Introduction to Divine Law
Few people will doubt but that we live in a lawless and violent age; where
moral standards, once held sacred, are being abandoned with impunity.
Drug abuse, sex abuse, violence, murder and rape plague our cities. Most will agree
that lawlessness is a growing problem. People are becoming ungovernable. The
rising cost of crime, and it is the tax payer who ultimately foots the bill, is
causing concern throughout society and there seems little the authorities can
do to curb it.
An even more sinister trend is developing in the churches of Christendom.
Here too we see lawlessness being preached and practised. Millions of ministers and their congregations
are now turning their backs on the law of God, condoning behaviour which only
a few decades ago would have been openly condemned from the pulpit. This is a
serious trend: for the church is supposed to teach law and order. Yet today we
see prominent church leaders openly attacking the commandments of the
Almighty God. On TV, in the press, on radio and now on the Internet,
self-appointed prophets, prelates and priests openly admit to breaking divine
commandments - held sacred since time began. Shocking sexual misbehaviour is
now openly flaunted as so-called 'new light,' 'new wine' and 'liberating faith' mock the sacred
commandments of the Almighty God! Millions of Christians believe that they are 'ABOVE THE LAW!' misunderstanding the Apostle Paul's words when he wrote:
"Ye are not under the law, but under grace!
Strange as it may seem, this upsurge in immorality and lawlessness is not
new. It has all happened before. What is new is the world-wide
publicity lawless churchmen receive. Never a week passes but another 'spiritual
outlaw' is seen in the pulpit or on TV decrying the commandments of God. The church is in the
grip of a 'lawless depression' where blatant sin is rampant. Speaking many
centuries ago the Almighty said this about the disregard for His law by
professed spiritual leaders.
| Isaiah 24:
| 5: The earth also is defiled under the inhabitants thereof; because
they have transgressed the laws, changed the ordinance, broken the
everlasting covenant.
6. Therefore hath the curse devoured the earth, and they that dwell therein are desolate...
|
| Zephaniah 3:
| 4: Her prophets are light and treacherous persons: her priests have
polluted the sanctuary, they have done violence to the law.
|
Does it really matter how people behave in private or public? Do God's laws
still exist and are we expected to obey them? Or are Yahweh's commandments obsolete, fulfilled and done away with by the death of His Son Jesus
Christ? Millions of Christians would answer:
"Yes, we are no longer under
the law. We're under grace!
The law has been done away with and we are no longer expected to keep it."
Is this the case? Does being 'under grace' cancel the need to obey the
ten commandments?
This is a vital question, the answers to which will
determine how you behave and how you will stand on the fast-approaching
Day of Judgement. For make no mistake,
according to Jesus Christ you will have to answer for all your actions, yes
for every idle word, on that awesome day. Ignorance will be no excuse;
certainly not after you've read this article.
| Matthew 12:
| 36: But I say unto you, That every idle word that men shall speak, they
shall give account thereof in the day of judgment.
|
| Revelation 20:
| 12: And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the
books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life:
and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the
books, according to their works.
|
2. Are Moral Laws Necessary?
Yes, moral laws are necessary. No society can function properly without
rules and regulations. Without laws people soon revert to the level of
brute beasts, the 'law of the jungle.' Human society needs rules and
regulations. Where there is no law there is anarchy. This fact applies on the road, in the
air, in the home, the classroom, the office and the factory. To avoid chaos,
law and order is absolutely essential.
Yes, moral laws are absolutely necessary? Every Christian, indeed
every believer of all the major religions on earth, will agree that society
must have moral standards if we are to avoid anarchy. But who defines moral
standards? Certainly we humans cannot. The answer is: God alone has the
authority to define moral standards; because He created us. Where does He
define moral standards? The answer is He defines moral standards in His law.
In other words, Yahweh's law, as recorded in the Bible, identifies the
moral standards He wants humanity to live by. If Yahweh's law didn't exist
no one would know right from wrong. The Bible says:
| 1 John 3:
| 4: Whosoever committeth sin transgresseth also the law: for sin is the
transgression of the law.
|
| Romans 7:
| 7: What shall we say then? Is the law sin? God forbid. Nay, I had not
known sin, but by the law: for I had not known lust, except the law had
said, Thou shalt not covet.
|
Our Schoolmaster
The law of the Most High also points the sinner to the Saviour. It is a
schoolmaster guiding the guilty one to the Saviour, who alone can
cleanse the sinner. In other words the law not only identifies sin, that is its
initial purpose, but it also points to the remedy - Yeshua the Messiah.
He alone can cleanse and empower a sinner not to sin again. To use another
analogy, we might say that Yahweh's law is like a signpost on the highway
of life, pointing the way to the Kingdom of Heaven. Once you know what sin
is, repent of it and receive God's power to keep from sinning, you no longer need to
constantly look at the signpost to tell you the way: because you now know the
way. Knowledge of the way, however, does not do away with the signpost. It is
still there should you or others begin to sin again and get lost . Removing signposts and attacking
schoolmasters are serious crimes against society. The Bible says:
| Galatians 3:
| 24: Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, that
we might be justified by faith.
|
3. Are Yahweh's Laws Imperfect?
The answer is No. Every one of the Eternal's commandments is perfect. All are
spiritual, pure, good and complete. They are all faultless. It is unthinkable
that the Most High even wrote one imperfect instruction. To harbour such an
idea is unworthy of a true believer. Here are a few texts about Yahweh's perfect
commandments which the reader will do well to study and remember: because
blindly rejecting or attacking the law of the Almighty is courting disaster
to say the least.
| Romans 7:
| 12: Wherefore the law is holy, and the commandment holy, and just, and
good ...
|
| verse 14
| For we know that the law is spiritual: but I am carnal, sold under
sin.
|
| Psalm 19:
| 7: The law of the LORD is perfect, converting the soul: the testimony
of the LORD is sure, making wise the simple.
8: The statutes of the LORD are
right, rejoicing the heart: the commandment of the LORD is pure, enlightening
the eyes.
|
5. Yahweh's Laws are Multilevel
Yahweh's laws are multi-level. This means that the high
spiritual realities to which they point are prefigured by low level
shadows, illustrations, models and dramas. At their high level every
single commandment of God is eternal: but more about this point later.
At their low level some divine laws are limited to periods of time
called "dispensations." When a dispensation expires, then in some
cases the physical, low level illustration, the blueprint or model of
the high level principle the law is teaching is no longer
needed; just as a signpost is no longer needed when you have arrived at your destination.
In a similar way a schoolmaster is no longer needed when you have
learned the lessons he was teaching. But the 'spiritual requirement'
the 'high level principle' to which the shadow points, continues to be
in force throughout eternity. Let me explain this twin-level concept
with the help of an example.
Animal Sacrifices
The book of Leviticus contains scores of passages about various
sacrifices and offerings made in the worship of the Most High: sin
offerings, meat offerings, peace and thank offerings, trespass offerings,
meal offerings and wave offerings. Every transgression, however small, called
for some kind of offering to gain forgiveness. All those rituals, and they
were obviously expensive and time-consuming, pointed to the enormous price
the Almighty paid for the redemption of mankind. Those sacrifices of lambs,
rams, he-goats, bulls and pigeons etc all pointed to Yeshua the Saviour's
death on Calvary. Since his death, we believers do not need to sacrifice
animals to gain forgiveness from sin. The death of Jesus Christ cleanses
the repentant believer from sin. This means that the low level part of the law,
the blueprint, the model, the illustration, the part which involved the
slaughter of farm animals, is no longer necessary. It has fulfilled its
instructional purpose in pointing the sinner to the Lamb of God and in
teaching him/her how costly (to Yahweh and His Son) the process of redemption
really is. The low level requirement of that law is over: it is passed.
The high level requirements of the sacrificial laws, however, are
eternal. They still apply. Let me further explain this little known truth.
When a person sins in this day and age he/she must still come to the Almighty
with the blood of a sacrifice: for 'without blood there is no forgiveness
of sin.' This mandatory parameter (that without blood there can be no
forgiveness) is the very reason why those commandments concerning animal
sacrifices were given. They were given to teach mankind that the penalty for
sin is death; and that forgiveness is only possible if the sinner comes to God
with the blood of a substitute. Prior to the Saviour's death on Calvary literal
lambs, goats and bulls were slaughtered to prefigure the real substitute -
Jesus Christ. Those practical lessons mean that if a repentant sinner wants
forgiveness from sin, he/she must approach the Almighty with the blood of a
sacrifice. In this dispensation (since the Saviour's death on Calvary) all we
need to obtain forgiveness is faith in the blood of the Lamb of God. In
other words before you can find forgiveness from sin, you need faith in the
cleansing power of the blood of Jesus Christ. You cannot receive remission
(forgiveness, pardon, acquittal, absolution) for your sins in any other way! This is what the Bible teaches. In short, the high-level reality of the law on sacrifices (that we need faith in the blood of the Messiah before forgiveness is possible) still exists. It hasn't been done away with.
| Hebrews 9:
| 22: And almost all things are by the law purged with blood; and without
shedding of blood is no remission.
|
| Colossians 1:
| 14: In whom we have redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness
of sins.
|
| Psalm 111:
| 7: The works of his hands are verity and judgment; all his commandments
are sure.
8: They stand fast for ever and ever, and are done in truth and
uprightness.
|
I repeat, the new covenant believer does not need to sacrifice a lamb, a goat
or a bull to gain forgiveness. All he is required to do is to confess his
sins to God and ask forgiveness in His Son's name. The blood of Yeshua the
Messiah (the only begotten Son of God) cleanses us from sin. But, and here is the point I
am making, the law that states that forgiveness is not possible without blood,
still stands. It is still in force. It is eternal and it applies today. If you
want forgiveness now, you must still go to God the Father with faith in the
blood of the substitute - Jesus Christ the Son.
See Animal Sacrifices for more information on sacrificial laws.
6. Yahweh's Laws Are Eternal?
At their high level, every one of Yahweh's laws is eternal. They will
all, I repeat - all, last for all time. Unlike the animal sacrifice laws,
many of Yahweh's commandments still apply on both levels. For example the law
forbidding adultery. It still applies on the physical as well as the spiritual
level. Physically sleeping with another man's wife is as wrong today as it was
before the Saviour died on Calvary. On a still higher plane that same law
forbids 'mental adultery' and higher still - 'adulterating truth with error.'
These acts are high level adultery. Other examples of laws that still apply
on both levels are:
- Thou shalt not bow down to graven images.
Low level: Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image ...
High level: Do not worship man-made systems, pagan gods or alien
ideologies: because they are as lifeless as stone or metal images and cannot
help in times of real trouble.
- Honour thy father and thy mother.
Low level: Honour your earthly father and mother ...
High level: Honour your spiritual, Heavenly Father Yahweh and His church, the mother of all believers.
- Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy.
Low level: Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy. In it thou shalt
not do any work ...
High level: Remember Yahweh's Sabbath is His everlasting covenant sign of
sanctification, rest and true prosperity. It prefigures the Rest of God in
the ages to come.
| Psalm 111:7-8
| "The works of his hands are verity and judgment; all his
commandments are sure. They stand fast for ever and ever, and are done in
truth and uprightness."
|
| Matthew 5:17-19
| "Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am
not come to destroy, but to fulfil. 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. 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."
|
When the Almighty writes His perfect law on the minds of His followers, it
will be for all time, never to be forgotten.
| Hebrews 8:10
| "For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel
after those days, saith the Lord; I will put my laws into their mind, and
write them in their hearts: and I will be to them a God, and they shall be to
me a people ..."
|
7. Conclusion
- Lawlessness is a growing problem throughout the world: in the classroom,
workroom, office and, alas - even in the church! Many Christians incorrectly suppose
that Paul taught that Yahweh's law is obsolete and that the ten commandments
are a thing of the past. This monumental misconception is currently resulting
in lawlessness throughout society. The church is no longer leading the fight
against lawlessness. It has become
lawless itself and violence is sweeping society.
- The truth is: Yahweh's laws are necessary. They identify sin. They convert the soul! They act like signposts or schoolmasters pointing the way to the Saviour Jesus
Christ (Yeshua the Messiah). Without God's law no one would know right from wrong; especially in sexual matters.
- Yahweh's laws are all perfect - every one of them.
- Yahweh's laws are eternal. The high level principles they embody will be
inscribed on the true believers mind and will be instinctively obeyed
throughout eternity.
This is what the scriptures teach. That is what every true prophet, priest
and Apostle of God taught in days gone by. So let no one foolishly attack the
law of the Almighty: the commandments He wrote with His own hand. The thought
of the fast approaching Day of Judgement is not something to be lightly
dismissed. I end here by quoting two of the wisest men who ever lived:
Solomon said
| Ecclesiastes 12:13-14
| "Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep
his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man. For God shall bring every
work into judgment, with every secret thing, whether it be good, or whether it
be evil."
|
Jesus said
| Matthew 19:17
| "... if thou wilt enter into life, keep the commandments."
|
Remember to read the articles available from the Law
Library. Here you will find many more amazing truths about Yahweh's law,
the constitution of the mighty universe!
Author: David B Loughran
Stewarton Bible School, Stewarton, Scotland
January 1996 ... Reformatted: December 1999