The Law a.k.a. the 10 Commandments, the Old Covenant

While Dr. Philip E.J. Moreno was still employed by the Seventh-day Adventist church in the Philippines, he was facing a huge dilemma - preach the true gospel of Christ and as a result find himself jobless... or continue to follow wrong doctrinal teachings and enjoy job and pension security as well as good status in the SDA community. This reminds me of a scripture found in Galatians 1:8-10:

But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach a gospel other than the one we preached to you, let him be eternally condemned! As we have already said, so now I say again: If anybody is preaching to you a gospel other than what you accepted, let him be eternally condemned!

Am I now trying to win the approval of men, or of God? Or am I trying to please men? If I were still trying to please men, I would not be a servant of Christ. (NIV)

Bellow is a short article on the law of the Old Covenant (The 10 Commandments). Considering the situation Dr. Moreno was in at the time he wrote it, you will find more bible verses and less comments on his part. He tried to let the Word of God speak to the reader at the same time he didn't want to engage in unnecessary debates with church officials. Of course this was inevitable and later this dear brother lost his job and many friends along with it, because of his decision to stand for the true gospel of Christ.

Enjoy the reading and I encourage you to study more. I pray that the Holly Spirit speaks directly to your heart.

The Law a.k.a. the 10 Commandments, the Old Covenant *
by Dr. Philip Moreno

Down through the ages the truth about this set of laws has been taught and debated, while some groups have twisted and restructured the circumstances surrounding its original setting in an attempt to give support to their stand as a church.

For those who seek the truth about the Law that God gave on Mount Sinai, here is a presentation of the facts surrounding the 10 commandments. I will leave out my own interpretation to give room for your own assessment of the facts, and I pray that you will rely on the Holy Spirit to guide you to the truth.

It was a covenant between God and his chosen people, the Israelites.
“Then the Lord said to Moses, "Write down these words, for in accordance with these words I have made a covenant with you and with Israel." Moses was there with the Lord forty days and forty nights without eating bread or drinking water. And he wrote on the tablets the words of the covenant—the Ten Commandments." (Exodus 34:27-28)

“…the people of Israel. Theirs is the adoption as sons; theirs the divine glory, the covenants, the receiving of the law, the temple worship and the promises. Theirs are the patriarchs, and from them is traced the human ancestry of Christ, who is God over all, forever praised! Amen.” (Romans 9:4-5)

It was not given to anyone before the Mount Sinai episode.
“The Lord our God made a covenant with us at Horeb. It was not with our fathers that the Lord made this covenant, but with us, with all of us who are alive here today.” (Deuteronomy 4:2-3)

It was only given four hundred and thirty years after God made a covenant with Abraham.
“The promises were spoken to Abraham and to his seed. The Scripture does not say "and to seeds," meaning many people, but "and to your seed," meaning one person, who is Christ. What I mean is this: The law, introduced 430 years later, does not set aside the covenant previously established by God and thus do away with the promise.” (Galatians 3:16-17)

It was not given to the non-Israelites/Gentiles.
“He has revealed his word to Jacob, his laws and decrees to Israel. He has done this for no other nation; they do not know his laws. Praise the Lord.” (Psalm 147:19-20)

“Indeed, when Gentiles, who do not have the law…” (Romans 2:14)

“Therefore, remember that formerly you who are Gentiles by birth and called "uncircumcised"… remember that at that time you were separate from Christ, excluded from citizenship in Israel and foreigners to the covenants of the promise, without hope and without God in the world.” (Ephesians 2:11-12)

God said through the prophet Jeremiah that it would be replaced.
"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. 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…” (Jeremiah 31:31-32)

With the establishment of another covenant – the New Covenant, these set of laws became obsolete.
“By calling this covenant "new," he has made the first one obsolete; and what is obsolete and aging will soon disappear.” (Hebrews 8:13)

It had an end.
“Christ is the end of the law so that there may be righteousness for everyone who believes.” (Romans 10:5)


Here are some facts regarding the Christian in relation to the Law.

“For sin shall not be your master, because you are not under law, but under grace.” (Romans 6:14)

“Now that faith has come, we are no longer under the supervision of the law.” (Galatians 3:25)

“But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under law.” (Galatians 5:18)

“Know that a man is not justified by observing the law, but by faith in Jesus Christ. So we, too, have put our faith in Christ Jesus that we may be justified by faith in Christ and not by observing the law, because by observing the law no one will be justified.” (Galatians 2:16)

“I do not set aside the grace of God, for if righteousness could be gained through the law, Christ died for nothing!" (Galatians 2:21)

“You who are trying to be justified by law have been alienated from Christ; you have fallen away from grace.” (Galatians 5:4)

-------------------------------------

*Published with the permission of Dr. Philip E.J. Moreno