Sunday School at 9 am | worship at 10 am

The Purpose of the Mosaic Covenant

Long-term commitments are scarce these days. Apparently long-term commitments are also scary. The thought of entering into a marriage relationship “’til death do us part” frightens a lot of people. So the covenant of marriage is often avoided. Many of the vows that are made these days lack the permanence and commitment of former days. But it’s not just marriage covenants that have been weakened. Contracts are often vaguely worded or are undermined by loopholes and fine print.

Strangely, Christians seem to think that clear, contractual agreements are somehow unspiritual, especially between two believers. “A man should be as good as his word,” we are told. And so he should. But it is interesting to observe that the infinite, all-powerful, changeless God of the universe has chosen to deal with men in the form of covenants.

This week we’re going to be talking about the Mosaic Covenant. There are four main elements of this covenant: the exodus, the sealing of the old covenant, the giving of the Law, and the old covenant rituals. Some people get confused by thinking that people in the Old Testament were saved by keeping the Law and people in the New Testament are saved through faith in Christ. But the Bible is clear in saying that no one is saved by keeping the law. It is only by grace through faith in Christ that we are saved.

For instance, the exodus proves that the Mosaic covenant is rooted in the covenant of grace. There was nothing in the Israelites that moved God to deliver Israel from Egypt. That’s grace at work. Also, the Israelites were not required to obey the Law in order for the Lord to save them. As the story goes, God rescued His people from slavery before revealing the Law (Ex. 20:1–17). Even under the old covenant, salvation was wholly of the Lord long before any good works could be present.

So, if salvation is and always has been by grace through faith, why was the law necessary? Why not just bypass the Mosaic covenant altogether? That sounds like logical, but apart from the Mosaic law, something vitally important would be missing. No one would realize that God is holy and we are not. No one would know he was a sinner in need of a Savior. Without the law, we would never comprehend grace.