Sin separated man from God, and God through Jesus Christ, reconciled man back into the covenant relationship that existed in the Garden of Eden. The laws of Moses listed all the behavior that wasn’t pleasing to God including, moral law, social law and religious law. In God’s sight, any one of the three was important as the other two. The moral law covered the man’s relation with God; the social law pertained to each person’s relationship to another, and included everything from family to property issues, which has its foundation in the moral principles. The religious laws were those that told the Jews how to worship God and when Jesus came into the world, those were embodied into a spiritual frame work that would also include the Gentiles after the day of Pentecost. John 4:23: But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship him.

24: God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth. Though the law is summed up in the Ten Commandments, there were approximately 732 laws, depending on how they are counted, that the Jews were required to follow. 

The Gentiles never had the social or religious law, though they did have the law of the heart (note that he didn’t say the law written on the heart) corresponding to the moral teachings of Christ on God’s principles. Paul wrote in Romans 2:12-16: For as many as have sinned without law shall also perish without law: and as many as have sinned in the law shall be judged by the law; 13 (For not the hearers of the law are just before God, but the doers of the law shall be justified. 14 For when the Gentiles, which have not the law, do by nature the things contained in the law, these, having not the law, are a law unto themselves: 15 Which shew the work of the law written in their hearts, their conscience also bearing witness, and their thoughts the mean while accusing or else excusing one another;) 16 In the day when God shall judge the secrets of men by Jesus Christ according to my gospel. The Gentiles were subject to the moral law and they too would be judged by the same moral requirements as the Jews who have the law. As Paul wrote in verse 11: For there is no respect of persons with God. God treats all alike and didn’t relax moral principles or make them any different for one that he did the other. Those Gentiles who died before the gospel was revealed will be saved by the conscience as they looked to God for their daily existence. In other words, those that knew they were sinners and asked for God’s help will be saved by the gospel just the same as those Jews who died before the gospel, and who observed the law knowing they weren’t righteous because the keeping couldn’t make them righteous.

When Jesus came to earth and fulfilled the requirements of the laws of Moses, [Mat 5:17] Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil. [Mat 5:18] For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled., that fulfillment also fulfilled the requirement of the moral law (written in the heart) for the Gentiles.  The fact being that no one, Jew nor Gentile, could live perfectly in the sight of God, thus not one could be pleasing to God since God requires perfection. Having or not having the law made no difference as to the perfection God demands.

The law was directed at self doing and as such, it pointed out sin. In effect, there was no model to follow as far as the demand for righteousness. The law didn’t reveal righteousness because as stated above, the law pointed out sin and the utter failure of mankind to be able to live without sinning. The emphasis was on sin, though the honest hearted did try for righteousness to no avail. Paul wrote in Romans 3:22-23: Even the righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe: for there is no difference: 23 For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;  With or without the law, mankind was and is a sinner coming short of God’s glory.

 © 02-13-2003 DEC

  Revised 04-12-2008

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