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Leviticus 18:5
“You shall therefore keep my statutes and my rules; if a person does them, he shall live by them: I am the Lord.”
Various aspects of God’s covenant with Israel, also called the Mosaic covenant, indicate that it was an administration of the covenant of grace. This term administration refers primarily to the external form that the covenant of grace took in a particular era. So the Mosaic covenant with all its commandments and rituals administered the covenant of grace for the nation of Israel from the exodus to the inauguration of the new covenant, which is the final administration of the covenant of grace. We see the graciousness of the Mosaic covenant in that salvation from Egypt preceded the giving of the law and because the covenant gave a sacrificial system to atone for sin and provide forgiveness.
Accepting the Mosaic covenant as an administration of the covenant of grace raises questions of the Mosaic covenant’s relationship to the covenant of works and the place of keeping the law. After all, several passages in the New Testament seem to oppose law and grace, to oppose obedience to the law versus faith as the way of salvation (Rom. 6:14; Gal. 3:10–12). How, then, can the Mosaic covenant with its law administer the covenant of grace?
To answer this, we must distinguish between what is possible for human beings in theory and what is possible in reality. In one sense, the law of Moses holds out the possibility of salvation to human beings via observing the commandments. Today’s passage does say, for example, that those who obey the law will find life by doing so (Lev. 18:5). This is only a theoretical possibility, however, for sinners cannot truly obey the law in such a way to merit eternal life. That is Paul’s point in texts such as Galatians 3:10–12 and 5:2–4. Those passages tell us that if we are to be saved by the law, then we have to keep every commandment perfectly. Sinners, however, cannot do this (Rom. 3:9–18). All that the law does for sinners who seek to be declared righteous before God by obeying the law is to show them the extent of their sin (vv. 19–20).
God never intended for sinners to save themselves by keeping His law. Sinners are to obey the moral law to thank the Lord for their gracious salvation, not to procure their salvation. Still, the Mosaic covenant reminds us that the standard of perfect obedience for salvation given in the covenant of works remains, and its commandments and ceremonies pointed to the One who would obey God perfectly on our behalf, Jesus Christ.
Coram Deo Living before the face of God
Since the law of God features prominently in the Mosaic covenant, it reminds us of the covenant of works even though it is actually part of the covenant of grace. When we read the law, let us be reminded that we cannot save ourselves by keeping it and instead trust in Christ alone for salvation.
For further study
- Leviticus 20:22
- Matthew 19:16–19
- Romans 7:7–25
- Galatians 3:15–29
The bible in a year
- Proverbs 15–16
- 2 Corinthians 2