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When was the law given? When was the law taken
away?”
Man was made in the image and likeness of God, which means he had a moral nature like his creator. Adam sinned by willful disobedience to a spoken command (that was not written). Cain sinned by a willful disobedience in his sacrifice (which was passed on to him to obey), thus his sin was not covered and then took control of his emotions (Gal.5 works of the flesh) to make him the first murderer. This is why Jesus pointed out that anger in your heart is likened to murder (Mt.5:21-22). When we speak of the law we often refer to the written law, these are commands written down for man to obey. But then in the beginning they were not written but spoken. Sin is a transgression of the law, it means of the law both written and UNWRITTEN (as it was with Adam and Eve, Cain and Abel).
The Bible is very specific on this, “For the law was given
through Moses’ Rom. 5:13 For until the law sin was in the world, but sin is not imputed when there is no law.
v.14 “Nevertheless death reigned from Adam to Moses." Sin was there without a written law from Adam through Noah to Moses. Therefore there was NO LAW given until God began to write down 10 of the 613 commands Israel was to obey.
So God had written them down on tablets and spoke to Moses whom he wrote down to be equally obeyed. They were not there before Moses. Moses wrote down all the laws given by the Lord in the book of the covenant. He is instructed to build an altar on which animals are sacrificed as offerings to the Lord. The blood from the animals is sprinkled on the altar, and the book of the covenant is to be read to the people. They agree to be obedient and do all that the Lord has said. Moses then sprinkles the people with some of the blood and says, "Behold the blood of the covenant which the Lord has made with you concerning all these words" (Ex. 20 - 24). Moses returns to the mountain and receives from God specific instructions about the construction of the Ark of the Covenant in which to keep all of his testimony and commandments. Plans are for the construction of a tabernacle, a house for God, which is to contain the Ark of the Covenant. Moses' brother Aaron and his sons are to be the priests who represent the people to God at the tabernacle. It all revolves around the Hebrew nation. As a ‘proof’ of Christ’s instating a new covenant that would replace the former one, He said it is finished, the debt of the law both the law of Moses which includes the 10 commandments, the penalty of our sins from Adam was paid in full by his perfect sacrifice. Col.2:17 tells us these were a shadow of things to come. Christ came, he is the substance, the law was the pattern, Christ the reality. All the law pointed to the person. Who He is and the work He did for us was his grace. The Old Testament = Written = Testified of Jesus who was to come. The New Testament = Spirit testifies of Christ’s finished work and his apostles testified that He came. The old commandments = Written on stone. The new covenant = Written on our hearts. By the spirit indwelling us, he has given us new commandments Act2 1:2. The old Commandments. = Showed they were sinners. What if it’s the Son with 2 angels (as there are two angels on the ark where the glory of God appears also; also as two witnesses?) Rom 1:19-20 ‘because what may be known of God is manifest in them, for God has shown it to them (meaning mans moral nature). For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse” This is what is evident,When God says Exod. 20:8 "Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy He is speaking this to them the first time commanding them to remember it from then onward. Exod 31:12-17 And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying,"Speak also to the children of Israel, saying: 'Surely My Sabbaths you shall keep, for it is a sign between Me and you throughout your generations, that you may know that I am the LORD who sanctifies you. (Remember the Gentiles had a different God) 'You shall keep the Sabbath, therefore, for it is holy to you. Everyone who profanes it shall surely be put to death; for whoever does any work on it, that person shall be cut off from among his people.'Work shall be done for six days, but the seventh is the Sabbath of rest, holy to the LORD. Whoever does any work on the Sabbath day, he shall surely be put to death. 'Therefore the children of Israel shall keep the Sabbath, to observe the Sabbath throughout their generations as a perpetual covenant. 'It is a sign between Me and the children of Israel forever; for in six days the LORD made the heavens and the earth, and on the seventh day He rested and was refreshed.'" V. 17 God has made it clear whom the Sabbath was for and that it was the seal of the covenant he made with Moses with 613 commandments (not just 10) Exod. 16:22-30 And so it was, on the sixth day, that they gathered twice as much bread, two omers for each one. And all the rulers of the congregation came and told Moses. Then he said to them, "This is what the LORD has said: 'Tomorrow is a Sabbath rest, a holy Sabbath to the LORD. Bake what you will bake today, and boil what you will boil; and lay up for yourselves all that remains, to be kept until morning.'" So they laid it up till morning, as Moses commanded; and it did not stink, nor were there any worms in it. Then Moses said, "Eat that today, for today is a Sabbath to the LORD; today you will not find it in the field. "Six days you shall gather it, but on the seventh day, which is the Sabbath, there will be none." Now it happened that some of the people went out on the seventh day to gather, but they found none.And the LORD said to Moses, "How long do you refuse to keep My commandments and My laws? "See! For the LORD has given you the Sabbath; therefore He gives you on the sixth day bread for two days. Let every man remain in his place; let no man go out of his place on the seventh day."So the people rested on the seventh day. Rom.2 Paul tells us the gentiles do not have the written law but what they do have is a conscience because they are made in God’s image, so again the Bible testifies against what the law keepers claim-- that the whole world was to keep the law, that whole world had the Sabbath etc. in Galatians 4:21-31, Paul makes a reference to the expulsion of Hagar and Ishmael as a spiritual lesson that law and grace do not coexist for the way[s] to salvation When was the law taken away? Rom.10 Paul explains "For Christ [is] the END of Law for righteousness to everyone that believes." This verse means that righteousness does NOT come through obedience to the law. Gal 2:21I do not set aside the grace of God; for if righteousness comes through the law, then Christ died in vain." OR by our own efforts Eph. 2:8-9 For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, 9 not of works, lest anyone should boast” It was done away when the new covenant was fulfilled, that is when grace came to save. God's Law was to show forth His perfect standard of righteousness so His people would rest in a Substitute who would and did meet that perfect standard of righteousness on their behalf (Galatians 3:24). This righteousness of Christ that is imputed to His people demands their salvation in the same way that Adam's sin imputed to his posterity demanded their condemnation (Romans 5:18). To believe that Christ is the end of the Law for righteousness is to believe that Christ met and answered all the righteous demands of God's Law. The demands of God's Law are twofold: First, death as the wages of sin, the transgression of the Law; second, perfect righteousness as the condition for eternal life (Leviticus 18:5; Romans 10:5). Rom 10:4 “For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes.” Let these words sink into your soul for Paul wrote prior Rom. 3:21 “But now the righteousness of God apart from the law is revealed” In other words, to believe that Christ is the end of the Law for righteousness is to believe that His blood and righteousness met in full the demands of God's holy Law (death for sin) and fulfilled the condition of perfect obedience for eternal life. Christ, therefore, secured the salvation of all in His life, death, and resurrection. Thus, all who receive him receive his work and will go to heaven (1 Thessalonians 5:9-10), and all who reject the message of Jesus Christ died for their sins, and rose again will not (2 Corinthians 2:15-16). Rom. 4:5 But to him who does not work but believes on Him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is accounted for righteousness” Those who believe that Christ is the end of Law for righteousness
believe that His righteousness is what makes the difference between
eternal life and eternal death. It’s his work that we receive by
faith, trust in His word, All regenerate
persons believe that Christ is the end of Law for righteousness.
"End of Law" means that Christ's righteousness answered the demands
of God's Law FULLY and COMPLETELY. God's Law was conditional in that
you obey and are blessed, you disobey and you are punished. It said
"do this and live." Or as Thus, without Christ, all of us do not have righteousness, which makes us all sinners without exception. For it is written, "For as many as are out of works of Law, [these] are under a curse. For it is written, Cursed is everyone who does not continue in all the things having been written in the book of the Law, to do them" (Galatians 3:10). But Christ became a curse on behalf of His people and He purchased for them the promise of the Holy Spirit. The obedience and blood of Christ guarantee and demand that all for whom He died will, without fail, receive the gift of eternal life (Galatians 3:13-14), he gives us the Holy Spirit as a fulfillment of this. Therefore, those for whom Christ did not become a curse for will remain cursed, since the purpose of Christ in redeeming His people from the curse of the Law was that they should receive the promised Holy Spirit. The condition for receiving the Holy Spirit (eternal life) is perfect righteousness, which Christ alone has met. So if eternal life comes through the sinner's efforts in any way, shape, or form, even his obedience to law, then Christ died for nothing (Galatians 2:21). That it is “not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us, through the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit, 6 whom He poured out on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Savior, that having been justified by His grace we should become heirs according to the hope of eternal life” (Titus 3:5-7)
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