A Scriptural Look at the Old Testament Law vis-à-vis New Testament Salvation
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Scripture – Hebrews 8.1-13 (NIV) |
Commentary |
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1 The point of what we are saying is this: We do have such a high priest, who sat down at the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in heaven, |
Our High Priest is Jesus Christ (Heb. 2.17, 3.1, 4.14, et al), who is the fulfillment of the OT high priest. The OT high priest was the type and Jesus was the antitype. He was the reality which the OT high priest symbolized. |
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2 and who serves in the sanctuary, the true tabernacle set up by the Lord, not by man. |
The entire Mosaic Law system and the persons and objects in it were "a shadow of the good things to come" (the plan of salvation for all mankind). |
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3 Every high priest is appointed to offer both gifts and sacrifices, and so it was necessary for this one also to have something to offer. 4 If he were on earth, he would not be a priest, for there are already men who offer the gifts prescribed by the law. 5 They serve at a sanctuary that is a copy and shadow of what is in heaven. This is why Moses was warned when he was about to build the tabernacle: "See to it that you make everything according to the pattern shown you on the mountain." |
The sum of Heb. 8.3-5 is this: If Jesus were serving under the Mosaic Law, He could not have been a priest because the priests were all of the tribe of Levi, whereas Jesus was of the tribe of Judah. Their service and worship were all a foreshadowing of the coming of the true High Priest and the salvation of all men and women. God was very firm in enjoining the Israelites to make a true representation of the coming authentic Tabernacle and all the accompanying rites. They could break the symbolism only at their own peril. (Ref. Nadab and Abihu – Lev 10.1, 2. Also Moses himself disobeyed one time only and suffered a penalty from God – Num 20.8-12) |
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6 But the ministry Jesus has received is as superior to theirs as the covenant of which he is mediator is superior to the old one, and it is founded on better promises. 7 For if there had been nothing wrong with that first covenant, no place would have been sought for another. 8 But God found fault with the people and said: "The time is coming, declares the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah. 9 It will not be like the covenant I made with their forefathers when I took them by the hand to lead them out of Egypt, because they did not remain faithful to my covenant, and I turned away from them, declares the Lord. |
The Old Covenant was faulty because it did not change the hearts of the people. It made them conform outwardly, but did nothing to the inner person and in verse 10 God declares that He will remedy that situation – |
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10 This is the covenant I will make with the house of Israel after that time, declares the Lord. I will put my laws in their minds and write them on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people. 11 No longer will a man teach his neighbor, or a man his brother, saying, 'Know the Lord,' because they will all know me, from the least of them to the greatest. 12 For I will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more." |
What a difference a New Covenant makes! After God had demonstrated to the Israelites and all mankind that they could not trust in mere conformation to a law nor could they trust in their own righteousness that such conformation brought them, Jesus Christ came, a mediator of a New Covenant as Paul explained: "19 What, then, was the purpose of the law? It was added because of transgressions until the Seed to whom the promise referred had come. The law was put into effect through angels by a mediator. 20 A mediator, however, does not represent just one party; but God is one. 21 Is the law, therefore, opposed to the promises of God? Absolutely not! For if a law had been given that could impart life, then righteousness would certainly have come by the law. 22 But the Scripture declares that the whole world is a prisoner of sin, so that what was promised, being given through faith in Jesus Christ, might be given to those who believe." (Gal. 3.19-22) |
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13 By calling this covenant "new," he has made the first one obsolete; and what is obsolete and aging will soon disappear. |
You will note that Paul refers to the Old Covenant as "obsolete and aging," and not as completely discarded at that time. Could Paul have in mind that the converted Jews had not yet completely broken away from the Law although they claimed salvation solely through Jesus Christ? The Jews had all their lives observed the commandments of the Mosaic Law and it was difficult for them not to still feel bound by its rigidity. For example, when Peter had his vision of "all manner of fourfooted beasts of the earth, and wild beasts, and creeping things, and fowls of the air," he refused to kill them and eat them even though God had told him to do so. It was similar to a person today who goes on an authentic 3-day fast in which no food or water passes his lips. If someone would tell him on the beginning of the third day to eat, he would strenuously object. Why? He had gone through the extreme discomfort of fasting up until then, not because he liked to fast, but because it was for Christ's sake. If he should then, after having gone that far, eat or drink ahead of time, it would seem that he were eating or drinking poison. His mindset would be that strong against yielding to food until the completion of the fast. The saved Jews of that day felt comfortable with the fact that Jesus was the only way to salvation, but they were not yet at ease with giving up their minor observances of the Law. (This is no reference to the so-called Judaizers who clung to the Law so much that they persecuted those saved Jews who realized they were free from the Law – even though they found it difficult to completely escape its many lifelong entanglements.) |
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What is the conclusion of the matter? We are not bound by the Old Testament Law except where it has been brought over into the New Testament "Law of Liberty." But you will find that all of the Ten Commandments have indeed been repeated in the new Law except for the observance of the Sabbath. For further information on this topic you may click here: http://www.lulu.com/content/brochure/does-god-require-us-to-keep-the-ten-commandments/580865 | |
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