Test 8: The Two Laws Distinction
The Central Question
Does Scripture distinguish between two categories of law - moral and ceremonial - or is "the law" a monolithic entity that stands or falls together? This distinction determines whether the Ten Commandments (including the Sabbath) continue while ceremonial ordinances ended, or whether all law terminated at the cross.
The Legal Necessity of This Distinction
In any legal system, different categories of law exist with different authorities, purposes, and durations. Constitutional law supersedes statutory law. Criminal law differs from civil law. Permanent law differs from temporary ordinances. If human legal systems require such distinctions, how much more would God's perfect legal system distinguish between eternal moral principles and temporary ceremonial shadows?
The Absurd Consequences of No Distinction
The failure to recognize this distinction leads to absurd conclusions: either all law continues (requiring animal sacrifices today) or all law ended (making murder and adultery acceptable). Neither position is biblically tenable. The evidence demands we recognize the distinction Scripture itself makes.
Evidence Category 1: Different Authorship
The Moral Law - Written by God's Finger
Exodus 31:18: "And he gave unto Moses, when he had made an end of communing with him upon mount Sinai, two tables of testimony, tables of stone, written with the finger of God."
Exodus 32:16: "And the tables were the work of God, and the writing was the writing of God, graven upon the tables."
The phrase "finger of God" appears only eight times in Scripture, and three times specifically regarding the Ten Commandments. This divine authorship is unique - God personally wrote these commands without human intermediary.
The Ceremonial Law - Written by Moses
Deuteronomy 31:9: "And Moses wrote this law, and delivered it unto the priests the sons of Levi, which bare the ark of the covenant of the LORD, and unto all the elders of Israel."
Deuteronomy 31:24: "And it came to pass, when Moses had made an end of writing the words of this law in a book, until they were finished."
Moses, not God, physically wrote the ceremonial ordinances. While divinely inspired, they were written by human hand, distinguishing them from the Ten Commandments written by God Himself.
Evidence Category 2: Different Medium
The Moral Law - Stone Tablets
Stone represents permanence and unchangeability. Stone endures millennia while parchment deteriorates. The choice of medium communicates intended duration.
The Ceremonial Law - Book/Parchment
Books were written on perishable material - papyrus or animal skin. The temporary medium suggests temporary duration. In legal tradition, permanent laws are carved in stone, while temporary ordinances are written on perishable materials.
Evidence Category 3: Different Storage Location
The Moral Law - Inside the Ark
Deuteronomy 10:5: "And I turned myself and came down from the mount, and put the tables in the ark which I had made; and there they be, as the LORD commanded me."
The Ten Commandments were placed inside the ark, under the mercy seat where God's presence dwelt. This was the most sacred location in the universe's most sacred structure.
The Ceremonial Law - Beside the Ark
Deuteronomy 31:26: "Take this book of the law, and put it in the side of the ark of the covenant of the LORD your God, that it may be there for a witness against thee."
"In the side" means beside, not inside. The ceremonial law was kept adjacent to but separate from the ark's interior. This physical separation symbolized legal distinction.
Evidence Category 4: Different Purpose
The Moral Law - Defines Sin
Romans 7:7: "What shall we say then? Is the law sin? God forbid. Nay, I had not known sin, but by the law: for I had not known lust, except the law had said, Thou shalt not covet."
Paul explicitly references the tenth commandment, showing the moral law defines sin itself. 1 John 3:4: "Whosoever committeth sin transgresseth also the law: for sin is the transgression of the law."
The Ceremonial Law - Reveals Remedy for Sin
Hebrews 9:9-10: "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... Which stood only in meats and drinks, and divers washings, and carnal ordinances, imposed on them until the time of reformation."
Hebrews 10:1: "For the law having a shadow of good things to come, and not the very image of the things, can never with those sacrifices which they offered year by year continually make the comers thereunto perfect."
Evidence Category 5: Different Duration
The Moral Law - Eternal
Psalm 111:7-8: "All his commandments are sure. They stand fast for ever and ever, and are done in truth and uprightness."
Matthew 5:18: "For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled."
The Ceremonial Law - Temporary
Galatians 3:19: "Wherefore then serveth the law? It was added because of transgressions, till the seed should come to whom the promise was made."
The word "till" indicates a terminus - this law served until Christ came.
Colossians 2:14-17: "Blotting out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us... Let no man therefore judge you in meat, or in drink, or in respect of an holyday, or of the new moon, or of the sabbath days: Which are a shadow of things to come; but the body is of Christ."
Evidence Category 6: Different Description
The Moral Law - Perfect, Holy, Eternal
Psalm 19:7: "The law of the LORD is perfect, converting the soul."
Romans 7:12: "Wherefore the law is holy, and the commandment holy, and just, and good."
The Ceremonial Law - Weak, Unprofitable, Carnal
Hebrews 7:18-19: "For there is verily a disannulling of the commandment going before for the weakness and unprofitableness thereof. For the law made nothing perfect, but the bringing in of a better hope did."
These descriptions cannot apply to God's "perfect" and "holy" moral law but to temporary ceremonial ordinances.
Comparative Analysis
| Aspect | Moral Law (Ten Commandments) | Ceremonial Law |
|---|---|---|
| Authorship | Written by God's finger | Written by Moses' hand |
| Medium | Permanent stone tablets | Perishable parchment/book |
| Storage | Inside the ark | Beside the ark |
| Purpose | Defines sin eternally | Revealed sin's remedy temporarily |
| Duration | Forever and ever | Until Christ came |
| Description | Perfect, holy, spiritual | Weak shadows, carnal ordinances |
The New Testament Confirmation
What Ended at the Cross
Ephesians 2:15: "Having abolished in his flesh the enmity, even the law of commandments contained in ordinances; for to make in himself of twain one new man, so making peace."
"Contained in ordinances" (Greek: dogma) refers to ceremonial decrees, not moral law.
What Continues
Romans 3:31: "Do we then make void the law through faith? God forbid: yea, we establish the law."
James 2:10-11: "For whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all. For he that said, Do not commit adultery, said also, Do not kill."
James references the Ten Commandments as continuing obligation.
The Legal Impossibility of No Distinction
If no distinction exists between moral and ceremonial law, then either:
Impossible Consequences
- All law continues - Requiring animal sacrifices, circumcision, and Levitical priesthood today, contradicting Hebrews
- All law ended - Making murder, adultery, and theft acceptable, contradicting the New Testament's moral teachings
Neither position is biblically sustainable. The distinction is not human invention but biblical necessity.
Conclusion
The evidence establishes beyond reasonable doubt that Scripture distinguishes between two categories of law:
The Moral Law (Ten Commandments): Written by God's finger, on permanent stone, stored inside the ark, defines sin eternally, described as perfect and holy, continues forever.
The Ceremonial Law: Written by Moses' hand, on perishable material, stored beside the ark, revealed sin's remedy temporarily, described as weak shadows, ended at the cross.
This distinction is not theological convenience but biblical fact, demonstrated through different authorship, medium, location, purpose, duration, and description. The Sabbath, being part of the moral law written by God's finger on stone and placed inside the ark, continues as binding moral obligation, distinguished from ceremonial sabbaths that were shadows fulfilled in Christ.
The failure to recognize this distinction leads to the legal absurdity of either requiring dead ceremonies or permitting moral anarchy. The biblical evidence demands we acknowledge what Scripture clearly distinguishes: eternal moral law that continues and temporary ceremonial law that ended when type met antitype at Calvary.