Page 36 - Laying Down the Law

The Moral Law - A Shadow of Things to Come

any have set forth the argument that the ceremonial Law, and the Law of
Mofferings and sacrifices, have been set aside for those who are in Christ, but the
moral Law still holds sway over the life of an individual. They teach that the moral
Law still is to serve as the believer’s code of conduct and a guide for righteous living.
That the apostles and church fathers had the moral portions of the Law in mind when
they declared the Christian to have died to the Law is evident in the Scriptures, and
will be revealed to all who will rightly divide the word of God. Consider the following
passage from Paul’s writings.

Romans 7:6-7
But now we have been released from the Law, having died to that by which we
were bound, so that we serve in newness of the Spirit and not in oldness of the
letter. What shall we say then? Is the Law sin? May it never be! On the
contrary, I would not have come to know sin except through the Law; for I
would not have known about coveting if the Law had not said, "YOU SHALL
NOT COVET."

To those who argue that Paul was merely setting aside the Talmudic additions
to the Law, let them consider Paul’s arguments in this chapter of Romans. Where do
we find the command “You shall not covet”? It is in the Law of Moses, in that very
pronounced subset which is referred to as the ten commandments.

Exodus 20:17
"You shall not covet your neighbor's house; you shall not covet your neighbor's
wife, nor his male servant, nor his female servant, nor his ox, nor his donkey,
nor anything that is your neighbor's."

People of God, the command to not covet most certainly belongs to that division
of the Law that some have described as the moral Law. What does Paul say in regard
to it? “But now we have been released from the Law, having died to that by which we
were bound, so that we serve in newness of the Spirit and not in oldness of the letter.”
A number of things are to be observed in this statement. The Spirit has
supplanted the role of the Law. The Spirit of Christ is that which is far fuller, more
substantial, powerful, and capable than the Law delivered to Moses. The Spirit not
only is able to reveal to the sons of God the will of the Father IN ALL THINGS, but it
is able to impart the divine life needed to obey.
A second thing to observe in these words is that we are to continue to serve
Yahweh. Being freed from the Law we are to enter into a fuller service to God. This
service is not to continue under “the oldness of the letter.” Paul testifies that we have
died to that manner of living. Rather, this service is in the newness of the Spirit.