There is a bit of confusion among Christians today regarding the old Mosaic Law. The Mosaic Law was instituted back in the days of Moses. I’ve never counted just how many laws were written, but I’m told there were over 600 of them. I cannot imagine having to keep over 600 laws just to be righteous in God’s sight! And then there is this:
James 2:10
For the person who keeps all of the laws except one is as guilty as a person who has broken all of God’s laws.
In other words, if you break just one law, James says you have broken all of them.
So, let’s go over three aspects regarding this Mosaic Law, and hopefully, we can glean a better understanding of the differences between the Mosaic Law and the new covenant of Grace, which has replaced the Law.
The Mosaic Law was written for Jews, not for Christians.
In the early Church, this was a hot topic (Acts 15) because many of the Jews wanted gentiles (Non-Jewish) converts to keep the Mosaic law. During the debate, the Apostle Peter stood up and said the following:
Acts 15:9-11
He (God) made no distinction between us and them, for he cleansed their hearts through faith. So why are you now challenging God by burdening the Gentile believers with a yoke that neither we nor our ancestors were able to bear? We believe that we are all saved the same way, by the undeserved grace of the Lord Jesus.”
In Paul’s writings, he repeatedly emphasizes that we Christians (Jews and Gentiles) are no longer under the law but under grace. Yet many Churches continue to this day to enforce many parts of the law, something which was never intended for Christians.
The Mosaic Law was based on your performance.
Deuteronomy chapter 28 outlines the blessings and the curses of the law. In other words, your actions determine whether you are blessed or cursed. If you obey, then you are blessed, but if you disobey, you are cursed. It was strictly performance-based. This mentality still continues to this day. We continue to believe that in order for God to bless us, we must do good, but the fact is that God is not good to us because we are good. He is good to us because He is Good – regardless of our performance.
Colossians 1:22
He (God) has reconciled you to himself through the death of Christ in his physical body. As a result, he has brought you into his own presence, and you are holy and blameless as you stand before him without a single fault.
Our salvation is something God himself initiated through our faith in Jesus Christ. It’s something you will NEVER earn because of your good performance. This scripture in Colossians is not something in the future, but it is how God sees us through our faith in Jesus Christ. We already stand holy, blameless, and we stand before him without a single fault.
To be forgiven of your transgressions, a sacrifice had to be made.
Under the Mosaic Law, there were what is called sin and burnt offerings. These sacrifices could never take away sin but cover sin (Hebrews 10:4). Even tho these offerings were made, the guilt, shame, and condemnation of sin remained.
The blood sacrifice of Jesus Christ absolutely and completely abolishes the sin issue.
Hebrews 9:28
Christ was offered once for all time as a sacrifice to take away the sins of many people. He will come again, not to deal with our sins, but to bring salvation to all who are eagerly waiting for him.
The Message translation says, “It was a sacrifice that took care of sins forever.” Notice it says Jesus will come again, NOT to deal with our sins. Why? Because Jesus has already dealt with the sin of mankind, past, present and furture!
I’ve been in churches most of my life, and it seems like the central theme is always about sin. The problem with the focus being on sin is that the law causes sin to increase (Romans 5:20). So sin should not be the central theme of the church.
There are many more aspects of the Mosaic Law that exist. I’ve talked about three, which I believe are important ones. It’s vital for us to understand the differences between Law and Grace.
In addition, I want to mention a few things to keep in mind regarding Jesus’ role while he lived on this earth. The first, Jesus was a Jew; secondly, He was born under the Mosaic Law.
Galatians 4:4
But when the right time came, God sent his Son, born of a woman, subject to the law.
So, as we read the Gospels, it is imperative that we understand and keep this in mind! While Jesus lived on this earth, He fulfilled every aspect of the Law and also introduced grace. Remember how He handled the situation with the woman caught in adultery. And, of course, Jesus is going to talk about subjects such as tithing because He was under the Law.
Hebrews chapter 10 talks about a new covenant that Jesus instituted. The first covenant, a.k.a. the Law, has been fulfilled, and a new covenant, a covenant of grace, has been put into effect. The understanding of the covenant of grace is something I feel is greatly lacking in Churches today. I have made it my mission to first of all, be establish in grace and to teach and talk about it to anyone who will listen, because I consider this to be the true Gospel we as Christians need to be spreading.
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