Posts Tagged ‘Old Law’
New Is Better
by Hugh DeLong “God, after He spoke long ago to the fathers in the prophets in many portions and in many ways, in these last days has spoken to us in His Son, whom He appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the world” (Hebrews 1:1-2). The Bible is God’s word. God,…
Read MoreWere Sins “Rolled Forward”?
by Ney Rieber via Sentry Magazine, Vol. 20 No. 2, June 1994 Was there forgiveness of sins for those under the Old Testament? This question is frequently answered in the negative. It is stated that their sins were not forgiven, but were “rolled forward” year by year. The primary passage used to support this idea is…
Read MoreWho Are You Listening To?
by Hugh DeLong Text: Galatians 3 The promise to Abraham – all nations bless in his ‘seed’, which is Jesus. The law was given to Israel, but was their ‘tutor’ or ‘guardian’ to bring them to Christ, and now they are no longer under that tutor (the Law). However, the blessing was for all nations…
Read MoreOutside the Camp
https://www.lavistachurchofchrist.org/cms/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/Outside-the-Camp.mp3 by Jeffrey W. Hamilton Download Audio Text: Hebrews 13:9-14 I. Understanding the place of the Old Testament is difficult for man A. God is clear that 1. The Old Law would come to an end – Jeremiah 31:31-34 2. The Old Law did come to an end – Colossians 2:14; Ephesians 2:15-16 B. The book of Hebrews is…
Read MoreDoes God pursue those who don’t keep their vows?
Question: Hello, dear pastor, I have a question for you. Today, while I was reading the Bible, I read Deuteronomy 23:21: “You must not delay in repaying your vows to the Lord your God, for the Lord your God will seek you back, and you are guilty if you do not pay them.” As I read…
Read MoreBehold, I Will Do Something New
https://www.lavistachurchofchrist.org/cms/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/Behold-I-Will-Do-Something-New.mp3 by Jeffrey W. Hamilton Download Audio Text: Isaiah 43:8-21 I. New things are special A. They are fresher, cleaner, brighter. B. We want new things, not old, used, hand-me-downs C. God told His people that He had something new for them – Isaiah 43:18-21 II. A new covenant A. God selected the decedents of Abraham, specifically the children of…
Read MoreThe Spirit or the Letter?
by Michael Thomas The apostle Paul said he and his fellow apostles were “ministers of the new covenant, not of the letter but of the Spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life” (II Corinthians 3:6). He said this in reference to the work they had been given as gospel preachers, and how…
Read MoreThe Ordinance of the Red Heifer
by Jerry King via Biblical Insights, Vol. 15 No. 2, February 2015 Many of the ordinances contained in Moses’ Law make good scientific sense. For instance, some of the purity laws make good medical sense. But there are other ordinances contained in the Law that have no discernible scientific sense to them at all. Their efficacy…
Read MoreMixing the Law of Moses and the Gospel of Christ
by Terry Wane Benton When brethren at Galatia tried to bring over circumcision from the Law, it was a faith problem. It essentially inferred that the gospel of Jesus is not sufficient without the Law of Moses. It states that Christians are incomplete with Jesus as head over all things to the church (Ephesians 1:19f).…
Read MoreHe Takes Away the First
by Terry Wane Benton Hebrews 10:9 says, “…He takes away the first that He may establish the second.” What is the first, and what is the second? The first is the law of Moses and its system of animal sacrifices. Paul agrees in Colossians 2:11-16 that the old system with its food laws, sabbaths, circumcision,…
Read MoreBut You Mix Your Fabrics
by Terry Wane Benton Often, those who want to justify their ignoring the Bible on sexual sins will retort with how silly the Bible is and how inconsistent we are since the same book said not to mix your fabrics or not to eat lobster or pork! So, if you can justify ignoring these laws,…
Read More“Fulfill” doesn’t imply ended
Question: “Jesus said, “Do not think that I came to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I did not come to abolish but to fulfill. For truly I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not the smallest letter or stroke shall pass from the Law until all is accomplished” (Matthew 5:17-18). You…
Read MoreWhen Jeremiah Said “New”
by Terry Wane Benton Text: Hebrews 8:7-13 The moment Jeremiah used the word “new” in speaking of a coming “new covenant,” there is the immediate implication that the Sinai covenant then in place was becoming obsolete and ready to vanish away. The idea of “vanishing away” (Hebrews 8:13) is not that you would be unable…
Read MoreObserving the Sabbath (Sermon)
https://www.lavistachurchofchrist.org/cms/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/Observing-the-Sabbath.mp3 by Jeffrey W. Hamilton Text: II Corinthians 3:1-11 I. A well-known, active group is the Seventh-Day Adventist A. They hold an odd mixture of beliefs: 1. They won’t accept medical treatment, relying solely on prayer instead; 2. They believe in modern-day prophecy, making many wild claims that never seem to come true; 3. And they hold to the…
Read MoreWhy was the bread offered at Pentecost to be made with leaven?
Question: Hi Jeffrey, “You shall bring from your dwellings two wave loaves of two-tenths of an ephah. They shall be of fine flour; they shall be baked with leaven. They are the firstfruits to the LORD” (Leviticus 23:17 NKJV) Here, God says the leaven is needed when Jews were baking the loaves of bread sacrificed…
Read MoreThe “Time of Reformation” Prophesied
by Terry Wane Benton In Hebrews 9, the Holy Spirit tells us that the tabernacle and its furnishings were imposed “until the time of reformation” (Hebrews 9:10-11). The physical items used were merely teaching items to illustrate the spiritual things that would come into play in a new and better system. So, are there prophecies…
Read MoreBiblical Law
by Lynn Trapp via Sentry Magazine, Vol. 16 No.1, March 31, 1990 For several months now, I have agonized over the question of biblical law. Three factors have led to my consideration of this subject. First, having read Walther Eichrodt’s Old Testament Theology (Vol. 1), I began to perceive that how I had explained the relationship…
Read MoreGender Roles Within the Sacrificial System
by Perry Hall Gender requirements were specified in the Mosaic sacrificial system. We will reveal how this is important to our topic of gender roles within the church. Before that, let’s examine the gender specifications. The priesthood and the Levitical ministers were all males. This is undisputed and must be meaningful since pagan religions had…
Read MoreMinistration of Life
by Terry Wane Benton An interesting contrast between the Old and New Testaments, according to II Corinthians 3, is that the Old is a ministration of death, while the New is a ministration of life. The old prepared the way for Jesus by pointing out sin and displaying a sentence of death, thus our need…
Read MoreWas fornication condemned in the Old Testament?
Question: Is it true that fornication with a prostitute/pagan was permitted in the Old Testament, while with a believer, one had to marry her, and that this was only forbidden in the New Testament? A commenter on YouTube said that God permitted it in the Old Testament for the hardness of hearts, just like divorce…
Read MoreAre the Ten Commandments the first covenant?
Question: The Bible directly states that the Ten Commandments are the first covenant. Do you disagree? Answer: If the Bible directly states that the Ten Commandments are the first covenant, you could cite where it is found, but you did not. You made an assertion without proof and challenged me to decide whether I agree. The first…
Read MoreThe Law of Commandments Abolished
by Terry Wane Benton Many people are confused about which parts of the Bible are binding upon us today. The Old Testament was written for the Jews and taught the need for a Savior. Throughout, it shows that a Savior is coming. The Old Law did not provide all that man needed, but it did…
Read MoreDon’t you realize that the Torah is the way, the truth, and the life?
Question: Hello, I noticed your article on polygyny using I Corinthians 7:2. Do you understand that the Torah is the way, the truth, and life? Just like Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life. He is the Word of God. The Word made flesh. It’s written to add or take away from the…
Read MoreJeremiah didn’t know the Sabbaths would be canceled
Question: You cite Jeremiah 31, indicating that Sabbath feasts and kosher diets are no longer connected to sin in the New Covenant. I don’t think Jeremiah knew that when he referred to “my laws.” The law anticipated that circumcision would be of the heart, and the sacrifice presented to God was our own bodies in…
Read MoreLaw of God and Law of Moses: Are They the Same?
by Terry Wane Benton Seventh-Day Adventists have long made the claim that the “law of God” is the moral and permanently binding “Ten Commandments” that were kept inside the ark of the covenant while claiming that the “law of Moses” was different. They claim it was “ceremonial” law and placed “in the side of the…
Read MoreThe Time of Reformation
by Terry Wane Benton The Book of Hebrews makes the argument that we had, in the past, been using carnal, earthly things in service to God (Hebrews 9:1-11) but would, from the Old Testament perspective, see a “time of reformation” (Hebrews 9:10) in which we would put down the carnal, earthly types and shadow things…
Read MoreWhy are the laws for remarriage different between the Old Law and New Law?
Question: If the marriage law is universal, why is the remarriage law in Deuteronomy 24 different from Romans 7:2 in that the guilty party who gets married to a second spouse can go back to his/her first husband? Answer: The two laws of God are different. “Behold, days are coming,” declares the LORD, “when I…
Read MoreLegal Rights in the Old Testament
by Kastin Carroll House to House, Vol. 28, No. 12 “For this is your wisdom and your understanding in the sight of the peoples who will hear all these statutes, and say, ‘Surely this great nation is a wise and understanding people'” (Deuteronomy 4:6). Presumption of Innocence Everyone was presumed innocent until proven guilty, and…
Read MoreTwo “Tills”
by Terry Wane Benton Matthew 5:18 has two “tills.” “For truly I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not the smallest letter or stroke shall pass from the Law until all is accomplished” (Matthew 5:18). The meaning of Matthew 5:18 in giving us two “tills” is this: “Until heaven and earth pass”…
Read MoreWhat if a virgin bride did not bleed on her wedding night?
Question: Good evening Jeff, I recently got into a discussion with someone regarding Deuteronomy 22:13-21, specifically verses 15-17. He seems to think that the evidence being talked about here was blood, something I do not disagree with. I told him that I have heard that not every woman bleeds when she has sex for the…
Read MoreWhy would God give a law that had to be taken away?
Question: You shared this verse: “Therefore the Law has become our tutor to lead us to Christ, so that we may be justified by faith. But now that faith has come, we are no longer under a tutor. For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus” (Galatians 3:24-26). After the tutor…
Read MoreWhen Jeremiah Said “New” – (Hebrews 8:7-13)
by Terry Wane Benton The moment Jeremiah used the word “new” in speaking of a coming “new covenant,” there was the immediate implication that the Sinai covenant, then in place, was becoming obsolete and ready to vanish away. The idea of “vanishing away” (Hebrews 8:13) is not that you would be unable to read that…
Read MorePreterism: Were the Jews to Keep the Law?
https://www.lavistachurchofchrist.org/cms/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/Preterism-Were-the-Jews-to-keep-the-Law.mp3 by Raymond Warfel
Read MoreWhy was flour allowed as a substitute for a sin offering?
Question: Dear brother in Christ, I am seeking your kind guidance for the following: When blood was required to be shed for sin as an atonement, how is it that a flour offering can be considered where there is no blood present in it? Can you please kindly clarify? Answer: For a sin offering, a person…
Read MoreNo Condemnation
by Ken Green Text: Romans 8:1-4 The major theme the apostle is dealing with continues to be the results of justification by faith. This thesis was taken up in Romans 5:1, “Therefore having been justified by faith, we have…” The closing verses of chapters 5, 6, and 7 serve to underscore the direction of the…
Read MoreWhat is meant by “handwriting of ordinances”?
Question: What is meant by the “handwriting of ordinances” that Paul says was against “us” (including himself along with his audience)? Was the church at Colosse Jewish, Gentile or both? Answer: Colosse is located in the area that we now know as Turkey. The city was located in a valley about 100 miles east of…
Read MoreThe Guardian of the Law
by Matthew W. Bassford When visitors from denominational backgrounds come to our assemblies, they are often puzzled by our tradition of a-cappella singing. “Why don’t they use instruments?” they wonder. If we explain that the Scriptures do not authorize the use of instruments in worship, they may be Biblically savvy enough to point to passages,…
Read MoreLimits of the Old Testament
by Terry Wane Benton The Old Testament was the inspired, God-given rule of law for the nation of Israel. It was not given to all people. “The Lord did not make this covenant with our fathers, but with us” (Deuteronomy 5:2-3). Nehemiah spoke to God about the history of Israel: “You came down also on…
Read MoreWhat law was Paul referring to in Romans 3:19-20?
Question: I have a few questions about the Law in the Bible that I hope you can help answer, please. I am looking for specific information or verses and not general information, please. I may have some follow up questions after you reply if I need to clarify my understanding regarding any of your responses…
Read MoreWhy do you say that the 613 laws of the Old Testament are a myth?
Question: Can you please point me to the area of teaching that shows the 613 laws are a Jewish myth? I would like to study this too. Answer: The claim that there are 613 laws in the Old Testament first appeared in the third century A.D. when a Jewish Rabbi, named Simlai, mentioned it in…
Read More