Truth: "Works of the Law"

Truth: Bible Truth

"Works of the Law" - Page 7

We see this portrayed rather precisely as Moses describes the contrast between Israel and the other nations in Deuteronomy 4:1-8:

1 "Now, O Israel, listen to the statutes and the judgments which I am teaching you to perform, so that you may live and go in and take possession of the land which the LORD, the God of your fathers, is giving you... 5 See, I have taught you statutes and judgments just as the LORD my God commanded me, that you should do thus in the land where you are entering to possess it. 6 So keep and do them, for that is your wisdom and your understanding in the sight of the peoples who will hear all these statutes and say, 'Surely this great nation is a wise and understanding people.' 7 For what great nation is there that has a god so near to it as is the LORD our God whenever we call on Him? 8 Or what great nation is there that has statutes and judgments as righteous as this whole law which I am setting before you today?"

We know that Moses is referring to the whole law of Israel, for in the next chapter, Deuteronomy 5, the Ten Commandments are given to the people. It is these commandments, and their details which are explained in other parts of the Pentateuch, which are the envy of the nations and which make them revere Israel as a blessed people of God. Unfortunately, they became too proud of the Law, which leads Paul to say to them in Romans 2:23: "You boast in the Law, but through your breaking the Law you dishonor God." The Jews were boasting in the whole law of Moses, not just the ceremonial law, which is noted by the fact that Paul specifies that they were breaking the laws against stealing, adultery and idolatry (Romans 2:21-22).

Someone might argue that though the worship laws of the first three Commandments were written on the hearts of the Gentiles, still, circumcision was not written on their hearts, and thus it was circumcision that set them apart from Gentiles. But this objection fails. The Gentiles did not possess the specifics of the moral law. The specifics of the moral law were codified in the Pentateuch of Israel. As such, the Gentiles did not know the details of the moral law.

For example, the Gentiles did not know that they should requite a person fourfold from whom they stole (Ex 22:1). They did not know that a man who had sex with a virgin should marry her and not divorce her all his days (Dt 22:19). They did not know that one could grab some grains of barley to eat on the Sabbath but that one could not do it with a sickle (Dt 23:25). They did not know that astrology or sorcery was strictly prohibited (Ex 22:18).

The Gentiles had only the general imprint of the moral law written on their heart, so in that sense they did not have the moral law in common with the Jews, just as it can be said that they did not have the ceremonial law in common with Jews. The only time the Gentiles DID have the specifics of the law in common with Israel was when they actually became a part of Israel. It was only then that they were required to obey the ceremonial and moral laws of the Pentateuch.

The Context of Romans 3

That Paul has the whole law in view is precisely why he keeps the phraseology of Romans 3:28 very general. ("For we maintain that a man is justified by faith apart from works of the Law"). He says "works of the law" not "works of ceremony" or "works of the ceremonial law," since his objective is to show that the WHOLE system of law in Israel must be set aside in order to make room for faith to justify a man.

In other words, "works of the law" are precisely what the phrase says - they are works performed in a system of law; works performed under a legal contract; works wherein legal payment is expected. The moral and ceremonial laws, as well as the civil laws of Israel, were all part of the legal system of the Old Covenant - a legal system that had to be set aside in order to make room for the New Covenant, a system of grace.

We can see even more clearly the meaning of "works of the law" by examining its first occurrence in Romans 3:19-20. Here Paul says:

19 "Now we know that whatever the Law says, it speaks to those who are under the Law, so that every mouth may be closed and all the world may become accountable to God; 20 because by the works of the Law no flesh will be justified in His sight; for through the Law comes the knowledge of sin."

Notice the phrase "works of the Law" in verse 20. It is the same Greek phrase used in Romans 3:28 (ejvrgwn novmou). And since both phrases are in the same context, it would be natural to assume they mean the same thing.

"Works of the Law" - Page 7

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