It was stated in part one of this series that, “ the New Testament clearly teaches that trying to be justified by that old law will bring condemnation not commendation.” Stating something as a fact doesn’t make it one, so let’s look at what the New Testament says about the Old Testament and about itself. Many try to justify continued use of the old law by quoting what Jesus said in Matthew 5:18 “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." Jots and tittles are the smallest marks in the Hebrew language. We would refer to the dot of an ‘i’ or crossing a ‘t’. Jesus makes it clear that the whole world would pass away before God would allow even the smallest part of His law to pass away or be destroyed. Aha! This verse seems to teach that the Law of Moses will last till the end of the world, but let’s not be too hasty. Notice the last phrase of the verse, ‘till all be fulfilled’. If the old law is fulfilled then God would allow it to pass away. This is significant because of what Jesus had just said in verse 17, “Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil.” Jesus came to fulfil the law, and if he was successful then it could pass away. Luke 24:44 tells us, "And he said unto them, These are the words which I spake unto you, while I was yet with you, that all things must be fulfilled, which were written in the law of Moses, and in the prophets, and in the psalms, concerning me." All of the Old Testament pointed to the coming of Christ. Jesus told them before he died that, “all things must be fulfilled.” In John 19:28- 30 Jesus finished his work with his death on the cross. John records, "After this, Jesus knowing that all things were now accomplished, that the scripture might be fulfilled, saith, I thirst.  Now there was set a vessel full of vinegar: and they filled a sponge with vinegar, and put it upon hyssop, and put it to his mouth. {30} When Jesus therefore had received the vinegar, he said, It is finished: and he bowed his head, and gave up the ghost."

There are at least two passages in the letters to the churches that show that Jesus removed the old law by his death. They are Ephesians 2:11-18, especially verse 15 which tells us that "the law of commandments contained in ordinances” was abolished by Jesus, and Colossians 2:8-17, particularly in verse 14 where Paul writes that Christ has taken “the handwriting of ordinances” and blotted it out by “nailing it to his cross”. The law of commandments and handwriting of ordinances are clearly phrases that refer to the law of Moses. Paul says in Romans 7:6 that we are delivered from the law, and, according to 8:2, that “the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death.” He also maintains that to those who are without the law he is as without the law (the law of Moses), but makes it clear that he is still under the law of Christ in First Corinthians 9:21. Paul also tells the Romans in chapter 10 verse 4 that, “Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to every one that believeth." And in Galatians 3:24-25 "Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith. {25} But after that faith is come, we are no longer under a schoolmaster."

It would seem that these scriptures should be enough, but some will not be satisfied. Many say that we don’t have to keep all of the sacrifices, but that we must keep the 10 commandments. Others want to hold on to tithing, or some other part of the law of Moses and demand that we follow it today. That is nothing new. In the first century there were Jews who wanted to force circumcision or some other parts of the law on the Gentile Christians. Paul deals with this in Galatians 5:1-4 "Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage. {2} Behold, I Paul say unto you, that if ye be circumcised, Christ shall profit you nothing. {3} For I testify again to every man that is circumcised, that he is a debtor to do the whole law. {4} Christ is become of no effect unto you, whosoever of you are justified by the law; ye are fallen from grace." You have to make a choice between circumcision and grace, between Moses and Christ. You can’t have both. The apostles met in Jerusalem with the elders of the church to discuss this very thing. Are we under the law of Moses or Christ or both? Does one have to obey Moses’ law and be circumcised to be pleasing to God? In Acts 15 part of this meeting containing the conclusion of the matter is recorded for us. Verse 5 says, "But there rose up certain of the sect of the Pharisees which believed, saying, That it was needful to circumcise them, and to command them to keep the law of Moses." Peter responded by asking,  "Now therefore why tempt ye God, to put a yoke upon the neck of the disciples, which neither our fathers nor we were able to bear?", in verse 10. 

This matter was settled nearly 2000 years ago, or should have been, and yet today we still have many teaching us that we must keep the Sabbath, tithe, keep the ten commandments, or any number of other things that were done away with by Christ and declared to be a tempting of God by one of his closest apostles. If you want to continue to keep these things you lose any benefit Christ has to offer, and you are bound to keep every bit of that law that none but Christ ever could.

Last time we learned that the ten commandments and the other laws and curses that Moses gave the Jews are all part of the Old Testament or old covenant and that this law was given by God through Moses to the Jews only and not to anyone else. Then we ended by noticing that now all of us are under one law. There remain, then, two possibilities for us to study. One is that everyone is now under the law of Moses, with the new teachings that Christ gave being added to it. The other is that the teachings Christ left are a new law that is for everyone and that it replaced the system of two separate laws for the Jews and Gentiles. Since both of these possibilities can’t be true, and since whether we please God or not is at stake, we must discover which one is the right one. 

Let’s examine the first possibility in the light of scripture. If the teachings of Christ Jesus are to be added to the Law of Moses, then surely the Bible would teach this idea somewhere. In fact, within the Old Testament itself there would need to be an indication that Moses only gave part of the law and there would be someone who would come later to fill in the rest. Actually, Moses himself does mention a time when there would come another prophet like him, but he doesn’t indicate that this new prophet was going to add anything to Moses’ law. Acts 3:19-26 teaches clearly that the prophet Moses prophesied about in Deuteronomy 18:15-19 was, in fact, Jesus. In Deuteronomy chapter 18 Moses writes that God says He would raise this prophet up and that this prophet (we know this is Jesus) will “speak unto them all that I shall command him” and that anyone who didn’t listen to that prophet, Jesus, would have to answer for it. 

God announced from heaven, during the transfiguration, that we are to listen to Jesus rather than Moses, who gave the old law, or Elijah, a prophet who represents all the prophets up to the time of Jesus. This amazing event, when Jesus and Moses and Elijah were seen on the mount by Peter, James, and John, is recorded in Matthew 17:1-9, Mark 9:2-10, and Luke 9:28-36. Peter, on this occasion, tried to make Jesus, Moses, and Elijah equal by suggesting that a tabernacle (a place of worship) should be built for each of them. God interrupted him to say, “This is my beloved Son: hear him. And when the voice was past, Jesus was found alone.” according to  Luke 9:35-36. So, God said there would be a new prophet and Jesus was that prophet that God says we should hear. Notice that God didn’t tell us to keep listening to Moses and Elijah.

Next, we see that the Old Testament prophesied of a time when there would be a new law. Jeremiah 31:31-33 says, "Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel, and with the house of Judah: {32} Not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day that I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt; which my covenant they brake, although I was an husband unto them, saith the LORD: {33} But this shall be the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel; After those days, saith the LORD, I will put my law in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts; and will be their God, and they shall be my people." God says there would be a new law, but here it seems that the new law would only be for the Jews. Let’s look to Romans for some explanation. (Because if the new law is only for the Jews all of us who are not Jews are left out.) (Rom 2:28-29 KJV)  "For he is not a Jew, which is one outwardly; neither is that circumcision, which is outward in the flesh: {29} But he is a Jew, which is one inwardly; and circumcision is that of the heart, in the spirit, and not in the letter; whose praise is not of men, but of God." God explained all of this in Jeremiah when he said He would “write it in their hearts.” Verse 32 above tells us the new law is not like the covenant he made when he brought them out of Egypt. It is not a physical law with physical circumcision and sacrifices to be made constantly and special clothes for the priests and a special design for the place of worship. The new law is a spiritual law. That doesn’t mean there are no outward actions, but rather that God is looking at the inner thoughts and attitudes. Paul tells us in Galatians 3:7 that we can all be Abraham’s children by faith. We don’t have to keep Moses’ law and become Jews to please God. There is a new, different law and we will study about it next time.

Maybe you have never even considered the question above, but it is an extremely significant one with widespread implications. Some people might believe these two testaments (sets of laws) are two laws that cover different things and that both are in effect, just as we have many laws on a variety of subjects in effect in our country today. Even though it is an appealing idea, it does not fit with the teaching of the scriptures contained in these two testaments. Some would say that God had a law, the Old Testament, and that he added to it with the New Testament. Many churches certainly practice and teach this way, but that is not what the Bible teaches about itself. Quite to the contrary of these ideas, the Bible itself teaches that the first law would be done away and that a second new law would take its place, not that it would be added to the first or that it just taught some new things that were not covered in the first. Yes, the Bible teaches that the first or Old Testament is not the law that we must be obedient to in order to be pleasing to God. In fact, the New Testament clearly teaches that trying to be justified by that old law will bring condemnation not commendation.

I don’t expect you to take my word for it, so, let’s see what the Bible says for itself. First, let us notice who was under the first covenant. In Exodus 34:27-28 the Bible says, "And the LORD said unto Moses, Write thou these words: for after the tenor of these words I have made a covenant with thee and with Israel. {28} And he was there with the LORD forty days and forty nights; he did neither eat bread, nor drink water. And he wrote upon the tables the words of the covenant, the ten commandments." Let us observe two things in this passage. First, notice that the ten commandments are definitely part of the covenant. Deuteronomy 29:21 makes it clear that there was more to the covenant than just the ten commandments. This verse mentions the “curses of the covenant” and the “book of the law”. Since the ten commandments, recorded in Exodus 20:1-17, do not include any curses, then there must be more to the covenant. The Jews have always referred to the first 5 books in our Old Testament, as their Torah, their law. Second, we see that God made this covenant, including the ten commandments, with Moses and Israel, the Jews. The law of Moses, the Old Testament covenant, was between God and the Israelites, and none of the other nations in the world were under that law. Deuteronomy 4:13 teaches these same things. 

The Gentiles who lived throughout this time up to the time of Christ had a different law that will judge them and that Paul spoke of in Romans 2:14-15, "For when the Gentiles, which have not the law, do by nature the things contained in the law, these, having not the law, are a law unto themselves: {15} Which show the work of the law written in their hearts, their conscience also bearing witness, and their thoughts the mean while accusing or else excusing one another;)". The Apostle says the Gentiles were a law to themselves and the law was written in their hearts and says their conscience and thoughts would be the standard for their judgment. In the next verse, Paul makes it clear that things are not that way at the time of his writing, but that from that time on God’s judgment is based on the Gospel. (Rom 2:16)  "In the day when God shall judge the secrets of men by Jesus Christ according to my gospel." In Acts 17:30 Paul preached that, "And the times of this ignorance God winked at; but now commandeth all men every where to repent:". Paul makes it clear here that things have changed. What God used to allow because of ignorance he will not ignore any longer. There is a universal law now that “all men every where” must obey. Now, this leaves us with 2 possibilities. One, that God has changed the Jewish law, also known as the law of Moses, from being just for the Jews to being for everyone. Or. Two, God has done away with the law of Moses that was for the Jews and the law of conscience that was for the Gentiles, and has replaced them with another law that is for everyone. Next time we will continue and see what the Bible teaches about which of these two things God did.

QITB - Questions in the Bible - is a series of articles based on questions that were actually asked in the Bible. They are on a variety of topics for that very reason, so they will be grouped in the category 'questions in the bible' on the right side.

In the gospel of John chapter 18 Jesus is on trial before Pilate. Pilate asks a question that is still being asked today, “What is truth?”. Whether Pilate was sincere in his desire to know or not does not change the fact that this is a question that we need to answer. Pilate certainly asked the right person. If anyone would know about truth it would be Jesus, the divine Son of God. It is interesting that Pilate did not wait for the answer. Jesus had just said that He came to bear witness to the truth and that anyone of the truth would listen to him. Pilate would not listen, will you?

There are literally millions of people living today who do not even believe in an absolute truth. They do not believe that some things are always wrong and other things are always right. The Bible and Jesus both make it clear that there is truth and that the truth, that is one truth not many different truths, is for everyone. Truth is mentioned over 200 times in the Bible and not one of those times does it teach that truth is subjective or that the circumstances or situation makes a difference in truth. 

We can see a difference in matters of opinion and in matters of right and wrong if we will just think about it. Without even dealing with religion we know that some things do not matter. For example: What is your favorite food?, What is your favorite color?, etc. We know that these things deal with opinion. If I think red is the most beautiful color and you think it is ugly we can agree to disagree. I don’t have to stop liking red and you don’t have to start liking it. These things are matters of opinion. On the other hand, if someone were on top of a building and about to step off, there should be no disagreement between us about what would happen if they were to step off. Everyone beyond a certain age knows that the person would fall. We understand that gravity pulls everything toward the ground even if we don’t understand how or why. This is truth (it does not matter whether you believe it or not, whether you are male or female, what religion you are, what your ethnic background is or what country you live in) it does not change and we would be wasting our time to try to argue the point.

There are these same two groups of things in religion. There are matters of opinion and matters of truth. Whether we believe the truth or not we will still be bound by it just as a person living on Earth is bound by gravity. Among many other things the Bible teaches: that there is one God and Jesus is his son, that there is a heaven for the righteous and a hell for the wicked, that Jesus built only one church; and that there is truth. If we can all agree in earthly matters like gravity, why can’t we agree in much more important spiritual matters? Those of us in the church of Christ believe it is possible. We would like for you to visit with us and study with us to see if we can “all speak the same thing” as Paul asked the Corinthians in 1 Corinthians 1:10.

QITB - Questions in the Bible - is a series of articles based on questions that were actually asked in the Bible. They are on a variety of topics for that very reason, so they will be grouped in the category 'questions in the bible' on the right side.


In our world today many religions teach that salvation and eternal life are the free gifts of God and that noone has to ‘do’ anything to receive them. One belief statement I read recently said this: “When man... becomes blameworthy, his only hope is a work of grace by God alone.  ...The ground of our salvation is the shed blood of Jesus Christ; the occasion of our salvation is our believing God in this regard. Faith and faith alone being the requirement for the imputation of Christ’s righteousness, we believe that the believer is eternally saved in him.” That sounds great to most of us. It tells us that we can go to heaven without doing anything and that once we believe that God will save us he will and we can’t lose it. It sounds ‘too good to be true’. Well, when something sounds too good to be true it usually is.

In Matthew 19:16 a man comes to Jesus and asks the question, “Good Master, what good thing shall I do, that I may have eternal life?”. This man must not have known the teaching above, so, Jesus is going to tell him about it, right? Wrong! Jesus, instead of telling the man that there was nothing he could do and that if he would just believe he would get eternal life, told him, “...but if thou wilt enter into life, keep the commandments.” I guess Jesus did not know about the teaching quoted above either. Who do you suppose knows how to get to heaven better, Jesus, the Son of God? Or the man who thought up the teaching in the last paragraph?

In every area of life we see that in order to receive something we must do something. It is certainly true that we cannot get to heaven without the grace of God and it is equally true that we can’t make it without faith. Ephesians 2:8 tells us that salvation is the gift of God, but even a gift is of no use without action on the part of the recipient. Imagine if you will that I (or more likely someone rich) offered to anyone and everyone a Wal-mart gift card for $100. If that happened it would be a free gift, but it would do you absolutely no good until you made use of it. 

Let’s look at all the things you would have to ‘do’ in order to receive this ‘free’ gift. First, you would have to know about the offer, just as we must know about God’s offer of salvation. Second, you would have to believe it was true, just as we must believe God’s offer is valid. Third, you would have to get the gift card, just knowing and believing would not cause the gift card to magically appear in your hand. Whatever the method prescribed for receiving the gift would have to be followed whether it was: send your name and address, call this number, or come here to pick it up. The same holds true with salvation. Jesus said in Matthew 7:21, “Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that DOETH the will of my Father which is in heaven.” Fourth, you would have to keep the card. If you lost it or it was stolen from you it would not be the giver’s fault. Salvation can be lost or given away, fortunately, it can’t be stolen, but someone who was once saved can be lost. If that were not the case why would there be so many warnings in the Bible telling us to be faithful, hold fast, be steadfast, etc.? Finally, you would have to go to Wal-mart and use the card. You couldn’t use it at Fred’s, Piggly Wiggly, or the local gas stations. So, you see that even a ‘free’ gift requires work or obedience on the part of the recipient.

Salvation is a wonderful gift, but in order to take advantage of it you must “work out your own salvation with fear and trembling.”(Philippians 2:12)

QITB - Questions in the Bible - is a series of articles based on questions that were actually asked in the Bible. They are on a variety of topics for that very reason, so they will be grouped in the category 'questions in the bible' on the right side.

As Jesus taught in the temple the chief priests and elders of the people asked Him this very question.(Mt. 21:23; Mk. 11:28; Lk. 20:2) Imagine what would happen today if in a classroom or a church building auditorium the leaders of the school or church found someone they had never hired or invited standing before the group teaching. If you ever tried it you would find out. They would immediately ask ‘What are you doing here?’, ‘What right do you have to be here?’, ‘Who said you could do this?’, and those questions would likely be followed by a forced exit or even a call to the police. Those would all be reasonable questions to ask under the circumstances, and we shouldn’t necessarily think evil of the priests and elders for asking the same things of Christ. Jesus even showed His willingness to answer those questions if they would have only demonstrated their honesty in seeking to know the truth. Unfortunately, they were not interested in the truth and would not answer Jesus’ question about John the Baptizer.

The question is a good one and one that we should answer. By what authority do we do the things we do? There are many possible answers, but only one that is pleasing to God. Whether it is in the area of religion or not we must have authority for the things we do, we can not just do whatever we please. But, how do we decide what standard of authority we are going to use? 

Some say, ‘if it feels good do it’. This allows a person to do anything as long as there are not any guilty feelings. The most obvious problem with this is that some people don’t ever feel guilty about anything. There are some people who enjoy causing others pain or lying, stealing, killing, etc. According to this way of thinking those actions wouldn’t be wrong if it feels good.

Others believe, ‘if it is legal it must be okay’. This belief has encouraged many to do things that result in the destruction of literally thousands of lives every year. People do things that God despises simply because the government has made it legal. Drunkenness, gambling, abortion, homosexuality, divorce, and many other things that God never wanted are not even thought of as something to be avoided, and all because people believe that if it was bad it would be against the law.

Many practice the ‘my pastor said’ form of authority. These think that religious leaders are somehow above sin and error and anything spoken by one of these so-called ‘Holy men’ can’t be wrong. As a preacher myself, I am appalled by this thinking. I know that I am human and make mistakes, say the wrong things, and sin. Think of all of the atrocities, like the 9/11 tragedy, that have been performed because of this very attitude.

There are probably other standards that people use to authorize their activities, but the Bible is the only standard that never changes and never fails or leads us wrong. There are certainly those who have twisted the scriptures and taught falsehoods (2 Peter 3:15-16), but the Bible, God’s Word is always true (John 17:17). Only God can authorize an activity and make it right. God at times has given others the authority to punish evil or to forbid certain activities, but no one can make something right if God says it is wrong. No one and nothing, not your feelings; not the government; and not a religious leader, can give you the authority to do something God has forbidden.

Jesus was doing what He did by the authority of God. What about you? What about your church? No church council can overrule God. If you are ready to get back to the Bible as your only source of authority, come visit with us. We believe the Bible and only the Bible should be our standard for authority. Why not visit a church of Christ near you.

     You may have noticed that not everyone thinks about the Bible in the same way. Because of that not everyone reads the Bible for the same reasons. The reason we read the Bible will affect the way we read it and the results we get. Think about why you read the Bible and ask yourself if you are getting the most you could be getting out of it. 
     Some read the Bible to find fault with it. They don’t believe the Bible is from God and are looking for mistakes. Others read the Bible just so they can say they read it. These don’t try to understand what it means their goal is to get through it as fast as they can. Another group reads and rereads the same few sections over and over because those verses or chapters are their favorites or it comforts them. This group will never get the full benefit of the scriptures. They are like a person standing in front of an enormous elaborate mural and examining in detail one square foot. Mat. 21:42 tells of some like this.
      There is also that person who goes to the Bible to try to prove some point that they believe. This person will often ignore any verses that they cannot twist to mean what they want to prove. The Pharisees and Sadducees of Jesus’ day were like this (Mat. 22:29, John 5:39). Next time we will consider why people should read the Bible.

     In Deuteronomy 17 God gives the people instructions for the time when they were going to have a king. One of the things their king was supposed to do was keep a copy of God’s law and read from it every day of his life. That is a good thing for all of us to do as well. On at least six occasions Jesus answered a problem the people had by asking them if they had read a particular passage that answered the question. Revelation in chapter 1, verse 3 calls down a blessing on those that read, hear, and keep the things written in it. There is no doubt that God wants us to read His message to us. Consider the time and effort and expense that was necessary for God’s word to be made available for you to have access to it. If the Creator of the universe thought it worth His time to give you a message I hope you will believe it is worth your time to read it. If you have not read the Bible start today.
      More than just read His Word, God wants us to study it. Studying is more than reading, it involves trying to gain an understanding of the meaning and how it applies to life. Understanding needs to be followed by obedience. The people in Berea were called noble because they searched the scriptures daily to ascertain the truth of the teaching they heard. We need to be like these people. The first thing we need to do is read the Bible, then we need to start studying it and  obeying it. So, how do you start? With a decision to make it a priority. You have heard people talk about something that was “a matter of life or death”, studying your Bible is more important than that. It is a matter of eternal life or eternal death.

     Last time we saw that some people are so busy that they have difficulty finding time to read the Bible, and a few truly are very busy. They could be multitasking by listening to the Bible being read on CD, mp3, streaming on the internet, etc. while driving, getting ready for work or eating. The fact is that the argument about not having time is usually bogus. Many who claim not to have time for the Bible have an hour or two a day to watch TV, listen to music, gossip on the phone, etc.
     The truth is uncomfortable for most of us. We could read the Bible, but there are other things that we would rather do so we never get around to time with God. It is ironic that we claim to believe God is the eternal, all-knowing, all-wise creator of mankind who lovingly gave us an instruction manual to guide our lives to reach their full potential, but about 75% are not listening to it. What makes it disturbing is a UPI report of a survey claiming that 90% of American adults pray. It is pretty arrogant to think that God should listen to us anytime day or night that we have a problem for Him to solve, but not have time to listen to the teachings and wisdom God revealed  in the Bible. Jesus said in Matthew 4:4, “Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.” “How Do I Start Studying?” next time. Got Bible questions? Ask me. 

    True, there are some who don’t believe the Bible is worth reading. There are certainly those who are intimidated and afraid of the Bible. There are others who are in denial: either believing they are safer not knowing what is in there, or believing they get all they need at church. There is another group that doesn’t read and study the Bible like they should and even those who do are tempted to be in this group. This is the group that just can’t find the time.
    Life is busy. There is school, then college, then work. There is a house, a yard, or maybe a garden to keep up. For families with children there is always something going on either with school or an extra activity. Retired people seem to have as little time as before they retired, I guess that is why they say “retired” means “tired again”. Grandparents are kept busy keeping up with the grandchildren. There are clubs and groups of all kinds, even churches, demanding our time in a variety of activities that don’t include sitting quietly, reading, studying, and meditating on God’s Word. Don’t forget about keeping up with the news and favorite television programs. 
   These are not necessarily evil things, but they do take time. The fact is that we do find time for the things that are important enough to us. Did you know that an average reader could read most of the chapters in the Bible in 5 minutes or less? Did you know that the Bible is available to listen to in many kinds of recorded format? Did you know that about 15 -20 minutes a day would get you through the whole Bible in 1 year? More next time. Got Bible questions? Ask me.