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 Sermon on The Two Laws

By Brian Pepper

There is one thing that we can expect especially in these Last Days and that is a more widespread and vicious attack on the Law of God. Wherever we as a people open a mission and exalt the Law of God in the eyes of the people: there is an immediate reaction from the churches that teach and believe that the Christian today is free from the obligations of the Holy Law of God. 
 

The Law of Moses or God?

In John 1:17 we read, "For the law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ."  

There you are they say, The Law is Moses’ Law," but we are free from that because we are under grace." 

Now we know full well that it was God who gave the Law.

Deuteronomy 4:13 says, "And he declared unto you his covenant, which he commanded you to perform, even ten commandments; and he wrote them upon two tables of stone.”

That is plain enough, but Moses did give the Law which was quite different to what God gave. Verse 14 says, “And the LORD commanded me at that time to teach you statutes and judgments, that ye might do them in the land whither ye go over to possess it.”

The American Revised Version gives it this way: "For the teaching was given by Moses but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ." 

All truth comes from Jesus Christ, and seeing that it was Christ Himself that gave the commandments, then they are part of that truth.
 

The Ten Commandments

There are two laws mentioned in the Bible. One is the law of God known as the Ten Commandments, which was written on tables of stone, written by the finger of God Himself.  

You know it is rather a strange thing that many churches recognize the handwriting of God as being a solemn act, and what God wrote as being of great consequence. So much so that many church members teach their members to memorize the Ten Commandments. And yet a little later on they begin to point out the one that they think you don’t need to keep. But they still believe that the commandments are important, that is the reason they ask their members to memorize them.
 

The Mosaic Law

However let us notice the other law, The law of ordinances. Now who wrote that? Moses. Where did he write that law? It was written in a book. We must never fail to keep that difference in your mind, the difference between the mosaic law and the law of God.
 

The Pentateuch

Then there is another use of the word law - not only applying to the Ten Commandments on tables of stone, not only applying to the ritual and ceremonial, but to the first five books of the Bible - the Pentateuch, which is also referred to as the law.

So the word law is used sometimes to apply to the first five Books of the Bible. I mention this because sometimes there are individuals who are confused by some of St Paul’s statements.
 

Shadows of Things to Come

St Paul says that the commandments contained in ordinances, the ceremonies, the rituals and all of that were nailed to His Cross being a shadow of things to come. He took them out of the way when Jesus died upon the Cross that fateful Friday afternoon. He cried out "It is finished." That is the Old Testament ceremonies, the shadows, the rituals. For the true Lamb of God had made the great sacrifice for sins. He had made the full atonement on Calvary's Cross.

Daniel the prophet foretold this. Daniel 9:27 says, “And he (the Messiah) shall confirm the covenant with many for one week: and in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease…”

The temple veil was rent from the top to the bottom, showing that He had finished forever with the old ceremonies of meat offering and drink offering.

Hebrews 9:9,10 says, “Which was a figure for the time then present, in which were offered both gifts and sacrifices, that could not make him that did the service perfect, as pertaining to the conscience; Which stood only in meats and drinks, and divers washings, and carnal ordinances, imposed on them until the time of reformation.”

Yes, all of those yearly Sabbath days that had to do with the Jewish calendar and the new moon feasts - they were shadows of things to come. He took them out of the way, for they were a shadow of the cross - a token of the coming Lamb of God.

You will remember John the Baptist was preaching by the river Jordan and he kept preaching about the coming King. He kept appealing to the people to turn from their sins. That is not a very popular thing to do by the way. One day he stopped short in his preaching and pointed "There He is, there He is, the very One that I have been talking about, Behold the Lamb of God that taketh away the Sins of the world."

The eyes of the world were tuned upon that man, the true Lamb of God had come. Now there was the meaning to all those rites and ceremonies. As He went down into those waters and was buried, it was a symbol of His own coming death. "Behold the Lamb of God that taketh away the sin of the world."

All of those ceremonies pointed forward to His death. That ritualistic law was taken out of the way, being a shadow of Christ's death. 

Ephesians 2:15 says, “Having abolished in his flesh the enmity, even the law of commandments contained in ordinances…”

Hebrews 9:10 tells us in the margin that those Ordinances were rites or ceremonies. So you can see that it is entirely different to God's Ten Commandment law.


Were the Commandments Nailed to the Cross?

There are some people that claim that when Jesus died and rose again He forever abolished the law of God. That would mean you see, that on Sunday following the crucifixion, it would be quite alright to worship idols; It would be all right to swear or commit adultery, or to break the Sabbath, or dishonor your parents. That is, if the law were abolished.

But we know that it simply could not be, for the very fact that Jesus had to die proves this. If the law could be so easily set aside then God could have said to Adam we will make a new law. We will change the Ten Commandments. But St Paul tells us that "The wages of sin is death." And St John says, "Sin is the transgression of the Law."

I want you to be very clear on this. It is written very clearly in the New Testament that the penalty of breaking God's law still remains whether Church folk set it aside or not, it makes very little difference. God tells us this. That should be enough to make us realize how solemn it is.
 

Commandments only for the Jews?

I have heard some Christians say, "But those commandments were for the Jews." Well then if they only apply to the Jews then a Christian could do anything that he might like such as steal, lie, kill etc. Do you agree that that is so.

Let us examine the record of the New Testament. In John 14:15 Jesus says, I wonder if you know this text? "If you love Me”, What? "keep my commandments."

It must be love that inspires us to do it, not to be driven on to do this or to do that. Only through love will it mean anything, for it says in James 2:10 “For whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all.”

There it is, "he is guilty of all." No use to keep nine of the ten and to leave one of them undone.
 

Are All Commandments Important?

Then it says the condemnation of death comes upon us if we break His commandments. How many individuals there are that break one of the ten and say, "but I think this one is different; God won’t expect me so much of me under the particular circumstances."

D. L. Moody illustrates it this way. A chain of ten links - the commandments are like a chain of ten links. Now say for instance that I am working on the side of the Empire State building in New York. My job is to clean the windows on the 100th story. Well I am standing on a platform that is 1,000 ft above the street below. I look down and that is enough to make me feel ill in the stomach. Now my platform is suspended by steel chains and all of a sudden I hear the sound of sawing. I look up and there is a man sawing away at the chain that holds my platform. I yell "What are you doing?" The man calls back "I am only sawing away one of the links, I am not cutting them all out." Now my platform is suspended from that chain and if he cuts out one of those links, where will I go?  down! And when an individual breaks one of the Ten Commandments where will he go? Down! 

Where do you want to go friends, UP? Yes, I want to go up not down, don’t you?  D. L. Moody says, "God's law is like ten links in a chain, if we break one, we are guilty of all." Yes, it is the same as though we had broken them all.
 

New Covenant

Have you noticed what God promises to do under the New Covenant?

I have heard a good many individuals talking quite a lot about the New Covenant. That is a wonderful thing alright but they don’t seem to grasp just what it involves, for in Hebrews 8:10 it says, “For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, saith the Lord; I will put my laws into their mind, and write them in their hearts: and I will be to them a God, and they shall be to me a people.”

Did you ever notice what the Apostle Paul says in 2 Corinthians 3:3, “Forasmuch as ye are manifestly declared to be the epistle of Christ ministered by us, written not with ink, but with the Spirit of the living God; not in tables of stone, but in fleshy tables of the heart.”

Who wrote the tables of stone? Yes God did. Through whom? Why His Spirit. That is what He says, That is under the New Covenant. So it is the same law ‑ on tables of stone once, but now transferred and transcribed on the fleshly tables of the heart. How many of the commandments does God want to write on your heart? How many would you reckon? Why ten of course.
 

Does it Matter not keeping all the Commandments?

But what about the individual that says "Lord you can write nine there, but not ten." You know people these days are always looking for bargains, it seems to be the fashion, I do it myself. Yes, everybody is looking for a bargain. And some churches advertise "Come to us and we will give you a bargain, ten per cent off the ten commandments." But I ask you, will that stand in the Judgment day? Has any church the right to discount the Commandments of God ten per cent? Can we imagine or presume that we are on the high road to heaven when we knowingly are breaking one of God's Commandments. It is not a matter of whether a church says I am right, it is a matter of what God says.

There was a lady claiming to be a Christian, and in her mind she was a good Christian. But she was bitterly opposed to the commandments of God. She said, "I would not stoop to keep those old commandments." I know that is true, because later on she proved unfaithful to her husband. Anyway a famous evangelist visited this lady and found that she was violently opposed to the keeping of God's Commandments. However he asked her to produce a Bible in order to read a passage of Scripture. The lady came out of the bedroom blowing dust from the Bible. When the evangelist opened the Bible to turn to the text he wanted he found that the page was missing. So he asked if the lady had another. She came out wiping the cobwebs off this one and behold the same page was missing. A third was produced and this time the text was intact. It seemed as if the devil had torn that page out just as a lot of people have torn it out of their minds. 

This is the text, 1 John 2:3,4 "And hereby we do know that we know him, if we keep his commandments. He that saith, I know him, and keepeth not his commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him.”

Why you say, surely Brother Pepper, you would not call a man a liar that doesn’t keep all Ten Commandments? No, I would not, I should say not, but God does. God says that someone who claims to love Jesus Christ and yet he doesn’t keep the commandments is a liar and the truth; is not in him. I can’t argue with things like that Could you? I would be afraid of a text like that in the Judgment day.

Revelation 22:14 says, “Blessed are they that do his commandments, that they may have right to the tree of life, and may enter in through the gates into the city.”

I would be afraid to come up to the gates of life and say, "Lord I want to enter in,” And God says, "Have you been keeping the commandments?" Yes, I would be afraid if I had been only keeping nine. 
 

Blessings are Conditional upon Obedience

Somebody else says, "But the Lord has heard my prayers. I have had a wonderful experience. But remember Proverbs 28:9, “He that turneth away his ear from hearing the law, even his prayer shall be abomination.”

Do you think that God really means this? Well let us add this text, 1 John 3:22, "And whatsoever we ask, we receive of him, because we keep his commandments, and do those things that are pleasing in his sight.”

So you can see, the blessings of Heaven are conditional upon obedience.

St Paul says some very good things about the law of God. In Romans 7:12, “Wherefore the law is holy, and the commandment holy, and just, and good.” Then he says in the 7th verse, "I would not have known what sin is but by the law. I would not have known lust, except the law had said, Thou shalt not covet."

Many people tell you that the law was abolished at the Cross. I want to say that when they do that it is like saying, that since the Cross there has been no sin. But I have seen quite a few sinners in my time including myself.

For we are told that "All have sinned and come short the glory of God." That includes me friends. And that includes you too.
 

A Brief Look at the Ten Commandments

Let us examine just briefly the Ten Commandments. We will check them over.

THOU SHALT HAVE NO OTHER GOD'S BEFORE ME

Well, I can see that we must believe in that one. We must be careful not to let other gods take first place - the god of money, the god of popularity, or the god of sport or pleasure. The next says,

THOU SHALT NOT MAKE ANY GRAVEN IMAGES, OR BOW DOWN BEFORE THEM.

Yes, we believe that it is wrong to make images and to worship them. We need to be careful over this one. 

THOU SHALT NOT TAKE THE NAME OF THE LORD THY GOD IN VAIN.

In a world that breaks this commandment every day, we as Christians certainly should stand by this one. 

HONOUR THY FATHER AND THY MOTHER THAT THY DAYS MAY BE LONG UPON THE LAND etc

Yes we are fully behind this one. It reminds us of the sacrifices that father and mother have made for us. The hours of deep concern. Yes, we need to honour this commandment alright. 

THOU SHALT NOT KILL

THOU SHALT NOT COMMIT ADULTERY

I am sure that there is not a person that is here today that would not be 100 per cent behind me in saying that these commandments could be done away with. 

THOU SHALT NOT STEAL, BEAR FALSE WITNESS, THOU SHALT NOT COVET.

Again we are all agreed on these.

REMEMBER THE SABBATH DAY

But you say "Brother Pepper you have forgotten one of these commandments." Which one did I forget? Now isn’t that just too bad. Why did I forget the one that says "Remember?" Why did the churches forget the very one that God started out with, remember. Which one? Why the fourth one. That is the one that most Christians have neglected. 

"Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days shalt thou labour, and do all thy work, but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord thy God, in it thou shalt not do any work.... For in six days (that takes us back to creation) the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day, wherefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day, and hallowed it." Exodus 20:8-11

Yes, it is quite easy to have people agree that the other commandments are very necessary. There are plenty of people that think we ought to keep this Commandment or that, but not the fourth. 

James 2:10 says, "For whosoever shall keep the whole law and yet offend in one point he is guilty of all."

I think you see the point. That should be very clear. The churches have told us that the fourth one is not necessary - that it is abolished. But God never did. Remember in the Judgment day we will be judged by how much of the law? All! And who will be our judge? God, not the church.
 

Is Salvation Assured by Keeping the Commandments?

I want to make this quite clear too. There are many people who make this mistake in reasoning, "Oh I keep the Sabbath, I am saved." Not at all. That won’t guarantee anyone salvation. Not one of these commandments will guarantee salvation. Just because a man does not lie, does not mean that he is going to heaven. No, I must keep the Commandments of God because I love Him. It is love that causes me to do it.

Now what about the man who makes his living by stealing fowls. He supports his family that way. He hears a sermon on the Ten Commandments. "Oh," he says “I see, You have to keep all ten." Well I go and visit this man. I ask him this question, "Have you thought anything about the keeping of the commandments of God." "Yes," he replies, “1 have given it some thought." I ask him, "Are you keeping all ten new?" "Oh yes, all but one." "Which one?" "Well that one that says you should not steal." "You steal?" "Yes, I support my family by stealing." "Can’t you give it up?” Not at present because I need to find another job and you know the Bible says that a man who does not support his family is worse than a heathen." And so he keeps on stealing fowls until the LORD helps him to get a better job.

Then there is the man who says "I must make this a matter of prayer. I had better ask God if He thinks I should keep the Sabbath. Yes, I have asked God for a special revelation, for a sign that 1 should keep His Sabbath." I want to tell you that that is just the person that God won’t give a sign to - the ones who knowingly break His commandments.

Wilful Sin

Do you know what it says in Hebrews 10:26,27? “For if we sin wilfully after that we have received the knowledge of the truth, there remaineth no more sacrifice for sins, But a certain fearful looking for of judgment and fiery indignation, which shall devour the adversaries.”

Now isn’t that a dreadful thought? If we sin willfully after we have received the knowledge of the truth; when we keep on breaking God's Commandments after the light of truth has come to us, then Jesus blood will no longer atone for our sins. There is no sacrifice in all of God's universe to cover known sin. There is only one way to be saved, by accepting the blood of Jesus Christ and walking in His commandments. 

Hebrews 5:9 says, “And being made perfect, he became the author of eternal salvation unto all them that obey him." 

Are you an obedient Christian? Then your salvation is assured.

 

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The Bible in Song Sermons category is expected to be enlarged over time as hard copy sermon notes are scanned, typed and edited in webpage format. Visit Sermons Page for the complete list of sermons and Bible Commentaries
 

 
  PDF Sermon Files
Click image for sample. The Complete Sermon Collection is available at the Store Page. It includes 169 sermons which are listed on the Sermons Page, plus several audio visual sermonettes and a number of incomplete sermons. Original typed sermon notes have been scanned in PDF files on a DVD.

 

 
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Easy access to all the uploaded Revelation Bible Commentaries written by Brian Pepper. Also a CD of the complete Book of Revelation consisting of 22 PDF files scanned from original typed documents. These files can be downloaded by Adobe Acrobat to view on computer screen, or printed in booklet or other format.

 

 
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Bible in Song Sermons and Commentaries pages have exposed flaws in the "2300 day" prophecy chart most notably used by Seventh-day Adventists. Seventh-day Adventists in their biblical interpretation have favored the tradition of their founding fathers over Scripture and the "divine revelation" of their own prophet Ellen White. Read more.

 

 
 
  Testimonials
Thank you for posting some of (Brian Pepper's) sermons. It's like reading the very words Jesus has spoken to me and is a great encouragement. I cannot say that about many Pastors but I can say that about (Pr Pepper). Thank you. Robert @yeshuaskingdom.org (USA) ... more testimonials.

 

 
 

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