Truth Magazine

By Luther Blackmon

This title is a quotation from 2 Corinthians 15:5. The lusts of the flesh and the maneuvering of some false teachers had led the Corinthian Christians into some grievous sins. The first Corinthian letter, it seems, had corrected most of these sins, and the second letter is much less sharp. Not withstanding their improvement, however, the apostle closes this letter with the admonition, “examine yourselves whether you be in the faith.”

It was to this same church Paul had said concerning the Lord’s supper, “But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of that bread and drink of that cup.” Again he said to the Ephesian elders, “Take heed unto yourselves” (Acts 20:28). To the evangelist Timothy, “Take heed unto thyself and unto thy doctrine” (1 Tim. 4:16). In Galatians 6:1-2 he commands, “Brethren, if a man be overtaken in a fault, ye which are spiritual restore such an one in the spirit of meekness; considering thyself lest thou also be tempted.” The life of the Christian should be one of perpetual self-inventory.

A Difficult Task

I think it likely that few, if any of us, have the ability to examine our own motives and conduct with absolute fairness and honesty. Burns, the Scotch poet, recognized this fact when he expressed the desire that we might have the gift to “see ourselves as others see us.” If this were possible it might not be very flattering, but I dare say it would make most of us more humble. However, the important thing is not so much how others see us, but how God sees us. And be sure that God sees us as we really are. A pious air and outward show may conceal our sins from the multitudes for a time, but they are only a transparent veneer through which God sees a wretched soul.

There are several reasons why it is difficult for us to examine ourselves without partiality. One is our inclination to measure ourselves by others. The man, for example, who lacks the moral courage to turn his back on the world and obey the gospel, can always find a convenient hypocrite in the church with which to compare himself and try to justify his own weakness.

The unfaithful Christian who no longer finds happiness in the fellowship of the saints, and who finds church attendance boresome and tiring, can always find some brother who beats his debts or takes a few drinks or indulges in some other ungodly practice. Then he begins to look at all Christians through this shabby specimen and decides finally that church attendance can add nothing to his righteous life. If we must compare ourselves with others, why not pick the best ones. This is seldom, if ever done for two reasons. (1) It would not serve our purpose. (2) One who is sincere enough to make such a comparison as this is willing to examine himself in the light of divine truth. Let us remember that “they measuring themselves by themselves and comparing themselves among themselves are not wise” (2 Cor. 10:12).

Again we hesitate to sound the depths of our own souls because we fear the results. In this we are like the man who refuses to submit to physical examination, because he fears the diagnosis — as if refusing to face the truth could cure the disease. I am convinced, from my own past experience, that many members of the church could not live with their consciences if they should, in all honesty and candor, search their own hearts in the light of truth. Man at his best cuts a sorry figure when measured by God’s standard of righteousness. And man is seldom at his best.

Once more, we shrink back from an impartial self-examination, because of our pride in our own strength. Human vanity is a powerful influence. It takes more spiritual and moral courage than some people can ever muster to say, “I was wrong.” However, if we but knew it, man is never really strong until his strength gives way to the strength that comes from above, “. . . for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ’s sake; for when I am weak, then am I strong” (2 Cor. 12:9-10).

Departure From Faith Gradual

In the individual Christian as in the church, departure from the faith is gradual. I maintain that it is a psychological impossibility for a faithful Christian to suddenly make up his mind that he will not any longer serve the Lord. I realize that there are many counterfeit Christians who “joined the church” for some selfish reason; these will turn away as soon as the devil raises the bid. Then there are others who are very young in the faith, and who, through some great temptation or passion, are overcome. These are often ashamed to come back and face the humiliation. But people who know the truth and who have tried the Christian life successfully for some time, simply do not fall away suddenly. Their apostasy is always gradual; sometimes so gradual that they themselves are not aware of their change. We have doubtless read of the frog which was boiled in water without feeling the pain, because the heat was increased so gradually that he was not aware of the change in temperature. But he died! There is no doubt that the saints in Laodicea started off in the same manner as did those of Philadelphia and Smyrna, but when the Lord dictated the letter to that church in Revelation 3, these Laodiceans were saying of themselves, “We are rich and increased with goods and have need of nothing.” But the Lord said they were “wretched and miser- able and poor and blind and naked.” There was quite a contrast.

Signs Along the Way

Many people die every year of diseases which might be cured if discovered in their incipiency. In like manner, there are hundreds of people in the church who are on their way to eternal damnation, who might be saved if they could be made to recognize the danger that threatens them. Apostasy, like disease of the body, casts its ugly shadow, and the discerning eye can see the signs and symptoms.

One symptorn is lack of spiritual appetite. How is your appetite for spiritual things? Peter said, “As new born babes, desire the sincere milk of the word that ye may grow thereby” (1 Pet. 2:2). Paul said to the Corin-  thians, “I have fed you with milk and not with meat for hitherto ye were not able to bear it, neither yet now are ye able.” These Corinthians had come out of heathenism but a short time ago, and here the apostle implies that they should be able to eat meat. But they were not. Their spiritual digestive powers still called for milk. Pause here and ask yourself the holiest question: “Has my desire for spiritual food increased since I became a Christian?” If the answer is no, then you have started in the other direction, because there is no such thing as “holding your own” spiritually. The only man mentioned in the Bible as holding his own went to hell for it. This was the one talent man. The Christian life is like a bicycle ride, either you move ahead or you fall over. The Hebrew Christians had been in the church long enough that they should have been teachers, but they needed to be taught again the first principles. They were not as well off as when they first obeyed the gospel. I am told that a wasp is larger when he is hatched than at any other time. As a rule a new born babe in Christ is anxious to learn the Bible. He is an enthusiastic student. But as time goes by and he learns that there is no short cut, or royal road, to real Bible knowledge but that it takes a lot of time, and study, he often loses his enthusiasm. Most churches have classes on the Lord’s day and some through the week. It has been my experience that not more than two-thirds of the  members attend. If admonished to attend, this one who does not attend has an excuse. As a rule these excuses can be exposed as worthless alibis, trumped up after he decides not to attend the classes. He is trying to quiet an uneasy conscience. He cannot let himself be truthful and say, “I simply do not care to attend these classes; I prefer to watch television.” This fellow may not know it, but he is on his way back to the beggarly elements of the world. A person need not tell me, with a straight face, that he loves the Lord and desires to “grow in grace and in the knowledge of the truth,” when he spends more time reading the sports page than he spends reading the Bible.

David said of the man in the first Psalm, “But his delight is in the law of the Lord and in His law doth he meditate day and night.” He does not read the Bible day and night, but he thinks of what he has read frequently. The law of the Lord is uppermost in his mind. I came, one day, upon brother J. Early Arcencaux hoeing in his garden. When we had exchanged greetings, the next thing he said was  “I was just thinking of a new argument on Mark 16:16.” Arceneaux has forgotten more than some ever learn about the Bible, but he still has a voracious appetite for knowledge of the truth. Let us examine ourselves for lack of spiritual appetite. 

Another common and very noticeable symptom of apostasy in the Christian is his aversion to plain gospel preaching. 

In preachers this symptom first shows in an overwhelming sweetness, flavored with a few snide remarks about those who lack the “spirit of Christ.” In the second stage, he starts talking and writing about “negative” preaching, and laments the “sectarian bigotry” among some brethren. Then in the last stage, he has lifted up his eyes to horizons far beyond the wildest imaginations of his less spiritual brethren, and his “love” has outgrown any legalistic interpretation of the Scriptures or concept of the church that would exclude from his fellowship that great host of God-fearing people who cannot trim their faith to “our” view of Christianity. He has now “arrived.” If you know such a preacher, take a good look at him. He will not be around long. He has outgrown the New Testament plea.

In those who do not preach, the pattern is much the same except that they usually do not leave the church altogether and join a denomination. They don’t need to now. They can find a “Church of Christ” where the truth has been sufficiently watered down to suit their wordly and liberal tastes. When a member of the church begins to talk about how sweet and broadminded some preacher is and how the church has just grown in leaps and bounds where he is preaching, I know what is coming next. He is about to begin to give me some advice on how to preach. He thinks the truth ought to be preached by all means. Certainly so, but he thinks there is a right way to preach it. He brought his Methodist friend one night, and I preached on baptism and said that people who had not been immersed had not been baptized. That friend would never come back, he feared. Or perhaps I preached that mixed bathing, wearing shorts, and dancing were wrong because they are productive of laciviousness; that members of the Lord’s church ought not take even a social drink. He thinks these might be wrong; but he knows some people who are doing things worse than these, and I might well spend my time preaching on love and be more of a “positive” preacher — not so much against everything.

Whether I can ever convince him or not, this fellow is in the process of departing from the faith. This is one of the signs. And, whether I convince him or not, I shall continue to preach as I have in the past against that which is wrong. Call it negative if you will. Paul said, “preach the word . . . reprove, rebuke, exhort. . . .” Someone came close to the truth when he said that the work of the gospel preacher is to “comfort the afflicted and afflict the comfortable.”

A gospel preacher must be always a gentleman. Harshness of speech and boorish manners are inexcusable. But if the plain preahing of Bible truth offends you, then it is you that needs to change, not the preacher. “Examine yourselves whether you be in the faith.”

Truth Magazine, September 1958, 12-15

By Paul K. Williams

In modern times the earliest preaching of the gospel in Africa that I know about was when H.F. Short went to southern Africa in 1922. He and his family went to Rhodesia and continued there until his death more than 50 years later. His son, Foy Short, lived and preached there until he went to America about ten years ago. Foy continues to make preaching trips to Zimbabwe, which is the modern name for Rhodesia.

In South Africa preaching began about 1949 with a radio program sponsored by the Central church in Cleburne, Texas. A number of American preachers then came to South Africa and churches were established all over the country. Preaching was done in other southern African countries (Nyasaland [Malawi] and Northern Rhodesia [Zambia]). 

The split over institutionalism occurred in the mid-1960s. Old H.F. (Papa) Short was liberal, his son, Foy, was conservative. So the pattern of the split in the U.S. was followed in southern Africa. 

At present in South Africa there are at least six American gospel preachers and seven white South African preachers, together with about that number of fully-supported black South African preachers. The churches in many places are entering a mature state, though there are no elders in any of the churches.

Some preaching is being done in Namibia, Botswana and Mozam- bique, all of which border on South Africa

Nigeria is the other country in Africa where a great deal of gospel preaching has been done. At one time I heard an estimate of 30,000 Christians in that country. For the last 25 years no American gospel preacher has been located there, though a number of brethren have gone there for preaching trips. 

A few years ago Paul Ayres and Alan Turner went to Kenya. There are a few faithful churches in that country now.

I do not know of preaching in other countries of Africa. North Africa is solidly Muslim and preaching of the gospel is forbidden. I don’t think there are any churches of the Lord in the countries which were formerly French or Belgian colonies. 

African Conditions

Africa is a continent of poor people. It has been evangelized by denominational missionaries so that in most places the Bible is respected and people believe in Jesus. But they usually mix their traditional religions (usually the worship of their ancestors) with the “Christian” message. The missionaries were from the traditional European denominations — Church of England, Presbyterian, Methodist, Lutheran, Roman Catholic — so they are well-represented in Africa. The Pentecostal denominations appeal greatly with their promise of miracles and spiritual gifts. And Jehovah’s Witnesses, Seventh Day Adventists, and even Mormons are actively making converts. Some of the biggest denominations are indigenous mixtures of ancestor worship and the worship of Jesus. 

Ancestor worship governs the lives of most Africans. Young converts almost always have trouble from their families who regard their children as traitors to their culture when they leave ancestor worship. Most denominations tolerate ancestor worship among their members. 

Sexual immorality is the rule rather than the exception. Children are often, perhaps usually, sexually active from the time of puberty. Many more than half of all children are born to unwed teen-age mothers. AIDS is spreading like wildfire as a result. The denominations tolerate their members living in fornication, and when we preach and enforce the message that Christians must not commit fornication, we are standing virtually alone. 

How the Gospel Spreads

Because of their poverty and thirst for knowledge, young people love to write the correspondence Bible course. When we put up tents in rural areas they flock to attend. Most of the ones who respond to the gospel are young people. 

There is a large fall-away percentage. However, there  is a minority who truly give their lives to Christ and are faithful day in and day out. The result is growing churches in most areas. 

Just as the new churches in Bible times needed much teaching and encouragement and admonition, so it is in Africa. It seems there will never be enough teaching. How thankful to God for those who have come from America to preach here, and how thankful to see Africans growing so that they are becoming faithful and effective gospel preachers. But, oh, so much needs to be done. 

Pray for Africa. 

P.O. Box 324, Eshowe, 3815 South Africa paulk@netactive.co.za

By Bill Crews

Its title is My Book of Bible Stories. Its hard cover is gold in color, and the letters of its title are indented. They are shining red letters, giving the appearance of golden red. It is attractive and appealing to the eye. The book was copyrighted in 1978. A notation on the flyleaf says: “This Book Is Published in 93 lan- guages” and “Total  Books Printed of All Editions: 38,300,000 Copies.” The book is divided into eight parts and claims to tell 116 Bible stories for children. The stories are illustrated with colorful pictures, either one or two at nearly every opening.

The copy I am holding was given by a woman, who is obviously sincere and honest, to our daughter as a gift for her little boy. Though beautiful in appearance and represented as a wonderful book to read to little children and to be read by older children, it’s an insidious piece of poison. It was put out by the Watchtower Bible and Tract Society of Pennsylvania. The publishers are the Watchtower Bible and Tract Society of New York, Inc., International Bible Students Association, Brooklyn, New York, U.S.A. And you, our readers, should ­know that these are the people who call themselves by the misnomer, “Jehovah’s Witnesses,” a name arbitrarily given them by judge J.F. Rutherford back in 1931. It came from a misapplication of Isaiah 43:10 and 44:8 which were spoken by Isaiah, from God, of ancient Israel (see 43:1, 3 and 44:1; read all of chapters 43, 44, and 45 in which the restoration of God’s people Israel from the Babylonian captivity and under Cyrus, king of Persia, is foretold and depicted). What Rutherford’s disciples go about doing from door to door does not fit the meaning of “witnesses,” and what they teach did not originate with nor honor Jehovah.

The first paragraph of the foreword of the book begins: “This is a book of true stories,” and ends, “They even tell about what God promises to do in the future.” The second paragraph begins: “This book gives you an idea of what the Bible is all about,” and ends, “It also shows the grand hope of everlasting life in a paradise earth that God has given to people.” So, even before the stories begin, some of their false doctrines are introduced. The statement on the flyleaf that “Bible quotations in this book are paraphrased” should be taken more as a warning than as a statement. (They made their own translation to support their doctrines.)

The very first story of the book is titled, “God Begins to Make Things.” After telling the reader that before God made the sun, the moon, the stars, and the earth, he made the angels, the book then says: “The first angel God made  was very special. He was God’s first Son, and he worked with his Father. He helped God to make all other things. He helped God to make the sun, the moon, the stars, and also our earth.” Thus they seek to indoctrinate little children with their God-dishonoring doctrine that denies the eternalness and deity of Jesus Christ. They teach that the eternal Son of God, our Savior, had a beginning, that he was an angel, the first angel that God created, a created divine being, “a God.” Colossians 1:15-17 is listed, along with Jeremiah 10:12 and Genesis 1:1-10, at the end of the story.

Because Colossians 1:15 refers to Jesus as “the firstborn of all creation,” they teach that he was both created and the first thing that God created. The passage rather shows his preeminence in regard to the creation. “Who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation” is followed immediately by: “for (which indicates an explanation of the last statement, bc) in him were all things created (emphasis mine, bc) in the heavens and upon the earth, things visible and things invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers; all things (all created things, bc) have been created through him, and unto him; and he is before all things (all created things, bc), and in him all things (all created things, bc) consist.” “The Son of his love” (v. 13) obviously was not a part of the created things. 

They also appeal to Revelation 3:14, which refers to Christ as “the beginning of the creation of God.” They say that this means that Christ was the first thing created; however, Bible-language scholars insist that it means “the beginner or cause of the creation.” This is in harmony with the context of Colossians 1:15-17 and other Bible passages. John 1:1-3 reads: “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God (this affirms his deity and his equality with the Father. Their New World Translation mistranslates: “and the word was a God,” bc). “The Same was in the beginning with God. All things were made through him; and without him was not anything made that hath been made.” Christ was not one of the “made” things; Christ was not one of the “created” things. He was, rather, the One through whom and by whom all things were made or created.

Micah 5:2 (correctly cited by “the chief priests and scribes of the people” to identify for Herod the Great the place where the Christ was to be born, that is, Bethlehem) says of the Christ, “that is to be ruler in Israel; whose goings are from of old, from everlasting.” Far, from being created, he had always existed. No wonder he is called “the image of the invisible God” (Col. 1:15) and “the effulgence of his glory, and the very image of his substance” (Heb.1:5). Far from being created, Christ created all things that were created, upholds all things that were created, and is heir of all created things.

Jehovah’s Witnesses, using Revelation, chapters 7 and 14, entirely out of context and in diametrical opposition to many Bible passages, teach that exactly 144,000 people will live forever in heaven with God. All of the rest of the people who meet with his approval, they will live forever upon this physical earth after it has been renewed and made perfect as it was in its original state (remember, they call this “the grand hope”). In the Bible we are told that there is “one hope,” just as there is “one God and Father,” “one Lord” (our Lord Jesus Christ), “one Spirit” (the Holy Spirit),  “one faith” (the faith of the gospel), “one baptism” (baptism in water in obedience to Christ), and “one body” (the spiritual body of Christ, his church). See Ephesians 4:1-6. This one hope is “laid up for you in the heavens” (Col. 1:5; 1 Pet. 1:3-4). They have two hopes: one for the 144,000 and another, which they call “the grand hope,” for the rest of God’s people. What will happen to the physical heavens and earth according to the Scriptures? 2 Peter 3 gives an emphatic answer to that question. Read verses 3 and 10-12. They will be no more; they will cease to exist.

The pretty yellow and red book of Bible stories for children declares this doctrine of their hope of living for ever on this renewed and perfect physical earth again and again in its various stories of the Bible. What a pity that so many have been produced and will have their effect in leading little children astray.

From Park Forest Proclaimer, Baton Rouge, Louisiana

By Mike Willis

As the most popular book in the world, the Holy Bible deserves one’s attention and study. When one turns to its “Table of Contents,” he notices that the Bible is divided into two sections: Old Testament and New Testament. The Old Testament consists of 39 books and the New Testament consists of 27 books. 

The division into two testaments is based on the wording of Scripture itself. When Jesus instituted the Lord’s supper, he said, “For this is my blood of the new testament, which is shed for many for the remission of sins” (Matt. 26:28; parallels in Mark 14:24; Luke 22:20; 1 Cor. 11:25). In Paul’s discussion of the change of covenants, he uses both “Old Testament” and “New Testament”:

Who also hath made us able ministers of the new testament; not of the letter, but of the spirit: for the letter killeth, but the spirit giveth life (2 Cor. 3:6).

But their minds were blinded: for until this day remaineth the same veil untaken away in the reading of the old testament; which veil is done away in Christ (2 Cor. 3:14).

The layout of the Bible into two testaments is drawn from the teaching of Scripture itself.

Three Periods of Bible History

The Bible may be accurately divided into three periods of Bible history on the basis of these two testaments. These three periods of Bible history are:

1. The Patriarchal Age. The Patriarchal Age draws its name from the word “patriarch” (Heb. 7:4), the “fathers,” drawn especially from the patriarchs Abraham, Isacc, and Jacob. The term “Patriarchal Age” is used to describe the relationship God sustained with all mankind from the creation. There is no existing written law that reveals what was God’s covenant with mankind before he revealed himself to Moses. However, sin as the transgression of God’s law did exist; there was moral right and wrong; there were religious ordinances in place, but the details of that covenant are not revealed. The patriarchal age ended for the descendants of Jacob at the giving of the Law  of Moses (approx. 1450 B.C.), but continued for the rest of creation until Jesus’ death on the cross.

2. The Mosaical Age. The Mosaical Age draws its name from Moses as the lawgiver. God called the descendants of Abraham, through Isaac and Jacob, into a covenant with him. He led the people out of Egyptian bondage and to Mt. Sinai where God revealed the Ten Commandments and other laws to Israel. Moses wrote the books of Genesis- Deuteronomy, which became known as The Law, the foundation documents for the Old Testament. As the years passed, other books of history, wisdom literature, and prophecy were added, until the Old Testament was completed in the fifth century B.C. This Law regulated the life of the children of Israel from the time it was given on Mt. Sinai until the death of Christ.

3. The Christian Age. The Christian Age draws its name from Christ as the lawgiver in this period of Bible history. However, he wrote none of the New Testament. Instead, he gave the Holy Spirit to the apostles and prophets of the first century who wrote the 27 books of the New Testament. This book is designed to govern all of mankind from the death of Christ until his second coming.

The Old Testament Foretold the Coming of Christ in Types and Shadows

The Old Testament instituted a form of worship that foreshadowed the work of Jesus Christ. When one reads the worship instituted in the Tabernacle, he perceives that this worship foreshadowed the coming of him who is the true sacrifice for sin, Jesus Christ. For example, John the Baptist describes Jesus saying, “Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world” (John 1:29). The people immediately could understand how a one-year-old lamb without blemish was slain and its blood sprinkled on the altar as an atonement for sin. By John’s comparison of Jesus to the “lamb of God,” the common man would understand that Jesus is man’s offering for sin. Paul describes Jesus as “our Passover” (1 Cor. 5:7). Israelites would remember the institution of the Passover at the time of the tenth plague in Egypt when the firstborn were slain. Every house in Israel was told to slay a lamb and sprinkle its blood on the doorposts and lintels. When the Lord saw the blood, he would pass over that house so that its firstborn would not be killed. Christ is our Passover. His blood saves us from the judgment of death. 

The types and shadows of the Old Testament are prophetical of the great atonement that was made in the New Testament. Consequently, Jesus could say about his work in fulfillment of the Old Testament, “Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil” (Matt. 5:17). His coming was not to destroy the law and prophets but to fulfill them. One may compare this to an engagement and wedding. The wedding does not destroy an engagement between a couple, although the wedding ends it; rather, the wedding is the fulfillment of the engagement promise. In a similar way, Jesus’ death on the cross did not destroy the Old Testament, although it brought this period of Bible history to an end. Rather, his work was the fulfillment of God’s divine purpose and plan to save mankind through his Son.

The Change of Law Is Foretold in the Old Testament

The change of covenants was predicted in the pages of the Old Testament itself. For example, Jeremiah who worked in approximately 625-587 B.C. wrote as follows:

Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, that I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel, and with the house of Judah: Not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day that I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt; which my covenant they brake, although I was an husband unto them, saith the Lord: But this shall be the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel; After those days, saith the Lord, I will put my law in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts; and will be their God, and they shall be my people. And they shall teach no more every man his neighbour, and every man his brother, saying, Know the Lord: for they shall all know me, from the least of them unto the greatest of them, saith the Lord: for I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more (Jer. 31:31-34).

This passage foretells the “new covenant” that God would make and describes several things about the nature of the covenant itself. One will not enter the covenant by birth and then be taught to “know the Lord,” as occurred under the Old Covenant when a Jewish boy entered the covenant of circumcision at eight days old and later learned to “know the Lord.” Rather, under the new covenant, one must know the Lord to enter the covenant. God’s laws must be written on the table of one’s heart to be a member of the covenant community. The writer of Hebrews quotes Jeremiah 31:31-34 and applies it to the New Covenant that Christ established with his disciples (Heb. 8:7-13). He concludes by stating that the Old Covenant has passed away: “For if that first covenant had been faultless, then should no place have been sought for the second. . . . In that he saith, A new covenant, he hath made the first old. Now that which decayeth and waxeth old is ready to vanish away” (Heb. 8:7, 13). To state that the Old Testament is abrogated is to teach what the Old Testament itself foretold would occur.

The Old Testament Is Not Binding Today

Early Christians had trouble understanding the change in covenants, just as do many people today. There are several books of the New Testament that specifically are designed to address this change, including Romans, Galatians, and Hebrews, with various texts also found in other books. Here are several Scriptures that teach that men are no longer living under the Old Testament:

1. Ephesians 2:14-17. Paul wrote, “For he is our peace, who hath made both one, and hath broken down the middle wall of partition between us; having abolished in his flesh the enmity, even the law of commandments contained in ordinances; for to make in himself of twain one new man, so making peace; And that he might reconcile both unto God in one body by the cross, having slain the enmity thereby: And came and preached peace to you which were afar off, and to them that were nigh.” Notice that the “law of commandments” was “abolished in his flesh.” 

2. Colossians 2:14-17. Speaking of this change of covenants, Paul wrote, “Blotting out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us, which was contrary to us, and took it out of the way, nailing it to his cross; and having spoiled principalities and powers, he made a show of them openly, triumphing over them in it. Let no man therefore judge you in meat, or in drink, or in respect of an holyday or of the new moon, or of the sabbath days: which are a shadow of things to come; but the body is of Christ.” The “handwriting of ordinances” was nailed to the cross. As a consequence, men are no longer obligated to observe the Jewish feast days (such as Passover, Pentecost, Tabernacles), the new moon feast, or the sabbath day. 

3. Galatians 5:1-4. The book of Galatians argues extensively that men are saved, not by keeping the Law of Moses, but by faith in Christ Jesus. In developing this theme, Paul emphasizes that the Law served as a schoolmaster to bring men to Christ but, now that the faith of Christ has come, men are no longer under this schoolmaster (3:24-25). He then addresses those Judaizers who tried to impose the keeping of the Law of Moses on Gentile Christians, specifically as this applied to the law governing circumcision. He wrote,

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. For I testify again to every man that is circumcised, that he is a debtor to do the whole law. Christ is become of no effect unto you, whosoever of you are justified by the law; ye are fallen from grace (Gal. 5:1-4). 

Not only is one not bound by the Law of Moses, Paul argues that those who impose the keeping of the Law of Moses on man are (a) obligated to keep all of the Law of Moses, not just a part of it, (b) Christ has become of no effect to such a person, and (c) he is fallen from grace.

4. Hebrews 7:12. The entire book of Hebrews develops the theme of the superiority of the New Covenant over the Old Covenant. There are many passages in the book which show the change of covenants. In Hebrews 7:12, the writer argues that the Law must have changed in order for Christ to be priest. “For the priesthood being changed, there is made of necessity a change also of the law” (Heb. 7:12). The argument is simple. The Old Testament mandates that the descendants of Levi be priests (Heb. 7:11). Since Christ is from the tribe of Judah, he could not be a priest unless the Law changed. The change in Law came when Christ died on the cross. 

And for this cause he is the mediator of the new testament, that by means of death, for the redemption of the transgressions that were under the first testament, they which are called might receive the promise of eternal inheritance. For where a testament is, there must also of necessity be the death of the testator. For a testament is of force after men are dead: otherwise it is of no strength at all while the testator liveth (Heb. 9:15-17).

The necessity for a new covenant is also shown by the need for a better sacrifice than was offered under the Old Testament. The blood of bulls and goats cannot take away sin (Heb. 10:4); consequently, a superior sacrifice for sin was needed which need was filled in the sacrifice of the atoning blood of Christ.

There are many other Scriptures that emphasize the same truth that the Law has changed. Men are no longer living under the Old Testament but under the New Testament (for example, see 2 Cor. 3). 

Application

Understanding the change of Laws has definite applications for today. Here are some of them:

1. One learns what to do in order to be saved from studying the New Testament. The conditions for salvation through the shed blood of Jesus Christ are found in the New Testament, not in the Old Testament. Today, one must search the pages of the New Testament to find the conditions for pardon from sins.

2. The laws regulating life in the Old Testament are not binding today. This applies to all of the Old Testament, both those things popularly recognized and those that are not so well understood. Men are justified by the blood of Christ. Consequently, there is no need for animal sacrifices. All Christians are priests (1 Pet. 2:5), so there is no need for a separate priesthood descended from the tribe of Levi. One does not have to go to Jerusalem to worship at the Jewish Temple on three annual feast days (Passover, Pentecost, Tabernacle), because where one worships is unimportant (John 4:20-24).

In moral issues, one is not allowed to practice polygamy as once was acceptable during the Old Testament (see Exod. 21:10-11); rather, each man is to have his own wife and each woman her own husband (1 Cor. 7:1-5). The Law regulating divorce and remarriage has changed. The Law of Moses allowed divorce and remarriage for both parties in a divorce for “uncleanness” (adultery was punishable by death). Christ allows only the innocent party, who divorces his mate for fornication, to remarry (Deut. 24:1-4; Matt. 19:9). There is no binding law for a civil state that punishes fornication and adultery by death (Lev. 20:10; Deut. 22:21-24; John 8:4). These are some differences in moral law between the Old Testament and New Testament.

3. The laws regulating public worship for the church must be found in the New Testament. Were the Old Testament binding on mankind today, men would assemble for public worship on Saturday, the Sabbath. In the Temple animal sacrifices would be offered and other rudiments of the Jewish worship service would be observed. Since the Law has changed, men are not regulated by the Old Testament, but the New. What is done in worship must be found in the New Testament. New Testament saints assemble for worship on the first day of the week, not on the Sabbath (see Acts 20:7; 1 Cor. 16:1-2; Rev. 1:10). The New Testament provides no authority for Sabbath observance, a separate priesthood, instrumental music in worship, a separate choir, burning incense and lighting candles (as acts of worship), tithing, and a host of other practices common in many churches.

The modern practice of going through the Old Testament in smorgasbord fashion to pick and choose which parts one wants in the local church is logically inconsistent and biblically wrong. The Law has changed. Men are no longer bound by the ordinances and statutes of the Old Testament.

Conclusion

What is recorded in the Old Testament is true, for the testimony of the Lord is sure (Ps. 19:7). There are valuable lessons to be learned from the study of its pages, as Paul indicated as follows: “For whatsoever things were written aforetime were written for our learning, that we through patience and comfort of the scriptures might have hope” (Rom. 15:4). However, Christians are not bound by its teachings as a Law for the church. Christians live under the New Testament, under the authority of Christ.

6567 Kings Ct., Avon, Indiana 46123 mikewillis1@compuserve.com