively to mean the 10 Commandments, but that definition is too narrow and restrictive to fit its use in the Bible. While both copies of the 10 Commandments were kept in the Ark of the Covenant, the Book of the Law was kept beside the Ark:

“Take this book of the law and place it beside the ark of the covenant of the Lord your God, that it may remain there as a witness against you (Deuteronomy 31:26).

In numerous places such as Deuteronomy 28:61 and 29:20 & 21, Joshua 8:34 and 2 Kings 14:6, “the book of the law” and “the words of the law” are used to refer to the entire law and mentions the curses included in the law. These references to “law” can’t be referring to the 10 Commandments as the Decalogue don’t state “curses”; rather, it is the entire law that lays out the curses and the blessings.

Covenant

Another word that must be understood and used correctly is “covenant”. The Bible mentions an Old Covenant and a New Covenant.

There are several covenants named in the Bible, but the one in question here, the Old Covenant, is the covenant made with Israel to govern their possession of the Promised Land. The covenant promised blessings and prosperity for obedience, and “curses” or punishment for breaking the covenant. 

In Exodus 34, moreover, the covenant God made with Israel is defined as the 10 Commandments: 

“Then the Lord said to Moses, “Write down these words, for in accordance with these words I have made a covenant with you and with Israel.” So he was there with the Lord forty days and forty nights; he did not eat bread or drink water. And he wrote on the tablets the words of the covenant, the Ten Commandments.”

It can be confusing when those words such as “covenant” and “law” are used to refer to different things, so context is very, very important.

New Covenant

So how about the New Covenant? Is it just a redefinition of the Old Covenant? Or is it something entirely new and different?

In 2 Corinthians 3:6, in telling us about the new covenant, Paul uses the Greek words that mean “new in quality”, not just “new in time”, meaning that it is something entirely new and different.  Hebrews 8 and 9 describe the Old Covenant, using words like “not faultless” and “obsolete”. There is no indication that the Old and New are in any way the same thing; rather, the New has replaced the Old as something entirely different.

Hebrews 8:13 makes it quite clear:

“When He said, ‘A new covenant, He has made the first obsolete. But whatever is becoming obsolete and growing old is ready to disappear.”

The Old passed away to make room for the New, so trying to combine them, or holding onto the Old while entering the New, is what Romans 7 equates with committing spiritual adultery!

I would suggest a careful reading of Hebrews 7–9 for a wonderful, step-by-step explanation of the two covenants and the progression from the Old to the New.

And for anyone who wants to keep the Old Covenant and also enter into the New Covenant, perhaps the words of 2 Corinthians 3:6 should be considered:

“who also made us adequate as servants of a new covenant, not of the letter but of the Spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life.”

Even Adventist theology identifies the “letters on stone” as being the 10 Commandments.

Do you want to be part of a covenant that brings death, or part of the covenant that brings life? It is one or the other, not both together. 

Now back to the lesson. 

“Moses speaks of the book of the Law as though it is a living being with power to reprove the hearts of men.

Think about the law as a “witness against” them. How do we understand this idea in the New Testament, as well”

The lesson then refers us to Romans 3:19-23

“Now we know that whatever the Law says, it speaks to those who are under the Law, so that every mouth may be closed and all the world may become accountable to God; because by the works of the Law no flesh will be justified in His sight; for through the Law comes the knowledge of sin. But now apart from the Law the righteousness of God has been manifested, being witnessed by the Law and the Prophets, even the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all those who believe; for there is no distinction; for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, being justified as a gift by His grace through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus”

“Those who are under the Law”? Are we who are in Christ still “under the Law? (For the answer to that see Romans 6:15; Galatians 5:18; 1 Cor. 9:20 and others.)

Why would you even want to be under the Law (Galatians 4:21)? That would mean you are under the curse according to Galatians 3:10:

“For as many as are of the works of the Law are under a curse; for it is written, ‘Cursed is everyone who does not abide by all things written in the book of the law, to perform them.’”

And none of us has ever “abided by” or obeyed all things in the book of the law; whether it means the 10 Commandments or the entire law.

For a clear description of the purpose of the Law see Galatians 3:23, 24:

“But before faith came, we were kept in custody under the law, being shut up to the faith which was later to be revealed. Therefore the Law has become our tutor to lead us to Christ, so that we may be justified by faith. But now that faith has come, we are no longer under a tutor.” 

It clearly says that the Law is our tutor who leads us to Christ and then it says that we are no longer under that tutor. 

The lesson goes on to confuse the issue with good-sounding words:

“However, if the law can’t give life to sinners, what’s the purpose of it, other than to show us our need of grace? Is the law, then, only negative in function, only there to show us our sins? No; the law also is there to point us to the way of life, which is found only in Jesus.”

That is so very true, but the author still can’t let go of the tutor which is no longer needed. He does this by side-tracking us with a misguided discussion of “fear God” which he equates with being fearful of punishment, rather than the Bible’s use which means awe and reverence. 

Fear comes from knowing you are under judgment and condemnation, but Romans 8:1 tells us that there is no condemnation for those in Christ, so there is no need to fear judgment!

I particularly like how it is stated in John 8:18 and 19:

“He who believes in Him is not judged; he who does not believe has been judged already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. This is the judgment, that the Light has come into the world, and men loved the darkness rather than the Light, for their deeds were evil.”

When we are in Christ, we are not judged, so there is no fear. Jesus took all of our judgment and punishment to the cross in our place.

While continuing the profound confusion over the difference between law and grace, the lesson asks:

“That is, how does the law point us to our need of grace?”

And then immediately goes on to have us read from Joshua 1 where Israel is given instructions to obey God before they enter the Promised Land. 

Once again, he is attempting to put us back under the Law, the Old Covenant of judgment, condemnation and death by asking:

“What was the Lord saying to Joshua, and how do the principles found there apply to us today?”

The simple truth is, if you are in Christ, those principles of “obey the Law” no longer apply to you (Galatians 5:18).

Then the lesson hits us with this;

“Read Revelation 12:17, 14:12, Romans 1:5, 16:26, James 2:10–12” 

And then uses the same old tired argument that any time the Bible uses the word “commandment” it must mean the 10 Commandments with no effort at all to understand how the Bible authors used the word.

And then he finishes us off with this:

“Just as ancient Israel would prosper by obeying God’s law (even though they needed grace, as well), it’s no different for us today either. Hence, as part of Christian education we need to keep God’s law as a central component of what it means to live by faith and trusting in God’s grace.”

And we are only into Tuesday! What more death-causing Law can he throw at us in the last half of the week?

Well, he does it by trying to tell us we have to do what Jesus did:

“Perhaps John said it the best when he wrote this: “He who says he abides in Him ought himself also to walk just as He walked” (1 John 2:6, NKJV). When we fix our eyes on the life of Christ and His ministry on earth, it is easy to see how He pleased the Father by His obedience. Christ did fulfill prophecy, and He upheld God’s laws throughout His lifetime.

Now, rather than just having a set of rules to follow, we have the example of Jesus, a flesh- and-blood human being, to follow, as well.”

Once again, this shows a profound lack of understanding of the fact that, as a Jew (Galatians 4:4, 5), as our Savior here to ransom us from the condemnation of the Law, Jesus perfectly obeyed that law on our behalf. But Jesus never asked us to do the same thing in order to obtain the salvation He provided for us. We are to simply accept His gift by faith. If we truly have to follow His example we would have to be sinless, we would have to perform miracles of healing and we would have to die on the cross for sins. The only way we can follow His example is to have faith and trust in God.

In the questions at the end of the week, we are asked to evaluate the meaning of Psalm 119 when it talks about laws and commands, but once again the author is ignoring the fact that the author of Psalm 119 was a Jew under the Old Covenant and as such, he was expected to keep the Law—all of it, not just 10 selected bits and pieces. Yes, the writer of the longest chapter in the Bible does extol the value and beauty of the law but he does it as one who is still under its authority. To try to transfer that authority onto those of us that are in Christ is to invalidate the sacrifice Christ made on the cross.

To me, it is like a sign post along the freeway that points out the way you need to go to get to your destination. Once it has done its job—show you the way—you don’t dig it up and take it with you so that it can continue to show you where to go. NO! It is a good sign and entirely useful—but only for those who do not yet know the way. 

Saying that we no longer need the Law does not invalidate the Law; rather, it shows that the Law did its job in pointing out our sin and our need for a Savior. But once we come to that Savior, we no longer need the sign that tell us we are sinners and in need of a Savior.

To go back under the Law is to do the very thing that Paul cautioned against when he wrote Galatians. They were being urged to go back to the Law as if the gospel was not enough. Very much like the author of this lesson tries to push us out of grace and back under Law by trying to drag the Law into grace.

Again, I would urge you to take the Galatians challenge—to read it entirely through every day for one month. †