Is the Law of Moses (Torah) Still Binding?

Yes.

Let's start with the title: "Is the Law of Moses (Torah) Still Binding?" To equate "the Law of Moses" with "Torah" is the very first mistake this article makes. But "Torah" is a nice scary word, which prejudices God's Law in the eyes of most low-information church-goers. Obviously the Hebrew word "Torah" does not appear in the New Testament, so we can't get an explicit answer to the question posed by the article at left.

Abraham is our father in the faith. Christians are the seed of Abraham. [See sidebar] What did Abraham think about God's "Torah?" God says of Abraham:

And I will make thy seed to multiply as the stars of heaven, and will give unto thy seed all these countries; and in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed;
Because that Abraham obeyed My Voice, and kept My Charge, My Commandments, My Statutes, and My Torah.
Genesis 26:4-5

Abraham lived centuries before God gave tablets of stone to Moses. So equating "Torah" with Moses is a mistake. But the Pharisees made the same mistake. They spoke of circumcision (which was given to Abraham) as being from Moses:

Moses therefore gave you circumcision (not that it is from Moses, but from the fathers), and you circumcise a man on the Sabbath.
John 7:22

But Abraham, the father of the faithful, seems to have had a pro-torah attitude. The word "torah" means "direction." Godly people follow God's directions. God's People apparently knew God's torah from the time of Abraham to the Exodus:

Exodus 12:49

One torah shall be to him that is homeborn, and unto the stranger that sojourneth among you.

Exodus 13:9

And it shall be for a sign unto thee upon thine hand, and for a memorial between thine eyes, that the LORD'S torah may be in thy mouth: for with a strong hand hath the LORD brought thee out of Egypt.

Exodus 16:4

Then said the LORD unto Moses, Behold, I will rain bread from heaven for you; and the people shall go out and gather a certain rate every day that I may prove them, whether they will walk in my torah, or no.

Exodus 16:28

And the LORD said unto Moses, How long refuse ye to keep my commandments and my torot? [plural, "laws"]

Exodus 18:16

When they have a matter, they come unto me; and I judge between one and another, and I do make them know the statutes of God, and his torot.

Exodus 18:20

And thou shalt teach  them ordinances and torot, and shalt shew them the way wherein they must walk, and the work that they must do.

We can assume that God gave "direction" to Man in the Garden of Eden other than the commands which are explicitly recorded in Scripture (exercise dominion [Genesis 1:26-28], dress and keep the garden [2:15], eat [2:16] and don't eat [2:17], name the animals [2:19], etc.). God apparently gave the command "Thou shalt not kill" before Moses (even though it's not recorded in the Scriptures) and Cain violated this command when he killed his brother Abel. Others at that time seemed to know that "capital punishment" was in order, but God issued a stay of execution. We can assume that Abraham obeyed commands like these. Are they still "binding?" Does God change His direction? If some modern-day Cain kills his brother, wouldn't we know from reading Genesis 4 that this was sinful?

Leviticus 6:9

Command Aaron and his sons, saying, This is the torah of the burnt offering: It is the burnt offering, because of the burning upon the altar all night unto the morning, and the fire of the altar shall be burning in it.

Leviticus 6:14 

And this is the torah of the meat offering: the sons of Aaron shall offer it before the LORD, before the altar.

Leviticus 6:25 

Speak unto Aaron and to his sons, saying, This is the torah of the sin offering: In the place where the burnt offering is killed shall the sin offering be killed before the LORD: it is most holy.

Leviticus 7:1 

Likewise this is the torah of the trespass offering: it is most holy.

Leviticus 7:7 

As the sin offering is, so is the trespass offering: there is one torah for them: the priest that maketh atonement therewith shall have it.

Leviticus 7:11 

And this is the torah of the sacrifice of peace offerings, which he shall offer unto the LORD.

Leviticus 7:37 

This is the torah of the burnt offering, of the meat offering, and of the sin offering, and of the trespass offering, and of the consecrations, and of the sacrifice of the peace offerings;

Leviticus 11:46 

This is the torah of the beasts, and of the fowl, and of every living creature that moveth in the waters, and of every creature that creepeth upon the earth:

Leviticus 12:7 

Who shall offer it before the LORD, and make an atonement for her; and she shall be cleansed from the issue of her blood. This is the torah for her that hath born a male or a female.

Leviticus 13:59 

This is the torah of the plague of leprosy in a garment of woollen or linen, either in the warp, or woof, or any thing of skins, to pronounce it clean, or to pronounce it unclean.

Leviticus 14:2 

This shall be the torah of the leper in the day of his cleansing: He shall be brought unto the priest:

Leviticus 14:32 

This is the torah of him in whom is the plague of leprosy, whose hand is not able to get that which pertaineth to his cleansing.

Leviticus 14:54 

This is the torah for all manner of plague of leprosy, and scall,

Leviticus 14:57 

To teach when it is unclean, and when it is clean: this is the torah of leprosy.

Leviticus 15:32 

This is the torah of him that hath an issue, and of him whose seed ** goeth from him, and is defiled therewith;

Leviticus 26:46 

These are the statutes and judgments and torot, which the LORD made between him and the children of Israel in mount Sinai by the hand of Moses.

Notice that God gave "torah" ["direction"] for many different subjects. We are not obligated to obey the "torah" of burnt offerings in the same way Israel was under the Levitical priesthood. We obey that "torah" through Jesus. But God's "direction" for life, liberty, and property are the same as they were in the Garden of Eden, under Abraham, and in the Promised land.

In the book of Numbers we see a "torah" for Nazirites. But as far as life, liberty, and property is concerned, we see there is one "torah" shared by Israelites and strangers alike.

Numbers 5:29 

This is the torah of jealousies, when a wife goeth aside to another instead of her husband, and is defiled ;

Numbers 5:30 

Or when the spirit of jealousy cometh upon him, and he be jealous over his wife, and shall set the woman before the LORD, and the priest shall execute upon her all this torah.

Numbers 6:13 

And this is the torah of the Nazarite, when the days of his separation are fulfilled : he shall be brought unto the door of the tabernacle of the congregation:

Numbers 6:21 

This is the torah of the Nazarite who hath vowed, and of his offering unto the LORD for his separation, beside that that his hand shall get : according to the vow which he vowed, so he must do after the torah of his separation.

Numbers 15:16 

One torah and one manner shall be for you, and for the stranger that sojourneth with you.

Numbers 15:29 

Ye shall have one torah for him that sinneth through ignorance, both for him that is born among the children of Israel, and for the stranger that sojourneth among them.

Numbers 19:2 

This is the ordinance of the torah which the LORD hath commanded, saying, Speak unto the children of Israel, that they bring thee a red heifer without spot, wherein is no blemish, and upon which never came yoke:

Numbers 19:14 

This is the torah, when a man dieth in a tent: all that come into the tent, and all that is in the tent, shall be unclean seven days.

Numbers 31:21 

And Eleazar the priest said unto the men of war which went to the battle, This is the ordinance of the torah which the LORD commanded Moses;

Let's follow the advice Paul gave to Timothy. Let's follow the model of the Bereans. Let's search the Scriptures. Here are the remaining occurrences of the word "torah." If you don't want to read a lot of Bible verses, skip to here. Or check out

• Torah in Deuteronomy
• Torah in Joshua and subsequent historical chronicles
• Torah in Psalms
• Torah in Proverbs
• Torah in Isaiah
• Torah in Jeremiah and other prophets.

Any first-century student of the Scriptures who was familiar with all these verses would be very skeptical of any claim that under the reign of the Messiah, we would all ignore the Torah. There certainly is nothing in the pages of the New Testament to support such a claim. And quite a bit to oppose the idea.

Deuteronomy 1:5

On this side Jordan, in the land of Moab, began Moses to declare this torah, saying,

Deuteronomy 4:8 

And what nation is there so great, that hath statutes and judgments so righteous as all this torah, which I set before you this day?

Deuteronomy 4:44 

And this is the torah which Moses set before the children of Israel:

Deuteronomy 17:11 

According to the sentence of the torah which they shall teach thee, and according to the judgment which they shall tell thee, thou shalt do : thou shalt not decline from the sentence which they shall shew thee, to the right hand, nor to the left.

Deuteronomy 17:18 

And it shall be, when he sitteth upon the throne of his kingdom, that he shall write him a copy of this torah in a book out of that which is before the priests the Levites:

Deuteronomy 17:19 

And it shall be with him, and he shall read therein all the days of his life: that he may learn to fear the LORD his God, to keep all the words of this torah and these statutes, to do them:

Deuteronomy 27:3 

And thou shalt write upon them all the words of this torah, when thou art passed over, that thou mayest go in unto the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee, a land that floweth with milk and honey; as the LORD God of thy fathers hath promised thee.

Deuteronomy 27:8 

And thou shalt write upon the stones all the words of this torah very plainly.

Deuteronomy 27:26 

Cursed be he that confirmeth not all the words of this torah to do them. And all the people shall say, Amen.

Deuteronomy 28:58 

If thou wilt not observe to do all the words of this torah that are written in this book, that thou mayest fear this glorious and fearful name, THE LORD THY GOD;

Deuteronomy 28:61 

Also every sickness, and every plague, which is not written in the book of this torah, them will the LORD bring upon thee, until thou be destroyed.

Deuteronomy 29:21 

And the LORD shall separate him unto evil out of all the tribes of Israel, according to all the curses of the covenant that are written in this book of the torah:

Deuteronomy 29:29 

The secret things belong unto the LORD our God: but those things which are revealed belong unto us and to our children for ever, that we may do all the words of this torah.

Deuteronomy 30:10 

If thou shalt hearken unto the voice of the LORD thy God, to keep his commandments and his statutes which are written in this book of the torah, and if thou turn unto the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul.

Deuteronomy 31:9 

And Moses wrote this torah, and delivered it unto the priests the sons of Levi, which bare the ark of the covenant of the LORD, and unto all the elders of Israel.

Deuteronomy 31:11 

When all Israel is come to appear before the LORD thy God in the place which he shall choose, thou shalt read this torah before all Israel in their hearing.

Deuteronomy 31:12 

Gather the people together, men, and women, and children, and thy stranger that is within thy gates, that they may hear, and that they may learn, and fear the LORD your God, and observe to do all the words of this law:

Deuteronomy 31:24 

And it came to pass, when Moses had made an end of writing the words of this torah in a book, until they were finished,

Deuteronomy 31:26 

Take this book of the torah, and put it in the side of the ark of the covenant of the LORD your God, that it may be there for a witness against thee.

Deuteronomy 32:46 

And he said unto them, Set your hearts unto all the words which I testify among you this day, which ye shall command your children to observe to do, all the words of this law.

Deuteronomy 33:4 

Moses commanded us a torah, even the inheritance of the congregation of Jacob.

Deuteronomy 33:10 

They shall teach Jacob thy judgments, and Israel thy law: they shall put incense before thee, and whole burnt sacrifice upon thine altar.

Joshua 1:7 

Only be thou strong and very courageous, that thou mayest observe to do according to all the torah, which Moses my servant commanded thee: turn not from it to the right hand or to the left, that thou mayest prosper whithersoever thou goest.

Joshua 1:8 

This book of the torah shall not depart out of thy mouth; but thou shalt meditate therein day and night, that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein: for then thou shalt make thy way prosperous, and then thou shalt have good success.

Joshua 8:31 

As Moses the servant of the LORD commanded the children of Israel, as it is written in the book of the torah of Moses, an altar of whole stones, over which no man hath lift up any iron: and they offered thereon burnt offerings unto the LORD, and sacrificed peace offerings.

Joshua 8:32 

And he wrote there upon the stones a copy of the torah of Moses, which he wrote in the presence of the children of Israel.

Joshua 8:34 

And afterward he read all the words of the torah, the blessings and cursings, according to all that is written in the book of the law.

Joshua 22:5 

But take diligent heed to do the commandment and the torah, which Moses the servant of the LORD charged you, to love the LORD your God, and to walk in all his ways, and to keep his commandments, and to cleave unto him, and to serve him with all your heart and with all your soul.

Joshua 23:6 

Be ye therefore very courageous to keep and to do all that is written in the book of the torah of Moses, that ye turn not aside therefrom to the right hand or to the left;

Joshua 24:26 

And Joshua wrote these words in the book of the torah of God, and took a great stone, and set it up there under an oak, that was by the sanctuary of the LORD.

1 Kings 2:3 

And keep the charge of the LORD thy God, to walk in his ways, to keep his statutes, and his commandments, and his judgments, and his testimonies, as it is written in the torah of Moses, that thou mayest prosper in all that thou doest, and whithersoever thou turnest thyself:

2 Kings 10:31 

But Jehu took no heed to walk in the torah of the LORD God of Israel with all his heart: for he departed not from the sins of Jeroboam, which made Israel to sin.

2 Kings 14:6 

But the children of the murderers he slew not: according unto that which is written in the book of the torah of Moses, wherein the LORD commanded, saying, The fathers shall not be put to death for the children, nor the children be put to death for the fathers; but every man shall be put to death for his own sin.

2 Kings 17:13 

Yet the LORD testified against Israel, and against Judah, by all the prophets, and by all the seers, saying, Turn ye from your evil ways, and keep my commandments and my statutes, according to all the torah which I commanded your fathers, and which I sent to you by my servants the prophets.

2 Kings 17:34 

Unto this day they do after the former manners: they fear not the LORD, neither do they after their statutes, or after their ordinances, or after the torah and commandment which the LORD commanded the children of Jacob, whom he named * Israel;

2 Kings 17:37 

And the statutes, and the ordinances, and the torah, and the commandment, which he wrote for you, ye shall observe to do forevermore; and ye shall not fear other gods.

2 Kings 21:8 

Neither will I make the feet of Israel move any more out of the land which I gave their fathers; only if they will observe to do according to all that I have commanded them, and according to all the torah that my servant Moses commanded them.

2 Kings 22:8 

And Hilkiah the high priest said unto Shaphan the scribe, I have found the book of the torah in the house of the LORD. And Hilkiah gave the book to Shaphan, and he read it.

2 Kings 22:11 

And it came to pass, when the king had heard the words of the book of the torah, that he rent his clothes.

2 Kings 23:24 

Moreover the workers with familiar spirits, and the wizards, and the images, and the idols, and all the abominations that were spied in the land of Judah and in Jerusalem, did Josiah put away, that he might perform the words of the torah which were written in the book that Hilkiah the priest found in the house of the LORD.

2 Kings 23:25 

And like unto him was there no king before him, that turned to the LORD with all his heart, and with all his soul, and with all his might, according to all the torah of Moses; neither after him arose there any like him.

1 Chronicles 16:40 

To offer burnt offerings unto the LORD upon the altar of the burnt offering continually morning and evening, and to do according to all that is written in the torah of the LORD, which he commanded Israel;

1 Chronicles 22:12 

Only the LORD give thee wisdom and understanding, and give thee charge concerning Israel, that thou mayest keep the torah of the LORD thy God.

2 Chronicles 6:16 

Now therefore, O LORD God of Israel, keep with thy servant David my father that which thou hast promised him, saying, There shall not fail thee a man in my sight to sit upon the throne of Israel; yet so that thy children take heed to their way to walk in my torah, as thou hast walked before me.

2 Chronicles 12:1 

And it came to pass, when Rehoboam had established the kingdom, and had strengthened himself, he forsook the torah of the LORD, and all Israel with him.

2 Chronicles 14:4 

And commanded Judah to seek the LORD God of their fathers, and to do the torah and the commandment.

2 Chronicles 15:3 

Now for a long season Israel hath been without the true God, and without a teaching priest, and without law.

2 Chronicles 17:9 

And they taught in Judah, and had the book of the torah of the LORD with them, and went about throughout all the cities of Judah, and taught the people.

2 Chronicles 19:10 

And what cause soever shall come to you of your brethren that dwell in their cities, between blood and blood, between torah and commandment, statutes and judgments, ye shall even warn them that they trespass not against the LORD, and so wrath come upon you, and upon your brethren: this do, and ye shall not trespass.

2 Chronicles 23:18 

Also Jehoiada appointed the offices of the house of the LORD by the hand of the priests the Levites, whom David had distributed in the house of the LORD, to offer the burnt offerings of the LORD, as it is written in the torah of Moses, with rejoicing and with singing, as it was ordained by David.

2 Chronicles 25:4 

But he slew not their children, but did as it is written in the torah in the book of Moses, where the LORD commanded, saying, The fathers shall not die for the children, neither shall the children die for the fathers, but every man shall die for his own sin.

2 Chronicles 30:16 

And they stood in their place after their manner, according to the torah of Moses the man of God: the priests sprinkled the blood, which they received of the hand of the Levites.

2 Chronicles 31:3 

He appointed also the king's portion of his substance for the burnt offerings, to wit, for the morning and evening burnt offerings, and the burnt offerings for the Sabbaths, and for the new moons, and for the set feasts, as it is written in the torah of the LORD.

2 Chronicles 31:4 

Moreover he commanded the people that dwelt in Jerusalem to give the portion of the priests and the Levites, that they might be encouraged in the torah of the LORD.

2 Chronicles 31:21 

And in every work that he began in the service of the house of God, and in the torah, and in the commandments, to seek his God, he did it with all his heart, and prospered.

2 Chronicles 33:8 

Neither will I any more remove the foot of Israel from out of the land which I have appointed for your fathers; so that they will take heed to do all that I have commanded them, according to the whole torah and the statutes and the ordinances by the hand of Moses.

2 Chronicles 34:14 

And when they brought out the money that was brought into the house of the LORD, Hilkiah the priest found a book of the torah of the LORD given by Moses.

2 Chronicles 34:15 

And Hilkiah answered and said to Shaphan the scribe, I have found the book of the torah in the house of the LORD. And Hilkiah delivered the book to Shaphan.

2 Chronicles 34:19 

And it came to pass, when the king had heard the words of the torah, that he rent his clothes.

2 Chronicles 35:26 

Now the rest of the acts of Josiah, and his goodness, according to that which was written in the torah of the LORD,

Ezra 3:2 

Then stood up Jeshua the son of Jozadak, and his brethren the priests, and Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, and his brethren, and builded the altar of the God of Israel, to offer burnt offerings thereon, as it is written in the torah of Moses the man of God.

Ezra 7:6 

This Ezra went up from Babylon; and he was a ready scribe in the torah of Moses, which the LORD God of Israel had given : and the king granted him all his request, according to the hand of the LORD his God upon him.

Ezra 7:10 

For Ezra had prepared his heart to seek the torah of the LORD, and to do it, and to teach in Israel statutes and judgments.

Ezra 10:3 

Now therefore let us make a covenant with our God to put away all the wives, and such as are born of them, according to the counsel of my lord, and of those that tremble at the commandment of our God; and let it be done according to the law.

Nehemiah 8:1 

And all the people gathered themselves together as one man into the street that was before the water gate; and they spake unto Ezra the scribe to bring the book of the torah of Moses, which the LORD had commanded to Israel.

Nehemiah 8:2 

And Ezra the priest brought the torah before the congregation both of men and women, and all that could hear with understanding, upon the first day of the seventh month.

Nehemiah 8:3 

And he read therein before the street that was before the water gate from the morning until midday *, before the men and the women, and those that could understand ; and the ears of all the people were attentive unto the book of the law.

Nehemiah 8:7 

Also Jeshua, and Bani, and Sherebiah, Jamin, Akkub, Shabbethai, Hodijah, Maaseiah, Kelita, Azariah, Jozabad, Hanan, Pelaiah, and the Levites, caused the people to understand the law: and the people stood in their place.

Nehemiah 8:8 

So they read in the book in the torah of God distinctly, and gave the sense, and caused them to understand the reading.

Nehemiah 8:9 

And Nehemiah, which is the Tirshatha, and Ezra the priest the scribe, and the Levites that taught the people, said unto all the people, This day is holy unto the LORD your God; mourn not, nor weep. For all the people wept, when they heard the words of the law.

Nehemiah 8:13 

And on the second day were gathered together the chief of the fathers of all the people, the priests, and the Levites, unto Ezra the scribe, even to understand the words of the law.

Nehemiah 8:14 

And they found written in the torah which the LORD had commanded by Moses, that the children of Israel should dwell in booths in the feast of the seventh month:

Nehemiah 8:18 

Also day by day, from the first day unto the last day, he read in the book of the torah of God. And they kept the feast seven days; and on the eighth day was a solemn assembly, according unto the manner.

Nehemiah 9:3 

And they stood up in their place, and read in the book of the torah of the LORD their God one fourth part of the day; and another fourth part they confessed, and worshipped the LORD their God.

Nehemiah 9:13 

Thou camest down also upon mount Sinai, and spakest with them from heaven, and gavest them right judgments, and true laws, good statutes and commandments:

Nehemiah 9:14

And madest known unto them thy holy sabbath, and commandedst them precepts, statutes, and laws, by the hand of Moses thy servant:

Nehemiah 9:26 

Nevertheless they were disobedient, and rebelled against thee, and cast thy torah behind their backs, and slew thy prophets which testified against them to turn them to thee, and they wrought great provocations.

Nehemiah 9:29 

And testifiedst against them, that thou mightest bring them again unto thy law: yet they dealt proudly, and hearkened not unto thy commandments, but sinned against thy judgments, if a man do, he shall live in them;) and withdrew * the shoulder, and hardened their neck, and would not hear.

Nehemiah 9:34 

Neither have our kings, our princes, our priests, nor our fathers, kept thy torah, nor hearkened unto thy commandments and thy testimonies, wherewith thou didst testify against them.

Nehemiah 10:28 

And the rest of the people, the priests, the Levites, the porters, the singers, the Nethinims, and all they that had separated themselves from the people of the lands unto the torah of God, their wives, their sons, and their daughters, every one having knowledge, and having understanding ;

Nehemiah 10:29 

They clave to their brethren, their nobles, and entered into a curse, and into an oath, to walk in God's torah, which was given by Moses the servant of God, and to observe and do all the commandments of the LORD our Lord, and his judgments and his statutes;

Nehemiah 10:34 

And we cast the lots among the priests, the Levites, and the people, for the wood offering, to bring it into the house of our God, after the houses of our fathers, at times appointed year by year, to burn upon the altar of the LORD our God, as it is written in the law:

Nehemiah 10:36 

Also the firstborn of our sons, and of our cattle, as it is written in the torah, and the firstlings of our herds and of our flocks, to bring to the house of our God, unto the priests that minister in the house of our God:

Nehemiah 12:44 

And at that time were some appointed over the chambers for the treasures, for the offerings, for the firstfruits, and for the tithes, to gather into them out of the fields of the cities the portions of the torah for the priests and Levites: for Judah rejoiced for the priests and for the Levites that waited.

Nehemiah 13:3 

Now it came to pass, when they had heard the torah, that they separated from Israel all the mixed multitude.

Job 22:22 

Receive, I pray thee, the torah from his mouth, and lay up his words in thine heart.

Psalm 1:2 

But his delight is in the torah of the LORD; and in his torah doth he meditate day and night.

Psalm 19:7 

The torah of the LORD is perfect, converting the soul: the testimony of the LORD is sure, making wise the simple.

Psalm 37:31 

The torah of his God is in his heart; none of his steps shall slide.

Psalm 40:8 

I delight to do thy will, O my God: yea, thy torah is within my heart.

Psalm 78:1 

[ *Maschil of Asaph.] Give ear, O my people, to my torah: incline your ears to the words of my mouth.

Psalm 78:5 

For he established a testimony in Jacob, and appointed a torah in Israel, which he commanded our fathers, that they should make them known to their children:

Psalm 78:10 

They kept not the covenant of God, and refused to walk in his torah;

Psalm 89:30 

If his children forsake my torah, and walk not in my judgments;

Blessed is the man whom thou chastenest, O LORD, and teachest him out of thy torah;

Psalm 105:45 

That they might observe his statutes, and keep his torot. Praise ye the LORD.

Psalm 119:1 

ALEPH. Blessed are the undefiled in the way, who walk in the torah of the LORD.

Open thou mine eyes, that I may behold wondrous things out of thy torah.

Remove from me the way of lying: and grant me thy torah graciously.

Psalm 119:34 

Give me understanding, and I shall keep thy torah; yea, I shall observe it with my whole heart.

Psalm 119:44 

So shall I keep thy torah continually for ever and ever.

Psalm 119:51 

The proud have had me greatly in derision : yet have I not declined from thy torah.

Horror hath taken hold upon me because of the wicked that forsake thy torah.

Psalm 119:55 

I have remembered thy name, O LORD, in the night, and have kept thy torah.

Psalm 119:61 

The bands of the wicked have robbed me: but I have not forgotten thy torah.

Psalm 119:70 

Their heart is as fat as grease; but I delight in thy torah.

Psalm 119:72 

The torah of thy mouth is better unto me than thousands of gold and silver.

Psalm 119:77 

Let thy tender mercies come unto me, that I may live : for thy torah is my delight.

Psalm 119:85 

The proud have digged pits for me, which are not after thy torah.

Unless thy torah had been my delights, I should then have perished in mine affliction.

Psalm 119:97 

MEM. O how love I thy torah! it is my meditation all the day.

Psalm 119:109 

My soul is continually in my hand: yet do I not forget thy torah.

Psalm 119:113 

SAMECH. I hate vain thoughts: but thy torah do I love.

Psalm 119:126 

It is time for thee, LORD, to work : for they have made void thy torah.

Rivers of waters run down mine eyes, because they keep not thy torah.

Psalm 119:142 

Thy righteousness is an everlasting righteousness, and thy torah is the truth.

Psalm 119:150 

They draw nigh that follow after mischief: they are far from thy torah.

Psalm 119:153 

RESH. Consider mine affliction, and deliver me: for I do not forget thy torah.

Psalm 119:163 

I hate and abhor lying: but thy torah do I love.

Great peace have they which love thy torah: and nothing shall offend them.

Psalm 119:174 

I have longed for thy salvation, O LORD; and thy torah is my delight.

Proverbs 1:8 

My son, hear the instruction of thy father, and forsake not the torah of thy mother:

Proverbs 3:1 

My son, forget not my torah; but let thine heart keep my commandments:

Proverbs 4:2 

For I give you good doctrine, forsake ye not my torah.

Proverbs 6:20

My son, keep thy father's commandment, and forsake not the torah of thy mother:

Proverbs 6:23

For the commandment is a lamp; and the torah is light; and reproofs of instruction are the way of life:

Proverbs 7:2 

Keep my commandments, and live ; and my torah as the apple of thine eye.

Proverbs 13:14

The torah of the wise is a fountain of life, to depart from the snares of death.

Proverbs 28:4

They that forsake the torah praise the wicked: but such as keep the torah contend with them.

Proverbs 28:7

Whoso keepeth the torah is a wise son: but he that is a companion of riotous men shameth his father.

Proverbs 28:9

He that turneth away his ear from hearing the torah, even his prayer shall be abomination.

Proverbs 29:18

Where there is no vision, the people perish : but he that keepeth the torah, happy is he.

Proverbs 31:26

She openeth her mouth with wisdom; and in her tongue is the torah of kindness.

Isaiah 1:10 

Hear the word of the LORD, ye rulers of Sodom; give ear unto the torah of our God, ye people of Gomorrah.

Isaiah 2:3 

And many people shall go and say, Come ye, and let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, to the house of the God of Jacob; and he will teach us of his ways, and we will walk in his paths: for out of Zion shall go forth the torah, and the word of the LORD from Jerusalem.

Isaiah 5:24  

Therefore as the fire devoureth the stubble, and the flame consumeth the chaff, so their root shall be as rottenness, and their blossom shall go up as dust: because they have cast away the torah of the LORD of hosts, and despised the word of the Holy One of Israel.

Isaiah 8:16 

Bind up the testimony, seal the torah among my disciples.

Isaiah 8:20 

To the torah and to the testimony: if they speak not according to this word, it is because there is no light in them.

Isaiah 24:5 

The earth also is defiled under the inhabitants thereof; because they have transgressed the torot, changed the ordinance, broken the everlasting covenant.

Isaiah 30:9 

That this is a rebellious people, lying children, children that will not hear the torah of the LORD:

Isaiah 42:4 

He shall not fail nor be discouraged, till he have set judgment in the earth: and the isles shall wait for his torah.

Isaiah 42:21 

The LORD is well pleased for his righteousness' sake; he will magnify the torah, and make it honourable.

Isaiah 42:24 

Who gave Jacob for a spoil *, and Israel to the robbers ? did not the LORD, he against whom we have sinned ? for they would not walk in his ways, neither were they obedient unto his torah.

Isaiah 51:4 

Hearken unto me, my people; and give ear unto me, O my nation: for a torah shall proceed from me, and I will make my judgment to rest for a light of the people.

Isaiah 51:7 

Hearken unto me, ye that know righteousness, the people in whose heart is my torah; fear ye not the reproach of men, neither be ye afraid of their revilings.

Jeremiah 2:8

The priests said not, Where is the LORD? and they that handle the torah knew me not: the pastors also transgressed against me, and the prophets prophesied by Baal, and walked after things that do not profit.

Jeremiah 6:19

Hear, O earth: behold, I will bring evil upon this people, even the fruit of their thoughts, because they have not hearkened unto my words, nor to my torah, but rejected it.

Jeremiah 8:8

How do ye say, We are wise, and the torah of the LORD is with us? Lo, certainly in vain made he it; the pen of the scribes is in vain.

Jeremiah 9:13

And the LORD saith, Because they have forsaken my torah which I set before them, and have not obeyed my voice, neither walked therein;

Jeremiah 16:11

Then shalt thou say unto them, Because your fathers have forsaken me, saith the LORD, and have walked after other gods, and have served them, and have worshipped them, and have forsaken me, and have not kept my torah;

Jeremiah 18:18

Then said they, Come, and let us devise devices against Jeremiah; for the torah shall not perish from the priest, nor counsel from the wise, nor the word from the prophet. Come, and let us smite him with the tongue, and let us not give heed to any of his words.

Jeremiah 26:4

And thou shalt say unto them, Thus saith the LORD; If ye will not hearken to me, to walk in my torah, which I have set before you,

Jeremiah 31:33

But this shall be the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel; After those days, saith the LORD, I will put my torah in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts; and will be their God, and they shall be my people.

Jeremiah 32:23

And they came in, and possessed it; but they obeyed not thy voice, neither walked in thy torah; they have done nothing of all that thou commandedst them to do : therefore thou hast caused all this evil to come upon them:

Jeremiah 44:10

They are not humbled even unto this day, neither have they feared, nor walked in my torah, nor in my statutes, that I set before you and before your fathers.

Jeremiah 44:23

Because ye have burned incense, and because ye have sinned against the LORD, and have not obeyed the voice of the LORD, nor walked in his torah, nor in his statutes, nor in his testimonies; therefore this evil is happened unto you, as at this day.

Lamentations 2:9

Her gates are sunk into the ground; he hath destroyed and broken her bars: her king and her princes are among the Gentiles: the torah is no more; her prophets also find no vision from the LORD.

Ezekiel 7:26

Mischief shall come upon mischief, and rumour shall be upon rumour; then shall they seek a vision of the prophet; but the torah shall perish from the priest, and counsel from the ancients.

Ezekiel 22:26

Her priests have violated my torah, and have profaned mine holy things: they have put no difference between the holy and profane, neither have they shewed difference between the unclean and the clean, and have hid their eyes from my sabbaths, and I am profaned among them.

Ezekiel 43:11

And if they be ashamed of all that they have done, shew them the form of the house, and the fashion thereof, and the goings out thereof, and the comings in thereof, and all the forms thereof, and all the ordinances thereof, and all the forms thereof, and all the torot thereof: and write it in their sight, that they may keep the whole form thereof, and all the ordinances thereof, and do them.

Ezekiel 43:12

This is the torah of the house; Upon the top of the mountain the whole limit thereof round about shall be most holy. Behold, this is the torah of the house.

Ezekiel 44:5

And the LORD said unto me, Son of man, mark well, and behold with thine eyes, and hear with thine ears all that I say unto thee concerning all the ordinances of the house of the LORD, and all the torot thereof; and mark well the entering in of the house, with every going forth of the sanctuary.

Ezekiel 44:24

And in controversy they shall stand in judgment ; and they shall judge it according to my judgments: and they shall keep my torot and my statutes in all mine assemblies; and they shall hallow my sabbaths.

Daniel 9:10

Neither have we obeyed the voice of the LORD our God, to walk in his torot, which he set before us by his servants the prophets.

Daniel 9:11

Yea, all Israel have transgressed thy torah, even by departing, that they might not obey thy voice; therefore the curse is poured upon us, and the oath that is written in the torah of Moses the servant of God, because we have sinned against him.

Daniel 9:13

As it is written in the torah of Moses, all this evil is come upon us: yet made we not our prayer before the LORD our God, that we might turn from our iniquities, and understand thy truth.

Hosea 4:6

My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge: because thou hast rejected knowledge, I will also reject thee, that thou shalt be no priest to me: seeing thou has forgotten the torah of thy God, I will also forget thy children.

Hosea 8:1

Set the trumpet to thy mouth. He shall come as an eagle against the house of the LORD, because they have transgressed my covenant, and trespassed against my torah.

Hosea 8:12

I have written to him the great things * of my torah, but they were counted as a strange thing.

Amos 2:4

Thus saith the LORD; For three transgressions of Judah, and for four, I will not turn away the punishment thereof; because they have despised the torah of the LORD, and have not kept his commandments, and their lies caused them to err, after the which their fathers have walked :

Micah 4:2

But in the last days it shall come to pass, that the mountain of the house of the Lord shall be established in the top of the mountains, and it shall be exalted above the hills; and people shall flow unto it.
2 And many nations shall come, and say, Come, and let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, and to the house of the God of Jacob; and he will teach us of his ways, and we will walk in his paths: for the torah shall go forth of Zion, and the word of the LORD from Jerusalem.
3 And he shall judge among many people, and rebuke strong nations afar off; and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruninghooks: nation shall not lift up a sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more.
4 But they shall sit every man under his vine and under his fig tree; and none shall make them afraid: for the mouth of the Lord of hosts hath spoken it.
5 Although other nations may walk every one in the name of his god, we will walk in the name of the Lord our God for ever and ever.

Habakkuk 1:4

Therefore the torah is slacked, and judgment doth never go forth : for the wicked doth compass about the righteous; therefore wrong judgment proceedeth.

Zephaniah 3:4

Her prophets are light and treacherous persons: her priests have polluted the sanctuary, they have done violence to the torah.

Haggai 2:11

Thus saith the LORD of hosts; Ask now the priests concerning the torah, saying,

Zechariah 7:12

Yea, they made their hearts as an adamant stone, lest they should hear the torah, and the words which the LORD of hosts hath sent in his spirit by the former prophets: therefore came a great wrath from the LORD of hosts.

Malachi 2:6

The torah of truth was in his mouth, and iniquity was not found in his lips: he walked with me in peace and equity, and did turn many away from iniquity.

Malachi 2:7

For the priest's lips should keep knowledge, and they should seek the torah at his mouth: for he is the messenger of the LORD of hosts.

Malachi 2:8

But ye are departed out of the way; ye have caused many to stumble at the torah; ye have corrupted the covenant of Levi, saith the LORD of hosts.

Malachi 2:9

Therefore have I also made you contemptible and base before all the people, according as ye have not kept my ways, but have been partial in the torah.

Malachi 4:4

Remember ye the torah of Moses my servant, which I commanded unto him in Horeb for all Israel, with the statutes and judgments.

OK, That's quite a few verses. This is what faithful Old Testament saints thought about God's torah, because this is what God's Holy Spirit wrote about the torah.

Let's imagine that the New Testament revealed for the first time that there were really two Gods.

How would this have been revealed to Jews who passionately believed there was only one God?

It would have to have been revealed with astonishing clarity. There would have been a great debate, and arguments would have had to have been answered. There would have been great confusion and controversy.

(Need I prove that the Jews were intensely monotheistic? Start with Deuteronomy 6. I'll leave you with that auspicious start.)

What if it were God's will that under the reign of the Messiah, God's People were no longer obligated to follow God's Torah ("direction")? How would the writers of the New Testament set forth the strikingly new and unanticipated doctrine that the Law of God was terminated, ended, overturned, abolished? If you read all those verses that spoke of God's Torah, you would get the feeling that to the Jews of Jesus' day, this doctrine would be about as controversial and unforeseen as the revelation of another True God besides YHWH.

Let's review some of those verses to prove this last claim.

• Abraham - Genesis 26:4-5
  • Abraham obeyed My Voice, and kept My Charge, My Commandments, My Statutes, and My Torah.
• Leviticus 18:24-30 - God holds the Gentile nations accountable for violations of God's Law given to Moses (and Abraham)
  24. Defile not ye yourselves in any of these things: for in all these the nations are defiled which I cast out before you:
  25. And the land is defiled: therefore I do visit the iniquity thereof upon it, and the land itself vomiteth out her inhabitants.
  26. Ye shall therefore keep my statutes and my judgments, and shall not commit any of these abominations; neither any of your own nation, nor any stranger that sojourneth among you:
  27. (For all these abominations have the men of the land done, which were before you, and the land is defiled;)
  28. That the land spue not you out also, when ye defile it, as it spued out the nations that were before you.
  29. For whosoever shall commit any of these abominations, even the souls that commit them shall be cut off from among their people.
  30. Therefore shall ye keep mine ordinance, that ye commit not any one of these abominable customs, which were committed before you, and that ye defile not yourselves therein: I am the Lord your God.
• Psalm 119 - go back and read what a man after God's own heart thinks about God's Torah.
• Jeremiah 31 - The Torah written on the heart of New Covenant believers
  • Jeremiah 31:33
    But this shall be the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel; After those days, saith the LORD, I will put my torah in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts; and will be their God, and they shall be my people.
  • Fulfilled: Hebrews 8:10; 10:16
  • Similarly: Ezekiel 11:19-20; 36:27
    Ezekiel 11:19-20
    19 And I will give them one heart, and I will put a new spirit within you; and I will take the stony heart out of their flesh, and will give them an heart of flesh:
    20 That they may walk in my statutes, and keep mine ordinances, and do them: and they shall be my people, and I will be their God.
    Ezekiel 36:27
    27 And I will put my spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes, and ye shall keep my judgments, and do them.
  • How can you claim to be a New Covenant Christian and not want God's Torah written on your heart? How would a student of the Scriptures, who engrafted God's Word onto his heart, react to a claim that we are not obligated to obey the laws that God wrote on our heart?
• Jesus  - Matthew 5:17-20
  • This should pretty much wrap up the debate over whether we are obligated to obey God's Torah
    17. Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil.
    18. For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled.
    19. Whosoever therefore shall break one of these least commandments, and shall teach men so, he shall be called the least in the kingdom of heaven: but whosoever shall do and teach them, the same shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven.
    20. For I say unto you, That except your righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, ye shall in no case enter into the kingdom of heaven.
  • Isn't the article at left violating Jesus command, by teaching us that we are not obligated to do God's Law?
• The Scriptures -- All of those verses above. Paul tells Timothy to continue following them as he had since he was an infant.
• Pauline usage:
  • 1 Corinthians 9 - oxen
    • ⁸ Do I say these things as a mere man? Or does not the law say the same also? ⁹ For it is written in the law of Moses, “You shall not muzzle an ox while it treads out the grain.” [Deuteronomy 25:4] Is it oxen God is concerned about? ¹⁰ Or does He say it altogether for our sakes? For our sakes, no doubt, this is written, that he who plows should plow in hope, and he who threshes in hope should be partaker of his hope. ¹¹ If we have sown spiritual things for you, is it a great thing if we reap your material things?
    • If God's People were no longer obligated to obey "the law of Moses," wouldn't Paul have taken this opportunity to strengthen that controversial claim, rather than obligate believers to continue following God's Law? If this was Paul's big chance to straighten people out on the non-obligatory character of the law of Moses, he blew it big-time.
  • Ephesians 6 -- children, commandments, and blessing
    • Ephesians 6:1-3
      ¹ Children, obey your parents in the Lord: for this is right.
      ² Honour thy father and mother; which is the first commandment [Exodus 20:12] with promise;
      ³ That it may be well with thee, and thou mayest live long on the earth.
    • Doesn't this make believers think they are still obligated to follow God's Law? Wouldn't believers like Timothy -- who had been committing God's Law [all those verses above] to their heart since childhood -- take this verse from the Apostle Paul to confirm the continuing obligation (and blessing) to obey God's Law?
    • Deuteronomy 4:5ff -- parallel to Ephesians 6
      ⁵ Behold, I have taught you statutes and judgments, even as the Lord my God commanded me, that ye should do so in the land whither ye go to possess it.
      ⁶ Keep therefore and do them; for this is your wisdom and your understanding in the sight of the nations, which shall hear all these statutes, and say, Surely this great nation is a wise and understanding people.
      ⁷ For what nation is there so great, who hath God so nigh unto them, as the Lord our God is in all things that we call upon him for?
      ⁸ And what nation is there so great, that hath statutes and judgments so righteous as all this torah, which I set before you this day?
      ⁴⁰ Thou shalt keep therefore his statutes, and his commandments, which I command thee this day, that it may go well with thee, and with thy children after thee, and that thou mayest prolong thy days upon the earth, which the Lord thy God giveth thee, for ever.
• As we pointed out, the Hebrew word "torah" is not to be found directly in the Greek New Testament. But the New Testament writers (under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit) frequently quote Old Testament verses on the torah as though it were quite obvious that the torah was still obligatory (excluding, of course, "the torah" of the Levitical priesthood).

The table below has two columns: Column A is "the Law"; Column B is "the Gospel."

Place the following words in the correct column:

• Justice
• Mercy
• Faith

If you're like most Christians, here is how you answered this quiz:

So how do you think Jesus would have answered this quiz? The answer is found in Matthew 23:23:

Matthew 23:23 Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye pay tithe of mint and anise and cummin, and have omitted the weightier matters of the law, justice, mercy, and faith: these ought ye to have done, and not to leave the other undone.

Justice, mercy, and faith, are all matters of the Law, and the "weightier matters" at that. Here is the correct answer, as given by Jesus:

Shouldn't a Christian answer in the same way as Jesus Christ?

We've been trained to believe the Law is against mercy and faith. This is not Christlike thinking.

Antinomianism

The Greek word for "law" is nomos. A person who is against law is "anti-nomian." A follower of Jesus Christ should be pro-nomian.

In the first century there was confusion. There were Jews who said Gentiles should be circumcised as Abraham was commanded. The Pharisees substituted their own human traditions for the Law God gave to Moses. There was a big discussion about this in Acts 15. James summarized the Council:

19 Wherefore my sentence is, that we trouble not them, which from among the Gentiles are turned to God:
20 But that we write unto them, that they abstain from pollutions of idols, and from fornication, and from things strangled, and from blood.
21 For Moses of old time hath in every city them that preach him, being read in the synagogues every sabbath day.

So the Gentiles were told to go to synagogue to hear Moses and "the weightier matters of the law." I wonder if the author of the article at left believes that Gentiles are obligated to not eat blood.

• Genesis 9:4 — But flesh with the life thereof, which is the blood thereof, shall ye not eat.
• Leviticus 3:17 — It shall be a perpetual statute for your generations throughout all your dwellings, that ye eat neither fat nor blood.
• Leviticus 7:26-27 — Moreover ye shall eat no manner of blood, whether it be of fowl or of beast, in any of your dwellings. 27 Whatsoever soul it be that eateth any manner of blood, even that soul shall be cut off from his people.
• Also Leviticus 17:10-14; 19:26; Deuteronomy 12:16,23; 15:23; Ezekiel 33:25; Acts 15:20,29; 21:25.
  [Nave's Topical Bible]

So now you may be confused. One of the most dangerous theological practices is weighing in on a controversial subject that great theological minds have wrestled with and proclaiming that the issue is "obvious." Is it a sin for a Christian to eat blood? The vast majority of church-going Christians could not answer that question, and would be confused by the decree of the Jerusalem Council in the verses above.

That's because on a spectrum from "antinomian" to "pro-nomian," most Christians today are way over on the "antinomian" side of the spectrum, not on the pro-nomian side where Jesus and the Apostles were.

Evidently God gave mankind much "direction" that is not directly recorded in the early books of the Bible. God must have told Adam and his sons that murder was a sin, even before Cain murdered Abel. God gave mankind "Torah" (direction, instruction, law) before he repeated it to Israel through Moses in Exodus 20 (see verses above).

Then, God once again gave Torah to Moses (after Moses broke the first set of stone tablets):

God also gave various torot (plural) for Levitical priests, Nazirites, and other torot that don't apply today because we are no longer under a Levitical priesthood.

The Old Covenant contains a promise of a New Covenant. Jeremiah  revealed God's plan:

This passage is quoted by the writer to the Hebrews:

When Jeremiah prophesied these words, he said God would write His TORAH on the hearts of Christians. Not just so that we would have them memorized, but that we would obey them.

This is why Jesus had a high view of God's Law:

Matthew 5:17-20
17 Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil.
18 For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled.
19 Whosoever therefore shall break one of these least commandments, and shall teach men so, he shall be called the least in the kingdom of heaven: but whosoever shall do and teach them, the same shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven.
20 For I say unto you, That except your righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, ye shall in no case enter into the kingdom of heaven.

The article at left is "least" in the Kingdom of Heaven.

Am I not an apostle? Am I not free? Have I not seen Jesus Christ our Lord? Are you not my work in the Lord? ² If I am not an apostle to others, yet doubtless I am to you. For you are the seal of my apostleship in the Lord.
       ³ My defense to those who examine me is this: ⁴ Do we have no right to eat and drink? ⁵ Do we have no right to take along a believing wife, as do also the other apostles, the brothers of the Lord, and Cephas?⁶ Or is it only Barnabas and I who have no right to refrain from working? ⁷ Who ever goes to war at his own expense? Who plants a vineyard and does not eat of its fruit? Or who tends a flock and does not drink of the milk of the flock?
       ⁸ Do I say these things as a mere man? Or does not the law say the same also? ⁹ For it is written in the law of Moses, “You shall not muzzle an ox while it treads out the grain.” [Deuteronomy 25:4] Is it oxen God is concerned about? ¹⁰ Or does He say it altogether for our sakes? For our sakes, no doubt, this is written, that he who plows should plow in hope, and he who threshes in hope should be partaker of his hope. ¹¹ If we have sown spiritual things for you, is it a great thing if we reap your material things?

The law of Moses is for us. Not the laws for the Levitical priesthood, but Paul told Timothy that the Old Testament ("the Scriptures" which Timothy learned as a child) is still binding, because it was "breathed-out" by God.

But if we sin, we have a High Priest in the order of Melchizedek to bring us back into fellowship with God. Note that God used a Levitical priesthood under Moses. But God prophesied a change in priesthood. Greg Bahnsen, in his book Theonomy in Christian Ethics, pp. 208-209, notes:

The Levitical priesthood, representing the Mosaic system of ceremonial redemption, could not bring perfection and so was intended to be superseded (Heb. 7:11f.,28) . . . . The former commandment with reference to ceremonial matters was set aside . . . in order that God's people might have a better hope, for the ceremony was imperfect and kept men at a distance from God (Heb. 7:18f.). [S]uch a change in stipulation is also a confirmation of the Older Testamental law as implied in Psalm 110:1,4.

Abraham was under the Melchizedek priesthood. It makes sense, therefore, that Christians, being the true spiritual descendants of Abraham, would have a pro-Torah, Theonomic outlook, like Abraham did, and like Jeremiah and Ezekiel prophesied that members of the New Covenant would have.

A young professor in a Christian university has expressed the following thoughts.

If Jesus’ death on the cross really did do away with the Torah altogether, why does he affirm it so strongly in Matthew 5, and even enjoin those in his kingdom to fulfill its commands? Don’t forget how Jesus closes his teaching on the Law. He says: “Whoever breaks one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven! But whoever keeps them and teaches others to do the same will be great in the kingdom of heaven.” Is the Kingdom of Heaven now? Are Jesus’ words for us? I strive to keep and teach the Torah because I want to be considered great in the Kingdom of Heaven. But I want you to know something. Unlike Israel of the OT, I study, keep, and teach a fulfilled Torah; a Torah redefined by Christ and his death. Many of the types and shadows of the Torah have been replaced by the realities to which they point in Christ. This fact, however, does not nullify the Torah; rather it makes the Torah even more beautiful and meaningful (emphasis original).

Not just a technical error, but an "egregious" one. Wow. Jesus made an "egregious" error.
The author says the Professor "concedes the Torah has been fulfilled," as if the Professor conceded the point the author is making. But the Professor makes no such concession. The Professor says the Torah has been "fulfilled" by being written on the hearts of believers so that they do and obey it (as the Prophet Jeremiah foretold), and teach others to obey it, and anyone who takes the position of the author is "least" in the Kingdom. Read Jesus' words again. This is a "prima facie" case for pro-nomian Theonomy. It is very clear, and a good rule for Bible interpretation is to interpret less-clear passages in light of the most clear.

The writer says that the Professor's pro-nomian position "stands in sharp contrast to the teaching of Christ, as well as the writers of the New Testament." But you may have noticed that so far in this debate, the left-hand side contains no verses from Christ, and no verses from "the writers of the New Testament." On the pro-nomian side of the debate, however, are tons of verses.

A Transitional Period

There is a transition from less obedience to more obedience. The writer to the Hebrews began quoting Jeremiah's prophecy with these words: "For finding fault with them...." The Old Covenant failed because the people did not have the Torah written on their hearts like believers in the New Covenant. Same Torah, better covenant. Read it again.

But there is no transition from Theonomy to Autonomy. There is no transition from obedience to disobedience. There is no transition from moral obligation to moral free-for-all.

He did this, for example, in the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5-7; cf. also Matthew 18:15-17), frequently highlighting some of the differences between the two covenants, especially in terms of the contrasting motivations that were internal to the respective systems.

"Although God gave the Scriptures, nonetheless Jesus taught other stuff."

But Jesus never taught that there was a contrast or a conflict between the Scriptures and His own teaching, as this author implies. The "difference" between the two covenants is not the standard of righteousness ("Torah"), but the means of grace when the Standard is not met (Levitical vs. Melchizedek priesthood; an ordinary lamb and an ordinary temple vs. the Lamb of God and the Temple made up of His People, etc.).

The "contrasting motivations" were not "internal" to the covenants. The Old Testament has the same "motivation" as the New. Both were equally concerned with a "circumcised heart" (Deuteronomy 10:16; 30:6; Jeremiah 4:4, 14; Romans 2:28,29; Colossians 2:11. The Old Testament was emphatically concerned with the heart. A quick glance at a concordance would reveal many more verses than the following: Deuteronomy 4:9,29; 5:29; 6:5f. + 30:14; 10:16, 11:18; 30:6-10; I Samuel 16:7; I Chronicles 28:9; 2 Chronicles 6:8; 12:14; 25:2; 31:21; Ezra 7:10,27; Nehemiah 9:8; Psalms 51:6,10,16-17; 37:31; 40:8; 119:11,32,34,36,69,80, 112; Proverbs 3:1-3,5; 4:4,21; 6:20-23; 7:3; 16:2; Isaiah 1:10-20; 51:7.

This is why Jesus can rebuke the Pharisees and hold them guilty for their hypocritical "legalism." If the Older Testamental Law is viewed (wrongly) as lacking the inward Spirituality provided by the "higher righteousness" of the New Testament, then Jesus is being terribly unfair in condemning the righteousness of the Scribes and Pharisees as being merely external (cf. Matthew 5:20, and throughout the Sermon on the Mount, Matthew 5-7). After all, they would then be living up to the righteousness of God as far as it had been revealed to them.

But, of course, the Prophets had been condemning pharisaism for hundreds of years. The Israelites loved to claim full obedience to the Law by obeying only the most visible and easiest ("external") commands, such as the sacrificing of animals and acts of ritual cleansing. But they ignored the weightier matters of God's Law: Matthew 23:23 - Justice, Mercy, and Faith; 1 Samuel 15:22; 2 Chronicles 30:18-20 (cf. Mark 12:33); Psalm 40:6-8 (Hebrews 10:4-9); 51:16-17; Proverbs 15:8; 21:3; 28:9; Isaiah 1:11-17; 58:6-7; Jeremiah 7:22-23; Hosea 6:5-6 (Matthew 9:11-13; 12:6-7); Amos 5:21-24; Micah 6:6-8.

Jesus' message was thus very much that of the Old Covenant Prophets, only incomparably clearer and stronger. This is why He was put to death. Matthew 23:34-38; 21:33-46.

This is why His followers must obey the Law and the Prophets. 1 Thessalonians 2:15; Matthew 5:17-20.

What about Matthew 5:17-20?

Think not that I came to destroy the law or the prophets: I came not to destroy, but to fulfill. For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass away, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass away from the law, till all things be accomplished. Whosoever therefore shall break one of these least commandments, and shall teach men so, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven: but whosoever shall do and teach them, he shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven. For I say unto you, that except your righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, you shall in no wise enter into the kingdom of heaven (Matthew 5:17-20).

Although Jesus came to destroy the temple (violently) and replace the Levitical path to forgiveness of sin, He did not come to change the standard of sin. He came to write the standard (torah) on His people's heart, so that they would keep that standard.

What are "the beneficial effects" of a law which no longer abides, and has been abolished?

Go figure.

Whosoever therefore shall break one of these least commandments, and shall teach men so, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven: but whosoever shall do and teach them, he shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven.

But our author teaches us we are not obligated to do them. He says we are not obligated to fulfill the prophecies of Jeremiah and Ezekiel that God's People (that's us) would obey God's Torah.

The man who would break what he considered the small commandments of God, under one dispensation, would be proportionately disobedient under a better dispensation; for habits of disobedience once formed are not easily laid aside. For this reason obedience or disobedience while under the law was an index to what a man would be under Christ. The text shows that the relative greatness of persons in the kingdom of heaven is measured by their conscientiousness in reference to the least commandments. To the great commandments, as men classify them, even very small Christians may be obedient; but it requires the most tender conscience to be always scrupulous about the least commandments (53).

For the woman who has a husband, is bound by law [Torah?] to the husband while he is living; but if the husband dies, she is discharged from the law [Torah?] of the husband. So if then, while the husband lives, if she is joined to another man, she shall be called an adulteress: but if the husband dies, she is free from the law [Torah?], so that she is no adulteress, though she is joined to another man. Wherefore, my brothers, you also are made dead to the law [Torah] through the body of Christ; that you should be joined to another, even to him who was raised from the dead, that we might bring forth fruit unto God (Romans 7:2-4).

Notice that "the law" does not die, the old man dies. The Christian is then resurrected as a New Man, to "bring forth fruit." What is this "fruit?" I suggest the "fruit" we bring forth is obedience to the Torah, which is now written on our new heart.

The word "law" in Romans 7 has more than one meaning.

verse 12: "So then, the Law is holy, and the commandment is holy and righteous and good."

verse 23: "But I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members.

verse 25: "So then with the mind I myself serve the law of God; but with the flesh the law of sin."

Then in chapter 8,

verse 2:  "For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death.

verse 4: "That the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.

5 For they that are after the flesh do mind the things of the flesh; but they that are after the Spirit the things of the Spirit.

6 For to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace.

7 Because the carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be.

8 So then they that are in the flesh cannot please God.

Why are those who are "in the flesh" unable to please God? Because they are "not subject to the Law of God." But those who are "in the Spirit" have God's Law written on their hearts, as Jeremiah and Ezekiel foretold of the New Covenant, and they "do and teach" the Torah, as Jesus said.

Garbled Language

John 1:45

Jesus said we should be teaching others to obey the Torah -- unless for some strange reason we want to be "least" in the Kingdom of Heaven.

Nailed to the Cross

The debate over this passage (and there is a debate among Bible scholars) is over the meaning of the terms in verse 14, especially "the certificate of debt" (NASB) or "handwriting of ordinances" (KJV). One scholar points out that:

legal indebtedness in the Roman world was typically accompanied with a legal note detailing ones' obligations. source

So one side says that this "debt" or our sins (transgressions of the law) was nailed to the cross. The author of the article at left says not just the transgressions of the law, but the law itself was nailed to the cross.

Thus far, I think it's clear that the overwhelming preponderance of Scripture is on the side of Theonomy, and our continuing obligation to obey God's Word, inscriptured in both testaments. The change of priesthood was required by the Old Covenant itself, and Christ fulfilled this change, while writing the Torah on our hearts and commanding us to "do and teach" God's Law. So let's read Colossians 2 and see if it contradicts Jesus, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and Abraham.

The author at left jumps through all kinds of hoops to avoid the obvious: that God's Law is good, but our sinful nature had to die. The death sentence of condemnation was nailed to the cross, so that we could be resurrected to new life in Christ, which consists of obeying God's Law, as Abraham did, and as the prophets foretold.

The Context

This conforms nicely to Matthew Henry's claim that the "handwriting of ordinances" referred to the "ceremonial" law.

Ephesians 2:15 does not prove the point. Ephesians 2 is talking about the separation between Jew and Gentile. What separated the two was the "ceremonial" laws of the Levitical priesthood, not the "moral law," which the Gentiles in Canaan violated and were punished out of the Promised Land.

The Grammar

The Parallelism

For he [Christ] is our peace, who made both [Jew and Gentile] one, and brake down the middle wall of partition, having abolished in his flesh the enmity, even the law of commandments contained in ordinances; that he might create in himself of the two one new man, so making peace; and might reconcile them both in one body unto God through the cross, having slain the enmity thereby (Ephesians 2:14-16).

A great need of the Christian world today is the clear recognition that we are not under the law, but the gospel; that the law was nailed to the cross and passed out of force when the new will was probated at Pentecost (469).

Conclusion

• Abbott, T. K. (1897), The Epistles to the Ephesians and to the Colossians (Edinburgh: T.&T. Clark).
• Ashby, Ernest G. (1979), “The Letter to the Colossians,” The New Layman’s Bible Commentary, G.C.D. Howly, F.F. Bruce, H.L. Ellison, Eds. (Grand Rapids: Zondervan).
• Eadie, John (1957), The Epistle of Paul to the Colossians (Grand Rapids: Zondervan).
• Foster, R.C. (1971), Studies in the Life of Christ (Grand Rapids: Baker).
• Lenski, R.C.H. (1961), Paul’s Epistles to the Colossians, Thessalonians, Timothy, Titus, and Philemon (Minneapolis: Augsburg).
• McGarvey, J.W. (1875, reprint), Commentary on Matthew and Mark (Des Moines, IA: Eugene Smith).
• Peake, A.S. (1956), “The Epistle to the Colossians,” The Expositor’s Greek Testament, W. Robertson Nicoll, Ed. (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans).
• Robertson, A.T. (1931), Word Pictures in the New Testament (Nashville: Broadman).
• Thayer, J.H. (1958), A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament (Edinburgh: T.&T. Clark).
• Vaughan, Curtis (1978), “Colossians,” The Expositor’s Bible Commentary, Frank Gaebelein, Ed. (Grand Rapids: Zondervan).
• Vincent, M.R. (1972 Ed.), Word Studies in the New Testament (Wilmington, DE: Associated Publishers & Authors).
• Williams, David J. (1999), Paul’s Metaphors (Peabody, MA: Hendrickson).

Psalm 72

1 Give the king thy judgments, O God, and thy righteousness unto the king's son.

2 He shall judge thy people with righteousness, and thy poor with judgment.

3 The mountains shall bring peace to the people, and the little hills, by righteousness.

4 He shall judge the poor of the people, he shall save the children of the needy, and shall break in pieces the oppressor.

5 They shall fear thee as long as the sun and moon endure, throughout all generations.

6 He shall come down like rain upon the mown grass: as showers that water the earth.

7 In his days shall the righteous flourish; and abundance of peace so long as the moon endureth.

8 He shall have dominion also from sea to sea, and from the river unto the ends of the earth.

9 They that dwell in the wilderness shall bow before him; and his enemies shall lick the dust.

10 The kings of Tarshish and of the isles shall bring presents: the kings of Sheba and Seba shall offer gifts.

11 Yea, all kings shall fall down before him: all nations shall serve him.

12 For he shall deliver the needy when he crieth; the poor also, and him that hath no helper.

13 He shall spare the poor and needy, and shall save the souls of the needy.

14 He shall redeem their soul from deceit and violence: and precious shall their blood be in his sight.

15 And he shall live, and to him shall be given of the gold of Sheba: prayer also shall be made for him continually; and daily shall he be praised.

16 There shall be an handful of corn in the earth upon the top of the mountains; the fruit thereof shall shake like Lebanon: and they of the city shall flourish like grass of the earth.

17 His name shall endure for ever: his name shall be continued as long as the sun: and men shall be blessed in him: all nations shall call him blessed.

18 Blessed be the Lord God, the God of Israel, who only doeth wondrous things.

19 And blessed be his glorious name for ever: and let the whole earth be filled with his glory; Amen, and Amen.

20 The prayers of David the son of Jesse are ended.

“Jesus Shall Reign”
Isaac Watts, The Psalms of David, 1719.

G. J. Stevenson’s Notes on the Methodist Hymn Book relates:

Perhaps one of the most in­ter­est­ing oc­ca­sions on which this hymn was used was that on which King George, the sa­ble, of the South Sea Is­lands, but of bless­ed mem­o­ry, gave a new con­sti­tu­tion to his peo­ple, ex­chang­ing a hea­then for a Christ­ian form of gov­ern­ment. Un­der the spread­ing branch­es of the ban­yan trees sat some thou­sand na­tives from Ton­ga, Fi­ji, and Sa­moa, on Whit­sun­day, 1862, as­sem­bled for Di­vine wor­ship. Fore­most amongst them all sat King George him­self. Around him were seat­ed old chiefs and war­ri­ors who had shared with him the dan­gers and for­tunes of ma­ny a battle—men whose eyes were dim, and whose pow­er­ful frames were bowed down with the weight of years. But old and young alike re­joiced to­ge­ther in the joys of that day, their fac­es most of them ra­di­ant with Christ­ian joy, love, and hope. It would be im­poss­i­ble to de­scribe the deep feel­ing man­i­fest­ed when the sol­emn serv­ice be­gan, by the en­tire au­di­ence sing­ing Dr. Watts’ hymn…

Who so much as they could real­ize the full mean­ing of the po­et’s words? For they had been res­cued from the dark­ness of hea­then­ism and can­ni­bal­ism and they were that day met for the first time un­der a Christ­ian con­sti­tu­tion, un­der a Christian king, and with Christ Him­self reign­ing in the hearts of most of those pre­sent. That was in­deed Christ’s king­dom set up in the earth.

This interpretation is "postmillennial" and "Theonomic."

King Jesus sits enthroned at the right hand of God and is extending His reign over all the earth.

The "premillennial" or "dispensational" interpretation is that

Psalm 72 does not commence fulfillment until after Christ returns and begins to sit upon a literal throne in Jerusalem for nine hundred years or more, after which Satan is loosed and causes so much trouble that a defeated Jesus grabs His football and goes home.