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| Mt. Sinai |
The last couple of weeks we’ve been looking at the time of Jesus’ crucifixion and resurrection, trying to learn as much about it from the Bible and from history and archeology as we can. I hope you’ve gotten a taste of how much information is available to our generation about the life of Jesus, much more than there has been for almost two thousand years. Before that we spoke a little about modern Israel and the fulfillments of prophecy that are taking place right now in our lifetimes. After the horrors of the Holocaust, Christians have been waking up to the Jewish roots of our faith, and the tremendous riches and depth this can give to our understanding of the Bible.
But the realization of Christianity’s Jewish roots also raises a lot of difficult questions. Most Protestants are familiar with the idea that the Church went astray from Biblical truth in the centuries after Jesus. But how far did it go? The answer is that almost every area of our faith has been affected in some way. So much has been built on the spider web of tradition rather than the solid rock of truth. It’s going to take generations to get it sorted out.
Today we’re going to take a look at just one of those areas, one that’s absolutely essential to how we live out our faith every day: the relationship between Gentile believers and God’s commands in the Bible, including the commands found in the Law of Moses. Most Christians think this issue was settled ages ago—and it was. But the original, Biblical solution has been misinterpreted and misunderstood over the years. And as a result, many Christians today have a distorted understanding of obedience to God—even of obedience to Jesus’ commands in the New Testament. So let’s dig in...
If We’re Not Under the Law, Why Do We Obey the Ten Commandments?
We all know that Christians are not under the Law of Moses: “For sin will not rule over you, for you are not under law, but rather under grace” (Rom. 6:14). Or again in Galatians 5:18: “But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the Law.” But what does this mean? Many think it means that we as Christians are not required to obey the Law of Moses in any way—or even any kind of Biblical law at all. But if that’s true, why do we have to obey the Ten Commandments, which are at the very heart and soul of the Law of Moses? I think most Christians would agree that the Ten Commandments are essential laws that everyone should obey. And I agree. But if we’re not under the Law of Moses, then why do we have to obey the Ten Commandments, which are themselves a central part of the Law of Moses? In other words, how can you say we’re not under the Law, but then turn around and say that we must obey the most important part of that same Law? It doesn’t make any sense.
Many pastors have been taught that the Ten Commandments are part of the “moral law” of the Old Testament. This moral law, they say, is different than the ceremonial and ritual portions of the Law. We still have to obey the moral law, but not the rest. This sounds convincing at first. I used to teach it myself. But what exactly is this moral law? The Bible never divides up different parts of the Law like this. So this may be a quick fix answer, but it’s not very satisfying because it’s not a Biblical answer. Paul teaches instead that the whole Law sticks together as a single unit: “But again I testify to every man who is circumcised [in obedience to the Law] that he is obligated to obey the whole Law” (Gal. 5:3). It’s all or nothing. Jesus said, “Whoever, therefore, does away with [or annuls] one of the least of these commandments [of the Law], and teaches the people in this way, will be called the least in the kingdom of the heavens; but he who obeys and teaches it [even the least commandment], this one will be called great in the kingdom of the heavens” (Matt. 5:19). You can’t pick and choose which parts of the Law to obey. Either you’re obligated to obey the whole Law, or you’re not required to obey any of it.
So what do we do about the Ten Commandments? The problem is that the Church has forgotten why we’re supposed to obey them. And in the process, it’s gotten confused about the meaning of law in the Bible and in our lives as believers.
Is the Law of Moses a Bad Thing?
Many of us have the idea that the Law is a bad thing. You may have heard pastors teach that Jesus came to do away with the Law—even though that’s the opposite of what he actually said: “Do not suppose that I came to abolish the Law or the Prophets...” (Matt. 5:17).
So what does the New Testament say about the Law of Moses? Paul taught: “For we know that the Law [of Moses] is spiritual…” (Rom. 7:14). That’s a pretty positive statement. So is this: “The Law is holy and the commandment is holy and righteous and good” (Rom. 7:12). He even brags about the Jewish people’s relationship with the Law: “Then what advantage has the Jew?... Great in every respect: first, that they were entrusted with the sayings of God” (Rom. 3:1-2). What sayings are these? The Old Testament, including the Law of Moses. That’s also a very positive statement. He even said, “For Messiah is the goal of the Law leading to righteousness for everyone who believes” (Rom. 10:4). The Law of Moses points to Jesus. That’s the ultimate function of the Law: “The Law became our guardian, leading us to Messiah, that we might be made righteous by faith” (Gal. 3:24).
Now I know that Romans 10:4 is often translated to say that Messiah is the “end of the Law.” But the Greek word used here, telos means end as in the saying, “the end justifies the means.” So what Romans 10:4 is actually saying is that Jesus is the goal, the completion, the fulfillment of the Law. All of these give a better sense of Paul’s original meaning.*
* See for example the NIV: “Christ is the culmination of the law so that there may be righteousness for everyone who believes.” Or the New Jerusalem Bible: “But the Law has found its fulfillment in Christ so that all who have faith will be justified.” Or the Common English Bible: “Christ is the goal of the Law, which leads to righteousness for all who have faith in God.”
This explains why the disciples preached Jesus from the Old Testament. Jesus fulfills the Old Testament, he fulfills the Law. And that’s what made him the perfect sacrifice for our sins, since he lived perfectly “without sin” in obedience to the Law (Heb. 4:15). As Jesus himself said: “I did not come to abolish [the Law or the Prophets], but rather to fulfill them” (Matt. 5:17). The Law was not a problem to get out of the way. It’s a record of God’s will that Messiah fulfilled in obedience to the Father. It’s a picture of who the Messiah is. And if the Law is a picture of Jesus, how can it be bad?
Jesus went on to say, in the next verse, “For ‘Amen’ I say to you, until the heaven and the earth pass away, the smallest letter or stroke will certainly not pass away from the Law until all comes to pass” (Matt. 5:18). Have the heavens and earth passed away? Not yet. So then according to Jesus, the Law hasn’t passed away either. It still has an important role to play in God’s plan.
The problem is not the Law. The problem is us, because we’re fleshly, because we’re sinners. “For we know that the Law is spiritual, but I am fleshly, subject to [or sold out to] sin” (Rom. 7:14). The Law is good, but I am a sinner. The Law is not the problem. I’m the problem.
As it says in the next verse: “For what I’m doing I don’t understand; for I’m not doing what I want, but rather I’m doing what I hate. But if I’m doing what I don’t want to do, I’m agreeing with the Law, that it is good” (Rom. 7:15-16). When I see myself doing what I don’t want to do—when I sin and recognize that it’s wrong—I’m agreeing that the Law is right, that it’s good. In other words, the Law is correct in identifying sin as sin. The problem is not the Law. The problem is me. The problem is that I keep on sinning even though I agree that sin is wrong and I shouldn’t be doing it.
On the contrary, the Law is God’s gift to help me identify sin: “What then will we say? Is the Law sin? May it never be! Rather I didn’t come to recognize sin except through law, for I wouldn’t know coveting unless the Law said, ‘Do not covet’” (Rom. 7:7). The Law reveals God’s will to me about what is good and what is bad, about what’s right and what’s wrong. This is a good thing. It’s how we know how God wants us to live, and what he doesn’t like.
The Problem of the Law
So then what is the problem with the Law?—because there’s clearly some kind of problem that Paul and the others are talking about in the New Testament. It’s simply this: the Law, since it relies on our fleshly obedience, doesn’t have the power to help us obey it. “For what the Law could not do, since it was weak because of the flesh…” (Rom. 8:3). The Law is correct in all it says. That’s why it’s in our Bibles. It brings us conviction of sin; it helps people know what God wants. But it doesn’t have the power to bring victory over sin. So what’s the answer to this dilemma? “For what the Law could not do, since it was weak because of the flesh, God did: having sent his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and because of sin, he condemned sin in the flesh, in order that the requirement of the Law may be fulfilled in us who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit” (Rom. 8:3-4).
God didn’t just condemn sin through the words of the Law; he also condemned it through the life of his Son. And because of Jesus’ sinless life, we too can walk the way he did, in the power of the Holy Spirit! Now we have power over the flesh, power to live holy lives, power to fulfill the requirements of the Law! This is why we’re not “under” the Law (Rom. 6:14). It’s not because God abolished the Law. It’s because when we live in obedience to the Spirit, we fulfill the Law. This is true even of secular law: if you don’t break the law, you don’t come under the authority of the law to bring you before a judge or to put you in jail.
Through faith in Jesus, we fulfill the Law. This is because the Law is a testimony not only of who Jesus is, but also of who we are! This is what Paul meant when he said, “Do we then nullify the Law through faith? May it never be! On the contrary, we establish the Law” (Rom. 3:31). We establish the truth of the Law by living a life of faith. Are you starting to get a more positive view of the Law?
I like to explain it this way: The Law of Moses is Bible 1.0. It’s the first release of God’s operating system for life. And it was great. But the New Testament is Bible 2.0. It’s a better, newer operating system! It fulfills everything that 1.0 made us want in an operating system, but does it better. And this is how the Bible itself describes it: “But now he [Jesus] has received a more excellent ministry, since he is also the mediator of a better covenant, which has been enacted as law* on better promises” (Heb. 8:6). The Old Testament was good; the New Testament is better!
* This is the actual meaning of the Greek word here (nenomothetetai). See for example the Holman Christian Standard Bible: “But Jesus has now obtained a superior ministry, and to that degree He is the mediator of a better covenant, which has been legally enacted on better promises.”
What were the promises of the Old Testament? Long life, possessing the land of Israel, victory over enemies, blessings of provision, of rain, etc. (Deut. 11:8-25, 28:1-14). What are the promises of the New Testament? Eternal life, forgiveness of all your sins, reigning with Messiah… better promises! That doesn’t mean the old ones were bad. It just means the new ones are better.
The Law of the Messiah
But if the New Covenant has been “enacted as law” (Heb. 8:6 in the original Greek), what are the laws that we as Christians are expected to keep? Many Christians are surprised—if not shocked—at the idea that there is also law in the New Covenant, even though it’s mentioned all over the New Testament. It’s called: the “law of Messiah” (1 Cor. 9:21, Gal. 6:2), the “law written in their hearts” (Rom. 2:15), the “law of faith” (Rom. 3:27), the “law of the Spirit of life in Messiah Jesus” (Rom. 8:2), “the perfect Law of Liberty” (James 1:25), “the Royal Law” (James 2:8), “the Law of Liberty” (James 2:12), “the commandment of the Lord” (2 Pet. 3:2), “the holy commandment” (2 Pet. 2:21), “the commandment” (1 Tim. 6:14), “his commandments” (1 John 2:34, 2 John 1:6), or as Jesus put it, “my commandments” (John 14:15,21; 15:10).
Are we as Christians expected to keep this new Law of Messiah? Absolutely. Jesus said, “If you love me, you will keep my commandments” (John 14:15). But this isn’t for the purpose of salvation. Salvation is only by grace and faith (Eph. 2:8). But once you are saved, God has a plan and a purpose for your life. And that plan and purpose is to follow and obey Jesus. How could it be otherwise? As Jesus warned, “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, lord,’ will enter the kingdom of the heavens, but rather the one doing the will of my Father in the heavens” (Matt. 7:21).
This Messianic law was very important to the disciples. In fact, this was one of the things that the Jewish people were looking forward to when Messiah came: a new Messianic Law that would solve all the difficult questions of the old Law. So why have you heard so little about the Law of Messiah? It’s because of the false teaching that religious law, of any kind, is something bad. But is that really what the Bible teaches?
One of the early names for the Law of the Messiah was the “Way” (Acts 9:2, 19:9, 19:23, 22:4, 24:14, 24:22, 2 Pet. 2:2). This was also the earliest name for Christianity itself: “the Way.” It meant living the way Jesus lived, obeying his commandments. Today we think of Christianity as believing certain things. But the original faith was equally focused on living the Christian way of life: a life lived in imitation of Jesus, obeying his law, obeying his commands for our lives. This was not to earn God’s favor. We already have his favor in Jesus. But it’s because we love him: “If you love me, you will keep my commandments” (John 14:15).
Obedience to the Law of Moses by Jewish believers in Jesus
But
if the Messianic Law and the Messianic way of life is so much better than the
old Law, why did Jesus and his Jewish disciples continue to obey the Law of
Moses? Yes! Did you know, they continued to worship in the Temple,
even after Jesus’ resurrection:
Luke
24:53: “And they were constantly in the Temple, blessing God.”
Acts
2:46: “Every day…spending a lot of time with one mind in the
Temple”
Acts
3:1: “Peter and John were ascending into the Temple at the ninth
hour, the hour of prayer”
Acts
3:11: “All the people ran together to them in the portico called
Solomon’s [located in the Temple]”
Acts
5:12: “They were all with one mind in the Portico of Solomon”
Acts
5:21: “They entered about dawn into the Temple and were teaching”
Acts
5:42: “Every day…in the Temple…they didn’t stop teaching and
telling the good news of Jesus the Messiah”
They
continued to go to synagogue:
Acts
9:2: “…letters to the synagogues in Damascus, so that if he found
some who were of the Way [followers of Jesus]”
Acts
17:2: “…where a synagogue of the Jews was. But according to
the custom of Paul, he went in to them”
Acts
22:19: “From synagogue to synagogue I was imprisoning and beating
those who believe in you”
James
2:2: “For if a man in shining clothes with gold rings on his
fingers enters into your synagogue” [clearly stated in Greek, though
rarely translated correctly]
They
also continued to obey the ritual laws, including observing the Jewish
feasts:
Acts
20:6: “We sailed from Philippi after the days of Unleavened
Bread…”
Acts
20:16: “…for he [Paul] was hurrying to be in Jerusalem, if
possible on the day of Pentecost.”
Acts
16:8: “But I will remain in Ephesus until Pentecost.”
Paul continued to take Jewish vows—the Nazirite vow found in Numbers 6: “…after he [Paul] cut off the hair of his head in Cenchrea, for he was keeping a vow” (Acts 18:18). He continued to practice Jewish ritual purification: “Take them and purify yourself with them and pay their expenses so that they may shave their heads [as part of the Nazirite vow], and all will know that there is nothing to the things they have been told about you, but that you, too, keep in line, observing the Law” (Acts 21:24).
Why even today do many Messianic Jewish believers in Jesus obey the Law of Moses? This is a challenge to traditional Christian thinking. It’s even caused some Christians to question the salvation of these Messianic believers. It was a big challenge to me, too, when I first went to Israel, because it disagreed with traditions I had been taught in church and in seminary.
Well, what did Jesus say about observing the Law of Moses? He said he did not come to abolish the Law: “Do not suppose that I came to abolish the Law or the prophets” (Matt. 5:17). Even though Jesus fulfilled the Law, the Law still has an important role to play: “For ‘Amen’ I say to you, until the heaven and the earth pass away, a single iota or a single stroke will certainly not pass away from the Law until all comes to pass” (Matt. 5:18).
The Role of the Law of Moses
So what is the role of the Law of Moses? It is not and never was a saving role. No one ever got saved by obeying it: “For if righteousness is through Law, then Messiah died in vain” (Gal 2:21, also 3:21). Some Jewish people have obeyed the Law all their lives, but it never saved them. The only way to be saved is by faith in Jesus. “And salvation is in no one else, nor is there any other name given among men under heaven by which we must be saved” (Acts 4:12). But that doesn’t change the fact that the Law is still a big signboard pointing to Jesus. That’s why it’s in our Bibles. And that’s why Jesus and his Jewish disciples continued to obey the Law. It’s a special covenant God made with the Jewish people, a sign pointing to Messiah. It’s their special calling from God.
For Jewish people, the Law is what makes them Jewish. It’s part of their identity—even for those who are not very strict in obeying it. The New Testament never says that they should erase that identity when they come to faith in Jesus—just the opposite. Paul says, “Let anyone called who is circumcised not become uncircumcised; let anyone called in uncircumcision not be circumcised” (1 Cor. 7:18). This is talking about Jewish ritual circumcision. It’s the religious act that makes a person Jewish. So what is Paul saying? If you’re Jewish and you come to faith in Jesus, you shouldn’t stop being Jewish. And if you’re a Gentile and you come to faith in Jesus, you shouldn’t become Jewish.
Why not? “Circumcision is nothing, and uncircumcision is nothing, but what matters is the keeping of the commandments of God” (1 Cor. 7:19). You should obey the laws of God that apply to you. If you’re Jewish, of course you’ll continue to live as a Jew (vs. 18). But that’s not because it saves you. Jewish circumcision is “nothing” when it comes to faith. Only faith can save you. But you will continue to obey the Law as part of your Jewish identity—because that’s who you are. If you’re a Gentile, of course you’ll continue to live as a Gentile. And it doesn’t matter that you’re not Jewish—that’s “nothing” when it comes to faith. What matters is obeying the laws of God that apply to you.
As Paul summarizes it in vs. 20: “Each in the calling in which he was called, let him remain in his calling” (1 Cor. 7:20). Being Jewish is a calling from God, even after you become a believer in Jesus. You have a special role and a special responsibility in the Kingdom of God. Being a Gentile is also a calling from God, even after you become a believer in Jesus. Why? Because Gentiles, too, have a special role and a special responsibility in the Kingdom of God.
Should Gentile believers in Jesus obey the Law of Moses?
But wait a minute! If Jewish believers in Jesus continue to obey the Law of Moses, and the Law of Moses is a good thing, should Gentile believers obey the Law of Moses, too? This was the big question that confronted the apostles after Gentiles started to get saved. Some were going around teaching that Gentiles, to be saved, must convert to Judaism and obey all of the Jewish Law: “And some, having come down from Judea, were teaching the brothers that ‘If you are not circumcised according to the custom of Moses, you cannot be saved’” (Acts 15:1). As a result, Peter and Paul had a big argument in Antioch (Gal. 2:11-21). The whole issue was finally settled in Jerusalem, where all the apostles and other leaders gathered to decide what to do about the Gentiles. This is known as the Council of Jerusalem (in Acts 15, AD 49).
This was not the first time that the Jewish people had considered this topic. Even Moses himself had to deal with it, because of all the Gentiles that had escaped with the Jews from Egypt. The Bible calls them a “mixed multitude”: “And a mixed multitude also went up with them, along with flocks and herds...” (Exo. 12:38). Wouldn’t you have wanted to escape with them, too, if it would get you out of slavery?
But yet when we read through the commands in the Law of Moses, almost all of them are directed only to the Sons of Israel. Look, for example, at the beginning of the Ten Commandments: “This is what you will say to the house of Jacob and tell the sons of Israel” (Exo. 19:3). These commandments were only addressed to Israel, not to everyone! Then, after the Ten Commandments, it says, “Then the LORD said to Moses, ‘This is what you will say to the sons of Israel…’” (Exo. 20:22). Why did he say it again? Just to emphasize that these laws were given for Israel.
In fact, there’s only one place in the Ten Commandments that says anything about Gentiles. It’s in Exodus 20:10, the Sabbath commandment: “And the seventh day is a Sabbath for the LORD your God. You will not do any work, nor will your son or your daughter, your servant or your female servant, or your cattle or your stranger that is within your gates.” Who is this “stranger” (ger in Hebrew)? These were the non-Israelites, the “mixed multitude” that had come out with the Israelites. And notice that here, only the gerim (the plural of ger) that were actually living inside the camp of Israel (“within your gates”) were required to keep the Sabbath. Other gerim, Gentiles living outside the Jewish camp or outside the gates of Jewish cities, were not required to rest on the Sabbath.
What other laws were these Gentiles required to obey? Murder was forbidden for both the Israelite “natives” (the ezrachim), as well as for the Gentile “strangers” (the gerim): “The one striking down a human being will be put to death. There will be one legal decision for you; as the stranger [ger], so the native [ezrach] will be, for I am the LORD your God” (Lev. 24:21-22).
The sexual immoralities listed in Leviticus 18 were also forbidden for these gerim. “And you will keep my statutes and my legal decisions, and you will not do any of these abominations, the native [ezrach] and the stranger [ger] who dwells among you” (Lev. 18:26).
And there were several other requirements for the gerim living among the Israelites:
No idolatry (Lev. 20:2)That may seem like a lot, but all together these are only about 20 of the 613 laws in the Law of Moses.* This means that by far most of the Law of Moses was never required of Gentiles. Why not? Because Israel had a special calling as a nation of priests, priests on behalf of the rest of mankind: “And you will be a kingdom of priests for me, and a holy nation” (Exo. 19:6). If you’re a priest, you have more strict religious requirements than other people.
* The laws listed here are laws that mention requirements for the gerim directly. Laws that refer to the gerim indirectly or that provide instructions for how Israelites were to treat the gerim are not included.
So even in the Law of Moses, Gentiles living among the Israelites had a different set of requirements than the Israelites themselves. But what about Gentiles living outside of Israel? Did they have to obey these laws, too?
The Laws of Noah
Moses was not the first person to receive laws for the Gentiles. The laws for the gerim are similar to another, much earlier group of laws in the Bible. These are the Laws of Noah. These were part of the covenant that God made with Noah after the Flood. This is the same covenant for which God put the rainbow in the sky as a sign. These laws are:
(1) Be fruitful and multiply: “And God blessed Noah and his sons and he said to them, ‘Be fruitful and become many and fill the earth’” (Gen. 9:1).
(2) Don’t eat blood: “Every moving thing that is alive will be food for you; as the green plants, I have given them all to you. But surely flesh with its life, its blood, you will not eat” (Gen. 9:3-4).
And (3) the penalty for murder is death: “Surely your blood for your lives I will require; from the hand of every living thing I will require it, and from the hand of man, from the hand of every man’s brother, I will require the life of man. The one spilling the blood of man by man his blood will be spilled, for in the image of God has he made man” (Gen. 9:5-6). This third command was also traditionally understood to imply the necessity of courts of law to judge murder cases.
These laws were given not only to Noah, but to all his descendants: “Now behold, I myself establish my covenant with you [Noah], and with your descendants after you” (Gen. 9:9, also 9:12). Are you a descendant of Noah? Yes, if you’re a human being. That means that this covenant is with you, too. It’s for all of us: both Jews and Gentiles. And this is still the teaching of the Jewish rabbis today.
In fact the rabbis, just after the time of the New Testament, combined these laws of Noah with some of the commands for the gerim in the Law of Moses to create a set of seven laws that apply to all Gentiles:
Seven laws are binding on the descendants of Noah: [1] the establishment of courts of justice, [2] the prohibition of blasphemy, [3] the prohibition of the worship of other gods, [4] of murder, [5] of incest and adultery, [6] of theft and robbery, and [7] of eating the flesh of a living animal before it dies [i.e. with its blood] (Sanh. 56a).
The rabbis claimed, as did many early Christians, that several of these laws—including those not mentioned in Genesis 9—had been given even earlier to Adam. So for example, when Adam was forbidden to eat from the tree, this was the command not to steal (Gen. 2:17). When he was told to “cling to his wife,” this was the command against sexual immorality (Gen. 2:24). And so on.
But this idea of Seven Laws of Noah wasn’t new. It had appeared already in the book of Jubilees (written before 150 BC).* Some version of these laws was likely obeyed by the Godfearers that we read about in the New Testament (Acts 10:2, 13:16,26). These were Gentiles who attended Jewish synagogues but didn’t convert to Judaism. Obeying the Laws of Noah was enough for them to be accepted into the life of the Jewish community without converting to Judaism.
* The list in Jubilees is (1) to do what is right; (2) to wear clothes; (3) to bless the creator; (4) to honor parents; (5) to love your neighbor; and (6) to guard against fornication, (7) and against uncleanness and all injustice (Jubilees 7:20,28-29). The book of Jubilees was influential in many parts of the early Christian community. It was even accepted as scripture by the Ethiopian Orthodox Church.
Why haven’t you heard of the Laws of Noah before? The Church Fathers called them instead the Natural Law. But they were talking about the same thing: These were the laws that God established for all people, including the Gentiles.*
* What happened to the other laws for the gerim that didn’t make the list of seven laws? The rabbis applied them only to proselytes, that is, to converts to Judaism (gerim tzedek), and not to Gentiles in general.
This means that by the time of the book of Acts, many understood that God had given a different set of laws to the Gentiles than he did to the Jewish people. So it should come as no surprise that at the Council of Jerusalem, Gentiles were not required to convert to Judaism (Acts 15:19,24,28). As a result, Gentile believers in Jesus are still today not required to obey the Law of Moses (Acts 15:28).
The Three Exceptions
However, the Council did make three exceptions to this ruling, commands that they considered “necessary things” for Gentiles to obey (Acts 15:28). What were these exceptions? “But rather to write to them to keep away from [1] the impurities of the idols and [2] sexual immorality and [3] things strangled* and blood” (Acts 15:20, also in 15:29). Where did the Council get this list of requirements from? They’re some of the Laws of Noah required of all mankind.
* Things strangled still have blood in them and so are forbidden.
But why only these three? Why weren’t the other Laws of Noah included? One possibility is that they weren’t needed, since the Romans already had courts of justice. They already punished murder, and they forbid theft and robbery. This leaves only the prohibition of blasphemy. But in Jesus’ day, this was applied only to misuse of the personal name of God (YHWH), a name that by that time only the priests knew how to say correctly. So this was no longer a problem.
But the most likely reason is that the other Laws of Noah had already been included by Jesus in his teaching. Jesus spoke against murder in the Sermon on the Mount (Matt. 5:21-22), against theft in Matthew 15:19, and even against blasphemy when directed against the Holy Spirit (Matt. 12:31). That left only three “essential things” to complete the instruction necessary for Gentile believers (Acts 15:20,28-29).
So What about the Ten Commandments?
So why are Gentile Christians required to obey the Ten Commandments? If you think about it for a minute, you’ll notice that the Three Exceptions match four of the Ten Commandments (Exo. 20:1-17): No idolatry matches the 1st and 2nd commands. No murder matches the 6th command, and no sexual immorality matches the 7th command.
This leaves six commandments, most of which were mentioned by Jesus: To avoid blasphemy is the 3rd commandment (Mark 3:29), to honor your mother and father is the 5th commandment (Matt. 15:4), not to steal is the 8th commandment (Mark 10:19), not to lie is the 9th commandment (John 8:44), and not to covet is the 10th commandment (Mark 7:22).
So here finally is the explanation we’ve been looking for. Gentile Christians obey the Ten Commandments not because they’re written in the Law of Moses, but because they’re part of the teaching of Jesus and of the Laws of Noah (the Natural Law). We obey them because they’re part of the covenants that we Gentile Christians have with God: the covenant of Noah and the New Covenant (the New Testament).
Only one of the Ten Commandments is not included in the New Testament or in the Covenant of Noah. Have you figured out which one? Observing the Sabbath, the 4th commandment. Today that sounds pretty shocking, especially with all the debates going on about the Sabbath. But both the Jewish rabbis and the early Church Fathers agreed that Sabbath observance was not required for Gentiles.* Paul specifically makes it a matter of personal choice: “Therefore don’t let anyone judge you with regard to eating and drinking [the Jewish food laws] or with regard to a feast [the Jewish festivals] or a new moon [the minor Jewish holiday celebrated at the beginning of each lunar month] or sabbaths [the weekly Jewish Sabbath and other days of rest].” If you as a Gentile Christian want to worship on a particular day, that’s up to you and your church. And if you choose a different day than others, don’t worry about it. This is an area of Christian freedom for Gentiles. It’s one of the reasons that Gentile Christians are free to worship God on Sundays rather than on the Jewish Sabbath, which is on Saturday.
* Many in the early Church held “every day alike” (Rom. 14:5). Others worshiped on the (Saturday) Sabbath. When worship on Sunday began it was not at first considered a Sabbath. But over the centuries, many Christians began to see Sunday as their Christian Sabbath. For detailed references, see our book The Jewish Roots of Christianity.
So to sum up: If we, Gentile Christians, are not under the Law of Moses, why do we obey the Ten Commandments? It’s not because they’re written in Exodus or Deuteronomy. That’s the Law of Moses, which was given to Israel. But we obey the Ten Commandments because they were given long ago in the Laws of Noah (the Natural Law) and because they’re included in the Law of the Messiah (the New Testament).
So let’s review a little, to make sure we understand everything clearly:
1) Most Gentiles were never under the Law of Moses.* Why not? Because we’re not Jewish. The Law is an agreement between God and the Jewish people. There are only a few laws in the Law of Moses that apply to Gentiles, and they are only for Gentiles who are actually living among the Jewish people.
* Except for the sections of the Law that refer to the Laws of Noah.
2) But we are required to obey the Laws of Noah (the Natural Law), which is an agreement made between God and the descendants of Noah, which includes us.
3) These Laws of Noah match some of the laws for Gentile strangers (gerim) in the Law of Moses, as well as many of the Ten Commandments. Most of the rest of the Ten Commandments were taught by Jesus and so are also included in the New Covenant (the New Testament).*
* The only exception is the Sabbath command.
4) The Council of Jerusalem, in Acts 15, decided that Gentiles are not obligated to obey the Law of Moses. They are only required to obey the Three Exceptions, as well as the commands of Jesus: the Law of the Messiah. The Three Exceptions (three “essential things”) were added by the Holy Spirit to be sure that no necessary instruction was left out for Gentile believers (Acts 15:20,28-29).
5) As believers in Jesus, our primary responsibility is to the Law of the Messiah, recorded in the New Testament, the instructions of Jesus to all believers. This is the covenant agreement with God by which we are saved, and that supplies the power of the Holy Spirit to fulfill its requirements. When we obey the Law of Messiah, we are also fulfilling the Law of Moses as it applies to Gentiles.
Got it? This is not the end of this topic. There’s a lot more that could be said. And it’s very controversial right now in some places. But what I’ve shared with you today is the understanding of both Jewish and Gentile scholars that are working on this topic. And it’s important. Because as we will see, God willing, it’s foundational to understanding so many things correctly in the New Testament.
