The Biblical case is clear – the Law of Moses has been retired. In this post, I intend to identify the elements of the argument for the retirement of the Law of Moses. Let me be clear: I am not, in the present post, going to substantially defend the assertions I make; This post is simply a statement of my position. Relevant arguments can be provided later.
Elements of the Case for the Retirement of the Law of Moses:
1. Paul clearly declares its abolition in Ephesians 2;
2. Paul clearly declares its abolition in Galatians 3. In this chapter, Paul declares the law to be a “paidagogosâ€, a kind of male babysitter whose task comes to an end when supervised child reaches adulthood;
3. In Colossians, Paul refers to the law as nailed to the cross;
4. In Romans 10, Paul refers to Jesus as the “end of the lawâ€;
5. In Romans 7, Paul refers to how we no longer serve “in the manner of the written codeâ€;
6. The Law of Moses was only ever given to Jews, and a central Pauline theme is that God wants to make it clear that membership in the “true covenant†family is open to all. So, as per Ephesians 3, he argues that the Law has to be done away with precisely it functioned to set the Jew apart from the Gentile. Paul’s theology does not allow for this – there is now no distinction between Jew and Gentile, so there can be no more Law of Moses which was for Jews only;
7. Paul believes that God gave the Law of Moses for a specific reason: It caused “sin†to be concentrated and built up in the nation of Israel. And yes, I am serious. Why would God do this? So that this sin could then be passed on to Israel’s representative – Jesus – and dealt with on the cross. Once that goal is achieved, there is no more need for the Law – it has fulfilled its “dark†purpose of making Israel the “place†where the sin of the world get concentrated.
8. To extract the essence of the previous two points: The Law of Moses was given by God for a very specific goal (see point 7). Once that goal has been achieved, the law has been fulfilled. So we can, of course, thinks of the law being “fulfilled†and also retired. This is a key concept. Consider chemotherapy: It has a goal – the curing of the patient. When that goal is achieved, do we keep giving chemotherapy to the patient for the rest of his life? Of course not! It begs the very question at issue to presume that the Law of Moses is a set of timeless truths that last forever. It is clear that Paul does not believe this.
There may be other points, and / or the above could perhaps be more carefully reworked. More later, hopefully.
