This is the second post in a series, for the first please click HERE. In my previous post I indicated that I would state why I believe those verses matter. They matter because they demonstrate a proof text on the old covenant that specifically speaks to Seventh Day Adventists. If you show them to any current SDA it is going to give them great pause. It took me a while to find just a handful of verses that can do this but that was the result of my work.
In this post I am going to speak about the Old Covenant and the Ten Commandments. As a Seventh Day Adventist I was taught that the Ten Commandments stand today as they did when they were given on Mount Sinai. They also teach that to break any one of them, including the fourth, is to sin.
If it were true that the Law of Moses and the Ten Commandments were separate then this theory would pass a test of hermeneutical scrutiny throughout the whole Bible. Instead what we see below is a sampling of verses where it is clear that the Law of the Lord and the Law of Moses are referred to interchangeably. This means that the writers of the Bible considered the Old Covenant as being a whole. If they had not they would have divided the two as consistently as the SDA do. Take a look at the below verses to see my point:
“(As it is written in the law of the Lord, Every male that openeth the womb shall be called holy to the Lord;) And to offer a sacrifice according to that which is said in the law of the Lord, A pair of turtledoves, or two young pigeons.” Luke 2:23-24 KJV
If this were to pass the test of SDA doctrine it would have to say Mosaic Ceremonial Law, or something to that effect, but it does not. Instead it says “Law of the Lord”.
To offer burnt offerings unto the Lord upon the altar of the burnt offering continually morning and evening, and to do according to all that is written in the law of the Lord , which he commanded Israel; 1 Ch 16:40 KJV
Again, under SDA theology as I was taught this should only be about the Ceremonial Law of Moses. Yet the wording doesn’t match that.
He appointed also the king’s portion of his substance for the burnt offerings, to wit, for the morning and evening burnt offerings, and the burnt offerings for the sabbaths, and for the new moons, and for the set feasts, as it is written in the law of the Lord . 2 Ch 31:3 KJV
Once again, Law of the Lord rather that Law of Moses.
“For Moses said, Honour thy father and thy mother; and, Whoso curseth father or mother, let him die the death:” Mark 7:10 KJV
Now it references Mosaic Law, but for the Ten Commandments.
“For God commanded, saying, Honour thy father and mother: and, He that curseth father or mother, let him die the death.” Matt 15:4 KJV
And now God is referenced but on the same exact commandment.
So what we clearly see above is that all 613 old covenant laws are referred to interchangeably by the Holy Ghost as each verse was written. This demonstrates that the titles of these laws are synonymous of each other, referring to the greater whole rather than one section. To attempt to separate them is contrary to scripture because God did not separate them. Only man has with false teachings.
This shows that it is disingenuous to claim the Ten Commandments as a whole or in part are not subject to abrogation in the New Covenant, as is clearly the case with other Ceremonial Laws even amongst SDA.
“And Moses called all Israel, and said unto them, Hear, O Israel, the statutes and judgments which I speak in your ears this day, that ye may learn them, and keep, and do them. The Lord our God made a covenant with us in Horeb. The Lord made not this covenant with our fathers, but with us, even us, who are all of us here alive this day. … Thou shalt have none other gods before me. Thou shalt not make thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above … And he wrote them in two tables of stone, and delivered them unto me.” Deut 5:1-8, 21-22 KJV
In the above verse we see that the Old Covenant was not established until Horeb and that the Ten Commandments are part of this covenant. Keep reading down chapter 5 and you will see that they list out the Ten Commandments whilst remaining clearly in the context of the Covenant that was made at Horeb. This is very damaging to SDA theology because the two have to be separate for their teachings to be true.
Armchair Theologian 
So I guess now is ok to murder, steal or worship idols because the law was fulfilled on the cross, right?
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Read carefully what the Bible says. The ten commandments as apart of the old covenant are obsolete.
Paul says we are under the law of Christ. If you keep reading this blog in order you should see that I answer all these questions.
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Jesus said we are to love God supremely and love others as He loves us. Murdering, stealling, and the worship of idols do not demonstrate love for either God or our fellowmen! Do you understand “conversion” at all? Born again believers are a NEW creation with a NEW heart! Led by the Holy Spirit, we have no need for a list of rules to guide us. We have no further need for the law as our tutor!!
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Love is actually law too. Gospel is Jesus Christ crucified and resurrected for the forgiveness of our sins. I would recommend a study on the three uses of the law. Sorry I don’t have a blog on it yet as its something I’m studying myself. I would recommend googling it at the moment.
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Inadvertently duplicated my post when I attempted to edit it. Sorry!
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It’s all good thx for telling me. I deleted the duplicate for you. Feel free to comment anytime. And thanks for reading my blog.
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Whaow!!!! You where told that you would have to keep the commandments on your own without a mediator!!!!! Listen, I need to help you right here. I think you got the Church names mixed up. That is most certainly not a SDA teaching!
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Not my words, they come from Ellen White. And the SDA Church still considers her works an “authoritative source of truth”.
“Those who are living upon the earth when the intercession of Christ shall cease in the sanctuary above are to stand in the sight of a holy God without a mediator” The Great Controversy, p. 425.
“When Jesus ceases to plead for man, the cases of all are forever decided. This is the time of reckoning with His servants” Testimonies for the Church, vol. 2, p. 191.
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The ten commandments were written by the finger of God on tables of stone. Romans 3:31 says Do we then make void the law through faith? Certainly not? On the contrary, we establish the law. As far as your quote above from EG White. First of all it must be read in the context of the entire chapter of Great Controversary and SDA’s do not teach you can do anything on your own power, least of all save yourself. The entire context of not having a mediator is in the context of the falling of the seven last plagues when the decision of all are sealed for eternity. And your comment about “They also teach that to break any one of them, including the fourth, is to sin” is not an SDA teaching it is from the Bible – James 2:10 which says “For whoever shall keep the whole law, and yet stumble in one point, he is guilty of all” And your comment above “If you show them to any current SDA it is going to give them great pause”. makes it sound as if the beliefs of the SDA church can fall just by what your are saying. I tend to disagree. So far what I have read on your site shows me you did not truly understand the pillars of the SDA faith and they do not cause me or any other grounded Seventh Day Adventist to “pause”.
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The Bible does say that the ten commandments were written by the finger of God. But it also says they are obsolete (Heb 8:13). Read my post titled the Law of Christ. I show there that we don’t turn to exodus 20 anymore we read the new covenant.
Your quotes of Rom 3:31 and James 2 assume he means the ten commandments. They do not, for if they did the Torah would be included too and you would have to perform animal sacrifices. They are a connected whole. This is why we understand our moral law from the text of the new covenant.
The Ellen quote is in perfect context. It’s not a rhetorical statement, or an open ended statement, its a declarative statement.
She was very clear that you have no mediator after the close of probation. That is a key element of her eschatology.
What you cannot escape from in the verses above is that the ten commandments and the Torah are a connected whole. They stand or fall together. They gave me great pause when I saw them for the first time as I realized the implications. SDA thought, theology, and dialogue is based on a flawed 19th century cultural division of the ten commandments and the Torah. It’s not a Biblical division and their teachings collapse without it.
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Hi,
with regards to the previous comment. If they are in fact referring to the law in its entirety, (The Law of God, The Law of Moses, The ceremonial Law), why are they advocating in these texts, (Romans 3:31 and James 2), that we should uphold them. I find it interesting that this idea is in the New Testament after the death of Christ.
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Hey thanks for reading. That is a good question, I handle it here
http://armchairtheologian.info/2014/11/14/the-law-of-christ/
And here
http://armchairtheologian.info/2015/03/27/james-2-sola-fide-sola-gratia/
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