Mosaic Law could not save man

In the third month following the exodus from Egyptian bondage (circa 1450 B.C.), God commanded Moses to assemble the Hebrew people at Mount Sinai to hear His laws. The thunder and lightning on the mountain, coupled with God’s voice, frightened the Israelites so badly that they said to Moses, “You speak to us, and we will hear but let not God speak with us, lest we die.” Thereafter, God spoke to the people through Moses. The rules and statutes imposed on the Israelites became known as the Mosaic Law. 

The laws that God gave Moses can be grouped into two major categories: (1) the Ten Commandments in Exodus 20 and (2) 613 individual ordinances that are sprinkled throughout Exodus, Leviticus, Deuteronomy, and Numbers. This corpus of rules became collectively known as the “Law.” Paul frequently referenced the Law in his epistles, particularly in relation to faith.  Jesus was the fulfillment of the Law.

After 1400 years of living under the Mosaic Law, the Jewish people had failed miserably. All the various laws became impossible to keep, causing the Israelites to go through endless cycles of sin followed by animal sacrifices for forgiveness. Thus, redemption became a temporary thing that lasted from one day to the next.  But God had a solution:  “In the fullness of time,” He sent His son.  Consequently, “What the law could not do due to weakness of the flesh, God did by sending His own Son” (Romans 8:3).

In one fell swoop, Jesus achieved eternal redemption for all humanity. He did so “not with the blood of goats and calves, but with His own blood He entered the Most Holy Place once for all to obtain eternal redemption.” (Hebrews 9: 12-14). “If the blood of bulls and goats sanctifies the flesh, how much more shall the blood of Christ, who offered Himself without spot or blemish, cleanse your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?” One drop of Jesus’ divine blood was sufficient to pay the price for all of humanity’s sins from creation to the end of the age.

If salvation could be achieved through obedience to the Law, Christ died for nothing.

Since the scripture states that “man is not justified by works of the law, but by faith in Jesus Christ,” shall we continue in sin that grace may abound? Certainly not! The real question is, “How shall we who died to sin live any longer in it?” The fact is that a person who is truly saved has no desire to break God’s commandments.

To summarize, the Law of Moses was not meant to save men, but to show them their need to be saved, and thus to lead them to Christ (Galatians 3:24).