THE TWO LAWS by Dudley Marvin Canright

The Seventh-day Adventist Publishing Association · Battle Creek, Mich. · May 7, 1867

THE TWO LAWS.

By Dudley Marvin Canright

Many claim that the law of God has been abolished. They can read many passages that a law has been done away. Thus they claim that there was but one law in the Old Testament, hence it has all gone by the board. If there was but one law, their argument is sound. But this is a mistake. There are two laws brought to view in the Old Testament. 1. There is the law of God, the ten commandments. This was spoken by God himself, written with his own finger, on tables of stone, and placed in the ark. See Deut. xii, 13; Ex. xxiv, 12; Deut. x, 1–5. 2. The law of Moses. Moses himself spoke this law to the people, wrote it himself in a book and placed it in the side of the ark. Deut. i, 5, 6; xxxi, 9, 24–26. This distinction is preserved throughout the Old Testament. Thus in 2 Kings xxi, 8, “Only if they will observe to do according to all that I have commanded them, and according to all the law that my servant Moses commanded them.” Here is a plain distinction between the law that God commanded and the law that Moses commanded. Again Nehemiah ix, 13. “Thou camest down also upon Mount Sinai and spakest with them from Heaven, and gavest them right judgments and true laws, good statutes and commandments.” Here is a law that is called right, true, and good. It is said that God declared this law from mount Sinai. Now we read of quite a different law in Ezekiel xx, 24, 25. “Because that they had not executed my judgments, but had despised my statutes, and had polluted my Sabbaths, and their eyes were after their fathers’ idols, wherefore I gave them also statutes that were not good, and judgments whereby they shall not live.” Here is a law that is not good, and by which they could not live. This must be a different law from the one which is good, right, and true. The same distinction is preserved in the New Testament. Rom. vii, 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.” Here he quotes one of the ten commandments, showing what law he

means. In verse 12, he says of this law, “the law is holy and the commandments are holy, and just and good.” Verse 14, he says, “the law is spiritual.” Verse 22, he calls it, “the law of God.” James ii, 9–12. James quotes two of the ten commandments and calls that law the “law of liberty;” hence, there is a law in the New Testament which is holy, just and good, a spiritual law, a law of liberty, the royal law, the law of God; and Paul said that he delighted in that law. We find also quite a different law in the New Testament. It is called the law of Moses. Acts xv, 5. “But there arose up certain of the sect of the Pharisees, which believed, saying, that it was needful to circumcise them and to command them to keep the law of Moses. Speaking of this law in verse 10, he says, “Now therefore why tempt ye God to put a yoke upon the neck of the disciples which neither our fathers nor we were able to bear.” Here this law of Moses is called a heavy yoke which none are able to bear. In Heb. vii, 14, we read of a law of a “carnal commandment,” and verse 19, says that this “law made nothing perfect.” It seems as though none could fail to see that these different characteristics do not belong to the same law. Now let us see what law is done away. In Ephesians xi, 15, we read, “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.” So of the law of which Peter spoke, calling it the law of Moses, and saying it was a grievous yoke to bear. In Col. ii, 14, we read, “Blotting out the hand writing of ordinances that was against us, which was contrary to us, and took it out of the way, nailing it to the cross.” Here again the law which is done away, is very particularly described. 1. It is the law of hand writing. 2. It is the law of ordinances. 3. It was against us. 4. It was contrary to us. This law was nailed to the cross. Now we read of the law of God thus, “Do we then make void the law through faith? God forbid. Yea, we establish the law.” Rom. iii, 31. Jesus himself says, “Think not that I am come to destroy the law or the prophets, I am not come to destroy but to fulfill. 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. Whosoever, therefore, shall break one of these least commandments and shall teach men so, he shall be called the least in the kingdom of Heaven.”

Thus we find one law written by God himself, which is called holy, just, and good, a spiritual law, law of liberty, royal law, and the delight of the saint. Paul says that this law is established, and Jesus says that not one jot or tittle shall pass away from it, &c. We have found another law which was written by Moses in a book. It is called a law that is not good, a carnal law, law of ordinances, a heavy yoke to bear, a law that was against us, contrary to us, the enmity, &c. It is said that this law was nailed to the cross. From the above we conclude that there were two laws, one of which was abolished at the cross, and the other is to last till heaven and earth pass away.

D. M. CANRIGHT.