Is it Biblical to separate the moral law from the other parts of the Law?

[Bible Highlighter]

No. It's an all or nothing law for the nation of Israel.

I think what the Bible says on this matter is more important. I do not think we should be quick to assume things. We should study to show ourselves approved unto God on this matter.


...

 

[Tree of Life]

@Jason0047 I really like the civil/ceremonial/moral distinction and I wish it were more explicitly biblical but I still think it's an artificial division simply because these terms do not appear in Scripture.

The passages from Deuteronomy are neat because they use three words to refer to God's Law! Promisingly it looks as if it could have reference to our threefold distinction. After all - three and three, right? Coincidence? Unfortunately yes. Upon closer examination these words do not appear to correspond with our threefold distinction in any way. I could get into the Hebrew to demonstrate this if you'd like more evidence, but for now I'll just leave it at that.

So I affirm and teach the threefold distinction, but I must recognize that it is an ingenious attempt of man to understand the nuances of God's Law rather than a purely biblical distinction.

Take the Sabbath for example. Is the Sabbath ceremonial, civil, or moral? Well turns out it appears to be all three. The Sabbath command has ceremonial, civil, and moral aspects. The civil and ceremonial aspects are fulfilled in Christ but the moral force of the Sabbath command still remains as a guide for Christian behavior today.

 

[Bible Highlighter]

Well the entire law of Moses has been filled and replaced with the blood of Jesus. So the entire law can be thrown out, because the believer is obligated only to the Law of the Spirit.

The New Testament was written by the Holy Spirit. The Laws or Commands in the New Testament are different than the Laws or Commands in the Old Testament. It is impossible for a person to follow both sets of Commands or Laws from both Covenants. Hebrews 7:12 says the Law has changed. Clearly these Laws are written down for believers today. I believe this would be any Commands we see within the pages of the New Testament. Unless you can show that the Commands in the New Testament have been abrogated.


...

 

[Bible Highlighter]

@Jason0047 I really like the civil/ceremonial/moral distinction and I wish it were more explicitly biblical but I still think it's an artificial division simply because these terms do not appear in Scripture.

The passages from Deuteronomy are neat because they use three words to refer to God's Law! Promisingly it looks as if it could have reference to our threefold distinction. After all - three and three, right? Coincidence? Unfortunately yes. Upon closer examination these words do not appear to correspond with our threefold distinction in any way. I could get into the Hebrew to demonstrate this if you'd like more evidence, but for now I'll just leave it at that.

So I affirm and teach the threefold distinction, but I must recognize that it is an ingenious attempt of man to understand the nuances of God's Law rather than a purely biblical distinction.

Take the Sabbath for example. Is the Sabbath ceremonial, civil, or moral? Well turns out it appears to be all three. The Sabbath command has ceremonial, civil, and moral aspects. The civil and ceremonial aspects are fulfilled in Christ but the moral force of the Sabbath command still remains as a guide for Christian behavior today.

Hmmm, I am more of a guy who simply looks at the context than looking at the original languages. I am not knocking original language studies or anything. They can be useful on rare occasion. But I prefer to first look at what the context says. Just doing a keyword search on the word "statutes" at BlueLetterBible brings up passages that refer to the ceremonial laws. Judgments sounds alot like judicial laws. The word "judgments" also appears to be near the mention of Israel's Civil Laws. While I am not expecting the Bible may not always use these words to neatly fit things into neat little categories in every case, I should expect to see an overall pattern of some kind. While I am waiting for my book from Amazon on this topic, I will do my own personal word studies by looking at the keywords in relation to the context.


...

 

[Tree of Life]

Hmmm, I am more of a guy who simply looks at the context than looking at the original languages. I am not knocking original language studies or anything. They can be useful on rare occasion. But I prefer to first look at what the context says. Just doing a keyword search on the word "statutes" at BlueLetterBible brings up passages that refer to the ceremonial laws. Judgments sounds alot like judicial laws. The word "judgments" also appears to be near the mention of Israel's Civil Laws. While I am not expecting the Bible may not always use these words to neatly fit things into neat little categories in every case, I should expect to see an overall pattern of some kind. While I am waiting for my book from Amazon on this topic, I will do my own personal word studies by looking at the keywords in relation to the context.


...

Beware english word studies. Just because the same english word is used does not mean that it's the same Hebrew word behind it.

 

[ByTheSpirit]

The New Testament was written by the Holy Spirit. The Laws or Commands in the New Testament are different than the Laws or Commands in the Old Testament. It is impossible for a person to follow both sets of Commands or Laws from both Covenants. Hebrews 7:12 says the Law has changed. Clearly these Laws are written down for believers today. I believe this would be any Commands we see within the pages of the New Testament. Unless you can show that the Commands in the New Testament have been abrogated.


...

Romans 8:2
The law of the Spirit of life has set you free from the law of sin and death...

John 14:13
A new command I give to you, love one another.

1 John 2:7 NLT
Dear friends, I am not writing a new commandment for you; rather it is an old one you have had from the very beginning. This old commandment—to love one another—is the same message you heard before.

All those "commands" you reference such as what is found in Romans 12, Ephesians 5, and other places are just manifestations of what Christ's only command is.

When we truly love we will not seek revenge, we will honor one another, we will lift each other up... etc.

If you want to make a checklist out of all 200 some "commands" you believe exist in the New Testament then go ahead. Submit yourself to a new form of legalism.

As for me, the Spirit gives me freedom! His way of life in Christ is the Way of love that says:

Follow Me! I will show you the way.

And not be burdened down by another form of the Law.

Follow the Spirit, those who do are not under any law.

Galatians 5:16-25
Romans 7:6

 

[Bible Highlighter]

Take the Sabbath for example. Is the Sabbath ceremonial, civil, or moral? Well turns out it appears to be all three. The Sabbath command has ceremonial, civil, and moral aspects. The civil and ceremonial aspects are fulfilled in Christ but the moral force of the Sabbath command still remains as a guide for Christian behavior today.

The Sabbath is clearly a Ceremonial Law. A Moral Law is any law that you would naturally know to do as "Doing the Right Thing" by instinct (Like the Gentiles do without having the Written Law) or by the Laws of love that God writes upon believer's hearts. No human is truly hurt by disobeying the Saturday Sabbath. Yes, it is natural for man to rest, but man can rest on another day of the week or more days of the week. The Saturday Sabbath is not a Civil Law because it is not an exclusive law dealing with justice per say. While you can say that breaking the Saturday Sabbath may hurt God, we cannot conclude that it hurts humans. So it is primarily a ceremonial law because it is ritual based and not based on simply "Doing the Right Thing" (Instinctively).


...

 

[Bible Highlighter]

Beware english word studies. Just because the same english word is used does not mean that it's the same Hebrew word behind it.

I read my Bible in English and not in Hebrew and Greek. Nobody today speaks Hebrew and Greek. So I would say beware in acting like you know dead languages (When you really do not). For did you grow up writing and speaking Hebrew and Greek? No. That's the problem. You can simply say the Hebrew and Greek means this or that to people and they would have to take your word on it by faith. That is not so easy to do with English. For people grow up writing and speaking English and they can check the English for themselves.


...

 

[Steve Petersen]

Knowing that there is a three fold structure to the Law has helped me to see that there was a change in the Law as mentioned in Hebrews 7:12. Jesus Himself said,

"Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye pay tithe of mint and anise and cummin, and have omitted the weightier matters of the law, judgment, mercy, and faith: these ought ye to have done, and not to leave the other undone." (Matthew 23:23).

"But woe unto you, Pharisees! for ye tithe mint and rue and all manner of herbs, and pass over judgment and the love of God: these ought ye to have done, and not to leave the other undone." (Luke 11:42).

Jesus is saying that the weightier matters of the Law is Judgment, mercy, and faith and the love of God and the lesser laws were laws on tithing.

There is an author who has written a book who is convinced that the Bible clearly teaches this three fold structure in the Law. While I am sure I may not agree with everything he says, I have a feeling I will agree with him on this particular topic.


...

The reward for honoring father and mother and the reward for letting a mother bird go before taking her eggs are identical. One seems weighty and the other trivial.

Exodus 12:12 Honor your father and your mother, so that you may live long in the land the LORD your God is giving you.

Deuteronomy 22:
6 If a bird's nest chance to be before thee in the way in any tree, or on the ground, whether they be young ones, or eggs, and the dam sitting upon the young, or upon the eggs, thou shalt not take the dam with the young:7 But thou shalt in any wise let the dam go, and take the young to thee; that it may be well with thee, and that thou mayest prolong thy days.

 

[Bible Highlighter]

Romans 8:2
The law of the Spirit of life has set you free from the law of sin and death...

John 14:13
A new command I give to you, love one another.

1 John 2:7 NLT
Dear friends, I am not writing a new commandment for you; rather it is an old one you have had from the very beginning. This old commandment—to love one another—is the same message you heard before.

All those "commands" you reference such as what is found in Romans 12, Ephesians 5, and other places are just manifestations of what Christ's only command is.

When we truly love we will not seek revenge, we will honor one another, we will lift each other up... etc.

If you want to make a checklist out of all 200 some "commands" you believe exist in the New Testament then go ahead. Submit yourself to a new form of legalism.

As for me, the Spirit gives me freedom! His way of life in Christ is the Way of love that says:

Follow Me! I will show you the way.

And not be burdened down by another form of the Law.

Follow the Spirit, those who do are not under any law.

Galatians 5:16-25
Romans 7:6

I can say you are being legalistic for following just two of the greatest commands in the Bible. Following any Law is a legal matter. So I do not undertand why you think the way you do. If the New Testament (NT) did not have 1,000 + commands within it's pages than I might say you are probably on to something. But it does not make sense that these commands exist within the NT and then turn around and say we should not seek to obey them. God's will is for us to obey Him and not disobey Him.

Here is a list of just 1,050 Commands in the New Testament.
I have come up with a few more that are not on their list.

1,050 New Testament Commands | Christian Assemblies International


...

 

[Bible Highlighter]

The reward for honoring father and mother and the reward for letting a mother bird go before taking her eggs are identical. One seems weighty and the other trivial.

Exodus 12:12 Honor your father and your mother, so that you may live long in the land the LORD your God is giving you.

Deuteronomy 22:
6 If a bird's nest chance to be before thee in the way in any tree, or on the ground, whether they be young ones, or eggs, and the dam sitting upon the young, or upon the eggs, thou shalt not take the dam with the young:7 But thou shalt in any wise let the dam go, and take the young to thee; that it may be well with thee, and that thou mayest prolong thy days.

Yes, that is the point. There are laws that are weightier than others.

Moral Laws are obviously the weightier laws that God wants us to follow. Especially under the New Covenant. For the New Covenant is strongly focused on moral laws and not ceremonial laws or civil laws.


...

 

[Tree of Life]

I read my Bible in English and not in Hebrew and Greek. Nobody today speaks Hebrew and Greek. So I would say beware in acting like you know dead languages (When you really do not). For did you grow up writing and speaking Hebrew and Greek? No. That's the problem. You can simply say the Hebrew and Greek means this or that to people and they would have to take your word on it by faith. That is not so easy to do with English. For people grow up writing and speaking English and they can check the English for themselves.


...

Alright. I'll go on reading the words of Moses, Paul, Peter, etc... You continue reading the words of the ESV Translation committee.

 

[Tree of Life]

The Sabbath is clearly a Ceremonial Law. A Moral Law is any law that you would naturally know to do as "Doing the Right Thing" by instinct (Like the Gentiles do without having the Written Law) or by the Laws of love that God writes upon believer's hearts. No human is truly hurt by disobeying the Saturday Sabbath. Yes, it is natural for man to rest, but man can rest on another day of the week or more days of the week. The Saturday Sabbath is not a Civil Law because it is not an exclusive law dealing with justice per say. While you can say that breaking the Saturday Sabbath may hurt God, we cannot conclude that it hurts humans. So it is primarily a ceremonial law because it is ritual based and not based on simply "Doing the Right Thing" (Instinctively).


...

Read your book. I think you have a lot to learn about the tripartite distinction of the law.

 

[Bible Highlighter]

Alright. I'll go on reading the words of Moses, Paul, Peter, etc...

Okay. Let me know how it goes.

You continue reading the words of the ESV Translation committee.

I actually believe the KJV is the divinely inspired perfect Word of God and I use Modern Translations to help update the language that is in the KJV. I like the NLT and Good News Translation sometimes (Although they are not perfect). I very rarely ever look to the ESV. So I am not sure what you mean by the ESV statement.


...

 

[Steve Petersen]

Yes, that is the point. There are laws that are weightier than others.

Moral Laws are obviously the weightier laws that God wants us to follow. Especially under the New Covenant. For the New Covenant is strongly focused on moral laws and not ceremonial laws or civil laws.


...

but in this example, the reward is the same. How can you say one is weightier than the other when God has made them equal in value?

 

[Tree of Life]

I actually believe the KJV is the divinely inspired perfect Word of God and I use Modern Translations to help update the language that is in the KJV.

The divinely inspired perfect word of God needs updated?

I like the NLT and Good News Translation sometimes (Although they are not perfect).

How do you know they're not perfect? Because they're not the KJV?

I very rarely ever look to the ESV. So I am not sure what you mean by the ESV statement.

I was just taking a guess as to which translation you read.

 

[Bible Highlighter]

but in this example, the reward is the same. How can you say one is weightier than the other when God has made them equal in value?

I do not think they are the same because we can roast birds for dinner if we need food outside a grocery store. Whereas this is not the case with one's father and mother.


...

 

[Vicomte13]

Is it Biblical to separate the moral law from the other parts of the Law (like ceremonial laws, etc.)?

And discuss.


...

No. But it IS Biblical to read each law exactly as written, and to not add to it by extending it to cover things that are not included in its reach.

 

[Bible Highlighter]

The divinely inspired perfect word of God needs updated?

I believe the 1769 KJV is the Word of God for our world language (English) today.
In 1611, the printing process was not perfected yet and there was no set standard in spelling yet, either.

From my experience, I have discovered that there are two wrong extremes on this topic. One wrong extreme says the KJV is evil and to even use it is to be a part of a cult (That teaches that one must worship a book - Which is simply not true). The other wrong extreme says the same thing. For I have found that many KJV-Onlyists believe that you should only read the King James. Many other KJV-Onlyists will also say that the King James is not all that hard to understand, too. However, I disagree with both of these conclusions, though.

Anyways, while I believe the KJV is the divinely inspired Word of God, I do not think one should stick to just reading it alone. For I have found Modern Translations to be very helpful in updating the language (From Old English); However, I do not put my entire trust in Modern Translations because the devil has placed his name all over them and key doctrines have been watered down and important messages within God's Word have been neutered.

In other words, I read Modern Translations as if I am panning for gold. I have to sift thru the dirt or the garbage in order to get to the gold of the passage that lines up with the King James (and the original Hebrew and Greek).

This gold that is found within the dirt of the translations can be very useful because it reflects what is in the King James. This is the gold that people hear and are saved when they hear the gospel message. For someone can be saved just by hearing a few Bible verses about the gospel message of Jesus Christ. This gold shines thru and penetrates their heart.

Like the Parable of the Sower. Believers receive the Word of God into their heart from those passages that are talking about salvation. Words that line up with the King James. These words are sown in their heart. And if they let this Word take root in their heart by continually reading the Word of God, then they will have hidden His Word in their heart so they will not sin against Him. It will have taken root and they will not fall away due to persecution or the trials of this life.

For it only takes a few Bible verses to get someone saved. However, washing yourself with the water of the Word is going to be a lot more effective if you use the pure Word of God.

How do you know they're not perfect? Because they're not the KJV?

Three Scriptural Reasons to Trust in A Perfect Word Today.

#1. God's Word claims that it is perfect
God's Word claims that it is perfect (Psalms 12:6) (Psalms 119:140) (Proverbs 30:5) and that it will be preserved for all generations (Psalms 12:7) and it will stand forever (Isaiah 40:8) (1 Peter 1:25). Therefore, seeing Scripture plainly states these facts, it then becomes an issue of a test of your faith in God's Word (See the test the devil gave to Eve in Genesis 3:1); For the Bereans were more noble because they compared the spoken Word of God with the written Word of God (Acts 17:11). In other words, if the Bereans thought the written Word was corrupt in some way they would have no way of really knowing if the spoken Word of God was true or not.

#2. KJV vs. Modern Translations
A simple side by side comparison of the KJV vs Modern Translations shows us that the devil tries to place his name in the Modern Versions. Have no idea what I am talking about?

Well, many Bible versions say that it is the dragon who is standing on the sea shore in Revelation. This is just evil and wrong.

See Parallel Version for Revelation 13:1 here...

Revelation 13:1 The dragon stood on the shore of the sea. And I saw a beast coming out of the sea. It had ten horns and seven heads, with ten crowns on its horns, and on each head a blasphemous name.

See, if you know anything about Bible language, standing on something means that you "own it"; And the devil wants to own you. In the King James, John is standing on the seashore. Yet in many Bible versions the dragon (i.e. the devil) is standing on the seashore.

Why is this a problem?

Let's look at...

Genesis 22:17

"That in blessing I will bless thee, and in multiplying I will multiply thy seed as the stars of the heaven, and as the sand which is upon the seashore; and thy seed shall possess the gate of his enemies;"

Did you catch that? God says to Abraham that He will multiply his seed as the stars of the heaven and as the sand which is upon the seashore where he will then possess the gate of his enemies (i.e. the devil and his kingdom). The apostle John who wrote Revelation was Jewish and he was the promised seed of Genesis 22 standing on the seashore in Revelation 13. It was not the dragon or the devil standing on the seashore.

For certain Modern Versions eliminate the part of the passage in Revelation 13:1 that says that John is standing on the seashore (When he refers to himself as "I").

Also, the devil tries to take out key points in important discussions within the Bible (Which can affect doctrine). For example: In Romans 7 Paul talks from the Jew's perspective in keeping the Old Testament Law (Which leads to problems), and he gives us the climax or heart of his message as a solution in Romans 8:1. Now, certain modern translations have eliminated "who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit." Eliminating this passage destroys the whole thrust of Paul's argument. Walking in the Spirit is the key to being in Christ Jesus. You eliminate that and you destroy Paul's argument. Also, 1 John 5:7 is the only verse in the Bible that is the clearest and most concise teaching on the Godhead (i.e. the Trinity).

#3. Biblical Numerics
Bible Numbers that glorify God and His Word. (Note: These are not equidistant letter sequences or numbers that attempt to get one to have a special dream, or to divine the future in some way - Striving to foretell the future is forbidden in the Bible). Numbers are something that we deal with in our everyday life and all things glorify God. So obviously the numbers in God's Word would naturally glorify Him in some way. What am I talking about? Check out this video on Numbers & the Greek New Testament.

Also, here is a video series by Mike Hoggard that talks about the number 7 in the King James.

Now, while I may not agree with Mike on everything he teaches in the Bible nor on the way he teaches Bible numbers in every example, I have found that he has made some startling discoveries. Discoveries that do not appear in the modern translations but only in the King James.

I was just taking a guess as to which translation you read.

I use the KJV, but I also use Modern Translations, too. I like looking at various translations but my final Word of authority is the KJV.


...

 

[Bible Highlighter]

No. But it IS Biblical to read each law exactly as written, and to not add to it by extending it to cover things that are not included in its reach.

I believe there is a distinction.

3 "For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh:
4 That the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit." (Romans 8:3-4).

I believe the righteous aspect or part of the Old Law that we fulfill is the following.

8 "Owe no man any thing, but to love one another: for he that loveth another hath fulfilled the law.
9 For this, Thou shalt not commit adultery, Thou shalt not kill, Thou shalt not steal, Thou shalt not bear false witness, Thou shalt not covet; and if there be any other commandment, it is briefly comprehended in this saying, namely, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.
10 Love worketh no ill to his neighbour: therefore love is the fulfilling of the law." (Romans 13:8-10).

One does not fulfill the Law on keeping the Sabbath by loving one's neighbor.
So there is a difference between "Moral Laws" (Which is based on love) and "Ceremonial Laws" and "Civil Laws."


...