A Detailed Explanation of the Abolition of the Law of Moses
See the introduction to the quotes of the holy fathers: on the abolition of the Law of Moses (in Russian).
The Law of Moses Is Abolished
“But now we have been delivered from the law, having died to what we were held by, so that we should serve in the newness of the Spirit and not in the oldness of the letter” (Rom. 7:6)
No Longer Under a Tutor (the Law)
“But the Scripture has confined all under sin, that the promise by faith in Jesus Christ might be given to those who believe. But before faith came, we were kept under guard by the law, kept for the faith which would afterward be revealed. Therefore the law was our tutor to bring us to Christ, that we might be justified by faith. But after faith has come, we are no longer under a tutor” (Gal. 3:21-25)
“Now I say that the heir, as long as he is a child, does not differ at all from a slave, though he is master of all, but is under guardians and stewards until the time appointed by the father. <…> But now after you have known God, or rather are known by God, how is it that you turn again to the weak and beggarly elements, to which you desire again to be in bondage? You observe days (HE SPEAKS OF THE SABBATHS, according to St. Theophan), and months and seasons and years. I am afraid for you, lest I have labored for you in vain. Tell me, you who desire to be under the law, do you not hear the law? <…> (he tells the story of Abraham’s sons by the bondwoman and by the wife — note) But, as he who was born according to the flesh (a comparison with the Law! — note) then persecuted him who was born according to the Spirit, even so it is now. Nevertheless what does the Scripture say? ‘Cast out the bondwoman and her son, for the son of the bondwoman shall not be heir with the son of the freewoman.’ So then, brethren, we are not children of the bondwoman but of the free” (Gal. 4:1-2,9-11,21,29-31)
The Conciliar Decree on the Abolition of the Law
The first Apostolic Council decreed that Christians have no need to keep the ordinances of the Jewish law:
“But some of the sect of the Pharisees who believed rose up, saying, ‘It is necessary to circumcise them, and to command them to keep the law of Moses.’ Now the apostles and elders came together to consider this matter” (Act. 15:5-6)
In the Greek: τινες τῶν ἀπὸ τῆς αἱρέσεως τῶν Φαρισαίων — “some of the heresy (sect) of the Pharisees”.
“Since we have heard that some who went out from us have troubled you with words, unsettling your souls, saying, ‘You must be circumcised and keep the law’ — to whom we gave no such commandment” (Act. 15:24)
“For it seemed good to the Holy Spirit, and to us, to lay upon you no greater burden than these necessary things: that you abstain from things offered to idols, from blood, from things strangled, and from sexual immorality. If you keep yourselves from these, you will do well. Farewell” (Act. 15:28-29)
“But concerning the Gentiles who believe, we have written and decided that they should observe no such thing, except that they should keep themselves from things offered to idols, from blood, from things strangled, and from sexual immorality” (Act. 21:25)
“And as they went through the cities, they delivered to them the decrees to keep, which were determined by the apostles and elders at Jerusalem” (Act. 16:4)
The Apostles and the First Christians Did Not Live by the Law of Moses
To Those Without Law He Became as Without Law (That Is, He Did Not Keep It)
“and to the Jews I became as a Jew, that I might win Jews; to those who are under the law, as under the law, that I might win those who are under the law; to those who are without law, as without law (not being without law toward God, but under law toward Christ), that I might win those who are without law” (1 Cor. 9:20-21)
The Deacon Stephen Was Accused of Teaching a Change of the Law
“They also set up false witnesses who said, ‘This man does not cease to speak blasphemous words against this holy place and the law; for we have heard him say that this Jesus of Nazareth will destroy this place and change the customs which Moses delivered to us’” (Act. 6:13-14)
The Apostle Paul Is Accused of Teaching to Worship God Not According to the Law
“saying, ‘This fellow persuades men to worship God contrary to the law’” (Act. 18:13)
“You see, brother, how many myriads of Jews there are who have believed, and they are all zealous for the law; but they have been informed about you that you teach all the Jews who are among the Gentiles to forsake Moses, saying that they ought not to circumcise their children nor to walk according to the customs” (Act. 21:20-21)
If the apostle Paul preaches Judaism, then why do the Jews persecute him? They persecute him because he has left the Law:
“Stand fast therefore in the liberty by which Christ has made us free, and do not be entangled again with a yoke of bondage. <…> And I, brethren, if I still preach circumcision, why do I still suffer persecution? (he is persecuted precisely because he does not preach circumcision; if he preached circumcision, the offense of the cross would cease — note) Then the offense of the cross has ceased” (Gal. 5:1,11)
Some Christians pretend to be under the law before the Jews so as not to be persecuted:
“As many as desire to make a good showing in the flesh, these would compel you to be circumcised, only that they may not suffer persecution for the cross of Christ” (Gal. 6:12)
Christians Are Not Circumcised
“Was anyone called while circumcised? Let him not become uncircumcised. Was anyone called while uncircumcised? Let him not be circumcised. Circumcision is nothing and uncircumcision is nothing, but keeping the commandments of God is what matters” (1 Cor. 7:18-19)
“For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision avails anything, but faith working through love” (Gal. 5:6)
“For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision avails anything, but a new creation” (Gal. 6:15)
“where there is neither Greek nor Jew, circumcised nor uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave nor free, but Christ is all and in all” (Col. 3:11)
They Do Not Sacrifice Animals
“Previously saying, ‘Sacrifice and offering, burnt offerings, and offerings for sin You did not desire, nor had pleasure in them’ (which are offered according to the law), then He said, ‘Behold, I have come to do Your will, O God.’ He takes away the first that He may establish the second. <…> ‘This is the covenant that I will make with them after those days, says the LORD: I will put My laws into their hearts, and in their minds I will write them,’ then He adds, ‘Their sins and their lawless deeds I will remember no more.’ Now where there is remission of these, there is no longer an offering for sin” (Heb. 10:8-9,16-18)
They Do Not Keep the Sabbath Rest
“So let no one judge you in food or in drink, or regarding a festival or a new moon or sabbaths” (Col. 2:16)
“At that time Jesus went through the grainfields on the Sabbath. And His disciples were hungry, and began to pluck heads of grain and to eat. And when the Pharisees saw it, they said to Him, ‘Look, Your disciples are doing what is not lawful to do on the Sabbath!’ <…> But if you had known what this means, ‘I desire mercy and not sacrifice,’ you would not have condemned the guiltless” (Matt. 12:1-2,7)
They Keep Company with Foreigners, and Are Foreigners Themselves
“And as he talked with him, he went in and found many who had come together. Then he said to them, ‘You know how unlawful it is for a Jewish man to keep company with or go to one of another nation. But God has shown me that I should not call any man common or unclean’” (Act. 10:27-28)
They Touch the Dead
The Lord Jesus Christ touched the dead daughter of Jairus:
“Then He took the child by the hand, and said to her, ‘Talitha, cumi,’ which is translated, ‘Little girl, I say to you, arise’” (Mark. 5:41)
According to the Law, when Christ died on the Cross, He could not be touched, as one already dead. Only the Mother of God could do this, as a relative (Lev. 21:1-4). Yet we not only do not condemn John the Theologian, Nicodemus and Joseph of Arimathea, but praise them for not being afraid of anything and for serving our Savior.
“When Joseph had taken the body, he wrapped it in a clean linen cloth, and laid it in his new tomb which he had hewn out of the rock; and he rolled a large stone against the door of the tomb, and departed” (Matt. 27:59-60)
“When his disciples heard of it, they came and took away his corpse and laid it in a tomb” (Mark. 6:29)
“So when he found out from the centurion, he granted the body to Joseph. Then he bought fine linen, took Him down, and wrapped Him in the linen. And he laid Him in a tomb which had been hewn out of the rock, and rolled a stone against the door of the tomb” (Mark. 15:45-46)
“Now when they had fulfilled all that was written concerning Him, they took Him down from the tree and laid Him in a tomb” (Act. 13:29)
The Lord Releases the Woman Accused of Adultery
The Law commands stoning for adultery (Lev. 20:10), but the Lord did not condemn the woman for adultery, and let her go:
“She said, ‘No one, Lord.’ And Jesus said to her, ‘Neither do I condemn you; go and sin no more’” (John. 8:11)
The Lord Commands Us to Drink His Blood
God forbids drinking blood (Gen. 9:4; Lev. 3:17; Lev. 7:26; Lev. 17:14; Deut. 12:16), yet at the Last Supper He gives the disciples the cup with the words: drink, this is My blood:
“And as they were eating, Jesus took bread, blessed and broke it, and gave it to the disciples and said, ‘Take, eat; this is My body.’ Then He took the cup, and gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, ‘Drink from it, all of you. For this is My blood of the new covenant, which is shed for many for the remission of sins’” (Matt. 26:26-28)
The Lord Became High Priest from the Tribe of Judah
The Law commands that priests be only from the tribe of Levi, of the house of Aaron:
“And you shall gird them with sashes, Aaron and his sons, and put the hats on them. The priesthood shall be theirs for a perpetual statute. So you shall consecrate Aaron and his sons” (Ex. 29:9)
“And the holy garments of Aaron shall be his sons’ after him, to be anointed in them and to be consecrated in them” (Ex. 29:29)
But the Lord became High Priest, having been born in the tribe of Judah:
“For it is evident that our Lord arose from Judah, of which tribe Moses spoke nothing concerning priesthood” (Heb. 7:14)
The True Paschal Sacrifice Is Offered Not in the Temple
The Paschal sacrifice could be offered only in the Jerusalem Temple:
“You may not sacrifice the Passover within any of your gates which the LORD your God gives you; but at the place where the LORD your God chooses to make His name abide, there you shall sacrifice the Passover at twilight, at the going down of the sun, at the time you came out of Egypt” (Deut. 16:5-6)
“Therefore Jesus also, that He might sanctify the people with His own blood, suffered outside the gate” (Heb. 13:12)
Are the 10 Commandments Also the Law of Moses?
The Law of God Through Moses — All the Commands in the Book of Leviticus
The Book of Leviticus, which lists many commands of God, including the commandments of the stone tablets, calls them laws of the Lord established through Moses:
“These are the statutes and judgments and laws which the LORD made between Himself and the children of Israel on Mount Sinai by the hand of Moses” (Lev. 26:46)
God Calls All His Commands the Law
For example, the command to gather the manna is a Law of God:
“Then the LORD said to Moses, ‘Behold, I will rain bread from heaven for you. And the people shall go out and gather a certain quota every day, that I may test them, whether they will walk in My law or not.’
…
And the LORD said to Moses, ‘How long do you refuse to keep My commandments and My laws?’” (Ex. 16:4,28)
Exodus chs. 16, 24, 31, 34, 35; Deut. chs. 4, 6, 10.
The New Law Is Written No Longer on Stone Tablets, but on the Heart
What was written on the stone tablets is called “the law”:
“But this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the LORD: I will put My law in their minds, and write it on their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people” (Jer. 31:33)
“clearly you are an epistle of Christ, ministered by us, written not with ink but by the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of flesh, that is, of the heart” (2 Cor. 3:3)
Christ Speaks of the Commandments Without Singling Out the 10 Commandments
“You have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not murder, and whoever murders will be in danger of the judgment.’
You have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’
Again you have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not swear falsely, but shall perform your oaths to the Lord.’
You have heard that it was said, ‘An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth’ (Ex. 21:24).
You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor’ (Lev. 19:18) and hate your enemy’” (Matt. 5:21,27,33,38,43)
The Apostles Call the Decalogue Simply the Law
The apostle James says that one who breaks the commandment “do not murder” is a transgressor of the law:
“For whoever shall keep the whole law, and yet stumble in one point, he is guilty of all. For He who said, ‘Do not commit adultery,’ also said, ‘Do not murder.’ Now if you do not commit adultery, but you do murder, you have become a transgressor of the law” (James. 2:10-11)
The Law Does Not Save
The Law Is a Shadow of What Is to Come, a Reminder of Sin
“For the law, having a shadow of the good things to come, and not the very image of the things, can never with these same sacrifices, which they offer continually year by year, make those who approach perfect. For then would they not have ceased to be offered? For the worshipers, once purified, would have had no more consciousness of sins. But in those sacrifices there is a reminder of sins every year” (Heb. 10:1-3)
The Law Cannot Save: Neither Knowledge of the Law, nor Works
“Is the law then against the promises of God? Certainly not! For if there had been a law given which could have given life, truly righteousness would have been by the law” (Gal. 3:21)
Fulfilling the Letter of the Law Does Not Save
“For I say to you, that unless your righteousness exceeds the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven” (Matt. 5:20)
“Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I have become sounding brass or a clanging cymbal. And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, but have not love, it profits me nothing” (1 Cor. 13:1-3)
Breaking the Law Leads to Condemnation
“For as many as have sinned without law will also perish without law, and as many as have sinned in the law will be judged by the law (for not the hearers of the law are just in the sight of God, but the doers of the law will be justified” (Rom. 2:12-13)
Whoever Does Not Fulfill the Whole Law Is Cursed
“For as many as are of the works of the law are under the curse; for it is written, ‘Cursed is everyone who does not continue in all things which are written in the book of the law, to do them.’ But that no one is justified by the law in the sight of God is evident, for ‘the just shall live by faith.’ Yet the law is not of faith, but ‘the man who does them shall live by them’” (Gal. 3:10-12)
The Law Brought No One to Perfection
“For on the one hand there is an annulling of the former commandment because of its weakness and unprofitableness, for the law made nothing perfect; on the other hand, there is the bringing in of a better hope, through which we draw near to God” (Heb. 7:18-19)
Why Then Is the Law of Moses Needed?
The Law Gives Knowledge of Sin
“Therefore by the deeds of the law no flesh will be justified in His sight, for by the law is the knowledge of sin” (Rom. 3:20)
“Moreover the law entered that the offense might abound. But where sin abounded, grace abounded much more” (Rom. 5:20)
The Law Restrains the Sinner (Is Needed by the Sinner)
“knowing this: that the law is not made for a righteous person, but for the lawless and insubordinate, for the ungodly and for sinners, for the unholy and profane, for murderers of fathers and murderers of mothers, for manslayers” (1 Tim. 1:9)
The Law Lets One See the Need for a Savior (the Expectation of the Savior)
“For I delight in the law of God according to the inward man. But I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members. O wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death?” (Rom. 7:22-24)
The Law Is Not Eternal
The Law Lasts Until It Is Fulfilled
“For assuredly, I say to you, till heaven and earth pass away, one jot or one tittle will by no means pass from the law till all is fulfilled” (Matt. 5:18)
Christ Fulfilled the Law and Thereby Abolished It
“Do not think that I came to destroy the Law or the Prophets. I did not come to destroy but to fulfill” (Matt. 5:17)
Christ Ends the Era of the Law
The Prophecy of the Coming of a Prophet Like Moses
As soon as the Law of Moses is established, it is said that in the future a prophet like Moses will come, that is, a lawgiver, to whom one must listen. This was said of Christ:
“The LORD your God will raise up for you a Prophet like me from your midst, from your brethren. Him you shall hear” (Deut. 18:15)
“For Moses truly said to the fathers, ‘The LORD your God will raise up for you a Prophet like me from your brethren. Him you shall hear in all things, whatever He says to you’” (Act. 3:22)
“This is that Moses who said to the children of Israel, ‘The LORD your God will raise up for you a Prophet like me from your brethren. Him you shall hear’” (Act. 7:37)
And God Himself confirms this with the same words:
“And a cloud came and overshadowed them; and a voice came out of the cloud, saying, ‘This is My beloved Son. Hear Him!’” (Mark. 9:7) (Matt. 17:5) (Luke. 9:35)
Christ Calls the Law “Your” Law
“It is also written in your law that the testimony of two men is true” (John. 8:17)
“Jesus answered them, ‘Is it not written in your law, “I said, ‘You are gods’”?’” (John. 10:34)
The Law Lasted Until John the Baptist
“And from the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffers violence, and the violent take it by force. For all the prophets and the law prophesied until John” (Matt. 11:12-13)
The Law Was Given Until the Time of the Coming
“What purpose then does the law serve? It was added (!) because of transgressions, till the Seed should come to whom the promise was made” (Gal. 3:19)
The Law of Commandments Has Been Done Away by Teaching
“For He Himself is our peace, who has made both one, and has broken down the middle wall of separation, having abolished in His flesh the enmity, that is, the law of commandments contained in ordinances, so as to create in Himself one new man from the two, thus making peace, and that He might reconcile them both to God in one body through the cross, thereby putting to death the enmity” (Eph. 2:14-16)
In the Russian Synodal translation: “having abolished <…> the law of commandments by teaching” (ἐν δόγμασιν).
Arguing About the Law Is Now Useless
“But avoid foolish disputes, genealogies, contentions, and strivings about the law; for they are unprofitable and useless” (Titus. 3:9)
The Yoke of Bondage — the Law of Moses
“Stand fast therefore in the liberty by which Christ has made us free, and do not be entangled again with a yoke of bondage” (Gal. 5:1)
The Yoke of Christ Is Different — Light
“Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light” (Matt. 11:28-30)
The New Law — the Law of Christ — Is Love
“Love does no harm to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfillment of the law” (Rom. 13:10)
“For all the law is fulfilled in one word, even in this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself’” (Gal. 5:14)
After a Long Discourse on the Law — Faith and Love
“And whatever we ask we receive from Him, because we keep His commandments and do those things that are pleasing in His sight. And this is His commandment: that we should believe on the name of His Son Jesus Christ and love one another, as He gave us commandment” (1 John. 3:22-23)
“Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ” (Gal. 6:2)
“And I testify again to every man who becomes circumcised that he is a debtor to keep the whole law. You have become estranged from Christ, you who attempt to be justified by law; you have fallen from grace. For we through the Spirit eagerly wait for the hope of righteousness by faith. For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision avails anything, but faith working through love” (Gal. 5:3-6)
“For you, brethren, have been called to liberty; only do not use liberty as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another” (Gal. 5:13)
Death Comes from the Absence of Faith, Not from Breaking the Law of Moses
“He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life” (1 John. 5:12)
Salvation Came Independently of the Works of the Law of Moses
“But now the righteousness of God apart from the law is revealed, being witnessed by the Law and the Prophets, even the righteousness of God, through faith in Jesus Christ, to all and on all who believe. For there is no difference” (Rom. 3:21-22)
“There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit. For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has made me free from the law of sin and death” (Rom. 8:1-2)
Life According to the Law Is Life According to the Flesh
“This only I want to learn from you: Did you receive the Spirit by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith? Are you so foolish? Having begun in the Spirit, are you now being made perfect by the flesh?” (Gal. 3:2-3)
Life According to the Spirit Is Higher than Life According to the Law
“I say then: Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh. <…> But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law” (Gal. 5:16,18)
“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law” (Gal. 5:22-23)