The Ever-Relevant Moses Law: Still Applicable Today?

The Law of Moses, also called the Mosaic Law, is the law said to have been revealed to Moses by God. The term primarily refers to the Torah or the first five books of the Hebrew Bible. The Mosaic covenant played an important role in the origins of Christianity and has occasioned serious dispute and controversy since the beginnings of the religion. Most Christians believe that only parts of the Old Covenant dealing with the moral law are still applicable, while others believe that none apply. Orthodox Christians, on the other hand, regard the Law of Moses as still fully in effect but transformed and fulfilled in a number of ways.

The Old Testament is still authoritative

The Old Testament contains moral commands that remain completely authoritative because the moral law is "the testimony of natural law". That law expresses the order of things everywhere present and accessible to the world. As Paul explains, "For when Gentiles, who do not have the law, by nature do what the law requires, they are a law to themselves, even though they do not have the law."

The Old Testament also contains ceremonial and civil laws that are now obsolete. The ceremonial laws were "ordained to the Divine worship for that particular time and to the foreshadowing of Christ". The civil laws were proper to Israel as a nation whose laws surrounded their relationship to God via the priesthood.

The Old Testament is affirmed in its new meaning. For example, in Psalm 137, a blessing is pronounced on anyone who takes revenge upon the enemies of Israel by "dashing their infants against the rocks". The new meaning of that passage is "the infants are those troublesome sinful thoughts, the early beginnings and promptings of evil; one subdues them by striking them against the firm and solid strength of truth".

The Old Testament is still directly applicable to our lives. For example, the entire Old Testament provides Christian wisdom to guide us in our Christian walk. It republishes natural law to confront our consciences with our sin. It promises the Gospel of Salvation. Every jot and tittle is for us and for our salvation. We simply have to read it as Christians under the new priesthood, new law, and New Covenant.

The moral law is the testimony of natural law

The Law of Moses in ancient Israel was distinct from other legal codes in the ancient Near East because transgressions were seen as offences against God rather than solely as offences against society (civil law). This is in contrast to the Sumerian Code of Ur-Nammu and the Babylonian Code of Hammurabi, which focused on contract law.

The Mosaic Law contains moral commands that remain completely authoritative because the moral law is "the testimony of natural law". That law expresses the order of things everywhere present and accessible to the world. As Paul explains, "For when Gentiles, who do not have the law, by nature do what the law requires, they are a law to themselves, even though they do not have the law".

God created us with faculties of sight, smell, and so on. We can see the moon and trust that it exists. We can study the brain and grasp its constituent elements. We trust a surgeon for their skill and a biologist to tell us what a cell is. And so natural law also exists as a publicly accessible reality, part of creation, which anyone can observe and know.

Sin means that while people may know what is right, they do evil nevertheless. Every human faculty has been marred by sin, and so we do not accomplish what we know to be right. Our conscience judges us. That is why the Ten Commandments often expose the conscience to what it knows to be true, namely, that one has failed to do natural law; and such moral failure has consequences.

The civil and ceremonial laws of the Old Covenant, however, are no longer in effect. The Levitical priesthood was a temporary structure, and Jesus from the line of Judah (not Levi) institutes a completely new Melchizedekian priesthood (and so law) by the power of his resurrection.

The New Covenant, in which Christians are now united to Jesus, frees us from the judgment and the burden of the Old Covenant. The Old Covenant was a "contract" between God and Israel consisting of 613 laws. It stipulated that if they followed the laws, they would live safely and prosperously in the Promised Land.

The New Covenant is a promise made to Abraham, guaranteed by God's grace, through faith, not through law. The Law was a shadow pointing to the reality of Christ. Now that we have Christ, we’re no longer under the shadow because we have the substance.

The Old Covenant is simply not our covenant. We’re united to Christ, and we’re in. The Mosaic Law is not our covenant. We’re in the New Covenant.

The civil and ceremonial laws related to temporary arrangements

The civil and ceremonial laws of Moses are temporary arrangements that are no longer in effect. The Levitical priesthood, which was a temporary structure, has been replaced by the priesthood of Jesus, bringing in a new and better law. The Levitical priesthood was meant to provide the concepts to understand the priesthood of Jesus.

The civil laws were specifically given for the culture and place of the Israelites. They encompass all of the moral law except the Ten Commandments. This includes everything from murder to restitution for a man gored by an ox and the responsibility of rescuing a neighbour's trapped donkey.

The ceremonial laws, called hukkim or chuqqah in Hebrew, focus the adherent's attention on God. They include instructions on regaining right standing with God, remembrances of God's work in Israel, specific regulations meant to distinguish Israelites from their pagan neighbours, and signs that point to the coming Messiah.

The civil and ceremonial laws are now obsolete, along with the old covenant itself. Christians are not bound by them, but they are still useful for instruction.

The New Covenant

> "In the same way, after the supper he took the cup, saying, 'This cup is the new covenant in my blood, which is poured out for you.'" (Luke 22:20)

This covenant is distinct from the Mosaic Law or the Old Covenant, which Christians generally refer to as the first five books of the Hebrew Bible, or the Torah. The New Covenant is characterised by a shift from the old Levitical priesthood to a new Melchizedekian priesthood (Hebrews 7:11-12, 16), and from the old covenant's focus on the nation of Israel to a transnational body (Hebrews 7:11-12).

> "Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfil them." (Matthew 5:17)

> "It was for freedom that Christ set us free; therefore keep standing firm and do not be subject again to a yoke of slavery." (Galatians 5:1)

The Law of Christ

The New Law is presented in the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5-7) and in the moral teachings found in various letters of the New Testament, such as Romans 12-15, 1 Corinthians 12-13, Colossians 3-4, and Ephesians 4-5. This new law is characterised as a "perfection" of the Old Law, given through faith in Christ.

The key distinction between the Old and New Laws lies in their respective priesthoods. The Old Law was associated with the Levitical priesthood, while the New Law is established by Jesus, who is from the line of Judah, instituting a new Melchizedekian priesthood through his resurrection. This change in priesthood brings about a change in the law itself, as stated in Hebrews 7:11-12: "Now if perfection had been attainable through the Levitical priesthood (for under it the people received the law), what further need would there have been for another priest to arise after the order of Melchizedek, rather than one named after the order of Aaron? For when there is a change in the priesthood, there is necessarily a change in the law as well."

The New Law is also characterised by a shift from the national character of the Old Law to a transnational body, as God's dealings with the earth are no longer limited to a specific nation like Israel. This shift is reflected in the New Testament epistles, which emphasise the unity of Jews and Gentiles in Christ, breaking down the barrier of the Mosaic Law (Ephesians 2:11-22).

While the Mosaic Law is no longer binding, the Old Testament remains authoritative for Christians. It is viewed as prophetic of Christ, a source of Christian wisdom, and a means of understanding natural law and confronting our consciences with our sin. The moral commands of the Old Testament, such as the Ten Commandments, remain completely authoritative, as they are considered a part of the natural law that God has written on the hearts of all people.

In summary, the Law of Christ, or the New Law, is the law that Christians are called to follow. It supersedes the Mosaic Law or the Old Law, which has been fulfilled and is no longer binding. The New Law is characterised by a new priesthood, a transnational scope, and a focus on the moral law, while still recognising the ongoing authority of the Old Testament as a source of wisdom and natural law.

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