The Law

The Law is God’s decree given to humanity, so people may know what sin is. In the Old Testament, the Law was a body of statutes, ordinances, and rules that God gave to the Israelites through Moses. It included regulations for worshipping God, civil laws for society, rules for daily life, and everything that constituted God’s will. Its purpose was to instruct the people to turn to the Lord.

In terms of content, the Old Testament Law can be summarized into three categories. The first is the moral law, which is primarily found in the Ten Commandments (Exodus 20:3-17). The second is the civil law, which established clear guidelines for social relations. The third is the ceremonial law, which consists of meticulous and lengthy rules about the Tabernacle, sacrifices, and festivals. The moral law serves as the foundation for the other two.

In terms of form, the Law can be divided into apodictic law (absolute) and casuistic law (case-by-case). Apodictic law is an authoritative, unconditional command, often beginning with “You shall” or “You shall not.” The Ten Commandments are an example of this, as are some religious and civil laws like, “You shall not permit a sorceress to live” (Exodus 22:18). Casuistic law often begins with “If” or “When,” presenting a specific case and then offering a solution, as seen in Leviticus 20:9-21. Most civil laws fall into this category.

In the New Testament era, through the redemption of Jesus Christ, those who believe in Him are no longer under the Law but under grace. Various New Testament books record that the Lord Jesus fulfilled the Old Testament Law (Romans 10:4; Galatians 3:23-25; Ephesians 2:15). Christians are required to obey the Law of Christ, but instead of trying to remember all 600+ Old Testament commandments, Christians are to focus on loving God and loving people. These two commandments are the summary of all the Law and the Prophets. Christ has freed us from the bondage of the hundreds of Old Testament commandments, and through the Lord Jesus, our eternal relationship with God’s Law is revealed.

The Bible records:

[Matthew 22:37-40] And he said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets.”

 [Galatians 2:15-16] We ourselves are Jews by birth and not Gentile sinners; yet we know that a person is not justified by works of the law but through faith in Jesus Christ, so we also have believed in Christ Jesus, in order to be justified by faith in Christ and not by works of the law, because by works of the law no one will be justified.

[Exodus 24:12] The Lord said to Moses, “Come up to me on the mountain and wait there, that I may give you the tablets of stone, with the law and the commandment, which I have written for their instruction.”

[Matthew 5:17-18] “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. For truly, I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot, will pass from the Law until all is accomplished.”

[Galatians 3:24-26] So then, the law was our guardian until Christ came, in order that we might be justified by faith. But now that faith has come, we are no longer under a guardian, for in Christ Jesus you are all sons of God, through faith.