Kinds of Laws

As you may have guessed if you were here the last time we used these cards, this sermon has several different versions and when it ends is going to be completely up to you. Today, Jesus uses some symbolism to talk about the difference between the Old and New Covenants and that invites a discussion about the different kinds of laws we find in the Bible. This message has four parts and each part has a long version and a summary version. I’ll start each part by asking a pair of questions. If most everyone gets the questions right, that means that we generally understand the idea from that section and you’ll just get the summary version of that section - a few sentences. If most everyone gets the questions wrong, that means that the topic needs a little more explaining and you’ll get the full section. Sound good?

Now for this exercise we’ll be using the cards that were on your seats as you walked in. Each card has four choices on it, A, B, C, and D. When I ask a question, you’ll pick your answer and hold the card with that choice facing up. I’ll scan the room from here with my phone and it’ll give me a readout of the answers you gave. So let’s do a test question:

What is the best Thanksgiving side?

Old Covenant vs New Covenant

So first up, we have these questions . . .

What is the Old Covenant?

What is the New Covenant?

Summary

You guys got it! This is pretty straightforward. The Old Covenant was the agreement God had with ancient Israel to be their God. It relied on a series of laws, festivals, and sacrifices that the Israelites were to keep. That covenant was fulfilled, the deal was completed in the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus. He initiated a New Covenant with us that relies on Him alone. He promises to be our God, to bring us to Himself forever, to give us a place in a perfect new creation - and it all relies on on nothing more than our faith in Him.

Full Feature

So it looks like we might need a little bit of an explanation here. Ever since the Fall, ever since Adam and Eve broke the one rule they were given, humanity has had a core problem. There has been an uncrossable distance between us and God. To be in the presence of a perfect God, humanity has to be perfect - and since the Fall that has been completely and totally impossible. So in the Old Testament, God made a deal with Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and the people of Israel. He gave them a series of laws to follow and festivals to celebrate, but there is also the reality that Hebrews 9:22 brings to us saying, “indeed, under the law almost everything is purified with blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sins.” So Israel was instructed to offer regular animal sacrifices to atone for the sins of the people. That was the Old Covenant.

Then Jesus came and lived a perfect life. He did not sin at all. He then died as a perfect sacrifice and totally fulfilled that Old Covenant, the deal was complete. In it’s place, He established a new covenant with all of humanity. That new covenant is as simple as this. If you believe in Jesus, in the power of His sacrifice for you, all of your sins are forgiven and you are restored to a right relationship with God.

Ceremonial Law

And that leads to ask, what laws in the Bible are caught up in the Old Covenant. What laws do we still stick with as Christians who don’t have to earn our salvation? Well, next up, we have these questions . . .

What is ceremonial law?

Are we still bound to it?

Summary

You guys got it! The ceremonial laws are all the sacrifices and ritual things from the Old Covenant. These are all the steps that the Israelites had to go through to make themselves right with God. We are not still bound to these laws because Christ fulfilled that covenant - we don’t have to deal with our sin, because Jesus dealt with it for us.

Full Feature

So it looks like we might need a little bit of an explanation here. The Israelites lived within that Old Covenant and God had given them guidelines for upholding their end of it. This included things like this image. Animals were sacrificed on altars, their blood was shed for the people of Israel. It also included things like this image. Israel celebrated different festivals and feasts in specific ways to honor God and establish their relationships with Him.

All of this was done so to make the Israelites right with God, to restore their relationship with Him. We are not still bound to these laws because Christ fulfilled that covenant - we don’t have to deal with our sin, because Jesus dealt with it for us. And frankly, a lot of the Old Testament laws fit into this category. They’re still interesting to read about, valuable for showing us how serious the problem of sin is, but we aren’t bound to them anymore.

Civil Law

Well, next up, we have these questions . . .

What is civil law?

Are we still bound to it?

Summary

You guys got it! The civil laws are the different rules that God put into place to help Israel organize their society. These were primarily there for logistical reasons and just made sense for a civilization at the time. And we don’t have to follow these, because we don’t live in Biblical Israel. That being said, there are some rules that aren’t necessarily bad for us to follow - because some of them still make sense. So we can put these into the category of being sometimes useful, but not a necessity.

Full Feature

So it looks like we might need a little bit of an explanation here. The civil laws were rules that God put into place to help Israel organize their society. The best way to understand what these were like is probably just to look at some examples.

In the beginning of Deuteronomy, God sets up a system for judges to judge cases between Israelites so that disagreements between people could be fairly, justly handled. It just makes sense for society and we still have people in these kinds of positions today.

Cities of refuge are appointed within the country. These were places that people could go and be safe from retaliation if they committed an accidental crime.

There were laws about leprosy, where sick individuals essentially were quarantined until their illness faded. This helped to limit the spread of infection in the community.

There were even laws for how to cook the food they ate. This helped to prevent sickness and disease in a time before culinary science and preservation were prevalent.

These laws were one of the ways that God took care of His people. He helped them to be organized as a society, He helped keep them safe, and He taught them about how He designed the world to work. I didn’t count, but I would suspect that the majority of Old Testament laws probably fall into this category. They can certainly have value to us today, but we live in a different time and place - so we aren’t bound to keeping them anymore.

Moral Law

And finally, we have these questions . . .

What is moral law?

Are we still bound to it?

Summary

You guys got it! The moral laws are God’s instruction and guidance on how He designed us to relate to one another, to Him, and to His creation. These laws give us principles for how we treat one another, for worshiping and prayer, and for how we look at the world. These laws still help us to understand what is good and right and just, so we hold closely to them. Despite that, we don’t have to keep them to be saved, because in the new covenant we are saved by faith in Christ alone. Moral laws simply help to guide us in how that looks.

Full Feature

So it looks like we might need a little bit of an explanation here. Moral law is a lot like a train track. While a train is on the track, it has a wide variety of directions that it can go in, as long as there is track in that direction. It operates smoothly and the obstacles it has to face are minimized. The train is designed to work with the tracks, and as long as it stays on the tracks, everything will be fine.

We are like a train and moral laws are the tracks that we operate on. While we are operating on the track, there are a wide variety of directions we can go and a wide variety of things we can do, as long as they align with the moral law. Our lives go more smoothly and the obstacles we have to face are minimized when we live in alignment with the moral laws God has given us. We are designed to work within these moral laws, and as long as we stay on track, everything will be fine.

But even if we get derailed, even if we completely miss the track, we might wind up in a ditch. And getting stuck in a ditch isn’t comfortable, but we have the assurance that Christ will come along and help us out. We might have to suffer the temporary consequences of going off the rails, but we have the promise of the new covenant promising us eternal life, even if we fail to keep all of the laws we’ve talked about today.

Conclusion

So hopefully you know a little bit more about the old and new covenants and different Biblical laws than you did when you walked in today, but I want to draw one last connection for you. God gave ceremonial laws to bring His people closer to Him, God gave civil laws to take care of His people, and God gives moral laws to guide us in the right way to go. None of these laws are given to take away our fun or to punish us - they are all given for our good. So if you take nothing else away from this, remember that the law is for our good and that we are saved in our new covenant with Christ. Amen.