Not all at once did the general churches and religious teachers, setting aside the the laws of the Lord, devolve into preaching another gospel. Even though most historical quotes from notable men of God in the past survive, most modern churches and believers have forgotten or never heard of them. Listed below is but a few that warn us as wise believers today.
“Jesus did not come to change the law, but He came to explain it, and that very fact shows that it remains; for there is no need to explain that which is abrogated... By thus explaining the law He confirmed it; He could not have meant to abolish it, or He would not have needed to expound it... That the Master did not come to alter the law is clear, because after having embodied it in His life, He willingly gave Himself up to bear its penalty, though He had never broken it, bearing the penalty for us, even as it is written, ‘Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us.’... If the law had demanded more of us than it ought to have done, would the Lord Jesus have rendered to it the penalty which resulted from its too severe demands? I am sure He would not. But because the law asked only what it ought to ask, namely, perfect obedience, and exacted of the transgressor only what it ought to exact, namely, death as the penalty for sin—death under divine wrath—therefore the Savior went to the tree, and there bore our sins, and purged them once for all. ”Perpetuity of the Law of God, Sermon May 21, 1882, Pages 4-7.
“The moral law contained in the ten commandments, and enforced by the prophets, Christ did not take away. It was not the design of His coming to revoke any part of this. This is the law which never can be broken, which “stands fast as the faithful witness in heaven,’ The moral law stands on an entirely different foundation from the ceremonial or ritual law.... Every part of the law must remain in force upon all mankind, and in all ages; as not depending either on time or place, or any other circumstances liable to change, but on the nature of God and the nature of man, and their unchangeable relation to each other.” Wesley, John, On the Sermon on the Mount, Discourse 6, Sermons on Several Occasions (1810), pp. 75, 76.
“We must not imagine that the coming of Christ has freed us from the authority of the law; for it is the eternal rule of a devout and holy life, and must, therefore, be as unchangeable as the justice of God, which it embraced, is constant and uniform.” Commentary on a Harmony of the Gospels, 1845 Translation by William Pringle, Volume I, p. 277.
“The people must be made to understand that the ten commandments are still binding, and that there is a penalty attached to their violation.” “The commandments of God given to Moses in the mount at Horeb are as binding today as ever they have been since the time when they were proclaimed in the hearing of the people. The Jews said the law was not given in Palestine (which belonged to Israel), but in the wilderness, because the law was for all nations.”“Jesus never condemned the law and the prophets, but He did condemn those who did not obey Him. Because He gave new commandments, it does not follow that He abolished the old. Christ’s explanation of them made them all themore searching.” Weighed and Wanting, (Fleming H. Revell Co: New York, 1898) Pages 11, 16, 15.
We believe the Scriptures teach that the law of God is the eternal and unchangeable rule of His moral government; that it is holy, just, and good; and that the inability which the Scriptures ascribe to fallen men to fulfill its precepts arises entirely from their love of sin; to deliver them from which, and to restore them through a Mediator to unfeigned obedience to the holy law, is one greatend of the gospel, and of the means of grace connected with the establishment of the visible church.” New Hampshire Confession of Faith, Article 12, quoted in O.C.S. WALLACE, What Baptists Believe (1934), p. 79.
“The moral law does forever bind all, as well justified persons as others, to the obedience thereof; and that not only in regard of the matter contained in it, but also in respect of the authority of God the Creator who gave it. Neither does Christ in the gospel in any way dissolve, but much strengthen, this obligation.”The Constitution of the Presbyterian Church in the United States of America, Chapter 19, sec. 5, (1896), pp.88, 89.
“He who destroys the doctrine of the law, destroys at the same time political and social order. If you eject the law from the church, there will no longer be any sin recognized as such in the world; for the gospel only defines and punishes sin by reference to the law.” Michelet, M., Life of Luther v. 4, Hazlitt’s translation (2d edition: London, 1856), p. 315.
“The Sabbath is a part of the Decalogue—the Ten Commandments. This alone forever settles the question as to the perpetuity of the institution...Until, therefore, it can be shown that the whole moral law has been repealed, the Sabbath will stand...The teaching of Christ confirms the perpetuity of the Sabbath,” T. C. Blake, D.D. Theology Condensed, pp. 474, 475.
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