NOT CALLED BACK—CALLED FORWARD IN CHRIST
The Law of Moses was holy, just, and good; yet it was never meant to be permanent, nor universal. It was given to a single people, at a particular moment in history, to prepare the way for a greater fulfillment. Moses himself stood before Israel and declared that this covenant was made with them as a nation, binding them together under God’s direct rule and promise (Deuteronomy 5:1-3). The nations beyond Israel were not summoned to Sinai, nor were they placed beneath its commands. The statutes and judgments belonged to Jacob alone, entrusted to Israel as a steward until the appointed time (Psalm 147:19-20; Romans 9:4).
When Christ came, He did not repair the old covenant—He completed it. Jesus carried the Law to its intended destination, fulfilling every righteous demand and revealing its true purpose (Matthew 5:17). The apostle Paul teaches that Christ Himself is the conclusion of the Law for righteousness, so that faith, not commandment-keeping, would define our standing before God (Romans 10:4). The letter to the Hebrews speaks with clarity and finality: a new covenant has been established, and by calling it new, God declared the former one worn out and passing away (Hebrews 8:6-13). What God Himself has set aside cannot be resurrected by human devotion.
Under this new covenant, the calendar no longer governs the conscience. The holy days, Sabbaths, and festivals once served as signposts, pointing forward to the Messiah. Now that Christ has come, those shadows have yielded to the substance found in Him (Colossians 2:16-17). Paul grieves when believers allow themselves to be bound again to sacred schedules, calling it a return to weakness and fear rather than freedom (Galatians 4:9-11). In Christ, every day belongs to the Lord, and no day carries divine superiority over another unless love freely assigns it so (Romans 14:5-6).
The same freedom extends to our giving. The Law prescribed tithes to support a Levitical priesthood that has now been surpassed by a greater Priest. When the priesthood changed, the law governing it necessarily changed as well (Hebrews 7:5, 12). In Christ, generosity flows not from obligation but from gratitude. Each believer gives as he has resolved in his heart, willingly and joyfully, not because of command or fear (2 Corinthians 9:6-7). Grace does not abolish generosity—it purifies it.
To call the church back to Sinai is not reverence for Scripture; it is confusion about redemption. Christ has broken down the dividing wall, removing the ordinances that once separated Jew and Gentile, forming one new humanity in Himself (Ephesians 2:14-15). We have died to the Law so that we might live unto God, not under tablets of stone, but under the living reign of Christ (Galatians 2:19). The Gospel does not lead us backward into bondage; it carries us forward into sonship.
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Lord Jesus Christ, thank You for fulfilling what we could never complete. Teach us to live in the freedom You purchased, not returning to shadows, but walking in the light of Your finished work. Anchor our faith in You alone, and let our obedience rise from love, not fear. Amen.
BDD
