Lesson 12
The Two Laws
1. What two names are given to the ten commandment law?
James 2:8-12: “If ye fulfil the royal law according to the scripture, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself, ye do well: but if ye have respect to persons, ye commit sin, and are convinced of the law as transgressors. For whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all. For he that said, Do not commit adultery, said also, Do not kill. Now if thou commit no adultery, yet if thou kill, thou art become a transgressor of the law. So speak ye, and so do, as they that shall be judged by the law of liberty.”
Exodus 20:13, 14: “Thou shalt not kill. Thou shalt not commit adultery.”
The “royal law” is the king’s law and the king is Jesus Christ (Revelation 17:14). The “law of liberty”, when obeyed through the power of the Spirit, sanctifies and sets us free from sin and it’s death penalty. The ten commandment law or the royal law or the law of liberty are all synonymous. It is God’s moral law by which we will be judged, showing us the difference between good and bad behaviour or the way we conduct ourselves.
Revelation 17:14 “These shall make war with the Lamb, and the Lamb shall overcome them: for he is Lord of lords, and King of kings: and they that are with him are called, and chosen, and faithful.”
2. How did Jesus sum up the ten commandments?
Matthew 22:36-40: “Master, which is the great commandment in the law? Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.”
“The first four of the Ten Commandments are summed up in the one great precept, ‘Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart.’ The last six are included in the other, ‘Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself.’ Both these commandments are an expression of the principle of love. The first cannot be kept and the second broken, nor can the second be kept while the first is broken. When God has His rightful place on the throne of the heart, the right place will be given to our neighbor. We shall love him as ourselves. And only as we love God supremely is it possible to love our neighbor impartially.
“And since all the commandments are summed up in love to God and man, it follows that not one precept can be broken without violating this principle. Thus Christ taught His hearers that the law of God is not so many separate precepts, some of which are of great importance, while others are of small importance and may with impunity be ignored. Our Lord presents the first four and the last six commandments as a divine whole, and teaches that love to God will be shown by obedience to all His commandments.” The Desire of Ages, page 607.
3. Is the ten commandment law faulty in any way?
James 1:25: “But whoso looketh into the perfect law of liberty, and continueth therein, he being not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the work, this man shall be blessed in his deed.”
Romans 7:12: “Wherefore the law is holy, and the commandment holy, and just, and good.”
We know that this verse is speaking of the ten commandment law, because in verse 7 it quotes the tenth one (Thou shalt not covet).
4. What was Jesus’ attitude toward the law?
Matthew 5:17-18: “Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfill. 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.”
When we read this chapter in context we find the word law referring once again to the ten commandment law (see verses 21 and 27). Since the present heavens and earth still remain, so also do the binding claims of God’s moral law.
Matthew 5:21 & 27: “Ye have heard that it was said by them of old time, Thou shalt not kill; and whosoever shall kill shall be in danger of the judgment: . . . Ye have heard that it was said by them of old time, Thou shalt not commit adultery:”
[Further Study]
Psalms 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.”
5. What system was established because of man’s transgression of the ten commandment law, and when did it begin?
Genesis 3:7, 11, 21: “And the eyes of them both were opened and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together, and made themselves aprons . . . And he (God) said, Who told thee that thou wast naked? Hast thou eaten of the tree, whereof I commanded thee that thou shouldest not eat? . . . . Unto Adam also and to his wife did the Lord God make coasts of skins, and clothed them.”
After Adam and Eve sinned they tried to clothe their nakedness by the works of their own hands, but this was not acceptable to God because without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness.
Hebrews 9:22 “And almost all things are by the law purged with blood; and without shedding of blood is no remission.”
Isaiah 64:6 “But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags; and we all do fade as a leaf; and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away.”
Leviticus 5:17-19: “And if a soul sin, and commit any of these things which are forbidden to be done by the commandments of the Lord; though he wist it not, yet is he guilty, and shall bear his iniquity. And he shall bring a ram without blemish out of the flock, with thy estimation, for a trespass offering, unto the priest: and the priest shall make an atonement for him concerning his ignorance wherein he erred and wist it not, and it shall be forgiven him. It is a trespass offering: he hath certainly trespassed against the Lord.”
The book of Leviticus was the textbook of the priests. It outlines all the different sacrifices and ceremonies of the sanctuary service in detail. The sacrificial system, with its rights and ceremonies, pointing to the death of Christ, was established as a result of sin. Regardless of the type of sin committed, we have been promised forgiveness and cleansing if we confess ( 1 John 1:9 “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”). The offering had to be without blemish because it represented the perfect sacrifice of Jesus who “was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin.” (Hebrews 4:15).
6. What was the ceremonial law called?
Ephesians 2:14-15: “For he (Christ) is our peace, who hath made both one, and hath broken down the middle wall of partition between us; Having abolished in his flesh the enmity, even the law of commandments contained in ordinances; for to make in himself of twain one new man, so making peace.”
Numbers 19:1-3: “And the Lord spake unto Moses and unto Aaron, saying, This is the ordinance of the law which the Lord hath commanded, saying, Speak unto the children of Israel, that they bring thee a red heifer without spot, wherein is no blemish, and upon which never came yoke: and ye shall give her unto Eleazar the priest, that he may bring her forth without the camp, and one shall slay her before his face.”
The ceremonial law is referred to as “the law of commandments contained in ordinances.” There was hatred of the Jews toward the Gentiles and the Gentiles toward the Jews. It was not the ceremonial law itself that created this division, but the perversion of it by the Jews. By the death of Christ this hatred was abolished when the whole ceremonial system met its fulfillment through His sacrifice.
7. How was the moral law given, what was it written on, and where was it kept?
Exodus 31:18: “And he gave unto Moses, when he had made an end of communing with him upon Mount Sinai, two tables of testimony, tables of stone, written with the finger of God.”
[Further Study]
Deuteronomy 4:12-13 “And the LORD spake unto you out of the midst of the fire: ye heard the voice of the words, but saw no similitude; only ye heard a voice. And he declared unto you his covenant, which he commanded you to perform, even ten commandments; and he wrote them upon two tables of stone.”
1 Kings 8:9: “There was nothing in the ark save the two tables of stone which Moses put there at Horeb, when the Lord made a covenant with the children of Israel, when they came out of the land of Egypt.”
The ten commandments were placed inside the ark.
8. How was the ceremonial law given, where was it written, and where was it kept?
Leviticus 1:1-2: “And the Lord called unto Moses, and spake unto him out of the tabernacle of the congregation, saying, Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, If any man of you bring an offering unto the Lord, ye shall bring your offering of the cattle, even of the herd, and of the flock.”
Deuteronomy 31:24-26: “And it came to pass, when Moses had made an end of waiting the words of this law in a book, until they were finished, that Moses commanded the Levites, which bear the ark of the covenant of the Lord, saying, Take this book of the law, and put it in the side of the ark of the covenant of the Lord your God, that it may be there for a witness against thee.”
The ceremonial law was kept in the side of the ark.
9. Which of the two laws were nailed to the cross (done away with), the moral or the ceremonial?
Colossians 2:14: “Blotting out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us, which was contrary to us, and took it out of the way, nailing it to his cross.”
It was the ceremonial law, the law that pointed to and was a foreshadowing of, the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross of Calvary (Colossians 2:17). It was “the law of commandments contained in ordinances” (Ephesians 2:15), the one that was put in the side of the ark “for a witness against thee” (Deuteronomy 31:26).
Colossians 2:17 “Which are a shadow of things to come; but the body is of Christ.”
Ephesians 2:15 “Having abolished in his flesh the enmity, even the law of commandments contained in ordinances; for to make in himself of twain one new man, so making peace;”
Deuteronomy 31:26 “Take this book of the law, and put it in the side of the ark of the covenant of the LORD your God, that it may be there for a witness against thee.”
10. We learned earlier that the moral law is perfect, complete and has not changed. What about the ceremonial law?
Hebrews 10:1, 4: “For the law (ceremonial) having a shadow of good things to come, and not the very image of the things, can never with those sacrifices which they offered year by year continually make the comers thereunto perfect. . . . For it is not possible that the blood of bulls and of goats should take away sins.”
11. What supernatural event occurred when Jesus died on the cross signifying that the sacrificial system had come to an end?
Matthew 27:50-51: “Jesus, when he had cried again with a loud voice, yielded up the ghost. And, behold, the veil of the temple was rent in twain from the top to the bottom; and the earth did quake, and the rocks rent.”
12. What promise does God make to those who keep His commandments?
Revelation 22:14: “Blessed are they that do his commandments, that they may have right to the tree of life, and may enter in through the gates into the city (New Jerusalem, Revelation 21:10).”
Revelation 21:10 “And he carried me away in the spirit to a great and high mountain, and shewed me that great city, the holy Jerusalem, descending out of heaven from God,”)
13. If we love Jesus, what will we do?
John 14:15: “If ye love me, keep my commandments.”
“Adam and Eve, at their creation, had a knowledge of the law of God; they were acquainted with its claims upon them; its precepts were written upon their hearts. When men fell by transgression the law was not changed, but a remedial system was established to bring him back to obedience. The promise of a Saviour was given, and sacrificial offerings pointed forward to the death of Christ as the great sin offering were established. But had the law of God never been transgressed, there would have been no death, and no need of a Saviour; consequently there would have been no need of sacrifices.
“There are many who try to blend these two systems, using the texts that speak of the ceremonial law to prove that the moral law has been abolished; but this is a perversion of the Scriptures. The distinction between the two systems is broad and clear. The ceremonial system was made up of symbols pointing to Christ, to His sacrifice and His priesthood. This ritual law, with its sacrifices and ordinances, was to be performed by the Hebrews until type (prophecy) met antitype (fulfillment) in the death of Christ, the lamb of God that taketh away the sin of the world. Then all the sacrificial offerings were to cease..
“While the Saviour’s death brought to an end the law of types and shadows, it did not in the least detract from the obligation of the moral law. On the contrary, the very fact that it was necessary for Christ to die in order to atone for the transgression of that law, proves it to be immutable.” Patriarchs and Prophets, pages 363, 365.
“When the loud cry, ‘It is finished,’ came from the lips of Christ, the priests were officiating in the temple. It was the hour of the evening sacrifice. The lamb representing Christ had been brought to be slain. Clothed in his significant and beautiful dress, the priest stood with lifted knife, as did Abraham when he was about to slay his son. With intense interest the people were looking on. But the earth trembles and quakes; for the Lord Himself draws near. With a rending noise the inner veil of the temple is torn from top to bottom by an unseen hand, throwing open to the gaze of the multitude a place once filled with the presence of God. In this place the Shekinah had dwelt. Here God had manifested His glory above the mercy seat. No one but the high priest ever lifted the veil separating this apartment from the rest of the temple. He entered in once a year to make an atonement for the sins of the people. But lo, this veil is rent in twain. The most holy place of the earthly sanctuary is no longer sacred.
“All is terror and confusion. The priest is about to slay the victim; but the knife drops from his nerveless hand, and the lamb escapes. Type has met antitype in the death of God’s Son. The great sacrifice has been made. The way into the holiest is laid open. A new and living way is prepared for all. No longer need sinful, sorrowing humanity await the coming of the high priest. Henceforth the Saviour was to officiate as priest and advocate in the heaven of heavens. It was as if a living voice had spoken to the worshipers: There is now an end to all sacrifices and offerings for sin. The Son of God is come according to His word, ‘Lo, I come (in the volume of the Book it is written of Me,) to do Thy will, 0 God.’ ‘By His own blood’ He entered ‘in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for us.’ Hebrews 10:7; Hebrews 9:12.” The Desire of Ages, pages 756-757.