The Mosaic Law: Is It Still Binding and Relevant?

The Mosaic Law is recorded in the first five books of the Old Testament: Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy. In total, it contains 613 regulations.

The debate over whether the Mosaic Law still applies or not remains an endless source of pros and cons. We may think that the law is outdated, or that it was intended only for the nation of Israel in the Old Testament era. Is that really so?

Here are three facts about the Law that we as Christians must know:

1. The Mosaic Law is beautiful and is the beginning of wisdom.

“The law of the LORD is perfect, reviving the soul; the testimony of the LORD is sure, making wise the simple.” – Psalm 19:7

The Ten Commandments are part of the Mosaic Law. Their content instructs us to worship only one God; honor our parents; keep the Sabbath day holy; and not lie, murder, commit adultery, steal, or covet. Do not these ten things represent all the sins we struggle with every day?

If those laws had not been given in that time, imagine how chaotic the lives of the Israelites would have been. Without rules, everyone could freely do whatever they thought was right. So, the law of the LORD is perfect, beautiful, and instructive.

2. Jesus removed the curse of the Law and replaced it with the law of grace.

There are two opposing views regarding the teaching of Jesus and the Law. One side argues that Jesus abolished it. Another view is that Jesus fulfilled it. Which is correct?

“Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets. I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them.” – Matthew 5:17

Jesus did not come for the purpose of abolishing the Mosaic Law, because that law cannot be replaced, canceled, or erased.

On the contrary, Jesus loved the Law (Luke 24:44) and obeyed it with perfect obedience. Through His sacrifice on the cross, He bore the curse of that law (Galatians 3:10b) so that we might be set free from that curse.

So, it was not the law that was canceled, but its penalty. The law remains in effect to this day, and we still experience benefit in carrying it out. If Jesus had not come to fulfill and perfect the Law, it would mean that to this day we would still be bound to all those regulations.

In other words, we could be saved only if we kept the entire law (all 613 regulations!). The answer is certainly this: NO ONE is able to carry out all of it perfectly. Except, Jesus.

Be thankful that through Jesus, that curse is no more. As it is written in Romans 6:14: “For sin shall no longer be your master, because you are not under sin, but under grace.”

3. Jesus wants us to hold firmly to His laws.

Jesus actually emphasized that no one may set aside the commands of the Law, even the smallest one.

“Therefore whoever sets aside even one of the least commands of the Law, and teaches others to do the same, will be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever practices and teaches all the commands of the Law will be called great in the kingdom of heaven.” – Matthew 5:19

But does that mean we are still obligated to apply the various rules about offerings, burnt sacrifices, the Sabbath, and so on?

“You also, though you were once dead in your trespasses and in the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made alive together with Him, after forgiving all our trespasses, by canceling the record of debt, which by the legal demands stood against us and condemned us. He took it away by nailing it to the cross” – Colossians 2:13-14

This means that after Jesus fulfilled the Mosaic Law by dying on the cross, all those regulations are no longer obligations that we must obey.

So, the point is not whether the Mosaic Law still applies or not, but that we are expected to live it out because of Jesus, not because of obligation.

Have a day full of obedience ☺

-

Related Articles:

• Wisdom: How Do We Obtain It?
• David and Temptation: 3 Do’s to Defeat Temptations
• 3 Right Responses to Salvation
• Hate Sin: Rejected by People but Loved by God
• Following the Example of Jesus’ Cross in Difficult Times

-