20190319 – Sin and Law before the Law of Moses by Peter Schwartzkoppf

20190319 – Sin and Law before the Law of Moses by Peter Schwartzkoppf

There is much debate as to whether divine laws existed before the Law of Moses. Romans 5:12-14 is at the centre of this debate. Here’s what it says ” Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned: (For until the law sin was in the world: but sin is not imputed when there is no law.Nevertheless, death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over them that had not sinned after the similitude of Adam’s transgression, who is the figure of him that was to come. “

Many commentators argue along these lines; People from Adam to Moses were not charged with breaking God’s Law. The reason they cannot be charged is because during that time, there was no law to break! Sin is not imputed, or sin is not charged, where there is no law. They put forward examples like this to illustrate the principle: Have you ever heard of anyone being charged with the crime of owning more than 10 books? Of course not, because that law doesn’t exist! People cannot break a law that doesn’t exist, and if it doesn’t exist, they cannot be charged with breaking it.

However, there is a very big weakness in this argument. It is this. The statement that there was no law to break is simply not true. The text doesn’t say there was no law in the period between Adam and Moses. But if we turn to Genesis 26:5 we find God telling Isaac that He blessed his father Abraham “because Abraham obeyed My voice and kept My charge, My commandments, My statutes, and My laws.” This event took place centuries before the covenant at Mt. Sinai, centuries before Moses was born and two generations before Judah, head of the tribe that much later would become known as the Jews. It is quite clear from this reference that divine commandments, statutes and laws existed some 400 years before Moses. Thus, Abraham knew a lot more about God’s requirements for and definitions of righteous behaviour than most religious teachers give him credit for today. It also means that the laws defining righteous attitudes and behaviour that were given to Israel were known and practiced by servants of God long before the Sinai Covenant was ever established.

Paul argues that despite the truism that sin is not imputed where there is no law, death reigned from Adam to Moses. Everybody who lived in that era died. The reason given is that they all sinned. Now death is the consequence of sin. So that is all logical.

The words that throw commentators are the ones: “even over them that had not sinned after the similitude of Adam’s transgression.”  This clause is bringing in an extra dimension. It says that death reigned even on those who did not sin like Adam sinned. Now Adam clearly disobeyed a commandment. Indeed, he disobeyed a commandment given to him directly by God.  

One possible explanation of ‘not sinning after the similitude of Adam’s transgression is that, like Eve, the person disobeyed a commandment not given to them directly. That seems to be somewhat of a stretch because Romans 5:12-14 implies those after the law of Moses people did transgress after the similitude of Adam’s transgression, and they received their laws indirectly from God.  Anyway, it appears that 1Timothy 2:14 says that Eve was in transgression.

Having said this we have already noted that Abraham was subject to law, we find that there is plentiful other evidence that divine laws existed. There are many episodes in the book of Genesis which show that the peoples of the Middle East had an awareness of sin. Not only that they had a conscience. We know that is the case because of the principle which says “for by the law is the knowledge of sin”.  

Genesis 13:13 tells us that “the men of Sodom were exceedingly wicked and sinful against the Lord.” Since sin is violating God’s law, the people of Sodom could not have been punished for being wicked and sinful if no law condemned what they were doing. We must conclude, therefore, that God had already made available the knowledge of what is sinful.

Genesis 15:16 reads “But in the fourth generation they shall come hither again: for the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet full.” The word iniquity implies sin. The Hebrew word avon can mean depravity but it can also mean guilt according to Gesenius. It is translated a number of ways: fault, iniquity, mischief, punishment (of iniquity), and sin. This tells us that sin was being imputed between the flood of Noah and the law of Moses. Gen 19:15 also uses the word iniquity to describe the behaviour of the people of Sodom: “And when the morning arose, then the angels hastened Lot, saying, Arise, take thy wife, and thy two daughters, which are here; lest thou be consumed in the iniquity of the city.”

Concerning Sodom, the record a few chapters later in Genesis 18: 20 says, “And the LORD said, Because the cry of Sodom and Gomorrah is great, and because their sin is very grievous”.

Genesis 20:3-9 reads “But God came to Abimelech in a dream by night, and said to him, Behold, you are but a dead man, for the woman which you have taken; for she is a man’s wife. 4 But Abimelech had not come near her: and he said, LORD, will you slay also a righteous nation? 5 Said he not to me, She is my sister? and she, even she herself said, He is my brother: in the integrity of my heart and innocence of my hands have I done this. 6 And God said to him in a dream, Yes, I know that you did this in the integrity of your heart; for I also withheld you from sinning against me: therefore, suffered I you not to touch her. 7 Now therefore restore the man his wife; for he is a prophet, and he shall pray for you, and you shall live: and if you restore her not, know you that you shall surely die, you, and all that are yours. 8 Therefore Abimelech rose early in the morning, and called all his servants, and told all these things in their ears: and the men were sore afraid. 9 Then Abimelech called Abraham, and said to him, What have you done to us? and what have I offended you, that you have brought on me and on my kingdom a great sin? you have done deeds to me that ought not to be done.

Clearly adultery was regarded as a sin before the Law of Moses. Even Abimelech thought it was sin.

After Jacob left Laban, Laban chased Jacob, and when Laban caught up with Jacob, the records says, “And Jacob was wroth, and chode with Laban: and Jacob answered and said to Laban, What is my trespass? what is my sin, that thou hast so hotly pursued after me?” (Gen 31:36)

Genesis 39:7-9 – 7 And it came to pass after these things, that his master’s wife cast her eyes on Joseph; and she said, Lie with me. 8 But he refused, and said to his master’s wife, Behold, my master wotteth not what is with me in the house, and he has committed all that he has to my hand; 9 There is none greater in this house than I; neither has he kept back anything from me but you, because you are his wife: how then can I do this great wickedness, and sin against God?Joseph regarded having sex with his master’s wife as a sin against God.

In Exodus chapter 10 we read, “Then Pharaoh called for Moses and Aaron in haste; and he said, I have sinned against the LORD your God, and against you. Now therefore forgive, I pray thee, my sin only this once, and intreat the LORD your God, that he may take away from me this death only.” Moses response was to pray for Pharaoh for “he went out from Pharaoh, and intreated the LORD”

In Leviticus 18:21-27, God calls the idolatrous practices of the people of the land of Canaan “abominations”—actions so filthy and degrading that God compared their expulsion to being “vomited out” of the land (Leviticus 18:28). What was their sin? Among other things, idolatry (the worship of false gods) and human sacrifice, which violated the First, Second and Sixth Commandments.

Genesis 26:5 says Abraham obeyed the laws he was given. If we acknowledge this statement, it is sort of saying he didn’t engage in any transgression of law. However, Romans verse 5:12 still says all men have sinned. That means Abraham sinned. The question becomes ‘did Abraham sin after the similitude of Adam’s transgression?’. It appears not. It looks like Abraham sits in the category of those who “had not sinned after the similitude of Adam’s transgression”. But he still died and of course he did sin in his life.

Abraham was though in a special class of people in another way. He believed and it was said that God counted that as righteousness (Genesis 15:6). So then,sin for faithful Abraham, was not imputed. Therefore, he satisfies Paul’s statement that sin is not imputed when there is no law.

We might then conclude that Abraham was not truly under law. That appears to be the case. Romans 3:21 says “But now the righteousness of God without the law is manifested, being witnessed by the law and the prophets”. Abraham livedby faith. He staggered not at the promise of God through unbelief; but was strong in faith, giving glory to God; And being fully persuaded that, what he had promised, he was able also to perform. And therefore, it was imputed to him for righteousness. It is also said of Abraham that he “died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off, and were persuaded of them, and embraced them, and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth.” At the coming of the Lord, Abraham will not have his sins counted. He will be judged favourably by God.

There is another possible group of people who fall into the category of those not under law, but we cannot certain that it was the case. I am referring to nations who in the era post–flood lived a long way from the Middle East in places like the Indus Valley and China. They may have wandered far from the awareness of sin that other Middle Eastern countries in the time of Abraham still had. Nevertheless, the very early Chinese religion didn’t worship idols and they did make sacrifices to the King of heaven. Archaeologists claim religious practices occurred in China as early as 2200 BC. There is evidence that the people worshipped a supreme god who was king of many other lesser deities. So, it is possible that they retained some knowledge of God’s laws at that time.

If we apply our definition of “sin” – a violation of a divine code – Chinese folk religion before the Han period (206 B.C.) seems not to have had the concept of sin, although it recognized a great number of supernatural beings. People who offended the deities, spirits, or other supernatural beings by not honouring them or by failing to sacrifice in the right way or at the right time might make them angry. The deities then could or would punish such people. An event of this kind was more or less like any offense against a human superior, with the only difference that deities were believed to be superior to humans; they formed, if this expression be permitted, a social class above the upper class in human society. This class of supernatural beings was structured: some deities had more, others less, power, but the structure was more like a class structure than like a bureaucratic one although one god was vaguely recognized as the highest of all. 

The Chinese historian Yu Ying-shih disagreed with Eberhard’s conclusion that early Chinese religions disregarded “sin” because “… our knowledge of folk religion in ancient China is still too limited to warrant such a general statement. In his Analects Confucius once quoted a saying that was apparently common among the people as follows: “He who sins against heaven has none to whom he can pray.” The word “sin” (tsui) here seems close enough to mean a violation of a divine code.  

So, in conclusion, we have established that divine law did exist between Adam and Moses. In this period there was also a consciousness of sin. What may not have existed was the carrying out of penalties – especially death – for transgressions of the divine law in that age as occurred under the Law of Moses. This is very much the situation in this era of the ecclesia and people living by faith; the times of the Gentiles. Nevertheless, death reigned from Adam to Moses, because all sinned.