Are We Under the Mosaic Law Today?

This is a great question and I want to be careful how I answer this question.  Biblically we are no longer under the Mosaic Law, which included the 10 commandments and over 600 other laws.  The Law never could save a soul from their sins.  The Law served as a code of ethics to direct the Jews in how to live uprightly and morally before God.  The weight of the Law was heavy and it revealed how much the Jews needed a Savior to rescue them from this burden. 

Jesus Christ was prophesied as the one who would come and bring the righteousness that was necessary for a sinner to have a restored relationship with God the Father.  Jesus Christ’s death on the cross satisfied the wrath of God towards our sin (Rom. 3:24-25).  Christ was the only perfect and acceptable sacrifice that could serve as atonement for our sins.  In His death Jesus Christ fulfilled every righteous demand of the Law that God desired of us (Mt. 5:17-18).  As we place our faith in Christ we receive His righteousness and now God sees us as righteous through the blood of Christ.

We are told in Scripture that Christ fulfilled the Law in that we no longer have to labor for something that we could never obtain—righteousness comes through faith in Christ alone (Ro. 3:21-22).  The Jews still labor today under the weight of the Law and they are still looking forward to a Redeemer.  Paul says that the Law was our “guardian” until Christ came in order that we might be “justified by faith” in the person and work of Christ alone (Gal. 3:23-25). 

The standard for Christian living today is holiness.  1 Peter 1:16 tells Christians, “Be holy, because I am Holy.”  We no longer must embrace a set of rules for godly living. However, it is worth noting that nine out of the Ten Commandments are repeated in the New Testament apart from the Sabbath Day.  As well, the Ten Commandments can all be wrapped up in the two Great Commandments that Christ gave in Matthew 22:36-40, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind” and “Love your neighbor as yourself.”  He goes on to say that, “All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.

So, are we under the Mosaic Law, which includes the Ten Commandments—the answer is no.  We are under grace today (Rom. 6:14, “For sin will have no dominion over you, since you are not under the law but under grace.”)  Holiness is our standard for living and Christ’s righteousness has been applied to our lives when we placed our faith and trust in Him as our Savior and Lord.  Romans chapter three is clear that the Law is still valuable in that we see our depravity and our need for Christ (Rom. 3:31).  To choose to obey the Law for any salvific reasons, in my opinion, is to weaken and make light of the sufficiency and sacrifice of Jesus Christ.