Many people today feel that we are living under the rules given to man by God called the ten commandments. Most Christian churches teach that Christians need to follow the ten rules set within them. But is this true? Are we still under the ten commandments, or is there a new set of laws that a Christian must live by?

To begin, it is important to understand that the ten commandments given to Moses by God were just a small part of what was known as the Mosaic Law.

The law of Moses, or the Mosaic Law, consisted of more than 600 individual laws, or commandments, including the 10 given to Moses by God. As Moses said: “He commanded you to perform, even ten commandments; and he wrote them upon two tables of stone.” (Deuteronomy 4:13; Exodus 31:18) But to whom did God give the Law, including the Ten Commandments? Did he give it to all humankind? What was the purpose of the Law?

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A contract with Israel only

The Law was not given to all humankind. God made a covenant, or an agreement, only with the descendants of Jacob, who became the nation of Israel. God gave his laws only to the Israelite nation. The Bible makes this clear at Deut 5:1-3 and Psalm 147:19, 20.

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“You yourselves have seen what I did to the Egyptians, that I might carry you on wings of eagles and bring you to myself. And now if you will strictly obey my voice and will indeed keep my covenant, then you will certainly become my special property out of all other peoples, because the whole earth belongs to me. And you yourselves will become to me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.”—Ex. 19:4-6.

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This covenant was a contract between the Israelites and God, that should they obey God, he would bless them and multiply their nation as a people, and would protect them from other nations who worshipped false gods. However, if they broke the contract with God, which they did many times, God would allow the Israelites to reap the consequences of their poor decisions.

For what purpose?

The apostle Paul asked the question: “Why, then, the Law?” Yes, for what purpose did God give his law to Israel? Paul answered: “To make transgressions manifest, until the seed should arrive to whom the promise had been made . . . Consequently the Law has become our tutor [or, teacher] leading to Christ.” Gal 3:19-24

The special purpose of the Law was to protect and guide the nation of Israel so that they might be ready to accept Christ when he arrived. By following the commandments, and keeping clean, the law would help the Israelites to have an open heart when Jesus Christ came to the earth, and recognize him as the true Messiah.

Also, the many sacrifices required by the Law reminded the Israelites that they were sinners who needed a Savior. Heb 10:1-4.

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The Mosaic Law was a foreshadow of what was to come.

From the time that God instituted the Mosaic Law with Moses, animal sacrifice was a main requirement of the law. Sin always requires sacrifice, and there can be no forgiveness without sacrifice(Heb 9:22). However the Mosaic Law required continual sacrifices on the part of the Israelites to keep them clean, and maintain a relationship with the most high God.

Jesus Christ was the solution.

The animal sacrifices of the Israelites to make them clean were a foreshadow of the sacrifice that Jesus Christ gave when he gave his perfect life up for mankind. The Mosaic law prepared the way for the ultimate sacrifice, Jesus Christ. Just as Gal 3:24 says:

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"Consequently the Law has become our tutor [or, teacher] leading to Christ, that we might be declared righteous due to faith."

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So what happened to the Mosaic Law if it was the foreshadow of what was to come, that being Jesus Christ. The very next verse at Gal 3:25 makes it clear.

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"But now that the faith has arrived, we are no longer under a tutor."

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The Mosaic Law or tutor, became null and void when Jesus Christ offered himself up as the final sacrifice. Instead of placing value on the Mosaic Law, the Israelites now had to put faith into Jesus Christ sacrifice as the means of forgiveness, and to draw close to the Father in heaven. Faith in Jesus Christ sacrifice was now the only way to maintain a clean relationship with the most high God.

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Jesus Christ...and the end of the Mosaic Law

Jesus Christ was the only perfect human to walk the earth after the sin in the Garden of Eden had been committed. Because Adam & Eve were perfect, A perfect sacrifice was the only way to redeem what had been lost by the sin. He was the last sacrifice needed to fulfill what the Mosaic Law had been leading up to for centuries. In Jesus own words he states...

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Mt 5:17 . . .“Do not think I came to destroy the Law or the Prophets. I came, not to destroy, but to fulfill. . ."

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The scriptures are clear that the Mosaic Law had come to an end with the death of Jesus Christ.

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Rom 10:4 "For Christ is the end of the Law, so that everyone exercising faith may have righteousness."

Ro 6:14 "For sin must not be master over YOU, seeing that YOU are not under law but under undeserved kindness."

Eph 2:15 “. . .By means of his flesh he abolished the enmity, the Law of commandments consisting in decrees. . .”

Ro 7:6 “But now we have been discharged from the Law, because we have died to that by which we were being held fast, that we might be slaves in a new sense by the spirit, and not in the old sense by the written code.”

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Jesus' sacrifice paved the way for a new covenant, based on faith, not on a written code. The prophet Jeremiah wrote about the time when God would give his people a new covenant, not physically as in the Mosaic Law, but spiritually written on their heart.

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Jer 31:31-32  “Look! There are days coming,” is the utterance of the LORD, “and I will conclude with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah a new covenant; 32 not one like the covenant that I concluded with their forefathers in the day of my taking hold of their hand to bring them forth out of the land of Egypt, ‘which covenant of mine they themselves broke, although I myself had husbandly ownership of them,’ is the utterance of Jehovah.”

Jer 31:33 “For this is the covenant that I shall conclude with the house of Israel after those days,” is the utterance of Jehovah. “I will put my law within them, and in their heart I shall write it. And I will become their God, and they themselves will become my people.”

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Paul also reinforced Jeremiahs prophecy when he referenced the scripture in his own writings in the book of Hebrews.

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Heb 8:10 ““‘For this is the covenant that I shall covenant with the house of Israel after those days,’ says Jehovah. ‘I will put my laws in their mind, and in their hearts I shall write them. And I will become their God, and they themselves will become my people.”

Heb 8:13 “In his saying “a new [covenant]” he has made the former one obsolete. Now that which is made obsolete and growing old is near to vanishing away.”

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The new covenant that God has given to mankind

A circumcision of the heart...

As written above, the Mosaic Law was meant only for the Israelite nation. All other nations, the gentiles, could not be included within Gods purpose. The other nations did not know the true God, nor did they follow the Mosaic Law. The Israelites were the only nation who were required to be physically circumcised per the requirements set in the Law. Through this circumcision, it was a sign that separated them from other nations as Gods people.

However, when Jesus Christ came to earth to give his life up for mankind, his death opened up the possibility for ALL peoples to have a share in the blessing of God and his coming kingdom. When a person is baptized, they are making a dedication with their heart. They are making a contract with God to live by his laws and standards that he sets to be a Christian.

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Ro 2:28-29 “For he is not a Jew who is one on the outside, nor is circumcision that which is on the outside upon the flesh. 29 But he is a Jew who is one on the inside, and [his] circumcision is that of the heart by spirit, and not by a written code. The praise of that one comes, not from men, but from God.”

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Notice that it is not a written code, as was the Mosaic Law, that a person would follow. It was a circumcision of the heart that would motivate the individual to follow Gods law.

But if the Mosaic Law was now null and void, what law are we under?

When Jesus was teaching the people about his Father he was asked which is the greatest commandment. His answer sums up all that has been written in this article. In Jesus words he states:

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Mt 22:34-40 “. . .After the Pharisees heard that he had put the Sadducees to silence, they came together in one group. 35 And one of them, versed in the Law, asked, testing him: 36 “Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?” 37 He said to him: “‘You must love the LORD your God with your whole heart and with your whole soul and with your whole mind.’ 38 This is the greatest and first commandment. 39 The second, like it, is this, ‘You must love your neighbor as yourself.’ 40 On these two commandments the whole Law hangs, and the Prophets.””

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The over 600 commandments that the Israelite nation had been following for centuries, had just been reduced to two.

Yes two!!!

These two laws fulfill, or sum up, the most important thing that the Mosaic Law foreshadowed when it was given to the Israelite people. Love!

For if we love God with our whole heart, soul, and mind, we surely won't worship any other god before him, and we will follow the second law to the best of our ability which was to love our neighbor as ourselves.

When we love our neighbor as ourselves we won't steal from them, or lie to them, or cheat, commit adultery, murder, or covet their belongings, etc.

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Ro 13:10 “Love does not work evil to one’s neighbor; therefore love is the law’s fulfillment.”

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The Law of the Christ has replaced the Mosaic Law, and as a true Christian, these are the requirements set, by the one and only true God, and given to us by his one and only begotten son Jesus Christ. Just as God gave Moses the Mosaic Law, and passed it onto the Israelites, God gave the Law of the Christ to his son and has been passed onto us.

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Ga 6:2 “Go on carrying the burdens of one another, and thus fulfill the law of the Christ.”‍

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Many still feel that they must worship God on a specific day of the week because of the Sabbath requirement set forth in the Mosaic Law.

Because the Mosaic Law was replaced by the Law of the Christ, a special day of worship is not required. Each and every day is a day we can worship God and receive his blessings. If anyone tells you that Saturday, or Sunday, are the days we are supposed to worship God, send them this article and show them the scriptures contained.

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Col 2:16-17 “Therefore let no man judge YOU in eating and drinking or in respect of a festival or of an observance of the new moon or of a sabbath; 17 for those things are a shadow of the things to come, but the reality belongs to the Christ.

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This may be the first time you have come to this understanding that we are no longer under the Law of Moses, which applied only to Israelite nation. However, the scriptures clearly show that Jesus Christ fulfilled the law, and instituted a "new" covenant with those who would follow the example he set. As a true Christian, by showing love to God, and those around you, you are showing that the new law of the Christ is written on your heart, and that you too want to be included within Gods purpose for your life.

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