The church of Christ teaches that God's Law was nailed to the cross and is no longer in effect. We are now under the new covenant and the old covenant is now gone. The Old Testament was for the Jews and the New Testament is for the Gentiles. Is this all true? Is it all false? Is part of it true?

In chatting with people in the church of Christ I understand that most people believe that there is still a law against murder and stealing for example. On the one hand they are taught that we must obey the law, but on the other hand they are taught that the law is done away. A few like one of my Bible teachers at Harding knew that there was more than one law in the scriptures. In fact there are several. In this study I would like to show what is done away and what is not done away.

There are many scriptures that talk about the Law. In part 1 let us deal with a few verses in Matthew 5.

Matthew 5:17
"Do not think that I came to destroy the Law or the Prophets. I did not come to destroy but to fulfill.
18 "For assuredly, I say to you, till heaven and earth pass away, one jot or one tittle will by no means pass from the law till all is fulfilled.
19 Whoever therefore breaks one of the least of these commandments, and teaches men so, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever does and teaches them, he shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven.
20 For I say to you, that unless your righteousness exceeds the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven."

There is plenty here to chat about! First of all we really need to take seriously the very first sentence. Based on that we should be able to say that the "law and the prophets" stand today. However which law and what does it include that Christ was talking about? Since I do not see anything to denote which law I will leave it at God's Law in general. I usually think of this as God's moral law summed up in the 10 commandments. We have several examples in the scripture that validate that a law existed before Moses. The easiest to show is Genesis 26:5

Genesis 26:5
"because Abraham obeyed My voice and kept My charge, My commandments, My statutes, and My laws."

We will deal more with that verse in another part of our study. The next sentence is one that is used quite often by people to turn around after the first sentence and say that Christ did not destroy the law, but that he fulfilled the law or completed it and so it is now ended. It wasn't destroyed, but just ended. The result is the same and so I suggest that teaching really does destroy the "old law". Try this for further clarification on what Christ might have really meant in the phrase, "but to fulfill".

Luke 24:44
"Then He said to them, "These are the words which I spoke to you while I was still with you, that all things must be fulfilled which were written in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms concerning Me.""

In Luke 24:44 Christ explains what He fulfilled. He fulfilled all that the law and the prophets said or prophesied about Him! Now for the next sentence. I think it is obvious that heaven and earth have not passed away. So not one jot or one tittle has passed away from the law, but what about the last phrase of the sentence, "till all is fulfilled"? Christ did indeed fulfill what the law and the prophets said about Him. So we no longer still look forward to that part to be fulfilled do we. What about the law and the prophets that deal with other things? This is where I think the word "all" is important. Heaven and earth have not passed away so anything in the law that does not deal with what Christ fulfilled or satisfied about Himself is still with us today. Make sense?

Back to verse 19 of chapter 5. Anyone in the churches of Christ that promotes the idea that the law is all gone really needs to be careful. At least those who teach against it may be in the kingdom in the next age, but I don't think any of us would want to be called least in that kingdom!

In verse 20 there is a small thing probably missed most of the time. It has to do with righteousness. How does one become righteous? Matthew 6:33 says that we should seek righteousness. Can it be done without a law? Of course we can not be saved on our own or by obedience to any law. The blood of Christ which we contact in immersion (baptism) is what cleanses our sins. Jesus Christ told us to obey though. To think that one does not need to be obedient is a mistake.

John 14:15
"If you love Me, keep My commandments."

If you will start looking through the new portion of scripture with the idea that God's law is still with us you start to see verses everywhere that support that idea. Now very briefly to finish this study I will mention which law is not with us. I do not believe that the sacrifices are still with us. I think that the sacrifices or blood ordinances and the Levitical priesthood were all satisfied by Christ because those items are what was added 430 years after the promises. To keep this page short please click and read Yahweh's Perfect Law and see what you think. Try not to be hasty. Be a good Berean. There is more, much more to this. Here is the link to part 2.




Yahweh's Perfect Law  |  Is God's Law Still in Effect, Part 1  |  Is God's Law Still in Effect, Part 2  |  Romans 10:4: The End of the Law  |  Was All of God's Law nailed to the Cross?  |  The Law of Yahweh before Moses  |  Why do we Forget the Commandment that begins with "Remember"?  |  There Remains a Sabbath for the People of God  |  Will God Save this Country?  |  The Ten Commandments


What is the New Covenant?


Can One Divorce and Why?  |  Can the Divorced Marry Again?  |  Elders, Deacons and "One Wife"  |  What the Bible says on divorce and Putting Away.  |  A very brief look at Adultery  |  Matthew 19 on Divorce  |  Mark 10 on Divorce  |  Words Mean Things  |  Children  |  Abortion  |  Abuse  |  Did Abraham Really Marry His Sister?  |  God got a Divorce!  | 


Unclean Food?  |  Clean or Unclean Food?   


Chosen People  |  What do you think this collection of Bible verses is about?  |  Who are the Gentiles of Romans 2 and 9?  |  The Law of God Written on the Hearts of Israel  |  Yahweh's People. A Very Important Truth to Discover!  |  The Lost Sheep of the house of Israel.  |  Some Marks of Physical Israel  |  Phrase study "Among the Gentiles"  |  Who are the Players today?  |  I was amazed that the Bible made this distinction!  |  Christ taught a parable on who can be saved.    What does Romans 9 really teach?  |  Romans 9:24.  |  The Other Sheep Fold of John 10


Becoming a Christian - Are you sure you are one?  |  Contrapositive  |  The Sacred Name of our God  |  John 3:16 Rewritten  |  What is the Lake of Fire?  |  Why will there be a New Earth?  |  What Happens When You Die?  |  God's enduring mercy.  |  Who did Seth Marry?  |  Is this an End of the Age Prophecy?  |  Pride Comes Before Destruction  |  Translator Bias  |  Children Involuntarily Leaving Home  |  New Moon or New Month?


What about the Book of Jasher?  |  The Casting of Lots  |  Helping the antichrist.  |  What did Yahshua look like?  |  "Jew" amd "Gentile" in Scripture?  |  Answers to select Questions.  |  How I Study the Bible  |  Oracles of Yah Links Page  |  Oracles of Yah Start Page

---

Feel free to send your helpful comments.

Thank You


Oracles of Yah