THE TWO LAWS:  THE TEN COMMANDMENTS AND  THE YOKE OF BONDAGE

Many Christians have not yet seen the difference between the Mosaic Law (The added law of Galatians 3:19) and The Ten Commandments.  It is a serious error to suggest
that The Ten Commandments are one with the ceremonial law. James calls The Ten Commandments "the law of liberty" (James 2:10-12) and Paul calls the Mosaic law "the yoke of bondage":

"Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage.

Behold, I Paul say unto you, that if ye be circumcised, Christ shall profit you nothing."      Gal 5:1-2 (KJV)

Do you see how Paul identified "the yoke of bondage" with circumcision, which was part of the Mosaic Law?  Circumcision was never part of The Ten Commandments. Here is another verse where Paul made a clear distinction between the ceremonial law and the moral law of God:

"Circumcision is nothing, and uncircumcision is nothing, but {what matters is} the keeping of the commandments of God."  1 Cor 7:19 (NAS)

If The Ten Commandments are one with the ceremonial law, Paul was not aware of it when he wrote that verse. Read more evidence that Paul made a distinction between
The Law of God and the ceremonial law:

 

 "Then those who are physically UNCIRCUMCISED **but keep the law** will condemn you who have THE WRITTEN CODE AND CIRCUMCISION **but break the law.**"  Rom 2:27 (RSV)

If The Ten Commandments are one with the ceremonial law, then how could one be uncircumcised and still be keeping the precepts of the law?  Here, Paul clearly distinguishes between "the written code" and "the law:".

The only law referred to in the context of Romans 2 is The Ten Commandments.  (See verses 2:17, 21, 22.)

The following excerpt from church history may surprise many of you, and hopefully lessen your trust in the people who have wrongfully told you that The Ten Commandments were abolished at the cross:

Written by an early church father (2nd century)

GOD ADDED MOSAIC LAW AS YOKE OF BONDAGE

"1.  They [the Jews] had therefore a law, a course of discipline, and a prophecy of future things. For God at the first, indeed, warning them by means of natural precepts, which from the beginning He had implanted in mankind, that is by means of the Decalogue, (which, if any one does not observe, he has no salvation), DID THEN DEMAND NOTHING MORE OF THEM. As Moses says in Deuteronomy,

'These are all the words which the Lord spake to the whole assembly of the sons of Israel on the mount, **and He added no more;** and He wrote them on two tables of stone, and gave them to me.'  (Deut 5:22)

For this reason, that they who are willing to follow Him might keep these commandments. BUT when they turned themselves to make a calf, and had gone back in their minds to Egypt,  desiring to be slaves instead of freemen, THEY WERE PLACED FOR THE FUTURE IN A STATE OF SERVITUDE SUITED TO THEIR WISH, - which did not indeed cut them off from God, but SUBJECTED THEM TO THE YOKE OF  BONDAGE; as Ezekiel the prophet, when stating the reasons for the giving of such a law, declares:

 

'And their eyes were after the desire of their heart; and I  gave them STATUTES THAT WERE  NOT GOOD, and judgements in which they shall not live'   Ezek 20:24

IRENAEUS AGAINST HERESIES, (AD 120 - 202) from The Ante-Nicene Fathers, TT Clark 1897 (see Gal 2:4, 3:19)

[It is important to note that in contrast to Ezekiel, the prophet Nehemiah says the statutes given on Mt. Sinai were "good statutes",  whereas Ezekiel calls the Mosaic  law: "statutes that were NOT good]":

"Thou camest down also upon Mt. Sinai, and spakest with them from heaven, and gavest  them right judgements, and true laws, GOOD STATUTES and  commandments"  Neh 9:13
                      *****

In addition, a Chronology of the events at Mt. Sinai, shows that the ceremonial law was given in May of 1490 b.c.,; on the other hand, The Ten Commandments in May of 1491 b.c.; therefore, THE DIETARY LAWS (part of the yoke of bondage) were commanded a full YEAR after the Decalogue.  The Mosaic law was part of a second covenant with a second set of tablets.

After they made the calf, God was going to destroy the Israelites, but Moses begged the Lord for their forgiveness and the nation was allowed a reprieve, but with a much stricter set of rules designed to keep their minds on obedience to God's law.  That was the yoke of bondage.

 

Now you can understand what Paul meant when he said: "Why then the law?  It was added because of transgressions,"  The Mosaic law was added to the original covenant (The Ten Commandments) because of Israel's transgressions.

The breaking of the first covenant caused God to make another which put the Israelites under bondage to the entire Mosaic Law.  When Christ came, he freed His people from
the ceremonial elements of the Mosaic law but not from obedience to the Commandments of God.

Please note the deliberate and pointed comment Irenaeus made above, about the necessity of obedience to the Ten Commandments:

"1.  They [the Jews] had therefore a law, a course of discipline, and a prophecy of future things. For God at the first, indeed, warning them by means of natural precepts, which from the beginning He had implanted in mankind, that is by means of the Decalogue,

**(which, if any one does not observe, he has no salvation),**

DID THEN DEMAND NOTHING MORE  OF THEM."

The original covenant was the Ten Commandments -- not the Mosaic law.

Harold and Donna Kupp

With this in mind, it would behoove all of us to get serious about our relationship with God and work out our salvation with fear and trembling.

dk