Law/Nt/Legalism/Antinomiam thought/kitchen sink...pt3

CHAPTER 19; OF THE LAW OF GOD
Paragraph 1. God gave to Adam a law of universal obedience written in his heart, and a particular precept of not eating the fruit of the tree of knowledge of good and evil;1 by which he bound him and all his posterity to personal, entire, exact, and perpetual obedience;2 promised life upon the fulfilling, and threatened death upon the breach of it, and endued him with power and ability to keep it.3
1 Gen. 1:27; Eccles. 7:29
2 Rom. 10:5
3 Gal. 3:10,12
Paragraph 2. The same law that was first written in the heart of man continued to be a perfect rule of righteousness after the fall,4 and was delivered by God upon Mount Sinai, in ten commandments, and written in two tables, the four first containing our duty towards God, and the other six, our duty to man.
5
4 Rom. 2:14,15
5 Deut. 10:4
Paragraph 3. Besides this law, commonly called moral, God was pleased to give to the people of Israel ceremonial laws, containing several typical ordinances, partly of worship, prefiguring Christ, his graces, actions, sufferings, and benefits;6 and partly holding forth divers instructions of moral duties,7 all which ceremonial laws being appointed only to the time of reformation, are, by Jesus Christ the true Messiah and only law-giver, who was furnished with power from the Father for that end abrogated and taken away.8
6 Heb. 10:1; Col. 2:17
7 1 Cor. 5:7
8 Col. 2:14,16,17; Eph. 2:14,16
of good and evil;1 by which he bound him and all his posterity to personal, entire, exact, and perpetual obedience;2 promised life upon the fulfilling, and threatened death upon the breach of it, and endued him with power and ability to keep it.3
1 Gen. 1:27; Eccles. 7:29
2 Rom. 10:5
3 Gal. 3:10,12

Paragraph 2. The same law that was first written in the heart of man continued to be a perfect rule of righteousness after the fall,4 and was delivered by God upon Mount Sinai, in ten commandments, and written in two tables, the four first containing our duty towards God, and the other six, our duty to man.5

4 Rom. 2:14,15
5 Deut. 10:4


Paragraph 3. Besides this law, commonly called moral, God was pleased to give to the people of Israel ceremonial laws, containing several typical ordinances, partly of worship, prefiguring Christ, his graces, actions, sufferings, and benefits;6 and partly holding forth divers instructions of moral duties,7 all which ceremonial laws being appointed only to the time of reformation, are, by Jesus Christ the true Messiah and only law-giver, who was furnished with power from the Father for that end abrogated and taken away.8
6 Heb. 10:1; Col. 2:17
7 1 Cor. 5:7
8 Col. 2:14,16,17; Eph. 2:14,16

fied or condemned,13 yet it is of great use to them as well as to others, in that as a rule of life, informing them of the will of God and their duty, it directs and binds them to walk accordingly; discovering also the sinful pollutions of their natures, hearts, and lives, so as examining themselves thereby, they may come to further conviction of, humiliation for, and hatred against, sin;14 together with a clearer sight of the need they have of Christ and the perfection of his obedience; it is likewise of use to the regenerate to restrain their corruptions, in that it forbids sin; and the threatenings of it serve to show what even their sins deserve, and what afflictions in this life they may expect for them, although freed from the curse and unallayed rigour thereof. The promises of it likewise show them God's approbation of obedience, and what blessings they may expect upon the performance thereof, though not as due to them by the law as a covenant of works; so as man's doing good and refraining from evil, because the law encourages to the one and deters from the other, is no evidence of his being under the law and not under grace.15
13 Rom. 6:14; Gal. 2:16; Rom. 8:1, 10:4
14 Rom. 3:20, 7:7, etc.
15 Rom. 6:12-14; 1 Pet. 3:8-13
Paragraph 7. Neither are the aforementioned uses of the law contrary to the grace of the Gospel, but do sweetly comply with it,16 the Spirit of Christ subduing and enabling the will of man to do that freely and cheerfully which the will of God, revealed in the law, requires to be done.17
16 Gal. 3:21
17 Ezek. 36:27

 

A Commentary of the 1689 London Baptist Confession of Faith

Besides this law, commonly called moral, God was pleased to give to the people of Israel ceremonial laws. When the Confession states “besides this law,” “this law” refers to the one moral law: the moral law given to Adam and codified in the Ten Commandments. In addition, then, to that moral law, God was pleased to give Israel ceremonial laws. These ceremonial laws were not given to all mankind to obey, but only to Israel.

The Confession continues: containing several typical ordinances, partly of worship, prefiguring Christ, his graces, actions, sufferings, and benefits; and partly holding forth divers instructions of moral duties. The ceremonial laws are by nature typical, meaning they are types.” A “type” in Scripture is something that has its own significance in its own right, and yet points toward something (usually in the future) that has a greater significance. It is “like” it, but it is not it, and it is not as important. “These are a shadow of the things to come, but the substance belongs to Christ” (Col. 2:17 ESV). Ordinances are things formally prescribed by God to be carried out regularly. Of these ceremonial laws which contain typical ordinances, there are two kinds: 1) Those dealing with worship, and 2) those which give instructions. Of the ceremonial laws that deal with worship, they prefigure Christ, his graces, actions, sufferings, and benefit. Of the ceremonial laws which give instructions, these typify higher moral duties.

The typical ordinances of worship prefigure Christ, his graces, actions, sufferings, and benefits. Hebrews 10: 1 states: “For since the law has but a shadow of the good things to come instead of the true form of these realities, it can never, by the same sacrifices that are continually offered every year, make perfect those who draw near” (ESV). These prefigured Christ, that is, they herald or suggest a greater reality to come to be found in Christ himself. These also prefigure Christ’s graces, actions, and suffering. They prefigure his benefits as well. Some of the prefiguring is clearer than others—but we can now look back through Christ and see what the ceremonial laws point toward. Before Christ they were mere shadows, but in Christ the shadows were filled with light.

 

A Commentary of the 1689 London Baptist Confession of Faith
Since ceremonial laws are merely types pointing to a greater substance, we can conclude that they had only have a temporary function; once the substance of what they represent arrives, they no longer need to function in the life of the church for the New Testament saints. Thus the Confession states the following: All which ceremonial laws being appointed only to the time of reformation, are, by Jesus Christ the true Messiah and only law-giver, who was furnished with power from the Father for that end abrogated and taken away. The phrase “the time of reformation” comes directly from Scripture itself: “The Holy Ghost this signifying, that the way into the holiest of all was not yet made manifest, while as the first tabernacle was yet standing: 9 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; 10 Which stood only in meats and drinks, and divers washings, and carnal ordinances, imposed on them until the time of reformation” (Hebrews 9:8-10 KJV). Thus “the time of reformation” refers to the time that Christ would come and by his work fulfill the types and foreshadows of the ceremonial law, and by fulfilling them he abrogated them. Jesus Christ, as the only lawgiver, has the authority to bring this reformation. Further, since “the substance belongs to Christ” (Col. 2:17 ESV), he is the rightful and only one to bring such reformation. The Confession states: Jesus Christ was furnished with power from the Father for that end. He was furnished with power—for the very purpose of bringing the reform. We learned in chapter 8:3b that, “in whom it pleased the Father that all fullness should dwell, to the end that being holy, harmless, undefiled, and full of grace ad truth, he might be thoroughly furnished to execute the office of a mediator and surety.” To be furnished with power means to be fully empowered, equipped, and authorized to carry out one’s office.