Page 5 - Pentateuch

The most difficult issue facing readers of the Pentateuch is the place of the law in God’s will for his people.
The question was true for the nation of Israel at Mount Sinai, for succeeding generations of Israelites in Old
Testament times, and for Christians. Was obedience to the law necessary for salvation before Christ? Is
obedience to the law necessary for salvation since Christ? Should the law be part of national life, whether
in the United States or Zambia or Japan or Russia? Does God judge nations today by their incorporation of
the law into national laws and by their keeping of his law in national affairs? All of these questions and
more are crucial to our faith. We cannot solve them all here, but we can lay some groundwork.

Over the course of church history, a variety of approaches have been developed to explain the law’s
5
relationship to the believer. The following variations illustrate the main approaches to the law.

1.) Marcion rejected all things Jewish. The God of the OT
was not the God of the NT. He rejected the entire OT. The law had
no relevance for Christians.
2.) Clement, Origen, and others thought the law was for
training or preparation for the coming of Jesus. The literal law was
not as important as the allegorical lessons to be learned.
3.) Chrysostom saw adhering to the law as bondage. For
him, the law had no authority over the Christian.
4.) Aquinas, in the Middle Ages, divided the law into three
parts: ceremonial, moral, and judicial. All are important for a
Christian. The ceremony is followed through faith in Christ since he
fulfilled the sacrifices and other parts of OT worship. The moral
laws are binding since they simply reflect natural law more exactly
than natural law. The judicial laws are wise counsel for living.
5.) Luther generally saw the law as a mirror pointing out a
person’s sins and rejected the idea that the Christian is obligated to
follow the law.
6.) Calvin and Reformed theology in general, as
expressed in the Westminster Confession of Faith, consider the Fig. 3: Ten Commandments
moral law as a rule of life directing Christians on how to walk. from the time of Jesus
7.) Darby, Ryrie, and other dispensational writers hold to
a firm distinction between the old and new covenants. Today is the dispensation of grace. The law
is not relevant to Christians.
8.) Roman Catholic teaching insists on the unchangeable nature of the law. Christians are
always and everywhere to obey the law.

Without going into great detail, requiring a thick book, some basic principles can be cited about the law
that point in a general direction to help us sort through these historical options as we begin our study of
the Pentateuch. Hopefully, our discussion will help each reader begin forming a personal perspective on the
law that can be thoughtfully passed on to others.

First, the law is the expression of God’s will and character. On a human level, a government or a set of
parents might make a law that does not reflect their will. As sinners, we might put a law in place just for
show. God is not like this. His expressions are true to his nature. Psalm 119, with great variety and
insistence, expresses the connection between God and his law. Notice God’s characteristics tied to his law.
“At midnight, I rise to give you thanks for your righteous laws (v. 62).” “The earth is filled with your love, O

5 Peter T. Vogt, Interpreting the Pentateuch (Grand Rapids: Kegel, 2009), 32-42.
3