Does the Law Apply?

Question: In the  book of Exodus and when we came to chapter 20, the Ten Commandments given by God to Moses were a part of the old Mosaic Covenant, are we no longer under that covenant which was given until Jesus came, and that we are now under the new Covenant of Grace? That does not sound completely biblically accurate to me. Does God’s Law and the Ten Commandments still apply? What is Ligonier Ministries interpretation of this issue? Also, do you have any teachings on this subject?

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Thank you for contacting Ligonier Ministries.

While it is true that the Covenant of Grace makes obsolete the Old Covenant with respect to the ceremonial law and the letter of the civil law, the moral law is not actually reducible to the Old Covenant. So your instincts are right in seeing the moral law as abiding. The Westminster Shorter Catechism asks, in Q. 41, “Where is the moral law summarily comprehended?” The answer is that, “The moral law is summarily comprehended in the ten commandments.” Now by “summarily comprehended,” the Westminster divines meant what Paul implied in Romans 2:14-16.

Romans 2:14-16 (NKJV) “for when Gentiles, who do not have the law, by nature do the things in the law, these, although not having the law, are a law to themselves, 15 who show the work of the law written in their hearts, their conscience also bearing witness, and between themselves their thoughts accusing or else excusing them) in the day when God will judge the secrets of men by Jesus Christ, according to my gospel.”

The same substance of moral requirements that the Jews had clearly revealed in the moral law, all human beings have written on the conscience, so to speak (see also Rom. 3:19-20 on the universality of that law). 

Romans 3:19-20 (NKJV) “Now we know that whatever the law says, it says to those who are under the law, that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world may become guilty before God. 20 Therefore by the deeds of the law no flesh will be justified in His sight, for by the law is the knowledge of sin.”

How does that help us here as to the perpetuity of that law? Think of it this way with respect to moral and ceremonial. The moral law is “image of God shaped,” while the ceremonial law is “priest of God shaped.” The distinction is not arbitrary, and so neither will the reason for one continuing and the other not. The former has to do with God's immutable character through all images of God as such. The latter is the ceremony or shadows of what Christ would do as priest once, and that can change as it is eschatological and is accomplished at a point (cf. Heb. 7:12-16). 

Hebrews 7:12-16 (NKJV) “ For the priesthood being changed, of necessity there is also a change of the law. 13 For He of whom these things are spoken belongs to another tribe, from which no man has officiated at the altar. 14 For it is evident that our Lord arose from Judah, of which tribe Moses spoke nothing concerning priesthood. 15 And it is yet far more evident if, in the likeness of Melchizedek, there arises another priest 16 who has come, not according to the law of a fleshly commandment, but according to the power of an endless life.”

This article explains more about those three forms of the law: https://www.ligonier.org/learn/articles/which-laws-apply/

Hopefully that is all helpful to your study.

Sincerely in Christ,| Ask Ligonier Chat Agent