Purpose for the Law of Moses

[civic]

The Mosaic Law was given specifically to the nation of Israel (Exodus 19; Leviticus 26:46; Romans 9:4). It was made up of three parts: the Ten Commandments, the ordinances, and the worship system, which included the priesthood, the tabernacle, the offerings, and the festivals (Exodus 20—40; Leviticus 1—7; 23). The purpose of the Mosaic Law was to accomplish the following:

(1) Reveal the holy character of the eternal God to the nation of Israel (Leviticus 19:2; 20:7–8).

(2) Set apart the nation of Israel as distinct from all the other nations (Exodus 19:5).

(3) Reveal the sinfulness of man (cf. Galatians 3:19). Although the Law was good and holy (Romans 7:12), it did not provide salvation for the nation of Israel. “No one will be declared righteous in God’s sight by the works of the law; rather, through the law we become conscious of our sin” (Romans 3:20; cf. Acts 13:38–39).

(4) Provide forgiveness through the sacrifice/offerings (Leviticus 1—7) for the people who had faith in the Lord in the nation of Israel.

(5) Provide a way of worship for the community of faith through the yearly feasts (Leviticus 23).

(6) Provide God’s direction for the physical and spiritual health of the nation (Exodus 21—23; Deuteronomy 6:4–19; Psalm 119:97–104).

(7) Reveal to humanity that no one can keep the Law but everyone falls short of God’s standard of holiness. That realization causes us to rely on God’s mercy and grace. When Christ came, He fulfilled the Law and with His death paid the penalty for our breaking it (Galatians 3:24; Romans 10:4). By faith in Him, the believer has the very righteousness of Christ imputed to him.

The purpose of the Mosaic Law raises these questions: “Are you trusting in yourself to keep all the Ten Commandments all the time (which you can’t do)?” OR “Have you made the choice to accept Jesus as your Savior, realizing that He has fulfilled all the commandments all the time for you, even paying your penalty for breaking them?” The choice is yours.Got?

hope this helps !!!

 

[Soyeong]

The Mosaic Law was given specifically to the nation of Israel (Exodus 19; Leviticus 26:46; Romans 9:4). It was made up of three parts: the Ten Commandments, the ordinances, and the worship system, which included the priesthood, the tabernacle, the offerings, and the festivals (Exodus 20—40; Leviticus 1—7; 23). The purpose of the Mosaic Law was to accomplish the following:

(1) Reveal the holy character of the eternal God to the nation of Israel (Leviticus 19:2; 20:7–8).

(2) Set apart the nation of Israel as distinct from all the other nations (Exodus 19:5).

(3) Reveal the sinfulness of man (cf. Galatians 3:19). Although the Law was good and holy (Romans 7:12), it did not provide salvation for the nation of Israel. “No one will be declared righteous in God’s sight by the works of the law; rather, through the law we become conscious of our sin” (Romans 3:20; cf. Acts 13:38–39).

The Bible often uses the same terms to describe aspects of the nature of God as it does to describe aspects of the nature of the Mosaic Law, such as with it being holy, righteous, and good (Romans 7:12) and with justice, mercy, faithfulness being weightier matters of the law (Matthew 23:23) and this is because its purpose is to teach us how to express, experience, love, believe in, and testify about those aspects of His nature. Sin is what is contrary to God's nature, so the Mosaic Law reveals what sin is by contrast.

Our salvation is from sin (Matthew 1:21) and as you noted the Mosaic Law is how we know what sin is, so while we do not earn our salvation as a wage as the result of obeying it, living in obedience to it through faith in Jesus is nevertheless intrinsically part of the concept of Jesus saving us from not living in obedience to it. Likewise, while we do not earn our righteousness as a wage as the result of obeying the Mosaic Law, becoming someone who practices righteousness in obedience to it is intrinsically part of the concept of becoming righteous.

(7) Reveal to humanity that no one can keep the Law but everyone falls short of God’s standard of holiness. That realization causes us to rely on God’s mercy and grace.

It doesn't make any sense to command someone to do something like jump to the moon for the purpose of revealing to them that no can do that. No earthly father gives instructions to their children for the purpose of revealing to them how bad they are at following those instructions, but rather they give instructions to their children for their own good in order to teach them how to rightly live, and this is that much more true for our Heavenly Father (Deuteronomy 6:24, 10:12-13). In Deuteronomy 30:11-20, it says that the Mosaic Law is not too difficult for us to keep and that obedience to it brings life and a blessing while disobedience brings death and a curse, so choose life! If the Mosaic Law were too difficult for us to keep, then we could rightly place the blame for our failure on to keep it squarely on God. So the law was not given to reveal to us that we fall short of God's standard of holiness, but to teach us how to act in accordance with His standard of holiness. In 1 Peter 1:16, we are told to be holy for God is holy, which is a quote from Leviticus where God was giving instructions for how to do that. In Psalms 119:29, he wanted God to be gracious to him by teaching him to obey the Mosaic Law, so participating in that training is the way to rely on the grace and mercy of God, not thinking that one one can keep it.

When Christ came, He fulfilled the Law and with His death paid the penalty for our breaking it (Galatians 3:24; Romans 10:4). By faith in Him, the believer has the very righteousness of Christ imputed to him.

To fulfill the law means "to cause God's will (as made known in His law) to be obeyed as it should be" (NAS Greek Lexicon: pleroo). After Jesus said that he came to fulfill the law in Matthew 5:17-20, he then proceeded to fulfill the law six times throughout the rest of the chapter by teaching how to correctly obey it as it should be, and he did not refer to his death anywhere in that chapter. According to Galatians 5:14, anyone who as ever loved their neighbor has fulfilled the entire law, so it does not refer to something unique that Jesus did, though only Jesus fulfilled it perfectly. Christ expressed his righteousness by living in obedience to the Mosaic Law, so that is also the way that we get to live when his righteousness is imputed to us.

The purpose of the Mosaic Law raises these questions: “Are you trusting in yourself to keep all the Ten Commandments all the time (which you can’t do)?” OR “Have you made the choice to accept Jesus as your Savior, realizing that He has fulfilled all the commandments all the time for you, even paying your penalty for breaking them?” The choice is yours.Got?

God is trustworthy, therefore the Mosaic Law is also trustworthy (Psalms 19:7), so the way to trust in God is by obediently trusting in what He has instructed, it is contradictory to this that we are trusting in ourselves by obediently trusting in what God has instructed, and it is contradictory to trust in God for salvation, but not trust in what He has instructed for salvation. Jesus is the embodiment of God's word expressed through setting a sinless example of how to walk in obedience to the Mosaic Law, so the way to accept who he is as our Lord and Savior is by embodying God's word through following his example. Nowhere does the Bible say that Jesus fulfilled the Mosaic Law for us so that we don't have to, but rather he did that so that we would have an example to follow, and we are told to follow his example (1 Peter 2:21-22).

hope this helps !!!

Thank you, you made some good points.

I would add that Bible starts and ends with the Tree of Life and the purpose of everything in between is to teach us the way back to the Tree of Life. In Exodus 33:13, Moses wanted God to be gracious to him by teaching him to walk in His way that he might know Him and Israel too. In Jeremiah 9:3 and 9:6, they did not know God and refused to know Him because in 9:13, they had forsaken the Mosaic Law, while in 9:24, those who know God know that he delights in practicing steadfast love, justice, and righteousness in all of the earth, so delighting in practicing those and other aspects of God's nature in obedience to the Mosaic Law is the way to know God, and the way to know Jesus, which is the exact image of God's nature (Hebrews 1:3). In 1 John 2:4, those who say that they know Jesus, but don't obey his commands are liars, in 1 John 3:4-6, those who continue to practice sin in transgression of the Mosaic Law have never seen nor known him, and in Matthew 7:23, Jesus said that he would tell those who are workers of lawlessness to depart from him because he never knew them, so the experience of knowing God and Jesus through delighting in practicing aspects of His nature is the goal of the Mosaic Law, which is eternal life (John 17:3).

 

[praise_yeshua]

A very important distinction that is made concerning the "law" is "it was ADDED"....

1. The law ADDED because of the sinfulness of Israel.

Gal 3:19 Wherefore then serveth the law? It was added because of transgressions, till the seed should come to whom the promise was made; and it was ordained by angels in the hand of a mediator.

2. The law was meant to control Israel unto the ONLY promised seed of Abraham came. The only HEIR of Abraham, Jesus Christ. The FIRST. The LAST. The Beginning of all things. The Heir by which all the family of God are named.

Gal 3:19 = till the seed should come to whom the promise was made; and it was ordained by angels in the hand of a mediator.

Israel rejected God at Sinai. Like all the peoples before them. God called Israel to intimacy and they rejected God. God them a law to control them. It was ADDED because they had no faith.

Deu 32:20 And he said, I will hide my face from them, I will see what their end shall be: for they are a very froward generation, children in whom is no faith.

 

[Soyeong]

A very important distinction that is made concerning the "law" is "it was ADDED"....

1. The law ADDED because of the sinfulness of Israel.

Gal 3:19 Wherefore then serveth the law? It was added because of transgressions, till the seed should come to whom the promise was made; and it was ordained by angels in the hand of a mediator.

Sin was in the world before the law was given (Romans 5:13), so the law was added to reveal what sin is.

2. The law was meant to control Israel unto the ONLY promised seed of Abraham came. The only HEIR of Abraham, Jesus Christ. The FIRST. The LAST. The Beginning of all things. The Heir by which all the family of God are named.

Gal 3:19 = till the seed should come to whom the promise was made; and it was ordained by angels in the hand of a mediator.

Israel rejected God at Sinai. Like all the peoples before them. God called Israel to intimacy and they rejected God. God them a law to control them. It was ADDED because they had no faith.

Deu 32:20 And he said, I will hide my face from them, I will see what their end shall be: for they are a very froward generation, children in whom is no faith.

Jesus did not go around telling people to stop repenting because the law had ended, but just the opposite, he called for us to repent from transgressing it, and he set a sinless example for us to follow of how to walk in obedience to it, so you should not interpret what Galatians 3:19 says about Jesus in a way that undermines everything that he accomplished through his ministry. In Acts 3:25-26, Jesus was sent as the promised seed to bless us by turning us from our wickedness, not by setting us free to be wicked. God's law is His instructions for how to have intimacy with Him (Exodus 33:13).

 

[praise_yeshua]

Sin was in the world before the law was given (Romans 5:13), so the law was added to reveal what sin is.

You don't understand what you read. Abraham didn't have the law you're referencing as being "Added". Neither did Adam or Eve or Seth or Enoch.

If what claim is true, why wasn't it "added for them"? You didn't think this through.

Jesus did not go around telling people to stop repenting because the law had ended, but just the opposite, he called for us to repent from transgressing it, and he set a sinless example for us to follow of how to walk in obedience to it, so you should not interpret what Galatians 3:19 says about Jesus in a way that undermines everything that he accomplished through his ministry. In Acts 3:25-26, Jesus was sent as the promised seed to bless us by turning us from our wickedness, not by setting us free to be wicked. God's law is His instructions for how to have intimacy with Him (Exodus 33:13).

Such repentance as you preach doesn't equal sinning again.

John 5:14 Afterward Jesus findeth him in the temple, and said unto him, Behold, thou art made whole: sin no more, lest a worse thing come unto thee.

Yes. Jesus told this blind to not sin again even though he would sin again.....

This tells you something in and off itself. You don't understand repentance. You actually believe "I'm sorry" is repentance. Your teaching presents obedience as repentance.

 

[Soyeong]

You don't understand what you read. Abraham didn't have the law you're referencing as being "Added". Neither did Adam or Eve or Seth or Enoch.

If what claim is true, why wasn't it "added for them"? You didn't think this through.

In Genesis 26:5, Abraham heard God's voice and guarded His charge, His commandments, His statutes, and His laws. In Genesis 6:8-9, Noah found grace in the eyes of God, he was a righteous man, and he walked with God, so God instructed him how to walk with him by doing what is righteous and he was righteous because he obeyed through faith. In Genesis 4:7, God told Cain that sin was crouching at the door and that he must master it, which implies that he already knew what sin is and must have already been given laws in that regard. In Genesis 39:9, Joseph knew that it was a sin to commit adultery.

Sin was in the world before the law was given because people could act in a way that is contrary to God's nature before they had been taught what sin is. Moreover, Romas 5:13 means that there were no actions that became sinful when the law was given, but rather the law revealed what has always been and will always be sin.

Such repentance as you preach doesn't equal sinning again.

John 5:14 Afterward Jesus findeth him in the temple, and said unto him, Behold, thou art made whole: sin no more, lest a worse thing come unto thee.

Yes. Jesus told this blind to not sin again even though he would sin again.....

Our goal should certainly be to have perfect obedience, but we are not without sin (1 John 3:8-10).

This tells you something in and off itself. You don't understand repentance. You actually believe "I'm sorry" is repentance. Your teaching presents obedience as repentance.

Yet another straw man.

 

[praise_yeshua]

In Genesis 26:5, Abraham heard God's voice and guarded His charge, His commandments, His statutes, and His laws. In Genesis 6:8-9, Noah found grace in the eyes of God, he was a righteous man, and he walked with God, so God instructed him how to walk with him by doing what is righteous and he was righteous because he obeyed through faith. In Genesis 4:7, God told Cain that sin was crouching at the door and that he must master it, which implies that he already knew what sin is and must have already been given laws in that regard. In Genesis 39:9, Joseph knew that it was a sin to commit adultery.

Sin was in the world before the law was given because people could act in a way that is contrary to God's nature before they had been taught what sin is. Moreover, Romas 5:13 means that there were no actions that became sinful when the law was given, but rather the law revealed what has always been and will always be sin.

This is getting ridiculous. So when was it added? You said it was added so we would know sin. You're losing your context for the comments. You keep doing this over and over again. Was it added or not? When was it added? Who used it for knowledge of sin. The Scriptures declare that it was ADDED AFTER ABRAHAM. You can't then appeal back to Abraham or before... Get it?

Gal 3:16 Now to Abraham and his seed were the promises made. He saith not, And to seeds, as of many; but as of one, And to thy seed, which is Christ.
Gal 3:17 And this I say, that the covenant, that was confirmed before of God in Christ, the law, which was four hundred and thirty years after, cannot disannul, that it should make the promise of none effect.
Gal 3:18 For if the inheritance be of the law, it is no more of promise: but God gave it to Abraham by promise.
Gal 3:19 Wherefore then serveth the law? It was added because of transgressions, till the seed should come to whom the promise was made; and it was ordained by angels in the hand of a mediator.

We know exactly when Paul is appealing to the addition and why. You're denying the Scriptures over and over again.

 

[Soyeong]

This is getting ridiculous. So when was it added? You said it was added so we would know sin. You're losing your context for the comments. You keep doing this over and over again. Was it added or not? When was it added? Who used it for knowledge of sin. The Scriptures declare that it was ADDED AFTER ABRAHAM. You can't then appeal back to Abraham or before... Get it?

Gal 3:16 Now to Abraham and his seed were the promises made. He saith not, And to seeds, as of many; but as of one, And to thy seed, which is Christ.
Gal 3:17 And this I say, that the covenant, that was confirmed before of God in Christ, the law, which was four hundred and thirty years after, cannot disannul, that it should make the promise of none effect.
Gal 3:18 For if the inheritance be of the law, it is no more of promise: but God gave it to Abraham by promise.
Gal 3:19 Wherefore then serveth the law? It was added because of transgressions, till the seed should come to whom the promise was made; and it was ordained by angels in the hand of a mediator.

We know exactly when Paul is appealing to the addition and why. You're denying the Scriptures over and over again.

All of God's righteous laws are eternal (Psalms 119:160), so they have all existed from the beginning and there are many examples of them being in given prior to when they were given at Sinai, though Sinai marks when it was given as a body of law to a nation. You are ignoring that Jesus didn't go around telling people to stop repenting because the law has ended, but just the opposite, which completely undermines how you are trying to use Galatians 3:19. Likewise, in Galatians 3:16-19, it says that a newer covenant does not nullify the promises of a covenant that has already been ratified, and the promise is connected with teaching people to obey God's law in connection with spreading the Gospel (Acts 3:25-26, Galatians 3:8), which again undermines how you are trying to use Galatians 3:19. Moreover, in Galatians 3:26-29, every aspect of being in children of God, in Christ, through faith, being children of Abraham, and heirs to the promise is directly connected with living in obedience to God's law. In 1 John 3:4-10, those who do not practice righteousness in obedience to God's law are not children of God, in 1 John 2:6, those who are in Christ are obligated to walk in the same way he walked, and in Matthew 23:23, Jesus said that faith is one of the weightier matters of the law.

 

[Johann]

The Mosaic Law was given specifically to the nation of Israel (Exodus 19; Leviticus 26:46; Romans 9:4). It was made up of three parts: the Ten Commandments, the ordinances, and the worship system, which included the priesthood, the tabernacle, the offerings, and the festivals (Exodus 20—40; Leviticus 1—7; 23). The purpose of the Mosaic Law was to accomplish the following:

(1) Reveal the holy character of the eternal God to the nation of Israel (Leviticus 19:2; 20:7–8).

(2) Set apart the nation of Israel as distinct from all the other nations (Exodus 19:5).

(3) Reveal the sinfulness of man (cf. Galatians 3:19). Although the Law was good and holy (Romans 7:12), it did not provide salvation for the nation of Israel. “No one will be declared righteous in God’s sight by the works of the law; rather, through the law we become conscious of our sin” (Romans 3:20; cf. Acts 13:38–39).

(4) Provide forgiveness through the sacrifice/offerings (Leviticus 1—7) for the people who had faith in the Lord in the nation of Israel.

(5) Provide a way of worship for the community of faith through the yearly feasts (Leviticus 23).

(6) Provide God’s direction for the physical and spiritual health of the nation (Exodus 21—23; Deuteronomy 6:4–19; Psalm 119:97–104).

(7) Reveal to humanity that no one can keep the Law but everyone falls short of God’s standard of holiness. That realization causes us to rely on God’s mercy and grace. When Christ came, He fulfilled the Law and with His death paid the penalty for our breaking it (Galatians 3:24; Romans 10:4). By faith in Him, the believer has the very righteousness of Christ imputed to him.

The purpose of the Mosaic Law raises these questions: “Are you trusting in yourself to keep all the Ten Commandments all the time (which you can’t do)?” OR “Have you made the choice to accept Jesus as your Savior, realizing that He has fulfilled all the commandments all the time for you, even paying your penalty for breaking them?” The choice is yours.Got?

hope this helps !!!

What is the purpose of the Mosaic Law? | GotQuestions.org

What is the purpose of the Mosaic Law? What should Christians learn from studying the Mosaic Law?

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THE MOSAIC LAW AND THE CHRISTIAN

edited for excesive amounts of cut n pastes.