Sermon Outlines

By Frederick F. Schwindt, Evangelist

THE TWO LAWS

1. The law of the Ten Commandments:
   1. This law is a revelation of God's eternal will which controls the moral relationship of man to God and to men - Rom. 2:17; Ex. 20:3-17; Luke 10:25
   2. By this law is the knowledge of sin - 1 John 3:4; Rom. 3:20; 4:15; 5:13; 7:7
2. The other law was added because of transgression: Gal. 3:19
   1. It served as the shadow of good things to come, but the body is in Christ Jesus - Heb. 9:10; 10:1-3
   2. It stood in meats and drinks, divers kind of washing, and regulated the sacrifices and other services in the earthly sanctuary - Heb. 9:10; Lev. 1; 2; 3; 4;
   3. This law came into being after the fall and guided men in their approach to God - Compare Gen. 4:3, 4 with chapters 8:20; 12:7; 22:9; 35:1-3

1. How they were given to men:
   1. The law of the Ten Commandments -
      1. Was written - first upon the tables of the heart - Rom. 2:13, 14
      2. Later God wrote it upon two tables of stone with His own hand - Ex. 24:12; 31:18; Deut. 10:1-7
   2. The law of sacrifices was written by Moses into a book - Deut. 31:24
2. It is most significant to note where these two laws were placed after they had been written:
   1. The law of the Ten Commandments was put in the ark - Deut. 10:1-5
   2. The law of sacrifices was placed in the side of the ark - Deut. 31:26
   3. The placing of these two laws shows that they are two different laws and that they serve two different purposes. More about this later.

1. Assertion by opponents of the two laws' concept:
   1. "The Bible does not know two laws, it speaks of one law only."
   2. "All the writings of Moses are called "the law" - Luke 24:44
2. The Bible answer:
   1. The Bible does speak of two distinctly different laws -
      1. One law was spoken by God from heaven and written upon two tables of stone - Ex. 20:18; Deut. 5:22
      2. The other law was given to Moses gradually; was written into a book by Moses - Deut. 31:24-27
   2. These two laws are different in nature, design, and duration -
      1. The laws of the Ten Commandments are spiritual - Rom. 7:14
      2. The law of sacrifices is called "the law of a carnal commandment" - Heb. 7:16; the reason for that is because this law deals with "meats and drinks, and divers washings, and carnal ordinances" - Heb. 9:10
      3. The law of the Ten Commandments regulates our moral duties to God and men - Ex. 20:3-17
      4. The law of shadow regulated things that were a shadow of good things to come; now when the reality appears, the shadow fades away - Heb. 10:1-6; Col. 2:16, 17
      5. The law of the Ten Commandments is established in the lives of the believers through faith in Christ Jesus - Rom. 3:31; 8:1-3
      6. But the other law which had the shadow of good things to come ceased when Christ died; its function was terminated by the death of Christ on the cross - Heb. 8:13; 10:5-9; Eph. 2:14-16
3. It is significant to note:
   1. That Joshua, Nehemiah, and Daniel showed that there is a difference between the two laws - Compare Josh. 8:30-32 with Neh. 9:13, 14; Dan. 9:10-13
   2. Paul showed that he made a difference between these two laws - Compare Rom. 3:31; 8:1-6 with Heb. 7:16; 8:13; 9:10;10:15, 16