When was the law of moses voided?

[tqpix]

Luke 16:16 says the law was voided at John the Baptist:

The law and the prophets were until John: since that time the kingdom of God is preached, and every man presseth into it.

Ephesians 2:15-16 say the law was voided when Jesus Christ was crucified:

Having abolished in his flesh the enmity, even the law of commandments contained in ordinances ... by the cross, having slain the enmity thereby:

I need help with these two passages please.

 

[daveleau]

Matt 11:13 mirrors your first verse. Basically, what it is saying is that John is the greatest of men to date Matt 11:11. The prophets and the Law told of the coming Saviour before John, but John tells of the Saviour who is already here. Thus, those before John prophesied. John is doing more than this. He is telling of the One who is already here. Luke 16, Jesus is saying that until the time of John, the Law and the prophets spoke of what was to come. But John spoke of the Kingdom of Heaven (synonymous with the Kingdom of God in other NT passages), which is the Lord, Jesus Christ.

Eph 2:15-16
Jesus did not abolish all of the Law but the ceremonial portions of the Law. No longer was it necessary to sacrifice or wash in the Jewish style. These parts of the Law are gone when Jesus sacrificed Himself on the Cross. The Moral component of the Law remains (do not murder, do not steal, honor your father and your mother, etc). So, the fulfillment of the Law was on the Cross and through His resurrection and ascension.

 

[johnd]

The Law of Moses was not voided. You must take into consideration all biblcal passages on the subject:

Romans 3:31 Do we then make void the law through faith? God forbid: yea, we establish the law. (KJV)

Romans 3:31 Do we, then, nullify the law by this faith? Not at all! Rather, we uphold the law. (NIV)

We actually keep the Law of Moses by believing in Christ. This is what the Law was given for in the first place:

Galatians 3:24 So the law was put in charge to lead us to Christ that we might be justified by faith. 25 Now that faith has come, we are no longer under the supervision of the law. (NIV)

Galatians 3:24 Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith. 25 But after that faith is come, we are no longer under a schoolmaster. (KJV)

So the Old Testament passages cursing those who keep not the Law remains to this day. We keep the Law by believing in Jesus Christ who alone truly kept the Law as a man and through whom we are imputed with that righteousness.

To us the Law is beautiful and wonderful. To the unbeliever it is the measure by which they will be judged and so it stands that heaven and earth will pass away but not one jot or tittle will pass from the Law (hatorah)...

 

[wild01]

the law was not "voided" or done away with
anyone who has not accepted the sacrifice of Jesus Chhrist is still under the law
however anyone who has accepted Jesus' sacrifice is no longer bound to the law not because the law is gone or done away with but because from a legal standpoint it was fulfilled by Christ.

Rom 7:1-4
1 Or do you not know, brethren (for I am speaking to those who know the law), that the law has jurisdiction over a person as long as he lives?
2 For the married woman is bound by law to her husband while he is living; but if her husband dies, she is released from the law concerning the husband.
3 So then if, while her husband is living, she is joined to another man, she shall be called an adulteress; but if her husband dies, she is free from the law, so that she is not an adulteress, though she is joined to another man.
4 Therefore, my brethren, you also were made to die to the Law through the body of Christ, that you might be joined to another, to Him who was raised from the dead, that we might bear fruit for God.
(NAS)

 

[tqpix]

Thank you to the people who contributed to this thread.

 

[daveleau]

No problem. My apologies for the grammar in my post. It is attrocious. I was pretty tired when I posted it.

 

[PapaLandShark]

So forgive me for being dense here...But as I understand it there were many laws under the OT. Our Lord came and fullfilled which ones specifically? Which ones still apply to us?

There is a separate thread about dietary laws that I'm concerned with.

 

[daveleau]

There are two basic delineations or types of laws in the Law of Moses. There is the moral law that is timeless and there is the ceremonial law that has been fulfilled. Some split the Law into other groups, but this is the best grouping that I have found in my reading. The dietary aspects of the Law are based on ceremonial issues such as the washing of hands and sacrifice (physical cleanliness). These are the laws that are fulfilled in Christ because ritual physical cleanliness is not needed because we are cleansed by Christ. The NT tells us that nothing that we put into our mouths can make us unclean. Only things that come out of our heart can make us unclean (non-righteous anger, untruth, malice, revenge, gossip, etc). The ceremonial laws are the ones that are directly fulfilled in Christ and no longer apply. The moral laws of the Law still fully apply.

God bless,
Dave

 

[tqpix]

I always thought that Christ fulfilled the law through the love of God and fellow man:

[bible]Matthew 22:37-40[/bible]

[bible]Romans 13:8[/bible]

 

[daveleau]

That is our task, to fulfill the law through love. Very true. We are to act as Christ did in these instances. This is very much a part of the moral law, which still applies today. When people speak of the Law that has been fulfilled (meaning not necessary for us to follow any longer), they speak of the ceremonial laws that were observed by the Jewish in Israel in worshipping God.

 

[PapaLandShark]

Thank you Daveleau. The thread in question can be found here if you want to take a look. It's, obviously, causing a bit of confusion.

http://www.christianforums.com/t1167733http://www.freep.com/news/nw/dumpster27e_20041227.htm

 

[jgnov99]

In Matthew (I believe it's 5:17) Jesus says he did not come to abolish the law, but to fulfill it. But there are MANY passages that show us that adherence to the moral aspects of the law are still what is expected of us as followers of Jesus.

grace and peace

 

[CoffeeSwirls]

Acts 10:9-16

9The next day, as they went on their journey and drew near the city, Peter went up on the housetop to pray, about the sixth hour. 10Then he became very hungry and wanted to eat; but while they made ready, he fell into a trance 11and saw heaven opened and an object like a great sheet bound at the four corners, descending to him and let down to the earth. 12In it were all kinds of four-footed animals of the earth, wild beasts, creeping things, and birds of the air. 13And a voice came to him, "Rise, Peter; kill and eat."


14But Peter said, "Not so, Lord! For I have never eaten anything common or unclean." 15And a voice spoke to him again the second time, "What God has cleansed you must not call common." 16This was done three times. And the object was taken up into heaven again.

Don't place eating restrictions on yourself that are not of God. The moral law was never voided, but Jesus abrogated much of it within Himself. To seek holiness in anything other than Christ is to declare that you know better. Please don't place a burden too heavy upon yourself!