The Ten Commandments and the Law of Moses

The Ten Commandments are well known to Jews and Christians all over the world. Since the release of the movie with that same title in 1956 it has also become known to other people as well. America is supposed to be a Christian country with its constitution to protect the freedom of religion, yet the Ten Commandments have been forcefully removed from public schools, government institutions and other public places. Some Christian denominations even wrongly teach the Ten Commandments have been abolished by the Lord Jesus Christ's finished work on the cross at Calvary. This is because they confuse God's :Law of the Ten Commandments with the Law of Moses, but they are very different laws one from the other.

The major point of difference between these two laws is God’s purpose and intention for each of them. The Ten Commandments are God’s Moral Laws given permanently to mankind (Psm. 111:7-8). The Law of Moses are Ceremonial Laws in the form of statutes, judgments and ordinances that were given only to Israel until the sacrificial death of the Lord Jesus Christ.

In the Sermon on the Mount the Lord Jesus Christ emphasized very clearly. "Do not think that I came to destroy the Law or the Prophets. I did not come to destroy but to fulfill. For assuredly, I say to you, till heaven and earth pass away, one jot or one tittle will by no means pass from the law till all is fulfilled. Whoever therefore breaks one of the least of these commandments, and teaches men so, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever does and teaches them, he shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven.” (Mt. 5:17-19) Here the Lord Jesus Christ was talking about the permanence of the Ten Commandments.

The law of Moses is distinctly different from the Ten Commandments. “For the law was given through Moses, but grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.” (Jn. 1:17) The Law of Moses is no longer needed after the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ. “But before faith came, we were kept under guard by the law, kept for the faith which would afterward be revealed. Therefore the law was our tutor to bring us to Christ, that we might be justified by faith. But after faith has come, we are no longer under a tutor. For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus.” (Gal. 3:23-26) The Law of Moses is the ceremonial law. It is “concerned only with foods and drinks, various washings, and fleshly ordinances imposed until the time of reformation.” (Heb. 9:10) The time of reformation refers to the era of the New Covenant after the sacrificial death of the Lord Jesus Christ.

Another big difference between the two sets of laws is how they were recorded. The Ten Commandments were written by God Himself. “And when He had made an end of speaking with him on Mount Sinai, He gave Moses two tablets of the Testimony, tablets of stone, written with the finger of God.” (Exodus 31:18)

But now read how the Law of Moses was recorded.

Deuteronomy 31:9, "So Moses wrote this law."

Moses' law was the temporary, ceremonial law of the Old Testament. It regulated the priesthood, sacrifices, rituals, meat and drink o.fferings, etc. all of which foreshadowed the cross (Heb. 9:6-10). This law was added "till the Seed should come," and that Seed was Christ (Gal. 3:16, 19). The ritual and ceremonial law of Moses pointed forward to Christ's sacrifice. When He died, this law came to an end, but the Law of God, that is, the Ten Commandments continued into the New Testament era.

Here are the differences between the two sets of Laws

Ten Commandments	Law of Moses
Called “the Law of God” Rom. 7:22 - “For I delight in the law of God according to the inward man.” Rom. 7:25 - “I thank God--through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, with the mind I myself serve the law of God, but with the flesh the law of sin.”	Called "the law of Moses" Acts 15:5 - “But some of the sect of the Pharisees who believed rose up, saying, "It is necessary to circumcise them, and to command them to keep the law of Moses."
Called “the Royal Law” James 2:8 - “If you really fulfill the royal law according to the Scripture, "You shall love your neighbor as yourself," you do well;”	Called "Law contained in ordinances" Eph. 2:15 - “having abolished in His flesh the enmity, that is, the law of commandments contained in ordinances, so as to create in Himself one new man from the two, thus making peace,”
Perfect Psalm 19:7 - The law of the LORD is perfect, converting the soul; The testimony of the LORD is sure, making wise the simple;	Made nothing perfect Heb. 7:19 - “for the law made nothing perfect; on the other hand, there is the bringing in of a better hope, through which we draw near to God.”
Enter into Life Mt. 19:16-17 - “Now behold, one came and said to Him, "Good Teacher, what good thing shall I do that I may have eternal life?" So He said to him, "Why do you call Me good? [1] No one is good but One, that is, God. But if you want to enter into life, keep the commandments."	Can never make us perfect Heb. 10:1 - “For the law, having a shadow of the good things to come, and not the very image of the things, can never with these same sacrifices, which they offer continually year by year, make those who approach perfect.”
Kept by the saints in Heaven Rev. 14:12-13 “Here is the patience of the saints; here are those who keep the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus. Then I heard a voice from heaven saying to me, "Write: 'Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on.' " "Yes," says the Spirit, "that they may rest from their labors, and their works follow them."	Cannot bring saints to Heaven Rom. 3:19-20 - “Now we know that whatever the law says, it says to those who are under the law, that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world may become guilty before God. Therefore by the deeds of the law no flesh will be justified in His sight, for by the law is the knowledge of sin.”
Will continue until the end of the age Matt. 5:18  “For assuredly, I say to you, till heaven and earth pass away, one jot or one tittle will by no means pass from the law till all is fulfilled.”	Abolished at the Cross Ephesians 2:15 “having abolished in His flesh the enmity, that is the law of commandments contained in ordinances, so as to create in Himself one new man from the two, thus making peace,”
Will be used to judge mankind Ecc. 12:13-14 - “Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God and keep His commandments, For this is the whole duty of man. For God will bring every work into judgment, Including every secret thing, Whether good or evil	Will not be used to judge Christians Col. 2:16-17 - So let no one judge you in food or in drink, or regarding a festival or a new moon or sabbaths,which are a shadow of things to come, but the substance is of Christ
Points out sin Rom. 7:7 - “What shall we say then? Is the law sin? Certainly not! On the contrary, I would not have known sin except through the law. For I would not have known covetousness unless the law had said, "You shall not covet."	Added because of sin Gal. 3:19 - “What purpose then does the law serve? It was added because of transgressions, till the Seed should come to whom the promise was made; and it was appointed through angels by the hand of a mediator.”
Not burdensome 1 John 5:3 - “For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments. And His commandments are not burdensome.”	Against us and contrary to us Col. 2:14 - “having wiped out the handwriting of requirements that was against us, which was contrary to us. And He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross.”
Written by God on stone Exod. 31:18 - “And when He had made an end of speaking with him on Mount Sinai, He gave Moses two tablets of the Testimony, tablets of stone, written with the finger of God.” Exod. 32:16 - “Now the tablets were the work of God, and the writing was the writing of God engraved on the tablets.”	Written by Moses in a book Deut. 31:24 - “So it was, when Moses had completed writing the words of this law in a book, when they were finished,” 1 Kgs. 2:3 - “And keep the charge of the LORD your God: to walk in His ways, to keep His statutes, His commandments, His judgments, and His testimonies, as it is written in the Law of Moses, that you may prosper in all that you do and wherever you turn;”
Placed inside the ark 1 Kings 8:8 - “Nothing was in the ark except the two tablets of stone which Moses put there at Horeb, when the LORD made a covenant with the children of Israel, when they came out of the land of Egypt.”	Placed in the side of the ark Deut. 31:26 - “Take this Book of the Law, and put it beside the ark of the covenant of the LORD your God, that it may be there as a witness against you;”

This article is a presentation of Paul Wong

to the ARK Forum on January 21. 2013

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