God’s Holy law-part 1
The Bible which is the inspired Word of God gives the only definition of sin as “the transgression of the law.” 1 John 3:4. Sin entered our world when our first parents in the garden of Eden listened to Satan (the originator of sin Ezekiel 28:15), and ate of the forbidden fruit in disobedience to the express command of God not to eat it or otherwise they would die (Genesis 3:3). The tree of knowledge had been made a test of their obedience and their love to God. Like the angels, the dwellers in Eden had been placed upon probation; their happy estate could be retained only on condition of fidelity to the Creator’s law. They could obey and live, or disobey and perish. God had made them the recipients of rich blessings; but should they disregard His will, He who spared not the angels that sinned, could not spare them; transgression would forfeit His gifts and bring upon them misery and ruin.
Unfortunately they listened to Satan instead of their loving Creator. And because of their disobedience, misery and ruin came upon their characters which they passed on to us and we became the slaves of Satan and we are not able to keep the Holy law of God, “Because the carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be” for “who can bring a clean thing out of an unclean thing? Not one”. Romans 8:7; Job 14:4.
This state of affairs would have remained so if our loving God had not mercifully come to our rescue by providing a power outside of our own to be able to resist evil and keep God’s law. And so God sent His Son Jesus Christ to atone for the broken law and as a result it is written that “He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities” so that we the guilty ones having accepted Him as Lord and Saviour, may escape the penalty of sin and have eternal life. Isaiah 53:5
Jesus Christ “though He was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied Himself, taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men” and “was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin.” Philippians 2:6,7 RSV; Hebrews 4:15. Our Saviour took humanity, with all its liabilities. He took the nature of man, with the possibility of yielding to temptation. We have nothing to bear which He has not endured.
But how did Jesus as a human being like us overcome sin? Because no human being had come into the world and escaped the power of Satan. Christ’s humanity was united with divinity; He was fitted for the conflict by the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. And He came to make us partakers of the divine nature. So long as we are united to Him by faith, sin has no more dominion over us. The word of God says, “as many as received Him, to them gave He power to become the sons of God” John 1:12. This power which is the righteousness of Christ is imputed upon on all those who accept Him as Lord and Saviour, and gives them strength to overcome sin, i.e. “the transgression of the law”. He gives them strength day by day, hour by hour to no longer transgress the law of God for the promise is “as thy days so shall thy strength be” Deuteronomy 33:25. And then with the apostle Paul we can say, “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me” Philippians 4:13 NKJV. Since sin is the “transgression of the law” then the opposite which is righteousness, is the keeping of the law, which our carnal minds are incapable of doing. But by faith in Jesus we are “then made free from sin” and become “the servants of righteousness.” Romans 6:18
God’s Holy law-part 2: The moral law vs ceremonial laws
The moral law of 10 commandments, God’s holy law, is the law of love and were written on the hearts of our first parents, Adam and Eve when they were created. But when they transgressed God’s holy law then sin replaced love in the heart and entered our world . But our merciful God came to their rescue by promising them a Saviour from the slavery of sin. The words addressed to the serpent who deceived them applied directly to Satan himself, pointing forward to his ultimate defeat and destruction: “I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.” Genesis 3:15. Christ the seed of the woman would come and crush the head of Satan and Satan would “bruise” the heel of Christ which resulted in His death on the cross.
In the meantime, before Christ’s advent, God established a remedial system consisting of sacrificial offerings and ceremonial laws pointing forward to the death of Christ as the great sin offering. These ceremonial laws including civil laws were given to Moses and he wrote them in a book.
To signify that there is a difference between the moral law of the 10 commandments and ceremonial laws, the former were spoken by God (Exodus 20:1-17) and written by His finger (Exodus 31:18) on two tablets of stone and placed in the ark of the covenant (Exodus 25:16) while the latter was written by Moses in a book (Joshua 8:32) and placed on the side of the ark (Deuterenomy 31:26)
These laws which were written in a book came to an end when Christ the true Sacrifice died on the cross, hence “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;…. Let no man therefore judge you in meat, or in drink, or in respect of an holyday, or of the new moon, or of the sabbath days: Which are a shadow of things to come; but the body is of Christ.” Collosians 2:16,17. Note that the ordinances were written by hand in a book hence the word “handwritting” whereas the 10 commandment which were written on tables of stones by the finger of God, are not the ones mentioned here and therefore they did not come to an end when Christ died on the cross.
The ceremonial laws also contained annual holy days or Sabbath days of rest which were seven in number as shown in Leviticus 23:4-41. These Sabbath days also came to an end when Jesus died on the cross because they were a “shadow of things to come; but the body is of Christ”. Again note that the weekly Sabbath, the fourth commandment of the 10 commandments did not come to an end when Christ died on the cross.
Therefore these two laws i.e. the ceremonial laws and the moral law of the 10 commandments should not be blended together by using text that speaks of the ceremonial laws to prove that the moral law of 10 commandments have been abolished. But concerning the moral law of Ten Commandments, Christ says, “Think not that I am come to destroy the law. . . . Verily I say unto you”–making the assertion as emphatic as possible–“Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled.” Matthew 5:17, 18. Here He teaches, not merely what the claims of God’s law had been, and were then, but that these claims should hold as long as the heavens and the earth remain. The law of God is as immutable as His throne. It will maintain its claims upon mankind in all ages.
God’s Holy law-part 3: The law of love
When Jesus was asked which is the greatest commandment he replied,
“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 neighbour as thyself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets ” Matthew 22: 37-40
When God gave Israel the moral law of 10 commandments, they were written on 2 tables of stone, signifying that they are made of 2 parts, i.e. our duty to God and our duty to our fellow men. This is what Jesus meant when explaining the moral law in the verses above. The first four commandments are summarised by the words “Thou shall love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.” i.e. our duty to God, and the last six commandments by the words, “Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself” i.e. our duty to our fellow man. It is the law of love, the righteousness of Christ.
In our natural unsanctified state we cannot possess this kind of love, “for the carnal mind is enmity against God and is not subject to the law of God” Romans 8:7. When we surrender our lives to Jesus Christ then the Holy Spirit plants this love in the heart and by continual surrender to Christ this love may be maintained and we are clothed with the righteousness of Christ. “Little children, let no man deceive you: he that doeth righteousness is righteous, even as He is righteous.” 1 John 3:7. Righteousness is defined by the standard of God’s holy law, as expressed in the ten precepts given on Sinai.
Satan has been at war against the law of God from the very beginning because he was cast out of heaven for breaking the law of God. The Bible says “You were perfect in your ways from the day you were created, till iniquity was found in you” Ezekiel 28:15 NKJV. He tempted our first parents to sin, i.e. breaking the law and was successful, but thanks be to God, Jesus came into this earth, clothed His Divinity with humanity and redeemed Adam’s failure. And through faith in Him we may overcome as He overcame.
Christ was tempted by Satan in all points as we are and yet He did not break God’s law. Jesus said of Himself before He came to earth, “I delight to do Thy will, O My God: yea, Thy law is within My heart.” Psalm 40:8. And just before He ascended again to heaven He declared, “I have kept My Father’s commandments, and abide in His love.” John 15:10. And He says to us “If ye love Me, keep My commandments” John 14:15
The scripture says, “This is the love of God, that we keep His commandments.” “He that saith, I know Him, and keepeth not His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him.” 1 John 5:3; 2:4. Instead of releasing man from obedience, it is faith, and faith only, that makes us partakers of the grace of Christ, which enables us to render obedience.
God’s Holy law-part 4: The sin detector
“I was alive without the law once: but when the commandment came, sin revived, and I died.” Romans 7:9. As far as outward appearances were concerned in keeping God’s law through one’s own strength, the apostle Paul says he was alive, he was blameless and he could boast of being a “Hebrew of the Hebrews; as touching the law, a Pharisee” Philippians 3:5. But when the Holy Spirit convicted him and he was made to understand the true nature of the Law of God, he saw himself a sinner, a law breaker and was pointed to Jesus the sin Bearer, he repented and self died. He boasted no more of his achievements and trying to keep the law of God by his own strength but says “What things were gain to me, those I counted loss for Christ….for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and do count them but dung, that I may win Christ, And be found in him, not having mine own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith” Philippians 3:7-9.
Paul further states that “I had not known sin, but by the law: for I had not known lust, except the law had said, Thou shalt not covet.” Romans 7:7. So quite clearly, we see here that the law is indeed a sin detector “for without the law sin was dead.” Romans 7:8. The law cannot save you but by having a knowledge of the law and through the working of the Holy Spirit you can then go to Jesus for help to release you from the condemnation of the law and then sin will no longer be your master because from that time onwards “you do not live under law but under God’s grace” Romans 6:14 GNT.
Many of us think that “we are rich” spiritually “and in need of nothing”, whereas the Bible describes us as “wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked” and “dead in trespasses and sins” Revelation 3:17,18; Ephesians 2:1. Unless the conscience is quickened by the Holy Spirit so that the sinner can discern something of the depth and sacredness of God’s holy law then he or she is spiritually dead while physically alive as was Paul before he was converted.
But after conversion he says, “I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless, I live; yet not I, but Christ lives in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.” Galatians 2:20. And this can be our experience if we fall upon the Rock Jesus Christ, be broken and die of self, self-esteem, self-exaltation, self-assertion, self-righteousness and be born again. For our greatest enemy is self and the greatest battle that has ever been fought is the battle against self. But when we gain the victory over self through Christ then we become new creatures, for “If any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.” 2 Corinthians 5:17.
God’s Holy law-part 5: The Holy day of God
“Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy. Six days shall thou labour and do all thy work, but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the LORD thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates: For in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the LORD blessed the Sabbath day, and hallowed it. Exodus 20:8-11
From the text above it is quite clear that the Sabbath is God’s special day of worship. He says, “hallow my Sabbaths; and they shall be a sign between me and you, that ye may know that I am the LORD your God.” Ezekiel 20:20. In this law is contained His sign or seal. It has 3 elements that make up the seal of the law giver i.e. (1) His name—LORD or Jehovah. (2) His title—Creator, for in 6 days He created the world. (3) His domain—Heaven and earth, i.e. the whole world.
As with all of God’s commandments which are holy, it is impossible to keep them through our own strength because we are by nature unholy. And so, in order to keep the Sabbath holy, men must themselves be holy. Through faith we must become partakers of the righteousness of Christ and become holy. When God says to us, “Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy,” the Lord also says to us, “Ye shall be holy men unto Me.” Exodus 20:8; 22:31. So keeping the Sabbath apart from the righteousness of Christ is just dry formality which is just the same as breaking God’s law.
And so, it comes as no surprise that Satan would attack this law more than any other and attempt to change it and place his own seal in its place by giving us a false sabbath which is Sunday. But Sunday cannot be the Sabbath of the Lord, because when speaking about the resurrection of Christ, the Bible says, “After the Sabbath was over, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James and Salome bought spices to go and anoint the body of Jesus. Very early on Sunday morning, at sunrise, they went to the tomb…. So they entered the tomb, where they saw a young man sitting on the right, wearing a white robe, and they were alarmed. ‘Do not be alarmed’ he said. ‘I know you are looking for Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified. He is not here, He has been raised! Look, here is the place where He was placed’” Mark 16:1-6, Good News Translation.
So, the Sabbath, the day to be kept holy is Saturday the day before Sunday as clearly shown by the above verses. The women who were followers of Christ did not want to break the Sabbath (Saturday) so they waited till the Sabbath was over before going to buy the anointments for the body of Jesus. And then on Sunday morning they went to the tomb to go and anoint the body of Jesus only to find that Christ had risen.
Jesus Christ says “I am the way, the truth and the life; no one comes to the Father but by Me” John 14:6. And concerning the day that Jesus kept holy, the Bible says, “He came to Nazareth, where He had been brought up: and as His custom was, He went into the synagogue on the Sabbath day” Luke 4:16. Jesus Christ was brought up in Israel where the Sabbath day is Saturday, a non-working day, a day of worship. And since Jesus is the “the way and the truth” and says, “I have kept my Father’s commandments” John 15:10, we must follow Him and through Him keep holy the Sabbath day.
God’s Holy law-part 6: The foundation of many generations
“And they that shall be of thee shall build the old waste places: thou shalt raise up the foundations of many generations; and thou shalt be called, The repairer of the breach, The restorer of paths to dwell in.” Isaia 58: 12
According to the verse above there is something to build! What is that? It is the law of Jehovah. They have been broken down, and somebody must build them up! “And they shall be called the repairer of the breach,” what breach? In the law of God. It has been trampled under foot of man, and it must be built up. Do you suppose God will see His work all spoiled and not be lashed into a fury about it? Why, He will set everything in heaven to work to accomplish His purpose.
Who has made a breach? It is Satan, and he has been teaching that Christ came to abolish the law. But what did Christ come to do? To magnify it and make it honourable. But who does Satan use as his chief agent to make the breach in the law? It is the “man of sin”. He has said the fourth commandment was changed.
The apostle Paul has warned us about the “man of sin” “the son of perdition; Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is God.” 2 Thessalonians 2:3,4. The prophet Daniel says this man who is also a “king” would blaspheme God, would war against the saints of God and would “think to change times and laws” Daniel 7:25.
Who is this “man of sin”, the law breaker that has attempted to change God’s law? His church answers:
“The Ten Commandments….Written by the finger of God on two tables of stone, this Divine code was received from the Almighty by Moses amid the thunders of Mount Sinai….. Christ resumed these Commandments ….He proclaimed them as binding …The Church , on the other hand, after changing the day of rest from the …. seventh day of the week, to the first, made ….Sunday as the day to be kept holy.” The Catholic Encyclopaedia, http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/04153a.htm
From the quotation above and in many other official writings the Roman Catholic church proudly boasts of changing (attempting to change) God’s law. And since the Catholic church is led by a man called the pope, therefore the “man of sin” is the pope. But where did the pope get such power to attempt to change the law of God? The Bible says he got it from Satan, who is also called the dragon (Rev.12:9), while the Catholic church is symbolized by a beast (Daniel 7:17): “and the dragon gave him his power, and his seat, and great authority” Rev. 13:2. Revelation Chapter 13 has at least 10 characteristics that identifies the Catholic church as the first beast. (https://theremnantofherseed.online/the-beast-the-image-and-the-mark/)
Now, shall we follow “the man of sin” in continuing to break God’s law or shall we follow those who are making up the breach? There are some who are making it up. On whose side are you? Are you on the side of God, the side of those who are going to be repairers of the breach, the restorers of paths to dwell in, or on the side of those who are tearing it down? We have chosen to be true, because it is best every time, and if we are in a minority here below, we are on the side of God, and God is a majority every time.
“Thou shalt be called, The repairer of the breach, The restorer of paths to dwell in. If thou turn away thy foot from the sabbath, from doing thy pleasure on My holy day; and call the Sabbath a delight, the holy of the LORD, honourable; and shalt honour him, not doing thine own ways, nor finding thine own pleasure, nor speaking thine own words: Then shalt thou delight thyself in the LORD” [Verses 12, 13.]. All the men in creation may say the Sabbath is of no account; shall we believe them, or God?