THE TWO LAWS
THE TEN COMMANDMENTS
AND THE YOKE OF BONDAGE
Many Christians have not yet seen the difference between the Mosaic
Law (The added law of Galatians 3:19) and The Ten Commandments. It is
a serious error to suggest that The Ten Commandments are one with the
ceremonial law. James calls The Ten Commandments "the law of
liberty" (James 2:10-12) and Paul calls the Mosaic law "the yoke of
bondage":
"Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ
hath made us free, and be not entangled again with
the yoke of bondage.
Behold, I Paul say unto you, that if ye be
circumcised, Christ shall profit you nothing."
Gal 5:1-2 (KJV)
Do you see how Paul identified "the yoke of bondage" with
circumcision, which was part of the Mosaic Law? Circumcision was never
part of The Ten Commandments. Here is another verse where Paul made a
clear distinction between the ceremonial law and the moral law of God:
"Circumcision is nothing, and uncircumcision is
nothing, but {what matters is} the keeping of the
commandments of God." 1 Cor 7:19 (NAS)
If The Ten Commandments are one with the ceremonial law, Paul was
not aware of it when he wrote that verse. Read more evidence that Paul
made a distinction between
The Law of God and the ceremonial law:
"Then those who are physically UNCIRCUMCISED
**but keep the law** will condemn you who have
THE WRITTEN CODE AND CIRCUMCISION
**but break the law.**" Rom 2:27 (RSV)
If The Ten Commandments are one with the ceremonial law, then how
could one be uncircumcised and still be keeping the precepts of the
law? Here, Paul clearly distinguishes between "the written code" and
"the law:". The only law referred to in the context of Romans 2 is
The Ten Commandments. (See verses 2:17, 21, 22.)
The following excerpt from church history may surprise many of you,
and hopefully lessen your trust in the people who have wrongfully
told you that The Ten Commandments
were abolished at the cross:
Written by an early church father (2nd century)
GOD ADDED MOSAIC LAW AS YOKE OF BONDAGE
"1. They [the Jews] had therefore a law, a course of discipline, and
a prophecy of future things. For God at the first, indeed, warning
them by means of natural precepts, which from the beginning He had
implanted in mankind, that is by means of the Decalogue, which, if any
one does not observe, he has no salvation), DID THEN DEMAND NOTHING
MORE OF THEM. As Moses says in Deuteronomy,
'These are all the words which the Lord spake to the whole assembly
of the sons of Israel on the mount, **and He added no more;** and He
wrote them on two tables of
stone, and gave them to me.' (Deut 5:22)
For this reason, that they who are willing to follow Him might keep
these commandments. BUT when they turned themselves to make a calf,
and had gone back in their minds to Egypt, desiring to be slaves
instead of freemen, THEY WERE PLACED FOR THE FUTURE IN A STATE OF
SERVITUDE SUITED TO THEIR WISH, - which did not indeed cut them off
from God, but SUBJECTED THEM TO THE YOKE OF BONDAGE; as Ezekiel the
prophet, when stating the reasons for the giving of such a law,
declares:
'And their eyes were after the desire of their heart; and I
gave them STATUTES THAT WERE NOT GOOD,
and judgements in which they shall not live' Ezek 20:24
IRENAEUS AGAINST HERESIES, (AD 120 - 202)
from The Ante-Nicene Fathers, TT Clark 1897
(see Gal 2:4, 3:19)
[It is important to note that in contrast to Ezekiel, the
prophet Nehemiah says the statutes given on Mt. Sinai
were "good statutes", whereas Ezekiel calls the Mosaic
law: "statutes that were NOT good]:
"Thou camest down also upon Mt. Sinai, and spakest
with them from heaven, and gavest them right
judgements, and true laws, GOOD STATUTES and
commandments" Neh 9:13
*****
In addition, a Chronology of the events at Mt. Sinai, shows that
the ceremonial law was given in May of 1490 b.c.,; on the other hand,
The Ten Commandments in May of 1491 b.c.; therefore, THE DIETARY LAWS
(part of the yoke of bondage) were commanded a full YEAR after the
Decalogue. The Mosaic law was part of a second covenant with a second
set of tablets.
After they made the calf, God was going to destroy the Israelites, but
Moses begged the Lord for their forgiveness and the nation was allowed
a reprieve, but with a much stricter set of rules designed to keep
their minds on obedience to God's law. That was the yoke of bondage.
Now you can understand what Paul meant when he said: "Why then the
law? It was added because of transgressions," The Mosaic law was
added to the original covenant (The Ten Commandments) because of
Israel's transgressions.
The breaking of the first covenant caused God to make another which
put the Israelites under bondage to the entire Mosaic Law. When
Christ came, he freed His people from
the ceremonial elements of the Mosaic law but not from obedience to
the Commandments of God.
Please note the deliberate and pointed comment Irenaeus made above,
about the necessity of obedience to the Ten Commandments:
"1. They [the Jews] had therefore a law, a course of discipline, and
a prophecy of future things. For God at the first, indeed, warning
them by means of natural precepts, which from the beginning He had
implanted in mankind, that is by means of the Decalogue,
**(which, if any one does not observe, he has no salvation),**
DID THEN DEMAND NOTHING MORE OF THEM."
The original covenant was the Ten Commandments -- not the Mosaic law.
Donna Kupp
With this in mind, it would behoove all of us to get serious about
our relationship with God and work out our salvation with fear and
trembling.
dk
The Seven Deadly Deceptions Of Counterfeit Christianity
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