I removed out the part that Maritime objected to, so here it is again:
WHAT IS GOD’S LAW?
A lawyer came to Jesus and asked Him, “Master, which is the great commandment in the law?” Jesus gave a very interesting answer. He said, “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.” Matthew 22:37-40. When Jesus stated that the first great commandment is to love God with all our heart He was quoting from Deuteronomy 6:5.
Jesus said that all the commandments and the prophets hang on these two commandments. Of the Ten Commandments, the first four hang under love to God and the last six hang under love to man.
In my study I’ve found that more than just the Ten Commandments hangs under these first two commandments. In this statement Jesus said that all the law hangs under these two commandments. The word law comes from the original Greek word nomos which means Mosaic Law. In fact, nearly every time the word law appears in the New Testament it comes from nomos. The Mosaic Law is the Pentateuch, or the first five books of the Old Testament, which were written by Moses.
Ellen White agrees with the Bible about the Mosaic Law. “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. Ellen White is saying here that the Mosaic Law further explains the Ten Commandments.
In my study I discovered that each of the statutes in the Mosaic Law can be put under one of the Ten Commandments because that statute further explains that commandment. The only exceptions are the laws that the Bible specifically states were eliminated at the cross which are:
1. The sacrificial system and the oblations. “…in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease.” 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. The temple services do not, however, include the Sabbath because the NT has the early Christians observing the Sabbath after the cross.
Here are some specific examples showing how the Mosaic Law further interprets the Ten Commandments. In the Mosaic Law God gives specific examples as to whom one is not to go to bed with. These examples further explain the seventh commandment “Thou shalt not commit adultery.” All the health laws in the Mosaic Law come under the sixth commandment “Thou shalt not kill.” God doesn’t want us to kill ourselves through unhealthy living. Tithing is given in the Mosaic law and it comes under the eighth commandment “Thou shalt not steal.” We are not to steal God’s money from Him. One can go through the Mosaic Law and put every statute under one of the Ten Commandments, with the exception of those laws that were eliminated at the cross.
Here is a an example regarding statutes that further define the 7th commandment regarding adultery:
a. Don’t lie with your daughter-in-law. Lev. 20:12
b. Homosexuality is condemned. Lev. 20:13
c. Don’t lie with your father’s wife. Lev. 20:11
d. Don’t lie with a beast. Lev. 20:15
e. Etc.
Notice that if you break one of the statutes “a” through “d” above, you have in fact broken the seventh commandment that says you are not to commit adultery. It is crucial to understand that the statute that explains the commandment has the same force of law as the commandment that it further explains. Think of it this way; the Ten Commandments are chapter titles to God’s Law and the statutes are the description or further explanation of what is included in each commandment. All of the commandments and the statutes together make up God’s Law. Remember that Ellen White said, “These commands (statutes) were enforced by the power of the moral law, and THEY CLEARLY AND DEFINITELY EXPLAINED THAT LAW.” Signs of the Times, April 15, 1875.
Just as Jesus said in Matthew 22:37-40, the Mosaic Law does hang under the Ten Commandments.
What is the foundation for the whole law? It’s obvious. The foundation for the Law is the statutes in the Mosaic Law.
Ellen White has quite a number of interesting quotes about the statutes. Here are a few representative quotes and as you read them keep in mind that she has defined the statutes (which includes feasts) as being part of the Moral Law.
“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
“The statutes and judgments specifying the duty of man to his fellow-men, were full of important instruction, DEFINING AND SIMPLIFYING THE PRINCIPLES OF THE MORAL LAW, for the purpose of increasing religious knowledge, and of preserving God's chosen people distinct and separate from idolatrous nations.” Review and Herald, May 6, 1875.
In the preceding three quotes Ellen White is saying that the Mosaic Law and the statutes further interpret the Ten Commandments which makes the statutes part of the Moral Law, not the Ceremonial Law.
“The only safe and sure rule is to do what God says. ‘The statutes of the Lord are right,’ and ‘he that doeth these things shall never be moved.’ Psalms 19:8; 15:5. It was with the word of God that the apostles met the false theories of their day, saying, ‘Other foundation can no man lay than that is laid.’" 1 Corinthians 3:11. Acts of the Apostles, p. 475.
“The Holy One of Israel has made known to us the statutes and laws which are to govern all human intelligences. These precepts, which have been pronounced ‘holy, and just, and good,’ are to form the standard of action in the home. There can be no departure from them without sin, for they are the foundation of the Christian religion.” Child Guidance, p. 506.
“The light esteem in which the law of God is held, even by religious leaders, has been productive of great evil. The teaching which has become so wide-spread that the divine statutes are no longer binding upon men, is the same as idolatry in its effect upon the morals of the people. Those who seek to lessen the claims of God's holy law are striking directly at the foundation of the government of families and nations.” Patriarchs and Prophets, p. 143.
“The instructions given to Moses for ancient Israel, with their sharp, rigid outlines, are to be studied and obeyed by the people of God today.” Letter 259, 1903. SDA Bible Commentary, Vol. 1, p. 1103.
“Obedience to His statutes and laws is the life and prosperity of His people.” The Faith I Live By p. 89. SDA Bible Commentary, Vol 1, p. 1120.
“The great God has a law by which to govern His kingdom, and those who trample upon that law will one day find that they are amenable to its statutes.” Fundaments of Christian Education, p. 331.
“I was referred to the fourth chapter of Deuteronomy. The whole of this chapter is to be studied. Notice particularly the statement: ‘Know therefore this day, and consider it in thine heart, that the Lord He is God in heaven above, and upon the earth beneath: there is none else. Thou shalt keep therefore His statutes, and His commandments, which I command thee this day, that it may go well with thee, and with thy children after thee, and that thou mayest prolong thy days upon the earth, which the Lord thy God giveth thee, forever.’" Fundamentals of Christian Education, p. 508.
“The sacred statutes which Satan has hated and sought to destroy, will be honored throughout a sinless universe.” Patriarchs and Prophets, p. 342.
“There are many in this age of the world who act as if they were at liberty to question the words of the Infinite, to review His decisions and statutes, endorsing, revising, reshaping, and annulling at their pleasure. We are never safe while we are guided by human opinions, but we are safe when we are guided by a ‘Thus saith the Lord.’ We cannot trust the salvation of our souls to any lower standard than the decisions of an infallible Judge.” Lift Him Up, p. 106.
“The Saviour said nothing to unsettle faith in the religion and institutions that had been given through Moses; for every ray of divine light that Israel's great leader communicated to his people was received from Christ. While many are saying in their hearts that He has come to do away with the law, Jesus in unmistakable language reveals His attitude toward the divine statutes. "Think not," He said, "that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets." Thoughts From the Mount of Blessing, pp. 45-48. (The word law in this text means Mosaic Law according to Strong’s Concordance.)
“As men, women, and children proclaim the gospel, the Lord will open the eyes of the blind to see His statutes, and will write upon the hearts of the truly penitent His law. The animating Spirit of God, working through human agencies, leads the believers to be of one mind, one soul, unitedly loving God and keeping His commandments--preparing here below for translation.” Review and Herald, Oct. 13, 1904. Bible Commentary Vol. 7, p. 984.
“The church needs now to shake off her death-like slumber; for the Lord is waiting to bless his people who will recognize the blessing when it comes, and diffuse it in clear, strong rays of light. ‘Then will I sprinkle clean water upon you, and ye shall be clean. . . . And I will put my spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes.’" General Conference Daily Bulletin, February 28, 1893.
