The Hidden Distinction of “The Law”

Click here for the full sermon

There is a classic story of a man who watched his wife prepare a roast by cutting off both ends before placing it in the pan. When he asked why, she replied, “I don’t know; that’s the way my mother always did it.” They eventually asked the mother, who gave the same answer. Finally, they tracked down the grandmother, whose explanation was purely practical: “My pan was always too small.”

This story serves as a profound metaphor for modern religious tradition. Too often, theological “truths” are handed down through generations without anyone questioning the original reason or context. In many modern churches, it is dogmatically taught that “the law” has been entirely done away with. However, a rigorous examination of the biblical text suggests a perspective that is politically incorrect but biblically correct: much of our contemporary understanding of the law is built upon a fundamental categorical error—a linguistic conflation of distinct biblical concepts.

The Hermeneutical Failure of Modern Dispensationalism

Modern “dispensational teaching” has fragmented the biblical narrative into disconnected eras, often at the expense of God’s character. This framework typically describes a “starlight” dispensation (the patriarchs), a “moonlight” dispensation (the Mosaic law), and finally, the Christian dispensation of grace. This partitioning frequently portrays the God of the Old Testament as a God of wrath, while the God of the New Testament is a God of love.

This teaching suggests a “schizophrenic God” who alters His nature and requirements depending on the era. This is a theological impossibility for a Being who is the same yesterday, today, and forever. He has always been a God of grace, wrath, and law.

“One of the great strengths that a man has my friends is that our god never changes.”

As a biblical literacy advocate, I must emphasize that an unchanging God provides the only foundation for stability. If God’s moral standards shifted between testaments, we would be left with a God who changes His mind, undermining the absolute reliability of His Word.

The New Testament “Math” Problem: 27 vs. 39

A significant hurdle for the average reader is the apparent contradiction regarding the law within the New Testament. Pastor Ted Weiland conducted a tedious, comprehensive study of these scriptures, and the results expose a major “math” problem. There are approximately 27 New Testament verses that seem to suggest the law has been “done away with” or abolished. However, there are 39 verses that clearly teach the law is still in existence and remains holy, righteous, and good.

The “Bum Rap” of the Apostle Paul The Apostle Paul is frequently blamed for the notion that the law is obsolete. This is a result of focusing exclusively on the 27 verses while ignoring the 39. Even the Apostle Peter warned in 2 Peter 3:14-16 that some of Paul’s writings are hard to understand and are distorted by the “unstable and untaught” to their own destruction. Paul is routinely quoted out of context, receiving a “bum rap” that suggests he was an enemy of God’s law, when in fact, he was its student and defender.

The “Nomos” Nuance: Strong’s #3551

The central issue is linguistic. The Greek word for law is nomos (Strong’s Concordance #3551), and like the English word “law,” it carries multiple definitions depending on the context.

Consider the “Selective Service and Parking Meters” illustration:

* A man might say it was “the law” in his house to wipe your feet (A custom/ritual).
* He might mention “the law” required him to sign up for Selective Service (Federal law).
* He might mention paying a fine for breaking a “parking law” (City ordinance).

If an archaeologist found a letter 2,000 years from now saying, “I am no longer under that law,” they would have to look at the context to know if the writer meant he stopped wiping his feet, or was no longer required for military service. In the New Testament, nomos can refer to:

* The entire Old Testament (Genesis to Malachi).
* The Pentateuch (the first five books).
* The Mosaic Law Covenant (the specific package given at Mt. Sinai).
* The Moral Law (specific commandments, statutes, and judgments).

Identifying the “Tutor” in Galatians 3

In Galatians 3, Paul describes the law as a “tutor” or “schoolmaster” (paidagōgos). To understand this, we must look at the Greek historical context: a “tutor” was often a slave assigned to a child to guard their moral purity and conduct until they reached adulthood. Once the child matured, they were no longer under the slave, but the standards of conduct expected of them remained.

Paul argues that the “tutor” was specifically the Mosaic Law Covenant, which was added 430 years after Abraham because of transgressions. This “package” included rituals and sacrifices, but the underlying moral laws—such as the prohibitions against bestiality, homosexuality, or the command to honor parents—existed long before Moses. They were present in the days of Noah and Enoch.

“The law, statutes, and judgments, the moral law of God… existed before Moses. It existed in the days of Abraham.”

Because these moral laws existed before the “tutor” was added, they remain in force even after the tutor (the ritualistic covenant) has been dismissed in Christ.

The Shadow vs. The Substance

When the New Testament speaks of the law being “abolished,” it refers to the elements of the Mosaic Law Covenant that were “shadows” pointing toward the Messiah. These include the sacrificial laws, the physical priesthood, the tabernacle patterns, and rituals like circumcision and specific feast days (like Passover).

These rituals were the “tutor,” while Christ is the “substance.” We must remain vigilant against “Judaizers”—those who attempt to bring believers back into the bondage of ritual shadows rather than the spiritual reality of Christ. In the Old Covenant, the law was remembered through external markers like tassels (Numbers 15:38). Today, the transition is from tassels on a garment to the law being “written on our hearts.”

Conclusion: The Law and the Civil Body Politic

The distinction is clear: the Mosaic Law Covenant is obsolete, but the Moral Law, Statutes, and Judgments of God remain the standard for a righteous society. Our early Christian forefathers understood this distinction perfectly. In the Mayflower Compact, they covenanted together as a “civil body politic” for the advancement of the Christian faith. They did not implement Mosaic animal sacrifices, but they did implement God’s moral statutes—such as those against bestiality—as the civil law of their new land. They understood that to glorify God, they had to implement and execute His moral law.

Modern Judeo-Christian churches have largely abandoned this, becoming “Baal temples” that teach lawlessness. But if the moral law still exists to advance the Kingdom of God on earth, how should that change our view of modern societal issues? If we recognize that God’s standards for morality and justice never changed, we must ask ourselves: are we following the substance of His Word, or are we still just cutting the ends off the roast because our theological “pan” is too small?