September 11, 2014
Dear James,
Grace to you and peace!
The trick with your question is the biblical writers never divided the Scriptures between Laws representing God’s values and desires and Laws setup on account of sin. The entirety of the Bible offers to every person special revelation on God’s values and desires. We could never know anything about what God values and desires without the Scriptures, and while we can be certain from nature there is a Creator and the universe bears the finger prints of an Intelligent Designer, we could never know what God desires for all humanity apart from God traversing the great divide between the visible and invisible words and sharing what is on His heart.
Only Jesus mentions divorce as being given on account of sin (Matt. 19:3-9), but this was never to say, "Ok, you sinners want to dissolve your marriage covenant; well, I do not want that, but if you insist, here is the guidelines for how to do it." That is never the case. Jesus stressed that God wanted marriage covenants to last from the very beginning.
A good number of Christian scholars believe Jesus’ reason for mentioning Moses gave the law regarding the certificate of divorce to dignify women who were created in God’s image. They reason that if a man became a deadbeat, failed at his family responsibilities, he would be in violation of the covenant of marriage. This would leave the wife in a predicament, since she would be left alone and destitute. The certificate of divorce would help her to remarry and receive support from a husband willing to fulfill his family obligations. Without a certificate of divorce, she could never remarry, neither was it likely she could be a single-working-mother with a steady job to pay the bills, which was something unavailable to women at the time. This would be an act of love to the woman left destitute on account of a deadbeat husband.
Hank Hanegraaff and CRI hold that while the civil and ceremonial aspects to the Law find their fulfillment in Jesus Christ, the moral aspects to the Law are still applicable. The Law of Moses can be broken down into three basic divisions: the moral law, the ceremonial law, and the judicial (civil) law.
God’s moral law is relevant, applicable, and obligatory. It is encapsulated in the Ten Commandments (Exod. 20:3-17; Deut. 5:7-20) or, more concisely, summarized in the words of Jesus: "You shall love the Lord Your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets" (Matt. 22:37-40, NKJV). Our Lord here declares that all of the moral demands in the Law are ultimately fulfilled in these two commandments. Those who truly love God with all of their heart, soul, and mind will not have any gods before Him, make any idols, take His name in vain, or dishonor His Sabbath. Those who truly love their neighbors as themselves will honor their parents, and not commit murder, adultery, or theft, or bear false witness or covet their possessions.
God’s moral commands are binding on all men, in all eras, in every nation, including believers today.1 He has bound all men under the moral law in order to also have mercy on all men (Rom. 11:32). We do not and cannot receive salvation by observing these commandments (Gal. 3:21-22); however, we can do our utmost to imitate and demonstrate the righteous character of God in response to the salvation that is ours freely through faith. We can affirm that while salvation is by grace through faith apart from works (Eph. 2:8-9), our guide for living is manifested in the moral law (Rom. 3:31).
One may even say there are three uses of the law. It can serve to bring one to the knowledge of God’s perfect righteousness and holiness but also to reveal one’s own sinfulness and separation from all that is holy. It is a tutor that leads us to Christ (Gal. 3:19). The law can serve to restrain evil in society (Rom. 13:3-4). Sinners may constrain themselves from doing some evil on account of their fear of enduring the consequences of their actions. This never makes a person righteous, but it does keep that person from doing evil. The law can also serve as a righteous standard for living, as it reveals to us the heart of God (Matt. 5:18). Anything short of these three uses of the law would be the error of antinomianism.
We, however, are no longer under ceremonial aspects of the Law. It consists of the commands contained in the Mosaic Law that describe the dietary restrictions, ritual cleansings, blood sacrifices, observance of holy days, and so forth that pointed to the Christ who would come to redeem His people, and were more "shadow" than "substance." The ceremonial aspect of the Law has been "nailed to the cross" (Col. 2:14, NKJV), since that which was foreshadowed in the promise has come in His fullness (Col. 2:17). Christians are free to eat, drink, and celebrate holy days as they please (Acts 10:9-16; Mark 7:14-19; Col. 2:16; 1 Tim. 4:3-5).
Many nations today implement adapted tenets of the judicial (civil) aspect of the Law in order to maintain justice; however, this aspect of the Law is no longer mandated by God (other than the call to obey civil authorities [e.g., Rom. 13:1-7; 1 Peter 2:13-17], which is a moral obligation). The judicial law, under a theocratic form of government, informs followers of the moral and ceremonial law how to enforce the statutes contained therein. It, for instance, directs that those who dishonor their parents shall be put to death (Lev. 20:9), which we do not observe because we are not under a theocratic form of government.
It is furthermore evident from the historical evidence available, as well as the New Testament witness, that Jewish authorities in the first century were not observing the entire judicial law, since the Romans officially took away their right to execute capital punishment. The Jews occasionally tried to fulfill the civil law for severe offences, such as blasphemy or adultery (Luke 20:6; John 8:7; 10:31; etc.); however, Scripture clarifies that the Law is an all-or-nothing proposition: you either fulfill it in its entirety or you are guilty of offending in all points (James 2:10).
Hank and CRI also recognize that Christians variously understand the Law in terms of how aspects relate to believers today. A dispensational Christian, for example, would consider the relevance of certain Old Testament passages differently than Lutheran and Reformed Christians. Reformed theonomists (theonomy meaning governed by God rather than others) would differ somewhat in their interpretation. Much more can be written on this subject, which cannot be contained in a single research response letter. We, therefore, encourage believers to study the various positions and, using sound principles of hermeneutics, come to a logically coherent and exegetically defensible conclusion on the intended message the biblical writer sought to communicate. To this end, we believe the following related equip.org resources will be helpful:
DB010 – L-I-G-H-T-S To The Word of God
DI501-1 - Practical Hermeneutics: How to Interpret Your Bible Correctly (Part 1)
DI501-2 - Practical Hermeneutics: How to Interpret Your Bible Correctly (Part 2)
DP801 - President Bartlet’s Fallacious Diatribe
JAO100 - One Shot, One Book, One God: Apologetics and the Unity of the Bible
CP0715 - Does Sunday Observance Violate the Sabbath?
CP0710 - The Atonement
DL300 - Addressing the Legalist
DS420 - Should We Keep the Sabbath?
DS421 - Sabbath Keeping and the New Covenant
JAV342 – Can Christians Celebrate the Passover?
JAF2342 – Cherry-Picking the Commandments
We also recommend the following resources from our bookstore:
The Atonement: Its Meaning and Significance (SB656/$15.00) by Leon Morris
The Murder of Jesus (B577/$14.99) by John MacArthur 4
The Complete Bible Answer Book Collectors Edition (B982/$21.99) by Hank Hanegraaff
Perspectives on the Sabbath: Four Views (B1040/$24.99) edited by Christopher John Donato
The abovementioned items are available for purchase through our Web site. You can also order via phone at 1-888-700-0274. To order by mail, please send in payment along with a written request for the book. CRI accepts credit cards, checks, money orders, and cash. Please also include with each purchase an additional $4.99 for shipping and handling.
Canadian residents please call 1-800-665-5851 or mail payments to: CRI Canada, 56051 Airways PO, Calgary, AB T2E 8K5.
We are also pleased to offer you a 10% discount on your purchase. Please use the discount code RESEARCH10 when placing your order.
"The Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you; the Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace" (Num. 6:24-28, ESV)
Sincerely,
Warren Nozaki
Research Consultant
Christian Research Institute