Ellen White and the Mosaic Law

Ellen White clearly tells us what was done away with at the cross in a number of quotes about the Ceremonial Law. Here's a couple of representative quotes.

"’In the midst of the week He shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease.’ In A.D. 31, three and a half years after His baptism, our Lord was crucified. With the great sacrifice offered upon Calvary, ended that system of offerings, which for four thousand years had pointed forward to the Lamb of God. Type had met antitype, and all the SACRIFICES AND OBLATIONS of the ceremonial system were there to cease.” Great Controversy, p. 327.

“We have the types and the shadows in the ceremonial laws, and these were to last until they should meet the reality. The SACRIFICIAL OFFERINGS were continually revealing the fact that Christ was coming to our world, and when type met antitype in the death of Christ, then the sacrificial offerings, typifying Christ, were no more of any value, but the royal law of God could not be changed.” Advent Review & Sabbath Herald, July 15, 1890.

Ellen White is saying that the Ceremonial system consisted of the sacrificial system and the offerings that went along with those sacarifices.

However, Ellen White then goes on to say that rest of the Mosaic Law was not done away with at the cross and that the Mosaic Law is simply the Ten Commandments in greater detail--in other words God explained what He meant by the Ten Commandments in the Mosaic Law by giving specific examples. Here's the quotes.

“In consequence of continual transgression, the moral law was repeated in awful grandeur from Sinai. Christ gave to Moses religious precepts which were to govern everyday life. These STATUTES were explicitly given to guard the ten commandments. THEY WERE NOT SHADOWY TYPES TO PASS AWAY WITH THE DEATH OF CHRIST. They were to be binding upon men in every age as long as time should last. These commands were enforced by the power of the moral law, and THEY CLEARLY AND DEFINITELY EXPLAINED THAT LAW. Signs of the Times, April 15, 1875. SDA Bible Commentary Vol. 1, p. 1104.

“That the obligations of the Decalogue might be more fully understood and enforced, additional precepts were given, ILLUSTRATING AND APPLYING THE LAWS OF THE TEN COMMANDMENTS. These laws were called judgments, both because they were framed in infinite wisdom and equity and because the magistrates were to give judgment according to them. Unlike the Ten Commandments, they were delivered privately to Moses, who was to communicate them to the people.” Patriarchs and Prophets p. 310

So since Ellen White says so clearly that it was only the sacrificial system but that passed away but that the rest of the Mosaic Law is still in binding, why do most believe that the Mosaic Law was done away with at the cross?

This is such a huge question. The law of Moses contained regulations regarding social, dietary, sanitary, judicial, slavery, etc., so which of these were done away with when God replaced the Israeli theocracy with the church? Are supposed to stone people when they break the sabbath or commit adultery? Are women supposed to leave town during their monthly cycle?

It would seem that the principle still remains while the precept and particulars have been done away with (although in some cases even the specifics still apply today unchanged, i.e., teh dietary laws). What do you think?

I think that Ellen White gives us a huge clue when she says that the Mosaic Law explains the Ten Commandments. I was curious, so I went through the Mosaic Law and beside each law that further explained one of the Ten Commandments, I put the number of that Commandment beside it. It was very interesting and not at all difficult to do. I've decided that as soon as I have time I'm going to type up each Mosaic Law under the Commandment that it further interprets. After doing this I decided that any law that could be put under one of the Ten Commandments is still binding, and any law that cannot was done away with at the cross.

For instance, all the health laws come under "Thou shalt not kill" since we kill ourselves if we don't follow health laws. I'm a nurse and I read through the health laws with the germ theory in mind and it made perfect sense. For instance, the medical profession knows that certain germs live so many hours or days on certain surfaces before it dies. I think that God had the "unclean" laws in effect because He knew that in certain situations the germs would live on a person's skin for that long.

All sexual laws come under "Thou shalt not commit adultery" and all laws about not taking advantage of someone else come under "Thou shalt not steal," etc. It was very eye opening to rate each Mosaic Law like this. If Christians still believed in the Mosaic Law it would protect us from many evils. For instance, sadly, like other churches, some in our church now believe that homosexuality is ok. They wouldn't if they believed in the Mosaic Law because in the Mosaic Law it specifically condemns homosexuality.

I also did a study from the Bible as to what the Bible itself says was done away with at the cross. Here's the result of my study.

The Bible is clear as to what was done away with at the cross.

1. The sacrificial system and the oblations. See Daniel 9:27. Oblations means offerings (see Strong's Concordance). These offerings would have been the wine and grain offerings offered along with the lamb sacrifices. See Numbers 28.

2. The civil penalties for violation of the law. Since Israel was a theocracy, they had to have punishments written for breaking the law much like any country does. However, since we are no longer under a theocracy, we are to obey the laws of the land we live in, provided these laws don't break the laws of God. Jesus demonstrated this when they brought the adulterous woman to him and He did not advocate stoning her. Elsewhere Jesus said to give Caesar what is due Caesar. See John 8:3-11, Matthew 22:21, and Acts 5:29.

3. The Levite priesthood. The New Testament says that we are now all kings and priests. Rev. 1:6.

4. Circumcision. Acts 15.

5. The temple services. God demonstrated that the temple services came to an end at the cross when the curtain in the temple was rent from top to bottom exposing the Most Holy Place, which only the High Priest was permitted to see. Matthew 27:51. Eliminating the temple services does not eliminate days of worship as we see by the example of Jesus and the apostles in the NT (Luke 4:16, Acts 13:44, Acts 16:13, and Acts 20:6.)

Excepting the above five items, I believe the rest of the Mosaic Laws that can be put under one of the Ten Commandments are still in force. If we believe that just the spiritual principles of the Mosaic Law remain then we are giving ourselves permission to "pick and choose" from the Mosaic Law--something I believe dangerous in our sinful state. For instance, most Christians believe the Ten Commandments were eliminated at the cross but the spiritual principles still remain. In reality what this does is keep 9 of the Commandments in force but eliminate the 4th Commandment because they say the principle behind it is to rest one day a week--and that day doesn't have to be on the 7th Day.

What do the rest of you think about this?

[ March 04, 2002: Message edited by: Jean Miller ]

Does the Bible not say "Jesus Christ, the same yesterday, today and forever"? Do we not agree that it was Jesus who handed down the laws to Mosees on Mount Sinai? I don't believe the women had to leave town during their monthly, they were unclean and were not to be uncovered during that time. To be honest, some days I wish we could be like that - banished for 7 days, at least we would get some rest!

How do we decide what laws continue and what don't? How do we honour God through His laws wihtout becoming legalistic and turning away from the greatest commandment - to love Him? One thing I have noticed as I read through the books of Moses, particularly Deuteronomy, is that after repeating the laws, Moses always emphasizes that they are to "love the Lord your God".

The part of the Mosaic Law that explains the Ten Commandments further is love because the Ten Commandments are love. The first 4 Commandments are love to God and the last 6 Commandments are love to man. The Ten Commandments are love in action! Tell me, how happy would you be if your husband committed adultery? Not very, I would imagine. How happy would you be if someone murdered your child. Again, not very happy. This shows that the Ten Commandments are love, which makes the Mosaic Law that further explains the Ten Commandments also love.

Why do so many seem to think that commandment-keeping is not love? It is love in action! It is only when one follows the letter of the law without love in their heart that it becomes legalism.

Great study....I am looking forward to getting deeper into this....I am on my way to work right now so can not read it as much as I want to until later.

I copied this page from a Bible with helps in the back and then put it on my website and wanted to share.....I don't know if it fits but I found it interesting to study.

http://www.geocities.com/avalee50/GodsLaws.html

I guess the reason I bring up the concern of becoming "legalistic" in keeping the laws, is because history has shown us that too often man becomes more concerned about what he does than why he is doing it.

The law is there to point us to Christ, to life, but many see it as just a list of don'ts. When we become more focused on keeping laws than living Christ, then we have become legalistic.

It is a reality that Adventists are susceptible to becoming legalistic and losing sight of the purpose of the law that they are so careful to uphold. My question is, how do we keep sight of Christ in everything we do, keep His laws, and still remain a child of God?

This is the new covenant spoken in Deut 5:29 "O that there were such an heart in them that they would fear me, and keep all my commandments always that it might be well with them and with their children for ever (even down to 2002)". That cry from God is what is promised in the new covenant of Hebrews 10:16. That heart to honor and fear God was lost in the garden of Eden. It can only be received by grace and faith. Then God can come in and live and do in our hearts. Then the mind of God will be in us and we will intuitively be in harmony with His law and His will.

Avalee, the page you referred to was contrasting the Moral Law with the Ceremonial Law. I agree, the Ceremonial Law was done away at the cross. As this page states, the Bible says in Eph 2:15 AND Col 2:14 that a law was done away with--but those texts do not tell us which law. Since we must always let the Bible interpret itself, to find out which law was eliminated, we go to Daniel 9:27 where it says that the sacrificial system was eliminated. The sacrificial system is only a part of the Mosaic Law. Much of the Mosaic Law is as Ellen White said--a further explanation of the Ten Commandments.

Sarah, how do we keep God's laws without being legalistic? By putting Jesus into the heart of each law. If we truly love Jesus we won't want to break His heart by lying, stealing, cheating, etc. The Commandments are a wall of safety around us--to keep us happy. When we break these Commandments it brings sorrow and unhappiness. That's why God gave these laws. He knew that these laws are the laws to true happiness.

[ March 08, 2002: Message edited by: Jean Miller ]

Not EGW, but this might help:

from Thomas R. Schreiner, "The Abolition and Fulfillment of the Law in Paul," Journal for the Study of the New Testament 35 (1989): 47-74:

In Paul’s mind "obedience to the law was simply impossible for those who did not have the Spirit, who were dominated by the flesh (Rom. 8:5-8). But Paul strains to make it clear in Rom. 7:7ff. that he sees no intrinsic problem with the content of the law. The commandment is still from God; the problem is the lack of power to do what God has commanded.

Thus, Paul can speak of being liberated from the law in two senses. 1. It can signify liberation from the Mosaic covenant which contains rites that are particularly Jewish and therefore leads to a separation between Jews and Gentiles. 2. It can also signify liberation from the power of sin which uses the law as a bridgehead. But now that the age of the Spirit has arrived and Christ has broken the power of sin by his death, the age of slavery to sin has ended." (Page 58)

"Paul still thinks that the universal moral norms contained in the Mosaic laws are authoritative for the church. Believers by faith in the power of the Spirit can obey the moral norms of the OT law." (Page 59)

The part of the Mosaic Law that explains the Ten Commandments further is love because the Ten Commandments are love. The first 4 Commandments are love to God and the last 6 Commandments are love to man. The Ten Commandments are love in action! Tell me, how happy would you be if your husband committed adultery? Not very, I would imagine. How happy would you be if someone murdered your child. Again, not very happy. This shows that the Ten Commandments are love, which makes the Mosaic Law that further explains the Ten Commandments also love.
Why do so many seem to think that commandment-keeping is not love? It is love in action! It is only when one follows the letter of the law without love in their heart that it becomes legalism
Unquote.

The Ten Commandments are love in action!

The question is: Does love made action or action (obedience to the law) raise the love (agape) in your heart?

Quote.
Sarah, how do we keep God's laws without being legalistic? By putting Jesus into the heart of each law. If we truly love Jesus we won't want to break His heart by lying, stealing, cheating, etc. The Commandments are a wall of safety around us--to keep us happy. When we break these Commandments it brings sorrow and unhappiness. That's why God gave these laws. He knew that these laws are the laws to true happiness.

Unquote

Seems that Jean Miller has answered the questions; by keeping the law she fall in love with Jesus.

How about no one will be justified before God and his holy law by keeping the law, instead all become guilty and were under condemnation
because their SIN was exposed? Are you still feeling safe by being under the law?
You know that breaking the law made you a sinner, but don't you know that by keeping the law does not make you righteous
instead your SIN was exposed and become exeeding sinful.

In His love

James S.