Pre-Mosaic Rules of Life

There were four different dispensations covered by the Pre-Mosaic Period: the Dispensation of Innocence, the Dispensation of Conscience, the Dispensation of Human Government, and the Dispensation of Promise. During the first three of these dispensations, the rules of life were imposed upon all humanity.

However, the rule of life in the Dispensation of Promise was not imposed upon all humanity, but only upon one people in particular: the Jews. The Dispensation of Promise was based upon the Abrahamic Covenant. These promises were unconditional, and the Jewish responsibility was to remain in the place of blessing.

“What was the divine method of government from Adam to Moses? What was the rule of life when there was no specific code spelled out? It is simply not true that, before Moses, God did not give any laws or commandments. Even before Moses, God provided a rule of life for the Old Testament saints to follow. He expected obedience from humanity in general, but from believers in particular.

In Romans 5:13, Paul wrote:

. . . for until the law sin was in the world; but sin is not imputed when there is no law.

Many have misunderstood what Paul was saying here to mean that there was no law before Moses. That is far from the truth! In this verse, Paul is dealing with the Law of Moses, and he is pointing out that there was no violation of the Law of Moses between Adam and Moses simply because there was no Law of Moses to violate. However, that is not to say there were no other laws present. Other laws had been given by God and man was expected to obey them.

The Dispensation of Innocence was based upon the Edenic Covenant. That covenant spelled out rules and regulations, and these became the rule of life for that period.

After the Fall of man - between Adam and Noah - came the Dispensation of Conscience, based upon the Adamic Covenant. It also contained a rule of life to be followed. The Dispensation of Conscience came to an end with the Noahic Flood.

Following the Flood came the Dispensation of Government, based upon the Noahic Covenant. The details of this dispensation are given in Genesis 9. Once again rules and regulations were spelled out, and a rule of life was given.

Finally, with Abraham came the Dispensation of Promise, based upon the Abrahamic Covenant. This was not imposed upon all humanity, but only upon the Jewish nation, the descendants of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.

God said to Isaac that the reason He was sustaining the covenant through him was because Abraham obeyed the voice of God, the charge of God, the commandments of God, the statutes of God, and the laws of God.

The Mosaic Period

The Mosaic Law was not a way of salvation. The purpose of the Mosaic Law never was, is not, and never will be a means of salvation (Rom. 3:20; Gal. 3:11). The purpose of the Mosaic Law was to provide a rule of life. It was not intended to bring them to redemption, but to provide a rule of life for them after having been redeemed. The purpose of the Mosaic Law was to serve as a tutor (Gal. 3:24). The purpose of the Mosaic Law was: to lead a Jewish person to the Messiah. Again, there are many other purposes of the Mosaic Law, but these are specifically concerned with its purpose in relation to the spiritual life.

The Law was an addition (Gal. 3:19). In order to augment sin with the characteristic of transgression and to show “the exceeding sinfulness of sin,” the Law was added to the Abrahamic Covenant. The Law is righteous (Rom. 7:12 14), but the Law also provokes sin (Rom. 7:8). As a rule of life, it also became a curse (Gal. 3:10), leading to condemnation (II Cor. 3:9) and death (Rom. 7:10 11). Briefly, the Law began with Moses at Sinai (Ex. 19:3 8; Deut. 5:1 3) and terminated with the coming of Yeshua (Jesus), (Gal. 3:19).

Believer's Rule of Life in the Messianic Kingdom

“What is going to be the believer’s rule of life in the Messianic Kingdom?” There will be a new system of law, which we can call Millennial Law or Kingdom Law. The new system of Millennial or Kingdom Law will be based upon the New Covenant. The prophets clearly spoke of the coming of a new law. The New Covenant itself was predicted in Jeremiah 31:31 34 and this covenant becomes the basis for the new law in the Kingdom Period.

Kingdom Law is spoken of in Isaiah 2:3:

“And many peoples shall go and say, Come ye, and let us go up to the mountain of Jehovah, to the house of the God of Jacob; and he will teach us of his ways, and we will walk in his paths: for out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of Jehovah from Jerusalem.”

Later, Isaiah 51:4 states:

“Attend unto me, O my people; and give ear unto me, O my nation: for a law shall go forth from me, and I will establish my justice for a light of the peoples.”

Here again, Isaiah points out that in the Kingdom, when the Messiah is ruling, a [new] law shall go forth..., and [it] will establish [His] justice. Furthermore, it will provide spiritual light for the [Gentile nations in the Messianic Kingdom]. Very clearly, then, there will be a new system of Millennial or Kingdom Law that will become the believer’s rule of life in the Kingdom. One example of the content of Millennial or Kingdom Law is Ezekiel 40:5 46:24, which spells out the rules and regulations for the millennial system of the priesthood and sacrifice. Although some have misunderstood this section to mean a re-institution of the Mosaic system, that is not the case. The Mosaic Law will never be re-instituted for the church saint today or for the millennial saints in the future. A comparison of the details of the sacrifices in Ezekiel with those of the Mosaic system shows too many differences.

Believer's Rule of Life Today

“What is the believer’s rule of life today?” The first basis of the rule of life for the church saint today is: the Law of Christ (Gal. 6:2). In Romans 8:2, it is called the Law of the Spirit of life; in James 1:25, it is given two names: the Perfect Law and the Law of Liberty. It is called the Law of Christ, because it is a law given to us by Him rather than by Moses or by Noah or whomever. It is called theLaw of the Spirit of life, because the indwelling Holy Spirit enables us to live according to its demands so that we can live the spiritual life. It is called the Perfect Law, because it does not contain the flaws of the Mosaic Law. According to the Book of Hebrews, the Mosaic Law was flawed by weakness in that it was unable to provide the Old Testament saint with the power to keep it. It is called the Law of Liberty, because this law liberates us from the Law of Moses; it liberates us from the curse of the Law.

The basis for the rule of life for the church saint is, first and foremost, the Law of the Messiah. Just as the Law of Moses had many commandments, the Law of the Messiah also has many commandments, which we are obligated to obey.

Eternal Principles of the Old Testament

The second basis for the rule of life for the church saint is the eternal principles of the Old Testament. While we are no longer under the specific 613 commandments of the Law of Moses, nevertheless, there are many things in the Old Testament that have to do with eternal principles, and these are still obligatory. One example of an eternal principle still applicable to us today is that God will always punish sin. It is wrong, as some people teach, to say that we no longer have any obligation to the Old Testament. This is true as far as the Law of Moses is concerned, but that is only a small part of the entire Old Testament. A great amount of its material still applies to us; such as, the Noahic Covenant, the Adamic Covenant, and the Abrahamic Covenant. Many eternal principles, taught by the poets of Israel in the Books of Psalms and Proverbs, and many things in the Prophets are not rooted in the Mosaic Law, but in eternal principles, and they are still as obligatory as they ever were. For the church saint there are two bases for the rule of life: the Law of the Messiah and the eternal principles of the Old Testament.

The rule of life for the church saint is that divine enablement is promised in a manner not provided for the Old Testament saint (Jn. 7:37 39; Acts 1:8; Rom. 5:5; 6:4; 8:3 4, 9; I Cor. 2:1 13; 6:19; 10:3 6; Gal. 3:2; I Thes. 4:8; I Jn. 3:24; 4:13). Our goal is to be conformed to the image of the Son of God. This is a true likeness of the Messiah. Later, in Philippians 2:5, Paul admonished us to: Have this mind in you, which was also in Christ Jesus. We should have like-mindedness with the Messiah, which means being Messiah-like.

The Grace of God

It is the grace of God that produces this in the believer. This is consistently taught in the Scriptures of the New Testament: Romans 12:3 8; 15:15; I Corinthians 1:4; 3:10; 15:10; II Corinthians 1:12; 4:15; 6:1 3; 8:1, 6 7, 9; 9:8, 14; 12:9; Galatians 2:9; Ephesians 3:2 8; 4:7, 29; Philippians 1:7; Colossians 3:16; 4:6; II Thessalonians 1:12; II Timothy 2:1; Hebrews 4:16; 12:15; James 4:6; II Peter 3:18. All these verses emphasize and re-emphasize that it is the grace of God that produces the likeness of the Messiah in the believer.

The Areas of the Believer's Rule of Life

Just as the Law of Moses once covered many areas of an Old Testament saint’s life, so the Law of the Messiah pertains to many areas of a church saint’s life today. There are seven specific areas, which the Law of the Messiah covers in the believer’s rule of life.

The Relationship to Human Government

As long as the civil law does not command us or ask us to do anything, which goes contrary to Scripture, we should obey. If the civil government passes a law which in no way violates Scripture, we are to obey it whether we like it or not. This is proper subjection to human government. Some examples of this are found in Romans 13:1 7; I Peter 2:13 17; Titus 3:1. Examples of improper subjection include Acts 4:19 20 and 5:29. If the government tells us that we cannot preach the gospel, then we disobey that law. If the government says we need to have an abortion; we disobey that law. If the government says we should go out and kill a particular group of people; we do not obey that law. When the Nazi government in Germany passed resolutions that Jews should be exterminated, no German believer should have obeyed that law. If he were a true believer, he could not have obeyed it unless he was terribly out of fellowship with God. One more thing about subjection to human government is that there are ways by which we can use the law properly. For example, if we can legally protest, we can use the law to protest an action as Paul did in Acts 16:37 40, when he used the law to protest an official action by the civil authorities. Since the United States Constitution allows its citizens to organize protests against abortions, they have the right to protest publicly. The Constitution allows any law of the government to be challenged through the courts of the United States; therefore, the law can be properly used by way of protest. Another way of properly using the law is for gaining our rights. Examples of this are Acts 22:25 29; 23:1 10; 25:10 12; 26:32. Where the law allows us to gain our rights, we should use it.

Concerning legal actions, the key passage here is I Corinthians 6:1 11, which points out three things. First, believers are not allowed to take other believers before the civil court. Second, this prohibition does not apply to unbelievers; if necessary, we may take unbelievers to court. Third, believers should always treat other believers in such a way that no legal actions are necessary.

Masters and Servants

This New Testament terminology could be re-stated today as “employer and employee” relationships. The two basic passages for this are Ephesians 6:5 9 and Colossians 3:22 4:1. The believer must be in subjection to his employer, even if his employer is a mean, crooked, unethical man. As long as he does not ask the believing employee to do anything illegal or unethical, the employee must obey. If a believing employee finds himself in a situation where he is unable to obey, he has only one other option and that is to resign and find a new job. Strikes against an employer are not a valid Biblical option for the believer today. If a believer finds himself unable to submit to his employer or unable to accept a situation, he should resign and find another job or begin his own company, but striking is not a Biblical option.

The Work Ethic

The New Testament clearly expects believers to work for a living. In I Thessalonians 4:11 12, Paul admonished the believers: to work with [their] hands. In II Thessalonians 3:6 15, Paul taught the principle: If any will not work, neither let him eat (v. 10). While the local church does have a responsibility to help meet the needs of a member who is out of work because of circumstances beyond his control, the church is not obliged to help anyone who is not willing to work. If a believer chooses not to work or refuses a job because it is not to his liking, the church has no obligation to him. A believer is responsible for supporting his own family. If he cannot find a job to his liking, then he should work at something not to his liking. The church has no obligation to meet the needs of a lazy believer.

Husband and Wife / Parent to Child

The key passages for husband and wife relationships are Ephesians 5:22 33; Colossians 3:18 19; and I Peter 3:1 7. Without going through all of the details, the principles are: the wife is to be in subjection to her husband, regardless of whether he is a believer or not. The husband is not to beat his wife into subjection or force her into subjection, but to love her into subjection.

Children are to obey their parents; the parents are not to cause their children to become unnecessarily angry. They are to exercise discipline with love. The two examples are Ephesians 6:1 4 and Colossians 3:20 21.

Relationship to the Church

There must be submission to the elders of the church (I Thes. 5:12 13; Heb. 13:7, 17). The church is responsible for carrying out evangelism (Acts 1:8; Rom. 1:14, 16; II Cor. 5:18 20), and it has to be to the Jew first (Rom. 1:16). The church is responsible to love the brethren (Jn. 13:34 35; Rom. 12:9 10; Eph. 4:1 3; 5:2; I Thes. 4:9; Heb. 13:1; I Pet. 3:8 9; 4:8 9; I Jn. 3:14, 17; 4:7, 11). Believers have obligations to their fellow believers (I Cor. 12:26; Eph. 4:31 32; 5:21; 6:18; Phil. 2:3 4; Col. 3:12 13; I Thes. 4:6; 5:11; Jas. 4:11; 5:16; I Pet. 5:5). Strong believers have special responsibilities toward weak believers (Rom. 14:1 23). The spiritual believer has responsibilities toward erring believers (Rom. 16:17 18); he is to mark them out and make sure they cause no divisions; he is to seek their restoration (Gal. 6:1); he is to admonish them (I Thes. 5:14); and he is to withdraw from them if they persist in their erring ways (II Thes. 3:6, 11 15).

The Ten Commandments are part of the Mosaic Law, consequently, along with the other 603 commandments; they have been done away with. We are now under the Law of the Messiah, and we are required to obey only the commands of the Law of the Messiah. We must obey whichever commandments are found in the Law of Moses that is also found in the Law of the Messiah. But those Mosaic commandments that are not found in the Law of the Messiah, we have no obligation to obey. We may choose to if we so wish, but there is no longer any requirement to obey the Law of Moses as such. Of the Ten Commandments, nine of them are also part of the Law of the Messiah; therefore, only nine of the ten are obligatory for believers.

The first commandment, which is against having other gods, is found in the Law of the Messiah in Acts 14:15. The second commandment, which is against images made to be worshipped, is found in I John 5:21. The third commandment, which is against taking the name of the Lord your God in vain, is taught in James 5:12. The fourth commandment was: Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. This commandment is nowhere repeated in the Law of the Messiah. That is why the believer has no obligation to keep the Sabbath today. The fifth commandment was to honor your parents, and this is also taught in Ephesians 6:1. The sixth commandment, which is against murder, is taught in I John 3:15. The seventh commandment, which is against adultery, is found in I Corinthians 6:9 10. The eighth commandment, which is against stealing, is found in Ephesians 4:28. The ninth commandment, which is against bearing false witness, is found in Colossians 3:9. The tenth commandment, which is against coveting, is found in Ephesians 5:3.

Nine of the original Ten Commandments are found in the Law of the Messiah, and that is why we must obey them. But the commandment relating to the Sabbath is not found anywhere in the Law of the Messiah.