9-6 Moses' Law Done away

Note:

In the course of this debate the question was raised by a third party as to whether Mr. Heaster was correctly representing the Biblical position by saying that the Law of Moses had been “done away”. He responded:

 

" Done away" is surely a perfectly reasonable term to describe the Law's passing. If it hasn't been done away, is it still in operation...? If there is " difficulty" in accepting that there has been a change in the law, then the difficulty is with the Apostle's clear reasoning in Hebrews- that there has been a change of the law (7:12). If Divine Law hasn't been changed, then we ought to be keeping ALL the Law of Moses. Our sister's statement that " The Law was neither weak or useless" seems to me to rest strangely beside Scripture's clear statement that the Old Covenant comprised " weak and beggarly elements" . Because it was " weak through the flesh" it was, therefore, " weak" in practice, no matter how " holy, just and good" it was as Divine legislation. The ministrations of the law and of the Spirit are explained in 2 Cor. 4 as below. The law was " glorious" but not as glorious as the ministry of the Spirit. And this ministration of law was, in Bible language, " done away" . The fading glory on Moses' face was analagous to the Law- it was fading away in the 1st century, in that it was " taken out of the way" on the cross yet there was an interim period in which some 1st century Christians were permitted to keep parts of the Law, although the ideal- to put away the " weak and beggarly elements" - is clearly brought before us by Paul time and again.

 

" But if the ministration of death, written and engraven in stones, was glorious, so that the children of Israel could not stedfastly behold the face of Moses for the glory of his countenance; which glory was to be done away: How shall not the ministration of the spirit be rather glorious? For if the ministration of condemnation be glory, much more doth the ministration of righteousness exceed in glory. For even that which was made glorious had no glory in this respect, by reason of the glory that excelleth. For if that which is done away was glorious, much more that which remaineth is glorious. Seeing then that we have such hope, we use great plainness of speech: And not as Moses, which put a vail over his face, that the children of Israel could not stedfastly look to the end of that which is abolished: But their minds were blinded: for until this day remaineth the same vail untaken away in the reading of the old testament; which vail is done away in Christ. "

 

We die in baptism; we became ‘deaded to the law’, to translate Paul’s Greek literally (Rom. 6:3,4; 7:4). In Romans 7, Paul speaks of our relationship with Christ and the Law as being two marriages, which are mutually exclusive. If we are married to Christ, our relationship with the Mosaic Law is over. Indeed, if we even seek to be justified by the Law [and Sabbath keeping is just that!], then we are ‘severed from Christ’, divorced from Him (Gal. 5:4). This is how important the debate about Sabbath keeping is.