Are you under the law?
“I am not under the law” is often the objection by those who will not be subject unto the law of God. Many times people use this objection to point to the “Law of Moses” as if it were different from the “Law of God”. These laws are interchangeable and the same through scripture. Please read carefully.
Gal 3:10 For as many as are of the works of the law are under the curse: for it is written, Cursed is every one that continueth not in all things which are written in the book of the law to do them.
Many today take the erroneous position of applying this verse to the Ceremonial law alone. Sunday keepers apply this to the Sabbath. Sabbaths Adventists apply it to the ceremonial laws trying to say these things brings them under the curse of the law by actually performing them.
The verse says “cursed is every one that continueth not in all things which are written in the book of the law”. It’s the “doers of the law shall be justified”(Rom 2:13) First I will lay out the points that scripture makes then we will look at the scripture to see if it confirms them.
Point 1-The book of the law in this verse is Deuteronomy.
Point 2-We are to continue in all things written in that book.
Point 3-Cursed is every one that doesn’t continue in all the things that are written in the book of the law
Point 4-The law of Deutoronomy is almost all moral law and there is nothing ceremonial in it except a few feasts one of which still points to an antitype.
Point 5-Christ took that curse
Point 6-The curse is for breaking the moral law
Point 7-Under the law means under the condemnation of the moral law as you cannot be condemned by the ceremonial law.
Point 8-Law of Moses and Law of God are interchangeable and not 2 distinct laws. The Law of Moses does not refer to the ceremonial law alone.
Point 1. The book of the law in Gal 3:10 is Deutoronomy.
The book of Deutoronomy has the curses found in chapter 27. At the end of this chapter it says:
Deu 27:26 Cursed be he that confirmeth not all the words of this law to do them. And all the people shall say, Amen.
This is quoted in Galatians 3:10. Clearly this is the law that we are to continue in.
Point 2-We are to continue in all things written in that book.
Deu 6:25 And it shall be our righteousness, if we observe to do all these commandments before the LORD our God, as he hath commanded us.
Deu 29:29 The secret things belong unto the LORD our God: but those things which are revealed belong unto us and to our children forever, that we may do all the words of this law.
Point 3-Cursed is every one that doesn’t continue in all the things that are written in the book of the law
Sin is breaking the law.[1 John 3:4]. “The penalty for sin is death”[Romans 6:23]. Cursed is everyone who doesn’t continue in the Moral law. Christ was made a curse for us in hanging on a tree and taking our penalty.
Gal 3:13 Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us: for it is written, Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree:
Point 4-The law of Deutoronomy is almost entirely moral law and there is nothing ceremonial in it except a few feasts one of which still points to an antitype.
The point here is this law is to be fulfilled in those who love God, for love fulfills the law. We don’t pick and choose out of this book of the law.
Even if the ceremonial law is included in this verse. We have a sacrifice in Christ Jesus[1 Cor 5:7, Heb 10:1-4]. Therefore we confirm the ceremonial part of the law as well. We confirm all that is written in the law. We have a high priest in heaven who offers his blood on our behalf.
A curse was never pronounced for a non-performance of the ceremonial law, however the curse was for breaking the moral law. And therefore you were brought under the law by your disobedience of the moral law, not the ceremonial law. And so we see that also obeying the moral law cannot therefore bring you “under the law” but disobeying the moral law would bring you under the law..
The curse of the law is death. Christ bore this curse on the cross as can be seen in verse 13.
Gal 3:13 Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us: for it is written, Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree:
So Christ took that penalty and was made “under the law for us”(Gal 4:4). So in essence our “debt” was nailed to the cross and nothing else. This penalty was “against us.”[Col 2:14]. Sabbaths were "made for man"(Mark 2:27). The word in Colossians 2:14 is “cheirographon” which means “debt”. What we owe was nailed to the cross. Now we are free from the debt we owe, free from the penalty of death by the grace of God. We are bought with a price. Therefore let no man judge you. However after receiving this grace we do not commit sin[break the law].(1 John 3:4, 6, 9)
1John 3:4 “Sin is the transgression of the law”
Rom 6:15 What then? shall we sin[Break the law], because we are not under the law, but under grace? God forbid.
We keep the law when we are not under the law. We do all the things contained in the law even though Christ has been made a curse for us. We fulfill the law by love, for love fulfills the law.
1Jn 5:3 For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments: and his commandments are not grievous.
The ceremonial law was done by faith alone in the coming sacrifice in the OT. Now by faith we perform ceremonies such as foot washing and communion in remembrance of the sacrifice on Calvary just as Israel sacrificed lambs that pointed ahead to the cross. All of our ceremonies are done in remembrance so we still fulfill the ceremonial law as well. We are not under the law.
Abel wasn’t under the law. Because “before Faith came, we were kept under the law”. Abel according to the following verse was not “Under the law” when he made a sacrifice.
Heb 11:4 By faith Abel offered unto God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain
Abel did this by faith. So performing the sacrificial ordinances did not mean that they were under the law in the Old Testament. That is completely untrue.
Gal 3:23 But before faith came, we were kept under the law, shut up unto the faith which should afterwards be revealed.
Abel wasn’t under the law when he offered a sacrifice by faith, because he was under the law before faith came. Before faith came he was under the law. He had broken the law, for all have sinned[Romans 3:23]. And he needed to offer a sacrifice in order to no longer be under the law. He was under the curse, he was guilty, however by faith he offered a sacrifice, believing that Christ was the true sacrifice and this offering was performed in type therefore Christ was under the law as our sacrifice to redeem us who were under the law and after this Abel was found righteous and no longer under the law, or it’s condemnation by the performance of the ritual by faith.
Point 5-Christ took that curse
Gal 4:4 But when the fullness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law,
Gal 4:5 To redeem them that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons.
Christ was made under the law[a curse] for us. In order to redeem us from under the law by faith in his blood. Again under the curse that is brought by breaking the moral law. He didn't break the law, however he was under the condemnation of it as he was made a curse for us by taking our penalty that he did not deserve.
Point 6-The curse is for breaking the moral law
Gal 3:10 For as many as are of the works of the law are under the curse: for it is written, Cursed is every one that continueth not in all things which are written in the book of the law to do them.
Deu 27:26 Cursed be he that confirmeth not all the words of this law to do them. And all the people shall say, Amen.
Point 7-Under the law means under the condemnation of the moral law as you cannot be condemned by the ceremonial law.
We’ve already seen that the ceremonial law was only performed by faith in the coming messiah. And before faith is come we were kept under the law and Abel gave a more excellent sacrifice by faith. So therefore keeping the ceremonial law in the OT did not mean they were kept under the law for it. Do we break the law now that we are no longer under the law. God forbid, we [uphold, fulfill, keep, confirm] all things that are written in the law to do them.
Jas 2:10 For whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all.
Point 8-Law of Moses and Law of God are interchangeable and not 2 separate laws.
Adventists today try to make a certain distinction between the law of Moses and the law of God, saying the law of Moses is the ceremonial law and the law of God is the moral law. This is a huge mistake. The same mistake Sunday keepers make saying the moral law was spoken by the Lord and the ceremonial law was spoken by Moses and include the Sabbath. This is a mistake that was rebuked by our early pioneers. Even the texts used to prove this are against this distinction. I will quote a few texts used and demonstrate that the “law of Moses” and “law of God” are interchangeable.
A text often used is Nehemiah 9:13 and 14. Let’s look at it to see if it refers to Moses and the ceremonial law alone.
Neh 9:13 Thou camest down also upon mount Sinai, and spakest with them from heaven, and gavest them right judgments, and true laws, good statutes and commandments:
Neh 9:14 And madest known unto them thy holy sabbath, and commandedst them precepts, statutes, and laws, by the hand of Moses thy servant:
In this verse the Holy Sabbath was given by the hand of Moses as well as other precepts, statutes and laws. This verse is obviously not referencing the ceremonial law alone as implied by modern Adventists or else the Law of Moses which many say was nailed to the cross included the Sabbath.
Here is another one. Numbers 15:22, 23. This is used to distinguish between the moral and the ceremonial. However let’s look at the context including the next two verses to see that again the law of Moses refers to the moral law.
Num 15:22 And if ye have erred, and not observed all these commandments, which the LORD hath spoken unto Moses,
Num 15:23 Even all that the LORD hath commanded you by the hand of Moses, from the day that the LORD commanded Moses, and henceforward among your generations;
The above is an obvious reference to the moral law alone when referring to the law of Moses. The next two verses refer to the Ceremonial law indicating that they are interchanged and that the law referred to by Paul is both the Ceremonial and the Moral Law, however more so the moral law..
Num 15:24 Then it shall be, if aught be committed by ignorance without the knowledge of the congregation, that all the congregation shall offer one young bullock for a burnt offering, for a sweet savor unto the LORD, with his meat offering, and his drink offering, according to the manner, and one kid of the goats for a sin offering.
Num 15:25 And the priest shall make an atonement for all the congregation of the children of Israel, and it shall be forgiven them; for it is ignorance: and they shall bring their offering, a sacrifice made by fire unto the LORD, and their sin offering before the LORD, for their ignorance:
So the law of Moses refers to both moral and ceremonial. And also another point the book in the side of the ark was the book of Deutoronomy [Deu 31:26]which contained all the moral code as well as the curses against us for breaking the moral law. The curse was only to those who broke the law. And this is the law we are under when we break it.
Deu 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.
However the moral law is only against us when we break it. We are only under that law when we willfully violate it.
One more often used quote to try to distinguish the "law of Moses" and the "law of the Lord" is Leviticus 26:46
Lev 26:46 These are the statutes and judgments and laws, which the LORD made between him and the children of Israel in mount Sinai by the hand of Moses.
This is the last verse in this chapter. However lets look at these commandments which were ordained in the hand of Moses to see if it refers to the ceremonial law alone or if it refers to the moral law as well.
Lev 26:1 Ye shall make you no idols nor graven image, neither rear you up a standing image, neither shall ye set up any image of stone in your land, to bow down unto it: for I am the LORD your God.
Lev 26:2 Ye shall keep my sabbaths, and reverence my sanctuary: I am the LORD.
It actually references the moral law. There is also the objection that the moral law was written on tables of stone with the finger of God, and the law of Moses was written in a book, however the term “law of Moses” is actually referred to as the ten commandments if we carefully read Deu 4:44 to 5:22 and onward; Joshua 23:6, 7; 1 Kings 2:3, 4; 2 Kings 23:24, 25, etc. See also Great Controversy, vol. 2, pp. 217, 218, beginning with last paragraph on page 217. On the other hand, the term “the law of the Lord” is applied to the ceremonial ordinances. For instance, see Luke 2:23, 24. Thus the terms, “the law of Moses,” and “the law of the Lord,” are used interchangeably of both laws.
The Two Covenants – The Everlasting Covenant and the Covenant at Sinai
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