What Is the Difference between Moral Law and Ceremonial Law

Many of the laws God had given to the Israelites, who had just “come out” of Egyptian state supervision, were clearly designed to deliver what was lacking at the time – a judicial code. This emerging nation needed a civil, penal and penal code to settle disputes, deal with thieves and murderers, and define the property rights, taxes, and political affairs of the community. If the Israelites were to be a nation that lived among the nations, they needed a set of laws by which they could function. And that`s how God gave them. Traditionally, this category of laws has been called the “civil law” of the Old Testament. At present, the Church of Jesus Christ is not a nation among nations, but an international organization called to function peacefully within the government under which it may be, making the Church`s observance or enforcement of this Old Testament civil code unexpected and largely obsolete (Romans 13:1-10). Someone else might say, “OK, then the Ten Commandments minus the Sabbath commandment are God`s complete moral law.” Well, again not so fast. The apostle Paul shows that God`s moral law is greater than the ten (i.e. nine) commandments given to Moses. Civil law – All nations must have civil laws to resolve disputes between their citizens and uphold the morality of the people. Although not all Mosaic civil laws dealt with moral matters, many civil laws for Israel actually dealt with how to punish or repair the violation of God`s moral laws. Thus, when we examine the Old Testament for God`s moral law, we must look for self-sufficient moral laws, as well as civil laws that prescribe punishment and reparation for breaking God`s moral laws. So far, we have shown from Scripture that the New Covenant explicitly abolishes the ceremonial laws of the Old Covenant.

But what about civil laws? Will these also be repealed? Some have said, “God`s moral law is found in the Ten Commandments, and that is all.” Well, that`s not entirely true. Only nine of the Ten Commandments are preserved in the New Testament. The law of Sabbath keeping is abrogated, revealing that it is not part of God`s ongoing moral law. Of the moral law, Jesus says, “Do not think that I have come to destroy the law or the prophets; I did not come to destroy, but to fulfill. For verily I say unto you, until heaven and earth disappear, a trait or title shall not depart in any way from the law, until all things are fulfilled. Whoever breaks any of these lesser commandments, and thus instructs men, will be called the least in the kingdom of heaven; but whosoever makes them and instructs them shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 5:17–19). God wants to make a new covenant with His children, and that covenant is to write the moral law in their minds and hearts. “Behold, the days are coming,” saith the Lord, “for I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah. For this is the covenant I will make with the house of Israel after these days, saith the Lord; I will give them my laws in spirit, and I will write them in their hearts; and I shall be a god unto them, and they shall be a people unto me” (Hebrews 8:8, 10). Well, as we have already mentioned, there are indeed different “degrees” to the commandments of the Old Law. If the author had turned a few pages of his Bible to arrive at the New Testament (cf. Acts 10:9-16), he would see what the opening of the New Covenant has done to ceremonial laws like this: they have become “obsolete”.

But the moral laws found in the Ten Commandments have not been abolished. It is worth mentioning that St. Thomas Aquinas makes in his sum a very important point concerning the moral aspects of the Old Law and the things that are not explicitly mentioned in the Decalogue. He first declares that “the commandments of the Decalogue cannot be changed by dispensation.” He goes on to emphasize that it is not only the things revealed to us in the Decalogue that relate to the moral law, but also to its conclusions. With regard to “sins against nature”, St. Thomas simply draws the same conclusions that St. Paul draws in his letters (cf. 1 Cor 6:9-11; 1 Timothy 1:9-11; Romans 1:18-32).

Father Schmitz and Patrick Madrid discuss this link in more detail in a mock debate (52:33-1:02:00). Now, if we remove the ceremonial and civil laws of the Old Covenant, what are we left with? God`s moral law. This law existed before Moses wrote it as part of God`s law for Israel as a theocracy, and this law still applies to Christians under the New Covenant. First, such a claim is simply too much. If this is true and all the commandments of the Old Law are null and void, then it would mean that things like incestuous relationships and bestiality are no longer a sin either, since both types of sexual activity are equally condemned in Leviticus. Second, Jesus himself reminds us in the Gospel: “Do not think that I have come to abolish the law and the prophets; I did not come to abolish them, but to fulfill them. For verily I say unto you, until heaven and earth pass away, no iota, no point of the law shall pass until all things are finished. (Matthew 5:17-18) The footnote to verse 17 of the Catholic edition of the revised standard version further clarifies: “Jesus came to bring the old law to its natural fulfillment in the new, while rejecting what had become obsolete; cf. John 4:21. Other moral commandments added to the Decalogue are reducible to the commandments of the Decalogue, like so many conclusions. Thus.

To the sixth commandment, which forbids adultery, is added the prohibition of the harlot according to Deuteronomy 23:17. and the prohibition of unnatural sins according to Leviticus 18:22-23: “Thou shalt not sleep with men… This brings us back to the original question in this passage: How can we know what the moral law is in the Old Testament? When we talk about moral commandments that are conducive to virtue, we are dealing with the law written in our hearts. These moral laws are laws that apply to all of humanity at all times and in all places, simply because what is right and what is wrong cannot change over time. Since God is all-good and God is immutable, we can argue that moral commandments are immutable and are not just disciplines that can change, such as the ceremonial and judicial commandments of the Old Law or, more broadly, modern disciplines such as abstinence from meat on Fridays or priestly celibacy. Objection 2: . Thus, since moral commandments are acts of virtue, as mentioned above (Article 2), it seems that ceremonial commandments are not to be distinguished from moral commandments. This is the opposite of what he and the rest of the New Testament writers teach about the moral law and sanctification. The moral law actually plays an important role in our spiritual growth – the ceremonial law does not! Therefore, it is important that we do not quote passages that minimize or condemn “the law” in a Christian`s life until we carefully understand what “law” is in sight. This distinction is crucial, and I find that it is often overlooked in the discussion of “right” and sanctification.

This is therefore one of the areas where a very important rule of biblical interpretation must be applied. The Bible never contradicts itself. So, if the New Covenant has replaced the Old Covenant and the laws of the Old Covenant are obsolete, what law are Christ and His Apostles talking about that we have not yet obeyed? The answer is that they are talking about God`s moral law. God`s moral law existed before Moses wrote it as part of the law of the covenant with Moses alongside the ceremonial and civil laws of Israel. The third category of Old Testament rules is traditionally called the “moral law.” These laws do not concern religious calendars or criminal reparations. They do not contain the symbolism of “clean and impure” food or fiber. It is not about the imprisonment or reign of earthly kings. These rules are expressed from Genesis to Malachi and teach us what is moral, ethical, honest, virtuous, and just. Unlike civil and ceremonial laws, we cannot simply look at a passage to find it. They are not contained in a list or a single book of the Old Testament. They emphasize the accounts of Scripture and can be extracted from the wise counsel that unfolds in every estate in God`s inspired library.