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The Whole Old Covenant Law Must be Set Aside:

Now, before we go any further, let's reiterate WHY it is necessary for the WHOLE Old Covenant to be set aside. Paul teaches it best in Galatians 3:10-12 (the verses which I pointed out earlier that St. Thomas Aquinas used):

10 For as many as are of the works of the Law are under a curse; for it is written, 'Cursed is everyone who does not abide by all things written in the book of the law, to perform them.' 11 Now that no one is justified by the Law before God is evident; for, 'The righteous man shall live by faith.' 12 However, the Law is not of faith; on the contrary, 'He who practices them shall live by them.'

Notice that Paul uses the same phrase "works of the Law" that he used in Romans and earlier in Galatians 2. But here he emphasizes the overarching principle connected to that phrase. That principle says that those who are in the system of "works of the law" are under a CURSE if they don't perform "ALL THINGS written in the book of the Law." That means if you break only one command of the Law, no matter how trivial, you are under the curse of damnation.

Why? Because the Law can show no mercy. It is an inanimate entity with no personality. It says "OBEY" and if you do not obey it has no choice but to condemn you. It is a legal system only. Legal systems have no room for mercy and forgiveness. The only one who has room for mercy and forgiveness is God, a being who can be moved with compassion and pity. The only thing God asks from us in return is faith in Him that He can do what He says. When we show him faith, He has mercy on us. If we showed faith to the Law, the Law wouldn't care, for it has no concern for how much you believe in the Law. The Law is only interested in one thing, and that is to condemn for disobedience and to reward for obedience.

That Paul is referring to the whole law of Moses in Galatians 3:10-12 is proven by the verses from which he quotes. The saying "Cursed is everyone who does not abide by all things written in the book of the law, to perform them" comes from Deuteronomy 27:26. The context of Deuteronomy 27:15-25 lists all the commandments of the Decalogue, in one form or another:

15 'Cursed is the man who makes an idol or a molten image, an abomination to the LORD, the work of the hands of the craftsman, and sets it up in secret.' And all the people shall answer and say, 'Amen.' 16 'Cursed is he who dishonors his father or mother.' And all the people shall say, 'Amen.' 17 'Cursed is he who moves his neighbor's boundary mark.' And all the people shall say, 'Amen.' 18 'Cursed is he who misleads a blind person on the road.' And all the people shall say, 'Amen.' 19 'Cursed is he who distorts the justice due an alien, orphan, and widow.' And all the people shall say, 'Amen.' 20 'Cursed is he who lies with his father's wife, because he has uncovered his father's skirt.' And all the people shall say, 'Amen.' 21 'Cursed is he who lies with any animal.' And all the people shall say, 'Amen.' 22 'Cursed is he who lies with his sister, the daughter of his father or of his mother.' And all the people shall say, 'Amen.' 23 'Cursed is he who lies with his mother-in-law.' And all the people shall say, 'Amen.' 24 'Cursed is he who strikes his neighbor in secret.' And all the people shall say, 'Amen.' 25 'Cursed is he who accepts a bribe to strike down an innocent person.' And all the people shall say, 'Amen.' 26 'Cursed is he who does not confirm the words of this law by doing them.' And all the people shall say, 'Amen.'

We see the same principle reiterated in the book of James. In James 2:10-13 he writes:

10 "For whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles in one point, he has become guilty of all. 11 For He who said, "Do not commit adultery," also said, "Do not commit murder." Now if you do not commit adultery, but do commit murder, you have become a transgressor of the law. 12 So speak and so act as those who are to be judged by the law of liberty. 13 For judgment will be merciless to one who has shown no mercy; mercy triumphs over judgment."

Here we see that the abiding principle throughout the New Testament is that if you base your salvation on law, then you subject yourself to the demands of the law. The law demands that if you stumble in one point, then you are guilty of disobeying all, and thus you will be condemned with everyone else. Notice that James tells them to seek to be judged by the "law of liberty" where there is mercy, for it is only the God of mercy that can forgive transgressions. The Law can never forgive, for it was never designed to do so.

Incidentally, why do you think James speaks of the sin of "murder" in this context? The answer will reveal to us the nature of the New Covenant. The context begins from James 2:1 through 2:9. In it, James admonishes the Christians for showing favoritism to the rich man and despising the poor man. In doing so he says in verse 8 that they are ignoring the command to "love your neighbor as yourself," and thereby, he says in verse 9, that they are "committing sin." If we remember what Jesus taught in Matthew 5:21-23 that I mentioned earlier, we can see why James associates the sin of "murder" with despising the poor man. For in despising him, we have made a fool of him, and thereby we have spiritually murdered him. Thus we see how sensitive the New Covenant is. It is not merely interested in outward behavior, but the behavior of the heart.

Now back to the Law. Let's look at another passage which teaches the same principle (that the WHOLE law had to be set aside for grace to come). Colossians 2:13-14 says:

13 "When you were dead in your transgressions and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He made you alive together with Him, having forgiven us all our transgressions, 14 having canceled out the certificate of debt consisting of decrees against us, which was hostile to us; and He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross."

Notice again that Paul is speaking to Gentiles, since he uses the phrase "the uncircumcision of your flesh." He tells them that there sins were forgiven by God "having canceled out the certificate of debt consisting of decrees against us." What does this "certificate of debt consisting of decrees" refer to? Well, it cannot refer to the Jewish ceremonial law, for that was never "against" the Gentiles. Rather, it refers to the whole Law found in the Old Covenant, the Law that was originally given to Adam and perpetuated through Israel until the time of Christ, where it was finally "nailed to the cross."

Paul teaches something similar in Ephesians 2:15, but with a little twist. He writes:

15 by abolishing in His flesh the enmity, which is the Law of commandments contained in ordinances, so that in Himself He might make the two into one new man, thus establishing peace, 16 and might reconcile them both in one body to God through the cross, by it having put to death the enmity.

Notice the precise phrasing "the Law of commandments contained in ordinances." The Greek is "to:n novmon tw:n ejntolw:n ejn dovgmasin," which literally means "the law of the commandments in decrees." This can be none other than the WHOLE law of the Old Covenant. In fact, the word "ordinances" (dovgmasin) is the same word used in Colossians 2:14 in the phrase "certificate of debt."

Now, the "twist" Paul adds to this is to say that the setting aside of the Old Covenant law resulted in making Jew and Gentile into one body. Here is one of those places where the "Jew/Gentile" theme appears right along side the "grace versus law" theme. We find that, just as Romans 3:9-20 said that the Gentiles were "under the law" and that "works of the law" could not justify either Jew of Gentile, so we find here in Ephesians 2:15 that the Gentiles were under the law and condemned. Again, this shows us that the Law must refer to the WHOLE law.

Paul teaches the same truth in 2 Corinthians 3:7-9:

7 But if the ministry of death, in letters engraved on stones, came with glory, so that the sons of Israel could not look intently at the face of Moses because of the glory of his face, fading as it was, 8 how will the ministry of the Spirit fail to be even more with glory? 9 For if the ministry of condemnation has glory, much more does the ministry of righteousness abound in glory.

The "letters engraved on stones" refers to none other than the Ten Commandments that God wrote with his own finger on the stone tablets that Moses presented to the people of Israel (Exodus 19-20). But notice that Paul calls that entire engraving a "ministry of death" and a "ministry of condemnation." Why? Because as we have already seen, the Law's main purpose was to convict men in sin so that they would turn to God's grace. Does Paul make any distinction between the moral and ceremonial laws? No, because it is the whole Law he has in view, since the whole Old Covenant was a "ministry of death and condemnation."

The New Covenant

Now, let's go back to what Jesus has done for us in the New Covenant. As I said above, not only has He improved upon the moral laws of the Old Covenant, but he has also improved upon the ceremonial laws. In the Old Covenant the ceremonial laws were merely signs and seals of God's promises. But in the New Covenant the ceremonies, that is, the seven sacraments, are not only signs but they do the very thing that the sign signifies!

For example, the sign of Baptism replaced the sign of Circumcision. Circumcision was a sign of the Old Covenant but it had no power to save. But Baptism is a sign of the New Covenant that actually saves us in the act of being baptized! Not only that, but baptism can be given to Jew and Gentile, male and female, child and adult. It is universal and salvific. A much improved situation than what was possible in the Old Covenant.

But lest anyone think that the New Covenant is a mechanical religion (akin to what the Jews often made of the ceremonial law of the Old Covenant), the sacraments of the New Covenant require faith, first and foremost, in order to make them efficacious. If faith is absent, then Baptism only gets you wet; it doesn't save. And in this way, we see the essence of the New Covenant, which is faith. It is not a religion in which we go to the baptismal font to pay our dues to God and then expect Him to repay us for our efforts with salvation. That is the very legal system Paul condemned, both for Jew and Gentile. Salvation is not of works by which we can buy our way into heaven.

But you may ask, if that is the case with works, then how is it that Catholics say we are justified by our works, as St. James says in James 2:24: "You see that a man is justified by works and not by faith alone."

Paul says more or less the same thing in Romans 2:6-13:

"God, 6 who will render to each person according to his deeds: 7 to those who by perseverance in doing good seek for glory and honor and immortality, eternal life; 8 but to those who are selfishly ambitious and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness, wrath and indignation....13 for it is not the hearers of the Law who are just before God, but the doers of the Law will be justified."

The reason these works can be rewarded with justification and eternal life is simply that they are NOT rewarded on the basis of debt or law, but on the basis of grace. The only kind of works Paul disallows for justification are works performed in the system of Law, which is a legal system totally devoid of grace. Works performed in the system of grace are always meritorious, because God, by His very nature, seeks to reward those who do good. So notice that its not the KIND of works that is at issue, but the SYSTEM in which one performs those works -- a system of Law (the Old Covenant) or a system of Grace (the New Covenant).

One gets into the system of grace by accepting God in faith. Once one believes, then he can work for God, and as he works God will reward him graciously for his efforts. The more one believes and works, the closer he comes to God until, one day, his life is over and God takes him home. There, in heaven, he will receive the ultimate reward of grace.

While on earth, however, he must live up to the standards of the New Covenant. As stated previously, Jesus is the sole Lawgiver and Judge of the New Covenant. It is to Him we answer for both our good deeds and bad deeds (cf., 2 Corinthians 5:10; Romans 14:10-12; Matthew 16:27; Revelation 22:11-12; John 5:28-29). As such, the book of Hebrews gives us a remarkable comparison regarding the judgment for sin in the New Covenant as compared with judgment for sin in the Old Covenant. Hebrews 10:26-31 states:

26 "For if we go on sinning willfully after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, 27 but a terrifying expectation of judgment and the fury of a fire which will consume the adversaries. 28 Anyone who has set aside the Law of Moses dies without mercy on the testimony of two or three witnesses. 29 How much severer punishment do you think he will deserve who has trampled under foot the Son of God, and has regarded as unclean the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified, and has insulted the Spirit of grace? 30 For we know Him who said, "Vengeance is mine, I will repay." And again, "The Lord will judge his people." 31 It is a terrifying thing to fall into the hands of the living God."

Here Paul is speaking of a Christian who knowingly and deliberately sins and does not repent. For him, there is no more sacrifice (for mortal sin keeps us out of the benefits of Christ's sacrifice); rather, he will meet the judgment of God.

Now notice what Paul does. In verse 28 he alludes to the Mosaic law of the Old Covenant that would execute such a person. The same thing is true in the New Covenant, only it is God himself who is the Judge and Executioner. As the Mosaic law administered death for willful disobedience, God will administer the "second death" and send them to Hell (cf., Rev. 20:14; 21:8). That is the "severer punishment" in contrast to the death given in the Mosaic law, for in the second death there is no escape, and one is subject to the wrath of God for eternity. And in the same way that the Mosaic law required "two or three witnesses" in order to administer death, so the New Covenant has its "two or three witnesses" who administer the second death. They are named in the above verses as "the Son of God," "the Spirit of Grace," and "the living God."

So, we see that the New Covenant, even though in some respects it is a much improved covenant, in another sense it is even more demanding, for with much freedom comes much responsibility. Now, as opposed to the Old Covenant Law being our judge, such that it could convict us for murder but not be able to peer into our heart to see if we actually hated our brother (cf., Matthew 5:21-24), God, in the New Covenant, is able to peer into our heart and know our most secret motives. And it is upon this basis that the New Covenant judges us (1 Corinthians 4:5; 9:27). Fortunately, God infuses grace into our soul upon confession of sin so that when He looks at us He sees a purified being, justified in His sight. But if we spurn his New Covenant graces, then we will receive the "severer" punishment, a punishment even harsher that what was given in the Old Covenant.

Amen.

Robert Sungenis, M.A. (Ph.D., cd)

Catholic Apologetics International

P.S. If anyone has questions concerning this essay, please direct them to me at cairomeo@aol.com.

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