I grew up being taught that the Moral Law (the Ten Commandments) were everlasting, but the “Ceremonial Laws” (including the Feasts of the LORD) were “nailed to the cross.” This means that when Jesus was crucified, it became no longer necessary to observe the “Ceremonial Laws.” However, one day I learned that term “Ceremonial Law” does not appear anywhere in the King James Version. It also does not appear in the English Standard Version, the Revised Standard Version, the New International Version or the New American Standard Bible. If the “Ceremonial Law” cannot be found in the Bible, then where did it come from?
If a Protestant cannot find in the Bible something they grew up believing in, then they need to look and see if this is a tradition of the Roman Catholic Church that they are still clinging to. In fact, this is where we find the “Ceremonial Law.” Thomas Aquinas (1225 – 1274), who has been designated a Doctor of the Church, wrote in his work Summa Theologiae, “From this it is clear that all the precepts of the Law are either moral, ceremonial, or judicial.”[1] Thomas Aquinas divided the Law into three categories.
The early Protestant Reformers did not cast off this Catholic tradition. The Westminster Confession of Faith (1647) stated:
- God gave to Adam a law, as a covenant of works, by which He bound him and all his posterity to personal, entire, exact, and perpetual obedience; promised life upon the fulfilling, and threatened death upon the breach of it; and endued him with power and ability to keep it.
- This law, after his fall, continued to be a perfect rule of righteousness; and, as such, was delivered by God upon Mount Sinai in ten commandments, and written in two tables; the first four commandments containing our duty toward God, and the other six our duty to man.
- Besides this law, commonly called moral, God was pleased to give to the people of Israel, as a church under age, ceremonial laws, containing several typical ordinances, partly of worship, prefiguring Christ, His graces, actions, sufferings, and benefits; and partly holding forth divers instructions of moral duties. All which ceremonial laws are now abrogated under the New Testament.
- To them also, as a body politic, He gave sundry judicial laws, which expired together with the state of that people, not obliging any other, now, further than the general equity thereof may require.[2]
The Westminster Confession of Faith was the product of a meeting held in Westminster Abbey in 1646 and was adopted but the Church of England and the Church of Scotland.
We find this division of the law again in the Methodist Articles of Religion (1784).
“Although the law given from God by Moses, as touching ceremonies and rites, doth not bind Christians, nor ought the civil precepts thereof of necessity be received in any commonwealth, yet, notwithstanding, no Christian whatsoever is free from the obedience of the commandments which are called moral.”[3]
It is not hard to understand why the early Protestants were comfortable keeping these distinctions and divisions of the law. Not only did they not observe the Feasts of the LORD, they did not keep the Sabbath either. This “Ceremonial Laws” category made it easy for them to argue that the Sabbath and the Feasts of the LORD had been “nailed to the cross.”
At first it would seem that the Seventh Day Adventists would discard these distinctions and divisions in the law introduced by Thomas Aquinas. After all, they believed that on October 22, 1844, on the Day of Atonement as determined by the new moon and the ripening of barley in Israel that Jesus entered the Most Holy Place of the Heavenly Sanctuary to perform His final work as our High Priest before returning to earth as our King. Why would they continue this tradition begun by the Roman Catholic Church and categorize the law into moral, ceremonial, and civil categories?
Not only did the Seventh Day Adventist Church continue with these categories for the Law they added a fourth one: “Health Laws.”
“The laws imparted to Israel at Sinai dealt with all aspects of their duty toward God and man. These laws may be classified as follows:
1.Moral. The principles expressed in the Decalogue reflect the divine character, and are as immutable as God Himself (see Matt. 5:17, 18; Rom. 3:31).
2.Ceremonial. These laws were concerned with a system of worship that prefigured the cross, and accordingly expired at that time (Col. 2:14–17; Heb. 7:12).
3.Civil. These laws applied the broad principles of the Ten Commandments to the economy of ancient Israel as a nation. Though this code became inoperative when ancient Israel ceased to be a nation and has not been reinstated as such in the modern, nontheocratic state of Israel, yet the fundamental principles of justice and equity involved are still valid.
4.Health. The dietary principles of Lev. 11, together with other sanitary and health regulations, were intended by a wise Creator to promote health and longevity (see Ex. 15:26; 23:25; Deut. 7:15; Ps. 105:37; PP 378). Based as they are upon the nature and requirements of the human body, these principles could in no way be affected either by the cross or by the disappearance of Israel as a nation. Principles that contributed to health 3,500 years ago will produce the same results today.”[4]
Thomas Aquinas would have placed these “Health Laws” in the “Ceremonial Laws” category. Is this tradition of categorizing the Law of God into different categories one that the Catholic Church got right? Is this a tradition that Protestants should follow?
As I pointed out earlier these divisions of God’s Law are not made anywhere in the Old Testament. When we arbitrarily create categories for God’s Law then we can arbitrarily choose which category to place His laws into. This becomes very convenient if there are laws that we don’t want to observe. We simply place them in a category that was “nailed to the cross.” This is probably why the “Health Laws” category was created. We could say that the “Ceremonial Laws” were nailed to the cross but the “Health Laws” were not. This would be much easier than trying to explain why some “Ceremonial Laws” were nailed to the cross and some were not.
A perfect example of how these different categories complicate God’s Law is the laws for clean and unclean animals in Leviticus 11. The Seventh-Day Adventist Church places these laws in the “Health Laws” category. However, there is no mention of any health benefits from obeying these laws found anywhere in Leviticus 11.
The health benefits promised in the Torah come from obeying God’s commandments in general and not from obeying any “Health Laws” in particular. This is clearly shown in Exodus when the Hebrews came to Marah after crossing the Red Sea and found bitter water there. After God showed Moses a tree to cast into the waters to make them sweet, He said to Moses:
26 And said, If thou wilt diligently hearken to the voice of the Lord thy God, and wilt do that which is right in his sight, and wilt give ear to his commandments, and keep all his statutes, I will put none of these diseases upon thee, which I have brought upon the Egyptians: for I am the Lord that healeth thee.
Exodus 15: 26 (KJV)
Nothing was said about getting plenty of exercise. Nothing was said about not eating pork. Nothing was said about getting eight hours of sleep each night. God simply said to obey His commandments and he would give them protection from disease. In other words, keeping the Sabbath holy may have just as much health benefits as not eating pork.
In the fifth commandment, God promises long life if I honor my father and my mother. Why then do we need to create a Health Laws category? God promises me health and a long life by simply obeying his commandments, even if they have no obvious relationship to diet or healthy activity. Do we need the other categories for God’s Law that were created by man and not by God?
If we do not divide God’s Law into these different categories, then we have to ask what was nailed to the cross? The only text that I am aware of that answers this question is found in the seventy-week prophecy of Daniel 9:
27 And he shall confirm the covenant with many for one week: and in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease, and for the overspreading of abominations he shall make it desolate, even until the consummation, and that determined shall be poured upon the desolate.
Daniel 9: 27 (KJV)
So, sacrifices and oblations (bloodless offerings) were what was nailed to the cross.
As Christianity became wedded to paganism, it began to adopt pagan practices. In order to do this, it had to discard practices that had been commanded by God. The easiest way to do this was to say that these things had been “nailed to the cross” and were no longer necessary for Christians. But how is this consistent with what Jesus said in the Sermon on the Mount?
17 Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil.
18 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.
19 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: but whosoever shall do and teach them, the same shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven.
Matthew 5: 17 – 19 (KJV)
It seems that from Daniel 9 and Matthew 5 we see that sacrifices and oblations went away with Jesus’ crucifixion, but the law remained.
I think we should look at the Ten Commandments as broad categories into which the subsequent Laws of God fit. For example, Leviticus 18 and 20 both deal with adultery and other sexual sins. When Exodus 20: 8 (KJV) says, “14 Thou shalt not commit adultery” it is speaking about all of these sexual sins and not just about cheating on your spouse.
By the same token, Leviticus 23 links the Feasts of the LORD with the Sabbath. Many Christians suggest that this diminishes the importance of the Sabbath and use this as an excuse for keeping Sunday. However, there is nothing in Leviticus 23 that diminishes the importance of the Sabbath as one of the Ten Commandments. In fact, the Sabbath is the most important of the Commandments because they tell us who God is. In Exodus 20 and Deuteronomy 5 we see that God is our Creator and Redeemer. This is why He has the authority to give us commandments. This is also why this linkage of the Sabbath with the Feasts of the LORD in Leviticus 23 elevates the importance of the Feasts of the LORD. Like the Sabbath, the Feasts of the LORD also reveal who God is by revealing to us God’s plan of salvation. These feasts show us how God, who Created us will redeem us and will triumph over Satan on our behalf. They show us that God will reconcile with us. Finally, the Feasts of the LORD show us how God will restore us to perfection as He promised in Exodus 31: 13 (KJV):
Verily my sabbaths ye shall keep: for it is a sign between me and you throughout your generations; that ye may know that I am the Lord that doth sanctify you.
[1] Thomas Aquinas. Summa Theologiae, Question 99. The precepts of the old law, Article 5. Whether the Old Law contains any others besides the moral, judicial, and ceremonial precepts? https://www.newadvent.org/summa/2099.htm
[2] Westminster Confession of Faith (1647). Chapter 19: Of the Law of God. https://www.ligonier.org/learn/articles/westminster-confession-faith
[3] Methodist Articles of Religion (1784). Article VI: Of The Old Testament. https://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/creeds3.v.vi.html
[4] Nichol, F. D. (Ed.). (1978). The Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary (Vol. 1, p. 757). Review and Herald Publishing Association.
Image: Jesus Nailed to the Cross by Gustave Dore (1832-1883) is in the Public Domain. This image was taken from The Accordance Gallery of Bible Art, edited by David Lang.
Posted: November 26, 2023 · Leave a Comment
Nailed To The Cross
I grew up being taught that the Moral Law (the Ten Commandments) were everlasting, but the “Ceremonial Laws” (including the Feasts of the LORD) were “nailed to the cross.” This means that when Jesus was crucified, it became no longer necessary to observe the “Ceremonial Laws.” However, one day I learned that term “Ceremonial Law” does not appear anywhere in the King James Version. It also does not appear in the English Standard Version, the Revised Standard Version, the New International Version or the New American Standard Bible. If the “Ceremonial Law” cannot be found in the Bible, then where did it come from?
If a Protestant cannot find in the Bible something they grew up believing in, then they need to look and see if this is a tradition of the Roman Catholic Church that they are still clinging to. In fact, this is where we find the “Ceremonial Law.” Thomas Aquinas (1225 – 1274), who has been designated a Doctor of the Church, wrote in his work Summa Theologiae, “From this it is clear that all the precepts of the Law are either moral, ceremonial, or judicial.”[1] Thomas Aquinas divided the Law into three categories.
The early Protestant Reformers did not cast off this Catholic tradition. The Westminster Confession of Faith (1647) stated:
The Westminster Confession of Faith was the product of a meeting held in Westminster Abbey in 1646 and was adopted but the Church of England and the Church of Scotland.
We find this division of the law again in the Methodist Articles of Religion (1784).
“Although the law given from God by Moses, as touching ceremonies and rites, doth not bind Christians, nor ought the civil precepts thereof of necessity be received in any commonwealth, yet, notwithstanding, no Christian whatsoever is free from the obedience of the commandments which are called moral.”[3]
It is not hard to understand why the early Protestants were comfortable keeping these distinctions and divisions of the law. Not only did they not observe the Feasts of the LORD, they did not keep the Sabbath either. This “Ceremonial Laws” category made it easy for them to argue that the Sabbath and the Feasts of the LORD had been “nailed to the cross.”
At first it would seem that the Seventh Day Adventists would discard these distinctions and divisions in the law introduced by Thomas Aquinas. After all, they believed that on October 22, 1844, on the Day of Atonement as determined by the new moon and the ripening of barley in Israel that Jesus entered the Most Holy Place of the Heavenly Sanctuary to perform His final work as our High Priest before returning to earth as our King. Why would they continue this tradition begun by the Roman Catholic Church and categorize the law into moral, ceremonial, and civil categories?
Not only did the Seventh Day Adventist Church continue with these categories for the Law they added a fourth one: “Health Laws.”
“The laws imparted to Israel at Sinai dealt with all aspects of their duty toward God and man. These laws may be classified as follows:
1.Moral. The principles expressed in the Decalogue reflect the divine character, and are as immutable as God Himself (see Matt. 5:17, 18; Rom. 3:31).
2.Ceremonial. These laws were concerned with a system of worship that prefigured the cross, and accordingly expired at that time (Col. 2:14–17; Heb. 7:12).
3.Civil. These laws applied the broad principles of the Ten Commandments to the economy of ancient Israel as a nation. Though this code became inoperative when ancient Israel ceased to be a nation and has not been reinstated as such in the modern, nontheocratic state of Israel, yet the fundamental principles of justice and equity involved are still valid.
4.Health. The dietary principles of Lev. 11, together with other sanitary and health regulations, were intended by a wise Creator to promote health and longevity (see Ex. 15:26; 23:25; Deut. 7:15; Ps. 105:37; PP 378). Based as they are upon the nature and requirements of the human body, these principles could in no way be affected either by the cross or by the disappearance of Israel as a nation. Principles that contributed to health 3,500 years ago will produce the same results today.”[4]
Thomas Aquinas would have placed these “Health Laws” in the “Ceremonial Laws” category. Is this tradition of categorizing the Law of God into different categories one that the Catholic Church got right? Is this a tradition that Protestants should follow?
As I pointed out earlier these divisions of God’s Law are not made anywhere in the Old Testament. When we arbitrarily create categories for God’s Law then we can arbitrarily choose which category to place His laws into. This becomes very convenient if there are laws that we don’t want to observe. We simply place them in a category that was “nailed to the cross.” This is probably why the “Health Laws” category was created. We could say that the “Ceremonial Laws” were nailed to the cross but the “Health Laws” were not. This would be much easier than trying to explain why some “Ceremonial Laws” were nailed to the cross and some were not.
A perfect example of how these different categories complicate God’s Law is the laws for clean and unclean animals in Leviticus 11. The Seventh-Day Adventist Church places these laws in the “Health Laws” category. However, there is no mention of any health benefits from obeying these laws found anywhere in Leviticus 11.
The health benefits promised in the Torah come from obeying God’s commandments in general and not from obeying any “Health Laws” in particular. This is clearly shown in Exodus when the Hebrews came to Marah after crossing the Red Sea and found bitter water there. After God showed Moses a tree to cast into the waters to make them sweet, He said to Moses:
26 And said, If thou wilt diligently hearken to the voice of the Lord thy God, and wilt do that which is right in his sight, and wilt give ear to his commandments, and keep all his statutes, I will put none of these diseases upon thee, which I have brought upon the Egyptians: for I am the Lord that healeth thee.
Exodus 15: 26 (KJV)
Nothing was said about getting plenty of exercise. Nothing was said about not eating pork. Nothing was said about getting eight hours of sleep each night. God simply said to obey His commandments and he would give them protection from disease. In other words, keeping the Sabbath holy may have just as much health benefits as not eating pork.
In the fifth commandment, God promises long life if I honor my father and my mother. Why then do we need to create a Health Laws category? God promises me health and a long life by simply obeying his commandments, even if they have no obvious relationship to diet or healthy activity. Do we need the other categories for God’s Law that were created by man and not by God?
If we do not divide God’s Law into these different categories, then we have to ask what was nailed to the cross? The only text that I am aware of that answers this question is found in the seventy-week prophecy of Daniel 9:
27 And he shall confirm the covenant with many for one week: and in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease, and for the overspreading of abominations he shall make it desolate, even until the consummation, and that determined shall be poured upon the desolate.
Daniel 9: 27 (KJV)
So, sacrifices and oblations (bloodless offerings) were what was nailed to the cross.
As Christianity became wedded to paganism, it began to adopt pagan practices. In order to do this, it had to discard practices that had been commanded by God. The easiest way to do this was to say that these things had been “nailed to the cross” and were no longer necessary for Christians. But how is this consistent with what Jesus said in the Sermon on the Mount?
17 Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil.
18 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.
19 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: but whosoever shall do and teach them, the same shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven.
Matthew 5: 17 – 19 (KJV)
It seems that from Daniel 9 and Matthew 5 we see that sacrifices and oblations went away with Jesus’ crucifixion, but the law remained.
I think we should look at the Ten Commandments as broad categories into which the subsequent Laws of God fit. For example, Leviticus 18 and 20 both deal with adultery and other sexual sins. When Exodus 20: 8 (KJV) says, “14 Thou shalt not commit adultery” it is speaking about all of these sexual sins and not just about cheating on your spouse.
By the same token, Leviticus 23 links the Feasts of the LORD with the Sabbath. Many Christians suggest that this diminishes the importance of the Sabbath and use this as an excuse for keeping Sunday. However, there is nothing in Leviticus 23 that diminishes the importance of the Sabbath as one of the Ten Commandments. In fact, the Sabbath is the most important of the Commandments because they tell us who God is. In Exodus 20 and Deuteronomy 5 we see that God is our Creator and Redeemer. This is why He has the authority to give us commandments. This is also why this linkage of the Sabbath with the Feasts of the LORD in Leviticus 23 elevates the importance of the Feasts of the LORD. Like the Sabbath, the Feasts of the LORD also reveal who God is by revealing to us God’s plan of salvation. These feasts show us how God, who Created us will redeem us and will triumph over Satan on our behalf. They show us that God will reconcile with us. Finally, the Feasts of the LORD show us how God will restore us to perfection as He promised in Exodus 31: 13 (KJV):
Verily my sabbaths ye shall keep: for it is a sign between me and you throughout your generations; that ye may know that I am the Lord that doth sanctify you.
[1] Thomas Aquinas. Summa Theologiae, Question 99. The precepts of the old law, Article 5. Whether the Old Law contains any others besides the moral, judicial, and ceremonial precepts? https://www.newadvent.org/summa/2099.htm
[2] Westminster Confession of Faith (1647). Chapter 19: Of the Law of God. https://www.ligonier.org/learn/articles/westminster-confession-faith
[3] Methodist Articles of Religion (1784). Article VI: Of The Old Testament. https://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/creeds3.v.vi.html
[4] Nichol, F. D. (Ed.). (1978). The Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary (Vol. 1, p. 757). Review and Herald Publishing Association.
Image: Jesus Nailed to the Cross by Gustave Dore (1832-1883) is in the Public Domain. This image was taken from The Accordance Gallery of Bible Art, edited by David Lang.
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