Faith Tidbit #25

A third kind of law or commandment appearing in the Old Testament is the moral law. It's also sometimes called the Mosaic Law, because it was first revealed by God to Israel through Moses, in the ten commandments. The commandments appear in Exodus 20:1-17 and Deuteronomy 5:6-21. They're also explained in much Leviticus, chapters 18-20. The moral law reflects God’s will for all humanity for all time, including today.

Faith Tidbit #24

A second type of law or commandment appearing in the Old Testament is civil law. Ancient Israel wasn’t a pluralistic democracy like we have in the United States. It was a theocracy. The people were all of one religion and they were ruled by God Himself. Ancient Israel is in the distant past, though. The civil laws that occupy much of Old Testament books like Deuteronomy, Leviticus, and Numbers no longer apply. As Christians, unless governments dare to command us to do things contrary to the will of God, are duty-bound to "be subject to the governing authorities" for the good of all our neighbors, whether they share our faith or not.

Faith Tidbit #23

Reading the Old Testament, we see that there are three different kinds of commandments or laws that God gave to ancient Israel. First, there was ritual or sacrificial law. This regulated what and when pious Jews were to sacrifice for their sins. Such sacrifices are no longer needed. Jesus is, as John the Baptist proclaimed Him to be, "the Lamb of God Who takes away the sin of the world." And the New Testament book of Hebrews notes that Jesus came into our world to be the once-for all sacrifice for our sins.